Boom Fuselages, what advantage?

[Seawitch]

Hi All
If the topics been discussed before , send me there, but I'm interested in why the Boom fuselage got applied to fighters like the Lightning and Vampire.
The prompt to ask comes from an unlikely source, a Ghost story.
A chap lost and running out of fuel in a Vampire in which the early Martin Baker ejector seat could not fit (?) and the wing between the Booms made bailing out impossible(?) by now theres more to discuss, the latter point sounds like a myth to me, if it was the case it would be applying to any aircraft with that layout....but is it?
That the Lightning was made to meet a demand for a fast climbing fighter was heard in one place, and not discussed in a documentary watched.
Will someone get some facts in for me if the above is wrong, cheers.
BB
Seawitch

 

[Civettone]

Well it could indeed be a bit tricky to bail out of that one.

Also take a look at the Swedish Saab J-21 which also had a twin boom fuselage and was one of the first to get an ejection seat because it had a rear prop. Yet they could also have fit in a detachable prop like with the Do 335.

So I think it's quite a reasonable story.
Kris

 

[Seawitch]

Hi Civetone
Thanks for this, and very interesting.
I think I've got a bit more respect for contraversial British Politician Norman Tebbit now, he flew one in his youth.
I think this was the first Fighter plane to excede 500 mph?
You'd wonder why they would let the thing in service when there was options about surely?
BB
Seawitch