Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aircraft and Vehicles => Topic started by: Nash on August 24, 2001, 07:24:00 PM
-
So how is this sucker going to handle?
What's its roll rate gonna look like? Turn rate, turn radius etc? What's gonna give it its biggest problem in the MA? Do any planes we have in AH now compare to any of its performance characteristics? Can this thing foreseeably be a capable dogfighter?
Also, my understanding is that being made out of wood allowed it to endure damage extremely well as compared to metal frames. Fact? Myth?
Now that we have it, what's it gonna be like in your opinion?
-
Rolling and turning are not the Mosquito's strengths.
Its strengths were speed and versatility.
Unfortunately, that was speed in 1943 and only dealing with German fighters.
In the MA it will have problems with all of the fast fighters.
The Mosquito should do 340-345mph on the deck using WEP and max out near 380mph at 13,000ft.
It may be able to turn with Fw190s and Bf109G-10s for a short time.
It will be a challanging aircraft to do well with in the MA, but it should be a lot of fun.
-
Beyond its speed and general characteristics though, do you or does anyone know anything specific about its roll rate or turning ability?
-
I think the turning radius will surprise some people, because it has a big wing. If a 190 tries to fight one of these at 150 mph on the deck, he will probably end up getting a skydiving lesson. But it's probably going to handle a little like a bomber. And it doesn't have the power needed to climb really well or sustain a hard turn with that big wing and all that weight. But put it in a mid-war setup against Bf 109G and Fw 190A and it will be an annoying plane, because of its speed. Against Me 110 or even Me 410 it will dominate.
[ 08-24-2001: Message edited by: funkedup ]
-
It's turning ability will vary significantly, depending on it's fuel load (some 3250 pounds, internally). The clean stall speed at 18000 lbs is given as 105 knts or 121 mph. It's turn radius isn't very good, slightly larger than a P-47. It can't be expected to roll any better than a P-38. I dunno, do we get the Merlin 23 or 25? The latter could use +18 boost for combat.
-
a new challenge!
sweet
-
wells,
The 'Black Rufe' was a Mosquito FB.VI Series 2, which means that we get the Merlin 25s.
-
You must also consider, the FB. Mk VI wasn't built to dogfight. It was built for anti-shipping and ground attack roles. I think it will excel at those roles. I think it will also be the devil of any buff which happens to find one of these diving on it. A flight of these should be able to make short work of an airfield. I would also avoid the HO with one of these ;)
FYI Nash, it was built largly out of wood due to the scaricity of materials under wartime conditions. The wood construction also served to lower it's RADAR signature, a significant consideration regarding the Mossie Night fighter variants.
[ 08-24-2001: Message edited by: Sundog ]
-
Another effect of the wooden construction was to actually make it more durable. The Mosquito had a reputantion for taking a good bit of damage and staying in the air.
I have a photo in one of my books that was taken of an FB.VI that collided with a U-Boat's periscope, which tore its cannons out and cut the belly all the way through the bomb bay, after it had returned to base.
Basically, the thing ain't kindling.
[ 08-24-2001: Message edited by: Karnak ]
-
yeah the thing can fly home without a a fusalage, but im sure in AH the vertical stabilisers will be shot off with a few bursts of MG fire from a spit:P
messiah1
-
They burned rather easily and the fire spread faster, and that should be put into the DM.
-
planes not even out yet and the LW is already whining
-
I used to love taking one of these to a capped field for vulching and keeping structures down in AWIII. The guns were phenomenal and the ammo load was incredible. It was the ultimate vulch machine with friendly fighters around.
-
Originally posted by john9001:
planes not even out yet and the LW is already whining
Who's whining sonny ?
-
GRUNHERZ,
Actually, I don't know that that is true.
I've read several accounts,and seen 1 photo, of Mosquitoes that were set on fire and only the paint/varnish burned off of them. They were ungly as hell when they landed, but they did land.
Now, like all aircraft, fire is usually a death sign, but Mosquitoes don't seem to have been at a particularly higher risk than any other aircraft.
-
"Against Me 110 or even Me 410 it will dominate"
First, lets get those planes and see what happens :p
-
Originally posted by Karnak:
Rolling and turning are not the Mosquito's strengths.
Its strengths were speed and versatility.
Unfortunately, that was speed in 1943 and only dealing with German fighters.
In the MA it will have problems with all of the fast fighters.
The Mosquito should do 340-345mph on the deck using WEP and max out near 380mph at 13,000ft.
It may be able to turn with Fw190s and Bf109G-10s for a short time.
It will be a challanging aircraft to do well with in the MA, but it should be a lot of fun.
Looks like a fast P47 to me then :D
-
I am looking forward to this, the Mosquito was my favorite plane in days of old and AW. It could be used as a fighter in the right situations, it was also a great buff killer.
How Good an Aircraft it will be in AH is yet to been seen. Preformance of A/C always seem to be a subject of debate.
During my Mossie Obsession, I had the pleasure of spending some time in the UK, as you can guess I did alot of looking and inquiring about it.
First off, Its an Extremely Strong Airframe. I forget the exact numbers but each wing could handle something like 90tons of force. The plywood construction was because Geoffery DeHavoline (sp?) was far sighted and could see the shortage of Metal. He did the whole design and then "Sold" it too the British government.
As I understand it was Very nimble. They liked its handling to a spitfire. Im sure some of that is bragging, But I am convinced it wasnt anything like the super-pig it was in AW. I watched footage of Mossies doing ACM with 1 engine effortlessly.
Fuel and Bomb loadout should probably be huge factors in its handling. Without Bombs and half a tank of fuel, It should Turn very well.
Time will Tell how it flies after its modeled in AH. How ever it turns out, I will look forward to flying it again :D
-
As I understand it was Very nimble. They liked its handling to a spitfire.
Ok Grimm, pass whatever your smoking over this way... ;) just kidding, so don't take offense.
Trust Wells on the matter. Its a big heavy twin, so when they say "Fighter-Bomber", read that as "Attack-Bomber".
And I think alot of you guys seriously underestimate the Me410.
-
Originally posted by Vermillion:
And I think alot of you guys seriously underestimate the Me410.
Porbably but as an Interceptor it retained a record of nearly 1 for 1 against allied heavy bombers cos it it got "cut to ribbons" by allied fighter cover.
As an Intruder it was rarely used.......although I would have thought the units operating in East Prussia (II/ZG76) in August 44 would have had many a ground attack role thrust on it.
In comparison with the Mossie it was asked to do things the Mossie was never asked to do in the day time (Bomber interception was the Mossies night time forte). It did not have the Bomb ordnance capability of the Mossie or ( when carrying bombs) the fire power. It only exceeded the Mossies fire power when sacrificing all of its bomb bay to add extra 20 mm cannon.
I doubt if the rear firing 131's were ever "aimed" rather used to provide some sort of upward/downward firing straffe attack/defence.
4 cannon 262 will be the awesome buff killer IMHO.
Tilt
-
Yup I agree with you tilt, I'm just saying that comparing the Me410 to the Me110 is a joke.
The biggest difference is that the 410 is as fast as a un-wep'd Corsair.
Of course it will handle like a pig, but its got all that beautiful firepower :D and with the Aces High uber defensive gunners, might be interesting in a tail chase.
It will be fun either way if we ever get it
-
Originally posted by Tilt:
the Mossie was never asked to do in the day time (Bomber interception was the Mossies night time forte). It
Tilt
I wondered when you would jump in this conversation. :D
I was hoping you might have posted a bit more insight on the Mossie and how it will fit into the MA.
I am still under the belief that Light (no bombs..moderate fuel) it should be pretty well handling aircraft. In AW it was always the worst handling Aircraft, which I never believed true. BTW, good to see your type.
-
I think a lot of people overestimate the 410. It looks neat though!
-
Me410 is faster than the P61 and outdives it easily, according to P61 crews that happend to engage them. It could be interesting but less than full useful addition to AH.
[ 08-28-2001: Message edited by: GRUNHERZ ]
-
Well, to be bluntly honest, by the numbers the Me410 and P-38L (except in firepower) are in many ways (most ways in the case of the P-38L) better than the Mosquito FB.VI. That's what it says on paper.
In reality, the P-38's short legs on internal fuel meant that it could never do the job that the Mosquito could do and its lack of a navigator would have hindered it in that role as well. In AH neither of these things are issues and so the P-38L will be superior to the Mosquito FB.VI in all ways except firepower. I'm certain that the P-38 will out roll and out turn the Mosquito and we already know that the P-38 has more ammo and a heavier ordinance load.
The Me410 never got a chance to show what it could do in reality, so we will have to guess based on the numbers. I notice that the fighter version of the Me410A-1 has 4 MG151/20s fring forward with 250 rounds for one pair and 350 rounds for the second pair. That is a staggering amount of ammo. The Me410 fighter could carry up to 2,000kg od bombs under its wings. The Me410 bombers could carry up to 3,000kg of bombs while retaining one of the MG151/20 cannon pairs. The Me410 is also faster than the Mosquito FB.VI at altitude, both in cruising and in top speed, but down low the Mosquito will likely be noticably faster. I have no idea which will roll better, but based on my experience with the Bf110 in various games I would guess the Mosquito. Based on wing loading I would guess that the Mosquito will relatively easily out turn the Me140. Down low, where these aircraft will be used in AH, the Mosquito is better than the Me410 in terms of manuverability, but the Me410 carries a larger payload, has much more ammo and has a tail gun defense. It would be neat to see which proved to be better.
My guess:
P-38L
Mosquito FB.VI
Me410
-
Originally posted by Grimm:
I was hoping you might have posted a bit more insight on the Mossie and how it will fit into the MA
Hiya Grimm how ya doing. I do love the Mossie VI and (as per another thread) my biggest fear is that it is not allowed (in AH)to shine in its main role of low level strike aircraft / intruder.
To my mind the role of the Mossie VI is personified by the long high speed shallow dive to and thru the target zone delivering bombs and shooting up ground targets with a very high level of accuracy and yet maintaining a fair proportion of speed to provide a quick exit.
Mossie bombers would provide the same sort of attack but a few thousand feet higher up. both types would have entered enemy teritory high and fast.
As in AW it would become a fairly efficient buff hunter. In AH my main concern is that given the pinpoint bombing accuracy of AH conventional bombing, no one will use its strike capability in the MA.
I dont have all the roll/turn/climb/ and speeds at various weights and power settings but a fighter in the sense of a Spit or a PJ it was not.
Its climb (unboosted) was never more than 1900 ft per min at 20,000 llb mean weight. its natural operational cieling was 26,000 ft (500ft/min) (the later bomber variant went upto 37,000ft)
It could however maintain a shallow dive at 400 IAS fully laden.
Was/is the AW model so poor? Well IMHO not really. The only differences I would like to see (the 1st of which I am sure AH style of model will give any way) is greater e retention and a slightly sharper departure characturistic.
Re its role as a fighter you might find the following of interest.
Day light kills air to air 43 / 45 European theatre. (British based.. not Italy etc)
FW190?? 32
FW190A5 7
BF109?? 7
ME110 72
ME410 46
JU88 126
JU188 42
DO217 40
This list is incomplete. There were other odd types downed. Also the bulk of the kills are by night fighters (Mk II,Mk XII,MK XVII & Mk XIX)operating in day time but some MKVI are credited as well.
It (the mossie)was not used to seek out enemy fighters during the daylight hours. The 190's were most probably either bounced over freindly territory or defending the target the Mossies were attacking. The 110's were almost all shot down during the last year of war when the LW were using them over Berlin.
410's are scatterred over the period.... many seem to be brought down as the result of interception (by location and the type of squadron claiming any way) 410 advocates please note!
Night time interceptions of 88's, 188's, 217's etc is an impressive list!
The one thing that AW arena settings never got right IMHO was its tuff. Mentioned elsewhere the preconception that this wooden monocoque fuselage was some how fragile compared to conventional strut and stressed skin aluminium is a gross underestimate of this planes durability IMHO.
It had very few critical structural points I do not believe we should be able to machine off large chunks of fuselage as if seried .5" bullets can have some chainsaw effect.
Its radiators seemed to be vunerable as were the wing tanks like many comparable aircraft.
Tilt
-
made of wood so they burned quicker? lol thats the best we can come up with??
:D
i have always read that the wooden frame actually made it quite durable.much like the hurricane could.
I predict it will be a faster but heavier version of the p38 with less turning but id have to look it up.
now the Me410 WAS supposed to be prone to fire!. Apparently the crews hated it because it was a difficult aircraft to get out of in a hurry and it often burst into flames in the cockpit area.
[ 08-28-2001: Message edited by: hazed- ]
-
Thanks for your insite Tilt.
I read your thread in the General Discussion and Im in agreement with you.
I dont think fire will be an issue. You have to realise the source of most aircraft fire, FUEL. Wood wont be the reason.
I cant wait to fly the Mossie again, it will be a treat.
-
here is a link with a little bit of info on the mossie
mosquito info (http://www.627squadron.clara.net/mosquitos.html)