Piston engine epitome?

[syscom3]

.....then I'll fall back on the Bearcat. Skyraider, eat your heart out.

Skyraiders were still in use in the mid 70's. Depending on the source, the South Vietnamese AF or Swedish AF were using them.

That was almost 20 years after the Bearcats were last in service with the French in Indochina.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

One of the only reasons why the Navy could legitametly give for giving up the Skyraider (besides for an aging airframe) was the elimination of highly flammable av-gas being carried on aircraft carriers.

 

[dahut]

Original question:

Which single engine, piston aircraft deserves the mantle of "Damn too bad it wasn't available in WW2?" A1 Sky raider? Sea Fury? Bearcat? My vote is for the Skyraider.

Didnt ask how long it stayed in service, which country it flew for or other notable details, ad nauseum. I vote Shinden, or my fall back, Bearcat. "Zooooom!"

Skyraider, eat your heart out.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Original question

Didnt ask how long it stayed in service or other notable details. I vote Shinden, or my fall back, Bearcat. "Zooooom!"

Skyraider eat your heart out.

Yea, but the Skyraider could probably lift both aircraft in weight and still carry a 2000 lb bomb load! 8)

 

[dahut]

Depends on your perspective. I agree, heavy lifting by a smallish airframe is a wondrous feat. Ive always loved the A-4 for that. Can't you just see the little A-4 festooned with an full ordnance load? Awesome. But, this really is a highly subjective question, dont you think?

Remember David and Goliath? I'll take the chance to skedaddle, manuever and sting real hard any time, instead of toting an armload of rocks.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Depends on your perspective. I agree, heavy lifting by a smallish airframe is a wondrous feat. Ive always loved the A-4 for that. Can't you just see the little A-4 festooned with an full ordnance load? Awesome. But, this really is a highly subjective question, dont you think?

Remember David and Goliath? I'll take the chance to skedaddle, manuever and sting real hard any time, instead of toting an armload of rocks.

True, but at the same time I'd like the reassurance that my ship is almost bulletproof, but I do admit, the best defence is to dump my load and get the hell out of Dodge!

 

[joebong]

Gotta go with Bearcat, though I admit I don't know much about sea fury perf.
I just dig bears, and it's rather academic really since the force's they opposed had been chewed to pieces by the likes of F4u's, spit 22's etc. On the axis side, full operational status of Do335's Ta 152's would make great speculative fodder, albeit the sad footnotes of allied aircrews.

 

[Desert Fox]

I would choose the CAC CA-15 Kangaroo. It reached a top speed of 502.2 mph, and was designed entirely in the land of Oz! The RAAF scrapped it in 1950, as it thought that the cost of building P-51s under license was cheaper than building an entirely new aircraft. I had never heard of this aircraft until today, you should check it out.

 

[dahut]

On the axis side, full operational status of Do335's Ta 152's would make great speculative fodder, albeit the sad footnotes of allied aircrews.
The Do335 doesnt count, as it had TWO engines instead of one. The Ta-152 had performance to spare and it's generally conceded that it could outfly any Allied fighter, at any altitude.

This sort of debat is full of subjective conjecture and the jet had arrived by the end of WWII so all piston engine front-line planes were doomed to end. So, one could also make a case for something like the Yak-9. It rivaled the performance of other Allied planes and there were 17,000 of them built. They went on after the war serving in other ComBloc forces and were just one of the many planes that the Germans wore themselves out on.
Were they the "epitome" of design? Powerful, capable, rugged and cheap to build and thus available in large numbers - some might say, "Yes."

 

[comiso90]

I would choose the CAC CA-15 Kangaroo. It reached a top speed of 502.2 mph, and was designed entirely in the land of Oz! The RAAF scrapped it in 1950, as it thought that the cost of building P-51s under license was cheaper than building an entirely new aircraft. I had never heard of this aircraft until today, you should check it out.

Thanks for the kangaroo tip... impressive aircraft. I'll add that to my trivia lexicon. Developing a piston engine aircraft in 1950 is a bit like inventing a new buggy in 1920!

 

[Matt308]

Developed at the end of the war. Taxied in 1946 and flew in 1947.

 

[renrich]

The F4U-4 overall could do a lot more than the F8F and was at least equal to the Sea Fury. My vote would go to the Able Dog.

 

[fubar57]

Joebong hasn't been here for almost 3 yrs

 

[gjs238]

Joebong hasn't been here for almost 3 yrs

Another round of beers!

 

[Elmas]

Of course they are not as trendy as fighters but pistons were used for more than thirty years after the end of wwii ....