Question about German technology WWII

[Raguleader]

@Magiver

You mean like a flying wing jet bomber with a reduced radar signature capable of 49,000 feet?

It seems it was only designed to carry 1,000lbs of bombs. I’m curious what it could expect to accomplish with that from 49,000 feet, though with the reduced radar signature and high speed, there’s no reason it couldn’t use a low altitude approach or dive in for the bomb run on a specific target.

[Magiver]

@Raguleader

It seems it was only designed to carry 1,000lbs of bombs. I’m curious what it could expect to accomplish with that from 49,000 feet, though with the reduced radar signature and high speed, there’s no reason it couldn’t use a low altitude approach or dive in for the bomb run on a specific target.

Actually a low altitude approach gave it a significant advantage in radar detection. Not sure the Germans knew the extent even though it was treated with radar absorbing material. It got them in closer but they were know subjected to fighter attack.

At 49,000 feet they were 2 miles above the service ceiling of Spitfires.

[needtoknow]

@Magiver

They both developed the jet engine independently and they both worked on axial flow and centrifugal designs. The British wisely chose centrifugal engines because they were more stable. The axial flow engine was a metallurgical grenade waiting for the pin to be pulled by inexperienced German pilots.

Have you see the early Brit centrifugal design? The blower vanes were segmented cast iron, in a slotted ring on the shaft. Until it warmed up and the pieces expanded and slid into place equally around the shaft, it had to be a horrible vibration generator. I imagine if rev’d up while below operational temperature it would have disintegrated. I don’t know how they got it up to temperature and got the weight equalised around the shaft before it came apart. I wonder if anyone has specs of allowable vibration of that compressor vs the incoming air temperature while in flight.

[Raguleader]

Incidentally, the US was also toying with flying wing designs before the war (actually, Northrop, the company that would later produce the B-2 Spirit), though it would be a while before they paired them with jet engines. I’m not sure if anybody ever tested Northrop’s old designs to see how they did against radar. That seemed to be less a national technology goal and more just the fact that Jack Northrop seemed to have a thing for flying wings.

[Magiver]

@needtoknow

Have you see the early Brit centrifugal design? The blower vanes were segmented cast iron, in a slotted ring on the shaft. Until it warmed up and the pieces expanded and slid into place equally around the shaft, it had to be a horrible vibration generator. I imagine if rev’d up while below operational temperature it would have disintegrated. I don’t know how they got it up to temperature and got the weight equalised around the shaft before it came apart. I wonder if anyone has specs of allowable vibration of that compressor vs the incoming air temperature while in flight.

Not sure what you mean by this. The compressor on the W1 was R59 aluminum and the turbine was stainless steel.

[ftg]

@TokyoBayer

My theory is that a lot of us like to play the “what if” game and with just a little more development, could they have changed things? “What if” the Germans developed the jet fighter a little sooner?

While this is true for many people, myself included, I don’t consider it to be in the same vein as “Why were the Germans so advanced, were they a super race?” as brought up by the OP.

[Boyo_Jim]

@needtoknow

Have you see the early Brit centrifugal design? The blower vanes were segmented cast iron, in a slotted ring on the shaft. Until it warmed up and the pieces expanded and slid into place equally around the shaft, it had to be a horrible vibration generator. I imagine if rev’d up while below operational temperature it would have disintegrated. I don’t know how they got it up to temperature and got the weight equalised around the shaft before it came apart. I wonder if anyone has specs of allowable vibration of that compressor vs the incoming air temperature while in flight.

Not sure what you mean by this either, but I saw a documentary a couple of years back claiming there was a Gloster Meteor still flying, and still on it’s original engines. Contrast this with the MS-262, whose engines had a lifespan of 10-20 hours.

The Germans were apparently ahead on aerodynamics, but they had nothing on the Brits for engine desihn.