[Kevmo]

But with the P51 vs. the Zero, inexperienced pilots were beating experienced Japanese pilots.

[Vanders9]

I think the point of the article is that, ultimately, war is a still a very Human thing. In the end, it is one man against another, but the machines they use do have a bearing. in the case of the P51 vs the Zero, the disparity is very marked. With the correct tactics, it is almost impossible for the P51 to lose, even if the pilots using it are rookies and their opponents are very good.

The most important attribute of a fighter is speed. The P51D was at least 25MPH faster than the Zero at all altitudes. In WW2 air combat terms that is a phenomenal difference, implying obsolescence in the slower fighter. All you need to do in a P51 is climb above the zero and dive down on it, shooting as you go. If you get him, good. If you dont, you do not stop to dogfight (the zero is much better at that - easily more manoeverable than a P51) you just simply continue the dive and accelerate away. The zero will be lucky to even get a short innacurate burst in. Then you climb, and dive down again. Repeat, until no zeroes left. It doesnt require a very experienced pilot to do that, once you know the trick.

[Vanders9]

I think the point of the article is that, ultimately, war is a still a very Human thing. In the end, it is one man against another, but the machines they use do have a bearing. in the case of the P51 vs the Zero, the disparity is very marked. With the correct tactics, it is almost impossible for the P51 to lose, even if the pilots using it are rookies and their opponents are very good.

The most important attribute of a fighter is speed. The P51D was at least 25MPH faster than the Zero at all altitudes. In WW2 air combat terms that is a phenomenal difference, implying obsolescence in the slower fighter. All you need to do in a P51 is climb above the zero and dive down on it, shooting as you go. If you get him, good. If you dont, you do not stop to dogfight (the zero is much better at that - easily more manoeverable than a P51) you just simply continue the dive and accelerate away. The zero will be lucky to even get a short innacurate burst in. Then you climb, and dive down again. Repeat, until no zeroes left. It doesnt require a very experienced pilot to do that, once you know the trick.

[SampleMan]

But with the P51 vs. the Zero, inexperienced pilots were beating experienced Japanese pilots.

The Zero was obsolete by the time the P-51 arrived, it truly never got much better from 1941 onward. There were many Japanese fighters that were superior to the Zero.

[Kozak]

By the time the P 51 was flying in the Pacific there were NO experienced Jap pilots left.

[Little Ray]

By the time P51s were meeting Zeros, most of the experienced Japanese pilots were dead, and the Zero was obsolescent. The surviving experienced pilots were likely suffering from serious combat fatigue.

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

By the time the mustang got to the south pacific the experienced zero pilots were gone.They were cleaned out by the navy pilots and P-40 pilots earlier in the war.The mustang pilots were not as inexperienced as one would think by that time in the war.There are more P-40 aces than there are are mustang aces a fact that is over looked by mustang fans.