If you were a pilot in ww2 which plane would you want to fly

[Glider]

I went for the Spitfire simply because whatever part of the war you are talking about and whatever your opponent, you normally had at least one advantage, normally a lot more, to use. Few aircraft could say that.

 

[Vince P]

B-17... but if I was to choose a fighter then P-51 or P-40

 

[Michael Paquette]

Toss up for me between a Thunderbolt and Corsair. They Corsair's faster but I think the Thunderbolt can take just a bit more punishment. Plus from pilots I've talked to and read about, the Corsair seems to be a bit of a more of a hand full to fly than the Thunderbolt.

 

[Guv]

A Corsair faster than my P-47M??
Lets Drag, Eight 50's and 500 mph, pretty impressive!
I'm a Texan so it's got to be a US or British plane. Not to fly, but the FW 200 is one of my favorite WW2 aircraft.

 

[Shortround6]

P-47M.......
Eight 50's...............??????

500mph.................??????

 

[fastmongrel]

P47M
6 x .50s
470mph when the engine didn't blow up

 

[Guv]

Drive It like you stole It!
Some report 6 .50's some say 8 .50's.
Shot down several ME-262's.
Some reports of 507 mph using emergency power.
Even 470 is moving.
Not too shabby for such a heavily armored fighter.

 

[Shortround6]

I think some people are confusing the performance of the XP-47J

With the service aircraft P-47M

Please see : http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/p-47/p47m-n-speed.jpg
for a better idea of the speed capability of the P-47M 470mph (or a bit less) using 72in of manifold pressure, there isn't any higher
emergency power. Military power was 54.5in MAP.
The XP-47J not only used the different lower air intake, it used a cooling fan inside the tight cowl and a lighter structure. It was over a ton lighter than a P-47D at normal loaded condition and about 1000lbs lighter when empty. A P-47M was only about 300lbs lighter than a P-47D empty.
Sorry fanboys, but actual performance wasn't really all that great unless you were over 30,000ft. P-47M at 20,000ft was good for about 440mph. A P-51 using 100/130 fuel could do about 420mph at 20,000ft. Using 100/150 they could do about 440mph. Even the old P-47Ds could do over 430mph at 20,000ft given 100/150 fuel and/or water injection. The "C" series engine and better turbo on the "M"s really came into their own at 33,000ft and above.

BTW, this website has a number of errors: The Republic P-47M  -Tje Fastest Piston Engine Fighter In WW II
and please remember the cube rule. powere needed goes up with cube of the speed and that is only for speeds up to about .6-.7 of sonic. you need a lot more at higher mach speeds. An extra 20-30mph at 470mph is not the result of a few tweaks by a front line mechanic. you need hundreds of extra horsepower. Please note that at 15,000ft an P-47M had to use an extra 700hp to go from 383mph to 418mph. a 35mph increase. Granted the air at over 30,000ft is a lot thinner.
The whole bit about an R-2800 making 3600hp on the test stand is more than a bit bogus. It did it and yes it did do it on 100/130 fuel, however it was using an absolutely amazing amount of water/alcohol fluid and 150in of manifold pressure to do it. It also was an older "B" series engine and no it didn't do it for 250hours.

 

[Zippythehog]

Sort of a wide range within the types- there is a big difference in early war types to the end.

But a Spitfire for me please.

 

[swampyankee]

The Focke-Wulf 190, the best German piston engine plane of that time. Exceptionally well armed and protected. Speed was pretty good too. Maneuverability wasn't the best compared to the British counterpart Spitfire.

Too bad they hadn't replaced the Bf 109 in the war. Certainly would have complimented some of the Luftwaffe aces who would have achieved higher kill-streaks if they had flew it.

I am aware that many had, yet some were still flying the Bf 109 even by the war's end.

....although some of those Bf109s and FW190s got caught out by the much-maligned P-40.....

 

[soulezoo]

Wow - this this thread is still rollin!

ASW Patrol, SAR, Key West NAS flying a JRF-5 "Grumman Goose."

Debrief at "Sloppy Joe's."

I think I said this in another thread as well... I would take the P-47N and fly high cover for FBJ!

 

[The Basket]

Mosquito.
I think as a survival plane not much better.

 

[swampyankee]

For me, at least the entry for the Bearcat is bolded and starred, but no other one is. Is there a particular reason?

 

[soulezoo]

For me, at least the entry for the Bearcat is bolded and starred, but no other one is. Is there a particular reason?

Could be mistaken, but I believe that is identifying, for you alone, your choice in the poll.

 

[swampyankee]

Could be mistaken, but I believe that is identifying, for you alone, your choice in the poll.

Makes sense. Probably voted for it and forgot. CRS syndrome.

 

[dogsbody]

Thought it's not on the list of choices, I pick the Hawker Tempest. It's my favourite on CFS3.


Chris

 

[Fighterguy]

I had a hard choice between P-47's ruggedness and the P-38's twin engines and center mounted .50 cal and 20mm cannon. (would've been interesting to see the P-38K, with Merlin engine, in production). The P-38 won. The F6F was a close third, but I'm partial to AAF/USAF aircraft, though the Spitfire is a super-sexy beast.

 

[soulezoo]

I had a hard choice between P-47's ruggedness and the P-38's twin engines and center mounted .50 cal and 20mm cannon. (would've been interesting to see the P-38K, with Merlin engine, in production). The P-38 won. The F6F was a close third, but I'm partial to AAF/USAF aircraft, though the Spitfire is a super-sexy beast.

The P-38k would be interesting; however, while the more powerful engine would allow it to accelerate faster (already impressive), it won't do anything to relieve the compressibility issues and therefore top speed is still no bueno.

 

[pbehn]

If I was a qualified front line pilot in 1939 I wouldnt like to wait until the Bearcat come into service to get a flight.

 

[Gabelschwanz_Teufel]

Wow! I am delightfully surprised that my choice of the Navy Corsair was so popular. I began to choose my avatar and username, which is the German name for the Lightning....The twin tailed devil. But then I reconsidered and thought that I would rather fight in the Pacific Theater than in the skies over Europe. Also, I'd rather have been Navy or Marine than Army Air Corps. I'd also rather be stationed on a Pacific isle than Europe.

I also think the attrition rate was better for the Pacific pilots?

And I really loved Black Sheep Squadron! LOL

Cheers.