Patton - War as he knew it.

Personal Archives | 05-09-02 | PsyOp

[Cold Heat]

Yah know, everytime I ask myself that if I could speak with a great man of the past, who would be on my list?

The General always comes to mind.

What a guy!

[ProudEagle]

Pacifists would do well to study the Siegfried and Maginot Lines, remembering that these defenses were forced; that Troy fell; that the walls of Hadrian succumbed; that the Great Wall of China was futile; and that, by the same token, the mighty seas which are alleged to defend us can also be circumvented by a resolute and ingenious opponent. In war, the only sure defense is offense, and the efficiency of offense depends on the warlike souls of those conducting it. - General George S. Patton, Jr., War As I Knew It. 1947.

Excellent post and read. And the above I truly wish our current CIC would adhere to.

[PsyOp]

Also, a singular chassis/motor set, as in the Sherman, also simplified maintenance and logistics to a great degree.

Our fast turn-around rates for returning "knocked-out" tanks to battle had the Germans convinced that many more convoys were getting through their submarine screens.

I recall reading somewhere that Hitler considered his intelligence on our production capability suspect because they could not reconcile the numbers of destroyed tanks being reported by his field commanders with our production numbers and the constant arrival of "new" American tanks.

Amazing what a welding torch and fresh coat of paint can do.

[PsyOp]

"The Americans, as a race, are the foremost mechanics in the world. America, as a nation, has the greatest ability for mass production of machines. It therefore behooves us to devise methods of war which exploit our inherent superiority. We must fight the war by machines on the ground, and in the air, to the maximum of our ability, particularly in view of the fact that the two races left which we may have to fight are both poor mechanics but have ample manpower. While we have ample manpower, it is to valuable to be thrown away." - General George S. Patton, Jr., War As I Knew It, 1947.

[FlyVet]

In the ari you can add the B-17, the P-47, the P-38 and even the B-25 and 26.

Not to mention the Mustang and the entire Cat series. Even the P-40, with the right tactics, put a butt-whoopin' on the Japanese in Indochina. It was slow, lacked armament, couldn't dogfight, but it could absorb punishment, had a higher ceiling and much faster and more stable in a dive. Chennault was brilliant enough to use its strengths. His squadrons flew as high as possible and dove out of the sun on Japanese squadrons, pulled up and went to altitude again. They stayed away from macho dogfights, and did what it took to win, against all odds. It amazes me to think about it.

[PsyOp]

I truly wish our current CIC would adhere to.

I believe he would but for the political constraints. Constraints that did not exist during WWII.

[PsyOp]

Both the P-40 and P-47 used the same arial combat techniques. Climb high, power-dive on your adversary, then use the aircrafts weight and momentum to zoom-climb back up to altitude and start all over. Worked well against both the Japs and Germans.

[PsyOp]

The M-47 Patton Tank

[PsyOp]

[VaBthang4]

*Study Bump*

[FlyVet]

Had he paced Germany's timetable and listened to his people, military and civilian, those wonder weapons might have been our demise.

Scary. Had he held back for a few years instead of trying to take everything at once. The V-2, the Komet rocket plane, the ME-262. If I remember right he also had 4-engine bombers on the drawing board, as did the Japanese. Industrial might, sheer numbers, sure didn't hurt us, did it?

[FlyVet]

If I remember right, though, the '47 could hold its own in high altitude dogfights, and left the Spitfire pilots in awe as they climbed away from them like a "raped ape", for such a relatively big plane. Although I've seen them at air shows, and they don't look so big at all, quite tiny compared to modern fighters.

[Light Speed]

That is a very rare picture...
Went hunting on the net for the histories on these 1944 P-51D'S...
Was able to locate a serial number 413281 and its history. But 413287 an 413289 do not appear on the largest net serial number database. 81 to 89 may have been a batch shipment to North Africa... for the 15th AF...52ND FG. They were long range escorts..and flew ops into Germany and the Balkans. 413281 was lost Sept 3 over Belgrade Yugoslavia on an escort mission. The other 2 P-51's in the background of your pik are hard to identify serial number wise.....413281 may be one of those 2 in the background. Any info on where you scooped the picture would be appreciated!

[SkyPilot]

Man--I like your stuff.

[PsyOp]

The P-47 was fast, and could, as you say, "climb like a raped ape." But it could not turn with the German fighters in a dog-fight, which is why they "Jug" pilots adopted the proven tactics that the Tigers used in China.

Whenever a German fighter got on their tail they would split-s and dive away (Nothing could catch a P-47 in power-dive except a P-38). Once clear of gun range they would then pull for altitude to get above the german pilot so he could then dive on him.

In level flight, the 47 could walk away from a 109 if it was not too close but not from a 190. But it could still out dive a 190. The super-charged 190's, though, could climb with them.

And last but not least, no other fighter on either side could take the punishment of the P-47. Even if he got one in his sites, German pilots had a tough time shooting them down. Many a Jug pilot survived engagements that would have killed them in any other plane.

[PsyOp]

Thanks. I thought this post would be appropriate now that the tanks are rolling again in Isreal.

Here's hoping Ariels boys get to grease their treads with the innards of a few Hamas' Nazi thugs.

[Light Speed]

Your right on the P-40 call..later versions..especially the N were no slouch in the hands of a good pilot..and in some cases..a Russian pilot.
The N series ran production over 3000..
An experimental P-40 with clipped wings..4 blade prop and some fuselage changes did 422 mph.
The 40 was export material after 1942.
A Family member flew with the AVG...his P-40 got him home safe.
My Mother was given his AVG jacket with the "Chinese" resistance message on the back in 1952..
"What did I need that dirty old thing for she said"
I turned to my dad and said..we just lost $5000.00
I can still see my dads head buried in his hands ..shaking side to side!

[FlyVet]

(Nothing could catch a P-47 in power-dive except a P-38).Interesting, you seem to know your air history. One book I read many years ago said that the 38 was the first plane to break the sound barrier, and the pilot lived to tell about it. Supposedly he put it in a suicide dive just to see how fast he could go, and reached Mach. Have you ever heard that one?

[2Trievers]

BTTT MARCH! &;-)

[FlyVet]

An experimental P-40 with clipped wings..4 blade prop and some fuselage changes did 422 mph.

422, wow, I think of the Warhawk as something around 300-325 mph. Over-400 Club, I think Mustang, Thunderbolt, Hellcat (maybe), Spitfire, Lightning, Mosquito (bomber) (maybe), Twin Mustang, and last but not least, the Tiger Cat. It never saw action in WWII, but the Kalamazoo Air Zoo has a pristine flying example. A truly awesome twin-engine bomber-killer.