dive recovery flaps

[Joe Broady]

Here's an Avbrief article on dive recovery flaps. It includes photos of deployed flaps on a P-38 parked on static display in a grassy field. I suppose it's airworthy, since there seems to be a REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT cover over a pitot tube. However, I'm surprised a warbird would include operable dive recovery flaps, since surely nobody would fly that fast anymore. Article includes a link to a 1940s NACA monograph on these flaps as applied to several different planes.

dive recovery flaps

 

[MiTasol]

Dave Tallichet's P-38 had those fitted and operational in 72. There was no compelling reason to remove them and removing them would mean patching where the actuators extended through the wing, etc, so I left them installed.

 

[MIflyer]

Of course they were not really "flaps" but I don't know what else you would call them without being too technical.

 

[MIflyer]

I was surprised to see this in the P-47N Training Manual.