Quote Originally Posted by CINDERS View Post
I can understand Willy Messerschmidt's keeping the oleo legs on the fuselage for strength so the impact is taken by a strong section and not by the wings, how hard it would have been to alter the wing to change it to the config like the FW-190 is baffling given how good the Germans were at building things.
That was a Willy Messerschmitt demand - he wouldn't allow the wings to get junked up with bulges for canon or outboard landing gear mounts.
As far as the negative G getaway by the 109's to quickly counter this whilst the boffins got to work on the problem with the Spitfires carby cutting out the pilots devised a stop gap measure to get onto the tail of the 109 as it dove away. And that was to roll the Spit onto its back pull hard on the stick and dive on the 109 inverted first then either rolling out or continuing the dive in the same attitude it became a nasty shock to some of the Luftwaffe pilots to find as they bunted to scoot away the Spit was still on their tail.
Ah, there was a stop-gap issued during the Battle of Britainicon nicknamed "Miss Shilling's Orifice" that allowed the negative-G maneuver in the Brit planes. They went around to all the stations one weekend and installed them. Nasty shock that was.

Bob