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For fighter-v-fighter combat ... especially at the time of its introduction, the F series /was/ among the top performing dogfighters in the world. But take into account the need to intercept heavy bombers, heavier armaments, greater range/endurance, safe and consistent ground handling, and all around friendliness to novice pilots, it had a great many weaknesses.Interesting you should mention the Bf 109 F, which was the faorite of the top 3 German Aces out of all the various models.
Interesting post, Ottobon. The He 162 is a bad axample and was lethal to non-veteran pilots.
Japan was investing a great deal of time, money and resources working on "wonder weapons" just the same as Germany:My point was more that at a time where your resources are getting drained and your Air Force may be filled with more novices then hardened experts the Ki-100 was beautifully logical. Both Japan and Germany had temptation to either make "wonder weapons" or simply churn more of something that is just good enough, with the Ki-100 Japan took the smart route rather then the glamorous one.
I think there's only one complete KI-100 left on earth, Greg.It surely would be nice to get a Ki-100 flying after all these years.
I think there's only one complete KI-100 left on earth, Greg.
If memory serves right, it's at the Cosford Aerospace Museum in Britain
It gets my vote for best fighter ever built, but if we all agreed, there wouldn't be any discussion.
There was NOTHING wrong with the Bf 109 that couldn't have been corrected ... they just never did. Same as they COULD have fixed the Hellcat's slow roll rate, but it would have interrupted production. So, had the Luftwaffe powers-that-be ever thought it seriously needed correcting, they probably would have. They never seemed to really come to grips with the pilot shortage or even the true situation on the front lines, and had NO CLUE when the tide of the war changed againts them. They never even made a priority of supplying the troops in the Soviet Union ... they did it when they thought they could get away with it. If you think that little of your troops, I can guarantee the troops return the favor.
In the hands of a decent pilot the Bf 109 was a very good fighter. I don't really think novices were ever going to win a war in ANY mount. They died in droves while getting seasoned, and the ones that did live turned into decent pilots.
Japan was investing a great deal of time, money and resources working on "wonder weapons" just the same as Germany:
J7W, KI-201, MXY7, J8M, S1A, KI-93, etc...
The KI-100 was a "happy accident" and not the result of a concept developed from paper. The KI-100 was a solution seen both from the Fw190 point of view and because the factory, where the problematic Ha-140 engines were being produced, was bombed, leaving nearly three hundred KI-61-II airframes without an engine.
Sweet shots, Karl! Thanks!!Here ya go Dave.
It is at Cosford but I took these in 2011 when it was at Hendon.
Take a look at the aircraft that I listed there and google them (or look through the indexes of any books you may have of Japanese aircraft)...some of them may have been a good project pre-war, but by 1943-44, Japan could not afford to divert their manpower and materials away from proven production aircraft. Not if they hoped to save themselves...But are those really "Wunder Waffen"? They seem like logical steps in aircraft advancement for the Japanese.
Well, they should have moved the landing gear outward. It was done in experiments. Thye should have fitted a good bubble canopy. That was also done in experiments. They should have made an effort to make the Bf 109 G series lighter, and that, too, could have been done. I think they should have changeds the wing mount to be a 4-poiont rather than a 3-point. They should have made provision for more internal fuel, at least in a tank that could be used or not used as the mission required.
Willy should have worked on making the controls easier to use at higher speeds, and should have fuitted trim to the rudder at least, if not the aileron, too. None of these were majot changes except the 3-point to 4-point wing mount bolts.
I'd have though seriously about a slightly larger, scaled-up Bf 109 ... maybe 10%. There are other changes, but many could be done with little difficulty.
Here's a shot of one of the radial-powered Bf 109 prototypes.
View attachment 295632
You'll note the canopy is MUCH better than production planes.
Here's a shot of improved landing gear.
View attachment 295633
There are more, but you get the idea. There was nothing that could NOT have been made better or lighter. The real need was to settle on an improved design and BUILD it.
No reason THAT couldn't have been incorporated.
Take a look at the aircraft that I listed there and google them (or look through the indexes of any books you may have of Japanese aircraft)...some of them may have been a good project pre-war, but by 1943-44, Japan could not afford to divert their manpower and materials away from proven production aircraft. Not if they hoped to save themselves...
I didn't forget, I said "J7W, KI-201, MXY7, J8M, S1A, KI-93, etc..." meaning the list continues (and it's a long one)...also I believe you forgot about the G10N
The He 100 seems to be something of a sacred cow among Luftwaffe fans. It just missed being a world class fighter but miss it did and nothing short of a new plane was going to "fix" it. The He 100, like some other Heinkel aircraft, was biased a bit too much to the record breaking side of the balance and not quite enough to the service fighter side. Messerschmitt spent a lot of time and effort trying to turn their 209 record setter into a service fighter. Being even more extreme than the He 100 it went nowhere.
The Period between the early 1930s and the early 1940s was a period of very rapid advancement and sometimes a new airframe could show considerable improvement in performance over an older one using the same engine (like the P-51 and P-40). Some countries tended to use a shotgun approach and try a lot of different things. Unfortunately the planes were getting more complex and the problems more difficult as the decade went on and many of the newer designs required more engineering man hours than the older early to mid 30s designs did. Many nations didn't have the number of engineers to pursue all the different avenues in a timely fashion.