Here is a super tutorial about strange US aircraft.
Iâm not sure as to causation but the plane had problems with itâs control surfaces due to a lack of computers in that era. If it wasnât flown expertly it could start rolling nose down or up on a whim.
A human just canât come close to making the kind of necessary adjustments fast enough to ensure flight stability with that design.
There was also a push on at that time to go with more traditional heavy bombers like the Hustler and B52
We actually lauched some F15âs vertically to see if it could be done.
It worked.
Great videos available on the strange planes. One of my favorites was âThe Flying Flapjackâ.
Scaled up a bit it could have been a real killer.
In a big way. A vastly superior aircraft in every way to itâs wildcat predecessor.
Getting that engine with 2000 HP was a game changer, as earlier versions were deemed not having enough power to accelerate to higher altitudes without stalling. Another interesting feature that surprises me that doesnât get mentioned is the self sealing gas tanks on the Hell Cats. This no doubt helped in a big way when flying over large swaths of the ocean where during battle Pilots were shot at and insured their fuel was safe.
Here is the successor of the Hell Cat.
The Grumman F8F Bearcat (affectionately called âBearâ) was an American single-engine naval fighter aircraft of the 1940s. It went on to serve into the mid-20th century in the United States Navy and other air forces, Powered by a Pratt and Whitney R2800 18 cylinder 2300hp radial engine it would be the companyâs final piston engined fighter aircraft.
The Bearcat concept was inspired by the early 1943 evaluation of a captured Focke-Wulf Fw 190 by Grumman test pilots and engineering staff. After flying the Fw 190, Grumman test pilot Bob Hall wrote a report directed to President Leroy Grumman, who then personally laid out the specifications for Design 58, the successor to the Hellcat. Design 58 closely emulated the design philosophy of the German fighter, although no part of the Fw 190 was copied. The F8F Bearcat stemmed from Design 58 with the primary missions of outperforming highly maneuverable late-model Japanese fighter aircraft such as the A6M5 Zero. A role which later developed was that of defending the fleet against incoming airborne suicide (kamikaze) attacks.
The F8F prototypes were ordered in November 1943 and first flew on 21 August 1944, a mere nine months later. The first production aircraft was delivered in February 1945 and the first squadron was operational by 21 May, but World War II was over before the aircraft saw combat service.
Yep, it had the exact same engine as the Corsair which was probably the best of itâs type ever produced.
It was such a great engine they also put it into some of our tanks produced in the same era.
The F-8 stated in service through Vietnam with US forces and around the world with quite a few others serving into and beyond the 70âs in Central and South America and Africa primarily for ground attack.
Heck of a legacy for sure.
By far, the A-10 is the best ground support aircraft to date. Close second goes to the sophisticated drones and supporting helicopters.
Itâs been the standard by which all other ground support aircraft have been judged since it was first flown and will probably remain the standard by which all future ground support aircraft are judged for a century to come.
âŚand to think that our stupid government considered discontinuing its deployment.
Theyâve actually tried benching the A-10 four or five times since the end of the cold war.
It was originally designed specifically to kill soviet armor because they had about a 10-15:1 numerical advantage over NATO.
The problem is that every time they try we find another reason itâs still needed more than every.
There were big problems in Afghanistan for our attack helicopters because so many of our ground opâs were being conducted high in the mountains where the air is thin.
Itâs accuracy with both bombs and missiles along with the gun system also make it superior at hitting hardened bunkers, caves etc that must be engaged head on at near ground level.
Add all that to itâs much greater speed than helicopters and itâs ridiculously long loitering times over the battlefield along with itâs ability to survive battle damage and it all adds up to one of the, if not the best combat aircraft ever envisioned.
If weâre going to do anything we should field an updated version of the A10 for the heavy work and bring back a modernized P-47 or P-51 for lighter duty ground support missions.
Unfortunately in an era of endless bitching about budgets and the need to prioritize spending we do need a lower cost alternative for lower intensity conflicts.
When I was in Kandahar for 10 days on business several years ago, I witnessed some nocturnal target runs wherein the A-10s fired the 30mm spin gun while over the base camp shooting at targets about a thousand yards outside the perimeter.
I was made aware of the activity by the distinctive report of the guns as I was in my cargo container apartment. I went outside to find several mates standing on the top of the concrete bunker taking videos as the planes fired with tracer rounds being the only visuals and the sound being the only notification. The planes were flying without any marker lights.
A coworker caught several videos of this. I have one on another laptop and will someday locate it and post it here.
Second only to the âWhistling Deathâ Corsair, the A-10 is my favorite fixed wing fighter.
I think it is safely in our arsenal through 2040.
Wait till youâre a grunt in a fight you canât win and they come in like the cavalry to bail your ass out.
Night ops are amazing to watch.
Donât worry, by 2036 theyâll figure out they still canât come up with anything superior and theyâll get extended again another 20-30 years.
I knew a retired full bird that was part of the Pentagon team that developed the specâs that created the A-10. He used the A-26 as the standard and wanted to build a modern Jet powered aircraft with similar capabilities. After watching some Vulcanâs working in a ground support role in Vietnam he said he envisioned the A-26 equipped with a Gatling gun and the A-10 began to take shape on his mind.
Since I brought it up here is the A-26. It was a modified B-26 specifically outfitted for ground support.
I had the privilege of flying in one many years ago and even go an hourâs worth of stick time.
One of the least mentioned but most impressive of the planes produced for the war. Unfortunately it came along late in the war but it flew well into the Vietnam Era serving in the same role.
The A-26 due to itâs popularity around the world holds the distinction of having served in more wars than any other plane in history and holds it to this day. There are still several flying in fact serving as aerial tankers for fire fighting missions.
In many ways WWII was the pinnacle of the aviation age.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1gDQ71ZTGM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzSj5S7bwrE
Imagine being a German or Japanese infantryman facing a flight of A-26âs each with up to 18 forward firing .50 caliber machine guns blazing away at you.
The A-26 also made an impressive fighter. After their bombs runs they became deadly hunters and were the only bomber of the war credited with a 1:1 kill ratio against enemy fighters.
One A-26 pilot over German was even credited with bringing down an ME 262.
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Here is that P-63 King Cobra in flight. I love the sound of a Allison Engine.
Is it any surprise that the end of the war saw us go immediately into the hot rod age?
Yeah right! That is an interesting perspective.
Not only did we have several million pilots/crew returning from the war but due to the GI bill, Cold War emerging, and the drive for ever faster aircraft and all those engineers pouring into the job market whoâs kids were then hitting driving age from 46-62 it was pretty well inevitable.
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