P-51H vs F4U-5

[mig-31bm]

From the limited information i can find:


In term of speed
P-51H is generally faster than F4U-5 at low and medium altitude while F4U-5 is faster than P-51H at high altitude

In term of climb rate
P-51H generally climb faster at low and medium altitude especially when combat radius is equalized
F4U-5 climb faster at high altitude

In term of dive limit
P-51H dive faster than F-4U-5 at all altitude and it also has higher dive limit

Additionally F4U-5 has double the time on war emergency power compared to P-51H
F4U-5 carried four 20 mm cannon compared to P-51 six 12.7 mm cannon
F4U-5 is better armored than P-51H?
I can't find comparison of their respective turn rate at different speed and roll rate yet so if anyone can post these chart then i would be very grateful

Anyway, from these information above, between F4U-5 and P-51H which one is overall the better fighter aircraft?

 

[GreenKnight121]

I was expecting a post on the "Football War" of July 1969... which saw Honduran F4U-5s in combat against El Salvadoran P-51s.

 

[mig-31bm]

I was expecting a post on the "Football War" of July 1969... which saw Honduran F4U-5s in combat against El Salvadoran P-51s.

I heard about that one but that was a single engagement, and also against TF-51D which was civilian Mustang D optimized as ground attack fighters, they also featured wingtip fuel tanks to increase combat range.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

I heard about that one but that was a single engagement, and also against TF-51D which was civilian Mustang D optimized as ground attack fighters, they also featured wingtip fuel tanks to increase combat range.

Actually there were several engagements over 4 days

 

[fubar57]

The Last Piston-Engine Dogfights

Corsairs against Mustangs in the skies over Central America in 1969.

www.airspacemag.com

 

[grampi]

I thought it was interesting that the P-51H out climbed the Bearcat at any altitude, considering how much the climb rate of the Bearcat is heralded...I was also surprised the Corsair was faster and had a higher climb rate than the Mustang at high altitude. I would've thought it would be the other way around...the Corsair wasn't really designed as a high altitude fighter, but the Merlin powered Mustangs were...

 

[mig-31bm]

I thought it was interesting that the P-51H out climbed the Bearcat at any altitude, considering how much the climb rate of the Bearcat is heralded...I was also surprised the Corsair was faster and had a higher climb rate than the Mustang at high altitude. I would've thought it would be the other way around...the Corsair wasn't really designed as a high altitude fighter, but the Merlin powered Mustangs were...

Yeah i was so suprised as well

 

[Spindash64]

To be fair, the F4U-5 was using a fully variable speed supercharging system: Pratt and Whittney themselves categorize the -8 and 8W on the -1 Corsairs as a "B series" Double Wasp, the -18W and -42W as "C series", and the -32W of the -5 Corsair as "E series". A LOT of extra work had gone into refining the power output of this engine, and in this case, it meant that much of the extra power came from better supercharging


Another thing is that the extra "juice" on the P-51H compared to the wartime D models was brought on by water injection, boosting maximum allowable manifold pressure to a staggering 90". To give you some reference, the P-51D with 150 Octane fuel was cleared for no more than 75" in USAAF doctrine, and the RAF cleared V-1 chasers up to 81". Water injection doesn't so much add power to the engine as it does allow the engine to run closer to full power without risking detonation. The Corsairs from the -1D onwards also all have water injection.

A supercharger ADDS boost and brings you closer to the limit of the engine itself. Water injection increases the limit of the engine, thus increasing the maximum safe boost

Therefore, at higher altitudes, the the maximum boost that the second supercharger gear can give eventually drops below 75", and at that point, the power is essentially the same as a P-51D. Yes, the Corsair also uses Water Injection for these figures, but it's particularly noticeable on the P-51H due to the sharp increase in power, combined with the Corsair having had Water injection for more of its life, so the characteristics of water injection are more "baked in" to what we think of in the Corsair's performance

As far as climb rate goes, I'm somewhat confused by that myself. As far as I can tell, the -30W engine shouldn't be THAT far behind the -34W at low altitudes to explain it falling behind the -1 to such a degree. For the Mustang itself, they shaved down the weight a LOT by using what they learned from the P-51D. In particular, the Landing gear system alone was around 300lbs lighter by switching to aluminum parts rather than the steel used on the D. Of course, this had the unpleasant tradeoff of making it far less suitable for rough field operation, and the tail wheel was notoriously buggy, to the point that later on, many P-51H's simply had the tail wheel locked open. NAA did a damned good job, but even though a Naval variant was considered, with the landing gear issues, I think they made the right call by sticking with the Bearcats and Corsairs for their needs

 

[gumbyk]

As far as 1 on 1 performance goes - they did engage in friendly dogfights over Japan.
I think it was in Brian Cox's memoirs that the NZ Corsairs could generally get the better of Australians, but not the Americans. It came down to pilot ability and experience.

 

[drgondog]

The critical altitudes for the Packard 1650-9 varied by Boost and W/I
@90" (Combat Rating w/WI) FTH = 22,700ft
@80" (Combat Rating w/WI) FTH = 25,700ft
@67" (WER) FTH =29,800ft
@61" (MP) FTH =32,000ft
@46" (Max Cont) FTH = 32,000ft
Top Speed w/racks 412kts (473mp) at 90" and 22,700ft. (with racks) in Interceptor config 8740 #

With both the P-51H and F4U-5 you haveto be careful with both racks and stated combat weights.
From the SAC 22 Mar 1949 chart
Maximum ROC at max fully loaded 9360# (internal) with Racks is 4990fpm at SL, 5080 at 4,000 feet
ROC max at Interceptor weight (8263# half fuel) with racks is 5480fpm at SL and a service ceiling 44,300 ft