Yeh I corrected my statement in the next post after that one. But thanks.
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Not exactly what I meant Hunter - only in ETO was 38L negligible in contribution as a fighter-fighter.
They went to Pacific and Phillipines for example but even in that context most of the last opportunities for 38 groups to score was Formosa from Phillipines
Having said that, it made more contribution than the P-47N and P-51H and F7F and F-8F - all late entries in the Great War
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Hunter,
How else can you explain the excellent results of the P38 squads in the Pacific?
I think it is simply that the 38 was big and distinctive. The LW pilot who saw it first had easy recognition and could choose to fight or flee.. so most of the fights were in situations where the 38 did not have a significant tactical advantage in position.
That is my theory..
P-38 Profile
And the P-47 was also big and distincitve. The Spitfire was distincive but small, and the early Mustangs were sometimes mistaken for 109's. (resulting in some freindly fire incedents)
From that POV the P-38's looks were a big advantage.
I may be wrong in my thesis. What is your explanation for relatively poor performance versus the Mustang?
The P-51 was a better plane in the hands of an average pilot?
I personally think the P-51 was a better air superiority fighter - period. It is a relatively easy airplane to fly, it has a lot of good characteristics under ordinary flight profiles, it is dangerous with a full fuselage tank, but it is a forgiving aircraft which gives you warning on almost every stall condition.
If you knew the airplane you had more advantages than disadvantages against every airplane it fought except the Ta 152 and the H would have equalized that a lot.. in a dogfight in the Horizontal it sould avoid all Japanese a/c - but that was the same for every US and Brit fighter.
In my opinion the only US fighter on par with the 51 as an air superiortity fighter against LW was the F4U which didn't have the opportunity to prove this thesis... this is the primary reason the Mustang is held in high esteem.
I agree most of your post, 90% anyways.
It is interesting to note though that the 2 Highest scoring USAAF pilots in the ETO did so with P-47's early war to boot.
I seem to remember some pilots' oppinios of the P-47 that had transferred to the P-51 had said, while the Mustang was a 'hotter' dogfighter thy'd still rather have the Jug's securety. (plus I don't think there was any fighter in common service with as comfortable a cocpit as the P-47)
THe P-51 was probably a better air superiorety fighter and escort thean the Jug, and I'd imagine from the Bomber crews' POV they'd prefer to see P-51's, but from a fighter pilots view I'd imagine the T-Bolt to be more desireable. (especially pilots that had experienced the ruggedness first hand, and likely had been saved by it)
There were few fighter that could be bounced with enemy 20mm balzing around the craft and still manage to take some hits and make it home or even possibly stay in the fight. (Robert S. Johnson'd P-47C had ~20 20mm shel holes as well as hundreds of .30 cal hits from his near fatal experience)
The Corsair would come close in ruggedness though. And its overall capabilities were better.
Because for the most part it got mauled....hey, what about the "tony"? why no mention?
hey, what about the "tony"? why no mention?
There was an interesting documentary on the N24 a German documentary and news TV channel about the Fw-190. They talked about the development and the Butcher Bird in action. They interviewed several members of the Wilde Sau unit and several other Luftwaffe units. The show is coming back on TV tonight and I will have to watch it again for names of the pilots. They also interviewed several USAAF pilots who flew against the Fw-190.
All of the Luftwaffe pilots had these things to say about the allied aircraft.
They said the Spitfire was a superb aircraft and in straight up one on one fighting they were more scared of the Spitfire than the P-51D. The one they really did not like flying against was the P-47. They said it was a very hard aircraft to take down and a worthy opponent.
One USAAF pilot (name not remembered until I watch the documentary again tonight) who flew all 3 of the mentioned allied aircraft said he really enjoyed flying the Spitfire. He said it was easy and a joy to fly. The P-51D on the other hand he said he did not enjoy very much. He said the only advantage it had over the Fw-190 and even the Bf-109 was its long range, saying it was especially hard to get the upper hand of the Fw-190D-9 with a P-51D.
The one that he preferred to fight the Fw-190 in was the P-47 due to its heavy armament and good armour and robust engine.
He even went as far as saying that the Fw-190D was probably the best fighter overall produced in WW2.