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Be that as it may, P-40s were simultaneously shooting down Axis fighters and wrecking Axis weapons and materiel at Salerno and Anzio just like Typhoons did at Normandy. Except P-40 units were also shooting down plenty of messerschmits in the process.
I think everyone can agree that the p40 and the Typhoon were two aircraft that had some shortcomings but still contributed to the war effort in a HUGE way.......And, both have certainly had more than there share of detractors selling them short for decades.
Undersung heros you might say. Something cool about a plane that has been derided all these years but as it turns out did really well. I think this aplies to both these aircraft and I've gained a new respect for both of them.
I would concur that the Typhoon was a better design overall but one would expect this from a later design. It would certainly be surprising if it were not.I think the P-40 had more impact during the war, mainly because it was there when it was needed.
The Typhoon was largely a bit player in WW2. Its role was significant in certain periods, but overall it wasn't a big contribution.
That said, the Typhoon was still a better fighter, and definitely was a better fighter-bomber.
Oddly enough, there were more bombers than there were fighters and it were the bombers most encountered. There were never more than 35 fighters (Bf109 and Fw190) in service at any one given time during the battle for Anzio, so I'm not sure what number "plenty" would work out to being.Be that as it may, P-40s were simultaneously shooting down Axis fighters and wrecking Axis weapons and materiel at Salerno and Anzio just like Typhoons did at Normandy. Except P-40 units were also shooting down plenty of messerschmits in the process.
79th FG incidentally switched over to P 47s in March of 44
If you can read it, this is my answer to the query "simultaneously?" Yes. They did both. I have more data from the squadron history including all claims and losses.
The 79th FG operated P-40s from Mar. '43 to June '44 when they converted to P-47s. The aerial victories listed above are listed by squadrons but not by type flown. Would be interesting to see the breakdown. I've also found a different totals for aerial victories...79th_FG