Early airframes used spars, ribs, wire bracing, trusses, and fabric stretched over a simple internal structure. Geodetic construction spread force and load, while aluminium demanded a different industrial skill set from the sewing and repair work used on fabric-covered aircraft. Metal structures offered greater strength, although manufacturing and maintenance methods had to change with them. That strength mattered aboard carriers because every recovery subjected the aircraft to a controlled crash, making landing loads a routine structural threat.
Chapter · 28:23-31:10
Carrier landings drive stronger aircraft structures
Repeated carrier recoveries explain why stronger aluminium structures mattered beside fabric and wire-braced construction.