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A6M2 and Ki-27 could outclimb American fighter aircraft during 1942. Hence they had the choice to boom zoom or dogfight P-40s and F4Fs. That was probably key to success, especially for the relatively slow Ki-27.Hellcats picked them off like clay pigeons because they didn't have to "mix it up" with the Zeroes
If you look at the specs on the Zero and the Wildcat you'll see they rated nearly the same in top speed with the Wildcat rating at a higher ceiling. The Zero's advantage over the Wildcat was in its acceleration and maneuverability (i.e., it could turn on a dime, giving it a tighter radius, enabling it to wind up on the Wildcat's tail), all due to its lighter weight. The supercharged Hellcats of course nullified that advantage.A6M2 and Ki-27 could outclimb American fighter aircraft during 1942. Hence they had the choice to boom zoom or dogfight P-40s and F4Fs. That was probably key to success, especially for the relatively slow Ki-27.
F6F was faster and climbed better. That put the shoe on the other foot.
If you look at the specs on the Zero and the Wildcat you'll see they rated nearly the same in top speed with the Wildcat rating at a higher ceiling. The Zero's advantage over the Wildcat was in its acceleration and maneuverability (i.e., it could turn on a dime, giving it a tighter radius, enabling it to wind up on the Wildcat's tail), all due to its lighter weight. The supercharged Hellcats of course nullified that advantage.
In contrast I think the US Navy planners underestimated the virtues of their first great carrier-based air superiority fighter, the F6F Hellcat. The Hellcat was so dominant that they could have gone immediately from the Marianas to Iwo Jima then Okinawa, cutting out the Philippines campaign entirely.
This is fascinating. It's an actual field study. Let me go over this whole thing. In the meantime, on that specific paragraph, it's mostly my understanding, except that fourth sentence is a little cocky. Let me read this and get back to you. If you wouldn't mind explaining that fourth sentence while I'm at it, please do. It's just a little arbitrary, right now, so it seems.Take a look at:
http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/japan/intelsum85-dec42.pdf
specifically, paragraph 12.
This is fascinating. It's an actual field study. Let me go over this whole thing. In the meantime, on that specific paragraph, it's mostly my understanding, except that fourth sentence is a little cocky. Let me read this and get back to you. If you wouldn't mind explaining that fourth sentence while I'm at it, please do. It's just a little arbitrary, right now, so it seems.
OK, that makes a difference. Like, one more paragraph difference.Actually, point 12 on page 9.
I'm not doubting that but pray tell where is that from? I hope not some 16-year-old posting to Wikipedia.
At slower speeds, which aircraft is going to turn tighter, a lighter one or a heavier one? A Stearman will out-turn a Zero, simply because it's lighter.
Thanks, krieghund, I save these sources. That's why I pressed for it. Appreciate it!I got the numbers from here: NavWeaps - Naval Weapons, Naval Technology and Naval Reunions - Navy Weapons I condensed what is presented as it is listed by squadron number as well as the auxiliary ships.
I too treat wiki crap like the SALT treaty.........."Trust but verify!"
Generally, the heavier the aircraft, the wider the turning radius, by virtue of the fact that it's simply harder to turn a heavier than a lighter aircraft at the same speed and centrifugal forces. But, that said, I definitely hear you. One of the big differences between the F4F and the F6F was indeed the lower wing loading on the F6F. I'm not familiar with your examples, but that doesn't matter. I'm on board with what you're saying on how the aircraft design figures into this.I think here you are referring to an aircraft's wing loading. The lower the loading means a lower stall speed in the bank which means a higher turn rate per speed if you have the power to maintain it. A lighter aircraft doesn't always have tighter turning ability....the He100 weighs 5512 lbs and a Spitfire Mk1 weighs 6600 but the He100's wing loading is 10 lbs higher per square foot and can't follow the Spitfire in a hard turn at the same speed.
I think you need to explain this "vector roll" to us dave.At high speed there's more then one way to turn. Aircraft which roll well such as F4U and Fw-190 can perform a vector roll and I don't think weight matters too much.
The Wildcats are under-appreciated, I agree with that. Before setting Grumman on the Hellcat, the Navy, if it didn't look at every single alternative we had, it looked at a lot of them, and none of those did.A careful examination of the first year in the PTO shows that when facing its usual, early opposition (most commonly, the P-40E and Buffalo) the A6M dominated the skies. The one aircraft that might have salvaged some success from the debacle was the Hurricane mark IIB which arrived late in the campaign (~Late January) and was subsequently, due to a variety of limitations, committed piecemeal and in such small numbers that nowhere could its impact be felt through the fall of Java. The P-40Es were overwhelmed in the PI by the initial A6M onslaught and then, like the Commonwealth Hurricanes, deployed to Java late and in relatively small numbers. The next stage of IJ activity in the PTO were the many raids on Darwin through the Spring into early summer of 1942. These long range attacks from Koepang in Timor, foreshadowed those made on Henderson Field at very long range on fairly well defended airfields. The Darwin raids were not countered with any consistency and rarely effectively by the well supplied three squadrons of USAAF P-40s that were defending the city and surrounding airstrips. (Over New Guinea, the Australians fought their own air battles with the P-40 as their domestically employed air force slowly built up. (I am sure others here can describe this process with far more accuracy and detail than I). Then comes the Guadalcanal campaign, primarily defended by the relatively mediocre-performing Marine F4F-4s and for the first time, the IJ air assault is blunted effectively. What's going on here? Is it just improved tactics that induced Lt. Col. Joe Bauer to tell his pilots, "When you see Zeros, dogfight 'em!" Was his exhortation marine moral boosting bluster, or was his comment an astute recognition of a significant change in a fundamental parameter? In August and September, the F4F-4 had arrived on the scene in significant numbers providing air defense of henderson Field. Its p*ss-poor climb rate is compensated by RADAR and the extraordinary coastwatcher network throughout the Solomons. For the first time, the IJN A6M escorts and bombers are facing an aircraft that can reach an equal or higher altitude than that flown by the A6M escorts and in numbers sufficient to counter the attacks. The IJ tactics hadn't changed since their basically successful attacks on the PI, Darwin and Java, and perhaps to a lesser extent Malaya which was more the domain of the Ki-43 Oscar. I believe if you replace the F4F with an equal number of Hurricanes (assuming they were as rugged), you get essentially the same result. But it was the F4F-4 with the two stage supercharged P&W engine that made the difference. That's why, I believe, if the F4F isn't the most underrated fighter of the 2nd WW, it may be the most under-appreciated. JMHO
Vector Roll -
Can't recommend this enough, particularly when trying to clear a wingman who is in an awkward position with respect to you and the bandit. When closing a bandit that has superior turning (most A/C at speeds below 450 kmh) go into the turn a few degrees, pull your nose up, roll in the direction opposite the bandits turn and pull (rolling split-s) with a little rudder. As the bandit continues his tight E-bleeding turn you will come out (if you've done this right) of your roll pointed down, gaining back your E and you will see him above you at about your 1 o'clock position still turning. This maunder takes a lot of practice to get it in one fluid quick motion, but it is great for killing T&B'ers. The newer folks will wonder how you "turned" with them. Another key in execution is to rapidly, re-acquire the bogey visually after the roll is near complete.
FW Tactics: Basics
Mission4Today - FW Tactics: Basics