WWII plane with 50% death rate on landing?

[Nyical]

P-51 Mustang landing gear also had a bad habit of snapping on landing
and sending the engine into the cockpit.

 

[GoingUp]

The history channel is the best place to learn about this stuff

 

[chrisms]

It was probably the Komet then.. thanks.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I think this exaggerated.

Think about it.

Let's make a number, say 1000 planes made

Upon first test flight, 500 planes fall apart.

Flown to first destination. 250 left

First mission (assuming it was just 3 flights after being manufactured) 125 left

Well, you get the idea. After just a handful of flights, there would be nothing left.

 

[waggy]

acutally i do remember seeing a show (on history channel love that one!) that had "plane" that had a high deaht rate. It was the gliders. they had some huge planes with no engine that they would tow up to a high altitude and let them glide in.

Many of them would crash on landing and kill most people on board. they didnt have very good controls so you really couldnt control where they went.

I wish i had the time to lok up a link (gotta take my daughter to the doctor). But im pretty sure that is what he is talking about.

 

[chrisms]

Originally posted by: waggy
acutally i do remember seeing a show (on history channel love that one!) that had "plane" that had a high deaht rate. It was the gliders. they had some huge planes with no engine that they would tow up to a high altitude and let them glide in.

Many of them would crash on landing and kill most people on board. they didnt have very good controls so you really couldnt control where they went.

I wish i had the time to lok up a link (gotta take my daughter to the doctor). But im pretty sure that is what he is talking about.

This could be it.. I'll try looking for that.

 

[Wuffsunie]

Originally posted by: WinstonSmith
I think this exaggerated.

No it's not. The pilot training course for those planes was about 2 weeks. The guy who flew it longest, I forget his name, was the test pilot and one landing broke his back. They were flown only at the very end of the war, 1944 on, and this 1000 in that span of time would lead to that attrition rate, especially since at the end, being unpowered, they would glide back to base and were easy targets for american p51s

-- Jack

A White House aid said that Bush does not watch the war on television. I figure he's waiting for the movie version... because we know he's not going to read the book!
-- Mike Bullard

 

[UglyCasanova]

Originally posted by: thebestMAX
How about the Japaneese Oka (Baka Bomb)? I think it killed most of its pilots. :evil:

Lol. Now how do I land this thing...

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: waggy
acutally i do remember seeing a show (on history channel love that one!) that had "plane" that had a high deaht rate. It was the gliders. they had some huge planes with no engine that they would tow up to a high altitude and let them glide in.

Many of them would crash on landing and kill most people on board. they didnt have very good controls so you really couldnt control where they went.

I wish i had the time to lok up a link (gotta take my daughter to the doctor). But im pretty sure that is what he is talking about.

ok did a little looking. i dont think these are it. but they do have the highest that flew in combat.

"This casualty rate of 987 Glider Pilots, 16.4% of their total number, and roughly 20% of the number who flew in each combat mission, was one of the highest of any combat specialty in World War II."link to site.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: WinstonSmith
I think this exaggerated.

Think about it.

Let's make a number, say 1000 planes made

Upon first test flight, 500 planes fall apart.

Flown to first destination. 250 left

First mission (assuming it was just 3 flights after being manufactured) 125 left

Well, you get the idea. After just a handful of flights, there would be nothing left.

It was an experimental plane developed during a time of all out world war in a country ruled by a brutal regime that was fighting for its very existence against powerful enemies on all sides. It was not a time when a couple hundred combat deaths were considered unacceptable, especially when the final combat death total for Germany was over 2 MILLION.

Nevertheless, the 50% rate was probably operational flights only.