The best thing about the Spitfire Mk XIV was that there were so few of them

[Thumpalumpacus]

Another beauty is the French Cauldron Renault CR 714. Very unique design, because its radiator is symmetrically on a line with the fuselage.

Knowing that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I still cannot help but think you may wish to schedule an appointment with an optometrist.

 

[GrauGeist]

It was so beautiful that the French refused to fly it and unloaded gifted them to the Finns and Poles...

 

[Jugman]

Like the A-10, the Beaufighter is beautifully ugly. You can see at a glance that this airplane means business.

And what business would that be? The Beau looks like a failed attempt at out doing the French. We should all be thankful that they didn't succeed at the endeavor.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

And what business would that be? The Beau looks like a failed attempt at out doing the French. We should all be thankful that they didn't succeed at the endeavor.

Putting four 20s and six 303s is pretty enough in my book. How the airframe looked, well, it wasn't pretty, but the business end is in stuff like Bismarck Sea battle, and Med as well as North Sea patrols. I think that speaks for itself.

As I wrote upthread, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I find that gun loadout combined with some rockets on racks to be pretty good-looking, blunt nose be damned.

 

[GrauGeist]

Like the A-10, the Beaufighter was built to mean business, not win a beauty contest.

And you can be sure that the enemy was not in the least concerned about it's looks either...

 

[GregP]

I like the CR.714 myself. Take away the ridiculous gun pods and you have a very nice, fast, good-climbing sport airplane. Heck I'd fly one with fresh wings on it.

 

[Milosh]

I like the CR.714 myself. Take away the ridiculous gun pods and you have a very nice, fast, good-climbing sport airplane. Heck I'd fly one with fresh wings on it.

Well it was based on a racing plane.

 

[PAT303]

The FW190 had similar gun pods

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I like the CR.714 myself. Take away the ridiculous gun pods and you have a very nice, fast, good-climbing sport airplane. Heck I'd fly one with fresh wings on it.

Greg, was the point of the pods to enable a thinner wing, or was it to modularize the armament loadout? Or was there another reason? Do you know?

Anyone else with info feel free to jump in too.

 

[33k in the air]

The FW190 had similar gun pods View attachment 682442

Those pods were to give the aircraft a heavier punch when attacking Allied heavy bombers. The pods replaced the outboard 20mm cannon installed in the wing. They added drag and weight which lowered performance.

 

[PAT303]

Those pods were to give the aircraft a heavier punch when attacking Allied heavy bombers. The pods replaced the outboard 20mm cannon installed in the wing. They added drag and weight which lowered performance.

I have never understood why they made them so bulky, surely having them in the wings with bulges like a Spitfire would have been a better idea?.

 

[WARSPITER]

I have never understood why they made them so bulky, surely having them in the wings with bulges like a Spitfire would have been a better idea?.

Yes. Quick solution comes to mind given the stage of the war.

 

[MiTasol]

That probably involved cutting too much metal out of the wing spar and/or changes to the rear spar that change the aileron system in order to make enough room for the gun. Pods were used on a lot of other aircraft such as the P-unmentionableQ.

 

[PAT303]

That probably involved cutting too much metal out of the wing spar and/or changes to the rear spar that change the aileron system in order to make enough room for the gun. Pods were used on a lot of other aircraft such as the P-unmentionableQ.

But there was a 20mm gun bay there already, use it with the second gun an a slim blister burried as much as possible into the wing, I assume they were looking for a quick fix.

 

[MiTasol]

Sorry - missed that. Thought it was like on the unmentionalbe - upgrading from smaller to larger calibre guns

 

[PAT303]

Sorry - missed that. Thought it was like on the unmentionalbe - upgrading from smaller to larger calibre guns

Haha, the forum really has it in for the ''unmentionable" hasn't it.

 

[33k in the air]

I have never understood why they made them so bulky, surely having them in the wings with bulges like a Spitfire would have been a better idea?.

The Fw 190 started with 4 x 20mm cannons in the wings. But 6 x 20mm cannons is even better in terms of knocking down four-engine bombers, hence the removal of the outboard cannons in the wing to save some weight to offset the weight of the twin 20mm cannon pod. To get three 20mm inside each wing is going to require a lot of redesign of the wing, and then incorporating such redesign onto the production line.

 

[Shortround6]

The Fw 190 started with 4 x 20mm cannons in the wings. But 6 x 20mm cannons is even better in terms of knocking down four-engine bombers, hence the removal of the outboard cannons in the wing to save some weight to offset the weight of the twin 20mm cannon pod. To get three 20mm inside each wing is going to require a lot of redesign of the wing, and then incorporating such redesign onto the production line.

It was also that the Fw 190 used two different 20mm guns, the MG 151/20 in the wing roots and the MG FF/M in the outer wing.
The MG FF/M is smaller and lighter but it also fired slower and had less muzzle veleocity. It also used a drum feed.

I don't believe the 190 ever got MG 151/20 inside the outer wing?

 

[Clayton Magnet]

I don't believe the 190 ever got MG 151/20 inside the outer wing?

I believe they did, in the A6 and onward

 

[Shortround6]

Thank you!