Best Pacific Fighter?

Best Pacific Fighter?


  • Total voters
    146

Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules

Status
Not open for further replies.
Im going to have to go with the F6F hellcat, was a good match with the zero and gave a relief from the F4F which was becoming really outdated when the Hellcat pounced onto the pacific.
 
Im going to have to go with the F6F hellcat, was a good match with the zero and gave a relief from the F4F which was becoming really outdated when the Hellcat pounced onto the pacific.

But the Hellcat didnt go up with as many top notch IJN and IJA pilots like the P38 and F4U pilots had to go against.

And even then, the F6F was inferior to either of those two planes in nearly every single catagory.
 
Plus the P-38 (and F4U to lesser extent) was there earlier than the Hellcat at a time when many of the toughest and best (along with more average but still well trained and experienced) Japanese pilots were still there.
 
There are a number of small scale combats involving the hellcat and ace/well trained Japanese pilots. They are the exception rather than the rule, but thy do provide a clue that the Hellcat was not so overwhelmingly superior to the Japanese counterparts as one might assume. The best "lage scale" example I can think of is the Allied counterattack at Phil Sea (6/44). With no mor than 35 fighters remaining, but apparently these being 1942 veterans, the loss rates in the American strikes whilst over the japanese carriers were certainly higher than that. Trouble is, i dont have figures on the numbers of Hellcats shot down in that part of the battle. Total US losses, including those ditched near the US Fleet,amounted to 135 aircraft
 
Sorry about that, don't need to mark that much
I like aviation, but i still have much to learn
i'll try to prevent that kind of mistakes
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back