Recent content by NAVAIR

The Mk.XII was quite the low-level monster.... My regards, Navair

I did mention the 190F, but it got lost in other debates. "Fw 190F series: As much as 1,800 kilos, or one 1,000 kilo and four 50 kilo bombs on wing racks. Could also carry air-to-ground rockets." My regards, Navair

From the DOD's Military Leadership Handbook... Deployment: (1) Act of positioning combat assets, battalions and smaller units in width or depth, or both, to increase readiness for impending or contemplated action. Postioning of units declared combat ready. (2) In naval usage, the change...

First operational sortie for the Spitfire F Mk.21 was April 10, 1945. Read the 91st squad ops sheet below. Go towards the bottom... first operational sortie for Spit F Mk.21 was? That's right, 4/10/45. Who needs a calender when you have the record in front of you? Research, Research! You...

This might be more productive if you weren't completely wrong.... P-51s were poor performers on the deck??!! Geez, someone should have told the Luftwaffe as they were of the opposite opinion. P-51C/Mustang III: 368 mph at sea level with 67 in/HG and 397 mph at 75 in/Hg or 25lb boost for Brits...

Of course you are correct. Faulty memory on my part. I was thinking Pak 36 when it should have been Flak 36, and the Flak 18. Thanks for correcting that. My regards, Navair

I agree, the P-51 (F-51) was vunerable to ground fire. But, that's all that was available that could reach the combat area from Japan and remain on station for an extended period. F-80s had virtually no loiter time. When interviewed, captured Chinese and North Korean soldiers pointed to the...

You have pidgeon-holed the role of attack aircraft as tank busting. That was a minor part of the overall function. Attack means much more than that. It includes interdiction of supplies and material. It includes disrupting rear echelon. It includes attacking command and control. It includes...

If you have a comment within the context of my post, that's fine. But, cutting and pasting to distort the context isn't. Loiter time over the battlefield is of great importance. P-51s had 3 times the on-station time of the Typhoon. That means that they can be positioned to respond to enemy...

Ok, having read thru the entire thread, let me add my comments. As air to air fighters, the P-38L would be my choice over any version of the -1 series Corsairs. Why? Simple, the P-38 was vastly better in the vertical. It climbed much better, accelerated much, much faster and it had those...

20mm Hispanos will not kill tanks... Especially with explosive rounds. After the rockets are fired (which were wildly inaccurate), only soft targets were at risk. And those were at risk from .50 cal too. The big tank killers were aerial bombs, but even those had to land within several feet of a...

There's a lot of viable candidates that didn't make the list, probably because some were not dedicated attack aircraft. Here's a few with some load-outs (not all combinations are listed). A-26: Up to 6,000 lb of bombs. P-47D/N: 2,500 lb of bombs, plus ten 5" rockets. F4U-1/4: Up to 4,000 lb...

My regards, NAVAIR

Jack Ilfrey flew both a P-38J and a P-51D that carried this name. Jack was very helpful to me when I was writing about the P-38 a few years ago. Jack passed away last year. I recommend his book, naturally titled Happy Jack's Go Buggy. Jack was one of the most interesting characters to serve in...

Indeed, former Vought Engineers claim that the Zero's QEC package drew heavily from the Vought V-143 fighter prototype, sold to Japan in 1938. One Engineer stated that the entire accessory section layout was pure Vought. Japan did not copy western aircraft per se, but they were wise enough...