Only P-51 fighter jets and B-17 bombers will be produced?

Before Rentschler could be surprised, little Rentschler continued. "Not only Army Aviation, but also HNA's fighter jets and bombers, and even warship production costs have been cut by 40%. HNA only retains F6F fighter jets and SBD Dreadnoughts!"

"What?!" Rentschler was shocked and angry. As mentioned earlier, during World War II in the original time and space, Pratt \u0026 Whitney and its authorized cooperative factories produced a total of 363,619 engines. The most produced engine was the R-1830 "Double Wasp", with a total of 173,618 engines produced.

The R-1830 "Double Wasp" engine is a 14-cylinder engine with a displacement of 1830 cubic inches (30 liters). There are more than thirty sub-models, ranging from 800 horsepower (597kW) to 1350 horsepower (1007kW). The main equipment models are B-24 "Liberator" heavy bomber, C-47 "Sky Train" transport aircraft, F4F "Wildcat" fighter jet, PBY "Catalina" seaplane, PB4Y-2 "Privateer" anti-submarine aircraft and other ten Several types of aircraft, U.S. military and allied aircraft equipped with the "Double Hornet" have fought all over the European and Pacific battlefields. It is also the world's most produced piston aircraft engine.

Currently, among the aircraft continued to be produced by the Army Air Force and Hainan Airlines, only the F6F fighter jets use the Pratt \u0026 Whitney R2800-10 "Bornet" engine. As far as Hainan Airlines' demand for F6F fighter jets is concerned, this engine has already been produced, let alone continued production. Whether it can be used up or not is a question!

The other P-51 fighter jets are equipped with Allison Engine Company's V-1710-F3R; the B-17 bomber is equipped with Wright Aviation's Wright turbocharged engine; the SBD "Dreadnought" is also Wright's R- 1820-66 Tornado 9 engine.

"Is that Arnold crazy?! How is the performance of the F6F fighter inferior to that of the P-51 fighter? It is better to keep the P-51 and let the Army Aviation and Hainan Airlines use the F6F!" Rentschler couldn't help but said angrily.

The US military in this time and space has no chance to obtain the famous "Merlin" V-1650 liquid-cooled piston engine. The performance of the P-51A is naturally far inferior to the P-51D model in the original time and space. It is not unreasonable for Rentschler to be so unbiased. If the F6F and the P-51A were to have a real fight, it's not certain who would win!

Little Rentschler said a little depressed. "Commander Arnold may feel that the P-51 has more room for improvement, and most senior officials of the Army Aviation prefer liquid-cooled engines."

In this era, the US Army Aviation and Hainan Airlines hold two different views on fighter engines.

HNA believes that engine reliability is particularly important for maritime flight. Air-cooled cylinders are generally dispersed and arranged side by side. If one cylinder is hit, the operation of other cylinders will not be affected. Fighters can fight with injuries and only need to replace damaged ones during maintenance. Cylinder is enough. Once the liquid-cooled type is hit, the coolant will leak and the cooling effect will gradually be lost, making it impossible to fight with injuries. Who can guarantee that the pilot can make an emergency landing on the deck at this time? Moreover, liquid-cooled fighter aircraft carriers must store high-purity coolant on the aircraft carrier, occupying a certain amount of valuable space; in cold areas, special coolant needs to be replaced to prevent freezing. For all these reasons, the U.S. Navy naturally chose air-cooled fighter jets.

The Army Aviation believes that the enemy's fighter jets are capable of targeting the radiator, so why not save some trouble and just hit the cockpit? In their view, the ability to resist battle damage is not the most important indicator of fighter design. How to attack the enemy and not be attacked by the enemy is. The priorities here cannot be reversed. And even if the radiator is hit by accident, even if you don't parachute, you can find a flatter ground and make an emergency landing. The pilot's survival probability is much greater than that of the Hainan Airlines pilot.

"..." Rentschler naturally knew the temperament of those guys. Who asked his company to only focus on air-cooled engines and not liquid-cooled engines. "Not to mention fighter jets, then why did he choose the B-17 bomber instead of the B-24?!"

Little Rentschler scratched his head, a little unsure. "Maybe the B17 is more sturdy than the B24?" The B24 can fly faster and higher than the B17, but its maneuverability, stability, and damage resistance are worse than the B17. The B24 cannot form large-scale clusters for air raids like the B17. "Father, do we also have to start developing a liquid-cooled engine?"

Rentschler rubbed his temples with a headache. "That's easy for you to say. Can this thing be developed through research and development?"

I think Rentschler was the general manager of Wright-Martin Company. During his many years of work, he was keenly aware that future aircraft engines should be air-cooled compared to the liquid-cooled engines that were popular at the time. But his insights ahead of his time were opposed by the board of directors. In order to prove his concept, he chose to leave. Since then, he has been focusing on air-cooled engines.

Now if you want to develop a liquid-cooled engine, you have to recruit relevant researchers and start from scratch. When a practical liquid-cooled engine is developed, this war may be over. Rather than tinkering with liquid-cooled engines, it would be better to study jet engines directly. The Germans have already produced jet fighters and bombers, but the United States is far behind in this regard. Well, to be precise, the United States seems to have no place beyond Germany.

"Have you found the jet engine technician I asked you to find?" He stood up and walked to the clothes rack, took off his coat, and asked while putting it on.

Little Rentschler shook his head in frustration. "I really can't find it."

In the original time and space, the United States was not too late in researching jet aircraft, but its technology was not high. At the same time, Britain and Germany successively developed axial flow engines and centrifugal engines, but the United States had been groping for several years but had no idea. To build a suitable engine, they had no choice but to turn to the United Kingdom for help. The United Kingdom needed strong support from the United States during World War II. Faced with this request from the United States, it could not refuse. On the contrary, it could exchange technology for bargaining chips.

With mature engines, American jet fighters made much faster progress. They made a successful flight in January 1944. The prototype of the test flight was the F-80 prototype XP-80, which flew 806 kilometers. hour per hour, making it the fastest flying aircraft in the US military, nearly 200 kilometers faster than a propeller aircraft.

In order to achieve air superiority in World War II, the U.S. Army Air Forces ordered 5,000 aircraft at one time. But before this jet had time to show its talents, the war ended and the number of orders dropped sharply to 917.

At this time, Kong Yanik had already "abducted" all the famous technicians to Germany. It's strange that little Rentschler can be found now.

Rentschler seemed to have expected this to happen. He nodded silently, put on his coat and walked outside. Little Rentschler quickly followed. "Father, where are you going?"

Rentschler sighed. "Of course we have to find a way to save our company."

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