Corsair and Hellcat vs Bf 109 and Fw 190

[MIflyer]

I'm curious if the dive-speeds for the F6F were remotely accurate: I'm surprised it would dive faster than the F4U

The outer wing panels on the F4U were partially fabric covered and the ailerons were of wood construction.

Eric Brown, who spent a lot of time flying the FW-190 as well as some time flying the F4U assessed the F4U as significantly inferior to the FW-190 in a dogfight. Against this is the assessment of the USN pilot who flew the FW-190 at Pax RIver and concluded "It is not a dogfighter." He thought it was best at boom and zoom.

 

[Zipper730]

The outer wing panels on the F4U were partially fabric covered and the ailerons were of wood construction.

I think the F4U-5 was the first to be all-metal (except the tires, the canopy, and parts that aren't, well, metal).

Eric Brown, who spent a lot of time flying the FW-190 as well as some time flying the F4U assessed the F4U as significantly inferior to the FW-190 in a dogfight.

That is a surprise, I would have thought one of the few areas of advantage the F4U would have had would've been rate of turn (which is generally a classic dogfight), combined with maneuvering flaps.

 

[swampyankee]

I strongly suspect any FW190 or Bf109 pilot meeting a comparably-skilled Corsair or Hellcat pilot would not be spending much time chortling with glee.