This Forum is Closed
March 28, 2024, 09:17:31 am
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
News: GGF now has a permanent home: http://forum.globalgulag.com
 
  Home Help Search Links Staff List Login Register  

Did Curtis LeMay Discover Fractal Geometry in 1942?

Pages: [1]   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: Did Curtis LeMay Discover Fractal Geometry in 1942?  (Read 444 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Bad Penny
Sr. Member
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 327



View Profile
« on: August 06, 2011, 02:21:57 am »

In attempting to arrive at a fair critique of Alexander de Seversky's "Combat Plane" concept, I discovered something unexpected about the "Combat Box" formation developed in late 1942 by then-Colonel Curtis LeMay.

In particular, the numerical and spacial organization of the Combat Box involves the repetition of a single fundamental structure in three-dimensional space to build larger and more complex structures which, in turn, recapitulate the spacial form of the fundamental structure.  In other words, Col. LeMay's geometric concept is fractal.

Obviously, dire operational necessity in a lethal environment dictates that perfection in fractal geometrical form not be a priority, but just look at how close this formation comes to such perfection:

Standard Group Combat Box Formation of 20 Aircraft - August 1943



from:

http://www.303rdbg.com/formation.html


Obviously, a more perfect fractal form would require a nine-plane squadron of three flights of three aircraft each, as part of a three-squadron group of 27 aircraft, with no Tail-End Charlies to protect the swallow-tail-shaped opening at the rear of the box from enemy fighters attempting to break up the formation from six o'clock level, but, once again, wartime necessity obviously militates against such theoretical perfection in favor of operational practicality.  But the basics of fractal geometry are clearly present in Lemay's ideas, much as Pythagoras is wrongly credited with having discovered his eponymous theorem when he merely rediscovered what a group of tax-cheating Greek farmers had clearly figured out earlier.
« Last Edit: August 06, 2011, 02:23:49 am by Bad Penny » Report Spam   Logged

Are you taking over?
Or are you taking orders?
I ain't going backwards!
We're going only forwards!

The Clash, White Riot

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter



Pages: [1]   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by EzPortal
Bookmark this site! | Upgrade This Forum
Free SMF Hosting - Create your own Forum

Powered by SMF | SMF © 2016, Simple Machines
Privacy Policy
Page created in 0.036 seconds with 20 queries.