Comments by "Big Blue" (@bigblue6917) on "Ed Nash's Military Matters" channel.

  1. Ed does have a knack of finding these little gems to present to us.
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  2. Thanks Ed. Another aircraft brought out from the mists of time. It would have been interesting to have seen the B-534 as a monoplane with a retractable undercarriage. It would have been rather racy and it does look somewhat like the Hawker Hurricane with a longer nose.
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  3. Poor Thomas Selfridge. I am sure when he became involved with aviation it was not to be the first person to die in an aviation accident. We sometimes forget how the Wright brothers tried to monopolise aviation which is at odds with the fact that even they had to admit they had relied on other peoples discoveries.
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  4. This aircraft, along with the Italian Caproni Ca.60, make it look like an unaired episode of Dastardly and Muttley. Actually we should remember that though referred to as a triplane the Fokker Dr.1 was, in effect, also a quadplane as the Nighthawk was. This was because it had a wing between the wheels. Both the Fokker Dr.1 and the earlier Sopwith Triplane had big problems with wing loading for the top wing. In 1929 the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) investigations found that the upper wing of the Dr.1 carried a higher lift coefficient than the lower wing. At high speeds it could be 2.55 times as much. So I do wonder if the Nighthawk had the same problem.
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  5.  @huwzebediahthomas9193  We may laugh but Russia brought the T-62 back into action and that was based on the T-54/55 which dates from 1948.
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  6. It'll be interesting if the USAF does to Russia what they did to Iran and support the next drone with a couple of F-22s.
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  7. I understand that in 2015 the Thai air force held an exercise with the Chinese air force with the Thai's flying the Gripen. Though the Thai's did come out on top, especially with beyond visual range combat, they did have problems withing visual range. So they may have decided that rather then upgrade to a newer Gripen they would take advantage of the F-35.
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  8. so the famous, or infamous, Football War was not about football but was about bananas. Is that better, worse, or just a step sideways.
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  9. The Bristol F2 was originally to be a bomber but when they realised it was built like a fighter, with the pilot also being provided with a machinegun, it became what must have been the first ever fighter bomber. Interestingly both the pilot and machine gunner of the F2 would be credited with same kills regardless as to who had actually shot the enemy aircraft down. This may have been because at some point both may have shot the same aircraft.
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  10.  @jlvfr  thanks. Interestingly the Soviet 37mm was not very good either.
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  11.  @JohnyG29  true but ground attack and low level combat with the P-38 was more a Soviet thing as they were in need of such a thing
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  12.  @jlvfr  thanks. I know the Typhoon was used more for the ground role but the P-39 could have come in useful with the 37mm
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  13.  @willstand2514  This does seem to be more of a problem with getting things made in places like China which are not set up for western sizes. So it is more a case that your feet are the same size but the sizes shown are wrong.
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  14. Whatever the Navy felt about the RAF collaring all the best fighters the German navy would have been yellow and green with envy.
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  15. Talking about the difficulty of using something like that in a confined space. I am sure we've all seen the Isis guys blowing themselves up using an RPG in a confined space. Whole new meaning to a suicide attack.
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  16.  @joeschenk8400  There was a B-24 which flew the 25 mission before any B-17 did. Unfortunately it crashed into a mountain in Iceland killing a USAAF general who was onboard. So it never got the attention it deserved for what it achieved.
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  17. The between the wars period is one of odd design ideas and things which could have been very good if only.
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  18.  @mikearmstrong8483  don't worry about having that tune in your head. We all have it lurking there somewhere
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  19. It looks like one of those self assembly beds you order only to find the parts come from three different beds.
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  20. Definitely one for the list of 'we'd like to have seen that one in service.' One of the things I've wondered about with this sort of configuration is how do you protect the engine as this is the rear of the aircraft is the area most likely to be hit. I think I read in Air Vice Marshal James Edgar 'Johnnie' Johnson's book Full Circle that he mentions that many Italian pilots did not want enclosed cockpits because stunt pilots did not use them. It was a case of if they don't use them I don't use them.
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  21. With a speed of 120 MPH the Ta-Go could have been easy prey for the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a of WW1 which had a top speed of 138 MPH.
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  22.  @jeffbybee5207  Exquisitely ugly at a pinch.
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  23.  @philvanderlaan5942  Join the que
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  24.  @davidb6576  Not sure if either version is applicable.
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  25. The Soviets were more advanced than we believed. Though Beria had stolen the plans for the nuclear bomb from the Americans, Soviet scientist had built their own bomb which was smaller and more powerful than the US nuclear bomb.
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  26. I do know of this aircraft and what they planned to do with it. And we all know about the Luftwaffe would later use fighter aircraft such as the 109 to ram US bombers. It's interesting that both Japan and Germany became so desperate that they thought suicide attacks were the solution. But in Germany when your boss is a sycophantic junkie should you expect clearheaded thinking
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  27. Much has been made of the F-35s stealth capability. But we all know that at some point it will be beaten. Every new advance will, at some point, be defeated. And if you can get within visual range of an F-35 is is not the top dogfighter. When the British Royal Air Force flew them in visual range against the Typhoon the Typhoon won every engagement. Ed. A bit of advice with regards your new microphone. Make sure you get a decent stand. If it comes with a little tripod do not use it. It is useless. It does not have to be mega expensive mike stand. Something between £20 and £30 should do it. Secondly get yourself a pop filter. That's one of those round discs they have in front of the mike. It will cost about £5 and will attach to the mike stand. I will improve the sound. Hope that helps.
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  28. Typical Australia. What's not getting rained on is on fire and what's not on fire is getting rained on. The things you'll do for fun. Stay dry
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  29. Actually the Royal Air Force was using autogyros before the war and used them during the Battle of Britain to help calibrate the radar with regards to how high the Germans were flying.
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  30. In was thinking the same thing.
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  31. You'd think so, wouldn't you. I think it's something to do with the thinkers of such thoughts being as dumb as a bag of hammers.
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  32. Wasn't there an Italian who built a steam powered floatplane back in the 1880s I think. He tried it out on a lake and claimed it did briefly fly though there were no witnesses
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  33. As locomotives had been using water condensers for some time by this point I do wonder why they didn't use that.
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  34. Are we also starting to see a way of dealing with the likes of NLAW and Javelin. Something placed on top of a tank turret which can kill the missile on its way to the tank. We all knew it was only a matter of time before a counter was produced. On the up side t could be some time before the likes of Russia and China could have such a piece of kit.
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  35. Somewhat ironic that the USAAC was impressed by the Stuka as concept was based on the US navies Curtiss F11C Goshawk. Interestingly both the Americans and the British used dive bombers for their navies but used fighter bombers for ground attack over land. The British Army had requested dive bombers but that request was turned down.
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  36. Better engines with four nose mounted cannons and this could have been Italy's Beaufighter.
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  37.  @JanHgh  It would have been interesting. Possibly using a Martin Baker tie pin.😀
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  38.  @Simon_Nonymous  Now you mention it I can see what you mean👍😄
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  39. If you wanted something different, aviation wise, you have to go Italian
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  40.  @alerossi8564  Thanks
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  41.  @NoName-sb9tp  Thanks
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  42. Finally got what they wanted only to run out of time.
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  43. Just when you think there is nothing new to learn about the Spitfire and its variants up pops two more. The Spitfires wing almost made a return. Back in the 1980s it was realised the problems which the Soviet helicopter fleets could cause in the event of a war by dropping troops behind NATO lines. There was a proposal put forward for a highly maneuverable turboprop power aircraft utilising the canard layout and with the Spitfires wing. The idea was that, similarly to the A-10, it would have a rotary cannon in the nose, 20 mm I believe, and the turboprop in the rear. It would also mount a large number of air-to-air missiles under the wings. Once the Soviet helicopter fleets were detected squadrons of these aircraft would be scrambled to intercept them. The end of the Cold War meant that the idea never went any further.
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  44. Great looking aircraft. Pity it wasn't ready in 1939. Imagine the Battle of Britain with squadrons of MB.5s over Kent. You really do not have time to be a perfectionist in wartime. Which is why the whole production run of German Panther tanks was less then three months worth of T-34s. Having said that when it comes to ejector seats you do want something a little bit better then good enough.
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  45. I have long known about the Whirlwind and, like you, I did think it should have been given the Merlin engine. They could have reequipped them with the Merlin once the Battle of Britain was over. Even without being used as a pure fighter it would have made a terrible mess on any ground target. Imagine a couple of squadrons doing hit and run raids in France in 1941 with four or five squadrons of Spitfires in support. It could have cause havoc to all the Luftwaffe bomber bases in Northern France. i understand a number of the squadrons ended up in Russia.
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  46. Thanks for reminding me about the Airfix model. I'd forgotten all about that.
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  47.  @None-zc5vg  Same thing happened to the Mosquito. The glue holding to laminations together came apart in the heat.
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  48.  @mombaassa  I have a feeling this is a story put about the US to hide the fact that they have it at Area 52 (Area 51 is in fact a cover story for Area 52.) We all know that the only way that guy you mentioned can get all those deliveries done in one day is by time travel. And what he flies is kept at the secret Area 25 at the North Pole. Am I the only one getting a headache from keeping track of all these secret bases.
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  49. I was wondering about that as well.
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  50. Well, they would make good drones.
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