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How come the Spit VIII didn't require a filter? Was it the aircraft or an improvement in operating conditions by the time it arrived?
Alleviated somewhat by the British supplying up to 600 Merlin engines (used?) to be broken down for parts needed to overhaul the American built engines which rather gives lie to oft repeated internet claim that Rolls Royce and Packard engines were built to different standards or couldn't use each others parts.
Packard, Ford GB and RR engines were stripped for useable parts for Meteor tank engines and they were given the same part numbers irrespective of which factory built the engine.
Of course everyone knows that RR engines were hand carved by Elves in a small woodland clearing. Luckily Detroit fixed all the engines problems and built them by the millions. After the war the evil overlords of RR demanded a license fee for the Packards used by the USAAF, how dare they all those profits belonged to the Packard shareholders.
I am aware of the zero not being an adversary of the avg but my chennault quote is an innaccurate approximation of the actual quote 'never turn with a zero'which is repeated all over the place. I would guess thats either its a miss quote, or he was referring to all japanese fighter aircraft in a catch all term 'zero' seeing as they were mostly of similar characteristics.Not entirely true! All you had to do was enter combat in the horizontal or diving vertical at airspeeds higher than the Zero's effective maneuvering speeds, something like 250 mph, (probably a little less) and stay within the energy egg at those higher speeds (Biff, chime in any time). the zero's ailerons became concrete at higher speeds.
FYI - the AVG NEVER fought the Zero!
If the Spits had a poor serviciability rate, compared to the P-40, it sure wasnt apparent in the P-40 operations over New Guniea.
2 TAF ground crews subsequently uncrated several bright pink Merlins which were immediately installed in Pr Mk IXs thus creating an attractive colour combo which deeply puzzled the Germans:
It was probably a little bit of both. Some AVG pilots were quoted similar.I am aware of the zero not being an adversary of the avg but my chennault quote is an innaccurate approximation of the actual quote 'never turn with a zero'which is repeated all over the place. I would guess thats either its a miss quote, or he was referring to all japanese fighter aircraft in a catch all term 'zero' seeing as they were mostly of similar characteristics.
It should really be FR.IX if we're talking pink Spits.
It was probably a little bit of both. Some AVG pilots were quoted similar.
Quite true, it wasn't until later in the war when it was verified that only JAAF units were operating in South China during the periods the AVG was operational. I believe that last Zeros to be in the area were gone by October or November, 1941The Ki-43 was not recognized as a distinct aircraft type until well after the AVG was subsumed into the 14th AF. To American and Commonwealth pilots who faced the Japanese, any fighter with a retractable undercarriage was a Zero (or Navy Nought if you prefer).