Originally Posted by Globaliser
You have to remember that metallurgy was then not really the science that it is now. The behaviour of metals was much less well understood. The causes of "metal fatigue" (as the phenomenon became known) were obscure, and this type of use of metal in a pressure vessel with this type of cutout was novel. We live and learn.
That was precisely my point - but you've expressed it so much more eloquently.
Isn't it amazing that they could make these huge lumbering contraptions fly despite not fully understanding the nature of the materials they were using? My mind still reels over this kind of thing whilst I sit meditating over a little hole in the window.