which was the real biggest fighter in WW2?

[rousseau]

The wing area of the Corsair significantly larger than the Thunderbolt, but aft one conversely won the heaviest record, comparably, they has close length and same engine, so I wonder why the Thunderbolt heavy so much and why the Corsair's service life shorter than Thunderbolt?
What about specification of their performance? Was the Thunderbolt an attacker rather than a fighter?

 

[Glider]

Do 217 night fighter

 

[Sydhuey]

Would have to be the P-61 Black Widow bit shorter than a 217 but about 6000lbs heavier and bigger wing span, also the 217 was a converted bomber the P-61 was a dedicated fighter from the drawing board.

 

[GrauGeist]

rousseau, when you say fighter, are you meaning a single seat, single engine aircraft?

Or any aircraft designated as a fighter, regardless of crew or engines?

 

[tomo pauk]

The wing area of the Corsair significantly larger than the Thunderbolt, but aft one conversely won the heaviest record, comparably, they has close length and same engine, so I wonder why the Thunderbolt heavy so much and why the Corsair's service life shorter than Thunderbolt?
What about specification of their performance? Was the Thunderbolt an attacker rather than a fighter?

Thunderbolt was designed from inside-out: the boys from Republic 1st attached the R-2800 to a elaborate turbo-charger installation that enabled high power (= high performance) even at 30-35000 feet. The drawback was added bulk, and therefore the weight.
Corsair was designed with engine-driven supercharger - a much more compact system than exhaust gas driven supercharger (=turbocharger). So the hull was smaller lighter. Thunderbolt also featured 2 HMGs more than Corsair.
I'm not sure Thunderbolt have had longer service life - Corsair was used even in Korean war.
About the specification of performance, you should find some dedicated threads in this forum. IIRC, generally the same generation Corsair was ~better~ below 20K, while P-47 was better above 25K. Between 20K 25K those were about equal.
As for what type was better suited for fighter service, I'd say both were very god - some even consider them the best fighters of WW2. Being rugged and with decent payload, they were good (ground/surface) attackers.

 

[davebender]

The Ju-87 and IL-2 were even better in that role. But when people mention fighter aircraft they normally mean air to air combat.

 

[renrich]

Corsair was in production much longer than P47 and the corsair had a much longer service life. Neither was the largest fighter. I think P61 takes that honor.

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

I've read that the P-61 was the largest American plane with the "P" designation. "P" for pursuit so at least on the American side, the largest fighter was the P-61.

 

[Civettone]

Nakajima Ki-109, fighter version of the Ki-67 bomber.

Or even the Me 323 escort fighter prototype
Kris

 

[Njaco]

Or even the Me 323 escort fighter prototype
Kris

Now that would be something!!!! Did it come with drop tanks?

 

[vikingBerserker]

Wow, that had to be something like the B-40.

 

[rousseau]

What I mentioned both are single engine fighter!

 

[davparlr]

The P-47N was much larger than the F4U-4. The P-38J was larger than the P-47N.

The largest American fighter overall was the P-61.

This is all by weight.

 

[GrauGeist]

Interesting to compare the single-seat, single-engined heavyweights side by side.

Specs for the P-47D (P-47N had improved internal fuel tanks, but same area):
Height: 14' 8"/4.47m
Length: 36' 1"/11.00m
Wingspan: 40' 9"/12.42m
Wing Area: 300'²/27.87m²
Empty Weight: 10,000lb./4,536kg
Loaded Weight: 17,500lb./7,938kg

Specs for the F4U-1A (F4U-4 was slightly larger/heavier):
Height: 16' 1"/4.90m
Length: 33' 4"/10.1m
Wingspan: 41'/12.5m
Wing Area: 314'²/29.17m²
Empty Weight: 8,982lb./4,073kg
Loaded Weight: 14,000lb./6,300kg

Compared to the P-38L (J had added fuel tanks to the outboard wing area added dive-recovery flaps) also keeping in mind that it had the additional weight of a second engine, so it wouldn't qualify as a single-engined fighter:
Height: 12' 10"/3.91m
Length: 37' 10"/3m
Wingspan: 52'/15.85m
Wing Area: 327.5'²/30.43m²
Empty Weight: 12,800lb./5,800kg
Loaded Weight: 17,500lb./7,940kg

And for the heck of it, I'll toss in a few Axis single-seaters.
Fw190A-8:
Height: 13'/3.95m
Length: 29' 5"/9m
Wingspan: 34' 5"/10.51m
Wing Area: 196.99'²/18.30m²
Empty Weight: 7,060lb./3,200kg
Loaded Weight: 9,735lb./4,417kg

KI-100-1a:
Height: 12' 4"/3.75m
Length: 28' 11"/8.82m
Wingspan: 39' 4"/12m
Wing Area: 215'²/20m²
Empty Weight: 5,567lb./2,525kg
Loaded Weight: 7,705lb./3,495kg

 

[norab]

Everybody seems to be forgetting the F6F Hellcat, I guess because it was carrier based people tend to think it was small, but it wasn't




Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat
Dimensions:
Wing span: 42 ft 10 in (13.05 m)
Length: 33 ft 10 in (10.31 m)
Height: 14 ft 5 in (4.39 m)
Wing Area: 334 sq ft (31 sq m)
Weights:
Empty: 9,060 lbs (4,110 kg)
Normal Gross: 12,598 lbs (5,714 kg)
Maximum Gross: 15,413 lbs (6,991 kg)

 

[renrich]

GG, I am pretty sure that the P47N had a greater wing span than other P47s which was where they carried the extra fuel. Online there is a P47N shown at the Cavanagh Air Museum in Addison Texas and the specs show the wing span as 42 feet 7 inches. I used to fly a 172 out of Addison and have seen that Jug, sitting next to a Spitfire and it is a monster, making the Spit look like a toy.

 

[GrauGeist]

GG, I am pretty sure that the P47N had a greater wing span than other P47s which was where they carried the extra fuel.

I think it did too, but wasn't going to commit to that, because I'll be danged if I can find my specs on it!

Better to err on the side of caution, you know?

Still, the D was a beast in it's own right, especially with a Takeoff weight of 17,500 pounds...

 

[tomo pauk]

4500 lbs more for P-47N, max take off weight.

 

[Milosh]

P-47N
wingspan 42 feet 7 inches,
length 36 feet 4 inches,
height 14 feet 7 inches,
wing area 322 square feet

P-47D
wingspan 40 feet 9 3/8 inches,
length 36 feet 1 3/4 inches,
height 14 feet 7 inches,
wing area 300 square feet

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

 

[NZTyphoon]

According to flight tests of P-47N AAF NO. 44-88406 the P-47N was tested at a weight of 16,400 lbs clean at take-off: with 2 x 165 US gal drop tanks it weighed 19,250 lbs and, with a 110 gal belly tank added, 19,880 lbs. Loading and performance charts from 1950 give a maximum weight of 20,867 lbs equipped for ground attack, with 3,000 lbs of bombs - rate of climb = 638 f/min at sea level.