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orhanGAZ t1_jcti2d9 wrote

Reply to comment by MitsyEyedMourning in TIL that in WW2, a Marine Corps Corsair pilot used his propeller to chew off the tail of an enemy aircraft after his guns jammed, while under fire from the enemy plane's tailgunner. The enemy plane crashed but the Corsair pilot made it back to base, receiving the Navy Cross for his actions. by hipster_deckard

I'm guessing from the description this was the Pacific theater thus a Japanese enemy aircraft. Is it possible they were still using wood to build their AC making this feat a little easier?

I thought I read this in history that it made the AC very fast and maneuverable, but frail compared to American AC. Philosophy was fighting to the death, less about returning from mission.

Please by all means correct me if I don't have my facts straight.

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Rhaedas t1_jcty1kd wrote

I can say for certain that a Zero does not hold up well to a Sidewinder.

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Psybor9 t1_jcu2v3k wrote

The Japanese Zero was made of duralumin, a secret special aluminum that didn’t provide armor but allowed the plane to be extremely maneuverable, it was almost half the thickness of the metal used in allied aircraft.

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Jamgull t1_jcvptgd wrote

The control surfaces on the tail were fabric covered aluminium or wood. The tail itself was usually stressed skin aluminium over an aluminium frame. I think the key to doing this successfully is to approach very slowly, otherwise you will destroy your engine in the process of bringing down the enemy plane.

I have actually done this in the flight sim IL-2 1946, though those were against planes that didn’t have defensive gunners because that is frankly suicidal, and I don’t know how this real pilot didn’t just get shot.

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Delamoor t1_jcvwr4h wrote

Gunner might have used all his ammunition before the pilot got close... Or the plane remained outside of his firing arc.

You would have to be pretty confident to get that close to an enemy bomber. Might have been lingering for a while.

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orhanGAZ t1_jcx6sgr wrote

Thank you for your Insight and detail on the tail structure and materials

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