"John R Weiss" wrote in message
news:NJ1Jb.24583$I07.64369@attbi_s53...
"Cub Driver" wrote...

(IIRC military aircraft were designed to maintain
lower cabin pressure than airliners, to limit the damage
amplification following a hit)

I was pondering this possibility also, but then I remembered that the
B-36 was supposed to be *depressurized* when the plane moved into a
combat situation.

For a couple data points, the A-4 and A-6 had cabin pressure differentials
of
about 4 and 5 psi (8,000' cockpit at about 23,000'). There was no
depressurization procedure for combat. The 747-400 runs normally at 8.9
psi
(6,700' cabin at about 43,000').

The B-36 was an early pressurized aircraft, developed during war time. I
suspect engineers' knowledge of the aircraft reaction to combat damage and
rapid
depressurization was a lot less than now...

I wonder where this depressurization before entering combat thing came from?
IIRC my father never mentioned any routine depressurization during the
combat missions he pulled during WWII on the even earlier designed B-29.

Brooks