29.01.2010, 00:11
If you notice, each nation has a different mentality and a different approach towards aircraft design.
The Allies focused to long range, high altitude (tons of fuel lots of heavy machine guns, lots of ammo), the Germans tried to gain a technical advantage as usual and also designed a plane to be "mehrzweck" (multipurpose), the Ju-88 designed as a bomber, became a dive bomber, recon plane, torpedo plane, and then used even as night fighter!!, the Fw190 designed as a fighter became a fighter bomber, ground attack and you could fit more types of weapons on it, bombs, guns rockets, than I got cothes in my closet!! .. Their highly trained pilots considered very valuable were given the latest in protection, armor and later... ejection seats!!!
The Japanese build their planes to be very maneuvrable, with little protection for the pilot or even radios (early part). The designs are good nevertheless, Japanese technology should not be underestimated,.. and for example the NIK1-J had automatic combat flaps that deployed by themselves with a little mercury sensor that measured angle of attack - very advanced stuff for that time.. and the Zero A6M5b and onwards had automatic fire extinguishers in the main fuel tanks.. etc
The Japanese designs are very good, - if they had more raw materials, better labour standards and better access to some of the latest german technology, (and fanatic as they were), the war would not have ended in 1945...
The Allies focused to long range, high altitude (tons of fuel lots of heavy machine guns, lots of ammo), the Germans tried to gain a technical advantage as usual and also designed a plane to be "mehrzweck" (multipurpose), the Ju-88 designed as a bomber, became a dive bomber, recon plane, torpedo plane, and then used even as night fighter!!, the Fw190 designed as a fighter became a fighter bomber, ground attack and you could fit more types of weapons on it, bombs, guns rockets, than I got cothes in my closet!! .. Their highly trained pilots considered very valuable were given the latest in protection, armor and later... ejection seats!!!
The Japanese build their planes to be very maneuvrable, with little protection for the pilot or even radios (early part). The designs are good nevertheless, Japanese technology should not be underestimated,.. and for example the NIK1-J had automatic combat flaps that deployed by themselves with a little mercury sensor that measured angle of attack - very advanced stuff for that time.. and the Zero A6M5b and onwards had automatic fire extinguishers in the main fuel tanks.. etc
The Japanese designs are very good, - if they had more raw materials, better labour standards and better access to some of the latest german technology, (and fanatic as they were), the war would not have ended in 1945...