P-51 Mustang (thread drift from the ACRO P-1 thread)

[El Cid]

Want to see a badass twin engine fighter that was excessively fast and heavily armed?

F7F Tigercat.

Originally called the Tomcat, such a name was "suggestive" and crude for the day...so they called it the Tigercat instead.

That and the F8F Bearcat were some real hotrods.

Yep! My grandfather’s squadron was supposed to transition to the F7F when he was at Cherry Point but the week they were supposed to get their first flights the Marines said they needed another Corsair squadron in theater, so he went to war in the bent wing bird. I asked him if he regretted not getting to fly it and he said he loved the Corsair but he figured they would’ve seen more air to air action with the Tigercat since it was a new night fighter. He and his squadron did CAS and got to help with early uses of napalm.

[Guerrero]

No P40 love?

Shark teeth FTW

[Robinson]

No P40 love?

It's been mentioned. The later versions of the P-40 were underappreciated. Very rugged planes that served well in many roles throughout the war. Early versions were criticized because they were under-powered and couldn't turn with Japanese Zeros. That didn't stop the AVG from racking up an impressive kill-to-loss ratio. Later versions fixed many of its problems.

If I were buying a Hawker, it would be a Typhoon.

The Typhoon was a good plane at low altitude, but was outclassed by it's replacement -- the Tempest.

[Robinson]

Can we all agree that WWII produced the best looking and best performing fighters for the propeller era?

This is PF. We must argue these things. It's the law. A federal law, not one of those state things.

[Drang]

This is PF. We must argue these things. It's the law. A federal law, not one of those state things.

I was just thinking that this thread was turning into the WWII Aviation version of .45 ACP v 9mm...

[Robinson]

Didn’t the P-39 have a 37mm main gun? That would explain the Russian’s love for it.

Yep, the Russians were sent improved versions of the P-39 and used it to great affect against enemy aircraft. It suited the nature of air combat on that front; quite different from the high-altitude air battles fought over Europe.

[Drang]

Yep, the Russians were sent improved versions of the P-39 and used it to great affect against enemy aircraft. It suited the nature of air combat on that front; quite different from the high-altitude air battles fought over Europe.

IIRC one of the big problems with the P39 was that they had to leave out the turbocharger because they were needed for another bird. (Although the Wikipedia article says it was done to "reduce the complexity" of the aircraft.) The P63 variant the Russkies got had it.

[TGS]

It's been mentioned. The later versions of the P-40 were underappreciated. Very rugged planes that served well in many roles throughout the war. Early versions were criticized because they were under-powered and couldn't turn with Japanese Zeros. That didn't stop the AVG from racking up an impressive kill-to-loss ratio. Later versions fixed many of its problems.



The Typhoon was a good plane at low altitude, but was outclassed by it's replacement -- the Tempest.

Sort of related...kinda, but hey, if we're talking about Commonwealth planes, I think my favorite is the Beaufighter.

What an ugly looking son of a bitch with an absurdly exceptional amount of firepower.

I think that's what made some of the WWII planes so interesting. Not only do they have soul, but the aircraft industry and military airpower tactics was still in its infancy so you go all sorts of crazy ideas that obviously came about over drunken card games.

Brits: Hey, chaps, let's mount 12 .303 machine guns on the Hurricane!

Aussies: Hey, Tommies, we're going to put 4 20mm and 4 303s in a twin engine bomber!

Americans: Hey, Aussies, hold my beer. Let's put a fucking howitzer in the B25!

Zee Germans: FUCK ZEE GUNS! VEE SHALL LAUNCH A CLUSTER OF TOP-FACING GRENADES AT YOUR BOMBERS WHEN VEE FLY UNDERNEATH!

[Guerrero]

Americans: Hey, Aussies, hold my beer. Let's put a fucking howitzer in the B25!

...in addition to the 8 forward-facing .50 MG's.

[BigT]

Speaking as a memmber of Team Commonwealth the Mosquito is probably my favorite aeroplane of the war.