Greatest aviation myth this site “de-bunked”.

[SaparotRob]

I'm not really sure where this thread belongs.
I have seen a few myths "busted" here.
Range and capabilities of certain aircraft.
The worst plane ever built ( so many too choose from) but actually performed yeoman service.
Policy and strategy wrongly attributed to a leader ..and so on.
I encourage thread drift. C'mon MythBusters, let the games begin!
Rob

 

[tomo pauk]

Not exclusively by members of this site, but some of them might've been:
- P-39 was used in ground support role by Soviets, including the role of tank busting
- P-40 was conceived as Army support fighter
- RR Peregrine was a bad engine
- Yak-3 played the role in 1943 air battles, including the ones above Kursk
- V-1710 was not supercharged
- Hawker Hurricane have had canvas-wrapped fuselage and, at 1st, wings, because the supply of light alloys in the UK was problematic
- Miles M.20 and 1-seat Defiant were actually great designs
- P-61 was the best night fighter
- Claims of German fighter pilots are to be taken as gospel, ditto for claims of Hs 129 tank-buster pilots
- Zeros were a frequent sight over CBI in late 1941-43
- Hellcat was a reliable 400 mph fighter
- XP-39 did 400 mph
- P-39 was a bad fighter

 

[gjs238]

We busted the myth that Greg is Greg. We now know for certain that Greg is not Greg. Indeed, Greg himself stated that he is not Greg.

 

[gjs238]

- P-61 was the best night fighter

Did you just make that up?
Has that really been a myth?

 

[pbehn]

RAF Mk1 Mustangs escorted RAF bombers on a raid into Germany.

 

[Zipper730]

RAF Mk1 Mustangs escorted RAF bombers on a raid into Germany.

Where di they escort them to?

 

[pbehn]

Where di they escort them to?

They didn't. It is a misunderstanding based on historians trawling though communications. RAF Mk1 Mustangs made a raid in to Germany and RAF Bombers made a raid in the same region (not target) at a similar time, these were put together in a report from UK to USA then later dug up by someone who thought it was a single raid. A historian friend and colleague of Bill explained it a short time ago.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Not sure if it is the greatest myth busted but one of my favorites...

The Germans called the P-38 the Fork Tailed Devil.

 

[pbehn]

Not sure if it is the greatest myth busted but one of my favorites...

The Germans called the P-38 the Fork Tailed Devil.

You should have posted it in German and then imagined it being called out on a 1940s A/C radio.

 

[pbehn]

There was that thing about Bf109s all being destroyed in landing accidents.

 

[SaparotRob]

The myth that I had always thought true was the P-51 was the only fighter capable of escorting the bomber streams deep into Germany.

 

[SaparotRob]

We busted the myth that Greg is Greg. We now know for certain that Greg is not Greg. Indeed, Greg himself stated that he is not Greg.

Do you have corroborating documentation that Greg can PROVE that he is not Greg?

 

[FLYBOYJ]

The Tuskegee airmen never lost a bomber under their escort.

 

[MIflyer]

The Me-262 was not produced because Hitler wanted a bomber.

The SBDs sank the IJN carriers at Midway because their escorting Wildcats dove on the Zeros and shot them down before they could stop the dive bombers.

 

[SaparotRob]

There was that thing about Bf109s all being destroyed in landing accidents.

That's a new one for me.

 

[fubar57]

Here's a couple of PDFs about the TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

 

[fubar57]

This is the one I was looking for...

 

[gjs238]

Do you have corroborating documentation that Greg can PROVE that he is not Greg?

It's in the archives along with the corroborating documentation that the XP-39 did not go 390 mph.

 

[SaparotRob]

It's in the archives along with the corroborating documentation that the XP-39 did not go 390 mph.

I'm sorry I doubted you.

 

[GrauGeist]

The Germans called the P-38 the Fork Tailed Devil

Yep, that's pure "Caidinism" - the Luftwaffe pilots usually referred to them as "Lightnings" and the American pilots (my great uncle Jimmy included) were the ones who called the P-38 the "Fork-tailed Devil".