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That's coolMartin certainly had plans for two stage R-2800s.
I'd have figured they could have designed it for twin-stage supercharging, but built the first variants with single stage-supercharging and just leave some empty space in the plane where the intercoolers would occupy.The Army chose the single stage R-2800 version with short wings, because that was the configuration that promised the best performance with the engines available at the time.
How much speed would the short-winged version do with a twin-supercharger? I ask because the XB-27 has bigger wings and that would throw off performance guesses.Other configurations had projected speeds in excess of 400 MPH, but required technology that was not yet available in 1939.
Resp:We probably could say it that way. On the other hand, these engines were actual, 'flying' hardware. Too bad the 2-stage R-2800 was a better engine (so the Hellcat got it), though, while USAAC/AAF was not interested in it (so it was not installed in their A/C, say B-25s or B-26s, or some fighter).
Tomo posted the Martin design proposals here:That's cool
I'd have figured they could have designed it for twin-stage supercharging, but built the first variants with single stage-supercharging and just leave some empty space in the plane where the intercoolers would occupy.
How much speed would the short-winged version do with a twin-supercharger? I ask because the XB-27 has bigger wings and that would throw off performance guesses.
Resp:
The P-47 used the R-2800, which was USAAF.
Which, in your honest opinion, aircraft achieved a popular reputation that far exceeded their actual performance or capability in combat?
I think that this might be interesting.....8)
You might want to dig a little deeper on the nose over maneuver part. IIRC, that's a myth that arose out of the restoration crew misrigging the carburetor on the Koga Zero which then got repeated til it became part of the accepted wisdom. GregP, you out there? Does your museum's Sakae Zero have that problem?A6M Zero. The aircraft had a lot of shortcomings (fragile structure, no self sealing tanks, engine would quit in a nose over maneuver and more.) Once the US airmen figured out how to fight it, it was done.
I'd also like to add the Spitfire. Was a good airplane during the beginning of the war but was overtaken by a lot of other types and was left only with its glorious reputation and nothing more.
A6M Zero. The aircraft had a lot of shortcomings (fragile structure, no self sealing tanks, engine would quit in a nose over maneuver and more.) Once the US airmen figured out how to fight it, it was done.
you really must read more than Dr zeus's big print version of my first book about areo-planes !A6M Zero. The aircraft had a lot of shortcomings (fragile structure, no self sealing tanks, engine would quit in a nose over maneuver and more.) Once the US airmen figured out how to fight it, it was done.
I'd also like to add the Spitfire. Was a good airplane during the beginning of the war but was overtaken by a lot of other types and was left only with its glorious reputation and nothing more.
P-51 Mustang.
Understood. But the P-51 was the early version. The P51-D, however, was quite a different animal. With it's Rolls-Royce Merlin engine it could out fly and outmanoeuvre just about anything the Germans had, except, as you wrote, the ME 262 and the P51-D even shot-down a few of those as well. In the Pacific theatre, it wasn't even close.
you really must read more than Dr zeus's big print version of my first book about areo-planes !
you might just learn a thing or two.
unless you posted that just to get a reaction, which i think is the real reason
The allies figuring it out just about exactly coincided with the cumulative effects of attrition of high caliber pilots to destroy the dominance of the Zero.It was a formidable adversary when the allied pilots couldn't figure out how to fight it. Once they did - it was a goner. But its reputation stayed - when mentioning Japanese fighters, it was always "Zeros"
P51Ds didnt use Rolls Royce Merlins they had Packard V-1650s
Hey guys, how nitpicky can we get? A Merlin is a Merlin is a Merlin, whether it's built in Rolls Royce's legacy craftsman UK shops or Packard's spanking new state-of-the-art plants stateside or in Canada. They all look to England as the mother country.
Hey guys, how nitpicky can we get? A Merlin is a Merlin is a Merlin, whether it's built in Rolls Royce's legacy craftsman UK shops or Packard's spanking new state-of-the-art plants stateside or in Canada. They all look to England as the mother country.
Cheers,
Wes
I agree it is impossible to overstate the impact of the P-51, taking the fight to the Luftwaffe was the real game changerCute, very cute.
And yes, the A6M was the most over-rated aircraft in WW2. It was a formidable adversary when the allied pilots couldn't figure out how to fight it. Once they did - it was a goner. But its reputation stayed - when mentioning Japanese fighters, it was always "Zeros" regardless of the fact that the actual aircraft might have been Ki-43s or others. The Flying Tigers never encountered "Zeros" yet it was always "Zeros" that they shot down.
And for all you "serious" people considering the P-51D as the most over-rated aircraft of WW2 - are you kidding me?
Well if you want to get REALLY picky, here's a tidbit for you. My engines instructor in A&P school was a crusty old dude who was a Mustang wrench in the 8th AF over across the pond. His (depot level) outfit looked after a wing of B, C, and D Mustangs as well as a few genuine RR-powered photorecon Spitfires that flew in US colors. He said parts support was a nightmare, as the US supply system didn't understand the subtle differences between Packard Merlins and RR Merlins, and the slight differences in machining tolerances that made "equivalent" parts not necessarily "interchangeable" parts.Heh, your comment is funny!Well, for a bit more nitpicking. The P-51C [flowen by the "Red Tail"] and the later P-51D both had the RR Merlin and, yes, many were built by Packard.