/ @fiberfish8
➡️ B-17: The B-17 Flying Fortress is one of the most iconic USAF bombers of WWII. The B-17E was the first version of the Flying Fortress produced in large numbers, with 512 delivered. Unlike previous versions, the B-17E had larger and extended fuselage by 3m, as well as a vertical tailfin, rudder, and horizontal stabilizer added. A new tail gunner position was made in the new fuselage, dorsal and remotely operated ventral turret made by Sperry were also added. All these modifications also increased the aircraft's weight by about 20%, so a more powerful version of Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 engines were used.
➡️ A-10A: The A-10A Thunderbolt II is a single-seat attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic. Its main mission was to help friendly forces on the ground as well as strafe enemy positions, vehicles, and more. The plane was largely designed around the incredible 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger cannon mounted in the chin of the nose. It could also carry an extensive amount of suspended ordnance. Survivability was also a key feature and the Thunderbolt II features many innovative design aspects. The pilot sat in a titanium bathtub of armour. It also had many redundancies in controlling the aircraft as well as TF34 turbofan engines which were selected due to their robust nature. The A-10's first combat role was during the Gulf War in 1991. Several A-10s were shot down from anti-air positions but overall the Thunderbolt II performed well.
Mig-23: During the 1960s, due to the advent of low altitude, high speed tactical delivery of nuclear weapons on modified fighters, namely F-104s and F-100s at the time, the MiG-21's lack of good ballistic armaments and "look-down, shoot-down" (LDSD) radar made it incapable of intercepting such threats. Mikoyan OKB quickly started work on an advanced fighter-interceptor with powerful missiles and a strong LDSD radar. The fighter was also required to have a low takeoff/landing speed and the capability to operate from makeshift/quickly paved runways. For this, two "MiG-23" designs were envisioned. The first, MiG-23-01, had a large, MiG-21 style delta wing and lift jets in the fuselage to give the aircraft STOL capability. The other prototype, MiG-23-02, had a variable geometry "swing wing" design. The heavy weight of the lift jets heavily degraded the delta wing flight performance when they were not in use, instantly putting the 01 prototype out of competition. This led to the MiG-23-02 prototype with the sweep wings to move forward. After a few modifications to the wing shape and overall structural design, the aircraft would enter service in 1970 as the MiG-23S, but due to delays with the Sapphire-23 radar, the MiG-23S had the older Sapphire-22, a modified version of the RP-21 found on older MiG-21s. The MiG-23M followed shortly after as the "true" first production variant, equipped with the Sapphire-23D radar and TP-23 IRST system, enabling it to fire the R-23R and R-23T medium range missiles.
➡️F-5C: During the Vietnam War, the USAF requested F-5 Freedom Fighters due to the high loss rates of other aircraft in use. The Defense Department originally rejected the proposal but later accepted it in 1965. Codenamed "Skoshi Tiger", the USAF would use 12 F-5A's from the Military Assistance Program (MAP) for performance evaluations. They would eventually receive inflight refueling probes, lead-computing gunsight, significant armour on the belly, and designated as the F-5C Skoshi Tiger. The Skoshi Tiger program would later end with the DoD rejecting a second proposal for more F-5's.
➡️ XP-55: Researching new designs for better fighter and interceptor performances, the United States encouraged companies to develop radical new designs away from conventional fighter aircraft. Among the different designs submitted, Curtis-Wright's CW-24B design won out and their aircraft became designated as the XP-55 Ascender. With its front horizontal stabilizer (canard) contributing significantly to lift, it effectively acts as part of the wing, allowing the main wing area to be reduced, and also reducing the aircraft's drag. Three prototypes were created, but the flight characteristics were deemed not sufficient enough upgrade compared to conventional designs, and incoming jet age caused the US to refocus priority into new jet designs, leading to the cancellation of the XP-55.
28 сен 2024
