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Is Spitfire really the BEST British fighter???
- Thread starter Chiron
- Start date
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Tech Sergeant
the lancaster kicks ass said:
Ahh..you're wrong. The Pic is a Spit XVIII.
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BountyHunter15
Airman
The Spitfire had two 0.5in machine guns and two 20mm cannons. It was a great fighter. it really packed a punch. 
KraziKanuK
Banned
- 792
- Jan 26, 2005
BountyHunter15 said:
According to Spitfire: the History, the Mk XVIII could carry 3x 500lb GP bombs.
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Anonymous
Guest
BountyHunter15 said:The Spitfire had two 0.5in machine guns and two 20mm cannons. It was a great fighter. it really packed a punch.
I'd rather have 6 x .50's. The Hispano was too prone to jamming until very late in the war, and if the 20mm on one side jammed, its mate on the other side was nearly useless in the Spitfire (unlike the .50's where the plane could be trimmed to handle it). This is one of the big reasons they decided to mount the two .50's on the later Spitfires - they didn't want to be toothless in battle.
See the attached doc below where the Hurc IIc suffers 3 of 4 gun jams.
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Lunatic
Attachments
trackend
Chief Master Sergeant
Thing is statistics are useful but not everything I know the for instance the Hurricane had a higher kill figure than the Spit but the discussion is which was the best fighter not the most successful so I'm still in favor of the spit as being the best meld of man and machine this is what made it the best "like wearing a glove" as one pilot said.
the lancaster kicks ass
Major General
- 19,937
- Dec 20, 2003
although service history does have an impact on people's opinions of the best..........
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Anonymous
Guest
My point is that earlier in the war the 20mm cannon of all sides, except the ShVAK, were somewhat unreliable. As the war progressed they became increasingly reliable. By the end of the war the Hispano supposedly had a 1:1500 rounds fired stoppage rate, the MG151/20 was about the same, the BMG was about 1:4000 rounds. These stoppage rates do not include guns that froze.
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Lunatic
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Lunatic
the lancaster kicks ass
Major General
- 19,937
- Dec 20, 2003
a gun freezing over (although it's normally the lubricating oil that freezes i believe), is a pretty major promlem in the air though..............
cheddar cheese
Major General
Especially at altitude...
the lancaster kicks ass
Major General
- 19,937
- Dec 20, 2003
dude it's a problem at any altitude..........
cheddar cheese
Major General
I know, the key word in my statement being Especially, as it is a greater problem as you get higher, because the air is colder...
the lancaster kicks ass
Major General
- 19,937
- Dec 20, 2003
no i mean if you're guns freeze over it's a proplem, no matter what you're altitude is, not that gun freezing is more likely at higher altitudes, although i know it is..............
cheddar cheese
Major General
I neve said it wasnt a problem, jeez, do you have to attempt to find fault with everything I say? 
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Anonymous
Guest
I only pointed out that the stoppage rate figures I've given exclude cases where the guns froze, which was considered a different issue.
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Tech Sergeant
Any Noddy 
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cheddar cheese
Major General
Damn im convinced!
Medvedya
Master Sergeant
Andrew said:the lancaster kicks ass said:
The Library in Slough has quite a good collection of books on Warfare.
As well as poems by John Betjemen and the scripts for 'The Office'
Hello:
In my opinion the Spitfire was obviously the best British figher - up to 1944. First half of 1944 its either Spit XIV or Tempest V, the choice is a matter of taste. Beginning June 1944 I'd have to go with the Mustang III with +25 boost; it had the best all around performance. I can't think of another period of time where the RAF had an aircraft with such an enormous quality advantage over the Lufwaffe as the highly boosted Mustang IIIs had during the summer of 1944.
p.s. nice site RG_Lunatic
In my opinion the Spitfire was obviously the best British figher - up to 1944. First half of 1944 its either Spit XIV or Tempest V, the choice is a matter of taste. Beginning June 1944 I'd have to go with the Mustang III with +25 boost; it had the best all around performance. I can't think of another period of time where the RAF had an aircraft with such an enormous quality advantage over the Lufwaffe as the highly boosted Mustang IIIs had during the summer of 1944.
p.s. nice site RG_Lunatic
