Ditching a B-24 (video's) model vs full scale

[Franklin]

Interesting video. Could almost make a case that a B-24 could have been modified and converted to a seaplane. And look at this video of a model test. looks the same. Very interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSDa9z4k ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlmMpDyI ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6THyBqVC ... re=related

B-47 ditching tests

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfVa0Lxy ... re=related

[The Inspector]

....and, the PB2Y was a..................................................?

[Franklin]

....and, the PB2Y was a..................................................?

........ a PB2Y .................... not a B-24

[shrike]

....and, the PB2Y was a..................................................?

........ a PB2Y .................... not a B-24

The point being that the B-24 was developed FROM a flying boat in the first place (sorta (kinda maybe))*
Turning it back would be a waste when we could just get BuAer to order up another dozen Coronados.


* Then there's the Boeing 294/314 thing which went the other way....

[RareBear]

Interesting that one of the first things one of the pilots did was to comb his hair. Must have known he was on camera.

[Tiger Tim]

Stupid question: Why?

-Tim

[The Inspector]

Why what, comb his hair or ditch the airplane? The first instance was vanity I'm sure, as for the second, the 24 had a bad but well earned reputation when bellied in on solid ground, of sort of collapsing in on itself and the top turret usually dropped down behind the pilots making it difficult to get off the flight deck and out of the wreckage (let alone the guys in the nose)and I guess someone decided they (as opposed to 'them') needed to see what happened in a water landing as there were a great number of PB4Y's out over the Pacific and apparently there were a number of them sitting around in the CONUS gathering dust, they built 19000 of them after all, arousing some Lt. Colonels curiosity-there might have been speculation about whether or not it would float or go down like a submarine equipped with screen doors, any number of reasons and I'm certain someone here has the true answer and solution-the ditchee appears to be an earlier model D with the birdcage nose glass, so it might have been a 'war weary'.

[CAPFlyer]

Actually, the B-24D was one of several full-sized aircraft ditched during and after the war as part of NACA's testing of the ditching suitability for aircraft and the procedures.

For example, the B-24D was the culmination of many drops in the Langley Tow Tank (film on YouTube). What it did though was show exactly where some of their assumptions were wrong and why. They then took this into later ditching tests with other aircraft in model form where they found ways to find and simulate damage and ways to make aircraft which might encounter needing to ditch safer in that situation.

There is actually a film amongst all those posted by the NASA Cultural Resources people that compares 5 transport types - the L-049/L-749 Constellation, the RO-1 Constitution, the DC-4, the DC-6, and the B-367/B-377. Interestingly it shows the B377 should have been the best at a ditching, but we saw with Pan Am flight 6 that it wasn't always true (mainly because the aircraft was ditched perpendicular to the waves instead of parallel as the NACA research suggested be done for all aircraft). Interestingly all 5 types had good results although most suffered flooded lower fuselages after impact.

I'd also view the film on the C-5 (Heavy Cargo Aircraft) ditching tests. Kinda interesting to watch all the different configurations and the predicted damage caused by different ditching configurations for such a large aircraft.

[Steve Nelson]

Could almost make a case that a B-24 could have been modified and converted to a seaplane

Well, the slender "Davis" wing and empnage for the B-24 were adapted from Consolidated's earlier Model 31 XP4Y-1 "Corrigedor" with little change. The PB2Y had a much broader wing, similar to the PBY Catalina (perhaps better for low, slow patrols?)

SN

[tom d. friedman]

the b -24 / pb4y had a bad habit of breaking in 1/2 on land or water in a ditch / belly in on land .s.o.p. was get out asap!! it was a fast sinker in the drink. i wonder what the ditching results were with the pb4y when they went to a single tail!! as to the b-47, cripes she's sea worthy!! where are my water skies that would put a personal water craft to shame. excellent point to the type's coronado flying boat lineage!! excellent rare footage thank you!! p.s.

pardon the pun, "but are any of the old scale models still floating around"??