The Terrifying Physics of WWII Dive Bombing

The act of dive bombing during World War II was a death defying trial of skill and nerve. You aimed your plane down, four miles above the ocean, and plummeted at speeds of up to 275 miles per hour.

[santaclaus]

I always wondered about the poor gunner. He’s falling backward (really fast) & he’s got no idea if he’s gonna go SPLAT. That’s BIG balls right there

[glengerdes]

My adopted father was a rear gunner. When the war was over. He never flew again.

[gmverber]

Um. Sort of somehow missed seeing any mention of the physics of dive bombing promised by the title. The physics, engineering and flying of such planes truly is fascinating. Perhaps Smithsonian might consider making such a video—this one certainly is not.

[tramlink]

fun fact, Stukas had a diver recovery system that engaged at 700m. if the pilot blacked out the stuka at 700m would automatically release the bomb and the elevators would mechanically pitch up and pull the aircraft from its dive

[Bacony_Cakes]

Junkers Ju-87 Stuka: **stuka siren noises**
Douglas SBD Dauntless: **stuka siren noises**
Sopwith Camel: **stuka siren noises**
Cessna 172: **stuka siren noises**

[_MrMoney]

Japanese pilots: *so you guys pull back?*

[oldcremona]

There’s always something inherently dissatisfying with these Smithsonian videos. They never really get to what you thought you were going to learn.

[Unus_Annus_]

My grandfather was a SBD tail gunner in the war. He kept a journal documenting everyday life, including hits, and fatalities. He was deeply traumatized by war, and would have nightmares

[kenowens]

My dad was a rear-gunner. He saw the target only after they pulled out of the dive. You had to be very young to withstand the forces that existed in a straight dive toward the target and all that water.

[ejsgarage]

It was a good thing that the Japanese flag was a red dot target.

[sethrich]

Titled “Terrifying Physics”... literally describes nothing about physics.

[spaghetti]

I like how these documentaries dub in the sound of a stuka any time plane is diving...

[manilajohn]

Actually, dive bomber pilots of various nations often dived at angles of over 80 degrees- and some of them dove straight down at 90 degrees. One thing not mentioned in the video is that the rapid loss of altitude followed by the stress of pullout caused some capillaries (small blood vessels) in the lungs of the crews to burst- which shortened the lives of the crews.

[adamhbrennan]

Chicken vs the ocean
Pro tip: ocean ain’t gonna flinch

[MrPanzerCatYT]

"Its near impossible to hit a ship with a free falling bomb from 20000 feet."

*Fritz X has joined the chat*

[dalegreer]

My friend's dad flew a dive bomber in WWII. He said they trained them to tense up and scream as they were pulling up after they released their bomb, to keep their blood pressure up and keep blood flowing to the brain. Later in the war they put him to strafing enemy positions. He ended up with a lot of psychological issues, pretty messed up.

[BP-]

My father flew an SBD at Midway, Battle of Santa Cruz, Truk Lagoon and the Battle of the Philippine Sea for which he was awarded the Navy Cross. I still think about him everyday.

[jimstanga]

I saw a documentary on television about Admiral Yamamoto in the 1970’s. I think it was, The Commanders. It was an anthology series that explored the biographies of notable WW2 military leaders. I remember an interview where an older man recalled that Yamamoto had organized a practice dive bombing demonstration for some government officials. During the exercise, some of the civilian officials were chatting amongst each other, and ignoring the demonstration. He became angry at this and berated them openly by informing them that although this is just an exercise, many of the men came back from these missions with splitting headaches, ruptured blood vessels on their eyes, and coughing up or vomiting blood. He stated that although they were young and tough, he was certain that this was shortening their lives. But this was an important skill to become proficient at and their country needed them to do it, so they volunteered and did not complain. He concluded his chastisement by offering that the least they could do is pay attention out of respect. There afterwards, he had a silent and attentive audience.

[lionpulse]

Yup and again thats a sound of german stuka jericho sirens on an american planes

[xnato-uqtn]

Balls is right. You had 18 to 20 year olds going almost straight down faster than a hotrod. No way I could do that. They have my respect, and thanks and appreciation.