"Top Guns Of Their Time"

[NVSMITH]

-Came across this by accident.
https://www.hotcars.com/most-successful-fighter-planes-jets-of-world-war-2/ Food for thought; very subjective as it ignores the P-39.
-They have a number of lists air, ground & sea. Good coverage of Swedish aircraft post WW2. Everything lumped in: https://www.hotcars.com/category/military-vehicles/

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Seems like some sketchy info being sold here, for instance:

The Lightning had a total range of 450 miles, while its armament consisted of two 12 mm MG 131 and three MG 151 20mm cannons.

Range is wrong, as is the weapons load-out. I'm not sure but I don't think any American fighters used German guns .

North American Aviation designed the P-51D as a long-range fighter that had also the capabilities of a bomber.

NAA designed it as a short-ranged fighter to UK requirements, and as for being a bomber ...

F8F Bearcat was a single-seat, single-engine fighter that was being deployed from aircraft carriers of the US Navy. Its redevelopment started in the middle stages of WWII, but the aircraft was only ready to perform in the latest scenes of the war.

[Bolding added -- Thump.] It wasn't extant prior to the end of WWII and so could not have been "redeveloped" in the middle of the war.

Despite its very rare appearance in the skies, the aircraft [FW-190 D-9] was very capable as it could fly with a maximum speed of 600 mph [...]

600 mph? No, not at all.

That's too much salt to apply to one article.

 

[GregP]

For a second opinion, it's wrong as well as salty.

Altogether a less than wonderful combination.

Reminds me of an unpleasant, unrewarding tale that SHOULD have been a good story, if not for the inaccurate and unnecessary embellishment.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Reminds me of an unpleasant, unrewarding tale that SHOULD have been a good story, if not for the inaccurate and unnecessary embellishment.

Those planes were all memorable enough that pasting on BS was not only unnecessary but actually counterproductive. I'll remember that as something to avoid for solid info.

 

[special ed]

But, the pictures were pretty.

 

[GrauGeist]

It's evident that the author has European roots, 12.7mm is .50 cal, so they're not really wrong, there.

And I suspect they meant 600kph, not mph, as the Fw190D-9's max. speed was 685kph.

 

[tomo pauk]

It's evident that the author has European roots, 12.7mm is .50 cal, so they're not really wrong, there.

And I suspect they meant 600kph, not mph, as the Fw190D-9's max. speed was 685kph.

It is also evident that author didn't do the homework.

 

[GrauGeist]

It is also evident that author didn't do the homework.

Agreed that it both has historical errors and was poorly written.

When I read it, I felt like I was reading a grade-school child's book report.

 

[gumbyk]

Agreed that it both has historical errors and was poorly written.

When I read it, I felt like I was reading a grade-school child's book report.

Doesn't matter. They got their income for you having seen the ads on the page...

 

[Clayton Magnet]

"Supermarine MKs 24 Spitfire"

"...Its top speed was 378 mph, and it was armed with six cannons and two 250-lb bombs." Huh?

 

[NVSMITH]

-I agree with the comments above. After all, it is a car enthusiast website, but...
-Some of the other articles are in the same vein.

 

[Clayton Magnet]

I find it to be fairly common, in hastily written internet articles like that , to list Spitfire performance as a 1941 era Mk V.
A quick googling gives similar results...

 

[Shortround6]

Even some books, just bought an E-book on the Douglas SBD vs the A6M and ran into three (?) errors in armament for the SBD right at the beginning of the section.

1. SBD-1s used a drum fed machine gun in the observers position, changed on the SBD-2( not unless they were using Lewis guns)
2. SBD-3s used a pair of .50 cal guns........"Capable of firing 750-850 rounds per minute, a two-second burst of fire from the two guns would amount to the expenditure of 26 bullets-"......
Unless the synchronization was even worse than the P-39 and P-40 this looks like a math error. ONE gun will fire 26 bullets in two seconds.
3. The SPD-3 carried 360 rounds per .50 cal gun (?). Not according to most other sources, 180 rpg seems common.

Kind of makes you wonder what else it off

 

[J_P_C]

"The Soviet Yak-3 did amazing things with only one engine and one pilot. The French, Polish and Yugoslav Air Forces, which were the primary users along with the Soviet Air Force" - PAF has used 1 (one) Yak-3 - thanks we were primary user if author counted Poland as a secondary probably we should be satisfied with1/2 of this type

 

[J_P_C]

"The Lightning had a total range of 450 miles, while its armament consisted of two 12 mm MG 131 and three MG 151 20mm cannons." - clearly armament of the P-38 was imported from Germany

 

[GrauGeist]

"The Lightning had a total range of 450 miles, while its armament consisted of two 12 mm MG 131 and three MG 151 20mm cannons." - clearly armament of the P-38 was imported from Germany

You have to wonder where they got their information from.

Even the Savoia-Marchetti SM.91 had a range listed further than 450 miles (and six MG151/20), so the author can't claim to have mistaken the SM.91 for the P-38.

 

[33k in the air]

Even some books, just bought an E-book on the Douglas SBD vs the A6M and ran into three (?) errors in armament for the SBD right at the beginning of the section.

1. SBD-1s used a drum fed machine gun in the observers position, changed on the SBD-2( not unless they were using Lewis guns)
2. SBD-3s used a pair of .50 cal guns........"Capable of firing 750-850 rounds per minute, a two-second burst of fire from the two guns would amount to the expenditure of 26 bullets-"......
Unless the synchronization was even worse than the P-39 and P-40 this looks like a math error. ONE gun will fire 26 bullets in two seconds.
3. The SPD-3 carried 360 rounds per .50 cal gun (?). Not according to most other sources, 180 rpg seems common.

Kind of makes you wonder what else it off

I'd ask for a refund for that book.