I suspect that a problem would have been the accuracy of the
pitot-static system to indicate supersonic flight. I don't think that
any of the prop planes mentioned had a flight-test-type boom stuck out
ahead of the fuselage, prop, wings, etc., not to mention any position
error corrections for transonic flight. In other words, these aircraft
may have gone supersonic, but there was no way to know.

Jim Thomas

Chad Irby wrote:

In article . net,
"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote:


"Chad Irby" wrote in message
m...

Putting a plane into a 40 degree dive doesn't count, or the P-38 would
have made this "record" in 1941.

Supersonic flight in a dive would have counted, but no P-38 ever exceeded
the speed of sound in any attitude.


Some reports suggest it did. It had the streamlining and terminal
velocity characteristics to manage it, if the pilot could deal with the
compressibility problems. But the claims are, to say the least, iffy.

They have about the same provenence as the Me-262 claim in the first
post, though, so they don't count. And if the Me-262 counts, they
should too.