P-61 Without Turret

[kitnut617]

<sigh>

Sorry, I refuse to play the 'my references are better than yours' game.

I wasn't playing that game either Kit, just mentioning that G. De Havilland endorsed the book.

[KJ_Lesnick]

"Oh lawdy lawd!"

[Burncycle]

XP-61E / F-15 Reporter

XP-61E version retained the 20mm, added 4x .50 in place of the radar and had larger fuel tanks.  The Reporter was a high speed photo recce version.

[kitnut617]

Got a couple of those conversions in my stash, along with five or six P-61's.  Plan is to build all the variants of the P-61.

[KJ_Lesnick]

Burncycle

XP-61E version retained the 20mm, added 4x .50 in place of the radar and had larger fuel tanks.

Where were the extra fuel tanks located if I may ask?

The Reporter was a high speed photo recce version.

Was the extra speed due to the reduced drag, more powerful engines, the turbo, or some variation of all?

The design is truly gorgeous: You know I kind of can see how the new canopy design was sort of based on the earlier version "cut down" as there's an area in the mid-section where the turret and gunner would normally be.  I'm not sure how different the design would have been if the turret was removed in the development stage


wuzak

Why did the British want a turret-fighter when they were happy with the Mosquito?

[kitnut617]

Why did the British want a turret-fighter when they were happy with the Mosquito?

how many times -----

Buy, rent, borrow, whatever, a copy of British Secret Projects, Fighters & Bombers 1935-1950, there's a whole chapter on turret fighters and the why

[tomo pauk]

Turret fighter precedes Mosquito by a decade ot two...

I second the suggetsion on Mr. Tony Buttler's bible.

[KJ_Lesnick]

Buy, rent, borrow, whatever, a copy of British Secret Projects, Fighters & Bombers 1935-1950, there's a whole chapter on turret fighters and the why

No, I know the basic reasoning -- I'm just curious if they felt the Mosquito was acceptable without it, why would they still feel the P-61 was needed?  They both had similar jobs

[wuzak]

Buy, rent, borrow, whatever, a copy of British Secret Projects, Fighters & Bombers 1935-1950, there's a whole chapter on turret fighters and the why

No, I know the basic reasoning -- I'm just curious if they felt the Mosquito was acceptable without it, why would they still feel the P-61 was needed?  They both had similar jobs

Because the Mosquito's concept was as an unarmed bomber.

And teh fighter versions of the Mosquito came later (early 1941), after than the P-61's initial specification (late 1940).

[kitnut617]

Buy, rent, borrow, whatever, a copy of British Secret Projects, Fighters & Bombers 1935-1950, there's a whole chapter on turret fighters and the why

No, I know the basic reasoning -- I'm just curious if they felt the Mosquito was acceptable without it, why would they still feel the P-61 was needed?  They both had similar jobs

Buy, rent, borrow, whatever, a copy of any Mosquito publication and you'll find out the why about that aircraft. As you have been told before, the Mosquito was a private venture that the Air Ministry had no control over, wasn't even given a specification until after it had been flying for a while and proven that it was faster and more maneuverable than most of the RAF's fighters of the time.

[dogsbody]

Buy, rent, borrow, whatever, a copy of British Secret Projects, Fighters & Bombers 1935-1950, there's a whole chapter on turret fighters and the why

No, I know the basic reasoning -- I'm just curious if they felt the Mosquito was acceptable without it, why would they still feel the P-61 was needed?  They both had similar jobs

Buy, rent, borrow, whatever, a copy of any Mosquito publication and you'll find out the why about that aircraft. As you have been told before, the Mosquito was a private venture that the Air Ministry had no control over, wasn't even given a specification until after it had been flying for a while and proven that it was faster and more maneuverable than most of the RAF's fighters of the time.

What he said!


Chris

[KJ_Lesnick]

And teh fighter versions of the Mosquito came later (early 1941), after than the P-61's initial specification (late 1940).

Now that's a solid answer...

[KJ_Lesnick]

wuzak

I'm curious about something: How much of a crimp would it have put in the production line if after the first variants were built, the second variants had no turret and a redesigned canopy as I described?

Consider

• The turret on the first P-61's tended to buffet when the turret was turned sideways and raised significantly
  
• The B-29 needed them
  

[wuzak]

It would require retooling the production line, so it coudl delay production by months.

[KJ_Lesnick]

wuzak

No, I don't mean modifying the P-61A's that had the turret; I mean that the P-61B's would just be built with the bubble.  I'm curious if the XP-61E required retooling to make it work?