Thank you.
Improve That Design: How Aircraft Could Have Been Made Better (1 Viewer)
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Thank you.
The Whitley could carry 10 paratroopers. I think this was not uncommon. I suspect that even the Manchester spec allowed for some transport capability
Glider
Captain
Very good and interesting photographs. Almost any aircraft can be broken down into components as no aircraft (that I am aware of) is built in one piece. The difference is the reason for breaking it down. The Sterling is the only one I am aware of that was designed to be broken down so it can be shipped by rail. Being an aircraft of some size and range it can of course fly, wherever it can go by train.
Glider
Captain
When I made my observation I was thinking of an operation where originally the Sterling's were going to assist some USAAF Liberators with the transport of troops and equipment behind German lines. When they arrived and it was realised that using the Sterling instead of the Liberator would mean reducing the number of aircraft by half, the lift was solely undertaken by the Sterling's.
I forgot to add that from the start the Sterling was designed to carry 25 troops and equipment. It's high 'stance' also made some things easier as it was relatively easy to carry large items such as 6pd AT guns and Jeeps under the fuselage though how often this was done is open to conjecture.
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Glider
Captain
I don't doubt that it was 10ft long. It was claim that the shaft only weighed 10 pounds I wasn't expecting. It's certainly possible but quite an achievement considering the load the shaft would be under.
swampyankee
Chief Master Sergeant
- 4,004
- Jun 25, 2013
The P-39 was very much a niche design. Unfortunately, the niche it fit wasn't with any of the western Allies; while the USSR used it effectively Soviet secrecy and western PC minimized its contributions.
Did they have inertial shoulder straps in WW2 era aircraft ?
The pictures I've seen looks very similar to the seat belts NASCAR still uses, except modern are nylon fabric instead of the canvas of WW2 belts.
NASCAR still doesn't allow any inertial take up on seatbelts. They expect you to tighten them, tight.
But in crashes even 3 inch belts stretch, and the body deforms, you move a lot more than you'd expect in a hard crash.
I know because I hit the padded header bar of the roll cage, with a helmet on, hard enough to get a mild concussion, and I though my belts were tight.
AFAIK, no they didn't. I understand they were in use in some tanks and PT boats, but like many innovations, encountered some resistance from sceptics. I've flown gliders and an acro bird or two that had the old WWII style canvas belts. Not great, as you say, but better than nothing. It's really hard to check six with unyielding shoulder straps, which perhaps explains those WWII gunsight head knocks. In the back seat of an A4 or F4 it's much easier to keep track of traffic in a furball with inertia reel harnesses.
Hi
According to Barnes in 'Shorts Aircraft since 1900' page 371, the requirements for specification B.12/36, which the Stirling was one of the designs, included the following:
"Other requirements included the breakdown of the airframe, by means of bolted or screwed joints, into components no larger than the existing Air Ministry packing-case sizes, which in turn were based on the capacity of standard-gauge railway wagons, and all such components had to be strictly interchangeable."
This also applied to the P.13/36 designs as well (Manchester and Halifax). These are requirements for aircraft or parts of aircraft which could not fly, it is not 'instead' of flying as you appear to imply. Supply depots and many airfields were either near or had railway links alongside so it did make sense in many cases.
Mike
I'm sure they would have kept the shoulder straps loose during flight.
In a lot of cases you probably don't know you're going to have a crash landing until everything suddenly goes all to hell, and you've got your hands too busy to take a couple of seconds to tighten your belts.
If you look at any Spitfire or Hurricane pilot sat in the cockpit, it is impossible to tighten the straps enough to stop your head hitting it in a hard landing, some pilots like Bob Doe almost lost their face and were out for months if not permanently. meninroad: "© IWM (HU 54419) Portrait of a sergeant pilot of No. 610 Squadron, sitting in the cockpit of a Spitfire, … | Battle of britain, Fighter pilot, Luftwaffe
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GregP
Major
There were great fighters in WWII, but they weren't designed with pilot safety in the event of a forced landing as a factor of consideration.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
At least they tried to lessen the impact with pads, like on the German Revi and the US N-9 sights...
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
I wonder if the P-39 had been a strictly Soviet product (through licensing or whatever) it would have had a much different reputation.
It was fighting a different war on a different front. After D-Day the war in the west was similar (apart from bombing raids on Germany itself) performance at altitude and range don't matter so much but numbers do and with the Russians the P-39 was part of a huge force with planes to fit any and every niche.
Ok, this is a bit speculative, but would the Fw190/BMW spinner option helped with the B29/R3350 combination.
Many B29s were lost to engine fires and IIRC correctly the engine required a huge amount of maintenance where the rear bottom cylinders had to be regularly replaced.
Also I heard that the cowling design was a problem as when it was open to allow cooling air, it was very draggy and could become stuck dropping the bomber out of formation and increasing fuel consumption.
Many B29s were lost to engine fires and IIRC correctly the engine required a huge amount of maintenance where the rear bottom cylinders had to be regularly replaced.
Also I heard that the cowling design was a problem as when it was open to allow cooling air, it was very draggy and could become stuck dropping the bomber out of formation and increasing fuel consumption.
wuzak
Captain
GregP
Major
The Planes of Fame flies a Flugwerk Fw 190 repolica with an R-2800 in it and a cut down prop from a C-47 Glider Tug wide-chord unit. There are small oil coolers all over the inside of the cowling, similar to the German approach. Not surprisingly, it got hot on its first flight. The solution was to add two oil coolers, one under each wing, with very small inlets that do not detract from the looks or aerodynamics.
Today, it flies without cooling problems and John Maloney hearded it around Reno in the Bronze Race in 2010 at 283 mph. The bronze winner was a Yak-3 at 317 mph, so it wasn't exactly slow but also wasn't exactly run very hard either since it was just a fun fly arond the pylons.
No real point here except that cooling was and IS an issue with the Fw 190 and all radials. Some handle it better than others. Basically, running an air-cooled radial at WEP means running it at high power until the oil gets to the upper limit of temperature. Then you either reduce power or have a forced landing when the radial throws a scrap iron fit up front and drips all over the windscreen.
Today, it flies without cooling problems and John Maloney hearded it around Reno in the Bronze Race in 2010 at 283 mph. The bronze winner was a Yak-3 at 317 mph, so it wasn't exactly slow but also wasn't exactly run very hard either since it was just a fun fly arond the pylons.
No real point here except that cooling was and IS an issue with the Fw 190 and all radials. Some handle it better than others. Basically, running an air-cooled radial at WEP means running it at high power until the oil gets to the upper limit of temperature. Then you either reduce power or have a forced landing when the radial throws a scrap iron fit up front and drips all over the windscreen.
Once that magnesium accessory case caught fire, there was no putting it out. Next comes the header tank, then the wing spar. Time to git outta Dodge while the gittin's good!
Such a way with words, Greg!
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