I'd not come across the Kelly Johnson wing area story before, and I can't see it illuminates the design criteria much.
Based on MTOW the following seem to be the wing loadings (lb/sq.ft.):
Lockheed 049: 52.27
Lockheed 649: 56.96
Avro Tudor I: 53.48
Bristol Brabazon: 54.54
DH Comet I: 54.59
Last edited by Allan Lupton; 6th Oct 2014 at 17:37.