Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
Hypothetical, how would a P47 go head to head in a one on one dogfight after the merge with a 190A or MkIX LF at low altitude?, the Jug pilot would haul the big girl around only to find the other two already in a firing position, same for high altitude, at 30,000ft the Jug pilot would turn losing height only to once again look over his shoulder to see a TA152/Spit XIV bearing down on him from above, the P47 was a B&Z fighter which is fine if you are in a position to bounce your enemy but in a straight dogfight it's weight puts it at a serious disadvantage.
Merlin Mustangs appeared in large numbers after most of the experienced Luftwaffe pilots had been killed. The Germans did not deploy two stage superchargers until the last few weeks of the war. Spitfires went up against a well equipped, battle hardened Luftwaffe fighting mostly at altitudes where they were effective.
It was a low altitude engine.
It used the turbocharger to be able to work at high altitude.
Merlin engined Mustangs couldn't have flown those missions without the Spitfires Typhoons Tempests of 2nd TAF and P47's of the 8th AF giving them a clear run. The Mustang was an awesome aircraft but the best?, no chance.The Merlin-engined Mustangs also flew in the heaviest aerial fighting of WWII, which was in 1944 escort missions and 1,000-plane raids. The Spitfires pretty much didn't, though they DID face better German pilots early-on in the war.
Testing done in 1946 on a P47N had it all but destroying it's engine performing a high altitude high speed test it was famous for, it also rolled poorly and was longitudinally unstable when combat loaded so I'm not convinced. P-47N Performance TestThe P-47 was also generally the best high-altitude fighter that was built in any substantial numbers
Merlin engined Mustangs couldn't have flown those missions without the Spitfires Typhoons Tempests of 2nd TAF and P47's of the 8th AF giving them a clear run. The Mustang was an awesome aircraft but the best?, no chance.
Testing done in 1946 on a P47N had it all but destroying it's engine performing a high altitude high speed test it was famous for, it also rolled poorly and was longitudinally unstable when combat loaded so I'm not convinced. P-47N Performance Test
No they would've have, mustangs made it to Berlin because they could carry their tanks to the border without interference from the Luftwaffe, 2nd TAF and 8th AF aircraft made sure of that.Yes, they could have flown those missions regardless of help from Spitfires. And the Spitfires didn't need help from P-51s either. They were both flying entirely different missions that were only slightly related in that both were in the air and fought against Germans.
The more they flew it the more things went wrong, reading between the lines it appears the engine couldn't meet it's rated performance.Fortunately, that doesn't change the results. Many airplanes broke during performance testing, including those from all nations and manufacturers. Few of the breakages meant more than but a return to the maintenance area, but a few resulted in crashes. The P-47N gave very good service when it was used. Many airplanes (including British airplanes) were somewhat challenged when they took off at long-range weights, but that didn't stop them from being good performers; P-47N included.
Put a smileyIt was a low altitude engine.
It used the turbocharger to be able to work at high altitude.
No they would've have, mustangs made it to Berlin because they could carry their tanks to the border without interference from the Luftwaffe, 2nd TAF and 8th AF aircraft made sure of that.
Ok, what was the maintenance requirements or problems with running a Merlin at 18lbs of boost or above in extended testing?The more they flew it the more things went wrong, reading between the lines it appears the engine couldn't meet it's rated performance.
Greek air force recently restored in enland , a spitfire ix lf, that was sitting for decades outside the war museum. As a child i was climbing ,illigaly, on its wingsThe R-2800-57/73/77 engines were stretched to make 2,800 hp. They were not happy at that power level, and they only built 130 P-47M models. I doubt anyone actually ran them at 2,800 hp for long in any case except an engine test stand guy or a test pilot who was more or less over the runway.
Yanks Air Museum has a genuine P-47M. As far as I know, we have no plans to fly it, and we couldn't run it at 2,800 hp anyway since we don't have 150 PN fuel to run it with. On 100 LL you could probably get 1,600 hp from it easily enough. We DO plan to fly our P-47D after we overhaul the propeller and do an annual on it.
Merlins were cleared to run 25lbs boost on operations as you are well aware,Ok, what was the maintenance requirements or problems with running a Merlin at 18lbs of boost or above in extended testing?
Not true. SOME Merlins are cleared to run at 25 psi of boost. Not all of them by any means. Merlins definitely DID required extra maintenance when operated at consistently higher boost. They still do today. Ditto big radials.Merlins were cleared to run 25lbs boost on operations as you are well aware,
(Quote) Maintenance. No difficulty was experienced in maintenance of the engine though most running was at high boost. In one case only an exhaust stub was burnt out and no plug troubles were encountered. The R2800 couldn't run to it's rating in testing,
(Quote) At high power settings considerable maintenance was involved because of oil leaks, cracked vacuum pump housings, exhaust collector rings burning out and oil leaks. At war emergency power these malfunctions become excessive and operation was restricted at this power. In military power climbs high oil and cylinder head temperature above 30,000 ft. were experienced and made it necessary to reduce power after ten minutes of operation to cool the engine.
Merlin 66 engines were tested with 150 PN fuel and 25 Psi boost in late 1943, by mid/late 1944 ALL Merlin engines were cleared to run 150 grade/25Psi as were the V1650-7's, that was after completing the 7 1/2 hour rating test at WEP.ot true. SOME Merlins are cleared to run at 25 psi of boost. Not all of them by any means.
It was obsolete by the time 150 PN fuel and 25 PSI boost was available, saying that the Merlin 50 was approved for 18 Psi mid 1943.A Merlin 45 engine, for instance, was limited to +16 psi for it's entire operational life, IIRC