Henry Spencer wrote:

In article ,
Scott Lowther wrote:
Ohf course, the first stealth fighter was the De Haviland Mosquito in WW2,
made of wood so it would not show on the primitive radar of the time.

Errr... it was made of wood because wood was what the Brits had at the
time, and because it made the plane light and fast. Radar wasn't much of
an issue during it's development, I believe.

Everything I've seen agrees with Scott on this -- the motive for the
Mosquito's timber-and-plywood construction was to minimize dependence on
scarce strategic materials (aluminum) and the specialized facilities used
to work with them. Unusual durability and low radar cross-section were
unintentional side effects.

(As were susceptibility to rot, and a tendency for cracks to develop near
glue joints in climates that alternate long dry periods and long wet
periods (because timber and plywood swell and shrink by different amounts
as their water content changes). And the hope of avoiding specialized
manufacturing facilites was partly defeated by the idiosyncrasies of wood,
not all of which were fully understood at the outset, which tend to
require loving care by skilled labor to get consistently good results.)

Note that a wooden aircraft still has a significant radar return, although
not as much as a metal aircraft, partly because wood does reflect radar
somewhat and partly because there's still a lot of metal in engines,
wiring, etc.
--
MOST launched 30 June; science observations running | Henry Spencer
since Oct; first surprises seen; papers pending. |




The radar return in not a reflection, but a sympathetic resonance of
the target.

On a basic skin paint, edges normal to the observer count for most of
the radar signature.

Edges like sheet metal fairings, cowlings, struts, wires, engine parts
(wood pistons won't help much),propeller, etc.