Why did early korean war jets carry big bulbous tanks on the tips of their wings (like the F2H banshee or F84 thunderjet)? How do modern jets manage with higher performance engines?

Question

Like, why not carry them slung under the wings like bombs? Fire bomb tanks have similar shapes and those were slung under the wings.

And from what I’ve seen of public modern fighter jets, they carry their drop tanks under their wings like a bomb.

In: Engineering

Answer 1

A common problem with fast fighters with thin wings is wing flutter. As the warplane streaks across the sky, small vibrations from numerous sources; engine, turbulence, pilot corrections, starts to add up and makes the wing vibrate and lose lift as the air movement gets disrupted. Putting a weight on the tips or near it dampens the vibrations and makes a smoother flight.