Fastest Piston Engined Aircraft of WW2?

GregP · Sep 7, 2022

"Transport Merlins" refers to the heads, not the blocks. The transport engines were almost all (but not ALL - there WERE the Merlin 102, 102A, and 600 2-stage units) single-stage, 2-speed superchargers, but the heads were made more robust.

So-called transport engines, as far as I know, include the Merlin T24, T24/4, 102 (1st civil 2-stage engine), 500, 501, 502, 600, 600A, 620-624, 626-1, 626-12, 724-1, and 724-1C. Some Merlin 224, 225, and 228s found their way into civil applications, though MOST of the 220 series went to military projects. Perhaps some of the 224 - 228s went civil AFTER military service.

nuuumannn · Sep 8, 2022

GrauGeist said:
They even tried fitting an XP-85 fighter in the bomb bay of the B-36 (reminds me of the USS Akron and it's Sparrowhawks).

Yeah, I got a photo of that thing at the USAF Museum. I read about F-84s clipping wingtips and being suspended beneath B-36s, too. Somewhere there's a museum with an F-84 with the hook on its nose, but only vaguely remember it, and can't remember where I saw it. I'd never heard about the F-80 tow idea before.

PAT303 · Sep 8, 2022

Certainly not a new thing using parasite fighters.

Peter Gunn · Sep 8, 2022

wuzak said:
There was the Ford 429 Hemi and 427 SOHC.

Not to hijack the thread but there was also the Ford 428 Cobra Jet.

No more car talk in this thread from me now, I promise.

glennasher · Sep 8, 2022

Peter Gunn said:
Not to hijack the thread but there was also the Ford 428 Cobra Jet.

No more car talk in this thread from me now, I promise.

My stepbrother had a '68 Ford Police car with a 428 CobraJet engine. It was an ex-Kansas Highway Patrol car, it would pass everything but a gas station.

GregP · Sep 8, 2022

Another kind of parasite attachment:

B-29 and F-84s. I bet the roll response was "interesting."

Another one below:

Tupolev TB-3 and Polikarpov I-16s.

GrauGeist · Sep 8, 2022

GregP said:
Another kind of parasite attachment:

View attachment 686027
B-29 and F-84s. I bet the roll response w s"interesting."

Another one below:
View attachment 686028

Tupolev TB-3 and Polikarpov I-16s.

The F-84 (EF-641) on the B-29"s port wing suffered a control malfunction during a Tip-Tow test, and it flipped over on the B-29's wing, causing the B-29 to crash.

I don't recall if EF-661 was able to detatch or not, but the pilot of EF-641 and the crew of the B-29 perished.

Thumpalumpacus · Sep 8, 2022

GregP · Sep 8, 2022

GrauGeist said:
The F-84 (EF-641) on the B-29"s port wing suffered a control malfunction during a Tip-Tow test, and it flipped over on the B-29's wing, causing the B-29 to crash.

I don't recall if EF-661 was able to detatch or not, but the pilot of EF-641 and the crew of the B-29 perished.

Sorry to hear that. The idea of attaching at the end of the wings seems preposterous from the outset, and it seems it was.

PAT303 · Sep 8, 2022

GregP said:
Sorry to hear that. The idea of attaching at the end of the wings seems preposterous from the outset, and it seems it was.

It just doesn't look right

Thumpalumpacus · Sep 8, 2022

GregP said:
Sorry to hear that. The idea of attaching at the end of the wings seems preposterous from the outset, and it seems it was.

Yeah, I want pivoting lifting bodies on the wingtips ... no.

Shortround6 · Sep 9, 2022

Lets see...............................................
build a plane with rudders of various sizes , 3 elevators of various sizes, 3 sets of ailerons of various sizes, controlled by 3 different pilots.

Now assemble the whole thing together using fasteners from the lowest bidder.....................................

What could go wrong????

Reluctant Poster · Sep 9, 2022

Shortround6 said:
Lets see...............................................
build a plane with rudders of various sizes , 3 elevators of various sizes, 3 sets of ailerons of various sizes, controlled by 3 different pilots.

Now assemble the whole thing together using fasteners from the lowest bidder.....................................

What could go wrong????

For a moment I thought you were describing the Fisher P-75

special ed · Sep 9, 2022

Plagiarism!

GregP · Sep 9, 2022

I was thinking of the fact that the B-29 pilots had a control wheel and used their own ailerons, and so did both F-84 pilots, with sticks.

For the sake of discussion only, suppose the B-29 pilots, flying an aircraft with a known VERY slow roll response, wanted to bank left and the F-84 pilots tried NOT to bank left. To me, it seems like each F-84's set of ailerons would cancel each other out and the B-29 should bank left. But what if only ONE F-84 pilot tried not to bank left? Then, it seem to me as if the F-84's ailerons would still cancel each other out, but the deflected ailerons would add drag to that side. It would be OK of the guy trying not to bank left was on the left side, but would cause considerable adverse yaw if he was on the right side (drag on the extreme right when the B-29 was trying to bank left.

The worst scenario I can think of would be that when they decided to release the F-84s, ONE released and the other one wouldn't.

I'm starting to get curious how that thing could taxi and took off, and am assuming that maybe they coupled together in-flight? Does that even seem possible?

Just thinking about the contraption in print ... I'll stop ...

Thumpalumpacus · Sep 9, 2022

GregP said:
I'm starting to get curious how that thing could taxi and took off, and am assuming that maybe they coupled together in-flight? Does that even seem possible?

My assumption is that they joined up in flight, precisely due to the difficulties of coordinating the takeoffs of three tethered airplanes.

The Germans eventually built a twin He-111 in order to get around this problem when towing the Me-323, iirc -- though of course the layout and tethering was very different, they felt better about cojoining the two towplanes because control inputs were centralized in the towing plane. It also gave them an extra engine:

ThomasP · Sep 9, 2022

My favorite parasite concept when I was young. I had a lot of imaginary fun with this baby.

SaparotRob · Sep 9, 2022

I built that kit! Mine didn't come out as nice.

Reluctant Poster · Sep 9, 2022

wuzak said:
There was the Ford 429 Hemi and 427 SOHC.

Cutway of the 427 SOHC

Cammer: The Real Story of the Legendary Ford 427 SOHC V8

In the 1960s, Ford’s overhead-cam 427 V8, popularly known as the Cammer, became the stuff of myth and legend. Here’s the story behind the story.

www.macsmotorcitygarage.com

And the Ford Indy DOHC was a pent roof (not quite the same but it's a cool engine)

Technically Interesting: Ford Indy DOHC V8

Learn more about Technically Interesting: Ford Indy DOHC V8 on Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online.

bringatrailer.com

GrauGeist · Sep 9, 2022

Thumpalumpacus said:
The Germans eventually built a twin He-111 in order to get around this problem when towing the Me-323, iirc -

I believe you're thinking of the Me321 glider.
The Me323 was the powered version of Me321.

Fastest Piston Engined Aircraft of WW2?

Major

Major

Tech Sergeant

Master Sergeant

Senior Airman

Major

Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung

Major

Major

Tech Sergeant

Major

Major General

Tech Sergeant

2nd Lieutenant

Major

Major

Senior Master Sergeant

Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII

Tech Sergeant

Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung

Users who are viewing this thread

Similar threads