If it could find it.
Hub was usaf single seater combat pilot
Has a picture of a P-51 mustang in the den. In the I love me room.
His favorite airplane
Check out Growling Sidewinder on youtube. He does weird dogfight matches using Digital Combat Simulator. Such as the P-47 Thunderbolt vs. the A-10 Thunderbolt II, for example. He also does more realistic matches such as the F-16 vs. the Su-27. And classics, too, such as the MiG-15 vs. the F-86 Sabre. Great fun!
Well, the F-117 cannot shoot back for one thing.
I heard the North Vietnamese had biplanes during our conflict with them. Supposedly, they were difficult to shoot down because of the low altitude, low heat signature, and maneuverability. No idea if any of this is true.
Years ago, I won a silent auction to fly a T-34 Navy Fighter. The pilot gave me the stick to do horizontal and vertical rolls. Only pulled 4gs but that was more than enough for me.
Would like to point out, the F117 operated only at night and is a bomber/attack aircraft. It’s mission is one of stealth to avoid enemy radar and attack high value targets at night.
Might have something to do with the F-117 NOT being a fighter, despite the “F” designation. Hell, it doesn’t even have a gun!
in what scenario???
For one thing, the F-117 is not a fighter and has no guns.
The Nighthawk never had air to air capabilities of any kind, so we might as well be comparing the Mustang to the B-2 Spirit. Since the Mustang has no radar, he has to be lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to find the Nighthawk visually. Then, the F-117 is 250 mph faster than the P-51, so the “right place, right time” window is going to be pretty small.
I mean, yeah, the F-117 is not exactly maneuverable.
But if we applied them in their intended roles: the F-117 has a 4000 ft ceiling advantage and a 211 kt speed advantage(!), and was intended to fly at night... I wonder if a P-51 would be able to intercept in practice. I’m guessing not- the F-117 would see it coming via its sensor suite from a long ways off, and that speed advantage is killer with forewarning...
I suppose a P-51 operator could try and get the F-117 during take off / landing ascent / descent phases, but a modern SAM battery or fighter escort with modern radar guided missiles would be guaranteed death to the mustang. Come to think of it, a heat seeker would be pretty nasty to a P-51 too with that intercooler on the bottom.
Makes for some interesting thought experiments.
A work horse instead of a show horse?
For one thing, a Mustang is a fighter. The F-117 is a pure bomber with no defenses.
The “F” in F-117 was even part of the massive deception plan. It was supposed to send them looking for things associated with “fighter”, rather than “bomber”. Ben Rich detailed this in his book “Skunk Works”.
My home office faces our town’s airport and they have a P51 that is hangared there. It mostly goes to shows around the country for air shows. When it’s back home, take off and landings are impressive. It goes and you can really hear it coming and going.
Stupit. The P51 has a max speed of around 440 mph
The F117 630 mph .. That about the same as the Me163 rocket plane and over 100 slower then the Me 262 at 520
Neither the Me262 or Me 163 could not maneuver worth a s***, but they relied on their speed and the P51 had its hands full is trying to do anything with them unless it caught them either when they were out of fuel or trying to land....
A F117 would just use it speed advantage and run away
At large: The F-4 Phantom debuted without an internal cannon, too. Eventually one was put aboard later models. But until that happened, a gun pod had to be mounted if the pilot needed a gun.
I agree also. The 117 was DEDICATED in its design to lessen its radar return for certain surveillance radar bands at the expense of its flight performance.