CORRECTION: the experiment produced mixed results, but proved Messerschmitt right. On one hand, the DB 605 ran effectively throughout the tests using radiators significantly smaller than were found on the Bf 109G. On the other, the type of high pressure radiator used on the Spitfire was not something that could be replicated, owing to numerous material and industrial limitations. In the end, it was Daimler Benz’s requirements that the DB 605 run cooler, and the inability of German radiator manufacturers to produce high temperature, high pressure models, that kept the Bf 109 from achieving greater performance.
Few aspects of the Second World War have been so misunderstood, misrepresented, and pushed into near mythology as the Luftwaffe’s test programs. Their discussion in less academic circles is dominated by rampant speculation from those who indulge in sensationalist historical stories. With respect to that, one might be surprised to find the bizarre photographs of a Spitfire Mk. VB with a Daimler Benz engine to be one of the few remaining genuine artifacts from an obscure Luftwaffe test program. With so little information publicly available, naturally, the odd plane’s origins, purpose, and performance have been drowned in a sea of speculation. However, while it is often erroneously claimed that the so-called ‘Messerspit’ was some bizarre attempt to combine the best aspects of the two planes, in reality, the aircraft was converted to settle a technical argument which had been raging in Luftwaffe research and development circles since 1942.
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Plane Encyclopedia RU-vid: @Plane Encyclopedia
Tank Encyclopedia RU-vid: @Tank Encyclopedia
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Based on an article by Henry H
Script by Henry H
Narrated by Butane
Audio edited by Gabethetanker
Edited by Thundershark
29 сен 2024
