Quote:
Originally Posted by Zweiblumen
According to a WWII pilot the P51 (standard) was the first plane to break the "sound barrier", in attack dive. They just didn't know at the time what was happening.
Yours
ZB
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Interesting. I heard about German pilots making these claims in Messerschmitt Me 262, but those were turbojets and had less wing area.
Sound barrier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I find it difficult to believe a prop'ed P-51 could obtain this speed. If it did in a dive, which I guess could happen, I think recovering from that dive would likely be terminal for the airframe. The max. true air speed was around 450 with the blower engaged. These planes simply weren't designed for this kind of speed, too much wing area.