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Wasn't there a USAAF ace who tangled with a Fw-190 and the Fw used all its ammo and didn't shoot down the P-47?
Expended both cannon and MG ammo - shot up the Jug pretty bad, including the engine.Wasn't there a USAAF ace who tangled with a Fw-190 and the Fw used all its ammo and didn't shoot down the P-47?
Expended both cannon and MG ammo - shot up the Jug pretty bad, including the engine.
There are pictures of it, showing the damage as well as it being coated from cowl to tail in oil.
"Although the North American P-51 Mustang replaced the P-47 in the long-range escort role in Europe, the Thunderbolt still ended the war with 3,752 air-to-air kills claimed in over 746,000 sorties of all types, at the cost of 3,499 P-47s to all causes in combat."
That would have been for a ferry mission, they typically carried a single centerline tank when escorting.The P-47 could do long-range missions, but you had to carry a lot of external fuel. There's one picture of an earlier P-47D loaded up with a 150-gallon 'flat' belly tank and a 108-gallon paper tank under each wing. That's an external load of 366 gallons, and combined with its internal 305 gallons, it was carrying a total of 671 gallons of aviation fuel.
Granted, it had to carry a lot of external fuel to get to the fight, but the bomber boys were mighty glad it got there.
Other authors have expressed doubt about Mayer's alleged encounter with Johnson. There is no direct evidence Mayer was involved in this battle. No III./JG 2 pilot is present on victory or loss records according to the most complete German sources.And it was Egon Meyer, an ace who ended up with over a hundred kills, so I think it's safe to say the proportion of hits was probably pretty good.
You have have to use internal tanks for warm up take off and climb in case something goes wrong and combat uses fuel at circa three time that of cruise so more external than internal fuel means you can get to a place you cant fight back from. Also the weight drag of all those tanks means 300external gallons doesnt do what 300 internal gallons do.Granted, it had to carry a lot of external fuel to get to the fight, but the bomber boys were mighty glad it got there.
I'm aware that external tanks add to drag and would have to be jettisoned in a fight. The point I was making was that with drop tanks, the P-47 got further and was able to escort much farther. I can't quantify any numbers but it was from this Forum that I learned that the Thunderbolt was a capable escort fighter. It was a myth busted here that the P-51 was the only Allied fighter able to escort the bomber stream. I'm sure the bomber crews were happy to see the Jugs. I'm always happy when I see Jugs.You have have to use internal tanks for warm up take off and climb in case something goes wrong and combat uses fuel at circa three time that of cruise so more external than internal fuel means you can get to a place you cant fight back from. Also the weight drag of all those tanks means 300external gallons doesnt do what 300 internal gallons do.
Hi Shortround - not sure which P-47D version but based on 13000#GW (and 70"MP) used in the comparisons it probably was a late D-16 to -22 with full internal fuel (305gal) and basic ammo. The P-51B has full internal load (184Gal) w/o Fuselage tank and the P-38J is light internal fuel and ammo at 15000# GW. Full internal combat load of P-38J is 17000 full wing fuel w/o LE fuel tanks and 17600 with full LE tanks. June 26 1944 Report.For an early "look" at the P-47C-1 see this report. Dec of 1942.
By the summer of 1944 P-47s had been fitted with wide cord propellers and two different levels of water injection.
The 370 gal internal fuel set-up was being delivered also which increased the tactical radius by 100-150 miles.
P-47 may have a had a large turning circle but it could out roll any other American fighter and break contact almost at will.
Most definitely Not Egon Meyer - who was busy about 100 mi from the Johnson shoot up.And it was Egon Meyer, an ace who ended up with over a hundred kills, so I think it's safe to say the proportion of hits was probably pretty good.
The order and events important to ETO began with Lt.Col Cass Hough who formulated a pressurization system modification to the instrumentation vacuum system in May 1943 timeframe as the lower 'keel' with shackle provisions kits were arriving for installation at Burtonwood BAD1. The Newly arriving D-1 and D-4 dis not have factory equipped keel/shackle. 8th AF contracted local Brit suppliers for the 108gal paper tanks, as deliveries from States of both the 75 and 108gal steel combat tanks were not yet in transit.My references are packed up at the moment, but if I recall correctly, the Southwest Pacific 200-gallon tank was metal and made by Ford in Australia. A prototype was designed, built, and tested in something like a month, and then put into production.
The ETO initially had the paper 200-gallon ferry tanks, which could not be pressurized, but were partially filled and then dropped after climbing. Later came the 75-gallon metal tanks, then the 108-gallon British-made paper tanks, followed by the 150-gallon metal tanks, and ending with 200-gallon metal tanks, which came into service in the ETO about a year after the ones in the Southwest Pacific.
The Mark I Mustang had 40% more range (than all P-47C/D up to -22) with full internal tanks. Add the auxiliary tanks by removing wing armament (retain cowl 50.s) and the range (loaded ammo/220gal) had a tested range of 1700 miles. The kits were designed for RAF and delivered with all Mustang I's. I have not yet uncovered the tactical use for the extended range - but recon use potential is obvious.The idea that the P-47 was "short ranged" needs a little context.
It had shorter range than needed for the job it was asked to do in 1943, Both in the ETO and the south Pacific.
It had roughly double the range of most European fighters in 1941-42 when it was being designed, developed.
What other fighters in 1941-42 or early 1943 could match the P-47s range?
What fighters, of any nation, would have been any better at B-17 escort or the South West Pacific missions in early/mid 1943?
There are a few but there is a difference between not being in first place and being in the middle of the pack (or in the bottom 1/2 of the pack).
Are you sure it was better than the P-39?