P-47D or F4U-1?

[lesofprimus]

I try not to get too involved in these comparisons, cause its all really silly anyways... Ive met many different pilots who flew all different fighter craft, and they all have different opinions....

My Grandfather flew several different aircraft, and stood by the Corsair as the ultimate fighter aircraft.....

 

[Twitch]

Hehehe! Minor differences in performance are meaningless. There were few aircraft that were completely eclipsed by an opponent's. Pilots emphasized their ship's best points to exploit the enemy and avoided its weak points.

I know 109 pilots who admit that the Fw 190 was better in most ways but they still preferred the 109! Just because a P-47 couldn't turn at the same rate as a 190 in most instances doesn't mean it was a dog. Real pilots got the most out of their crates. Did you know that if you flip off the ignition in a torque turn you can cut a tighter radius? It's little things like that learned by experience that make the difference not 11 MPH top speed advantage.

 

[lesofprimus]

Agreed 100% Twitch...

 

[evangilder]

Excellent point there.

 

[Gnomey]

Agreed twitch good points.

 

[Jank]

I think that having eight .50's is an advantage as well. At 750 rounds per minute, that's a total output of 6,000 rounds per minute. That's fearsome firepower!

 

[helmitsmit]

I think that having eight .50's is an advantage as well. At 750 rounds per minute, that's a total output of 6,000 rounds per minute. That's fearsome firepower!

good point

 

[Jank]

I wonder how the P-47 "M" woiuld have fared against the F4U-4?

 

[JF3D]

I heard that the Jug had a **** roll rate and it's turning was awful. Diving was it's strongest allie.

Negative, the Jug could roll like a *******. It was a boom and zoom fighter, not turn and burn. Until they put the paddle props on it, she took a while to get to altitude. Ironically she had better high altitude perfomance then the Mustang but was prefered for low level work due to the reliability of radial engine

 

[Sal Monella]

Right you are JF3D (any relation to R2D2?). From tests on the P-47C-1 in October and November of 1942:

3. Conclusions

e. The rate of aileron roll is the best found in any type of American fighter.

It was also flown in mock combat against the P-38F, P-39D-1, P-40F and P-51.

6. Discussion

(3)(a) It had superior rate of aileron roll at all speeds, and especially at high speed to all American fighter contemporary types, none could follow it in a fast reverse turn.

The results can be read at the link below.

P-47C Tactical Trials

 

[Jank]

By late in the war, the P-47D was a pretty hot ship given her size and weight.

 

[renrich]

The F4U1D had a high speed at 20000 feet Of 417 to 425 with combat power.

 

[lesofprimus]

All I can relate is the opinions of men I have met, who flew in both aircraft.... My Grandfather had, and his opinion of the P-47D, while an excellent aircraft, was inferior to the F4U with an experienced pilot...

 

[renrich]

I don't believe that Vought ever tried to reduce the roll rate of the production F4Us. I have the book WHISTLEING DEATH by Boone Guyton who was the the chief test pilot on the Corsair after the prototype and they spent over 700 flight test hour improving the roll rate and the ailerons of the Corsair until it reputedly had the best roll rate of any US fighter.

 

[renrich]

Yep, my uncle was an IP on P47s during the war and he said the Corsairs from a nearby NAS used to wax them regularly. Also the squadron leader of the Navy Jolly Rogers whose name was Blackburn in his book relates that the AAF pilots got to where they wouldn't even dogfight the Corsairs unless they went way upstairs.

 

[lesofprimus]

Very true Renrich, those stories are quite accurate...

 

[syscom3]

So again, if you wanted to fight at high altitudes, use the P47.

If you want to fight low or in the middle, use the Corsair.

Now, if you are escorting bombers at 30,000 ft, and need to provide top cover way above them so as to enable you to bounce any LW fighters up there, what will you use? P47 or F4U?

 

[lesofprimus]

P-47D...

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

she does seem the more obvious choice...........

 

[syscom3]

I read somewhere about the Corsair had a higher crash rate for novice and intermediate pilots than the P47.

I don't know if that figure includes crash's for carrier training.
I would suspect the figure is basically true as even for landing on an airfield, the pilot is way back and has terrible visibility.

Off topic, but this thread reminds me of a story a guy I worked with at TRW 20 years ago told me. He was training at a navy mechanics school in 1944. His class was at morning drill before school started and a Corsair crashed on takeoff only a couple of hundred yards away. Many in the formation wanted to break ranks and rush out to help the pilot. Minutes went by, no pilot emerged, the crash trucks was taking its time and the formation was just straining on the "bit" to go and help. Finally the plane burst into flames killing the pilot. He told me that was one of the most important lessons they had to learn. Maintaining disiplin in the face of extreme danger. Soon he was at Guam where he saw lots of airplanes crashing.