RICHARD BONG'S "MARGE" P-38 LIGHTNING
Posted on 04/09/2009 2:29:15 PM PDT by mikeus_maximus
I know there are "seasoned" ex-military types on this board. I'd like your and anyone else's opinion on this topic. Every year of WWII saw improvements in aircraft development and performance-- so much so that what was state of the art at the beginning of the war, such as the Me 109 and Supermarine Spitfire, would have been death traps by the end, 6 years later.
For years I'd heard the P-51 Mustang was the ultimate WWII fighter. Then I read a quote from a former FockWulfe 190 pilot who said Mustangs were frail-- one bullet in the aluminum cowling and they went down. No one can deny their service record, though.
Other sources say the FW 190D was the best plane to come out of WWII. It was built on the same concept as the P-51-- take a good fighter, shoehorn in a huge bomber engine, and now you've got a great fighter. Except in this case it was a radial engine, which could lose one or two cyl. and keep on ticking (as opposed to the Mustang's inline engine).
Some say the Japanese "Frank" fighter produced near the end of the war was tops. Other have said the Russian YAK3 was.
Recently I heard that the F8F Bearcat was undoubtedly the best plane. Grumman took apart a captured FW 190 and made it better. The Bearcat was a plane deisgned from scratch around a huge radial engine, rather than vice versa. It was smaller, faster and more agile than any of the above. It had a production speed of 455 mph, a rate of climb twice that of a Mustang, and a ceiling almost as high. Is was delviered to the Navy in the Pacific theatre, but the war ended before it saw action, or it would have made its own legend. A few years later a modifed version set the airspeed record for piston planes at 528+ mph.
It gets my vote. Anyone else have an opinion?
Could give a whoopin’ and take a lickin’.
Absolutely it could and DID while still bringing the pilot back to safety!
8 .50 brownings toted some attitude!
“Marge” was the personal mount of Lt. Richard I. Bong. The top scoring US fighter ace of the war, with 40 kills. Bong married his fiancee Marge, and was later killed test flying a P-80 on the day Hiroshima was bombed.
Richard Bong, U.S; better still Erich Hartmann, Germany [352 kills], better than that Nazawa {?} of Japan. Over 600 kills, going back to the Chinese [according to Saburo Sakai].
Gas mileage, in other words.
Yep, however they can perform as a VERY good fighter!
I know, read my home page... ; )
My father flew the ‘39 a lot. We have lots of photos of him with those birds. Strangely, his favorite aircraft was the B25.
He told us once of his flying (P39s) in the Oregon area when his wingman went down with engine trouble. He would not bail out, possibly because he had played with his chute the night before and it popped out; he repacked it himself. He died in the crash. He remarked that there was a lot of death in the 40’s.
The Germans had two jets, the Me262 and Arado bomber. the Komet was rocket propelled.
“Fork-tailed devil, I believe.
I vaugely recall “whistling death” but I (a redleg army guy) know that was the name given our A-10, so I am probably getting that mixed in my mind.”
The fork tailed devil sounds right from the History I read.
Thank You.
RICHARD BONG'S "MARGE" P-38 LIGHTNING
Any plane that can deliver beer to it's pilots has to be number 1:-)
Seriously though the Supermarine Spitfire served from day one to the end of WW-II and beyond. The Spit had great growth potential that was used time over time during WW-II.
The early Spits hit about 350mph while the later Mks exceeded 420mph. With excellent maneuvablity and an armament of between 8 .303s up to 4 20mm the Spitfire provided a potent punch for it's pilots. The one draw back to the Spitfire was it's lack of range.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Two: The Me 262 and the Arado ‘Blitz’ bomber. The Komet was actually rocket propelled, glide operated - and, I believe, made of wood.
Gerd Barkhorn did better, however keep in mind that these German pilots flew combat years before WWII started. (I.E. Spanish war ect....)
Your experience coincides with what I have picked up from primary and secondary sources over the decades. While the P-51 (like the Spitfire) was obviously a good performer and got the lion's share of contemporary publicity, the P-47 (like the Hurricane) did much of the heavy lifting at a critical stage and got far less publicity.
FWIW, I know of one ex-Mosquito pilot who gets positively irate that the Mossie is virtually forgotten by so many.
Mr. niteowl77
Having just read about it, I don’t think the ME 262 was that good because:
1. It broke. A lot. As in, engines flamed out on take off and the pilot died, since it needed 2 engines to stay up.
2. It was extremely vulnerable on take off and landing.
3. It was an unstable weapons platform at speed.
With about six months or a year of time to develop and work out the kinks, I would, however, agree with you.
Fuel load, fuel consumption & ammuntion load are very important when going into combat. I would say more important than basic aerodynamic performance given that most air combat was either ambush or run away.
Must have been maddening to the Me-262 pilot to be able to blow through a heavy bomber formation in slashing attacks -- leaving the escorting fighters straining in your jet wash -- only to have those same P-51's loitering around your air strip waiting for you to land.
Kinda like watching a guy steal the Daytona 500 from the car that led the most laps because HE could do the 500 miles in 1 less pit stop.
Thanks alfa6!
Calling you a Connoisseur would belittle your pictorial abilities. : - D
Regards,
EG
A fighter/bomber made out of wood that was so fast that it didn't require defensive armament.
Excellent point niteowl77.
Hard to beat the Spit as an interceptor. Negatives: range and smallish ammunition load. Referred to as “the 1-kill wonder” because that’s usually all you got before your ammo ran out.
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