breadneck Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 What would the Mosquito have been had it been made out of metal ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tosa Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Wasp? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
breadneck Posted February 14, 2017 Author Share Posted February 14, 2017 Would it still be as potent as it was or not ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DonSS3 Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Please forgive my response if it seems snarky, but I'm betting if it had been all metal it may not have been built. I don't know if it would have been lighter or heavier, and I don't know about aerodynamic smoothness inherent in the wood construction of the Mosquito would be affected by those changes either. I doubt that the Air Ministry would have been interested. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grey Ghost 531 Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 If they had not designed it with the intention of using wood, I'm sure they would have designed it differently. The fact that it was designed to be made of wood defined it. In other words, apples and oranges. Your best bet is to compare it to similar aircraft designed around the same time NOT made of wood. A-26, Ju-88, Tu-2, Yokosuka PY-1...(I'm guessing at which are contemporary to the Mossie, other's will have more accurate comparisons) Wood construction, I believe, would be heavier and/or more flexible. Maybe a little more aerodynamic and smooth surfaced with the metal construction methods available at the time. I don't think the wood construction probably helped the Mossie much, except that the Air Ministry probably wouldn't have accepted the design if it were made of metal for "strategic resources" reasons. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
breadneck Posted February 18, 2017 Author Share Posted February 18, 2017 (edited) My inquiry is of course very much a case of being hypotethical. Who`s to say the Mosquito could not be built up with metal, looking identical to the original? I`m thinking more in terms of speed, would it still have been as fast and nimble? Proving its valuable design to the air ministry after successful trials, i can`t see why the idea of a metal mosquito would seem that far fetched. But this is not at all where i was going with this topic. Merely from a hypotethical perspective. Wooden design heavìer??? I always assumed the reason why the Mosquito was so successful was due to its superlight balsa wood monocoque construction. Maybe not all balsa, but still lighter than a contemporary metal aeroplane right? Edited February 18, 2017 by breadneck Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DonSS3 Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 I see what you're saying. I had read "somewhere" that (it may have been one of the Japanese fighters (Ki-84?)) that, due to strategic metals shortages, the factory had designed a wooden version that actually turned out to be heavier than the original. I'm certain I'd read that elsewhere, too, but I can't remember where. Again, I can't remember how it affected performance. I think for the "Metal Mosquito" it would probably have been at least as fast and, if lighter, I'd think more nimble. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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