The Corsair had water injection as a WEP, I forget by what mechanism it worked but it could make that big ol’ Pratt & Whitney eat its own guts for more horsepower.
Thanks, that’s a lot more than my sketchy memory of what my dad told me (WWII pilot). Might not be where “under the wire” came from but it’s fascinating.
WEP, war emergency power. Depends on the aircraft how long you could use it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_emergency_power
The Corsair had water injection as a WEP, I forget by what mechanism it worked but it could make that big ol’ Pratt & Whitney eat its own guts for more horsepower.
Water methanol injection, cools the air charge which makes it denser, more air you can cram in the more fuel you can cram in with it.
https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/the-f4u-1-and-water-injection.40598/?amp=1
Thanks, that’s a lot more than my sketchy memory of what my dad told me (WWII pilot). Might not be where “under the wire” came from but it’s fascinating.