Video got me fired up - What to fly?

[kimosabi]

Originally Posted by TheGrunch

Well, the reason the 109s had such a hard time for petrol during the battle is that drop-tanks weren't used, I'm pretty sure.

You are correct. The BF109 E7 was the first 109 to use droptanks(mid 1942). That wasn't my point though. I was referring to maps and missions/missionbuilding that covers later episodes of the war, which I'm fairly certain will be added later on. Kinda like IL-2.

[Igo kyu]

I think I remember reading there were drop tanks, but they were faulty?

[kimosabi]

Originally Posted by Igo kyu

I think I remember reading there were drop tanks, but they were faulty?

The 109's didn't have additional fuel lines until E7 and you are correct about the quality. The first tanks they used were made of plywood, prone to leaking and also had a suspected tendency to self ignite. Alot of pilots refused to carry droptanks all together at the early stages of the war because of that.

[Crumpp]

The first tanks they used were made of plywood, prone to leaking and also had a suspected tendency to self ignite.

The USAAF's were made of paper and all tanks on any airplane leak quite bit.

Its normal, in fact you have to be careful as some airplanes will go a step farther and siphon right out the vent tubes if your not careful.

also had a suspected tendency to self ignite.

Interesting, Do you have a source on this?

If the fueler did not ground the airplane properly then any aircraft tank can ignite when fueled.

[kimosabi]

Originally Posted by Crumpp

The USAAF's were made of paper and all tanks on any airplane leak quite bit.

Its normal, in fact you have to be careful as some airplanes will go a step farther and siphon right out the vent tubes if your not careful.



Interesting, Do you have a source on this?

If the fueler did not ground the airplane properly then any aircraft tank can ignite when fueled.

My sauce

I was not 100% correct when stating that the plywood tanks were used in BoB. They were used and developed before BoB and they had a tendency to "unglue" themselves, causing terrible leaks. They did develop a metal variant for the E-7 but the drag penalty showed to be quite critical, especially for an aircraft designed as a "clean fighter" such as the 109.

[Crumpp]

That is a website that lists no references.

Here are some of our 300 Liter Drop tanks:

http://www.white1foundation.org/parts/droptank.jpg

http://www.white1foundation.org/parts/shop1.jpg

In practice, the tank was prone to terrible leaks and suspected of a tendency to ignite.

The Germans did develop a drop tank for the Bf 109 prior to the invasion of France. Unfortunately, the design was rather hasty and the tank (made of plywood) tended to come ‘unglued’ (great shades of Ta 154!) when in use. The design allowed for about 70 gallons of fuel to be carried. Because of the leakage problems and the potential that resulted in it being a fire hazard it went unused.

Think about it. It is very easy to test the integrity of a tank or if a glue will hold up to fuel. It is done all the time in fact by home builders in the US. Are the Germans just extraordinarily stupid as a race or is the author of your website not very familiar with the details of real airplanes?

Simply put, your source makes some pretty hard to swallow claims without referencing a single source.

Here is a Henschel 123 with a Drop Tank in Spain...

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KezhQ6waZT...600-h/dfgt.jpg

Here is more info on the Allied paper drop tanks....

The British devised a system using laminated and glued paper that would hold 108 gallons of fuel - for one mission!

http://home.earthlink.net/~charlesfelton/id19.html

[kimosabi]

Well if you should find these claims hard to swallow, Crummp, that is pretty much your problem. So instead of posting USAF and RAF solutions to the droptanks(which has very little to do with the Luftwaffe versions BTW), you could always prove me wrong instead of acting like a wounded pig.

[TheGrunch]

Originally Posted by kimosabi

That wasn't my point though. I was referring to maps and missions/missionbuilding that covers later episodes of the war, which I'm fairly certain will be added later on. Kinda like IL-2.

Well, have fun waiting. :p