Quote:
Originally Posted by bobbysocks
this guy deserves any honor bestowed and (Only a Brit would design a fighter with a petrol tank sandwiched in between the motor and the pilot !). Obviously, it got a bit hot with tank on fire so he decided to jump.
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The reason it was there, at least on the Spitfire, was because that point was exactly over the wing and the centre of gravity. Which meant the plane had exactly the same performance characteristics with a full or empty fuel tank. Other planes with the fuel tank elsewhere had different handling whether the tanks were full or empty.
So it was done for superior performance and handling reasons, but obviously had disadvantages if it caught on fire.