Anti tank Aircraft

Started by tigercat, March 06, 2011, 11:27:32 PM

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deathjester

On the subject of armouring the Mosquito, how about making the whole plane out of Metalite, the same thing the Vought XF5-U1 was made from - it was supposed to be really hard to damage.

PR19_Kit

Was it Metalite or Mallite?

The only reference I can find to Metalite in the aviation fileld concerns aircraft lighting systems, but Mallite was a balsa/aluminium sandwhich used for aircraft floors amongst other things.
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Weaver

Crusaders were made of something similar, wern't they? I know they had a lot of problems in the Phillipines with the layers de-bonding due to the humidity. A Vought team went out there to fix it on the cheap, and eventually came up with a laminate of local hardwood veneers that did the job, thus making the Phillipine Crusaders the last (partly) wooden fighters in operational service anywhere. :blink:
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deathjester

Cool!  I didn't know about the Philipine Crusaders - I thought they were made of aluminium....

jcf

Quote from: deathjester on March 08, 2011, 07:04:01 AM
On the subject of armouring the Mosquito, how about making the whole plane out of Metalite, the same thing the Vought XF5-U1 was made from - it was supposed to be really hard to damage.

The Hornet used a composite wood and metal internal structure and under wing panels of aluminum sheet bonded to wood.

simmie

If we are talking present day, then the airframe of choice could be lined with layers of Kevlar (similar to that used in bullet-proof jackets).  It could be moulded in to the structure with carbon woven through it.

in the 60's the RAF carried out trial combat betwean a Lightning and a Spitfire Pr19.  This was to assess the Firestreak missile against piston engined opposition in case javelin's over Malasia met Indonesian Mustangs during the 2nd emergency.  I believe they could get a lock, but the Lightning was not to get in to a turning fight.  This maybe incorrect as I am working from memory here.
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rickshaw

Basically right, Simmie.  Not sure of the model of the Spit but it was the absolute last one still in the RAF and I believe IIRC formed the basis of the BB flight.   IIRC it wasn't to see if they could get a lock on with the missile but rather to see what tactics could be, against Indonesian F-51s.   The result was just a reinforcement of what Galland found with the 262 - use your superior speed and climb to take slashes at the propeller plane and don't try and mix it with them.  The conclusion was that if they encountered an Indonesian F-51 and it wanted to have a dogfight, it would be toast.   I'd personally have though just using the downwash would have been sufficient - going past at Mach 2 would cause a slower aircraft real problems IMO.   Cannons were to be the weapons of choice as well.  This was, BTW all part of the leadup to Konfrontasi, in 1964-5.
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tahsin

While out of tangent with the thread's current direction , I think it was to be "ordinary" Oerlikon guns in a twin installation for the A-10 and I have just read the ultimate proof of Pentagon's enthuasism about the Gatlings . It seems the Phantom was qualified for 15 .30 caliber minigun pods . Here cometh the 90 gun fighter ... But it is said it was ineffective for air to air work . Oh , really !!!?