Bombers and Agility

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Hey Darthtabby,

If you have not already done so you might want to check out the pilot's manuals for the different bomber types. Pretty much all of the manuals will have a section titled "Flight Restrictions" or "Restricted Maneuvers". An example of this is the A-20A Havoc manual dated Mar'42:

Flight Restrictions

a. Maneuvers Prohibited:
Loop
Spin
Roll
Immelmann
Vertical Bank
Stall
Inverted Flight

b. Other Restrictions:
(1) Do not exceed 412 M.P.H. indicated airspeed.
(2) ......
 
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Wing loading doesn't discriminate but again you have to consider power to weight ratio.
 
If you have a large aircraft with barn door control surfaces and no hydraulic boost to help, I think it's going to be pretty obvious how agile the aircraft will probably be.
 
All three types had bomb bays that were similar in length and width but the Lancaster could carry more weight of bombs, bigger bombs and carry them further and higher.

The Lancaster/Manchester's was the only one that was not sectioned or constrained for whatever reason, which meant it could carry a variety of bomb types that pre-war designers didn't take into account when they first approached their bomber designs. The Halifax bomb bay for example was constrained by the complex door operating mechanisms, which protruded into the the bomb bay itself, the folding of the doors also providing obstruction, the upper-most entering the bomb bay to sit alongside its inner wall. A portion of the Halifaxes' and Stirling's bomb loads were carried in wing bays.

All things are relative, if you started flying one of these beauties, maybe a Stirling did seem like a real hot rod. The Heyford wasnt retired until 1941.

I remember the first time I heard of this type was the big Matchbox model, the aircraft might have been a ponderous thing, but it made a real impressive model!
 
The Lancaster/Manchester's was the only one that was not sectioned or constrained for whatever reason, which meant it could carry a variety of bomb types that pre-war designers didn't take into account when they first approached their bomber designs.
If memory serves, it was because the specification called for it to be able to carry torpedoes internally.
 

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