On another thread a poster has 'confessed' a hatred for the P-51 and another poster, not unreasonably, has questioned the root of this hatred.
It's an interesting question and one I could ask myself, although 'hate' is a strong word in my case. 'Ambivalence' is more appororiate, perhaps.
I never had a problem with the P-51 as a boy. I greatly admired it, and the B-17 too, and the linking of the two brings us closer to the reason in my case.
Its definitely not through any fault of the planes themselves, its more of a knee jerk reaction to many years of being 'told' that the B-17 and P-51 were 'the planes that won the war, boy. Yes siree!'
The utter disdain this sentiment has for the contribution of everything else really gets my back up and so after years of conditioning I now see these aircraft almost as a symbol of the 'ignorant American' and the great 'We Saved You - you did nothing' attitude that stinks in my nostrils so much.
Please don't misunderstand. I am perfectly aware of the vital part the US played in first helping Britain survive and then in taking the fight back to Germany. Its true that without America, we couldn't have done it. But some people cannot understand that the opposite is also true and while these puerile few are hammering their point home they always seem to cite the B-17 and P-51 to back up their statement. Maybe because they are the only planes they actually know? And I know its not fair or rational but it has coloured my views of these two great aircraft and thats what this thread is for.
I also greatly dislike the P-38 but that is because its ugly and spindly and the booms are too far apart, give me a Beaufighter - to look at - any day
But how about you. Any irrational hatreds of your own that don't relate to anything logical like performance or death toll?
It's an interesting question and one I could ask myself, although 'hate' is a strong word in my case. 'Ambivalence' is more appororiate, perhaps.
I never had a problem with the P-51 as a boy. I greatly admired it, and the B-17 too, and the linking of the two brings us closer to the reason in my case.
Its definitely not through any fault of the planes themselves, its more of a knee jerk reaction to many years of being 'told' that the B-17 and P-51 were 'the planes that won the war, boy. Yes siree!'
The utter disdain this sentiment has for the contribution of everything else really gets my back up and so after years of conditioning I now see these aircraft almost as a symbol of the 'ignorant American' and the great 'We Saved You - you did nothing' attitude that stinks in my nostrils so much.
Please don't misunderstand. I am perfectly aware of the vital part the US played in first helping Britain survive and then in taking the fight back to Germany. Its true that without America, we couldn't have done it. But some people cannot understand that the opposite is also true and while these puerile few are hammering their point home they always seem to cite the B-17 and P-51 to back up their statement. Maybe because they are the only planes they actually know? And I know its not fair or rational but it has coloured my views of these two great aircraft and thats what this thread is for.
I also greatly dislike the P-38 but that is because its ugly and spindly and the booms are too far apart, give me a Beaufighter - to look at - any day
But how about you. Any irrational hatreds of your own that don't relate to anything logical like performance or death toll?
