Which is the better fighter, P-40F or Typhoon?

P-40 or Typhoon


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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.
 
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.

Simultaneously?

Must be amazing to have a plane that does it all, and can do two things at once!

EDIT: There were few, if any, 109s over Normandy. They had, for the most part, been withdrawn to defend Germany from the "Boeings", and had been hit pretty hard since the arrival of the P-51B escorting the bombers.
 
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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 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.
 
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.
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 don't think that in any way takes away from how remarkably successful the p40 seems to have been. Especially in contrast to how it has too often been portrayed all these years.
Also from the numbers I've seen anyway it seems the p40 was just about as effective in the fighter role. Efficacy has to be the ultimate yardstick of how "good" an aircraft is whatever the performance stats are.
So yes I think Typhoon was a better plane but it certainly appears the Warhawk wasn't to far behind in effectiveness anyway and considering its substantially earlier vintage thats no small achievement.
 
Ok some hard data from the 79th Fighter Group.
20190102_225724.jpg
 
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Apologies if this is hard to read. Doing my best on a phone as my new computer isnt fully operational yet.

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.
 
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.
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.
 
Considering:

that the whole production of Macchi 202 was on the whole less than 1200 units at best (between 1100 and 1200, actually);

that Alfa Romeo never produced more than 50 DB 601/month, at the best;

that Macchi 202 were deployed from 1941 in Libya, over Malta, in Russia and then in Sicily and Sardinia and were used in the advanced flying schools, and a couple of dozens were given to Croatia,

that in 1943 the production of this airplane was vastly reduced for the lack of raw materials and then completely stopped to build Macchi 205;

that a couple of dozens were used by Aeronautica Repubblicana and by Aeronautica Cobelligerante, and some even survived the War;

all of this premised and considered

I think the claims of all Allied Squadron fighters in 1943 for this plane are probably three or four times (if not five) the number actually present on the War theater…
 
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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

1546514707482.png
 
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


They began converting to P-47s in March 44 as I already mentioned. It took a little while to convert.

The totals in the picture I uploaded include victories by the 99th FS which while also flying P-40s at the time was really an independent squadron temporarily attached to the 79th FG. And they alao include the victory claims for the HQ sqns which are sometimes left out.

In that squadron history book, they do include the rest of the victories as well as the losses. You can tell which are P 40 vs P 47s by the date pretty easily. If you want I can post those too.
 
This is the rest of their claims. I put a dot where they stsrted using P 47s. Maybe a few P40s left in May.
20190103_063459.jpg
20190103_063459.jpg
 
"Combat History of the 79th Fighter Group 1942-1945" lists the changeover as complete in April '44 in time for the "Rome push". As for the aircraft carrier destroyed, this is listed in the actions of June 2nd. I don't think this is an actual aircraft carrier but something that is carrying an aircraft, possibly a barge with a damaged aircraft on board
 
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