My WW2 photos/Vids album

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"... an arrangement was made with Curtiss to build the aircraft under license in a plant in Buffalo, New York. The Curtiss plant experienced serious problems and delays in producing Thunderbolts, and the 354 Curtiss-built fighters were relegated to stateside advanced flight training." [wiki]
That is putting it kindly .... the workmanship was sub par. Curtis was not up to speed on the skills and workmanship needed to build a complex turbo-charger like the Thud. [IMO]
 
Pic in #215. 4 blade prop?

Late in 1941 the new fw190 made an appearance over the Channel. The fw190 was superior to the contemporary Spitfire Mk V in virtually every aspect. The response was the Spitfire Mk IX, essentially a MkVb fitted with a Merlin 61 rated at 1565 hp and a four bladed propeller. Does that answer your question? As im sure you know, in the field modifications were common practice for all countries during the war and aerial race to outdo opponents. Some older types of aircraft models were simply used as test beds before committing to full scale production of an untried and tested model/part/configuration.
 

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