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Mosquito was as big or bigger target than the F-82, and the Brits had no problem using the FB6 as an attack aircraft.
Your better off with two Typhoons than one F82guess any ground attack role. I thought that CAS covered it since aircraft well known for attack capability like the Typhoon were used for CAS among other things.
Actually the Germans had about zero twin barreled 20mm mounts. However they had crap load of single barrel weapons. Estimates are all over the place but get confused between the Flak 30, the Flak 38 and the quad mount (which used the same Flak 38 guns). One source claims 17,589 2cm guns in use in 1945. So that accounts for all the worn out guns and war losses. They had a lot the quad mounts and the quad mount had a fairly respectable rate of fire.Then you have to look at German AA. The German Army didn't have HMGs to bridge the gap between rifle caliber MGs and 20mm and larger Flak, and they didn't have a lot of single or twin barreled 20mm guns, mostly the big heavy quad mounts.
Japan on the other had was using the 25mm Hotchkiss gun, which had several problems, in what ever mount it was used on.F-82s, if in service in 1945. would've seen such use in the Japanese home islands if they were invaded in '45-46. And yes, it's bigger than say a Tempest, or Typhoon, or a P-47 or P-51, and was overall comparable in size to a P-38. But a big, fast moving target, is very hard to shoot down
How well does the F 82 fly with one engine out?, how structurally sound will it be if say a few 20mm or a 37mm shell hits the centre section?.The irony of being a bigger target is that you can usually take more damage.
I guess any ground attack role. I thought that CAS covered it since aircraft well known for attack capability like the Typhoon were used for CAS among other things.
As we all know the Beaufighter and Mosquito was used against shipping with the Typhoon Hurricane and Spitfire the CAS role, the Brits used the best plane for the job, the F-82 doesn't fit either roll IMHO.You cited the Mosquito as an example of a large aircraft that the Brits used and yet the Mossie was never flew CAS sorties.
It few very well on one engine (a common occurrence on the Allison powered versions). The F-82 was intended to replicate (like the Hornet) the P-38s single engine flight characteristics. And the F-82 (as far as I know) was built to the same structural standards the P-51H (which was basic British load standards), so interpret that as you will. However, 7.33G at 9500 lbs for the P-51H was stronger than the P-51D at the same weight (about 6.7G) and for sure 10,200 lbs (6.3G).How well does the F 82 fly with one engine out?, how structurally sound will it be if say a few 20mm or a 37mm shell hits the centre section?.
How about either role (CAS or ground attack). It doesn't help that I've read that attack aircraft were often also used for CAS (such as Fw-190s, Stukas, Il-2s/-10s, P-47s, etc).Well, there are differences. You cited the Mosquito as an example of a large aircraft that the Brits used and yet the Mossie never flew CAS sorties. CAS is a very different task from ground attack with different performance requirements. If we're going to explore options for comparison against the F-82, it would be best to agree on an actual role.
P-38s in the ETO were used for attack missions (such as one of the first uses of naplam in World War II, against I think a German fuel storage post). And dimensionally, the P-38 and F-82 were similar (P-38 had a 37'10" length and a 52' span, Merlin F-82 was 38'3" and 51'3").In the ETO the USAAF hoped to be able to replace the P-47 with the A-26 for CAS. They found that while the A-26 was just at fast at lower altitudes than the P-47 and could carry a much larger weapons load, it was so much bigger that it was more likely to get hit by the very capable German AAA. The P-82 would have had the same problem.