Talk:Schneider Trophy

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"They shared the streamlined shape and low drag liquid cooled engine that was only later succeeded by the 'brutal' air-cooled radial engines of other WW II fighters." - What's this about? Which WW2 fighters had air-cooled radial engines? -- Hotlorp

Quite a few, actually. Start with:

• Brewster Buffalo
• CAC Boomerang
• Grumman Wildcat
• Grumman Hellcat
• Vought Corsair
• Republic Lancer
• Republic Thunderbolt
• FW-190A
• Bristol Beaufighter

And no doubt lots of others that don't come to mind as readily. On the other hand, that sentence you quoted seems a bit weird, just the same. It needs to be tidied up - particularly as neither the British nor the Italians were keen on radial engines for single seaters. Tannin

Thanks! Perhaps the "was succeeded by" needs to be somehow replaced by "succeeded", since the best engine of WW2 was undoubtedly the Merlin, which outperformed the radial fighters mentioned above. -- Hotlorp

Damn! I just wrote a new last para myself.

The Supermarine and Macchi Schneider Trophy aircraft were both important aircraft in the sense that a great deal of what was learned from their development would later appear in mass-produced fighter aircraft, notably the Spitfire. It would be a mistake, however, to regard the S6B as a Spitfire prototype: it was a different airframe with a different engine, and employed several techniques (such as using the metal surfaces of the wings as radiators) which were wholly impractical for a combat aircraft.

Compare with yours, Hotlorp:

The race was very significant in advancing aeroplane design, particular in the fields of aerodynamics and engine design, and would show its results in the best fighters of WW2. The streamlined shape and the low drag, liquid-cooled engine are obvious in the British Supermarine Spitfire, the American P-51 Mustang and the Italian Macchi C202 Folgore, planes which comprehensively outperformed those built with 'brutal' air-cooled radial engines.

Both have something to be said for them, and perhaps they should be combined.

Do we need to mention radials at all here? I'd take issue with the claim that liquid-cooled fighters outperformed radial-engined ones. Consider the FW190A, which easily out-performed the Spitfire for a year or so until the Mk. 9 came along (and the FW would have appeared some years earlier than it did if the Germans had not been prejudiced against it because of that radial engine), or the Corsair and the Hawker Fury, both of which can lay serious claim to the title of "fastest piston-engined fighter ever made", and both of which remained in production long after the war was over.

You know much more about this than I do - I incorporated the radial stuff, since it was in the para I replaced. Feel free to hack mine about. -- Hotlorp

Actually, I think there is room for a really interesting article on this subject. It could be called "fastest piston-engined fighters" or something like that, and discuss the ones I've just mentioned, plus the Spitfire, Tempest, Mustang, Lightning, and any others that seem relevant. If you (or any other contributor) wants to start one, I'd be happy to join in. Tannin

"By contrast, during the later years of actual conflict, new high power radial engines powered such aircraft as the American P-47 Thunderbolt, F6F Hellcat, and F4U Corsair. These aircraft, in spite of the larger frontal area required by the radial engine type could offer performance comparable or even better than some liquid cooled engines."

Maybe in America, with its near-unlimited resources.

Thus to some extent, as the practical speed limits of propellor aircraft were reached, brute force could prove as important as streamlining.

No it couldn't. P-47 Thunderbolt, F6F Hellcat, and F4U Corsair: these planes were nowhere near as capable as fighter aircraft as the likes of the Spitfire and Mustang. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.77.51.69 (talk) 17:31, 27 January 2008 (UTC)