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Get that P-47N to drop external fuel early and it's escort mission is over. No need to actually shoot it down. That should be an objective for the defending air force.
Dav, the data I posted was from the section on the FW190 in the book. The sources quoted to back up the article seemed authoritative but the copyright on the FW190 section was in 1980 and possibly more accurate data has been discovered since that date. The book is a monster. I am worried about getting a hernia everytime I pick it up but it has a lot of info in it and the data for other AC seems to correlate well with sources like "America's Hundred Thousand."
Ta-152 loaded weight was about 12,000lbs. Late war P-47 loaded weight was approaching 20,000lbs. About two thirds heavier then a Ta-152.
A P-47 engine must produce two thirds more HP then a Ta-152 engine to maintain a similiar power to weight ratio.
tomo pauk said:Planes depend on thrust for movement, and it was achieved (for piston engined ones) via prop, Meredith effect and exhaust/residual trust. P-47s were almost void of the last, since their exhaust was used up in turbos, making comparison of power/thrust-to-weight ratios complicated. IIRC residual thrust incremented with altitude true air speed.
Get that P-47N to drop external fuel early and it's escort mission is over. No need to actually shoot it down. That should be an objective for the defending air force.
An Fw 190's tanks might not be fully filled in the first place if it's on an interception mission.An Fw-190 would also burn off some fuel due to climb to engage but much less.
It must be remembered that by the time the Ta-152 was operational, long range escorts were not required. By January, 1945, Allied airfields were getting closer to Germany and combat ops were basically local affairs. Extra fuel was only carried for combat endurance not range. I suspect that P-51 ops in this environment used drop tanks but not their internal extended range tanks.
Ta-152 loaded weight was about 12,000lbs. Late war P-47 loaded weight was approaching 20,000lbs.
It doesn't mean that they could not be used, especially if lightly loaded fighters were required to combat advance aircraft such as the Ta-152. Operation Bodenplatte in January, 1945 targeted seventeen Allied airbases in western Europe. I think that is a lot of operational bases, most supporting Mustangs, Thunderbolts, Spitfires, Typhoons, and Tempests.dont assume that. there were bases in france and other parts of europe but the bulk of the fighter bases stayed in the uk or italy. they flew with he same gas loads at the end of the war as they did at the beginning. nothing changed for many of them in that respect until the war ended and they took over former LW bases.
There is a lot that goes into the manufacture of one of those props, especially one to used with the big recip engines. The balance is critical. Amazing!
It doesn't mean that they could not be used, especially if lightly loaded fighters were required to combat advance aircraft such as the Ta-152. Operation Bodenplatte in January, 1945 targeted seventeen Allied airbases in western Europe. I think that is a lot of operational bases, most supporting Mustangs, Thunderbolts, Spitfires, Typhoons, and Tempests.
These would have been invaluable if the war had continued and jets were required to escort bombers.
By January 1945 not even Me-262s can turn the German situation around. You cannot operate effectively without aviation fuel and secure airfields.
That doesn't make the Ta152 a bad aircraft. If the military odds had been even during the spring / summer of 1945 I think the Ta-152 would have performed well vs contemporary piston engine fighter aircraft.
An interesting (to me) anecdote about the P47 in WW2. I was working at Temco Aircraft in 1955 in a college co-op program for engineers(work 8 weeks and go to school 8 weeks) There was an engineer there who had flown P47s in the ETO. He told me this story about late in the war they were detailed to escort a flight of B26s and they met up with them at a relatively low altitude with the P47s a few thousand feet above. The P47s started their usual weaving pattern because they cruised faster than the Martin Marauder B26. Suddenly the P47s noticed the bombers were getting away from them so they had to quit the weave and when they could not keep up they had to go to fast cruise. Upon looking closely they discovered the bombers were not Marauders but the new B26 Invader.