Interesting P-51 article

[maus92]

Out today from the Air Power Journal:

http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/apj/apj10/spr10/mets.html

[LLogann]

That was a rather interesting read.  Thank You!   

The only comment I will make about the thought is this:

Hindsight is always 20/20. 

[smoe]

A lot of what ifs in this article, if you want to when a war you need both resources and a motivated population. Usually scaring the poop out or p******g off a group of people will motivate quite effectively.

Germany was destined to lose at some point. Germany, just like any attacking country in history ran its course and went defensive instead of offensive. Once defensive, your enemies may attack you under their terms and wear down your resources at will.

Just for the record, however the P-51 laminar flow wing may have helped aerodynamically, they did benefit the P-51 by allowing room in the wings to house guns, ammo, gear, and fuel tanks. I've also read/heard that the laminar flow wings really suffered aerodynamically under combat conditions. It was said that dirt and scratches on the P-51 wings surface caused unintentional airflow effects.

[Stoney]

Just for the record, however the P-51 laminar flow wing may have helped aerodynamically, they did benefit the P-51 by allowing room in the wings to house guns, ammo, gear, and fuel tanks. I've also read/heard that the laminar flow wings really suffered aerodynamically under combat conditions. It was said that dirt and scratches on the P-51 wings surface caused unintentional airflow effects.

It was roughly a 15% thickness root airfoil, just like the rest of the fighters in the war, save the Spit.  Given its chord was of average length, it had relatively the same space for all the goodies as did other fighters.  Ironically, the early gun mounts were angled, causing ammo to jam under g-load, so you might even argue that space was at a premium.  Surface roughness does lessen the aerodynamic advantages of laminar flow just as much as it affects conventional airfoils.  The relative comparison shows an equal degradation in lift and increase in drag.