Posted on 04/09/2009 2:29:15 PM PDT by mikeus_maximus
The Spitfire in the Battle of Britain had the luxury of three things the Germans did not have.
1 It was fighting over it’s home turf
2 Radar helped to give the British the wee bit of edge they needed
3 Hurricanes The Hurricanes is somewhat maligned but they were there when needed and held their end up in fight. Most of the Hurricane’s problems stemmed from poor tactics more than anything else.
The Bf-109E in the Battle of Britain was slightly superior to the MkI and MkII Spitfires. The chief advantage was the Bf-109s fuel injected engine. The Spitfires used a carb which tended not to function in certain flight maneuvers.
But the Bf’s were at the limit of there range when operating over London. It’s tough to be aggressive when you have one eye on the petrol gauge.
More later, have to call it a night
BTW the Zero was overated!!!
Regards
alfa6
IMO the Battle of Britan was a battle of attrition. I think you are forgetting the impact of RADAR, which allowed the Brits to have those Spitfires and Hurricanes in the right places at the right time.
Yes, see ya later, what if the Zero had self sealing tanks?
No Britain, no radar? Hey for what its worth all this talk is making me look more towards what our ally did for America, if it were possible I wish we could help them regain mastery over their problems like having too many immigrants that wish its downfall.
Yes thats for sure.
He got the kill when the Me-262 was just about to land.
It would have added too much weight. The Zero wasn’t actually that fast. Its top end of 322mph top speed was actually slower than the 330 mph top speed of the F4F-3 Wildcat. It only had 950 hp compared with 1200hp in the F4F wildcat. Its advantage was that in weighed only 6,164 pounds compared to the Wildcats 8,163 pounds. This gave it very low wing loading and made it supremely maneuverable. But adding armor and self sealing tanks would have increased the wing loading, and slowed it down. In essence it would have turned it into the F4F.
Someone should at least mention the P-61 Black Widow, barely-used but one of the most striking-looking fighters ever built. Not the best fighter of the war, but one of the most interesting.
The movie The Great Raid was almost ruined for me by the producers’ not being able to find a P-61 for the crucial scene at the end where Japanese POW camp is overflown by a Black Widow.
In real life, the Japanese were stunned and terrified by the sight of this bizarre aircraft; without a real Black Widow (I think in the movie they used a Corsair or Hellcat), the scene makes no sense.
I am not sure about all the above but at altitude with the supercharger it was hard to beat.
Wow! Great P38 pics. thanks!
I heard the main problem with the p38’s in Europe was that at high altitude in the extreme cold the canopies would ice up and the pilot was essentially blind. Apparently the cockpit heater was either ineffective or non-existent.
Yeah, I should have been more specific. It wasn't the fastest, or the longest ranged or the most nimble, but IMHO it was the most in those categories for any one fighter. I don't think any other machine excelled in those three combined categories like the Mustang.
When you put range into it the P-51 really stands alone. The one British pilot said that what the Spitfire could do for thirty minutes the P-51 could do all day.
As for fighters, while maybe not the absolute best, certainly the best bomber ever to become a top line fighter : I give you the DeHavilland 98 Mosquito (with a special nod to my Design Professor Dr. Horton, whose first job was with DeHavilland during the War. He had some great stories about the Mosquito and Captain DeHavilland.)
Video: Mosquitos in Action
That’s the man. Thanks!
>”I honestly don’t know what the Japanese nickname was for the P-38”<
I think it was something like W T F I T? Figure it out.
That bottom pic is sweet 6 !
Thanks for taking the time to post em for us !
Stay safe !
I was always a fan of the FW190D also,
I used to know a retired 2 star admiral who had flown the Corsair in WW2, and later the F8 Crusader. He had high regard for goth planes.
As for the best fighters to actually partipate?
Single Engine:
US Navy- Corsair
USAAF- P-47. Anyone who thinks it was too short range should look up the N model.
RAF- Spitfire. While individual models may have been outmatched, the iterations were beautiful from 1937-1952. The Hawker Tempest was also a beuaty.
Luftwaffe- F-190 and its evolution the Ta152 Japanese Navy- Mitsubishi J2M Raiden/Jack.
Japanese Army- Kawasaki Ki-100 with props to the Nakajima Ki-84
Would biplane fighters count? The British, Poles, Italians, and Soviets all used them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.