Could the P51A been made available for the Battle of Midway?

[GrauGeist]

The appearance of the Ki-44 in China came as a nasty shock to Chennault's boys who up to then had had a field day with the Ki-27s and Ki-43s. They considered it better than the P-51.

Who's they?

It couldn't have been the AVG/23rd FG, because the P-51 didn't reach the PTO until much later in the war and by the time the P-51 did get into China, it's main adversary was the KI-84.

 

[Shortround6]

First P-51s and A-36s showed up in the summer and fall of 1943 and yes the 23 fighter group got some and the 23rd was a decedent of the Flying tigers. Why the pilots thought the Ki 44 was superior to the P-51A might be interesting though.
Merlin Mustangs (-Bs) don't show up until April-June of 1944.

 

[drgondog]

First P-51s and A-36s showed up in the summer and fall of 1943 and yes the 23 fighter group got some and the 23rd was a decedent of the Flying tigers. Why the pilots thought the Ki 44 was superior to the P-51A might be interesting though.
Merlin Mustangs (-Bs) don't show up until April-June of 1944.

The Ki 44 could outclimb and out turn a P-51A. Above 15,000 feet the P-51B/C closed the climb rate, was close to turn and much faster above 15000 feet

 

[Greg Boeser]

Who's they?

It couldn't have been the AVG/23rd FG, because the P-51 didn't reach the PTO until much later in the war and by the time the P-51 did get into China, it's main adversary was the KI-84.

No less a personage than Colonel "Tex" Hill, after losing two P-51As from the 76th Fighter Squadron, 23rd FG, over Hong Kong on 1 Dec, 1943 to a detachment of the 85th Sentai, is quoted as saying: "I don't think we can beat these new Japs in the air." Chennault replied: "Don't worry about it. just hit them on the ground." (Molesworth, Sharks over China)

 

[gjs238]

No less a personage than Colonel "Tex" Hill, after losing two P-51As from the 76th Fighter Squadron, 23rd FG, over Hong Kong on 1 Dec, 1943 to a detachment of the 85th Sentai, is quoted as saying: "I don't think we can beat these new Japs in the air." Chennault replied: "Don't worry about it. just hit them on the ground." (Molesworth, Sharks over China)

Gotta wonder if they tried dog fighting

 

[Shortround6]

The Ki-44 was much different than the K-43. Actual wing loading difference between the Ki-44 and an Allison Mustang might depend on amount of fuel and ammo each has on board. The 161sq ft on the Ki-44 meant it didn't turn like other Japanese fighters. Actual turning ability of the Ki-44 vs the Mustang depends on the combat flap on the Ki-43 and the actual lift co-efficient of the wings, especially at high angles of attack.
However conventional boom and zoom didn't work so well against it as it not only had a high climb rate, it dove better than the other Japanese fighters. While not as fast as the P-51 it was much faster than the Ki-43 and Zero. 335mph at sea level and 376mph at 17,000ft. tactics that worked against the other Japanese fighters either didn't work or would be much slower in showing results against the KI-44. AS in diving away would still have the P-51 out diving the Ki-44 but the question is, is the difference in dive speed (or dive acceleration) enough to get out of range quickly and limit the Ki-44s firing opportunity?
I don't know which one accelerated better in level flight. The Ki-44 was about a ton lighter and had a more powerful engine.
The Allison P-51 may have been able to come out on top of the Ki-44, it just was going to need a lot of adjustment on the part of the pilots to meet the threat of a plane that did not behave the way most/all Japanese fighters had behaved up until then.

 

[Timppa]

's

No less a personage than Colonel "Tex" Hill, after losing two P-51As from the 76th Fighter Squadron, 23rd FG, over Hong Kong on 1 Dec, 1943 to a detachment of the 85th Sentai, is quoted as saying: "I don't think we can beat these new Japs in the air." (Molesworth, Sharks over China)

P-51A pilots from 530th Fighter Squadron probably disagreed. It met Ki-44's from 87th Sentai three times. That unit was transferred from Sumatra to Meiktila, Burma on 8 May, 1944.
11 May : 5 Ki-44's shot down with 4 pilots killed
12 May : 2 Ki-44's shot down with 2 pilots killed
14 May: 1 Ki-44's shot down

The 530th squadron had no losses in these combats.

After this short and disastrous stay in Burma 87th Sentai was withdrawn back to Palembang, Sumatra on May 21, 1944.
(Shores, Air War for Burma)

 

[Greg Boeser]

What a difference six months makes.