RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

Yes that as well AND they went on the offencive!!!!!!!![>:]

Brad

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

What plane lost the initial competition against the Bf 109 as the next Luftwaffe fighter?
- Brian

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

Hang on a sec,,,, you havnt got the go ahead to ask a question yet.
The question we were asked was about the aeroplane itself , not tactics etc.

Brad

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

Oops. I wasn't paying attention. You hit it with the Mk. IIs coming out. The mechanical changes were the new engines. The Hurricane got the Rolls-Royce Merlin XX at 1,280 hp; and a new interchangeable wing with twelve 7.7 mm Brownings or four 20 millimeter cannons. The Spitfire got the Rolls-Royce Merlin XII engine at 1,175 hp; and new interchangeable wings with the same changes as the Hurricane.

Edited: Spelling mistake and addition of armament comment.

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

No worries mate.
It's up to Ernie P. now to see how we went.

Brad

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

Okay. In the summer of 1940, the Spitfires and Hurricanes were relatively easy prey for the 109's. In September, the Spits and Hurricanes put up a much better fight. Why? (Hint: I'm not talking about radar, the channel, distances, fuel, tactics, etc; just the planes themselves.) Thanks; Ernie P.

No answer yet!! Kind of surprising, actually. Okay; more hints. This was something that had to do with the mechanical side of both planes; something that changed; something that transformed both planes; made them both much better in the performance area. I don't want to sit back and kill the thread by hanging everything up; so if we don't have a correct answer pretty soon, I'll answer my own question, ask another question, and we can move on. This thread is too good to see it hung up for very long. One more hint... think about a mechanical improvement suggested by a pilot who flew to the factory without authorization; parts fabricated by the factory without a contract; fitted in the field by factory mechanics within a few weeks; dramatic improvement in the performance of both planes; and all just in time for Eagle Day. Thanks; Ernie P.

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

The fitting of Rotol props?

Brad

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

Close enough!! The early Spits and Hurricanes were equipped with two bladed, fixed pitch propellers. The story goes (forgive me, I'm operating off memory of things read long ago; some of the details might not be exact) that a British pilot, in the days just prior to the unleashing of the Battle of Britain, had the idea of fitting a three bladed, variable pitch (constant speed?) propeller to his Spitfire. He flew, on his own, to the factory to talk to the engineers. They tried a hand made propeller, and it transformed the performance envelope, a big improvement. There wasn't time to do the normal testing, contract, delivery routine; so the factory produced the new propellers on a verbal order, and had them installed on all the Spitfires and Hurricanes in just a few weeks. And all, just in time for the Battle of Britain. Until then, the BF-109's had a distinct performance edge over both the Spitfire and Hurricane.

A classic example of every one involved doing the right thing; seizing the initiative; taking a chance; not waiting for the paperwork to flow; and it may have saved a nation. Brad; you are up Sir. Thanks; Ernie P.

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

Right oh then, sticking with the Spit and Hurry for this one,,,,, desert and some tropical aircraft were fitted with a Vokes style filter to try keep more dust out of the engines. What was the other type of filter (in field modification) that was tried, tested and used by some ingenious RAF ground crew in North Africa?

Brad

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

Are you talking about the Aboukir filter? Thanks; Ernie P.

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

Sea sponges?
I recall reading of large sea sponges being used as "improvised" filters...but that might not have been in the Medaterainain theater?


Edit:
So I don't derail the thread...the sponges were used by Japanese mechanics. I remember now, reading in (I believe it was ) an Arco-Aircam publication on the Ki-61 about the mech. having problems with the sand and ground up coral from the runway being ingested into the Ha. 40 and 140 engines.

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

Ernie, you have it again![sm=thumbs_up.gif]
I have not heard of the sea sponges,,,,, interesting.

Brad

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

Okay; an easy one this time. All through the Second World War, American and British aircraft had a "built in" advantage over their German counterparts; one that gave them, on all combat aircraft, a distinct performance edge in one area. What was the advantage? Thanks; Ernie P.

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

G-suits?

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

Nope. Thanks; Ernie P.

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

How about superchargers, (Merlins) turbochargers(p-38's) and 130-150 high octane fuel? (Fuel with Tetra-ethyl lead and boosters added to it)

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

Ding, ding, ding!! Ladies and Gentlemen; we have a winner. Tetra-ethyl lead, the supply of which was controlled by the United States, allowed allied engines to be run at higher compression and more advanced timing; as compared to German engines. In effect, the Germans were running on "regular" and the Allies were running "high test". All in all, a big horsepower advantage. More power; more speed; faster climb.

You, Sir; have the conch shell. Thanks; Ernie P.

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

My turn? I've got a relative easy one if you know your Pacific history.

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

What person, not a fighter pilot, was able to extend the range of the P-38 in the Pacific? The same non-combatant flew a P-38 on combat patrol and supposedly downed a Zero.
Should be easy.:D

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

Charles A. Lindberg

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

Charles Lindberg.

One of the men that made it the plane it became.

Rebel

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

Yowza, got that one.
Lindberg was believed the U.S. shouldn't become entangled with Europe's war. Insolatist before the war, after Pearl Harbor he devoted himself to helping America win the war any way he could. Once again, a true American hero.
Proptop, your turn.
It's late, to all, good night.

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

OK..my 3rd and final question:
What was the "Middle River Stump Jumper" and what made it different? (why did it have that name? )

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

True American hero? I read that he was a Nazi sympathizer and strongly anti-Semitic?

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
 

Martin B-26 equipped with a tandem landing gear that was used on the B-47