by "ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
Published 01/09/2017 at 12:35
by "ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
Published 01/09/2017 at 12:35
Tags: wingspan
; planelopnik
STARS: 11
In this photograph taken in 1942, an engineer at the Ames Research Center performs wind tunnel testing on a scale model of a new torpedo/dive bomber under development for the US Navy. Ames Research Center , named in honor of Joseph S. Ames , one of the founding members of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), was established in 1939 at Moffett Field in California. Working in a facility that boasted the world’s greatest collection of wind tunnels of varying sizes, researchers at Ames assisted in the development of many of the aircraft that helped America prevail in World War II. Following the war, researchers at Ames made groundbreaking discoveries in subsonic, transonic, supersonic and hypersonic flight and did critical work in the development of swept-wing aircraft.
The facility was renamed the NASA Ames Research Center in 1958 following the creation of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), and its work has since expanded into the fields of computational fluid dynamics, flight simulation technology, information technology, research into air traffic management, and helicopter and tilt rotor aircraft. The Center also provided support to space programs such as
Pioneer
, the first spacecraft to leave Earth orbit,
Viking
, which provided the first clear images of the Martian surface, and the
Lunar Prospector
, which was instrumental in proving the existence of water at the poles of the Moon. It’s pioneering work continues today.
But what about that gull-winged torpedo bomber? That is a scale model of the
Douglas BTD Destroyer
, a truly mammoth carrier-borne aircraft that was designed in response to a 1941 request from the US Navy for a single attack aircraft to replace both the
Douglas SBD Dauntless
and the
Curtiss SB2C Helldiver
. Designed by noted Douglas engineer
Ed Heinemann
, the Destroyer featured a
laminar flow
wing and, in a first for a carrier aircraft, a tricycle landing gear. It was powered by a massive 18-cylinder
Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone
radial engine, the same engine that powered the
Boeing B-29 Superfortress
and
Lockheed Constellation
, and could carry 3,200 pounds of bombs or two 1,947-pound torpedoes. The Destroyer took its maiden flight on April 8, 1943, and the first production aircraft were delivered in June 1944. However, with the surrender of Japan coming just a little more than a year later, the Destroyer never saw combat, and only 28 were delivered before the project was canceled. Nevertheless, Heinemann and Douglas continued work on the BTD, eventually developing it into the single-seat
Douglas A-1 Skyraider
, one of the greatest attack aircraft ever built.
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If you enjoy these posts, please join in the conversation and let me know. If you missed an episode, you can find them all at Wingspan .
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"For Sweden" (rallybeetle)
01/09/2017 at 12:44, STARS: 1
And now you have to live in the Bay Area on a NASA salary.
"MrDakka" (mrdakka)
01/09/2017 at 12:55, STARS: 2
Would you say they’ve done critical work on supercritical airfoils?
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
01/09/2017 at 13:04, STARS: 0
You certainly could.
"wiffleballtony" (wiffleballtony)
01/09/2017 at 13:12, STARS: 1
I grew up just a few miles from NASA Ames. Been there a bunch of times. Cool place. Place never was the same since the PC3 Orions stopped hunting for Soviet subs.
"Rock Bottom" (rockbottom81)
01/09/2017 at 16:23, STARS: 1
The 40x80 and 80x120 is where my career as a professional tunnel rat was built! Fantastic facility and just oozing with history. I love that whenever I see an old picture of the high-bay (where the Saber is being craned in above), I know that the original corrugated Transite that I hated rubbing up against was there, always. I can still smell it! While NFAC has been thoroughly modernized over the last 3/4 century, the whole tunnel still has that WWII-era industrial feel and smell and sound. It’s more of a living, working museum than any other place I’ve ever been. Henry Ford’s Rouge plant is a distant second. The riveted steel construction, water-heated floors, and corrugated concrete everywhere! All painted with lead and insulated with asbestos. Fantastic!
Related: The first photo you have up there is one of the old 7x10 tunnels at Ames. Two were built, side-by-side, in the mid 1930s and operated by NACA/NASA until one was gifted to the US Army. That may have been in the 80s, but I’m not certain. The other 7x10 was decommissioned and sat abandoned for a while until it was finally demolished about 5 years ago. The Army 7x10 is still working hard over 80 years after it was built! Here’s a more recent picture:
Here’s another fun fact: The Douglas BTD-1 test was the first test performed in the 40x80 in 1944. Have another:
And everyone loves the money shots of the fan drive. First, as built in 1942 to 1944, then as modernized in 1978:
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
01/09/2017 at 16:26, STARS: 1
Fantastic info! Thanks so much for adding it. Whenever I write these sorts of articles, I’m always fearful that somebody who really knows that they’re talking about will come along and tell me I’m full of hot air. When that doesn’t happen, I’m always thankful that somebody comes along who knows more than I do, and adds the details I don’t have space for.
Thanks again!
"Rock Bottom" (rockbottom81)
01/09/2017 at 16:34, STARS: 1
You’re a light in the darkness and you generate the best stuff on this site. Post fearlessly!
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
01/09/2017 at 16:36, STARS: 1
Thanks, Rock, I appreciate that. More NACA stuff coming on Thursday!
"gmporschenut also a fan of hondas" (gmporschenut)
01/11/2017 at 18:43, STARS: 0
the thoughts of a skyraider with torpedoes is too much
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
01/11/2017 at 18:49, STARS: 1
Here you go.
http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/skyraiders-torpedo-the-hwachon-dam/