Recent content by Greyman

My guess is to resist damage from muzzle blast.

I could be wrong and await correction from anyone more learned on the subject -- but in my understanding flamethrowers are one of the more misunderstood weapons out there. On the face of it, they hit us right in our caveman DNA (hell, our lizard DNA ...) death by fire, and so almost all focus...

From the Mk.IV Pilot's Notes: Emergency Exits Pilot's cockpit. The roof of the pilot's cockpit is fitted with an emergency release handle at the aft transparent panel. Pulling this handle unlatches the roof and also pulls the pins from the hinges on the right-hand side, and the brace at the...

The idea was that a further development of the Peregrine would be used. A letter from Petter to the Air Ministry, 15 Feb 1940: Development work of the Peregrine engine on parallel lines to that now in hand of the Merlin, i.e. clearing it for 12 lb. boost and a rated altitude of 20,000 ft. It is...

I think it was all estimations/calculations. Westland was never given the green light on the Mk.II.

The types in use by September '44, apparently:

A&AEE has the Hurricane II losing 7 mph and 2,800 ft in full-throttle height when tropicalized. These were two different aircraft, so not a perfect comparison. Also, the tropicalized aircraft was a IIa vs. the normal IIb tested, so the tropical conversion is probably a 9-8 mph loss. I'm not...

From Pilot's Flight Operating Instructions for Army Model P-40F and P-40L.

It's possible that ACM Peirce wasn't quite buying what AVM Williams was saying and made moves for Spitfires right away. From A Critical Analysis of the Royal Air Force Air Superiority Campaign in India, Burma and Malaya, 1941-1945 - Peter Norman Preston-Hough Richey submitted his report to...

Why did Richey feel the need to address this in his memo (and received pushback on this very point) if the RAF unit leaders were fighting the Japanese fighters properly?

Plenty of anecdotes on this, but I find the report from the Air Corps Material Division succinct: P-40E vs. Hurricane: The Hurricane can easily turn inside the P-40E and was able to continue turning after the P-40E had stalled. With the P-40E on the tail of the Hurricane it was possible for the...

See page 88 of Shores' Bloody Shambles volume 3. They're well into 1943 and it seems like the 'boom and zoom' tactics proposed by Paul Richey aren't received too well by the higher ups. My feeling is that because the Hurricane was a very good 'turn-fighter' against most fighters, there was some...

Would you include proper tactics in that category of 'similar conditions'? If we're judging the two machines in that time and space it really seems the P-40 was used properly (more often, at least) vs. the Ki43 than the Hurricane was.

My guess is it's referring to control harmony.

April 1940 - ordered July 1941 - aircraft began arriving August 1941 - received by 601 Squadron October 1941 - first action