RAF History Buffs

[intrepid]

All this talk about Mustangs got me to remembering the twin.  A little late for the war but;

https://www.boeing.com/history/products/p-82-twin-mustang.page

 

Edited March 26, 2020 by intrepid

[Viking]

3 hours ago, GeoffH said:

If we can go to nearer the end of the war then I'd choose the Hurricane over the later Spitfire and by that time the Mustang had evolved into more of a multi purpose aircraft with significant ground attack capabilities.  

The hurricane was... more functional... at higher altitudes and height was safety.

Speaking as an ex pilot... I've give my left arm for a decent fly in any of them :)

Is this really true?

During the Battle of Brittain, Hurricanes was used against the slower bombers and the Spits engaged the german fighters. This was because the Spitfires had better performance.

The Spitfires continued their role as an excellent interceptor until the end of the war, while the Hurricanes were more used for ground attack and was then replaced in that role too, by the Hawker Typhoon. Production of the Hurricane ended in 1944.

Hurricane was a great plane and during the Battle of Brittain they scored more victorys than Spitfires, but a great reason for that was that RAF had a lot more of them and they also engaged the slower and "easier" targets. Hurricane could take a lot of damage too and still keep on flying and it was very robust in harsh conditions. 

Edited March 26, 2020 by Viking
spelling

[GeoffH]

I guess it depends upon what you mean by 'performance', the Spitfire certainly had better turning performance and made a better dog fighter but dog fighting isn't the be all and end all that makes a good plane.  If I was a modern fast jet pilot I'd choose (not that anyone would be silly enough to let me fly one) a FA-18 Super Hornet instead of a FA16 Block E for similar reasons.  Maybe I'm just chanelling my preferences, I don't think there is a right answer as such.

[Huggybearman]

1 hour ago, intrepid said:

All this talk about Mustangs got me to remembering the twin.  A little late for the war but;

https://www.boeing.com/history/products/p-82-twin-mustang.page

 

Piper also built a later incarnation of the Mustang in the early 70's called the Enforcer. The piston engine was replaced by a Lycoming T55 turbo-prop. 

[Viking]

1 hour ago, GeoffH said:

I guess it depends upon what you mean by 'performance', the Spitfire certainly had better turning performance and made a better dog fighter but dog fighting isn't the be all and end all that makes a good plane.  If I was a modern fast jet pilot I'd choose (not that anyone would be silly enough to let me fly one) a FA-18 Super Hornet instead of a FA16 Block E for similar reasons.  Maybe I'm just chanelling my preferences, I don't think there is a right answer as such.

That is true, but when the plane is being used in that role, it is pretty important 

[Tommy T.]

My biggest dream for my bucket list is to get a ride in an aircraft that can take off and then go vertical and continue to accelerate. Probably I would vomit, but it would be worth the thrill to me!

[bastonjock]

At my old house in Baston lincolshire ,i was in the return flight path for the lancaster of the battle of britain flight , i had many a good close view of the aircraft 

After it flew over london for william and kates wedding  ,i grabbed my camera and stood out in my paddock  after about 30 mins its came over and i started snapping ,the crew spotted me and bought the plane around and dipped their wings  i could see the guys waving at me ,all 4 merlin engines roaring away 

[Marvin Boggs]

Ex wife got a ride in the back seat of an F-16 trainer one time.  They give you a copy of the flight video recorder, which is pretty boring, with accompanying audio track.  It sounded like she was having sex, all the ooooh's and aaaah's and heavy breathing, haha haha.  We used to get a laugh about that every time she played it for someone.  

At least she told me it was the flight recorder....