No Typo... WI jets in WWI

[NapoleonXIV]

The History Channel strikes again. I'm probably the last one here to know that Henri Coanda (http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aerojava/coanda.htm#Coanda-1910) flew the first jet in 1910

What if he had been more successsful and, regardless of whether it was a real jet or not, it had suggested such to others and all the Great Powers had jets in service by 1914?

How would the WWI be different? and the subsequent history of aviation and the world?

[zoomar]

Interesting. I must admit virtual ignorance of Coanda's jet, which as I gather employed a normal internal combustion engine driving compressor blades rather than a propellor. The normal engine exhaust and the compressed air was then reignited on the way out to create reactive propulsion.

One wonders why this technology was not developed further after 1910. Perhaps it had operational or fuel efficiency drawbacks that rendered it impractical. Maybe it was dangerous. I suspect the mid 1950's works cited in the article and anything done by the History Channel were not really critical studies of this type of engine.

Also, perhaps airframe technology had not evolved far enough by WW1 to really take advantage of the higher speeds this type of engine would probably provide.

[Bulldawg85]

Also, perhaps airframe technology had not evolved far enough by WW1 to really take advantage of the higher speeds this type of engine would probably provide.

This is most likely the reason as most, if not all airplanes prior to the end of WWI were made of wood.

[Mike Stearns]

This is most likely the reason as most, if not all airplanes prior to the end of WWI were made of wood.

I agree. Airframe technology had not progressed to the point of being able to handle that knid of power yet.

[Justin Pickard]

I came across that guy when doing a political AH about Romania. Interesting stuff... :)

[DominusNovus]

This is most likely the reason as most, if not all airplanes prior to the end of WWI were made of wood.
Well, this guy's plane had more metal in it...

[Bulldawg85]

Well, this guy's plane had more metal in it... I would certainly hope so, as it would be rather detrimental to the pilot if the fabric peeled off the plane in midflight.

[Ivan Druzhkov]

This looks like one of those "poor bastard" inventions: a breakthrough in one area rendered useless, since there's no concurrent breakthrough in a related field to make the original breakthrough useful.

[Tony Jones]

Apparently it's called a 'thermojet', and is not as efficient as either a pure jet engine or a pure propellor engine... See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermojet for a bit more on it...

[bgregoire]

A coupke of point about the "poor bastard" Coanda "jet" did not was a faillure but the guy latter mad a name by himself in aviation history he was the discoverer and the explaner of the Coanda effect (how many people get to have a physical phenomena called after them)
Then after his first fly, the first think he did when leaving the hospital was to




take flying leson and get his pilot license (maybe if he had known how to fly before testing his plane the history might have been different)

In term of power the possible jet of this time will not give much more power than a propeller motor and the propeller might be more efficient. the main advantage of such a system could have been in the early year of the war solwing the problem of firing MG trought propellers (as there were no props)

an other funny story can be a 1919 attack by a french fleet of drone bomber (they can be controlled by an other plane) while german were trying to counter them by using elctronics warfare planes.
The french were testing (with some succes drone in the 1919 it was an old voisin bomber) and the german had introduced electronice warfare (jaming) palne before the 11/11/18

[DominusNovus]

how many people get to have a physical phenomena called after them
My great great uncle.

[GBW]

Diamond and I worked on a project that dealt with this on the old board. It started out innocently enough as an idle thought, but we ended putting a good deal of thought and research into it; here's a link: Louis Armstrong, First Man on the Moon (http://www.alternatehistory.net/discus/messages/40/5552.html?1052549057)

To warn you, posts read going from the bottom going towards the top on the old board.

[luakel]

Diamond and I worked on a project that dealt with this on the old board. It started out innocently enough as an idle thought, but we ended putting a good deal of thought and research into it; here's a link: Louis Armstrong, First Man on the Moon (http://www.alternatehistory.net/discus/messages/40/5552.html?1052549057)

To warn you, posts read going from the bottom going towards the top on the old board.
This timline went from being Louie on th' Moon to an earlier, different WWI???? :eek: :eek: :eek: :confused:

[GBW]

This timline went from being Louie on th' Moon to an earlier, different WWI???? :eek: :eek: :eek: :confused:
It was so Louis Armstrong would be the first man on the Moon. :)

[luakel]

It was so Louis Armstrong would be the first man on the Moon. :)
Couldn't it have a much simpler POD?
Not that I'm complaining or anything.... It's a really good read. :)

[GBW]

Couldn't it have a much simpler POD?
Not that I'm complaining or anything.... It's a really good read. :)
To have an African-American be the first man on the Moon before Louis Armstrong gets too old to even be considered as an astronaut, it required some rather radical changes from OTL.

[wkwillis]

Aviation was advancing rapidly in 1904 to 1914. If the war was delayed by another five years, we might have had jets in combat. Not good jets, of course. Centripetal turbojets using low temperature steels instead of superalloys and a stressed skin balsa wood and plywood design?