Strongest aircraft?
- Thread starter BAGTIC
- Start date
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Thorlifter
Captain
Just my guess, but wouldn't it have been one of the dive bombers, given the force they have to withstand pulling out of a dive?
hmmmm. I really don't know......but I'm sure one of the smarty guys here do.
hmmmm. I really don't know......but I'm sure one of the smarty guys here do.
R-2800
Senior Airman
P-47? or a dive bomber
VALENGO
Senior Airman
Well, germans use to call Sturmovik "the concrete airplane"; that is something!!
Civettone
Tech Sergeant
He 177 comes to mind...
Kris
Kris
renrich
Chief Master Sergeant
The only a/c the AAF admitted that was stronger than the P47 was the Corsair. One could shed some fabric off the control surfaces but I never heard of a structural failure infligh
Civettone
Tech Sergeant
Was the Corsair stronger than the Hellcat??
Kris
Kris
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
Both were built like a brick sh*thouse...
In a very old thread I took photos of an F6F, Corsair, Wildcat and Zero tho show the differences of their skins. The Corsair in my opinion was just as robust as the F6F.
trackend
Chief Master Sergeant
I know that the Stringbag tended to loose its wings if the air speed went much over 220knts when used as a dive bomber so although I love the old buckets
I don't think they where terrible robust.
I'd go for something like the Ju 87, having to pull out of an 80degree dive using auto dive recovery in case of G blackout it must have been a fairly strong plane.
I don't think they where terrible robust.
I'd go for something like the Ju 87, having to pull out of an 80degree dive using auto dive recovery in case of G blackout it must have been a fairly strong plane.
Well, You need to know max g and airspeed, the so called V-n diagram.
Dive bombers has high max G but them use dive airbrakes to control airspeed. Every aircraft has a Vne (airspeed not exceed), for the F4U was 787 km/h, for the last model Zero A6M5c was 740 km/h. The thickness of wing skin is a primary factor for max G and Vne and the F4U has fabric outer wing skins. More thickness means heavier aircraft (lower performance). Japanese did not have so powerfull engines like the PWR2800 until the end of the war, so they should control the weight, Zero and other japanese aircraft did not have high Vne.
Il-2 Sturmovik was a very strong aircraft, but it was because armor plate, outer wings were wooden made, and it should limit his max G.
In modern aircraft, F-16 has a maximum G of 9, F-18: 9.6, Mirage M.III/V: 7, A-4:6.
WW2 aircraft sometimes has higher max G, but it is interesting because pilot did not have G-suit, and trained pilots could not resist 5g for more than some seconds without G-suit.
Dive bombers has high max G but them use dive airbrakes to control airspeed. Every aircraft has a Vne (airspeed not exceed), for the F4U was 787 km/h, for the last model Zero A6M5c was 740 km/h. The thickness of wing skin is a primary factor for max G and Vne and the F4U has fabric outer wing skins. More thickness means heavier aircraft (lower performance). Japanese did not have so powerfull engines like the PWR2800 until the end of the war, so they should control the weight, Zero and other japanese aircraft did not have high Vne.
Il-2 Sturmovik was a very strong aircraft, but it was because armor plate, outer wings were wooden made, and it should limit his max G.
In modern aircraft, F-16 has a maximum G of 9, F-18: 9.6, Mirage M.III/V: 7, A-4:6.
WW2 aircraft sometimes has higher max G, but it is interesting because pilot did not have G-suit, and trained pilots could not resist 5g for more than some seconds without G-suit.
Civettone
Tech Sergeant
Has anyone mentioned the Hs 129 yet? Together with the Il-2 the most armoured aircraft of WW2.
Kris
Kris
Soundbreaker Welch?
Tech Sergeant
In WWII aviation video games, I don't always like the blackout option on realistic mode. I can't do as much stuff in the plane because of the weakness of the sim pilot! Everything just goes red or black.
But I guess that was the way it was, so ya have to get used to it.
But I guess that was the way it was, so ya have to get used to it.
renrich
Chief Master Sergeant
According to my reference, the following limiting envelope in a dive for the F4U1D was: at 30000 ft-restricted to 299 mph IAS which was 489mph TAS Mach .72: at 20000 ft the restriction was 368 mph IAS, 504 TAS, Mach .72: at 10000 ft, 433mph IAS, 516 TAS mach .70 at 3.5g pullout and 403 mph IAS/469 mph TAS, Mach .63 at a 6.5 g pullout. At normal weight the max. design flight limit loads were 7.5 positive and 3.5 negative.
Hy. Il2-strong agains bulets not G.. Is to havy and underpowered to sustain himself in a high G configuration. P47-Coesair-Hellcat great fighters but they olso don't have power to stay in an high G manover for a long time (only if they got there from a dive). I personaly think that Yak9 , La7 was the only aircraft capable of mor then 5G in a manover starting from cruise speed .They are light aircraft and with very powerful engines (La7). The wing even if she was made from wood-don't forget that they are on a small-light aircraft so don't comparit with tha P47 (big-heavy).
Seawitch
Airman 1st Class
How about a Boom Fuselage Aircraft like the Lightning? There has to be a reason for the design I actually came on here to discuss today.
Civettone
Tech Sergeant
I have never heard of twin tail booms providing more strength than conventional fuselages though they were used since WW1. In fact one could even say they were more vulnerable. How difficult is it to shoot off one of those booms? With that boom gone, I think the plane would probably crash.
Kris
Kris
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
Its been documented that P-38s have flown (not well) with one boom missing.
On July 26, 1943, planes from the 49th and 348th Fighter Groups flew up to the Salamaua area to intercept the Japanese. They caught 10 Oscars and 10 Tonys over Markham Valley. As they maneuvered into position, one of Johnson's flight couldn't drop tanks, another blew a supercharger, and other planes escorted these two back home. Johnson was alone. In the ensuing dogfight, Johnson chased a Ki-43 Oscar off Capt. Watkins' tail and shot it down. Suddenly an inline-type fighter came at him. Both pilots opened up instantly. The heavy, concentrated fire of the Lightning tore off the Kawasaki's wing, and as the stricken fighter tumbled over and at him, it smashed into his port tail assembly, tearing it away. Johnson regained control of the crippled P-38, and three pilots of the 39FS escorted him back to Horanda strip. Johnson was credited with two victories, but his plane, #83 Sooner, was scrapped.
P-38 Lightning PTO Aces of World War Two WWII
red admiral
Senior Airman
- 479
- Mar 24, 2005
Judging by the previous comments on this thread the strongest aircraft of WWII were the Italian monoplane fighters. They were built to withstand 8g normal load with 12g failure load. The same spec for German aircraft was 6g - 8.33g. For the late war P51s it was 5.33g
The Italian fighters also had to be rated for 1.5x Vmax. One of the prototype C.200s shed its tail whilst attempting this dive speed. The resulting aircraft were strengthened and IIRC made over 900km/h in a dive. The Re. 2005 got up to 980km/h in a dive with no loss of control.
The Italian fighters also had to be rated for 1.5x Vmax. One of the prototype C.200s shed its tail whilst attempting this dive speed. The resulting aircraft were strengthened and IIRC made over 900km/h in a dive. The Re. 2005 got up to 980km/h in a dive with no loss of control.
Civettone
Tech Sergeant
Not only the P-38 but also the Fw 189 is known to have survived a boom torn off. But because these stories are so well known I interpret them as exceptions (like Johnson's P-47 being shot to pieces by that Fw 190) to the more likely scenario that this would lead to a crash.
Kris
Kris
