hahnej wrote:
Questions for Rich & Jim:
I just got a neat book on the Battle of Britain that shows several pilots in the their Spitfire cockpits wearing thick clothing, a mae west, parachute etc. It looks like they were really stuffed in there. Almost to the point you wonder how they operated the controls and how they were able to look around with the canopy closed. None of the pictures of the pilots outside the aircraft looked like they were large-framed or tall; they all looked fairly thin and average height. The pics of the pilots that were recovering from burns when the fuel tank in front of the cockpit was hit were pretty sobering.
Is the Spitfire cockpit really that tight? How is it compared to a Mustang or other US aircraft? Were the early model Spitfires equiped with self-sealing fuel tanks?
And did the Corsair have issues with its fuel tank catching fire and getting back into the cockpit? Or was it farther forward and with more structure in between? I never heard of that issue with the Corsair.
Thanks,
John
The Corsair featured the self sealing fuel cell that is completely rubber and sealing goo material.
The self sealing ability of the Spitfire fuel tank came from wrapping the alum tank with the material. It had layers glued to the exterior of the tank that will expand when fuel will touch it.
The Spit cockpit isn't really tight by terms of square footage where you sit. Biggest area is the hatch you close so your shoulders are closer to the structure compared to many American aircraft that featured a slightly wider canopy. I'm sure that any of the flight crews looked and felt bloated when suited up for their flying chores regardless of their country.
American aircraft did produce electrically heated suits at some point so that would reduce the bulkiness of their attire. As for affecting their performance, I'm sure they adapted and it probably wasn't an issue for most.
The difference to me in terms of the Spit was that sealing of the front of the cockpit isn't the greatest compared to the front cockpit bulkhead of the Corsair that is a riveted structure that is further forward of the instrument panel by a foot. It is also a heavy structure as this bulkhead supports the rear of the fuel cell. Also on some models the firewall was also supported to a degree as a series of steel cables connected the firewall to the forward cockpit frame. These cables ran through the fuel tcell. All the weight of the fuel when it sloshes aft with acceleration is held by that structure.
The Spit has the bulkhead just inches from the instrument panel. The upper portion is removable so the sealing of the edges is not complete. The beefiness is less as the fuel tanks support the fuel vs a bag that sits in structure. Only the lower tank is covered with the self sealing material, the upper tank is not and with the Griffon Spits, the oil tank is there as well. The skin that covers the tank area is thick but still Alum. That also limits the ability to protect the fuel tanks.
There is also a tank, or tanks depending on the model, aft of the pilots seat on various models.
I don't know when the self sealing material was introduced .
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