"ArtKramr" wrote in message
...
Let's take two planes going on low level support missions. They will have
to
fly through heavy ground fire including small arms fire. One plane is
equipped
with a radial engine,. let's say an R-2800. The other with a jet engine.
Which
plane would have a better chance of survival inder these conditions?.
Opinions?

Regards,

The one who manages to avoid getting hit of course!!!
:-)

I would imagine after the last thread on radials that your point here might
be that the radials have been known to take hits even to the point of taking
out several cylinders and God knows what else and return home, as opposed to
a jet engine where the dynamic balance of the compressor and turbine
sections are so delicate.
Honestly Art, I think it's a crap shoot. I know guys who flew wounded jets
home to the boat with most of the parts banging away inside the engine and
the aircraft shaking so badly it threatened to come apart.
There are so many variables in this equation that it's really hard to make a
call. For example, are the run in speeds the same? (Time in the kill zone)
These things usually boil down to who gets lucky and who doesn't. Who takes
what hit, how many, what caliber, and where on the airframe. This is just
one of those subjects that can go every which way but loose.
I know one guy who would tell you that if he had a choice of any bird in the
world to go strafing in, it would be a Jug. He didn't like the plumbing on
the inlines for low work. Ed will probably tell you that on the target run
itself it's a crap shoot, but that there's nothing alive that can catch a
Thud on a level run going in and going out...jink or no jink, especially if
there's a drink on the bar waiting :-)).
It's interesting that of the two examples I'm coming up with here, both
involve The Republic Airplane and Brick Manufacturing Company. :-))
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/ CFI Retired
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