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Schweik,
Regarding Moresby being saved from invasion, I didn't mean to imply that the P-39 had anything to do with the Battle of the Coral Sea in May '42. That was of course the Navy that turned back the invasion force at Coral Sea. But the Japanese mission in that battle was to invade Moresby. The later battle of Milne Bay was an attempt by the Japanese to invade Milne Bay, not Moresby. Make sense?
Thanks.
Hello Schweik,
Regarding silly: I believe it was just a poor combination of armament and engine power and required airframe size to even have a CHANCE at achieving required "interceptor" performance. The P-38 got around it with two engines. The P-39 did not.
And that is news? I don't believe I ever made the claim that the Soviets adopted the Oldsmobile M4 autocannon. However, I do see a link to the Soviets designing their own, slightly better 37mm guns, on the theory that one 37mm aircraft mounted cannon is much more similar to another 37mm aircraft mounted cannon, vs. say a 12.7mm machine gun or a 20mm.As for the 37 mm gun being popular and mounted in many Soviet fighters, it ISN'T the same 37 mm cannon as in the Airacobra.
Not all the opposition was elite Luftwaffe units. The Italians had a pretty good assortment of aircraft and many of them were not modern types. Even some of their best were somewhat limited by the engines that the Germans allowed to be license built. The C.205 for example didn't appear in significant numbers before Italy surrendered.
The tactical situation was perfect for the Allison powered P-40 which had some pretty decent power at low altitude.
From accounts I have seen, the "didn't fare so well" was mostly because the British tried the wrong tactics against the lightweight Japanese fighters. A Spitfire may turn pretty well, but a Hayabusa turns better.
Golodnikov stated that typically after 3-4 combats, the engine was changed. That kind of time between overhauls would have been commented upon if it were by American units.
I believe the "exactly what was needed" is a conclusion based on hindsight. My Son calls that "hindsight bias".
The problem with non-strategic materials / wood construction is that it is labor intensive, the result is not particularly strong and is relatively heavy for its strength.
gradually replaced with aluminum pieces as production went on. Now that would be pretty silly if the wooden pieces were the optimal choice.
It also isn't true that the Soviets were satisfied with low altitude fighters. The MiG-1 and MiG-3 were good examples of attempts at high altitude aircraft, but still without a lot of engine power. The same can be said for quite a few of their experimental designs.
The Spitfire Mk.V wasn't particularly fast at low altitude and many Spitfires that were shipped to Russia were pretty well used before they were sent.
- Ivan.
Well, while I agree the operational history of the P-39 in "Western" hands looks poor, it certainly did well for the Russians, and on paper at least later model P-39s look pretty good. WWIIaircraftperformance.org shows an initial climb rate for the P-39Q of 3,470 dropping down to 3,307 by 10,000 ft. That is quite good. Top speed was 385 mph with the two .50 cal wing gun pods. P-39N shows a top speed of 398 mph at standard WEP of 57" Hg. That again is pretty good. And again, probably attainable in the field when removing wing guns and front armor.
And that is news? I don't believe I ever made the claim that the Soviets adopted the Oldsmobile M4 autocannon. However, I do see a link to the Soviets designing their own, slightly better 37mm guns, on the theory that one 37mm aircraft mounted cannon is much more similar to another 37mm aircraft mounted cannon, vs. say a 12.7mm machine gun or a 20mm.
Why did the Soviets adopt that specific caliber instead of going to say, 30mm like the Germans and Japanese did or just packing on more HMG or light 20mm cannon like the British and Americans.
By the time the first Kittyhawks arrived in early 1942 the older Italian fighters, as well as the similarly vulnerable German Bf 110 were relegated to fighter bomber, coastal patrol and night time duties while the Macchi 202 took the forefront. JG 27 also demanded that their Bf 109E be phased out and replaced by far more capable Bf 109F2. So this is what the RAF had to contend with in their Kittyhawk I and Ia for six months and they took a beating. It only ended with until the arrival of US Merlin (not Allison) powered P-40Fs as well souped up P-40K's and a few Spitfires and P-38s all starting in mid-1942. None of the previously listed Allied fighter units found the MC 202 an easy mark, incidentally.
The greatest success by P-40s in the MTO were by American fighter groups flying Merlin powered P-40F and L, as well as two British squadrons with the same aircraft. Their victories were almost all against Bf 109F and G model and Macchi 202 (and later 205*). For example as you can see here the US 325th FG claimed 133 aircraft while flying P-40's - which broke down to 95 Bf 109, 26 Macchi MC 202, and the other 12 being miscellaneous transports etc. The only claim for one of those obsolete Italian fighter types was for one (1) MC 200 damaged. I hope that helps clear this persistent myth up a little bit at least in your mind.
If you read the interview Golodnikov also talked a lot about the problems they were having with what he called "oil culture" and keeping dust and dirt out of the engines, and with winterization which required them to drill holes and add drain plugs to every fluid reservoir in the aircraft, sometimes using silver spoons confiscated from regional villages to use as solder. Most of the early P-40 units were worn down by maintenance problems particularly during the winter.
In other words there were several other reasons why engines would rapidly wear out on a P-40 in Soviet use particularly in the early days. I still do not believe overboosting was any more widely practiced among the Soviets than the Americans, Australians or British (per the famous Allison memo)
Lets not forget the many great successes with laminated wood construction the most famous being the Mosquito, arguably the best and most effective aircraft in it's class in the entire war. I would also add to that the later more mature versions of the Yak series. Making plywood was more labor intensive but it took advantage of a material (birch etc.) that the Soviets had in abundance and with skilled labor techniques which had a long tradition in Russia. Sophisticated processing of birch bark goes back centuries in Russia, it was used for paper in Veliky Novgorod. So they had people who could do that work which was a great benefit. And ultimately, the early problems with things like defective paint eating through wing coverings and plywood delaminating due to moisture and so on were fixed just like the severe engine, landing gear, canopy opening and various other problems they had which I suggest were largely due to having to move all their factories.
One expedient they eventually settled on was to put a thin layer of bakelite over the skin of the Yak-9 as climate protection, which is pretty clever.
The MiG 3, which performed pretty well above 15,000 ft, proved that high altitude capability wasn't necessary and was a waste of resources, particularly since the Mikulin engine was so heavy.
Quite a few of the early P-40s and P-39s were also clapped out.
Hello Schweik,
We are in agreement with the performance numbers of Airacobras. Not bad for a 1942 aircraft. Pretty mediocre for 1944.
I will ask you the same question you asked me earlier: Where did you get the information for what armor was removed by the Soviets?
I find that to be very odd because the Soviets appeared to be very conscious about the CoG problems with the aircraft.
As I commented earlier, the ONLY similarity is bore diameter. It is like comparing the 12.7 mm Breda HMG to a .50 BMG. The power level is pretty different. The Soviets had the high powered 37 mm cartridge in service in the Sh-37 as the not-quite-successful predecessor to the NS-37.
As for the Yakovlev fighters, they simply didn't have the room for more guns. Eventually they pretty much settled for a single 20 mm and a single 12.7 mm. The 37 mm and later the 45 mm guns were mounted only on their "Heavy" fighters.
You can figure out the performance figures as easily as I can and what you just stated says quite a lot.
First of all, I would say that from a performance standpoint, the C.202 was inferior to a Me 109F. Speed was similar to F, but engine power was identical to a low altitude rated Me 109E. The C.202 also generally has pretty low firepower. Typical is a couple Breda 12.7 mm and MAYBE a couple rifle caliber wing guns.
The fact that the P-40K was considered "souped up" is a clear indication that the battles were happening down near ground level. At altitude (12,000 feet or so and above), the P-40K had no advantage over the earlier Kitthawk Mk.IA. / P-40E.
You are totally ignoring evidence in this case. Regarding clean oil, note that late model P-40 had built in dust filters for the carb intake.
Also note that Golodnikov states 3-4 COMBATS, not 20 or so flights. In other words, it was the need to operate at absolute maximum power levels that was wearing out the engines and (snip)
Note also what the Allison memo was stating: They were agreeing to new Emergency Power limitations knowing that they would still be held accountable for a reasonable time between overhauls. 3-4 Combats is NOT a reasonable time between overhauls.
First of all, the Mosquito is an entirely different kind of beast. It is a bomber. It is not stressed to the same strength level as a fighter.
The technology used to manufacture material for aircraft construction isn't really comparable to the historical techniques used to make furniture grade plywood. It isn't even close.
How do you conclude that the MiG 3 was a waste of resources because the engine was so heavy? The aircraft offered a capability that other aircraft didn't have. The Soviets obviously didn't come to the same conclusions you have regarding their need for high altitude aircraft because they continued to experiment with them throughout the war.
As for the industry and training aspect of the wood, again I disagree, I have actually read academic papers about this.
1,580 hp at lower altitude ranges (and not quite so low as Shortround6 sometimes implies)
Soviet multi gun fighters include around eight hundred 5 gun Mig 3s but the underwing 12.7mm guns were often removed before combat to improve performance.
Italics by me. This is most definitely NOT furniture grade construction no matter how skilled the local woodworker/cabinet maker is unless he had access to special veneer lathes, the
BTW.......Bakelite is a phenol-formaldehyde resin. So putting a layer of it on the outside surface of the wing should have been not much of trick.
Allison's suggested limits for the -73 engine was 1580hp at 2500ft using 60in of MAP. this may not include RAM which might add several thousand feet in level flight but at what altitude could the P-40K hold 60in of MAP when climbing or after pulling a high G turn?
The tales of 1700hp require very low altitudes, straight and level flight and/or over revving the engine.
The Yak-9UT is a bit of misdirection. It was supposed to take the 23mm gun, the 37mm gun and the 45mm gun pretty much interchangeable. About 282 were built(?), However the question is timing, how many were built before the war ended? the N-37 is supposed to be a post war gun going into service in 1946. Obviously since it takes a number of years to get an aircraft gun into service more than a handful could very well have been installed in several different Yak 9s for testing. There are claims that YAK-9UTs did fly over Berlin in the closing days of the war but one source makes no mention of which gun they were equipped with.
I think what German overclaiming has to do with the performance of the p39 in Soviet service and the point he was trying to make is that overclaiming was universal to all airforces during the war and usually by similar percentages so would not be a factor in comparative performance evaluation as you have to knock off the same say 50% off every type in every airforce.
At least that's what I got from it.
For the Soviets, it was the opposite pattern. Initially overclaiming was wild - up to 4-1 in the first year of the war, and this was a problem for the Soviet administration. They needed to know what was actually going on so they could plan accordingly. Strict rules and often draconian policies (sometimes including courts-martial) were imposed in a hamfisted manner through 1942, including the requirement to recover the identity plate of a claimed aircraft for it to be confirmed (so no victories over enemy territory counted). Later they also started using gun cameras. The result was that overclaiming rates had declined by mid 1943 to around 2-1 and later (by my estimate) to around 1.5-1.
Actually, that is far from the truth. Yet another cliche. I had myself been told this many times including on this site until I learned differently. The Yak-9T was a major early variant with the 37mm NS-37, and 2,748 were produced. They were given to the squadron and later flight leaders of nearly every Yak-9 squadron at one point in the mid-war. There was also the Yak-9TD and a (to me) unknown number of the Yak-9U (some had the 23mm VYa + two 12.7mm mg instead), plus the Yak-9UT which had the Nudelmen N-37 again.
So quite a few of them actually had powerful 37mm guns. As for whether a 37mm cannon is just like any other gun I disagree wholeheartedly but don't care debate it forever. I think the P-39 armament and the subsequent ubiquity of the 37mm on Soviet fighters is not a coincidence. I admit that would be hard to prove but so is the reverse.
This is yet another canard that has already been put to bed on this board multiple times. Standard armament for most of the active variants of the MC 202 was 2 x 12.7mm HMG and 2 x 7.7mm LMG. Compare that to it's original Luftwaffe contemporary the oft praised Bf 109 F2 with 1 x 15mm MG151 HMG (or 'cannon') and 2 x 7.92 LMG. They were comparable in performance (370 mph for the MC 202, with 3,560 ft / min climb, ceiling 37,700 ft) vs according to his 371 mph for the Bf 109F-2 with initial climb 3,320 ft per minute, ceiling 37,000 ft) and the 202 was said to be slightly more agile.
The P-40K was definitely a low altitude bird but it was able to pull 1,580 hp at lower altitude ranges (and not quite so low as Shortround6 sometimes implies) at normal by the manual WEP, (not overboosted) down around 5,000 ft or below, so even if you started a fight at 20-25,000 ft a Split-S and a full power dive could put you into a very comfortable zone for the K in about 90 seconds, which was convenient in case you got in any trouble. Also made it very difficult for Axis aircraft to escape in a dive.
Golodnikov actually contradicted himself because he indicated a longer engine life later in the interview....
They ditched the MiG 3 as soon as they had enough other fighters to replace it on the front line and the heavy engine contributed to it's lousy (almost useless) performance and dangerous handling traits at low altitude. Of course they experimented with everything, including long range four engined bombers, just in case. But that doesn't mean they really intended to use them.
And yes, the early aircraft grade resin-plywood laminates they made were quite sophisticated, though it took them a year or two to perfect. The Russian version of this was quite unique and made extensive use of local materials, like birch which they had in vast acerage. I don't think they were able to get any balsa though...
.....
Making things out of laminated wood veneers goes back to the Bronze Age (in that specific region and well beyond). Mechanized lathes go back to the 14th Century. Various forms of plywood construction were a major industry in Russia since Czar Alexander II. You should quit while you are ahead.
I don't know if you have ever handled one of these old bakelite Ak-47 magazines but they are hella tough. Bakelite made a very useful protective coating for the Yak 9.
This is rather predictable... please note I made no mention of 1,700 hp and didn't make any performance claims based on overboosting. Whether it's 1580 at 57" or 1550 at 60" is not a sufficient variance to be worthy of yet another side debate - but lets just say I find your insinuations of P-40K falling out of the sky if they attempted a high G turn at either throttle setting quite unlikely. Please note this Oct 1942 AAF test of a P-40K (lightened to simulate a P-40N) shows an estimated b.h.p. of 1480 hp (and 378 mph) at 10,550 feet which it says was critical altitude for W.E.P. of 57" (critical altitude for climbing -at 3,720 feet per minute- was at 8,000 ft also at 1480 hp, by 10,000 that was slowed to 3,440 feet per minute... definitely with no ram whatsoever by the way). So no Shortround I don't think they would have any trouble putting out another 100 hp at 5,000 feet, and I remain quite comfortable with my previous assertion, your every effort to obfuscate the issue notwithstanding.
Is there any need for this?Is that supposed to be news?
You should quit while you are ahead.
Shortround, I get the feeling sometimes when you are moving a little beyond your areas of expertise, you just fill in the gaps with pure fluff...
Yes old bean but you seem to have glossed right over the Yak-9T, .
There is actually a pretty big difference in power level between a MG 151/15 and a Breda 12.7 mm....
Here is a little bit of background on the Macchi C.202 and its production 'standard':
Serie I – Breda 100 Aircraft 2 x 12.7 mm – same as prototype
Serie II – Macchi 10 Aircraft 2 x 12.7 mm – same as prototype
Serie III – Macchi 140 Aircraft
Serie IV – SAI Ambrosini 50 Aircraft
Serie V – SAI Ambrosini 50 Aircraft
Serie VI – Breda 50 Aircraft
Serie VII – Macchi 100 Aircraft 2 x 12.7 mm & 2 x 7.7 mm – April 1942
Serie VIII – Breda 50 Aircraft
Serie IX – Macchi 100 Aircraft – Sep 1941
Serie X – Breda 100 Aircraft
Serie XI – Breda 150 Aircraft
Serie XII – Breda 150 Aircraft
Serie XIII – Macchi 50 Aircraft
Serie XIV and later not built due to surrender.
The Serie VII and "later" were the only versions to come from the factory with wing armament.
Some earlier versions were retrofitted, but many factory wing guns were removed for the simple reason that they were determined to be ineffective and adversely affected the aircraft's flying characteristics. Loaded weight increased from 2930 KG to 3069 KG (!).
That is the choice when there isn't sufficient engine power.
So, total production of 1150 aircraft only had 600 equipped with the wing guns from the factory although some had them added and some had them removed,
Is that supposed to be news?
And yes, the early aircraft grade resin-plywood laminates they made were quite sophisticated, though it took them a year or two to perfect. The Russian version of this was quite unique and made extensive use of local materials, like birch which they had in vast acerage. I don't think they were able to get any balsa though...
Making things out of laminated wood veneers goes back to the Bronze Age (in that specific region and well beyond). Mechanized lathes go back to the 14th Century. Various forms of plywood construction were a major industry in Russia since Czar Alexander II. You should quit while you are ahead.
Shortround, I get the feeling sometimes when you are moving a little beyond your areas of expertise, you just fill in the gaps with pure fluff...
Yes bakelite is a resin. What it is not is plywood. It essentially an early, nearly indestructible form of plastic, which was particularly popular in the 50's. The precise properties vary depending on what they put into the mix, but generally speaking it's quite sturdy. Here are a few artifacts made out of it:
View attachment 554806 View attachment 554807 View attachment 554808 View attachment 554805
I don't know if you have ever handled one of these old bakelite Ak-47 magazines but they are hella tough. Bakelite made a very useful protective coating for the Yak 9.
This is rather predictable... please note I made no mention of 1,700 hp and didn't make any performance claims based on overboosting. Whether it's 1580 at 57" or 1550 at 60" is not a sufficient variance to be worthy of yet another side debate - but lets just say I find your insinuations of P-40K falling out of the sky if they attempted a high G turn at either throttle setting quite unlikely. Please note this Oct 1942 AAF test of a P-40K (lightened to simulate a P-40N) shows an estimated b.h.p. of 1480 hp (and 378 mph) at 10,550 feet which it says was critical altitude for W.E.P. of 57" (critical altitude for climbing -at 3,720 feet per minute- was at 8,000 ft also at 1480 hp, by 10,000 that was slowed to 3,440 feet per minute... definitely with no ram whatsoever by the way). So no Shortround I don't think they would have any trouble putting out another 100 hp at 5,000 feet, and I remain quite comfortable with my previous assertion, your every effort to obfuscate the issue notwithstanding.
Yes old bean but you seem to have glossed right over the Yak-9T, built in 1942 and put into the field in early 1943, of which over 2,700 were built! And which, I apparently wasted my time to point out, were issued to almost every Yak squadron commander in the VVS at one point. Hardly a token experimental effort.
On the other hand, if the P39 would have had a turbocharger, it would have been great at intercepting bombers because the engine was behind the pilot and not susceptible to bombers defensive guns. Too bad it didn't....
Ooohh, my aching stretchmarks!Too bad it didn't have the extra several feet of fuselage space to accommodate the turbo and intercooler.
Not news but counters your argument that the Soviets built what they wanted to (or needed). There were also (and not new information) I-16s with four guns and two of them were cannon. However there was always a performance penalty and and later planes often reverted to 4 machine guns.
AS has been pointed out already it didn't really matter if it was Birch or not although Birch was probably a very good wood to use for this purpose. The Balsa issue is a bit of a misdirection. Just because several airplanes are made of wood (or use wood for a large part of their structure) does not mean they use the same woods (or substitute one wood for another with similar construction)
A US aircraft using laminated veneer construction.
The fuselage was made using a mold and the vinyl-resins were cured in an oven for one hour.
Now can someone explain to me how Ivan, now matter how skilled he was at making tables or dressers was going to repair such a structure in field using wood working techniques passed down to him for generations?
a veneer lathe is a special lathe built to "peel" a log in uniform sheets of wood. While you might be able to adapt a regular wood turning lathe or even metal lathe to such use (with a lot of work) they are both pretty useless as they stand. You need the special cutters/blades to do the 'peeling" and you need a lathe of the right size to get the sheets you want and you need a lathe capable of turing at the right speed to allow the cutter/blade to do it's thing. Too fast is going to give you a lot of splinters. Moden machines with modern cutters can be very fast. Many older lathes had a range of fixed speeds as they were driven by belts or gears.
Hmm, you quote a test using the wrong engine (supercharger gear) and I get accused of obfuscating the issue?
Well old bean, then list your Yak-9T and leave the Yak-9UT out of it unless your intention is to obfuscate the issue?
Please note that your listing of the use of the Yak-9T may point to one of the problems with it. It seems to have been issued to the most experienced pilots for the most part and not general run of the mill VVS pilots? If this armament combination was so great why didn't they issue the Yak -9Ts to average pilots (like an entire squadron or group ) to simplify logistics/ammo supply? I am sure that some squadrons/ groups were fully equipped (or nearly so) with Yak-9Ts but scattering scores of them across many squadrons with only 1 or 2 planes per squadron was not ideal from a logistics or maintenance standpoint.
This is a generalization but gun combinations that were good for experienced pilots (or experts) were often not good for pilots of lesser experience or skill. Germans with the Bf-109F and Early Gs may have suffered from this.
Or they could have just glued the turbocharger to the side like they did on the prototypeToo bad it didn't have the extra several feet of fuselage space to accommodate the turbo and intercooler.
I think most of the difference between the P40 and the P39 in the Pacific simply comes from engine location. No matter how awesome your fighter is, eventually you are going to take hits. A P40 or Wildcat running from a Zero can get riddled pretty good from the back of the seat to the end of the tail and still come home. In fact I think the Wildcat was nearly impossible to shoot down from directly behind if the Zero was out of cannon ammunition unless he hit the oil cooler in the wing. The P39, even though it had a speed advantage over the P40 and a huge speed advantage over the Wildcat, could simply not take many rounds from behind because that's where the engine was located.