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I know Egypt had Spitfires and Short Stirlings. Beyond that I'm not sure.What kinds of fighters and bombers are available to the "multiple violent Islamic states" of the time? I'm surprised that I don't know this, but...
Good choice. Were Lend Lease Corsairs still around or had they all been pushed over side by this time? Still, there should be a bunch left.I like your thoughts.As you said, extreme range isn't necessary. Very high altitude probably not that important-the enemy didn't have a lot of high-altitude bombers. Ruggedness, very good firepower (for ground attack/CAS role) and a large bomb load is. I'd probably rule out liquid cooled engines due to more susceptibility to damage. Even though the nation was tiny, it was so fragmented by the weird partition plans if shot down and forced to bail out the odds were pretty good that you'd be in enemy-held territory.
My pick would probably be the Corsair, even though not used from carriers. It was as, or more rugged than even the '47, didn't have the massive turbocharger/intercooler system (not needed for low/mid level operation), had 4 20mm cannon in later versions and carried a very large bomb load. P-38 wouldn't be bad-but due to twin engines and systems I'd assume it needed a lot more maintenance hours. KISS is a big deal with very limited manpower. '47 would be good, but I don't recall it having a very large bomb load.
Is there any spec for maintenance hours per flight hour comparing the various WWII fighters?
The last FAA front line squadrons disbanded after flying their aircraft ashore in England when their parent carriers arrived home in July / Aug 1946. After that there was only the odd airframe like KD431 in technical schools.Good choice. Were Lend Lease Corsairs still around or had they all been pushed over side by this time? Still, there should be a bunch left.
The first Israeli fighter squadron received Avia S.199 (Czech built Me109G airframes with Jumo 211 engines) a few days after Israel declared independence.I think there are several ways you could skin this cat.
F4U-5: Plenty available, air cooled simplicity, heavy armament, decent legs, fast and good rate of climb
P-51D/H: Plenty available, water cooled but known quantity, fast, good armament long legs
F8F: Fast, air cooled, great climb rate, strong armament
Hawker Sea Fury: Just rolling off the production line, might be difficult to secure early production slots. Fast, air cooled, heavy armaments
Spitfire: Later marks, great climb, fast, agile
The P-51 due to its range, could fly standing patrols that the others might not be capable of (F4U with two externals?)
Your early warning network might drive your choices, or what your enemy is fielding, or you might be limited to only what's available. Also if you are recruiting there is plenty of talent available with experience in or working on type for most of the above as well as command and control.
Had you started a bit earlier there would be a mass of Fw190s and or Me109s and related supplies to draw upon.
No way for 1948 : the XF4U7 first flew on july 1st, 1952. End of production : january 31, 1953.F4U-7 for France, last production 1947.
Thanks for the info. I'm curious-what was done to modify the aircraft for pure ground-attack? Thanks.F-4U would also be my choice - specifically the F4U-4 or the F4U-5/5N.
2,037 standard F4U-4s were produced from 1944-47, with 297 more having 4x20mm M2 cannon instead of the 6x.50cal mgs that most had. Only 1 radar-equipped F4U-4N was built, but more could be ordered if necessary.
568 F4U-5s were built (all with 4x20mm M3 (T-31) cannon) from 1946 on: 223 day fighters, 214 "plain" radar-equipped F4U-5N night fighters, and 101 cold-weather equipped F4U-5NLs (also radar-equipped), plus 30 F4U-5P photo-recon birds.
All F4U-5s had an improved engine & supercharger, with a ceiling of 45,000 feet and a speed at 26,800 feet of 469 mph - and a maximum of 5,000 pounds of external ordnance.
The AU-1 was a pure ground-attack version, and entered production too late (all for the USMC).
The F4U-7, as mentioned above, was way too late.
The XF4U-6 that became AU was characterised by : the guns fixed to slightly fire downward, reinforcement of the armor protection, removal of the useless wing radar wiring. For the rest, a classic F4U.Thanks for the info. I'm curious-what was done to modify the aircraft for pure ground-attack? Thanks.