Zyzygie’s Mumbles and Rambles (1 Viewer)

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Britain was financially devastated by World War 2. The National Debt was about 250.% of GDP.
It's too bad Britain couldn't follow Russia's example with Alaska and clear government dept by selling territory. Post-war Britain sells Burma to China or Newfoundland to the USA, for instance. Britain has no interest or ability to keep these places postwar anyway, so might as well leverage their remaining value.
 
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It's too bad Britain couldn't follow Russia's example with Alaska and clear government dept by selling territory. Post-war Britain sells Burma to China or Newfoundland to the USA, for instance. Britain has no interest or ability to keep these places postwar anyway, so might as well leverage their remaining value.

Somebody with some knowledge of British law would have to chime in, but I wouldn't be surprised if Newfoundland couldn't be sold as it wasn't owned by Britain. Could the US, operating in the way of a business selling poorly performing divisions sell Alabama? I think not.
 
Somebody with some knowledge of British law would have to chime in, but I wouldn't be surprised if Newfoundland couldn't be sold as it wasn't owned by Britain. Could the US, operating in the way of a business selling poorly performing divisions sell Alabama? I think not.

"...Newfoundland joined Canada on March 31, 1949. Union with Canada has done little to reduce Newfoundlanders' self-image as a unique group. In 2003, 72% of residents responding identified first as Newfoundlanders, secondarily as Canadians..."
 
Walter Krupinski's commentary on the Me262:

 
Move the throttle lever very S-L-O-W-L-Y... son...

...the carbon steel flame tubes have zero tolerance for any error in air/fuel ratio...

 
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"...Taking off and landing, as I have said, were the most tense moments for a 262 pilot, as the plane built up speed slowly, and you could stall out easily if you pushed the throttles forward too quickly, which caused a flameout. This happened several times…and we finally learned how to throttle up slowly without killing ourselves."
"I flamed out once when I was in transition training. I was used to pushing the throttle full to increase takeoff power. This was a great error in the jet. I know that many of the pilots who were killed flying the jet probably died due to stalling out this way. The 262 was a very heavy aircraft when compared to the 109 and 190, and at low speed I would equate it to flying a brick..."


Walter "Graf" Kuprinski

Me-262: Harbinger of a New Era
 
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"...By then Junkers had developed the Jumo 004, which was tested at 2,200 pounds of thrust. Two 004s were installed on the third Me-262 prototype, and Wendel made a successful 20-minute flight on July 18, 1942. Even after plane and engine went into full production, however, the Jumo 004 would be an Achilles' heel for the Me-262. Germany lacked adequate supplies of chromium and nickel, essential for the production of steel alloys necessary to operate at a jet engine's high temperatures, and substitute metals, such as ordinary steel with a spray coating of aluminum, were prone to burning. At the end of the war the average Me-262 engine required an overhaul after 10 hours of use, and outright replacement after only 25 hours..."

Me-262: Harbinger of a New Era

In fact, Germany had committed large quantities of nickel to the Atlantic Wall as armour plate. Bad resource allocation...

After Normandy, the Allies just bypassed the other 99% of the Wall.
 
"...By then Junkers had developed the Jumo 004, which was tested at 2,200 pounds of thrust. Two 004s were installed on the third Me-262 prototype, and Wendel made a successful 20-minute flight on July 18, 1942. Even after plane and engine went into full production, however, the Jumo 004 would be an Achilles' heel for the Me-262. Germany lacked adequate supplies of chromium and nickel, essential for the production of steel alloys necessary to operate at a jet engine's high temperatures, and substitute metals, such as ordinary steel with a spray coating of aluminum, were prone to burning. At the end of the war the average Me-262 engine required an overhaul after 10 hours of use, and outright replacement after only 25 hours..."

Me-262: Harbinger of a New Era

In fact, Germany had committed large quantities of nickel to the Atlantic Wall as armour plate. Bad resource allocation...

After Normandy, the Allies just bypassed the other 99% of the Wall.

Shades of the Maginot Line!
 
"...One of many Allied pilots who got to evaluate the Me-262A after the war, Royal Navy Captain Eric Brown said the cockpit had "a complex but neat layout." Starting the jet was an involved affair, and its slow acceleration revealed how underpowered it was. But once it built up some speed, Brown said it was "a very responsive and docile aeroplane, leaving one with a confident impression of both a first-class combat aircraft for both fighter and ground attack roles." He reported a pleasant harmony of controls, but noted the "landing run was long and was always accompanied by that unpleasant suspicion of fading brakes that one had with all German aircraft of the period." Overall, though, he considered the 262 "in my view unquestionably the foremost warplane of its day...."

Ground attack? Not according to Adolf Galland:

"...Göring had already discussed the question with Messerschmitt, and replied, "Yes my Führer, theoretically yes. There is enough power to spare to carry 1000 pounds [of bombs], perhaps even 2000 pounds." This was a carefully formulated answer which objectively could not be disputed. Among aviators this reply would have created no disturbance. Because any expert knew it was purely hypothetical. The ME-262 possessed no fixtures for releasing bombs and no bombsights. According to its flying properties and its safety conditions it was highly unsuited for an aimed-bomb release; diving or gliding were out of the question because of the unavoidable excess of the permissible top speed [no air brakes]. At speeds of over 600 mph the aircraft became uncontrollable. At low altitudes the fuel consumption was so high that the operative range became unprofitably small; therefore low-level attacks, too, were out of the question. There remained high-altitude bombing, yet here the given target had to be at least the size of a large town to be hit with certainty under the given conditions..."

Galland, Adolf. The First and The Last. David Rehak. Kindle Edition.
 
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Meteor Versus MiG — Appraisal

"The MiG-15 used during the Korean War by the Communist forces was generally superior in performance to the Meteor Mk.8 which was operated by 77 Squadron. This was particularly so at high altitudes, the levels at which most of the combat took place. While a Meteor had to be 'nursed' at heights of 40,000 feet or so, the MiG seemed to thrive at even greater altitudes. Added to this was the height advantage which the MiGs enjoyed by climbing to 50,000 feet or more over neutral Manchuria prior to diving down to engage UN aircraft. Another great advantage which the MiG displayed was its spectacular rate of climb. In this important area the Russian aircraft significantly outperformed the Meteor at all altitudes by as much as 3,000 ft/minute, an enormous advantage. The MiG's speed was much greater than the Meteor by approximately 70 miles per hour. The MiG's 37 mm cannon was a slow-firing but powerful weapon. This was backed up by a pair of 23mm cannons. Nevertheless, the concentrated firepower of the Meteor's four 20 mm cannons gave the British aircraft some advantage under certain circumstances. While the 37mm weapon was most effective against a huge bomber, it was not so useful against a smaller and more nimble target."

"At altitudes of 20,000 feet and below the MiG lost some of its advantage. The Meteor could, at these levels give a good account of itself with regard to tight turning and diving. The MiG could encounter control difficulties in a high speed dive, a problem which did not afflict the Meteor. However, once again, if the MiG should climb the Meteor could not follow. Undoubtedly this British WWII jet fighter was outclassed in certain vital areas by the much more modern swept-wing designs such as the MiG-15 and the North American Sabre..."

https://www.raafansw.org.au/docPDF/77SQN_KOREA_1950-53_COL_KING.pdf
 
Meteor Versus MiG — Appraisal

"The MiG-15 used during the Korean War by the Communist forces was generally superior in performance to the Meteor Mk.8 which was operated by 77 Squadron. This was particularly so at high altitudes, the levels at which most of the combat took place. While a Meteor had to be 'nursed' at heights of 40,000 feet or so, the MiG seemed to thrive at even greater altitudes. Added to this was the height advantage which the MiGs enjoyed by climbing to 50,000 feet or more over neutral Manchuria prior to diving down to engage UN aircraft. Another great advantage which the MiG displayed was its spectacular rate of climb. In this important area the Russian aircraft significantly outperformed the Meteor at all altitudes by as much as 3,000 ft/minute, an enormous advantage. The MiG's speed was much greater than the Meteor by approximately 70 miles per hour. The MiG's 37 mm cannon was a slow-firing but powerful weapon. This was backed up by a pair of 23mm cannons. Nevertheless, the concentrated firepower of the Meteor's four 20 mm cannons gave the British aircraft some advantage under certain circumstances. While the 37mm weapon was most effective against a huge bomber, it was not so useful against a smaller and more nimble target."

"At altitudes of 20,000 feet and below the MiG lost some of its advantage. The Meteor could, at these levels give a good account of itself with regard to tight turning and diving. The MiG could encounter control difficulties in a high speed dive, a problem which did not afflict the Meteor. However, once again, if the MiG should climb the Meteor could not follow. Undoubtedly this British WWII jet fighter was outclassed in certain vital areas by the much more modern swept-wing designs such as the MiG-15 and the North American Sabre..."

https://www.raafansw.org.au/docPDF/77SQN_KOREA_1950-53_COL_KING.pdf
It's too bad the Hunter didn't make it to Korea, or any swept wing jet fighter for that matter. The Meteor is a generation behind. How would a Mk.2 Me 262 compare to the MiG-15?
 
"...In early May 1951 an F-86A Sabre from the USAF was detached to Iwakuni to fly a series of performance comparisons between itself and the Meteor to help determine the role to which the Meteor was best suited, ground attack or interceptor. After two days of testing the Meteor had proved it had a superior rate of climb and turn, even though it was generally slower than the Sabre. Unfortunately, the Meteor had also shown one major deficiency in that it lacked maneuverability at high altitude. An argument erupted between the Australians and the Americans as to how the Meteor was to be employed, with Cresswell and Scannell arguing that although the Meteor had shortcomings, it should be used as an interceptor. After discussions with US 5th Air Force Headquarters, it was decided to try the Meteor as an interceptor and on 2 June the Squadron was ordered back to Korea..."
 
A Mk 2 Me262 was the same generation as the Meteor. It would do no better than, say, the P-80.

Something both the Meteor and the Me 262 had to their detriment as dogfighters was having their engines outboard of the fuselage. Their roll rate was relatively slow, a big disadvantage compared to the Sabre or MiG.
 
Something both the Meteor and the Me 262 had to their detriment as dogfighters was having their engines outboard of the fuselage. Their roll rate was relatively slow, a big disadvantage compared to the Sabre or MiG.
Does a WW2-era Vampire or early postwar Attacker have a better chance with their inboard engine?

Did the FAA have any jets in Korea? The Supermarine Attacker entered fleet service in 1951. The USN at the time was operating equally straight wing jets in Korea.
 

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