WW2 FIGHTER PERFORMANCE: VOLUME 1: DESIGN, AERODYNAMICS AND FLIGHT PERFORMANCE FOR THE SPITFIRE MK I & THE BF 109 E, BATTLE OF BRITAIN ERA.

Without exaggeration, there are probably hundreds of books that already diligently detail the history of the Spitfire and the Bf 109. Books that either cover them separately or together, each trying to pin down which was the better aircraft. So if this has already been done so many times before and in so many other books, then why bother to add yet another one to the pile?Well, simply because this book is rather different: And while other books may faithfully cover the origins, the development, the designer’s philosophies, the different versions, the operational usage and the pilots who flew them, when it comes to performance the results are usually rather meager. For the most part, there is usually only a table somewhere in the book that details things like top speed, maximum climb rate, climb time and ceiling etc. However, while these numbers may certainly with a cursory glance appear interesting and useful, they actually say very little about how these aircraft truly compared when looking at the bigger picture. And while this may at first seem like an odd statement to make, it’s nonetheless true and why this is so will also be explained in the book.In addition, many books rely heavily on anecdotal evidence for performance comparisons. But such evidence needs to be taken in context and sometimes with a large grain of salt since in many cases these stories are outliers and not very representative of the true state of affairs and what the aircraft are actually able to achieve in able hands. For example, the German ace Erwin Leykauf is quoted as having said that he was always able to out-turn Spitfires in his Bf 109. And while this may well be true for Leykauf since he lived to tell the tale, this is more a testament to his own skills as a pilot and his opponents lack thereof, rather than an indication of what the aircraft are truly capable of.And this brings us to the subject of this book, which is the first to compare these two iconic fighter utilizing modern computer simulations to gauge how they truly compared. And not just repeating the same old performance numbers that have already been quoted, copied and pasted in between so many other books, but instead looking at the entire performance envelope utilizing modern computer simulations. And not just covering speed and climb, but also detailing acceleration, turn, dive, and dive and zoom performance. In summary, taking a look at the complete picture so to speak. And as the simulations will show, there are actually some previously hidden aspects of these aircraft that come to light. Not in the least concerning turn performance. An area that has previously been considered to be a no contest win for the Spitfire. But as the simulations will show, there are exceptions to the rule, and while the Spitfire certainly was the better turning aircraft overall, the difference was in some case not as large as common knowledge would have us believe. And this book will not only take a closer at this subject but will also dig deeper, introducing other aspects as well. All in an attempt to determine just how close or far away from each other they were on each particular point. And last, but not least, try to determine if an overall winner can be crowned. Read more