Bf 109 V21 (?) with Pratt Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp. I think it looks rather great. Kind of like a La-5. With 1200hp and Bf 109 airframe it may well have been a very good aircraft for 1939 too.
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What did the P51s have over the German fighters?
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Bf 109 V21 (?) with Pratt Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp. I think it looks rather great. Kind of like a La-5. With 1200hp and Bf 109 airframe it may well have been a very good aircraft for 1939 too.
fastmongrel
1st Sergeant
I could well be wrong but that looks a bit photoshopped to me.
fastmongrel
1st Sergeant
Okay it just looked so odd to me. Definitely a plane that looked a whole lot better with a DB V12 than any other engine.
razor1uk
Staff Sergeant
AFAIK, it was made to compare against the early pre-production Fw190(s) inline 109's, to see how well a radial-ed 109 would behave. Only the front of the fuselage forward of the No.1 fuz break was rebuilt more rounded wider, tapering back to the fuz joint.
I don't know if the cockpit was raised to give better viewing angles for take-off and to see around the A/C, although it might have a cut down rear decking if the pit wasn't elevated.
Messerschmitt dropped the design, and I doubt it was armed, possibly used as a transport hack and light liasson/recce duties, I think it was destroyed by bombing or straffing.
Sometimes this in some older literature is called the 'Bf.109X' IIRC.
I don't know if the cockpit was raised to give better viewing angles for take-off and to see around the A/C, although it might have a cut down rear decking if the pit wasn't elevated.
Messerschmitt dropped the design, and I doubt it was armed, possibly used as a transport hack and light liasson/recce duties, I think it was destroyed by bombing or straffing.
Sometimes this in some older literature is called the 'Bf.109X' IIRC.
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In WW2 Benzedrine was the most common stimulant, usually provided as a tablet. It's in the same ball park as methamphetamine.
A WW2 US bomber veteran, operating by day, told me that he was instructed to take it if he was shot down and parachuted into enemy territory to overcome "shock" which is certainly not a known medical use
Cheers
Steve
The Bf 109 X was a later prototype, powered by a BMW 801.
CobberKane
Banned
- 706
- Apr 4, 2012
In WW2 Benzedrine was the most common stimulant, usually provided as a tablet. It's in the same ball park as methamphetamine.
A WW2 US bomber veteran, operating by day, told me that he was instructed to take it if he was shot down and parachuted into enemy territory to overcome "shock" which is certainly not a known medical use
Cheers
Steve
Interesting field of expertise - does it explain your user name?
OldSkeptic
Senior Airman
- 509
- May 17, 2010
Interesting those commenting on actual kills. I think they miss the point a bit.
The final stages over Germany, using the Mustang, was the coup de gras for the Luftwaffe, after many years of attrition on all fronts.
East, Med, North Africa and from the west with the BoB, early RAF attacks and the start and mid of the USAAF bombing campaign.
The real amazing thing was how long they held on, given their poor training and manufacturing (until too late) levels.
What is also forgotten was that in '43 they won 2 strategic victories, beating both Bomber Command and the USAAF, who basically had to leave the field and lick their wounds.
In BC's case it was lucky that they were ordered to concentrate on the D-Day build up. Either Harris would have destroyed his command or been fired if he had kept persevering.
Even after the basic collapse of the Luftwaffe, in local areas they could still put up a bit of a fight right to the end.
Quite remarkable when you think about it. More so in that they were crippled in some areas by weird orders from Hitler and Goering.
The final stages over Germany, using the Mustang, was the coup de gras for the Luftwaffe, after many years of attrition on all fronts.
East, Med, North Africa and from the west with the BoB, early RAF attacks and the start and mid of the USAAF bombing campaign.
The real amazing thing was how long they held on, given their poor training and manufacturing (until too late) levels.
What is also forgotten was that in '43 they won 2 strategic victories, beating both Bomber Command and the USAAF, who basically had to leave the field and lick their wounds.
In BC's case it was lucky that they were ordered to concentrate on the D-Day build up. Either Harris would have destroyed his command or been fired if he had kept persevering.
Even after the basic collapse of the Luftwaffe, in local areas they could still put up a bit of a fight right to the end.
Quite remarkable when you think about it. More so in that they were crippled in some areas by weird orders from Hitler and Goering.
I think in Germany the most common was Pervitin, which I think is chemically a methamphetamine though I'm not at all firm in chemistry. It was colloquially called "Panzerschokolade" (tank chocolate) or "Stuka Tabletten" (stuka pills) and is a common subject in the popular sensationalist media in Germany especially since speed or meth are becoming more popular among europe's youth. What's a better headline than "not only were the Nazis evil they were also basically all junkies or turned other people into junkies".In WW2 Benzedrine was the most common stimulant, usually provided as a tablet. It's in the same ball park as methamphetamine.
A WW2 US bomber veteran, operating by day, told me that he was instructed to take it if he was shot down and parachuted into enemy territory to overcome "shock" which is certainly not a known medical use
Cheers
Steve
bobbysocks
Chief Master Sergeant
my father refered to them as "bug out pills" and said there were one or two of them in his first-aid/escape kit, along with a small compass and a different currency from various countries. i know several guys who were shot down and made their way back....never occured to meto ask if they ever took those pills.
swampyankee
Chief Master Sergeant
- 3,954
- Jun 25, 2013
Heck, the pills may have been a good source of currency....
Not really! I was once, many years ago, an organic chemist mainly involved with "agro chemicals" but any large carbon based molecule is not a strange thing to me, even now.
Not at all.
Between April and October 1941 R H Winfield, the Medical Officer of the RAF Physiological Laboratory flew 14 long missions with Coastal Command to assess the efficacy of various stimulants. Some crews were using Benzedrine which they were obtaining from asthma inhalers without permission. What the RAF described as "surreptitious use" was increasing and the need for a study and official position was appreciated.
Winfield tested Benzedrine and Methamphetamine. Benzedrine was protected by patents and was only available to be purchased from the US whereas Methamphetamine (as Methedrine) was produced in the UK by Borroughs-Wellcome.
The results of the tests, which were not just into wakefulness but also the mood altering effects of the drugs, were that 8mg of Methedrine kept the crew awake as well as 10mg of Benzedrine. However Benzedrine was considered to give a more "marked feeling of well being" and hence became the RAF's stimulant of choice, despite having to be purchased abroad.
For long flight two 5mg tablets were issued. This applied to both Bomber and Coastal Command.
There is plenty of evidence of abuse. Many Medical Officers handed out the so called "wakey wakey" pills like sweets and many men became dependant. The well known mood swings associated with over use of these stimulants, particularly when combined with heavy use of alcohol, caused concern and problems for the RAF throughout the war.
The Benzedrine was routinely abused. One WAAF (Joan Wyndham) remembers partying whilst using the drug:
"I really love the clear, cool feeling in my head and the edge of excitement it gives to everything you do."
On the other hand she also wrote:
"You certainly can neither eat nor sleep when you are on them, and you cry a lot."
Benzedrine was available surreptitiously well before the RAF's official acceptance and issue of the drug. Tony Bartley remembers a party in the Officers' Mess at RAF Hornchurch in May 1940 in which Spitfire pilot Bob Holland "gobbled his Benzedrine, washed down with whisky and took over the upright piano".
Certainly not a fag and strong cuppa
Cheers
Steve
Civettone
Tech Sergeant
Maybe they mixed into the fag and the cuppa tea
Kris
Kris
parsifal
Colonel
anyhow, time for a winfield i guess.....
Q: What did the P51s have over the German fighters?
A: A relief tube, heat, and elbow room.
I'm reading, "My Logbook", by Gunther Rall and he writes of getting to fly the P-51, P-38, P-47 and Fw-190D. He was a bit disappointed that he had been stuck with the Me-109 for so long. Great book!
A: A relief tube, heat, and elbow room.
I'm reading, "My Logbook", by Gunther Rall and he writes of getting to fly the P-51, P-38, P-47 and Fw-190D. He was a bit disappointed that he had been stuck with the Me-109 for so long. Great book!
N4521U
Colonel
The long range crews shoulda had No Doze!
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