Best Aircraft of the India-Burma-China Theatre

[carman1877]

Which was the best in you opinion and why? I chose the P-40 becuase I belive that its armament help it to go on and lead the Flying Tigers to notoriety.

 

[Marshall_Stack]

Why not add the Hurricane and Brewster Buffalo if you are doing early in the theater?

 

[drgondog]

Why not add the Hurricane and Brewster Buffalo if you are doing early in the theater?

agree - and 'how early' is the period in question - just late 1941 and early 1942?

 

[carman1877]

i was really focusing on the time that the first group of Flying Tigers fly. it would be from December 1941 to the summer of 1942.

 

[Colin1]

I was really focusing on the time that the first group of Flying Tigers fly

You really were
you could almost rule the Nate out, ineffectual firepower (against the tough hide of a P-40) and not alot to flaunt in the way of speed or range. It's such a narrowband time frame that it's really a two-horse race between the Oscar and the P-40.

 

[drgondog]

Then you need P-40E and Type '0' (army version) as well as Type 97 as Tex Hill had scores on both From January 1942 to May 1942. His last score in a P-40B was January 29, 1942.

The P-40C was also flown by AVG in Dec 1941 through April 1942

 

[Njaco]

i was really focusing on the time that the first group of Flying Tigers fly. it would be from December 1941 to the summer of 1942.

Then I would definately add the Brewster Buffalo.

I picked from the list the P-40 because it held the line against the Japanese until better equipment arrived.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Would not the Hurricane need to be added as well? But I did vote for the P-40 as well.

 

[davebender]

I vote for the A6M2 fighter aircraft and G4M medium bombers operated by the IJN 11th Air Fleet. They were victorious in almost every fight during that time frame.

 

[carman1877]

What do you think of teh P-40B with the armament package of 2 .50s in the nose, and 4 .30s in the wings? I like this package better than the 6 .50s in the wings because it gives you variety in choosing your attack, in my opinion.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Why rule out the later CBI period?

You have much more variety to pick from:

Ki-43-II
Ki-44
Ki-46
Ki-61
Ki-84
Spitfire Vc, VIII
P-43
P-47D-30 (Thunderbolt II)
P-51A, B, D
Beaufighter IV
Mosquito VI, XVI

That's just the fighters. There are also the bombers to consider

Ki-21
Ki-48
B-24
B-25
B-29
Bristol Blenheim V



I'd put up the Mosquito PR XVI as the best aircraft of the theater, or its slightly faster cousin, the PR 34.

As an unarmed recon aircraft it didn't get any kills, but these units flew with virtual impunity, at high and low altitude from mid-1943 onwards, and provided the RAF with invaluable intelligence.

 

[Marshall_Stack]

Why rule out the later CBI period?

You have much more variety to pick from:

Ki-43-II
Ki-44
Ki-46
Ki-61
Ki-84
Spitfire Vc, VIII
P-43
P-47D-30 (Thunderbolt II)
P-51A, B, D
Beaufighter IV
Mosquito VI, XVI

That's just the fighters. There are also the bombers to consider

Ki-21
Ki-48
B-24
B-25
B-29
Bristol Blenheim V



I'd put up the Mosquito PR XVI as the best aircraft of the theater, or its slightly faster cousin, the PR 34.

As an unarmed recon aircraft it didn't get any kills, but these units flew with virtual impunity, at high and low altitude from mid-1943 onwards, and provided the RAF with invaluable intelligence.

Didn't the Mosquitos suffer problems with their glue due to the high humidity?

 

[drgondog]

What do you think of teh P-40B with the armament package of 2 .50s in the nose, and 4 .30s in the wings? I like this package better than the 6 .50s in the wings because it gives you variety in choosing your attack, in my opinion.

The pilots favored the 6x.50's (far more firepower) and removed the complexity of a.) manually charging the .50's in the nose and b.) selecting which weapons to fire.

Remember the P-40B's were rapidly being replaced by the C in January 1942 and E's in March-April 1942 so your timespan of relevancy for the P-40B is only a few months of the entire war.

 

[buffnut453]

Why rule out the later CBI period?

You have much more variety to pick from:

Ki-43-II
Ki-44
Ki-46
Ki-61
Ki-84
Spitfire Vc, VIII
P-43
P-47D-30 (Thunderbolt II)
P-51A, B, D
Beaufighter IV
Mosquito VI, XVI

That's just the fighters. There are also the bombers to consider

Ki-21
Ki-48
B-24
B-25
B-29
Bristol Blenheim V



I'd put up the Mosquito PR XVI as the best aircraft of the theater, or its slightly faster cousin, the PR 34.

As an unarmed recon aircraft it didn't get any kills, but these units flew with virtual impunity, at high and low altitude from mid-1943 onwards, and provided the RAF with invaluable intelligence.

Then there's the Curtiss Hawk III, P-66, P-43, I-15 and I-16, all of which served with the Chinese Air Force which, last time I checked, was part of the CBI theatre...!

Cheers,
Mark

 

[davebender]

The Japanese incursion into China began during 1914 and never really stopped. Just varying levels of intensity.

Gunther Pluschow
Gunther Pluschow and his Rumpler Taube were state of the art during September 1914.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Didn't the Mosquitos suffer problems with their glue due to the high humidity?

Some problems were initially ascribed to the glue, but they actually had nothing to do with it. The RAF adapted the glue to tropical conditions after testing two Mk IIs in Burma in 1942.

The actual problems were incorrectly assembled and glued wing parts, particularly on the upper wing skin on some outer panels, which caused some wing losses (probably two, maybe up to six) in FB Mk VIs in the CBI.

However, the same problem caused 24-26 known Mosquito losses in the ETO and MTO (more than the Typhoon lost to its tail flutter problems). Strangely, the Mosquito never picked the same "unreliable" reputation.

There were some small problems with the plywood skin warping around the nose, but local mods dealt effectively with this.

 

[Colin1]

However, the same problem caused 24-26 known Mosquito losses in the ETO and MTO (more than the Typhoon lost to its tail flutter problems). Strangely, the Mosquito never picked the same "unreliable" reputation...

The Mosquito didn't lose roughly one aircraft per sortie to engine failure, tail flutter was but one of the problems suffered by the Typhoon; "trouble at both ends" as Beamont so eloquently put it.

 

[carman1877]

The reason I did not include those planes was that I was interested in the Flying Tigers and teh P-40B, along with the main two planes it fought with. If i was doing the entire Burma-India-China theatre I would include thos planes.

 

[claidemore]

No offensce carman1877, but the title of your thread is Which was the best fighter of the India-Burma-China theartre
Hence the rash of posts including all the different fighters that fought in the CBI theatre.

In any case, picking from the three planes you included in your list, the P40 IMO was the best, primarily because of its heavy firepower and dive speed. That being said, my favorite plane of the three is the Ki-43 Oscar. Check out this video:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VNKb_byAuw

 

[MikeGazdik]

Given the criteria, my non-objective vote would be the P-40B. I love the Curtss. If I had the chance to fly in ONE WWII fighter, it would be the P-40. It is sweet, sexy and menacing all at the same time. The early P-40's, B and C models are the prettiest of the breed!

Now speaking objectively, again the P-40B. The Japanese planes only real advantage was range, turning ability a slow speeds,and climb ( not including zoom). The Curtiss was slightly faster, could out dive, out zoom, heavier armed, far and away more robust. Chenault proved that tactics with the P-40 made it the winner.