Are the cruising speeds listed in Wikipedia accurate.? In round numbers they are............. B-17 180 MPH B-26 215 MPH B-25 230 MPH On your "Typical" bombing mission, is that the speed they would cruise at.? Thank You
Without reference to height and whether IAS/TAS, such speeds are of little value. To start the ball rolling, Owen Thetford's book "Aircraft of the Royal Air Force since 1918" lists the Boeing Fortress 1 as having a cruise speed of 232 mph at 14,000'. Actual cruise speed on a mission would depend on a number of factors, such as fuel and bomb load, as aircraft total weight would determine the cruise height and thus speed.
As Blutto says above.....it depends on many factors......here is just a little bit of info on the B-17 (2 pages from B-17 test information)......of course every aircraft is tested and all these factors recorded.....
Of course, each model is different, but the basic info that I think you are looking for is below for a B-17G
Right......something along those lines. Thank You. Obviously "It Depends" on a myriad of things like distance, bomb load, ammo load, fuel weight, etc etc etc. Just looking for some kind of rough average on your average mission. I have a feeling.....from looking at the info you provided..... that these Bombers/B-17 flew a bit faster than i had imagined. I was thinking that 140-150 MPH would have been common during runs into Germany. Anyway............just curious, no big reason for asking. Just about Anything and Everything to do with WW2 is fascinating to me. I could listen to "Logistic Experts" discuss the East/West Fronts in Europe for the rest of my life. Thanks Again
A snip from the posts above gives the typical mission speeds, although I suggest that in the case of missions into Germany the 25,000' figures are most relevant. 182kts equates to about 210mph.
Cruising speed. It can be defined as the economical speed for various payloads which also would include the unladen weight of the aircraft. The cruising speed would be determined assuming all its designed engine capacity was in service. At this economical speed the fuel consumption is at a minimum for the set of parameters that the aircraft was subject to, the aircraft would be flying within its safety envelope and may be subject to prevailing winds. The engines would not be labouring.
One of the most interesting developments in fighter aircraft in relation to the cruising speed was that of the P 51 Mustang and its subsequent role as a long range bomber escort and as a ground attack aircraft in the European theatre of war After intensive test flights from October 1942, it was decided to replace Allison V 1710 engine with the Packard built Merlin 61 engine as the Allison was not designed for high altitude combat. A series of test flights demonstrated that the Merlin Mustang full fuel tank would last for 8 and half hours flight duration with the cruising speed of 260 mph returning a fuel consumption of 60 gallons/hour. Further there was always 5 minutes of "war combat performance" available from the engine to engage Luftwaffe fighters. The engine change resulted in the capability of the Mustang could escort the USAAF bomber fleets deep into Germany and the introduction of drop tanks later meant that the range could be extended further. (The Allison powered Mustang continued in service in a role which most suited it, that of a ground attack fighter in Italy Its utilisation being seen as a ground attack aircraft in relation to the USAAF procurement policy. At the time the Merlin engined Mustang was regarded as belonging to the "Pioneer Mustang Group", an aircraft which was envisaged to equip the 9th Air Force on it return to the UK from Italy in September 1943.An appreciation of the aircraft's capability saw the 8th Air Force being equipped with it to protect its bomber fleet)
