Bell XP-77 - America's Emergency Fighter (Built from Wood)

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As World War II raged on in Europe and the Far East, the American military began to seriously consider that they may soon have to prepare for combat against Germany and Japan.
Japan was growing hungrier for new territories, and Germany was more powerful than ever. Thus, in the early years of the war, the U.S. began to consider developing an Air Force capable of competing with Japanese and German fighters such as the A6M Zero and the Messerschmitt Bf 109.
However, one major problem surfaced when the American military got to work. The conflict could very well restrict strategic war materials, such as oil and metals, especially aluminum. If that happened, mass production of weaponry, including aircraft, could be crippled…
As a solution for the lengthy and costly war that lay ahead, American aviation engineers considered developing a resource-friendly fighter that would focus on using non-strategic materials.
Bell Aircraft thought they had come up with a clever answer.
The Bell XP-77 would be made mostly of wood.
- As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect. I do my best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas. -

[@Tony-pm5xo]

Bell's wooden aircraft was designed by an engineer called "Bob woods". "Obviously the best guy for this job"

[@domgia9248]

Don't knock on Wood. Wood would not prove to be a solid pick

[@collinwood6573]

@@domgia9248 I have to disagree with you on that

[@billpetersen298]

Not, Jack Lumber?

[@tboda2621]

@@billpetersen298 Tim Timber

[@wildancrazy159]

David spruce or frank plank or woody elm or.... Red wood? I'll stop..

[@73THUNDERDOME73]

Rest In Peace to Chuck Yeager. Forever Blue skies 💙

[@jasper_saberwolf]

I was so sad to see that in the headlines this morning 🙁 he was and will go on as a legend in aerospace.

[@robertneville8709]

So very sad

[@firstnamelastname-uz2ng]

as long as we break that barrier we will always remember him

[@dakkuri1]

Bad ass fighter pilot.💪💪✈✈

[@milkybar06]

That's sad to hear this 😢

[@vizionz9755]

I can't pay attention when the background music is banging that hard

[@aaronjaben7913]

I noticed the music too and not in a good way, interesting though

[@coryernewein]

I got 2 mins in and had to restart cuz I was into it too much!🎶🎻🎹🎸🥁🎺

[@michaelschultz342]

It seems to happen a lot when Your IQ is below 100. Not Sorry.....

[@coryernewein]

@@michaelschultz342 lol looks like someone missed the humour. I think Au ViZionZ was commenting that the music in this episode was particularly good. I thought the intro music was overplayed beautifully. It is not easy to get the masses to appreciate classical music in this day and age of Pop/and Hip Hop clogging up the airwaves and streaming sites.

[@vizionz9755]

@@michaelschultz342 Anyone who mentions IQ in a KZbin comment section does not have an IQ above 100. lol

[@johnparrish9215]

It would make one hell of a good Sport Plane with a few changes, I love the way the canopy retracts.

[@C-Henry]

I've always wanted to see a homebuilt/experimental based on this, with modern techniques dealing with the vibration and stability should be possible.

[@superdupergrover9857]

What engine though? If you go watercooled, then stuffing in a radiator will be tough, i think. Are there any air cooled V engines available? You could fit a flat air cooled and keep the triangular fuselage cross section, but then the drivetrain will be complicated and the CG will be low.

[@rocknative70]

@Bob Because of it’s materials and engine at hand, back THEN. Its an entirely different set of technologies today.

[@Idiotresponsibly]

@@superdupergrover9857 personally I would go for an aviation converted small block Chevy or a rotary, as both require minimal cooling, have a pretty compact form, are compatible with forced induction, get decent gas burn, and are readily available. Throw a turbo on a stock SBC and you can get stupid power, and add light mods and you easily can hit 800-900hp mark, same with a 3 rotor like the Mazda 20b, though those usually run closer to 1000hp. Rob Dahm has a built 26b 4 rotor rx7 with an 106mm turbo that makes north of 2000 hp reliably off of something that is the literal size of a small punching bag plus the dinner plate sized turbo.

[@rbilleaud]

Wonder if a TIGO 541 would fit in there?

[@-Zevin-]

The de Havilland mosquito was made of wood, and it was one of the most successful aircraft of ww2.

[@johnparrish9215]

If the Mosquito had been powered by Ranger engines it would have been known as a crap aircraft.

[@ralikdiver]

Had they put a Merlin in the XP-77, that would have been a game changer. But honestly, at that small size, it would never have been anything other than a point defense interceptor.

[@IvorMektin1701]

@@ralikdiver Merlin torque in that little guy would have been fun😋

[@IvorMektin1701]

The big fear was the Japanese becoming super aggressive and attacking the west coast and the US losing LA based aircraft factories.

[@johnparrish9215]

@@ralikdiver I would love to have the design prints just to see if a 632 cu inch Chevrolet could be used. I would make a hell of a great sport plane.

[@carmatic]

the music sounds uncharacteristically showy for this channel ....

[@beniscool4u]

I liked the song he used at 5:00

[@jasonbernal9348]

I am not a fan of it

[@captainmorgan9066]

In a good way though :D

[@weIfed]

the techno classical music seemed a bit odd for a history video

[@rocketremity9571]

i actually quite liked it but it is true that it sounded a bit unusual for this channel

[@goawayihavecommentstomake1488]

You can definitely see the air racer inspiration fir the plane. It’s a little like something from Crimson Skies

[@blumpfreyfranks8863]

God i forgot about that game. I used to play that with my friends on split screen. Good times

[@andrewluchsinger]

Damn that was a fun game to play. I will have to see if I can find a copy of that game.

[@TheJosep70]

Or Air Power.

[@903lew]

From the Nation of Hollywood to the Empire State!

[@flashgordon3715]

My mom was a kid in wwii. She told us about turning in aluminum pots and pans to make airplanes.

[@jamesengland7461]

Many sacrifices like this are foreign to our minds today

[@g.a.c.4139]

Not just pots and pans. Most pre-1930 cars were melted down during WW2 scrap drives. We lost many of the greatest cars ever made during those scrap drives, but at the end of the war there was a massive amount of extra raw materials and built-up war machines. You could say that it was better to have too much war materials than having too little, and that's true, but by late 1944 the USA knew the war was basically won. This is a complicated discussion with many pros and cons.

[@TankRank5344]

@@g.a.c.4139 Idk about greatest cars ever made. I'm pretty sure my 2009 Hyundai Sonata with 260k miles is objectively a better car than the best car prior to 1930. Some of the coolest cars, definitely.

[@jefferyboring4410]

I wander how well a 2009 hynndai would hold up on 1920s roads! Probably ok but would be stuck in mud a lot! Ground clearance was a big deal in the 20s

[@jamesengland7461]

@@TankRank5344 perhaps he's referring to Marmons, Duesenbergs, etc.? Iconic and rare and magnificent, and truly some were far ahead of their time. But you're right- can't compare to ordinary modern cars.

[@robbabcock_]

I'd never heard of this one, thanks!

[@samrussell9264]

To be fair, the US thinking was sound, wood was readily available. Notable wooden aircraft of the WW2 era: British Mosqueto: one of the finest multi-role aircraft of the war German Salemada: last ditch but with a high potential as a stop-gap jet fighter British Vampire: immediate post-war jet fighter, missed active service but highly successful

[@billhart9832]

I've been an aviation buff for 50+ years and am familiar with many obscure aircraft, but this one never crossed my path before. Thanks for the revelation!

[@RCrosbyLyles]

About the slight disclaimer or apology at the end of the description over available footage, I for one enjoy the quality of Dark Skies videos enough not to to be significantly bothered by occasional footage rehash ect. Great work! Rock on!

[@LoganKinney-sj2tb]

Looks like a p40 but a bubble canopy and the cockpit more back. And I like it

[@williammagoffin9324]

If you like that look up the XP-40Q.

[@bartonkj]

I see more resemblance to the P39.

[@lestplayagame547]

@@williammagoffin9324 it looks like a spitfire😂

[@lestplayagame547]

@@bartonkj but nah it looks more like a Corsair tobme

[@fiery1962]

It looks like a Caudron

[@maitele]

I first saw this plane in the book *Chuck Yeager and the Bell X-1* as a little kid. While of course the X-1 was the star of the book, I did often find myself fascinated with this tiny, long nosed phaeton of an aircraft, which only got a brief mention and a single picture during an explanation of Bell's history. Upon seeing that silhouette again in the thumbnail, and after the news of this morning... Damn, that hits close.

[@ZEZERBING]

2:20. if Gilligan knew how to work with wood, why didn't he fix the damn boat??

[@happydee6950]

Plot necessity.

[@HustleMuscleGhias]

They could have gotten off that island if they killed Gilligan. He screwed up everything.

[@jackandblaze5956]

Because he was secretly hoping to hook up with Mary Ann someday

[@g.a.c.4139]

@@jackandblaze5956 Yeah, me too.

[@aquablue6301]

@@jackandblaze5956 Ginger for a night, Mary Ann for life!

[@bernardedwards8461]

One of the best aircraft of WW2, the De Havilland Mosquito, was made of wood, so also was the Heinkel Salamander jet fighter. a potentially good performer which appeared in the last days of the war.

[@kyle857]

The salamander was pretty trash

[@bernardedwards8461]

@@kyle857 I read a test pilot's report on it which said it was a good plane for its time, but wartime shortages and manufacturing conditions meant that standards of construction were sometimes low and on rare occasions Salamanders broke up in the air. Before we get too holier-than-thou about it we should remember that it sometimes happened to British planes. The tail unit broke off a number of early Typhoons before the fault was rectified. A De Havilland 110 broke up at an air display in the fifties and the wreckage plunged into a crowd of spectators. Planes and other war machines often have teething troubles. The Salamander was designed to be cheap and quick to build and made minimal demands on scarce wartime metals. The Me163, also made of wood, was a much more dangerous plane to fly, but had its good points.

[@stephenjacks8196]

Except slave laborers in Germany (sabotaged) peed into glue vats causing substandard glue joints.

[@bernardedwards8461]

@@stephenjacks8196 Very likely, but Heinkel's design was pretty good considering the constraints he had to work to. A properly constructed Salamander could have outfought the contemporary Meteor. Fuel was also a difficulty at that stage of the war.

[@stephenjacks8196]

@@bernardedwards8461 Heinkel had built the first flying German jet aircraft in 1939. Heinkel had built the first working turbojet engine. The German RLM decided "aircraft specialists" and "engine specialist" companies would get development funds. But if you're a contractor making good profit from existing contractors: do you jeopardize that with something new?

[@ces4399]

Bob Woods: what an appropriate name for its designer!

[@blakhorizon915]

🔥 Its hard to pay attention when the music is straight fire 🔥

[@FayeHunter]

@D H royalty free bastardization tho

[@HigherrConsciousness]

Right!?? I started jottin down some rhymes! Check out my vids for more chill beats and songs 😅

[@sylamy7457]

LMAOO

[@GypsyHunter232UK]

His continuous lisping voice sounds like a jumbled auctioneers voice ..very off putting .

[@Gotobar]

@@FayeHunter You know where I can find it? Lmao

[@chrislongbeard]

Would make a nice little personal airplane. The room saved by losing the guns could go to a larger fuel tank and put a Continental 6 in there maybe turbocharged for fun

[@nattybumpo7156]

Lycoming. TIO541.

[@mashbury]

Loose the guns ? Are you mad 🤣😂😅

[@joshuaforbus5853]

30 years of watching history and I never new this. Wow. Well done and I'm only 1:32 seconds in...

[@thorinth3079]

The intro song is Beethoven's 5th symphony dupstep remix. Honestly think Beethoven is rolling in his grave.

[@janeappleseed2154]

Ludwig V.: *nervously vibing* wdym this shit is kinda fire actually ngl

[@harrymu148]

@Aquatic Ape or a complete cyberpunk makeover

[@Minong_Manitou_Mishepeshu]

There's Bell again, always ahead of the curve.

[@robertkilroy5699]

What a terrible pun! 😱😱😱😱🙂

[@rayfrancis542]

in all seriousness though, ever heard of bell helicopters??

[@Minong_Manitou_Mishepeshu]

@@rayfrancis542 Yes, I'm a big fan of the JetRanger. BIG FAN.

[@shaider1982]

Plus points for the Statistics joke👍🤣

[@scottsmith4315]

Oh man, that’s bad. And I’m still laughing dammit!

[@aaronbuckmaster7063]

The British did that same thing with the mosquito. That wooden twin engine plane was a killer that Germany hated.

[@Data-sk9ev]

YAY, A NEW VIDEO! You just made my day so much better

[@blazerocker1734]

If you can make it, a trip to the Air Force museum in Dayton OH is worth the journey.

[@HSMiyamoto]

The Hawker Hurricane also had a wooden airframe, although it was covered with cloth. The Hurricane is unjustly overlooked, but it kept the RAF competitive until the performance and production troubles of the Spitfire were solved. The XP-77 could have had a different history if it had been available by 1942.

[@timothybattey171]

You are correct in that the Hurricane is overlooked by most historians. Covered in cloth? Do you have any more info on this? Whatever cloth (coated with who knows what) is there that can withstand extreme stress of temperature and wind pressures? Kudos to the engineers and developers!

[@HSMiyamoto]

@@timothybattey171 I think the Hurricane was built like the Mosquito. WWI style with a wooden airframe under a canvas wrapping. The Spitfire, by comparison, was made of stressed-skin aluminum, and flush-riveted, I think. Those technologies were in their infancy in 1939.

[@andrewallen9993]

@@timothybattey171 Irish linen painted with aircraft dope :)

[@andrewallen9993]

@@HSMiyamoto Mosquito was a stressed skin design made out of wood.

[@timothybattey171]

@@HSMiyamoto As a hobbyist woodworker, I am very much impressed by their use of 1930's technology and expertise. Even props were machine-roughed out then hand-finished in those days, I am given to understand. I suppose mass-production techniques made the process tolerable for the craftsmen.

[@richardclarke8280]

Great channel keep up the good work. I really look forward to watching you channel when I’m on my lunch break

[@agnostic47]

"Gentlemen, we need an aircraft made of wood". Bell comes up with the XP-77. De Haviland unveil the Mosquito.

[@nickdanger3802]

Britain produced 131,549 aircraft 39-45. USA produced 303,665 and Lend Leased approx. 30,000 to Britain. 39,974 engines Lend Leased to Britain including the Packard Merlin's in the Hurricanes, Lancasters and Mossys built in Canada. B. Mk XX 245 built Built by de Havilland Canada with 1,460 hp Packard Merlin 31 or 33. Specification otherwise as B. Mk VII. BAE Systems Mosquito page www.baesystems.com/en/heritage/de-havilland-mosquito

[@philipwardle6820]

And for info on the Mosquito construction a good resource is "The People's Mosquito" project www.peoplesmosquito.org.uk/ conceived by a charitable organisation aiming "To Fly, To Educate, To Remember" and return aircraft RL249 to the skies. Lots of online info about the development of jigs and tooling for production of a new fusilage. All contributions great and small welcome via the website!

[@stephenhall1892]

@@nickdanger3802 Quality over quantity.

[@nickdanger3802]

@@stephenhall1892 US aircraft in production in 1939 and still in front line service in 1945: P38, P39 (2,701 Lend Leased to British Empire plus 4,423 to USSR, link below), P40 (2,799 LL to BE), F4F Wildcat (aircraft purchased by France "transferred" to Britain in 1940), DC3/C47 (2,035 LL to BE), Lockheed Hudson A-28 & A-29, (1,007 LL to BE), B17, B24 (2,140 LL to BE plus 88 to Canada), Catalina flying boat, built in Canada under license as Canso. Approx. 1,000 used British aircraft loaned to USA per Yesterdays Air Force Reverse Lend Lease on U tube. ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/LL-Ship/LL-Ship-7.html

[@watcherzero5256]

@@nickdanger3802 P38 and P39 were judged too poor performing for frontline service by Britain. They were relegated upon delivery to low intensity areas like garrisons in quiet theatres or passed straight on to the Soviets as British aid. P51 was only good when a British engine was stuck in it. Every F4F (in British service the Martlet) was remanufactured by Blackburn to bring it up to British standards, the contracts for 81 to equip French aircraft carriers were novated to Britain (Britain and France ran a joint procurement programme) and Britain also picked up 30 that were in Gibraltar awaiting delivery to Greece when it surrendered. 20 B-17C were acquired by the RAF in 1940 but they proved to have low accuracy and a lot of mechanical problems so were relegated to maritime patrol as were later deliveries. In 1943 it was withdrawn from combat entirely and used purely for meteorological flights. B24's wernt used by RAF as bombers, they were used as passenger planes and for maritime patrol and distributed amongst RAF, Coastal Command and BOAC. So yeah, american aircraft wernt thought that well of in Britain.

[@Theogenerang]

The Hawker Hurricane fought from the start of the war through to the end with a wooden frame. The DeHavilland Vampire jet fighter served through to the Rhodesian bush wars with a wooden ply fuselage pod. Take a look at some of the experimental category kit planes at the EAA museum in Wisconsin some time. Wood is an excellent airframe material.

[@alisonfox7318]

The DH Mosquito was all wood, that worked

[@polygondwanaland8390]

Volksjaeger, LaGG, and parts of the Bf 109K as well

[@Rifleman762x51]

Love your content, and like the addition of music, but I think turning the volume down a bit would help keep the focus on the information you share. Keep up the great videos!

[@jonkomatsu8192]

Interesting! Had no idea. Wish they followed through with the development. The success of the British Mosquito proves the potential for such a plane as the XP77. Great job, thanks!

[@Crosshair84]

Both aircraft were failures. Just in different ways. The XP-77 failed because of poor performance, but did minimize use of strategic resources. The Mosquito failed at minimizing the consumption of strategic resources, but had superb performance. Mosquito production required specific types and grades of woods from all over the world, consuming large amounts of shipping capacity at times when the supply of shipping was questionable. Had this been disrupted, Mosquito production would have ground to a halt just like other aircraft. The XP-77 could be built entirely of domestically supplied wood in the US. The Mosquito used new adhesives that had its own limits of production while the XP-77 used more conventional, but lower performance, glues that were more readily available. Then there is the engines, the supply of Merlin engines was not always guaranteed. The XP-77 used an engine that was in not quite as high demand. As near as I can tell, it was also easier to produce. The Mosquito required highly skilled labor to produce that was not easily expanded. XP-77 I believe could use less skilled woodworkers. The Mosquito lived on because the performance made it worthwhile to build, even after it failed to not be as resource intensive as other aircraft.

[@Cuccos19]

Oh, very big thank you for this episode! :) I mentioned, asked for this aircraft in your "XB-46 - The Needle" episode and now here it comes. :)

[@C-Henry]

I remember this from an old book I had called "X Planes of WWII", always wished I could build a working replica.

[@TalkingGIJoe]

what? and ruin a perfectlt good sitcom!

[@captaincurd2681]

Bell XP - 77 is so beautiful. The Russian Yak had a similar looking plane except for the lower nose air intake.

[@WonderfulAircraft]

the editing of these videos is getting even better. Keep up the great content guys!

[@roybaker6902]

Unfortunately still using the same trash narrator.

[@AdmRose]

US in 1940: OMGz the Zero will kill us all! US in 1942: ohhh, just don’t dogfight with them.

[@shaider1982]

@Joel S I think they all can use drop tanks.

[@mqbitsko25]

"Wood? What a stupid idea!" DeHavilland: "Hold my warm beer...."

[@LupusAries]

Lavochkin, Gorbunov, Gudkov, Yakowlew, Mikoyan and Gurevich: Hold my Vodka! ;)

[@stupitdog9686]

British beer was not really warm. It was served a celler tremperature ...propably a few degrees below the bar temperature .. so it was ... cool. Nowadays we can serve your "Larger" as we call it, (Pale insipid lite, low alcohol American or Contental "beer") , Ice Cold, but British beer tastes much better at celler, or "cool" serving.

[@mebeingU2]

This is where the “No Smoking” sign in every airplane originated!!

[@vespurrs]

I appreciate that you let us know where the remaining aircraft, if any, are located today.

[@justsoicanfingcomment5814]

2:27 and that's why we have tractor trailer racing. WW2 lumber yards frequently only had enough room in logging tracks for a one lane road and one truck at a time, so truckers had to haul the lumber out in a hurry to make room for the next truck.

[@brettwilson5389]

7:34 Gut wrenching, friendly you didn't see slotting into your firing arc.

[@mEmEzMaN...]

Yeah ive seen on guncams too many friendlys slipping into fire arcs i dont know how they cant see the other f****** friendly SHOOTING at the exact same target

[@lanedexter6303]

Interesting. I could see EAA hobbyists perhaps creating some homebuilt replicas.

[@eyesofstatic9641]

Your editing has improved a lot lol much more smooth than the first Dark5 videos

[@willemroux321]

Really really loving this channel. Keep it up guys. Great work!🤘

[@captainmorgan9066]

Love your new music in the first minute XD

[@totenvt]

this aircraft seems to have been featured in the film "Flight Lieutenant (1942) - Glenn Ford & Evelyn Keyes" as an experimental fighter that the tail fell off of at the end

[@bluetopguitar1104]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_B-3

[@bluetopguitar1104]

It seems to be a pre war racer called a Brown B3

[@rovercoupe7104]

It looks like a two seater, but without the front cockpit. M.

[@bluetopguitar1104]

@@rovercoupe7104 yeah. Almost like a Ryan trainer..pt22 I think.

[@phalkhan9076]

Great video as always love the opening music choice.

[@steppedtuba50]

damn bro nice sound choice, makes me hype to watch

[@thestalicho]

There was also a wooden fighter ready to be produced. The Miles M-20

[@bluetopguitar1104]

Thanks for the video. Like a lot of programs the engine never developed enough power. The lightweight fighter concept is tough in general. Possibly the yak 3 was the only ww2 lightweight fighter that was successful.

[@johncunningham4820]

Bell Aircraft were Remarkable "Think outside the Box " Engineers . No-one was going to match the A6M however . The Radial engine in it was Very powerful for its size , Reliable and Cheap . The Mitsubishi Zero is arguably the Best Fighter Plane ever built . Bell moved into Helicopters . The Iconic " Huey " is theirs . The Bell Iroquois . Vietnams Gunship . VERY Tough bird . Jet ranger came later .

[@bb5242]

There were massive shortages of goods after the war. One of my dad's stories from I think 1946 (in the US Northeast) was not having enough fuel oil for their furnace. Several families were finally able to buy some drums of oil but they had no way to transport them due to the snowy conditions. They ended up getting a large sled and the men hauled the drums through town to each house. Shortages did work themselves out until the early 1950s. The '50s really were a golden era for the USA, one we will likely never see again.

[@kevinchappell3694]

Good info......delivery too breathless. Relax voice, IMHO

[@deepvoid7719]

anyone gonna talk about the FIRE background music at the beginning

[@jblob5764]

For real. So fitting

[@tripjj8662]

you mean the awful music at the beginning

[@NewirthofUIC]

''Americans prepared to enter the worldwide armed conflict by cranking up disco versions of classical music in factories everywhere"... checks out

[@burebistta1923]

no

[@jamesengland7461]

Excellent video as always!

[@luizcarlosdeiricci8957]

Thanks for the post !

[@davidca96]

there were fighters such as the early LaGG and YaK fighters made of wood impregnated with a resin that made it inflammable, and roughly as strong as steel. The only downside was it shatters when struck by flak or large caliber rounds, but they did work extremely well. The XP-77 was incredibly ugly though, I mean ughh.

[@nitehawk86]

Inflammable means flammable. What a country.

[@sorryociffer]

Looks like a super slim, sleek P-40

[@kittyhawk9707]

look up the XP40Q :)

[@cheezBurger420]

Man I usually really enjoy your videos! the music killed it.. This is the first time I haven't finished a video of yours.

[@theauthor8901]

Your videos are absolutely fascinating, thank you!

[@toxicwolf2220]

Didnt know i needed a remix of flight of the bumblebees until now

[@twizz420]

This is the worst music I've ever heard on a Dark _______ video. And the music is a big part of what first made Dark 5 so great. Especially for the "Nightmare fuel photos from space" video. The music was very atmospheric and really added to the creepiness.

[@prestonang8216]

Neither did i need a mashup of beethoven’s 5th symphony and für elise, but now i do

[@jeffreymcfadden9403]

so we have another shout out to the NMUSAF in DAYTON! My home town.

[@matthewcaughey8898]

Made yearly trips out there till the covid virus ruined those. Will be returning as soon as I’m physically capable of doing so

[@jeffreymcfadden9403]

@@matthewcaughey8898 I was born a few miles from the museum. been there going on 55 years now. they even have a new diner there that i want to check out!

[@johntaylor-lo8qx]

Amazing story as always !!! Thank you ❤

[@jetsons101]

Great video. I see some complain about the Narrator and the Music but to me it's a little out of the box thinking, the voice and music have a bit of mystery to it. Thanks for your time and work. Also the ones that complain probably don't know how to put a video together, it's not easy.......

[@matteolorenzogirardelli436]

7:33 that's a near friendly fire

[@joeyjamison5772]

The biggest problem with wooden aircraft: Flying termites!

[@leyizh]

OH NO!!! GIANT, FLYING, TERMITES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@KENARDO]

The music is a nice touch, let's keep exploring that.

[@KevinC2793]

Y'all should do a video on the experimental bomber or cargo plane that was made from magnesium. I forget what its designation was, but it was in storage at the Wright-Patterson AFB museum years ago and I saw it on a behind the scenes tour. Well, I saw what was left of it, the most significant thing about the plane was that it once caused a massive hangar fire and made putting it out incredibly difficult.

[@Bennett8187]

The corsairs control surfaces were made of fabric covered wood. They could get shot and not oil can like aluminum.

[@Minong_Manitou_Mishepeshu]

Turbo prop it, shave another 500-1000 lbs off it, massively increase all performance statistics.

[@Buck1954]

Never knew of this plane. Thank you!

[@davidmcintyre8145]

The Miles M20 was another prototype wooden stopgap fighter with excellent performance

[@joeschlotthauer840]

Would've been nice to see pictures of the surviving plane...

[@JessHull]

yeah exactly.

[@Jeetanman]

Nice music!

[@Noluckman]

It is such a cool looking plane, I think, just as cool looking as the Mustang and Spitfire.

[@isaacrhodes1605]

I love the judge Judy musical score in the background!

[@normann4016]

Gosh, ...when I hear this voice , I switch over to another report...

[@kaserd5053]

FACTS

[@FayeHunter]

OPENING SOUNDTRACK ON POINT JUST TELL ME YOUR ROYALTY FREE SOURCE SO I CAN STOP ASKIN' MAN!

[@cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245]

Right?!

[@davidrox4591]

NCS maybe? No Copyright Sounds 🤷‍♂️

[@CallMeEriksan]

lmao pls comment if you find it

[@Rick-ve5lx]

The Miles M20 was the British emergency fighter. It had fixed landing gear but was faster than a Hurricane, carried more ammunition for it’s eight machine guns and had longer range. Two prototypes were built but it was not needed by the time they were ready.

[@jedimindtrix2142]

I live about 15 minutes from Wright Patterson AFB and the Museum. I have seen this plane multiple times. It's a pretty slick little thing but definitely not something that you would want to be in combat in. If you have never been to the Museum here in Dayton and you are an aircraft buff you NEED to come at least once. It's an amazing experience even for me still and I have been countless times. If anyone ever wants to go let me know and I'd meet ya there lol!

[@dorkf1sh]

Army: Build us a cheap, lightweight wooden scramble fighter that's agile and fast. And did we mention cheap? Bell: Ok, here you go Army: Now hang some bombs and stuff on it Bell: You gonna Aircobra us again?? Facepalm

[@Einwetok]

Good point. As long as the check clears, they can be as indecisive as they want, keeps a few more people employed,

[@meaneydanielp]

I keep learning more and more about WW2 thanks to the "dark" channels

[@2150dalek]

Very informative. Never heard of this aircraft.

[@calumhunter815]

What an amazingly pretty plane!

[@seagie382]

tfw too early to figure out what the start song was

[@SparkBerry]

There's a reason why it's called morning wood, not morning metal

[@ussvoyager8650]

The Bell XP-77 looks like really interesting looking aircraft

[@dragonbutt]

2:41 that is the coolest piece of equipment i have ever seen.

[@Pablo668]

Using more modern materials (carbon fiber etc) and a turbo prop engine, this would make a great civilian sport plane.

[@ElbowShouldersen]

The Zero was a dominant plane early in the war, but that did not give the Japanese "air-supremacy"...

[@u2mister17]

Right, they had air supremacy because no one had planes. The AVG had a hundred P-40s and Australia had a couple hundred P-40s. The navy had wildcats but they were no where around.

[@birb6353]

id be vibing to this sick beat

[@felinespqr8317]

Interesting! It’s not on the museum’s website, gonna have to go see it myself!

[@FunBotan]

What is an emergency in USA is just another tuesday in USSR

[@IvorMektin1701]

Had Hitler reached the Urals the Soviets would have built those or something similar. Bell Aircraft and Stalin had pretty good working relationship.

[@FunBotan]

@@IvorMektin1701 Early Yak's and La's already were something similar. The cobras were indeed highly regarded, but numerically they were a small minority in the grand scheme of things. And perhaps the most iconic Soviet plane of WW2, the IL-2, was the epitome of emergency engineering, having its fuselage made out of steel and the rest of the airframe out of wood.

[@IvorMektin1701]

@@FunBotan The IL-2 was incredible.

[@negativeone7151]

Throughut presentation: "..the airforce..." What airforce?

[@DrewLSsix]

The army airforce...

[@negativeone7151]

@@DrewLSsix "...you don't say!?" (Nicolas Cage face) Hence my comment.

[@deepscuba7384]

Would be a fun homebuilt today!!!

[@timothyboles6457]

I've heard of this aircraft, and knew a little about it, it wasn't on display at the USAF museum when I was there 14 years ago, it's a fascinating little plane though

[@oceanicchicken8186]

So we aren't going to talk about how fire the intro song was

[@oceanicchicken8186]

@Aquatic Ape oh alright I guess 😞

[@edenweaverias4829]

Not really sure how I feel about the music, I prefer just your voice, it’s sort of hard to focus on your words when the brain wants to focus on the beat of the music

[@edenweaverias4829]

Just honest feed back.

[@type_s_tyler7547]

I do not know the name of the song at the beginning of the video (nor do I want to) but the song at the end is called Comfort Zone by General Fuzz (not sure what specific remix it is, or if it's just sped up.) Haven't heard that song for probably a decade lol

[@displeaseddog7504]

I appreciate this. I use to listen to this song but forgot the name.

[@hocap1302]

love it, thanks.