Best Nightfighter of WW2

[Lightning Guy]

37mm was horrid for dogfighting but no one in the US had any interest in developing anything better. There is some really good info on that in Warren Boddie's P-38 book.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

they really needed a good 20mm........................

 

[Lightning Guy]

Well they eventually had a good one and virtually every P-38 built used a 20mm weapon.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

i meant to say they needed a better one earlier.........................

 

[MP-Willow]

LG- yes but what I was brooding over is that the good 20mm used on the P-38 was not but in to other fighters. I know some F6F's has two 20mm and 4 .50s. That sounds like a good combo. But aI have not found much on that.

 

[Lightning Guy]

That particular load was used exclussively (as far as I know) on the night-fighting Hellcats.

Lanc, the P-38Es seeing service in early 1942 were carrying a 20mm weapon, how much earlier would you have wanted it?

 

[cls12vg30]

Lightning Guy is correct, only the earliest Lightnings carried the 37mm.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

i was fefering to the use of 20mm on other american fighters....................

 

[Lightning Guy]

Well that's mostly an opinion thing. Check the other threads for the info on the .50cal v. 20mm issue. The American reliance on the .50cal was more than adequate for WWII. It did cause some problems in Korea but that's a different matter.

 

[MP-Willow]

The .50s were good and well tested. But the use of 20mm guns could have atlest been tested more. But as said elts where the USAAC was not in the bomber killing role that much. The Helcat as a nightfighter did do well. But if th F7F were to have been in that was great But the Midway class Carriers were to late in service as was the Tigercat.

 

[Lightning Guy]

I believe the Tigercat was ready. I think so were begining to deploy with the Marines but they just didn't make it to action in time.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

am i correct in believing that the tigercat was the first successful twin engined carrier plane??

 

[Lightning Guy]

To the best of my knowledge, the Tigercats were never deployed to carriers. The USMC was the only service to ever use them.

 

[MP-Willow]

Ok yes the F7F was in service with the Marines in the close of the war, but did not see combat until Korea. The F7F-4 was the first ship operated model. The Tigercats were he first multi-engine tricical landing gear for a carrier. It proformed well and could have stayed in Korea longer but was pushed out by the new jets.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

well korea was the war that saw the end of piston engined aircraft as front line fighters....................

 

[Lightning Guy]

I think the Tigercats mostly did night work in Korea didn't they?

 

[plan_D]

Piston-engines were completely out-dated even the Mustangs were given Rolls-Royce Dart Turboprops making them the Cavalier which I believe went on to serve in Vietnam for a little while.

 

[Lightning Guy]

The Cavalier used an uprated Merlin engine. It was tested in 1967 but was never accepted by the air force. An even later version was developed using an Avco-Lycoming turboprop (in the 80's) but it wasn't accepted either. Piston-engined aircraft gave good service over Korea. The Corsairs were extremely valuable for air-to-ground and the Sea Furys actually shot down more enemy aircraft than any non-American aircraft.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

but the sea fury was absolutly amazing for a piston engined fighter, one of the last to see servise with the FAA...............

 

[Lightning Guy]

It was, and if it could have been produced a little faster would have provided the FAA with a fighter that would have been excellent for both fleet defense and offensive duties. Probably one of my favorite planes.