XF8B

[geofflambert]

I was checking out the "Focus Pacific" mod and noticed this plane. It never entered production because the war ended. That's crazy. A fighter with contrarotating propellers with a ceiling of 37k and speed of 437mph and operational range of 1200nm, carrier capable and able to carry 6,000lbs of bombs or two 2,000lb torpedoes?!? [X(][X(][X(]

How could they not build that? [&:]

[spence]

You are not seriously suggesting that the Allied (US) should get new toys when there are hundreds of Japanese wet dreams that never show up in the game?

After all we never get to see one of those balloon bombs kill President Truman/Roosevelt? Coulda happened you know.

[geofflambert]

Oh and by the way, they fit an engineers observation seat in the cockpit for testing, so I'm sure it would've made a nice recon plane. Carriers would only need one plane for all roles.

[geofflambert]

ORIGINAL: spence

You are not seriously suggesting that the Allied (US) should get new toys when there are hundreds of Japanese wet dreams that never show up in the game?

I wasn't referring to the game but to history.

[spence]

I think the Douglas A-1 won the contract.

[geofflambert]

It wasn't a fighter. The F8B was designed to escort B-29s in over Honshu et al from carriers out of range of kamikazes. Those other attributes were just plusses.

[geofflambert]

Here's another thing. Because it had contrarotating propellers it had two engines, though in-line, so if one went kaput the plane would still fly, unlike our F-35.

[dr.hal]

I would assume it never got anywhere as the other fighters in production were too busy winning the war!

[geofflambert]

Just daydreaming. It's lifetime as a fighter in the USN would have been short I suppose, but we were using prop craft as spence pointed out for quite awhile, and this thing would've been a beast dropping napalm.

[AW1Steve]

Considering that it's contemporary's would have been the P-80 Shooting Star and the Gloster Meteor, with the DE Havilland Vampire and North American F-86 Sabre Jet on the boards , it's not surprising that the XF8B , the Pirate and the Mix-master were not seriously advanced in development. Complicated turbo props like the XB-35 showed that the development necessary to continue that track would probably cost as much as jet technology and not match the performance. By the time the XF-8 got into service the job of escorting bombers would be done by the P-51H , and the P-82 out of Iwo Jima and a bunch of shorter ranged fighters out of Southern Japan following Operation Coronet. It is a cool looking plane , but contra rotating props were a nightmare to develop (it took the Russians another 10 years to get it right for the TU-95 Bear.).

[AW1Steve]

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

Just daydreaming. It's lifetime as a fighter in the USN would have been short I suppose, but we were using prop craft as spence pointed out for quite awhile, and this thing would've been a beast dropping napalm.

The USN wasn't using prop planes by choice. It's CV's just couldn't handle jets of the era , and the CVL's and CVE's certainly couldn't. Things might have worked out differently if Truman hadn't killed the USS United States. But in an period when the USN went down to only four active CV's for a short time , there's not much need for a new fighter for ships you don't have. Or a budget that's been taken away from you and given to the USAF.

[dr.hal]

I was on the Big E years ago when they had the LAST A-1 active squadron on board and the crew's flight gear had "jets are for kids" on each piece....

[bomccarthy]

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

Here's another thing. Because it had contrarotating propellers it had two engines, though in-line, so if one went kaput the plane would still fly, unlike our F-35.

It was actually powered by a single P&W R-4360 radial engine - the 28-cylinder monster used in the B-50, B-36, XB-35 (which also had contra-rotating props), and the F2G Corsair. In a lot of ways, the 4360 was the pinnacle of aircraft piston engines, but it was a maintenance nightmare. It was also used in the Boeing B-377 Stratocruiser - which the airlines eventually decided lost them money. My dad recalls the comment from a friend's wife, who was a Pan Am flight attendant in the 50s - it was almost routine for a Stratocruiser flight to land at its destination with at least one engine shut down because of mechanical problems.

[spence]

The A-1 was thus not a maintenance nightmare and carried an equal or greater bomb load. By 1945 the torpedo bomber was on the way out. Considering historical results (as opposed to game results) that was probably obvious to military planners.

[rustysi]

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

Considering that it's contemporary's would have been the P-80 Shooting Star and the Gloster Meteor, with the DE Havilland Vampire and North American F-86 Sabre Jet on the boards , it's not surprising that the XF8B , the Pirate and the Mix-master were not seriously advanced in development. Complicated turbo props like the XB-35 showed that the development necessary to continue that track would probably cost as much as jet technology and not match the performance. By the time the XF-8 got into service the job of escorting bombers would be done by the P-51H , and the P-82 out of Iwo Jima and a bunch of shorter ranged fighters out of Southern Japan following Operation Coronet. It is a cool looking plane , but contra rotating props were a nightmare to develop (it took the Russians another 10 years to get it right for the TU-95 Bear.).

+1

[rustysi]

The USN wasn't using prop planes by choice. It's CV's just couldn't handle jets of the era

There were many reasons for this, one of which was wooden flight decks. At least that's what I heard.

[AW1Steve]

ORIGINAL: rustysi

The USN wasn't using prop planes by choice. It's CV's just couldn't handle jets of the era

There were many reasons for this, one of which was wooden flight decks. At least that's what I heard.

Jets of the day had little thrust , and took a while to build up what they had. They truly needed catapults. The wooden decks were not as much of a problem as some horrendous deck crashes. That would be resolved by angled decks , steam catapults and the mirror landing system , all of which were developed by the RN which was having the same problem. (They even tried "rubber decks").[X(]

[geofflambert]

I have once again set myself up as a straw man to knock down, successfully, hail me!

[AW1Steve]

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

I have once again set myself up as a straw man to knock down, successfully, hail me!

Don't knock him down , burn him![:D]

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

I have once again set myself up as a straw man to knock down, successfully, hail me!

Don't knock him down , burn him![:D]

He said 'straw man', not 'wicker man'! [:D]