Which fighters were "thick skinned?"

[the lancaster kicks ass]

and it bloody well was

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by RG_Lunatic

I think it did, but I really cannot say so "for sure". What I've read is that the P-47 had the thickest sheetmetal of any WWII fighter. So the P-51 sheetmetal might be equal?

I believe the P-47 used mostly 16 gauge (0.051") duraluminum where most planes used about 20 gauge (0.032") to 24 gauge (0.020") sheeting. Most planes used thicker sheeting in some places (leading edges of the wings for instance) than other places (side of the fusalage for instance). Note: the gauges I'm giving are based upon my observance of aircraft at airshows and museums and my limited experiance with sheetmetal (one job I had made its own cases for electronics and had sheetmetal cutting and bending equipment, and auto repair experiance). So these figures are only my estimates and should not be quoted as "fact".

Design Analysis of the P-47 Thunderbolt gives a lot of detail about the P-47 construction, but unfortunately does not give the skin thickness. Also of note on that site is Design Analysis of the Zeke 32 (A6M3).

Here's a very nice cutaway of the P-47D from the site listed above.


Drawing by Reynold Brown.

=S=

Lunatic

HEY, GREAT STUFF, LOVE THE CUTAWAYS!

Some info on sheet metal

Sheet metal thickness alone doesn't always mean the robustness of the structure. You could have .020 sheet metal made from 2024 material with what you call a T-3 temper and it will be harder to puncture than a 6061 sheet .032 thick in a T-3 condition. It also depends on what was behind the structure (corrugations, clips supports etc.) I would guess that both the P-47 and P-51 were both pretty similar in structure as sheet metal (even back in WWII) came in standard sizes and tempers. (.016 .020, .032, .040, .050, .063, etc.). You had to facilitate repairs on the entire fleet of Bombers and Fighters and the one thing you don't want is is non standardization of raw material. Aircraft sheet metal is always spoken in size, not Gage (that's for the air conditioning installers). For the most part, unless the structure had armor behind it, it was easily punctured. What mattered is how well that puncture held up with respect to the surrounding structure. The links that RG displayed clearly shows how much more robust the P-47 was built when compared with the Zero, but neither skin structure is going to stop a 50 cal round. Where the difference lies is the internal layout of the structure. For example, in the P-47 wing designers came up with an interior "box" which takes up much of the structural load. Compare that to the Zero that had conventional ribs and longerons and you could see the difference.

Today wing skins are made up of "planks" 7075 Aluminum with risers milled into them to support the structure. These planks are placed over wing ribs and held in place with rivet and hi-locs.

PS - Most Amercian aircraft constructed during WWII were made from 24T (2024 T3) aluminum

[Soren]

Originally Posted by RG_Lunatic

By contrast, the Spitfire, the FW190, and the Bf109 - all had marked locations where a person could step, everywhere else was off-limits.

If thats the case then explain these pictures:






AFAIK only some modern 'conserved' WW2 a/c's have these marked areas, as the owners really like them to stay that way.

[FLYBOYJ]

Just because the surface is marked "Don't Step" doesn't necessarily mean you'll damage the structure if you step on it, its an area identified by the manufacturer where the possibility of damage or harm to personnel COULD happen if you step there.

I would guess at the front, as aircraft were being repaired, the NO STEP placard was the last thing the ground crews were worried about getting on the aircraft

Originally Posted by Soren

If thats the case then explain these pictures:






AFAIK only some modern 'conserved' WW2 a/c's have these marked areas, as the owners really like them to stay that way.

You can see the footstep area on the FW wings Soren! Its the area just behind and inside the cannon bulge.

On that Spitfire, it's probably a plane going out of service, and besides that the fronts of the wings are strong enough for guys to sit on if they got up their without standing on the mid part of the wing shows nothing. Crawling or scooting up off a cart is not standing. The guys standing on the wing are standing on the wingroot area where it's okay.

What's the 109 pic supposed to show?

[FLYBOYJ]

It doesn't seem to have any "No Step" placards

They were usually painted over. Most existing units have them repainted to prevent mishaps.

Both the Spitfire and the FW have an area near the wing root where its okay to step.

[FLYBOYJ]

Some of the ones on a C-130 are there so you won't fall off the bloody thing!

[the lancaster kicks ass]

one of the men painting the wing of "just jane" (the lanc than can taxi under it's own power) had just finished painting something on the wing before stepping back to admire his work and walking off the back of the wing

[Nonskimmer]

Obviously he was British, because a Canuck would never do that. :-"

[the lancaster kicks ass]

no you just wreak you're lanc by bolting seats into the bact and then don't put in windows..............

[Nonskimmer]

Huh?

[the lancaster kicks ass]

your flying lanc, FM213, has 4 passenger seats bolted into the back, with no windows to look out of whilst in the seats............

the bomb bay floor could take 14,000lbs of weight yet they still had to do a servey of it to see if it could take the weight of four seats plus passengers............

[Nonskimmer]

It's a flying antique, lanc. They want to be kinda sure it ain't gonna thunder in, or something.
And carving out extra windows would pretty much ruin it, don't you think?

[the lancaster kicks ass]

so does having an un-original interior and unrealistic paint sceme........