Unites States 'helped win Battle of Britain through American super-fuel'
As a nation, we are used to watching Hollywood distort history to suggest that some of Britain's finest moments of the Second World War were achieved by Americans.
However, a US science writer has now claimed that Britain's two most famous aircraft were not as significant in defeating the Luftwaffe as we might like to believe.
Tim Palucka asserts that the British fighters were able to outmanoeuvre their German opponents because they were running on a special high-octane fuel created in the US.
He claims that the 100-octane fuel increased the Spitfire's speed by 25mph at sea level and by 34mph at 10,000 feet.
This proved vital during dog fights over the Channel and the skies above England in 1940, Mr Palucka writes in the journal Invention And Technology.
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
However, a US science writer has now claimed that Britain's two most famous aircraft were not as significant in defeating the Luftwaffe as we might like to believe.
Tim Palucka asserts that the British fighters were able to outmanoeuvre their German opponents because they were running on a special high-octane fuel created in the US.
He claims that the 100-octane fuel increased the Spitfire's speed by 25mph at sea level and by 34mph at 10,000 feet.
This proved vital during dog fights over the Channel and the skies above England in 1940, Mr Palucka writes in the journal Invention And Technology.