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Jamgull t1_jcvptgd wrote

Reply to comment by orhanGAZ in TIL that in WW2, a Marine Corps Corsair pilot used his propeller to chew off the tail of an enemy aircraft after his guns jammed, while under fire from the enemy plane's tailgunner. The enemy plane crashed but the Corsair pilot made it back to base, receiving the Navy Cross for his actions. by hipster_deckard

The control surfaces on the tail were fabric covered aluminium or wood. The tail itself was usually stressed skin aluminium over an aluminium frame. I think the key to doing this successfully is to approach very slowly, otherwise you will destroy your engine in the process of bringing down the enemy plane.

I have actually done this in the flight sim IL-2 1946, though those were against planes that didn’t have defensive gunners because that is frankly suicidal, and I don’t know how this real pilot didn’t just get shot.

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Delamoor t1_jcvwr4h wrote

Gunner might have used all his ammunition before the pilot got close... Or the plane remained outside of his firing arc.

You would have to be pretty confident to get that close to an enemy bomber. Might have been lingering for a while.

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orhanGAZ t1_jcx6sgr wrote

Thank you for your Insight and detail on the tail structure and materials

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