Also, the Allies would have fielded the late model P-47N Jug.
Also, the Allies would have fielded the late model P-47N Jug.
I argue only out of love and respect.
P-47s flew more than 546,000 combat sorties between March 1943 and August 1945, destroying 11,874 enemy aircraft, some 9,000 locomotives, and about 6,000 armored vehicles and tanks. Only 0.7 per cent of the fighters of this type dispatched against the enemy were lost in combat. As a testament to the survivability of the P-47, it should be noted that the top ten aces who flew the P-47, returned home safely. Before the war was over, a total of 15,579 Thunderbolts were built, about two-thirds of which reached operational squadrons overseas.
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To say the Merlin Mustangs were successful would be an understatement. The P-51 became one of the aviation world’s elite. The total number of 14,819 Mustangs of all types were built for the Army. American Mustangs destroyed 4,950 enemy aircraft in Europe to make them the highest scoring US fighter in the theater. They were used as dive-bombers, bomber escorts, ground-attackers, interceptors, for photo-recon missions, trainers, transports (with a jump-seat), and after the war, high performance racers.
11,874 for the 47 vs. 4,950 for the 51 is hard to dispute. I wish I had one of each. I am a Steelers fan, and therefore a lover of winning ugly. The P-51 was like a Ferarri-—the P-47, like a Ford truck. I love them both, but the 47 was the greatest fighter of WWII.