Radiator hits for different plane types

[save]

I would like to start this thread about radiator hits.

Are some planes more prone to easier get radiator hits, Real life and in AH2.

How does/should double coolers impact on different plane types.

Armoured reservoirs on plane types and impact.

Can you make it back home without any coolant with reduced throttle real life and in AH2.

I occasionally fly plane types with liquid cooled engines. 190D TA152 P51B and 109 series.

To me it seems like the FW190/TA152 series are more likely to get coolant loss much easier than for example the P51B

Also when hit in the Dora / TA152 it looks like you have very short time until you need to enter glide mode where other planes can fly longer time.

Since it's a simulator we are flying, I would like to sum up if AH2 model coolant hit probability / damage / flying time before engine stops / if you can go without coolant for extended time, correctly.

[AHTbolt]

No. P51s were lost when the external failed it would go to the closed position, causing the engin to overheat and lock up. Lose coolant engine locks up in a matter of mins.

[Noir]

+1 on this

as a sidenote after hundreds of hours in the P51D I can't remember loosing the radiator a single time. The 190D9 is very prone to this, but its annular radiator is right behind the rotor....

[pervert]

+1 on this

as a sidenote after hundreds of hours in the P51D I can't remember loosing the radiator a single time. The 190D9 is very prone to this, but its annular radiator is right behind the rotor....

This is true, the difference between the 2 regards durabilty is shocking considering the pony has a huge rad slung under its belly.

[PFactorDave]

109s seem to attract bullets to their radiators also.

I have been flying P51s a lot lately and can't recall any radiator hits. 

You can nurse a plane home by keeping an eye on your temp guage and shutting the engine down to cool off, then restart for a short period of time.  It takes some effort, but you can do this indefinitely to get home.

[Butcher]

I never had a radiator hit in a year in a P51D, 190s are almost always the first hits are radiator, 109s get a mix between either oil or radiator hit before any other part.

[mthrockmor]

I'm a PonyD driver but does it matter if the radiator is underneath the bird or behind the propellor? Look at a Dora wrong and the radiator pops a hole. PonyD, rare.

Boo

[Devil 505]

You can nurse a plane home by keeping an eye on your temp guage and shutting the engine down to cool off, then restart for a short period of time.  It takes some effort, but you can do this indefinitely to get home.

Yes, provided that you have both speed and alt. With the engine off in a Dora, you lose both, quickly. A 109 can get double the distance vs. the Dora.

[Ardy123]

Yes, provided that you have both speed and alt. With the engine off in a Dora, you lose both, quickly. A 109 can get double the distance vs. the Dora.

109s had 2 radiators and a shutoff valve. I don't know how long it could run on 1 radiator, but I'm sure it was much longer than any plane without such a system.

[Devil 505]

I was referring to the glide characteristics of the planes in game.

I would imagine that in a real 109 that you could run it on one radiator without issue, provided that you reduce the throttle enough.

[Krupinski]

Most spits had 2 radiators too.

The 109s are really prone to rad hits, pings on either the left or right wing root will cause a radiator hit.

[Debrody]

Yup, one 20mm or 2-3 50cal pings usually cause fatal damage on 109s.
Also sometimes i get the feeling that doras and 152s are flying radiators  : )
In the other hand, the spits radiator very rarely gets hit. True, i very rarely fly spitfires, maybe they lose the wing sooner than the radiator?
I would like to see planes with 2-rounded cooling system being able to run with reduced throttle. Or whatever the historical method was.

A bit off-topic, but...
oil damage. In my book, "The Italian Air War, from the liberation of Rome to the capitulation", there are plenty of memoirs about dogfights and chases. Many spitfire pilots chased down 109s in that time. The tipical story was the following: spit reaches some hits on the gustav, he runs away smoking, the spits chasing. And the engines werent like full power to an exact point then full jam, but they lost power continously. Ergo, many spit pilots said, the 109/410 could extend for a while, then they started to slow down and got caught.

[jeffn]

Yea,,,fart by a 190d or TA152 and your radiator is hit, from any direction.

I can not understand how they ever got close to any allied bombers in ww2 having such a fragile radiator.

[beau32]

On the 109, if one radiator was hit, they had the option to shut it off via a pull cable in the Cockpit. Even with the valve closed, it it still leaked. Though it did provide the pilot a little extra breathing room, it probably gave him enough to get him back across the front lines.

I got this from a CD I have of Black 6 when they did audio recording for the plane. In the end of the disk, there is a intreview with the pilot and ground crew, and they talk about exactly this as to what I have posted above.

[Karnak]

On Spitfires with two radiators (Mk VIII, Mk IX, Mk XIV and Mk XVI in AH) there was a valve that would automatically shut flow if a radiator was hit.