(Peter Stickney) wrote in message ...
In article ,
Jay Stranahan writes:
Just mildly curious, because this information doesn't seem to be
available on any of the web sites I visit: What sort of gee forces were
WW2 fighter aircraft built to withstand? I keep hearing stories about
wings coming off in dives or very tight sustained turns -- were they
*that* much more fragile than modern military craft?


The AMericans and British put a _lot_ of effort into figuring out what
wa happening at these speeds, and finding ways for airplanes to
operate safely in this region. This effort let to proper instructions
for pilots to safely maneuver out of the dangerous regions (No nose up
trim, for example, and no recovery likely above some particular
altitude) and systems to allow safe recovery in the Transonic Zone,
such as the Dive Recovery Flap - a small flap on the underside of teh
wing that produced a nose-up moment when deflected, cancelling out the
nose-down pitching moment of teh airfoil. Note that this wasn't a
Dive Brake. It was too small to have enough drag to slow the airplane
down.

The only aircraft that actualy received this dive recovery flap was
the P47M in what must have been early 1945. It was an impressive
aircraft. The P47N might also have had it.



For some reaon, the Germans, for all their pioneering efforts in high
speed flight, did not investigate compressibility phenomenon on any
sort of a sytematic level, and put little or no effort into working
with existing airplane tyoes. Their solution was to put a Big Red
"Thou Shall Not Exceed Susch-and-So an Airspeed at X Meters Altitude"
in the Pilot's Handbook, and leave it at that.

The jets were supposed to be in service in August 1943. Problems in
engine development caused by having to develop low/zero nickel alloys
delayed them. It would seem pointless developing these sorts of
things if the would be of no use in a fast jet.