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Little known / experimental aircraft
- Thread starter Randy Daytona
- Start date
How cool is that -- the carcass of a discarded SB2C recycled!
Happened to be reading the 3 part science fiction series of short stories from 1979 entitled “The Future At War” edited by Reginald Bretnor. Fascinating look back - and the pessimism of the time was palpable.
At any rate, the book mentioned the mission by Hitler to rescue Mussolini in 1943. (The Gran Sasso Raid). https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Sasso_raid
The STOVL aircraft used by Germany was the Fieseler FI 156 Storch which had superb short field takeoff and landing characteristics courtesy of: a fixed slat ran along the entire length of the leading edge of the long wings, while a hinged and slotted set of control surfaces ran along the entire length of trailing edge resulting in a stall speed of 31 knots. New versions today can takeoff roll of 30 meters (no wind)
At any rate, the book mentioned the mission by Hitler to rescue Mussolini in 1943. (The Gran Sasso Raid). https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Sasso_raid
The STOVL aircraft used by Germany was the Fieseler FI 156 Storch which had superb short field takeoff and landing characteristics courtesy of: a fixed slat ran along the entire length of the leading edge of the long wings, while a hinged and slotted set of control surfaces ran along the entire length of trailing edge resulting in a stall speed of 31 knots. New versions today can takeoff roll of 30 meters (no wind)
Question for the audience: what youtube sites are good for aviation, in particular the high performance piston era of the 1940’s? For naval warfare of the same period, I watch Drachinifel and Battleship New Jersey, for ground vehicles and armor is The Chieftain.. Still haven’t found an equivalent site for aircraft - any recommendations ?
Have you looked at https://youtube.com/@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles? He makes every effort to go to primary or period sources for his information. I seem to recall seeing he was a prior NFO, but don't quote me.
Not necessarily always aviation or 40s prop plane era but this dude Mustard has a channel where he talks about strange projects: https://www.youtube.com/@MustardChannel
Also a big fan of Dark Skies: https://www.youtube.com/@DarkDocsSkies
And then there's always Military Aviation History: https://www.youtube.com/@MilitaryAviationHistory
The Bristol F.2B fighter was British design during WW1. 1Lt Ervin David Shaw (for whom Shaw AFB is named) flew this aircraft before being shot down by 3 German fighters in WW1 on 11 July 1918. What was unusual is that 1Lt Shaw had resigned from the US Army and was allowed to join the Royal Canadian Flying Corps to become a pilot, serving with the 48th RAF squadron when shot down.
This sentence makes it sound like Hitler was flying the plane, which is a mildly amusing mental image.
That guy is awesome, like a little German kid who not only gets to talk about his favorite subject to anyone who would listen but as a result of it being so popular he actually gets to play with some of the things he is fascinated with. The accent just adds a little bit extra to it all.
The Royal Navy fighter that achieved the most kills in WW2 was the Fairey Fulmar, 112 kills vs 40 shot down. It was actually developed from the earlier P4/34 light bomber. With a maximum speed of 272 mph and ceiling of 27,000 ft, it was soon outclassed- but held the line early for the Royal Navy early in WW2.
Fulmar Mk I landing on an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean, 1941
Fairey Fulmar Mk II N4062
Fulmar Mk II, identified by the small additional air inlets on either side of the chin
Fulmar Mk I landing on an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean, 1941
Fairey Fulmar Mk II N4062
Fulmar Mk II, identified by the small additional air inlets on either side of the chin
Lockheed's Skunk Works developed an extremely quiet aircraft for the U.S. Army during the Vietnam war with the mission of flying at a thousand feet over the heads of enemy troops without being detected. They started with a Schweizer glider, gave it O-360 power with a robust muffler system and a six-blade prop. It had a large canopy for two with a high-tech night viewing system. T
he resulting Lockheed YO-3A Quiet Star flew in 1969 and was deployed to Vietnam 1970-71. The crews found that the aircraft was so quiet that they could fly down to treetop level right over enemy troops without detection.
11 YO-3As were built. After the war, some ended up in the hands of NASA and law enforcement agencies. Note that the NASA YO-3A has a three-blade prop replacing the original.
he resulting Lockheed YO-3A Quiet Star flew in 1969 and was deployed to Vietnam 1970-71. The crews found that the aircraft was so quiet that they could fly down to treetop level right over enemy troops without detection.11 YO-3As were built. After the war, some ended up in the hands of NASA and law enforcement agencies. Note that the NASA YO-3A has a three-blade prop replacing the original.
A design still used today in some places.
In the 1970s the CIA put out a requirement for a helicopter quiet enough to penetrate deep into north Vietnam for COVERT missions. Hughs helicopters produced a highly modified OH 6A dubbed THE QUIET ONE, that met the requirement, and was at the time the quietest helicopter in the world. IIt was eventually used on a mission into North Vietnam to tap telephone lines. The southtwest chapter of the Army aviation Heritage Foundation has an unairworthy OH6 that will modified into a static display QUIET ONE to tell the story. . Cool vintage helicopter video that introduces the quiet one project. and never built AAH 77.
skybert
Skybert
So Rafael like