On great planes p-39 they stated that the p-39 in testing out turned the 109 and the spitfire, and the reasoning they cited was that the center of gravity was more aft than the others.
Does anyone have confirmation on the report to which they were reffering.
Also could someone in simplish terms explaine the effect CG has on turn performance please.
[Disclaimer] The following explanations use some generalities, approximations, and skips some details in an effort to make complex concepts easier to understand. In places where I have glossed over some details, there is an asterisks (*).
1. "Out turned". This term gets thrown about quite a lot, but it can mean different things to different people. It could mean "smallest turning radius", "fastest turning rate", or, in some anecdotal comparisons from the WWII era, it could even refer to quickest roll rate enabling a hard turn. So, that's the first issue. When they say "out turned", what do they mean? Unfortunately, for the History Channel, et al, they rarely even know themselves--they merely just repeat something they heard from a pilot or saw in their cursory research.
2. CG and its effect on turning. Typically, the CG of an aircraft is not considered to have an effect on an aircraft's ability to "turn"*. It does have a huge impact on the stability* of the aircraft.
So, in sum, the TV shows are often full of crap. It is conceivable in some situations that a P-39 could "out turn"* the 109 or Spit, but that had little* to do with the fact that the P-39 had a CG that was "further aft" than its peer aircraft.