Military Aviation Trivia #13 (1 Viewer)

[Beaufighter]

Forum Squadron Members:

One more so here you go...

Q. Pilots who flew the Junkers Ju-87 Stuka dive bomber during WW II experienced c. six Gs when pulling out of the near vertical dives at low altitude which frequently resulted in their blacking out. What prevented the crew from losing control of the kite and crashing?

Charge the Guns,
Beaufighter

 

[Spitfrnd]

Forum Squadron Members:

One more so here you go...

Q. Pilots who flew the Junkers Ju-87 Stuka dive bomber during WW II experienced c. six Gs when pulling out of the near vertical dives at low altitude which frequently resulted in their blacking out. What prevented the crew from losing control of the kite and crashing?

Charge the Guns,
Beaufighter

Good one Beau but since I have done computer flight modeling for the Stukas I will wait and see if someone else has the answer.

 

[Evzone]

In a nutshell I think the answer is that the JU87 had automatic pull-up dive brakes under the wings to ensure that it recovered from a dive even if the pilot blacked out from the high g acceleration.

This fascinating feature of the JU87 kicked-in once the pilot located the target through a bombsight window in the cockpit floor. Then the pilot went through the process of putting the aeroplane in to the dive by opening the dive brakes, throttling back and rolling through 180 degrees. Using visual wing indicators that showed the automatic dive brakes recovery system was activated and at round 300 odd knots with the aircraft reasonably close to the target, a light on the altimeter came on to indicate the bomb-release point, not usually less than the minimum height of 1,500 ft. The bomb was released which also initiated the automatic dive pull-out. Once the nose was above the horizon, the dive brakes retracted, the throttle opened to avoid the stall, and the propeller was set to climb.

 

[Beaufighter]

In a nutshell I think the answer is that the JU87 had automatic pull-up dive brakes under the wings to ensure that it recovered from a dive even if the pilot blacked out from the high g acceleration.

This fascinating feature of the JU87 kicked-in once the pilot located the target through a bombsight window in the cockpit floor. Then the pilot went through the process of putting the aeroplane in to the dive by opening the dive brakes, throttling back and rolling through 180 degrees. Using visual wing indicators that showed the automatic dive brakes recovery system was activated and at round 300 odd knots with the aircraft reasonably close to the target, a light on the altimeter came on to indicate the bomb-release point, not usually less than the minimum height of 1,500 ft. The bomb was released which also initiated the automatic dive pull-out. Once the nose was above the horizon, the dive brakes retracted, the throttle opened to avoid the stall, and the propeller was set to climb.

Nice Shooting. This automation system was known as the "Askania" autopilot.

Tally Ho,
Marc