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I believe that the idea suggested was more like fences that would allow the Me262 to be able to slow enough to have more time to acquire without having to adjust the throttle.Doesnt that bring problems in that the 262 engines didnt like big changes in air flow and didnt accelerate very well so they are vulnerable to flaming out for a short time during and after the brakes have been operated. Dropping a big dive brake is going to throw your aim right off as the plane pitches up or down and wastse valuable time getting the target picture back.
Actually, the Vought V-173 did fly, many times. Even Charles Lindberg flew it and said he enjoyed it's ease of handling. The developed version of the V-173 (XF5U) simply wasn't needed as it's development was over-run by jet technology.I was only poking fun at it's observed state of development. You could say much the same for the Kyushu J7W or any of a number of other built but really unfinished or untested aircraft. In the USA they did almost the same thing with the Vought XF5U-1. It was built and completed, but never flown! How ridiculous is that?
Could the P80 have been rushed into "emergency" deployment towards the end of '44?
In actuality it was - while the first few models were still in test flight stage Lockheed received a contract for 500 examples, this was in early 1944 IIRC. During the summer of 1944 flight prototype production and flight testing was ongoing but there were delays in getting the engines to Lockheed. Additionally there were issues that sprung up during flight testing (no stall warning) that had to be addressed. The first 13 prototypes weren't delivered to the USAAF till September 1944. I don't think anyone could have made this happen any quicker and IMO, the later crashes came about because of the frantic pace to get this aircraft in service.Could the P80 have been rushed into "emergency" deployment towards the end of '44?
As I understand it the opposite happened the P 80 was in effect grounded because so many test pilots and aircraft had met a nasty end. Others here will surely be more competent to answer, but as I see it the range of early jets was so small that any meeting would have to be contrived. In the last days of the war the 262 was attacking bombers and no jet in ww2 was ever capable of escorting a bomber. You could try going for them as they take off and land from forward bases in Holland and Germany but would it be worth the effort?