ThomasP
Senior Master Sergeant
Hey Drgondog,
re ". . . those loads are Ultimate (Break), the US loading for 'yield' was 8G at specified GW"
One of my favorite examples of this is the Wellington. Vickers documents listed the 'ultimate' G load as 11 G at 24,500 lbs design weight. Exactly how the weights were distributed in the aircraft so that it would not fail catastrophically at 24,500 lbs under a 10.9 G load I do not know, but it was without a bomb load. In the same chart I referenced up-thread, the "ultimate flight factor" G load for the Wellington Mk X is listed as 4.2 G at 36,500 lbs, but this is with a bomb load. The only vague general operational references for the Wellington that I have found is in the Pilot's Notes, which say:
"
Mk III aircraft:
Take-off and straight flying . . . . . . 34,500 lb
All forms of flying and landing . . . 29,000 lb
Mk X, XI, XII, XIII, and VIV aircraft:
Take-off and straight flying . . . . . . 36,500 lb
All forms of flying and landing . . . 30,500 lb
"
The Wellington was considered quite maneuverable for a bomber, and was using the corkscrew maneuver before the Halifax or Lancaster ever did.
On the other hand, in the same chart the Spitfire Mk IX is listed as having an "ultimate flight factor" of 10 G at 7240 lbs. This is of course 2 G lower than the P-51 which is listed as 12 G at 7836 lbs, but I have never read of an instance where the Spitfire had any particularly problems with maneuvering with any Enemy or Allied aircraft, except in the case of the Ki-43 and A6M. Although there there were numerous instances of skin wrinkling and bent tail sections in the Spitfire after dogfights with these aircraft, most of the accounts I have read were from after the Cotton G suite was introduced into service. According to accelerometer equipped studies/tests, this type of bent tail section occurred at about 10 G.
The sample size was 48x Spitfire and 11x P-51. The max G pulled by any Spitfire in the sample was 10 G and the max for the P-51 was 6.7 G. The average max G was 4.9 for the Spitfire, and 5.2 for the P-51. Damage occurring in the Spitfires was as noted above. (From a different report, P-51s showed less damage after 10 G than the Spitfire, usually just some skin wrinkling and pulled rivets in the wing structure just outboard of the landing gear.)
The sample size was 16x Wellington B Mk n. The max G pulled by any of the Wellingtons in the sample was 3.1 G, with an average max of 2.3 G. There was no noticeable damage due to the G loads.
The sample size was 11x Mosquito F Mk II. The max G pulled by any of the Mosquitos in the sample was 3.9 G, with an average max of 3.1 G. There was no noticeable damage due to the G loads.
So from the accelerometer studies we can figure the Mosquito could handle 4 G instantaneous or more, at least in fighter configuration.
But for the most aircraft, it seems like the 'yield' G limits at the design weight fell somewhere between 50% and 75% of Ultimate G load.
re ". . . those loads are Ultimate (Break), the US loading for 'yield' was 8G at specified GW"
One of my favorite examples of this is the Wellington. Vickers documents listed the 'ultimate' G load as 11 G at 24,500 lbs design weight. Exactly how the weights were distributed in the aircraft so that it would not fail catastrophically at 24,500 lbs under a 10.9 G load I do not know, but it was without a bomb load. In the same chart I referenced up-thread, the "ultimate flight factor" G load for the Wellington Mk X is listed as 4.2 G at 36,500 lbs, but this is with a bomb load. The only vague general operational references for the Wellington that I have found is in the Pilot's Notes, which say:
"
Mk III aircraft:
Take-off and straight flying . . . . . . 34,500 lb
All forms of flying and landing . . . 29,000 lb
Mk X, XI, XII, XIII, and VIV aircraft:
Take-off and straight flying . . . . . . 36,500 lb
All forms of flying and landing . . . 30,500 lb
"
The Wellington was considered quite maneuverable for a bomber, and was using the corkscrew maneuver before the Halifax or Lancaster ever did.
On the other hand, in the same chart the Spitfire Mk IX is listed as having an "ultimate flight factor" of 10 G at 7240 lbs. This is of course 2 G lower than the P-51 which is listed as 12 G at 7836 lbs, but I have never read of an instance where the Spitfire had any particularly problems with maneuvering with any Enemy or Allied aircraft, except in the case of the Ki-43 and A6M. Although there there were numerous instances of skin wrinkling and bent tail sections in the Spitfire after dogfights with these aircraft, most of the accounts I have read were from after the Cotton G suite was introduced into service. According to accelerometer equipped studies/tests, this type of bent tail section occurred at about 10 G.
The sample size was 48x Spitfire and 11x P-51. The max G pulled by any Spitfire in the sample was 10 G and the max for the P-51 was 6.7 G. The average max G was 4.9 for the Spitfire, and 5.2 for the P-51. Damage occurring in the Spitfires was as noted above. (From a different report, P-51s showed less damage after 10 G than the Spitfire, usually just some skin wrinkling and pulled rivets in the wing structure just outboard of the landing gear.)
The sample size was 16x Wellington B Mk n. The max G pulled by any of the Wellingtons in the sample was 3.1 G, with an average max of 2.3 G. There was no noticeable damage due to the G loads.
The sample size was 11x Mosquito F Mk II. The max G pulled by any of the Mosquitos in the sample was 3.9 G, with an average max of 3.1 G. There was no noticeable damage due to the G loads.
So from the accelerometer studies we can figure the Mosquito could handle 4 G instantaneous or more, at least in fighter configuration.
But for the most aircraft, it seems like the 'yield' G limits at the design weight fell somewhere between 50% and 75% of Ultimate G load.
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