MIflyer
Captain
Saw a Youtube video that probably is a lot more believable than most of those covering WW2 aviation. The Germans captured a RN F4U-1A intact that made an emergency landing in Norway. It was shipped to Germany and one of their top test pilots, Hans-Wener Lerche, evaluated it and in the end concluded it was the most impressive foreign aircraft he had flown. His conclusions were:
1. The F4U was not built for tight turning combat like the FW-190 and BF-109 and its low speed characteristics were poor..
2. The F4U was vastly superior to Luftwaffe fighters in vertical maneuvers, being capable of both diving faster and climbing much faster.
3. If the F4U was flown using vertical maneuvers by a competent pilot it would handily beat German fighters.
4. If the F4U arrived over the ETO in large numbers the Luftwaffe was SOL.
5. The sturdy structure and six .50 cal armament of the F4U would make it a much better gun platform than the FW-190, which suffered from relatively poor accuracy due to the effects of the two MG and four 20MM on the structure.
His tactical recommendations were for Luftwaffe fighters to avoid combat with the F4U and if unable to run away try to trick it into a low speed turning engagement.
Lerche's superiors were not at all happy with his report, stating that the F4U was unlikely to appear in numbers in Europe and, in essence, he had no business terrifying Luftwaffe pilots with his evaluation. Nonetheless his report was widely available to Luftwaffe pilots.
One of the more interesting aspects of this report was that the Soviets were using similar vertical tactics with the P-39. I had not thought of the P-39 being an exceptionally good climber.
Lerche wrote a book, Luftwaffe Test Pilot which was published some time ago and does not seem to be widely available at present. I recall seeing that or a similar book back in the early 1980's in a bookstore at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. But instead I bought a copy of Winkle Brown's "Wings of the Luftwaffe" there.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAZKtGmsa2g
1. The F4U was not built for tight turning combat like the FW-190 and BF-109 and its low speed characteristics were poor..
2. The F4U was vastly superior to Luftwaffe fighters in vertical maneuvers, being capable of both diving faster and climbing much faster.
3. If the F4U was flown using vertical maneuvers by a competent pilot it would handily beat German fighters.
4. If the F4U arrived over the ETO in large numbers the Luftwaffe was SOL.
5. The sturdy structure and six .50 cal armament of the F4U would make it a much better gun platform than the FW-190, which suffered from relatively poor accuracy due to the effects of the two MG and four 20MM on the structure.
His tactical recommendations were for Luftwaffe fighters to avoid combat with the F4U and if unable to run away try to trick it into a low speed turning engagement.
Lerche's superiors were not at all happy with his report, stating that the F4U was unlikely to appear in numbers in Europe and, in essence, he had no business terrifying Luftwaffe pilots with his evaluation. Nonetheless his report was widely available to Luftwaffe pilots.
One of the more interesting aspects of this report was that the Soviets were using similar vertical tactics with the P-39. I had not thought of the P-39 being an exceptionally good climber.
Lerche wrote a book, Luftwaffe Test Pilot which was published some time ago and does not seem to be widely available at present. I recall seeing that or a similar book back in the early 1980's in a bookstore at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. But instead I bought a copy of Winkle Brown's "Wings of the Luftwaffe" there.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAZKtGmsa2g