Recent content by drewwizard

From what I read, it wasn't just the exterior design, but the electronics, flight controls, etc which were obsolete. The turbo prop version was a nice try. The russian TU-95 bear is still in use because of the efficiency of the turbo props. Just the noise they generate. Personally I thought...

Yes the swept wing of the ME-262 was a very fortunate accident, but the results were obvious in speed improvement. The designers of the F-86 made a straight wing prototype and realized they were never going to get the speed they required and turned to the ME-262 swept wings. Yes there were a...

I looked up the merlin info. A 2,640HP version of the merlin was available, but the 130/131 was more aerodynamic (lower frontal area) and the higher power was not needed. lower boost and more reliability. The griffin 2,00 hp to 2400 hp (I was surprised that the Griffin was even close in HP to...

I would definitely agree with B-24. Longer range, larger bomb load, and made in much larger numbers than the B-17. It did most of the heavy bombing work for the entire war, but didn't get the movie rights. (No 12 o'clock high B-24s). After reading the book Stuka I learned how many tanks were...

But the me-262 was the inspiration which created the F-86 swept wing. First flight of the F-86 was 1947. P-80 acceptance was the end of 1945. Everyone knew jets of this caliber were already on the drawing board before the end of WWII. No piston fighter would compete in a fighter role. The...

The Hornet engines were derated to a maximum boost of 25LB/sq.in. It was a special version of the merlin with a slimmer profile to have reduced frontal area. (Range was more important than raw performance for this design) The hornet was an incredible aircraft, and one I followed for a while...

The point is, gun barrels on a fighter plane would be a minor expendable in the cost of operating such an expensive machine. Cooling with cold air at altitude is a nice thought, but the slowness of heat transfer does not keep the inside of the barrel cool in a long burst. Even if it was...

The merlins were derated in the hornet. Boost was significantly limited. You have to remember at this time, jets were going to be the future fighters. If piston engine fighters were the only choice, then the hornet would have had two griffon engines and 90 inches of Hg boost. The same with...

I keep hearing these arguments on barrel wear and have to wonder why someone thinks this would be a real factor in the decision. For one, aircraft machine guns have their barrels burned out all the time and are replaced. Very long bursts are far worse for a barrel than high velocity...

The Ta-152 was slated for the 3,000HP jumo 222, which simply didn't materialize supposedly due to politics as much as teething issues. 1,930 HP at 29,000 feet. Probably the limit for piston engined aircraft, just too late in the war for even a prototype. I watched a rerun of the reno air...

I did a bit of reading on the Hornet. Essentially a single pilot version of the Mosquito. More aerodynamic, smaller wings, same power plants. 4 - 20mm cannon in the nose. It was used in several wars/skirmishes in south east asia, so saw combat and was successful. Just short lived in the...

Some of the plans for the TA-152 included the Jumo 222. A lot more power in a compact size. The 222 became a non-starter due to late war politics, but it was an impressive engine. A lot of speculation on ta-152 performance with this engine, but we will never know.

My suggested best fighter would be the Jumo 222 equipped TA-152. There were 3 versions of the TA-152 planned. The smaller wing faster version for mid/low altitude which would be ideal for the eastern front, and the H version to reach the anticipated B-29 bombers. The ME-262 was far advanced...

I did a little look up. There also is confusion about the Japanese aircraft the AVG fought in Burma and China. Although most people realize that many Flying Tiger victories were against Japanese bombers, they often assume that the fighters the AVG faced were the Mitsubishi A6M Zeros of the...

200 to 300 yards is not a big factor in the smaller diameter round. The Squad automatic weapon used today is 5.56. good for 500 to 600 yards effective range. More important to put twice as many small diameter bullets down range. I agree with the posts on explosive bullets, I would rather...