Recent content by acesman

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    Best Bomber of WW2 Continued

    Yes, as did several other aircraft. As to being designed as a night bomber, since it was a direct adaptation of the Manchester, that is a debatable point, but it did the job very well, and was the airframe that more aircrews were assigned than any other British bomber aircraft.
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    Best Bomber

    Actually, the switch to night bombing/area bombing was a necessity, not a matter of superior technology. The US forces would have had to switch to night bombing too, if the fighter escorts had not been available later in the war. Hmmm, the B-29 did not have any bases to fly from till 1944...
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    Me262 vs. P-80

    Not to imply that the Me-262 did not hold its own in air combat, but the Luftwaffe after 1943 was so grossly outnumbered that no individual skill, technology or bravery could reverse the outcome. Me-262's were especially targeted on their takeoff or landing, if possible, and the USAAF put a...
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    Sharkmouth.

    The Lufwaffe in North Africa (1940) used the sharkmouth on Me-110's (ZG26 and/or ZG76. The first sharkmouth that I have found was in the Spanish Civil War, on a Bf-109C, photo shown on the fillowing page; http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/7252/109c.htm
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    Best Pacific Fighter?

    Rich, Thanks for the breakdown. There are some minor variations (you cant shoot down .994 of an aircraft), but this seems a very detailed accounting. I will concede the point about the P-38 in lack of any verifiable numbers to contradict the ones posted.
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    Me262 vs. P-80

    It is an interesting pairing, but the P-80 did not get a chance to participate in much (any?) air-to-air combat in WWII, and in Korea its performance was not good enough, since they were withdrawn from air-to-air combat as soon as possible after encounters with the MiG. Remember, Germany at...
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    Best Pacific Fighter?

    OK, let's try a different tack. Where did the numbers you claim for the P-38 (about 1700) come from? Counting the individual tallies of the pilots listed seems acceptable, but a bit tedious. Is that your source? Is there another? BTW, it is funny in the USN records that all Japanese...
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    Greatest Fighter Pilot in World War II..... UPDATED

    Hartman did fight against Americans, and claimed several Mustangs over Romania, but I agree that you really have to judge a pilot by his opponents. For instance, the "Marianas Turkey Shoot" is not so much a tribute to the skill of the Hellcat pilots involved, but to the poor quality of the...
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    Best Pacific Fighter?

    Mr Leonard, this is the figure you posted. The official USAAF records say over 6,300. Refuting your stat, not a nice diversion. You excel at and sarcasm, and I say PUT UP OR SHUT UP. Show me how your stat is correct. You must have the figures that you used, I told you where I got mine...
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    Best Pacific Fighter?

    Mr Leonard, you ought to read the forum's latest postings before you jam your loafers into your mouth. And you ought to check out the sites you named (or the ones we both named, for that matter). My entries are posted an hour before your last one, and from mostly the same sites; I left mine at...
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    Worst aircraft of WW2?

    I would like to nominate the HE-177 as a contender, though perhaps as an idea of how not to design a bomber than as a poor performer. The following is from http://www.geocities.com/pentagon/2833/luftwaffe/bomber/he177/he177.html The He 177 served as a five/six-seat heavy bomber...
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    Best Pacific Fighter?

    Did some more digging, for US Navy aircraft official WWII records, go to: http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org4-7.htm
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    Best Pacific Fighter?

    For reference on how many aircraft the USAAF said were shot down, by theater and area, check the following URL: http://www.au.af.mil/au/afhra/wwwroot/aafsd/aafsd_list_of_tables.html According to official USAAF records available on that site (on PDF documents) the USAAF shot down the...
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    Best Pacific Fighter?

    Rich, I have asked you to cite your source. ONE souuce! So far much vitriol has been spilled for your precious USN fighters, without any of the proof you seem to demand. I have cited sources, and you can take issue with them, I have asked for the same and have seen NOTHING. ONE URL that...
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    Best Pacific Fighter?

    Clarification of previous post; the Hellcat is credited with nearly 80% of Navy/Marine air-to-air kills.[/u]
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