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Manticore

Manticore

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Japanese Mustang
Mustang! - Documents
by Gaëtan Marie

Starting in late 1943, Japanese pilots encountered a new enemy: the P-51 Mustang. Despite some early successes, it quickly became evident that the new fighter was a deadly opponent. The threat only became worse with the introduction of the Merlin-engined P-51B/C and P-51D.

As Japanese losses due to the Mustang increased, evaluating it became a priority for the Japanese, in the hope that a tactically significant weakness could be discovered to even the odds. It is fairly safe to assume that the Japanese were able to study some wrecks and other Mustang-related material but this was not enough for a thorough evaluation of the type's performance.

The importance of fully evaluating the opponent's aircraft can hardly be overestimated. American forces were able to capture an intact Japanese Zero shortly after the battle of Midway. Bringing it back to the US, they thoroughly tested it. The evaluation confirmed what was already known: the Zero was almost impossible to defeat in a slow turning fight. However, it was also discovered that it was a fairly poor opponent at high speeds. As a result, the Americans shifted to high-speed “hit and run” tactics which allowed them to defeat Japanese air superiority.

On January 16, 1945, an event occurred that gave the Japanese military a chance to become much more familiar with the Mustang. On that day, 1.Lt. Oliver E. Strawbridge of the 26th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Group, was hit by enemy gunfire and landed at the Japanese-held Suchin airfield in China. Some sources indicate he made a wheels-up landing, while others contend he landed his airplane normally. Pictures of the aircraft in Japanese hands show no obvious sign of damage or repairs. Had Strawbridge made a belly landing, the damage to the propeller and belly intake would have been very complicated for the Japanese to repair. One can therefore assume that the P-51 was captured intact.


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Two pictures of 1Lt. Strawbridge and "Evalina" before his January 16, 1945 mission. (Photos: USAF).

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In any case his aircraft, a P-51C-11-NT nicknamed "Evalina", was rapidly seized by Japanese troops. Whatever damage the aircraft had taken was repaired rapidly. Hinomarus were painted over the American stars but the rest of the aircraft was left in its original scheme.

“Evalina” was flown back to the Japanese Army Air Inspection Center in Fussa (now Yokota Air Base) by Yasuhiko Kuroe, a 30-victory ace.

In Fussa, the Mustang's performance was evaluated by Kuroe, who recalls: (1)

“I was astonished with its performance. Turn characteristics were splendid, almost the same as the Ki-84 in a horizontal turn. The radio transmitter was excellent, the armament and other miscellaneous equipment was very good, particularly when compared with their Japanese equivalents, and moreover it had a radio direction-finder. (2)

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Evalina prior to her capture, with typical 51st FG markings.. (Purchase a print of this drawing) © Gaëtan Marie.
Its dash speed was inferior to that of our imported Fw 190A, but diving speed and stability during the dive were excellent. After fuel consumption tests we estimated it would be able to fly over the Japanese homeland from Iwo Jima. Some time later this came true.”

Evalina was later transferred to the Akeno Flying Training Division for further evaluation and mock combat against fighters such as the Ki-43, Ki-61 and Ki-84. In mid-April 1945, Kuroe was placed in charge of a “flying circus” composed of captured Allied aircraft. The group toured Japanese fighter units to train pilots how to fight the opponent's aircraft. One of the pilots who benefited from this was a First Lieutenant from the 18th Sentai, Masatsugu Sumita, who recalled that he learned “how to take his aircraft out of the P-51's axis when being chased...”. At the time, the 18th Sentai was flying the Ki-100, one of the few Japanese types that matched the Mustang's general performances, albeit with inferior equipment. Kuroe claimed:


Two Japanese pilots stand in front of Evalina in Japan, possibly in Fussa. (Click to enlarge).
“I had such confidence with this P-51 that I feared no Japanese fighters.”

The Japanese's impression of the Mustang was that it was an excellent all-round aircraft with no major fault and excellent equipment. The absence of oil leaks was surprising to most, as all Japanese engines leaked to some extent. Several pilots were invited to fly the fighter. Among them was Yohei Hinoki, one of the first to shoot down a Mustang in November 1943. (A few days later, he himself was shot down by a Mustang and lost a leg. Eventually returning to combat with an artificial leg, he ended the war with a dozen victories): (3)

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This is how "Evalina" looked like after passing into Japanese hands. (Purchase a print of this drawing) © Gaëtan Marie.
“Major General Imagawa asked me to master the P-51 and then demonstrate it to other fellow pilots. I did not have a great deal of confidence in my ability to fly such an advanced aircraft with my disabled leg, but I made up my mind to do my best.

I flew to Omasa airfield and finally got a look at the P-51. I could see the superiority of its equipment, and its shiny fuselage with the open red mouth of a dragon. I saw several red dots on the side of the cockpit, probably recording Japanese aircraft the pilot had shot down. With the radiator under the fuselage, it looked very sleek and deadly.


Another view of Evalina being inspected in Japan. The inner wheel well covers are descending, probably indicating that the engine was shut off only moments before. Note that the tail is sitting on a barrel. (Click to enlarge.)
It reminded me of the day I had first seen the P-51 in the sky above Burma on 25 November 1943. Major Kuroe, who brought the P-51 back from China, told me how easy the P-51 was to fly. Getting in, I was very impressed by the roomy seat and I did not have any trouble with my artificial leg on the rudder pedal. For me there were several new things about the aircraft. First of all there was the bulletproof glass, with a better degree of transparency than the thin Japanese glass; secondly, the seat was surrounded by a thick steel plate which I had never seen in a fighter before; there was an automatic shutter for the radiator, and an oxygen system which was new to me. Overall, it was better equipped than any Japanese airplane I had ever seen.”

Evalina was finally grounded by a burned-out generator. Two P-51Ds were reportedly captured in mainland Japan in 1945, but their fate is unknown.



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From Caldwell’s JG26 book

…on 23 July (1942) The adjutant of III/JG2 presented the British with a brand new FW190A -3…Mock combats with Spitfire Vb rapidly proved what Fighter Commands pilots had been claiming for some time-the German fighter was significantly superior in all parameters of flight except turning radius. The seemingly magical ability of the FW fighter to disappear in the blink of an eye was attributed primarily to its well balanced (fly by wire) aileron controls, which gave the aircraft the highest rate of roll of any WWII fighter, Allied or Axis. The split S maneuver, a half roll followed by a dive, would leave any pursuing Spitfire (of any mark, but not so easily P47s or P51s) hopelessly behind….Spitfire pilots were instructed to draw the FW’s as close to England as possible and then circle until the FW’s ran low on fuel and were forced to break off combat
Click to expand...

FW 190A-3
Max. speed - 395 m.p.h at 17,000 ft
Service ceiling - 36,000 ft.
P-47D
Max. speed - 0ver 390 m.p.h.
Service ceiling - 38,000 ft.
.Spitfire V
Max. speed - 375 m.p.h. at 20,250 ft.
Service ceiling - 37,700 ft.
P-51
Max. speed - 390 m.p.h.
Service ceiling = 30,000 ft.
 
The P-51d was the best fighter of that generation and during the war. I'm not going to argue that with anyone. I like the look of the FW-190 better though. The P-51d is good looking, sleek and sensual with its curves. The FW-190 looks rugged and it was. It looks like a killing machine should.
 
Did I miss something? Nothing about it's comparison to the FW-190? One almost has to talk about the Packard-Merlin Mustangs as a completely different fighter than the Allison engined ones. The later were only an acceptable low-level fighter, at best. The P-51 (Merlin) had better high altitude performance than the FW-190's until the later versions with their liquid cooled engines.

Very interesting about the Japanese use of the "Evalina", though. :enjoy: I had never heard of that story before!
 
Desertfalcon said:
Did I miss something? Nothing about it's comparison to the FW-190? One almost has to talk about the Packard-Merlin Mustangs as a completely different fighter than the Allison engined ones. The later were only an acceptable low-level fighter, at best. The P-51 (Merlin) had better high altitude performance than the FW-190's until the later versions with their liquid cooled engines.

Very interesting about the Japanese use of the "Evalina", though. :enjoy: I had never heard of that story before!
Click to expand...
just came to know that it was copyrighted stuff .. book translated to chinese .. so I removed the content

Focke-Wulf Fw 190
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 - History and Pictures of German Fighter Plane
Jagdgruppe I./JG.51 left the front lines in August 1942, for East Prussia to convert to the new Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-3, the first unit from the Russian Front to adopt Kurt Tank’s radial engine fighter. The BMW engine offered two big advantages over the Bf 109’s water-cooled Daimler Benz. First, its massive bulk up front helped protect the pilot. Second, it could absorb a lot of battle damage and keep running; like the American P-47, tales spread of Fw 190’s making it back to base with a cylinder head shot away.


But when the engine did fail, the Fw 190 had the gliding ability of a brick. Dead-stick landings were extremely hazardous, although belly landings, with the big engine clearing away almost all the obstacles, frequently letting the pilot walk away unharmed.

The plane’s ground handling was a mixed bag. The wide track landing gear offered excellent stability in the muddy, snowy surfaces of the Russian airfields. On the other hand, the large engine cowling obstructed the pilot’s forward view. Three point take-offs were called for; raising the tail too soon caused the propeller to dig in and flip the aircraft.

The Fw 190’s performance fell off at altitudes above 20,000 feet. While this limited its effectiveness in the West, where the Allied bombers flew high, in the East, with its preponderance of low-level combat, the 190 was ideal. It was rugged, maneuverable, stable, and, with its two 7.9mm machine guns and four 20mm cannon, powerfully armed.

Hermann Krafft’s I./JG.51 pilots learned about the airplanes vicious stall characteristics. Below 200 kilometers per hour (127 MPH), the port wing would abruptly fall off. In a tight turn, it could flick over and go into a spin. Properly controlled and with sufficient altitude, a spin could even offer an escape; no Soviet plane could match it.

The pilot climbed into the Focke-Wulf using retractable stirrups and handholds. Inside the cockpit he saw many familiar controls, similar to those in the Bf 109, plus many new electric devices, notably the Kommandogerat, a primitive computer that automatically set propeller pitch, air/fuel mix, and RPM. Electric motors also raised and lowered the landing gear and controlled the flaps. Other buttons armed the guns, with a required three-second delay between each pair, so as not to overload the battery.

When everything was set for take-off, the mechanic jumped off the wing. Then, “Clear?” … “Yes, all clear ahead.” … “Contact,” then the radial BMW spat blue smoke and rumbled into life. The pilot gave it twelve degrees of flaps, let off the brakes, accelerated to 180 KPH, and lifted off the airstrip.

After two or three weeks of such familiarization, the fliers of I./JG.51 returned to battle on the Eastern Front.

Development
In 1937, even as the Bf 109 was just beginning to realize its potential, the the RLM,Reichsluftfahrt Ministerium, prudently issued a request for a next generation fighter plane. The Focke Wulf company's initial responses (based on the DB 601 engine) drew little interest, but their designer Kurt Tank proposed to use the eighteen-cylinder, air-cooled, radial BMW 139 in a fighter. This idea resulted in an order for four prototypes, and soon, forty production aircraft. By June 1939, the first prototype, the Fw 190V-1, had flown over Bremen airport. During the early test flights, Tank gave it the nickname "Wuerger" or "Shrike." These flights revealed carbon monoxide leaking into the cockpit, landing gear problems, and overheating of the engine and cockpit. The overheating, which raised cockpit temperatures to 55 degrees Celsius (130 F.), proved difficult to resolve. Despite these problems, Luftwaffe pilots enthused over the type.

Fw 190, WW2 German radial engine fighter airplane


Fw 190, nose view


Maintenance of Fw 190

Bundesarchiv Photos / CC-BY-SA [CC-BY-SA-3.0-de], via Wikimedia Commons

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Otto Kittel, top-scoring Fw 190 ace
Even though the V-1 aircraft was fast and agile, it needed a better engine. The BMW 801, more powerful and heavier than the BMW 139, powered the Fw 190V-5 prototype. With the much heavier BMW 801, Tank moved the cockpit back to maintain the correct center of gravity. This change also reduced the heat in the cockpit and allowed more room up front for weapons.

Focke-Wulf delivered seven copies of the pre-production version, the Fw 190A-0, to the Luftwaffe in March 1940. The A-0 frequently failed and caught on fire; it was so troublesome that the RLM almost canceled the Fw 190 program. But after more than 50 changes, production was approved.

Fw 190A-1
With a 1600 horsepower BMW 801C engine powering a three-bladed variable pitch propeller, the Fw 190A-1 made a top speed of 388 MPH. The wide-track landing gear folded in toward the fuselage, was extra strong to accommodate future weight growth, and offered good stability on the ground. The bubble-style plexiglass canopy offered excellent visibility in all directions; when it proved difficult to jettison, an ejection mechanism was devised. The Fw 190 was built in a modular fashion, for easy repair and replacement in rough field conditions.

For weaponry, the Fw 190A-1 carried four rifle-caliber machine guns, two in the cowling and two in the wing roots; all fired through the propeller arc.

In September 1941, the Fw 190A-1 first appeared in battle against the RAF. At first, the British weren't sure what they were facing. They soon found out, as the FW 190 bested the Spitfire Mark V. However, the four 7.9mm machine guns were not adequate firepower; an upgrade to heavier armament had been planned as soon as the guns were available.

Fw 190A-2
The next version, the Fw 190A-2, replaced the machine guns in the wing root with belt-fed 20mm cannon. Some A-2's added two more 20mm cannon further outboard in the wings. Oddly, these were drum-fed guns, whose ammunition was incompatible with the cannon in the wing roots.

An uprated BMW 801C-2 engine powered the A-2, which began to be delivered in the fall of 1941.

The Channel Dash
In February 1942 the Germans determined to bring the battle cruisers Scharnhorst andGneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugenfrom Brest, where the RAF regularly bombed them, to better protected anchorages in Norway.


On the night of February 11, the big ships slipped out of Brest. While the British had the harbor under close watch, a series of accidents and mistakes allowed the German ships to get out undetected.

By dawn, they were off Cherbourg where German fighters began to escort them. Further British mis-judgments hindered accurate identification of the warships until mid-day. By that time, they were nearly at the Straits of Dover, under heavy escort by Fw 190's and Bf 109s of JG.2 and JG.26.

Few British strike aircraft were ready and they launched a pitifully small group of Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers, led by Lt. Cdr. Eugene Esmonde. Despite Spitfire fighter cover, the Focke-Wulfs and Messerschmitts destroyed all seven Swordfish; Esmonde earned a posthumous Victoria Cross. As Adolf Galland put it in The First and the Last,

"For two hours in full daylight German warships had been passing along the English coast, following a route which in the history of British sea supremacy no enemy has dared to take since the seventeenth century."

Later that afternoon, many more British bombers went after the battle cruisers, but the German fighters and bad weather prevented them from hitting their targets. The three ships made it to German ports that evening, in no small way thanks to the Fw 190.

Fw 190A-3
In the spring of 1942, the A-3 began rolling off the Focke-Wulf production lines at Cottbus, Marienburg, Neubrandenberg, Schwerin, Sorau, and Tutow. Driven by the latest BMW 801D, with 1700 HP and carrying four 20mm cannon and two machine guns, this version of the Fw 190 threatened to outclass all Allied fighters.

The British were working on a commando operation to snatch one when an errant Luftwaffe pilot saved them the trouble. On June 23, 1942, Oblt. Armin Faber landed his A-3 at an RAF airfield. British flight tests revealed few weaknesses with the airplane. To cope with this threat, the British rushed into production the Spitfire Mark IX, basically a Mark V with a new Merlin 61 engine. At Dieppe, the RAF looked to take the measure of Luftwaffe fighter defenses, especially the Fw 190. The Focke-Wulf's mauled the Spitfires; one German pilot downed seven Spitfire Mark V's that day.

Fw 190A-4
By injecting a water-methanol mixture into the cylinders, WW2 engines (and some auto racing engines today) could briefly sustain a compression over the redline and get a little more horsepower. The Fw 190A-4 incorporated such a scheme, its only real difference from the A-3. The A-4 also added a short radio antenna atop the tail. It was the first Fw 190 to see significant service on the Russian Front.

Fw 190A-5
Introduced in April 1943, the A-5 was virtually identical to the A-4, except that longer engine mounts added six inches to the length of the fuselage.

Modifications and Upgrades
As with the Bf 109, subvariants and modifications to the Fw 190 were numerous and identifying all of them would require a level of detail beyond the scope of this web site. Some were adapted for desert warfare, indicated with the suffix "/Trop." Umruest-Bausatze (factory) and Ruestsaetze (field) modification kits were designated by "U" and "R" codes, respectively. Fw 190's were modified as Jabos (fighter-bombers),Zerstorers (bomber destroyers), and reconnaissance fighters.

Fw 190A-6
The A-6 standardized the cannon, using the MG-151/20 in both the outer and wing root positions. This model also was designed for ground attack, Shlacht, missions; in this role it slowly replaced the obsolete Ju 87 Stuka. The A-6 allowed for a maximum of flexibility in its adaptability to many differentRuestsaetze, or field modifications.

Fw 190A-8
While only eighty Fw 190A-7 were built, this subvariant introduced 13mm machine guns in the cowling, replacing rifle-caliber weapons.

The heavier machine guns likewise armed the Fw 190A-8 (generally similar to the A-7), which was the most numerous 190 subvariant, more than 1,300 produced. It could reach a top speed of 408MPH.

Fw 190D
While the radial BMW 801 engine was great below 20,000 feet, it had always performed poorly at higher altitudes. Kurt tank and his team tried the inline Daimler Benz, DB 603 in prototypes 190B and 190C.

For the Fw 190D, they settled on the Jumo 213A-1, another inline engine, for the proposed high-altitude fighter. The "D" model or "Dora" needed a longer nose to accommodate the Juno 213, and was visibly different from the "A" model.

The first production version, the Fw 190D-9, caem out in the summer of 1944. (The disposition of codes D-1 through D-8 is unclear.) Armed with two 13mm machine guns in the cowling, and two 20mm cannon in the wing roots, capable of 425MPH, with great climbing ability, the Dora was the best prop-driven, production Luftwaffe fighter of the war.

By late 1944, it was too late for the Dora to have an impact. Shortages of fuel and trained pilots constrained everything. While many Fw 190D-9's were built, relatively few saw combat, frequently covering the Me 262 airfields.

The last notable Focke-Wulf 190 variant was identified as the Ta 152, the "Ta," denoting Kurt Tank's design influence. The definitive version was the Ta 152H, a long-winged, high-altitude fighter.

Over 20,000 Fw 190's were built. While no flying models are extant, many survive in aviation museums.
 
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Bf 109 vs spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire gegen Messerschmitt Bf 109 - Fazit | Klassiker der Luftfahrt
The Hunter counterparty Messerschmitt and Supermarine rocked up to 1945 to an ever higher level. In their actual combat power, however, the differences between the two fighters remained marginal despite all the performance improvements. The show at least the verifiable data. Bf 109 and Spitfire were from the beginning to the last rivals on equal terms. In the testing reports, including those of Air Force pilot, had the opportunity, captured Spitfire to fly, it is clear that the British fighters was decidedly easier to handle. This was true for its flight characteristics as well as for the behavior during takeoff and landings. The comments of fighter aces like Werner Molders, Adolf Galland, Günther Rall or to the opposing hunters also go in this direction. It is a fact that the aeronautically demanding Messerschmitt Bf 109 in the hands of good pilots always remained a dangerous opponent for the Spitfire.

Top 10 Best Aircraft Listing
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North American P-51 Mustang
The plane that went all the way. As Allied armies fought their way deep into occupied Europe, it was the P-51 Mustang which wrested control of the skies from the Luftwaffe. More than just a ferocious dogfighter, the P-51 Mustang was one of the fastest piston-engined fighters and could fly higher and go further than any other combat aircraft of the war. The P-51 Mustang claimed the most Allied kills with no fewer than 281 pilots earning the “Aces” (5 kills) distinction in a Mustang. It was the greatest fighter of the war.


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Focke-Wulf Fw-190
One of the best fighters of all time, no Allied pilot who fought in the skies of Europe will forget the feats of the Fw-190. Introduced in September 1941, this fighter shocked RAF pilots and inflicted cruel punishment to Allied bombers flying over Europe. Highly respected by Allied pilots, the Fw-190 was a superb fighter, fighter-bomber and anti-tank aircraft. Oberleutnant Otto Kittel scored most of his 267 kills in a Fw-190, forever immortalizing him as the fourth top scoring ace of the Luftwaffe.


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Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitifre is possibly the most famous combat aircraft in history. Champions of low level duels, Spitfires earned their immortality as the fighter that turned the tide in the Battle of Britain. Against its greatest foe, the Messerschmitt Bf-109, Spitfires forced the German fighter to stay low to protect the bombers – negating the Bf-109s advantage while multiplying its own. After the homeland threat was over, Spitfires served as fighter-bombers and carrier-based fighters, where they served with distinction in all combat theaters. The Spitfire is in the league of one of the best fighters of all time.


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Messerschmitt Bf-109
Aviation history describes the Bf-109 as one of the greatest fighters in history. When first introduced, this fearsome aircraft was among the best of its day, putting it in the same league as the British Spitfire. Fast and graceful, Bf-109s ruled the skies at high altitudes, but as bomber escorts over Great Britain, these high flyers had to pitch their battles at low altitudes - a task it was ill-suited to perform. Nevertheless, the Bf-109 with its heavy punch of 20mm cannons would go on to become the most important fighter in the Luftwaffe, serving on all fronts of the war.


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Mitsubishi A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero dealt an awakening shock to the Americans when it was unleashed in the early stages of war. Having mistakenly written off as inferior to Allied fighters, the Zero proved more than a match and became the dominant fighter in the first two years of the Pacific war. Until the F6F Hellcat, no American fighter could match it in firepower, range or maneuverability. Also the best carrier-borne aircraft of its time, the Zero gained the reputation as “invincible” until newer American aircraft were available. The Mitsubishi Zero would go down as one the most agile aircraft ever built.


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Junkers 87 Stuka
At least until 1942, the high pitched scream of the Stukas sent troops beneath scurrying for cover. As dive-bomber, and ground attack aircraft, it was deadly accurate and excelled in its role as an anti-tank aircraft. Rugged and cheap, a formation of Stukas struck fear even in the hearts of seasoned veterans. Hans-Ulrich Rudel, the top scoring Luftwaffe ace destroyed over 500 Russian tanks – that’s five Russian tank corps. Stalin placed a price on his head, but it was never claimed. Stukas lost their invincibility when the Allies had air cover, as Stukas were very vulnerable to enemy fighters.


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Ilyushin-2 Shturmovik
A legend in its own right, the Ilyushin-2 Shturmovik is the number one anti-tank aircraft in the world, having destroyed more enemy tanks than any other aircraft during the war. It also holds the record as the most produced aircraft, with over 36,000 units built during the war. It was heavily armored and is the fastest ground attack aircraft in its class. The Germans called it the “Black Death”, while Stalin was quoted “The Red Army needs the Il-2 as it needs air and bread.” After the war, the improved Ilyushin-10 Shturmovik went to serve in Communist countries until the late 1950s.


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Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Undoubtedly, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress significantly influenced the turn of events during the Second World War. This long range heavy bomber led the US Air Force assault in occupied Europe, carrying out strategic bombing which brought the industries of Nazi Germany to a standstill. Although formidably armed, crews of the B-17 faced unspeakable horror in the onslaught by veteran Luftwaffe fighters and ground flak fire. More than 47,000 airmen lost their lives during daylight raids in Germany, but the mighty Flying Fortresses pressed on.


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Vought F4U Corsair
If it was the F6F Hellcat which wrested control of the Pacific from the Japanese, then it was the F4U Corsair which carried on to gain air supremacy over the Pacific islands. Totally outclassing the much vaunted Japanese Zero, the Corsair was not only a potent carrier fighter, but in the hands of land-based Marines, it was also a potent ground attack aircraft, paving the way for the final battles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. With high speed and maneuverability, the F4U Corsair continued to serve in the Korean war, with the last units coming off the line in 1953. It emerges as one of the finest fighters ever built.


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Messerschmitt 262
The Messerschmitt-262 makes it into this list not because of the impact it had on the war, but because of the contributions it had made after the war. Using its secrets in rocketry and airframe design, scientists developed more advanced aircraft prototypes up to the speed of Mach-1. There is no doubt that the Me-262 was revolutionary and should German industries be capable of producing the much needed numbers, the Luftwaffe would once again have achieve air superiority. When first introduced in September 1944, there was no fighter in the Allied arsenal which could match it in an air duel.
 
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Me 262 is the deadliest of them all.

I would put the Russian Yak-9 on par with the contemporary P-51. Yak-9D was on par with P-51B with their weaker engines. Yak-9U was on par with P-51D with their more powerful engines. Yak-9U and P-51D might have squared off during the early days of the Korea war.

Yakovlev Yak-9 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
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Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (Wikipedia)

P-47_does_night_gunnery.jpg


The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a World War II era fighter aircraft produced by the United States between 1941–1945. Its primary armament was eight .50-caliber machine guns and in the fighter-bomber ground-attack role it could carry five-inch rockets or a bomb load of 2,500 pounds (1,103 kg), more than half the payload of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. When fully loaded the P-47 weighed up to eight tons (tonnes) making it one of the heaviest fighters of the war. The P-47 was designed around the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine which was also used by two U.S. Navy fighters, the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair. The Thunderbolt was effective as a short-to-medium range escort fighter in high-altitude air-to-air combat and ground attack in both the World War II European and Pacific theaters.

The P-47 was one of the main United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters of World War II, and served with Allied air forces including France, Britain, and Russia. Mexican and Brazilian squadrons fighting alongside the U.S. were equipped with the P-47.

The armored cockpit was relatively roomy and comfortable, offering good visibility. A modern-day U.S. ground-attack aircraft, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, takes its name from the P-47.[Note 1]

...
Operational history
US service
By the end of 1942, P-47Cs were sent to England for combat operations. The initial Thunderbolt flyers, 56th Fighter Group, was sent overseas to join the 8th Air Force. As the P-47 Thunderbolt worked up to operational status, it gained a nickname: the "Jug" (because its profile was similar to that of a common milk jug of the time).[Note 4] Two Fighter Groups already stationing in England began introducing the Jugs in January 1943: the Spitfire-flying 4th Fighter Group, a unit built around a core of experienced American pilots who had flown in the RAF Eagle Squadrons prior to the US entry in the war; and the 78th Fighter Group, formerly flying P-38 Lightnings.

Beginning in January 1943, Thunderbolt fighters were sent to the joint Army Air Forces – civilian Millville Airport in Millville, New Jersey in order to train civilian and military pilots.

The first P-47 combat mission took place 10 March 1943 when the 4th FG took their aircraft on a fighter sweep over France. The mission was a failure due to radio malfunctions. All P-47s were refitted with British radios, and missions resumed 8 April. The first P-47 air combat took place 15 April with Major Don Blakeslee of the 4th FG scoring the Thunderbolt's first air victory (against a Focke-Wulf Fw 190).

By mid-1943, the Jug was also in service with the 12th Air Force in Italy and against the Japanese in the Pacific, with the 348th Fighter Group flying missions out of Port Moresby, New Guinea. By 1944, the Thunderbolt was in combat with the USAAF in all its operational theaters except Alaska.

One of several gun harmonization schemes used on the P-47. This one converged the eight guns into a point at about 1,100 ft (340 m).

Although the North American P-51 Mustang replaced the P-47 in the long-range escort role in Europe, the Thunderbolt still ended the war with 3,752 air-to-air kills claimed in over 746,000 sorties of all types, at the cost of 3,499 P-47s to all causes in combat.[25] I By the end of the war, the 56th FG was the only 8th Air Force unit still flying the P-47, by preference, instead of the P-51. The unit claimed 677.5 air victories and 311 ground kills, at the cost of 128 aircraft.[26] Lieutenant Colonel Francis S. Gabreski scored 28 victories,[27] Captain Robert S. Johnson scored 27 (with one unconfirmed probable kill leading to some giving his tally as 28),[28] and 56th FG Commanding Officer Colonel Hubert Zemke scored 17.75 kills.[Note 5] Despite being the sole remaining P-47 group in the 8th Air Force, the 56th FG remained its top-scoring group in aerial victories throughout the war.

With increases in fuel capacity as the type was refined, the range of escort missions over Europe steadily increased until the P-47 was able to accompany bombers in raids all the way into Germany. On the way back from the raids, pilots shot up ground targets of opportunity, and also used belly shackles to carry bombs on short-range missions, which led to the realization that the P-47 could perform a dual-function on escort missions as a fighter-bomber. Even with its complicated turbosupercharger system, its sturdy airframe and tough radial engine could absorb a lot of damage and still return home. Some pilots readily chose to belly-land their burning Thunderbolts rather than risk bailing out; there are instances of P-47s crash-landing after being shot down, hitting trees and absorbing impacts severe enough to snap off wings, tail, and engine, while the pilot escaped with few or no injuries.[30]

The P-47 gradually became the USAAF's best fighter-bomber, normally carrying 500 lb (227 kg) bombs, M8 4.5 in (115 mm) or 5 in (127 mm) High velocity aircraft rockets (HVARs, also known as "Holy Moses"). From D-Day until VE day, Thunderbolt pilots claimed to have destroyed 86,000 railroad cars, 9,000 locomotives, 6,000 armored fighting vehicles, and 68,000 trucks.[31]

...
Flying the Thunderbolt
Aerial warfare

Initial response to the P-47 praised its dive speed and high-altitude performance, while criticizing its turning performance and rate of climb (particularly at low altitudes). The turbosupercharger in the P-47 gave the powerplant its maximum power at 27,000 ft (8,230 m), and in the thin air above 30,000 ft (9,144 m), the Thunderbolt remained comparatively fast and nimble relative to other aircraft.[41]

The P-47 first saw action with the 4th Fighter Group. The Group's pilots were mainly drawn from the three British Eagle Squadrons who had previously flown the British Supermarine Spitfire Mark V, a much smaller and much more slender aircraft. At first they viewed their new fighter with misgivings. It was huge; the British pilots joked that a Thunderbolt pilot could defend himself from a Luftwaffe fighter by running around and hiding in the fuselage. Optimized for high altitude work, the Thunderbolt had 5 feet (1.5 m) more wingspan, a quarter more wing area, about four times the fuselage volume, and nearly twice the weight of a Spitfire V.[42][43] One Thunderbolt pilot compared it to flying a bathtub around the sky. When his unit (4th Fighter Group) was equipped with Thunderbolts, ace Don Blakeslee said, referring to the P-47's vaunted ability to dive on its prey, "It ought to be able to dive. It certainly can't climb."[44] (Blakeslee's early-model P-47C had not been fitted with the new paddle blade propeller). The 4th Fighter Group's commander hated the P-47, and his prejudices filtered down to the group's pilots; the 4th had the fewest kills of any of the first three P-47 squadrons in Europe.[43]

The ruggedness of the Thunderbolt was put to the test on June 26, 1943. 56th Fighter Group sent 48 P-47C to provide escort for B-17s returning from a mission against Villacoublay airfield in the Paris suburbs. As the P-47s approached the rendezvous point near Forges-les-Eaux, they were jumped from above and behind by 16 Focke-Wulf Fw 190s of II Gruppe, JG 26. Robert S. Johnson, who was flying in the back of the pack was hit by 20mm cannon fire into the cockpit, rupturing his hydraulic systems. Johnson's P-47 was tumbling with hydraulic fluid burning and partially blinding Johnson. A few moments later, the tumbling stopped and levelled off. Johnson tried to pry his canopy open but it was stuck. After he wrestled control back from the aircraft and flew towards the English Channel, he was intercepted by the commander of III/JG 2, Oberst Egon Mayer. Mayer, seeing that Johnson was suffering in his presumably wrecked plane, gave Johnson a coup de grâce. After 3 passes and running out of ammunition, Mayer rocked his wings in a form of salute and peeled off. When Johnson reached the Allied airfield, he counted the holes the plane had received and after 200 holes had been counted, Johnson gave up counting after just counting on one side.[citation needed]

The U.S. ace Jim Goodson, who had flown Spitfires with the RAF and flew a P-47 in 1943, at first shared the skepticism of other pilots for their "seven-ton milk-bottles". But Goodson learned to appreciate the P-47's potential: "There were many U.S. pilots who preferred the P-47 to anything else: they do not agree that the (Fw) 190 held an overall edge against it."[45]

The P-47's initial success in combat was primarily due to tactics, using rolls (the P-47 had an excellent roll rate) and energy-saving dive and zoom climbs from high altitude to outmaneuver German fighters. Both the Bf 109 and Fw 190 could, like the Spitfire, out-turn and out-climb the early model P-47s at low altitude, although at altitudes above 15,000 ft, the P-47 could turn inside both the Bf 109 and Fw 190. Once paddle blade propellers were added to the P-47 in early 1944, climb performance improved significantly.[46] While both German fighters could break hard downwards, and leave all models of the Spitfire trailing,[42] no German piston-engined aircraft could out-dive the Thunderbolt. In a "bounce," with their rapid downward acceleration coupled with the pulverizing effect of eight .50s, these aircraft were deadly.[47] The Thunderbolt was the fastest-diving American aircraft of the war—it could reach speeds of 550 mph (480 kn, 885 km/h). Some P-47 pilots claimed to have broken the sound barrier, but later research revealed that because of the pressure buildup inside the pitot tube at high speeds, airspeed readings became unpredictably exaggerated. But German pilots gradually learned to avoid diving away from a Thunderbolt. Kurt Bühligen, a high-scoring German fighter ace with 112 victories, recalled:

"The P-47 was very heavy, too heavy for some maneuvers. We would see it coming from behind, and pull up fast and the P-47 couldn't follow and we came around and got on its tail in this way".[48]

The arrival of the new Curtiss paddle blade propeller significantly increased climb rate at lower altitudes, and came as a shock to German pilots who had resorted to steep climbs to evade pursuit by the P-47.[43] Other positive attributes included the P-47's ruggedness; it could sustain a large amount of damage and still be able to get its pilot back to base.[Note 6] With eight .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, the P-47 carried more firepower than other single-engined American fighters. P-47 pilots claimed 20 Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters and four Arado Ar 234 jet bombers in aerial combat.

In the Pacific, Colonel Neel E. Kearby of the Fifth Air Force claimed 22 Japanese aircraft and was awarded the Medal of Honor for an action in which he downed six enemy fighters on a single mission. He was shot down and killed over Wewak in March 1944.[49]

Ground attack role

The P-47 proved to be a formidable fighter-bomber due to its good armament, heavy bomb load and ability to survive enemy fire. The Thunderbolt's eight .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns were capable against lightly armored targets, although less so than cannon-armed aircraft of the day. In a ground attack role, the armor-piercing (AP), armor-piercing incendiary (API), and armor-piercing incendiary tracer (APIT) ammunition proved useful in penetrating thin-skinned and lightly armored German vehicles and exploding their fuel tanks, as well as occasionally damaging some types of enemy armored fighting vehicles (AFVs).[50]

P-47 pilots frequently carried two 500 lb (227 kg) bombs, using skip bombing techniques for difficult targets (skipping bombs into railroad tunnels to destroy hidden enemy trains was a favorite tactic).[51] The adoption of the triple-tube rocket launcher with M8 high-explosive 4.5 in (110 mm) rockets (with an explosive force similar to a 105 mm artillery shell)—much as the RAF's Hawker Typhoon gained when first fitted with its own two quartets of underwing RP-3 rockets for the same purposes—significantly increased the P-47's ground attack capability.[52] Late in the war, the P-47 was retrofitted with more powerful 5 in (130 mm) HVAR rockets."

Specifications (P-47D-30 Thunderbolt)

General characteristics
Performance
Armament
  • 8 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns (3400 rounds)
  • Up to 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) of bombs
  • 10 × 5 in (127 mm) unguided rockets

Grumman F6F Hellcat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Grumman F6F-3 Hellcats in tricolor camouflage[1][Note 1]

Role Fighter aircraft
National origin United States
Manufacturer Grumman
First flight 26 June 1942
Introduction 1943
Retired 1960 Uruguayan Navy[2]
Primary users United States Navy
United States Marine Corps
Royal Navy
French Navy
Produced 1942–45
Number built 12,275
Unit cost
$35,000 in 1945[3]

The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United States Navy's dominant fighter in the second half of the Pacific War. The Hellcat competed with the faster Vought F4U Corsair for that role and prevailed, as the Corsair had significant issues with carrier landings. The Corsair instead was primarily deployed to great effect in land-based use by the U.S. Marine Corps.

Powered by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800, the same powerplant used for both the Corsair and the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters, the F6F was an entirely new design, but it still resembled the Wildcat in many ways.[4] Some military observers tagged the Hellcat as the "Wildcat's big brother".[5]

The F6F was best known for its role as a rugged, well-designed carrier fighter which was able, after its combat debut in September 1943, to outperform the A6M Zero and help secure air superiority over the Pacific Theater. 12,275 were built in just over two years.[6]

Hellcats were credited with destroying a total of 5,223 enemy aircraft while in service with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm.[7][Note 2] This was more than any other Allied naval aircraft.[9] Postwar, the Hellcat was phased out of front line service but remained in service as late as 1954 as a night fighter.

Design and development

XF6F


The unpainted XF6F-1 prior to its first flight

Grumman had been working on a successor to the F4F Wildcat since 1938 and the contract for the prototype XF6F-1 was signed on 30 June 1941. The aircraft was originally designed to use the Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone two-row, 14-cylinder radial engine of 1,700 hp (1,268 kW) driving a three-bladed Curtiss Electric propeller.[10] Instead of the Wildcat's narrow-track, hand-cranked main landing gear retracting into the fuselage that it had inherited, little changed in design from the 1931-debuted Grumman FF-1 fighter biplane, the Hellcat had wide-set, hydraulically actuated landing gear struts which rotated through 90° while retracting backwards into the wings, much like that of the earlier Chance Vought F4U Corsair, but with full wheel doors fitted to the struts that covered the entire strut and the upper half of the main wheel when retracted, and twisted with the main gear struts during retraction.[11] The wing was mounted lower on the fuselage and was able to be hydraulically or manually folded, with each panel outboard of the undercarriage bay folding backwards from pivoting on a specially oriented, Grumman-patented Sto-Wing diagonal axis pivoting system much like the earlier F4F, with a folded stowage position parallel to the fuselage with the leading edges pointing diagonally down.[12]

Throughout early 1942 Leroy Grumman, along with his chief designers Jake Swirbul and Bill Schwendler, worked closely with the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) and experienced F4F pilots,[13] to develop the new fighter in such a way that it could counter the Zero's strengths and help gain air command in the Pacific Theater of Operations.[14] On 22 April 1942, Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare toured the Grumman Aircraft company and spoke with Grumman engineers, analyzing the performance of the F4F Wildcat against the Mitsubishi A6M Zero in aerial combat.[15][Note 3] BuAer's LT CDR A. M. Jackson [Note 4] directed Grumman's designers to mount the cockpit higher in the fuselage.[18] In addition, the forward fuselage sloped down slightly to the engine cowling, affording the Hellcat's pilot good visibility.[19]

Based on combat accounts of encounters between the F4F Wildcat and A6M Zero, on 26 April 1942, BuAer directed Grumman to install the more powerful 18-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine — already powering Chance Vought's Corsair design since its own beginnings in 1940 — in the second XF6F-1 prototype.[20] Grumman complied by redesigning and strengthening the F6F airframe to incorporate the 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) R-2800-10, driving a three-bladed Hamilton Standard propeller. With this combination Grumman estimated the XF6F-3s performance would increase by 25% over that of the XF6F-1.[5] The Cyclone-powered XF6F-1 (02981) first flew on 26 June 1942, followed by the first Double Wasp-equipped aircraft, the XF6F-3 (02982), which first flew on 30 July 1942. The first production F6F-3, powered by an R-2800-10, flew on 3 October 1942, with the type reaching operational readiness with VF-9 on USS Essex in February 1943.[21] [Note 5]

Further development


An early F6F-3 in Blue-Gray over Light Gull-Gray

The F6F series were designed to take damage and get the pilot safely back to base. A bullet-resistant windshield and a total of 212 lb (96 kg) of cockpit armor was fitted, along with armor around the oil tank and oil cooler. A 250 gal (946 l) self-sealing fuel tank was fitted in the fuselage.[21] Standard armament on the F6F-3 consisted of six .50 in (12.7 mm) M2/AN Browning air-cooled machine guns with 400 rounds per gun. A center-section hardpoint under the fuselage could carry a single 150 gal (568 l) disposable drop tank, while later aircraft had single bomb racks installed under each wing, inboard of the undercarriage bays; with these and the center-section hard point late model F6F-3s could carry a total bomb-load in excess of 2,000 lb (900 kg). Six 5 in (127 mm) HVARs (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket) could be carried; three under each wing on "zero-length" launchers.[22][23]

...
Operational history

U.S. Navy and Marines
The U.S. Navy much preferred the more docile flight qualities of the F6F compared with the Vought F4U Corsair, despite the superior speed of the Corsair. This preference was especially noted during carrier landings, a critical success requirement for the Navy, in which the Corsair was fundamentally flawed in comparison. The Corsair was thus released by the Navy to the Marine Corps who without the need to worry about carrier landings, used the Corsair to immense effect in land-based sorties. The Hellcat remained the standard USN carrier-borne fighter until the F4U series was finally cleared for U.S. carrier operations in late-1944 (the carrier landing issues had by now been tackled largely thanks to use of Corsair by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm).[37] In addition to its good flight qualities, the Hellcat was easy to maintain and had an airframe tough enough to withstand the rigors of routine carrier operations.[38] Like the Wildcat, the Hellcat was designed for ease of manufacture and ability to withstand significant damage.



VF-82 Grumman F6F-5 ready for launch from USS Bennington off Okinawa in May 1945. The majority of the F6F-5s built were painted overall Glossy Sea Blue.

The Hellcat first saw action against the Japanese on 1 September 1943 when fighters off the USS Independence shot down a Kawanishi H8K "Emily" flying boat.[39] Soon after, on 23 and 24 November, Hellcats engaged Japanese aircraft over Tarawa, shooting down a claimed 30 Mitsubishi Zeros for the loss of one F6F.[39] Over Rabaul, New Britain, on 11 November 1943, Hellcats and F4U Corsairs were engaged in day-long fights with many Japanese aircraft including A6M Zeros, claiming nearly 50 aircraft.[39]

When trials were flown against a captured A6M5 model Zero, they showed that the Hellcat was faster at all altitudes. The F6F out-climbed the Zero marginally above 14,000 ft and rolled faster at speeds above 235 mph. The Japanese fighter could out-turn its American opponent with ease at low speed and enjoyed a slightly better rate of climb below 14,000 ft. The trials report concluded:

Do not dogfight with a Zero 52. Do not try to follow a loop or half-roll with a pull-through. When attacking, use your superior power and high speed performance to engage at the most favourable moment. To evade a Zero 52 on your tail, roll and dive away into a high speed turn.[40]

Hellcats were the major U.S. Navy fighter type involved in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, where so many Japanese aircraft were shot down that Navy aircrews nicknamed the battle "the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot". The F6F accounted for 75 percent of all aerial victories recorded by the U.S. Navy in the Pacific.[41] Radar-equipped Hellcat night fighter squadrons appeared in early 1944.

A formidable opponent for the Hellcat was the Kawanishi N1K, but it was produced too late and in insufficient numbers to affect the outcome of the war.[42]

Sortie, kill and loss figures
U.S. Navy and Marine F6F pilots flew 66,530 combat sorties and claimed 5,163 kills (56% of all U.S. Navy/Marine air victories of the war) at a recorded cost of 270 Hellcats in aerial combat (an overall kill-to-loss ratio of 19:1 based on claimed but not confirmed kills).[43] The aircraft performed well against the best Japanese opponents with a claimed 13:1 kill ratio against the A6M Zero, 9.5:1 against the Nakajima Ki-84, and 3.7:1 against the Mitsubishi J2M during the last year of the war.[44] The F6F became the prime ace-maker aircraft in the American inventory, with 305 Hellcat aces. The U.S. successes were not only attributed to superior aircraft, but also from 1942 onwards, they faced increasingly inexperienced Japanese aviators as well as having the advantage of increasing numerical superiority.[Note 6] In the ground attack role, Hellcats dropped 6,503 tons (5,899 tonnes) of bombs.[43]

The U.S. Navy's all-time leading ace, Captain David McCampbell USN (Ret), scored all his 34 victories in the Hellcat. He once described the F6F as "... an outstanding fighter plane. It performed well, was easy to fly and was a stable gun platform. But what I really remember most was that it was rugged and easy to maintain."[46]

During the course of World War II, 2,462 F6F Hellcats were lost to all causes; 270 in aerial combat, 553 lost to anti-aircraft ground and shipboard fire, and 341 were lost to operational causes. Of the total figure 1,298 were destroyed in training and ferry operations, normally outside of the combat zones.[47]

...
Specifications (F6F-5 Hellcat)



An F6F-5 flown by Air Group Commander (CAG), Cdr. Louis H. Bauer of Carrier Air Group 3 (CVG-3), leads a formation of CVG-3 aircraft in 1946.
Data from WWII Aircraft Performance[88]Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II[89]Standard Aircraft Characteristics[90]

General characteristics
Performance
Armament
  • Guns:
    • 6× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, with 400 rounds per gun, (All F6F-3, and most F6F-5) or
    • 2 × 0.79 in (20 mm) AN/M2 cannon, with 225 rounds per gun and 4 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns with 400 rounds per gun
  • Rockets:
    • 6 × 5 in (127 mm) HVARs or
    • 2 × 11¾ in (298 mm) Tiny Tim unguided rockets
  • Bombs: up to 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) full load, including:
    • Bombs or Torpedoes: (Fuselage mounted on centreline rack)
      • 1 × 2,000 lb (907 kg) bomb or
      • 1 × Mk.13-3 torpedo;
    • Underwing bombs: (F6F-5 had two additional weapons racks either side of fuselage on wing centre-section)
      • 2 × 1,000 lb (450 kg) or
      • 4 × 500 lb (227 kg)
      • 8 × 250 lb (110 kg)
 
de Havilland Mosquito
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
DH.98 Mosquito

Mosquito B Mk IV serial DK338 before delivery to 105 Squadron – this aircraft was used on several of 105 Squadron's low-altitude daylight bombing operations during 1943.

Role Light bomber
Fighter-bomber
Night fighter
Maritime strike aircraft
photo-reconnaissance aircraft
First flight 25 November 1940[1]
Introduction 15 November 1941[2]
Status Retired
Primary users Royal Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
United States Army Air Forces
Produced 1940–1950
Number built 7,781[3]

The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British multi-role combat aircraft with a two-man crew which served during and after the Second World War. It was one of few operational front-line aircraft of the era constructed almost entirely of wood and was nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder".[4][nb 1] The Mosquito was also known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews.[5] Originally conceived as an unarmed fast bomber, the Mosquito was adapted to roles including low to medium-altitude daytime tactical bomber, high-altitude night bomber, pathfinder, day or night fighter, fighter-bomber, intruder, maritime strike aircraft, and fast photo-reconnaissance aircraft. It was also used by the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) as a fast transport to carry small high-value cargoes to, and from, neutral countries, through enemy-controlled airspace.[6] A single passenger could be carried in the aircraft's bomb bay, which would be adapted for the purpose.[7]

When production of the Mosquito began in 1941, it was one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world.[8] Entering widespread service in 1942, the Mosquito was a high-speed, high-altitude photo-reconnaissance aircraft, continuing in this role throughout the war. From mid-1942 to mid-1943, Mosquito bombers flew high-speed, medium or low-altitude missions against factories, railways and other pinpoint targets in Germany and German-occupied Europe. From late 1943, Mosquito bombers were formed into the Light Night Strike Force and used as pathfinders for RAF Bomber Command's heavy-bomber raids. They were also used as "nuisance" bombers, often dropping Blockbuster bombs – 4,000 lb (1,812 kg) "cookies" – in high-altitude, high-speed raids that German night fighters were almost powerless to intercept.

As a night fighter from mid-1942, the Mosquito intercepted Luftwaffe raids on the United Kingdom, notably those of Operation Steinbock in 1944. Starting in July 1942, Mosquito night-fighter units raided Luftwaffe airfields. As part of 100 Group, it was a night fighter and intruder supporting RAF Bomber Command's heavy bombers that reduced bomber losses during 1944 and 1945.[9][nb 2] As a fighter-bomber in the Second Tactical Air Force, the Mosquito took part in "special raids", such as the attack on Amiens Prison in early 1944, and in precision attacks against Gestapo or German intelligence and security forces. Second Tactical Air Force Mosquitos supported the British Army during the 1944 Normandy Campaign. From 1943, Mosquitos with RAF Coastal Command strike squadrons attacked Kriegsmarine U-boats (particularly in 1943 in the Bay of Biscay, where significant numbers were sunk or damaged) and intercepted transport ship concentrations.

The Mosquito flew with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other air forces in the European, Mediterranean and Italian theatres. The Mosquito was also operated by the RAF in the South East Asian theatre, and by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) based in the Halmaheras and Borneo during the Pacific War. During the 1950s, the RAF replaced the Mosquito with the jet-powered English Electric Canberra.

Operational history


Bombing of the Gestapo headquarters in the Shellhus, Copenhagen, Denmark in March 1945. A Mosquito pulling away from its bombing run is visible on the extreme left, centre.

Main article: de Havilland Mosquito operational history
The de Havilland Mosquito operated in many roles during the Second World War, being tasked to perform medium bomber, reconnaissance, tactical strike, anti-submarine warfare and shipping attack and night fighter duties, both defensive and offensive, until the end of the war.[92]

In July 1941, the first production Mosquito W 4051 (a production fuselage combined with some prototype flying surfaces – see section of Article "Prototypes and test flights") was sent to No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (PRU), operating at the time at RAF Benson.[93] Consequently, the secret reconnaissance flights of this aircraft were the first active service missions of the Mosquito. In 1944, the journal Flight[94] gave 19 September 1941 as date of the first PR mission, at an altitude "of some 20 000 ft."

On 15 November 1941, 105 Squadron, RAF, took delivery of the first operational Mosquito Mk. B.IV bomber, serial no. W4064.[95] Throughout 1942, 105 Sdn., based at RAF Horsham St. Faith, then from 29 September, RAF Marham, undertook daylight low-level and shallow dive attacks. Apart from the famous Oslo raid, these were mainly on industrial targets in occupied Netherlands, plus northern and western Germany.[96] The crews faced deadly flak and fighters, particularly FW 190s, which they called “snappers.” Germany still controlled Continental airspace, and the FW 190’s were often already airborne and at an advantageous altitude. It was the Mosquito’s excellent handling capabilities, rather than pure speed, that facilitated those evasions that were successful.[97] During this daylight-raiding phase, aircrew losses were high – even the losses incurred in the squadron’s dangerous Blenheim era were exceeded in percentage terms. The Roll of Honour shows 51 aircrew deaths from the end of May 1942 to April 1943.[98] In the corresponding period, crews gained three Mentions in Despatches, two DFMs and three DFCs.

The Mosquito was first announced publicly on 26 September 1942 after the Oslo Mosquito raid of 25 September. It was featured in The Times on the 28 September, and the next day the newspaper published two captioned photographs illustrating the bomb strikes and damage.[99] [100]

Mosquitos were widely used by the RAF Pathfinder Force, marking targets for the main night-time strategic bombing force, as well as flying "nuisance raids" in which Mosquitos often dropped 4,000 lb "Cookies". Despite an initially high loss rate, the Mosquito ended the war with the lowest losses of any aircraft in RAF Bomber Command service. Post war, the RAF found that when finally applied to bombing, in terms of useful damage done, the Mosquito had proved 4.95 times cheaper than the Lancaster.[101] In April 1943, in response to "political humiliation" caused by the Mosquito, Hermann Göring ordered the formation of special Luftwaffe units (Jagdgeschwader 25, commanded by Oberstleutnant Herbert Ihlefeld and Jagdgeschwader 50, under Major Hermann Graf) to combat the Mosquito attacks, though these units, which were "little more than glorified squadrons", were not very successful against the elusive RAF aircraft.[102]



A de Havilland Mosquito of the Banff Strike Wing attacking a convoy evacuating Germans troops in the Kattegat on 5 April 1945. A flak ship and a trawler were sunk

In one example of the daylight precision raids carried out by the Mosquito, on 30 January 1943, the 10th anniversary of the Nazis' seizure of power, a Mosquito attack knocked out the main Berlin broadcasting station while Commander in Chief Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring was speaking, putting his speech off the air.[103] Göring himself had strong views about the Mosquito, lecturing a group of German aircraft manufacturers in 1943 that:

In 1940 I could at least fly as far as Glasgow in most of my aircraft, but not now! It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I turn green and yellow with envy. The British, who can afford aluminium better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building, and they give it a speed which they have now increased yet again. What do you make of that? There is nothing the British do not have. They have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops. After the war is over I'm going to buy a British radio set – then at least I'll own something that has always worked.[104]

The Mosquito also proved a very capable night fighter. Some of the most successful RAF pilots flew the Mosquito. Bob Braham claimed around a third of his 29 kills in a Mosquito, flying mostly daytime operations, while on night fighters Wing Commander Branse Burbridge claimed 21 kills, and Wing Commander John Cunningham claimed 19 of his 20 victories at night on Mosquitos. Mosquitos of No. 100 Group RAF were responsible for the destruction of 257 German aircraft from December 1943 to April 1945. Mosquito fighters from all units accounted for 487 German aircraft during the war, the vast majority of which were night fighters.[105]

Specifications
DH.98 Mosquito F Mk II
Fighter version.

Data from Mosquito[169] and Mosquito Performance trials[170]

General characteristics
  • Crew: 2: pilot, navigator/radar operator
  • Length: 41 ft 2 in (13.57 m)
  • Wingspan: 54 ft 2 in (16.52 m)
  • Height: 17 ft 5 in (5.3 m)
  • Wing area: 454 ft2 (42.18 m2)
  • Empty weight: 13,356 lb (6,058 kg)
  • Loaded weight: 17,700 lb (8,028 kg)
  • Max. takeoff weight: 18,649 lb (8,549 kg)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Merlin 21/21 or 23/23 (left/right) liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,480 hp (21 & 23) (1,103 kW) each
Performance
Armament
  • Guns: 4 × 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano Mk II cannon (fuselage) and 4 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns (nose)
Avionics
  • AI Mk IV or Mk V radar (NF variants)


DH.98 Mosquito B Mk XVI
The definitive bomber version.


Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II[172] and World War II Warbirds[173]

General characteristics
Performance
Armament
  • Bombs: 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg)
Avionics
 
Hawker Typhoon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the Second World War piston-powered fighter aircraft. For the later jet-powered fighter aircraft, see Eurofighter Typhoon.

Typhoon

Typhoon Ib EK139 N "Dirty Dora" of 175 Sqn. being armed with 500 lb (227 kg) concrete practice bombs in late 1943.

Role Fighter-bomber
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer Hawker Aircraft
Designer Sydney Camm
First flight 24 February 1940
Introduction 11 September 1941
Retired October 1945
Primary users Royal Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
Produced 1941–1945
Number built 3,317[1][2]
Variants Hawker Tornado
Hawker Tempest
Hawker Sea Fury

The Hawker Typhoon (Tiffy in RAF slang), was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium–high altitude interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane but several design problems were encountered and it never completely satisfied this requirement.[3]

The Typhoon was originally designed to mount twelve .303 inch (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns and be powered by the latest 2000 hp engines. Its service introduction in mid-1941 was plagued with problems and for several months the aircraft faced a doubtful future.[3] When the Luftwaffe brought the formidable Focke-Wulf Fw 190 into service in 1941, the Typhoon was the only RAF fighter capable of catching it at low altitudes; as a result it secured a new role as a low-altitude interceptor.[4]

Through the support of pilots such as Roland Beamont it became established in roles such as night-time intruder and long-range fighter.[5] From late 1942 the Typhoon was equipped with bombs and from late 1943 RP-3 ground attack rockets were added to its armoury. With those weapons and its four 20mm Hispano cannon, the Typhoon became one of the Second World War's most successful ground-attack aircraft.[6]

...
Switch to ground attack


Rare wartime colour photograph of an unidentified Typhoon showing the black and white identification stripes under the wings

By 1943, the RAF needed a ground attack fighter more than a "pure" fighter and the Typhoon was suited to the role (and less-suited to the pure fighter role than competing aircraft such as the Spitfire Mk IV). The powerful engine allowed the aircraft to carry a load of up to two 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs, equal to the light bombers of only a few years earlier. The bomb-equipped aircraft were nicknamed "Bombphoons" and entered service with No. 181 Squadron, formed in September 1942.[31][nb 7]

From September 1943, Typhoons were also armed with four "60 lb" RP-3 rockets under each wing.[nb 8] In October 1943, No. 181 Squadron made the first Typhoon rocket attacks. Although the rocket projectiles were inaccurate and took considerable skill to aim and allow for ballistic drop after firing, "the sheer firepower of just one Typhoon was equivalent to a destroyer's broadside."[33] By the end of 1943, 18 rocket-equipped Typhoon squadrons formed the basis of the RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2nd TAF) ground attack arm in Europe. In theory, the rocket rails and bomb-racks were interchangeable; in practice, to simplify supply, some 2nd TAF Typhoon squadrons (such as 198 Squadron) used the rockets only, while other squadrons were armed exclusively with bombs (this also allowed individual units to more finely hone their skills with their assigned weapons).[34]

By the Normandy landings in June 1944, 2 TAF had 18 operational squadrons of Typhoon IBs, while Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) had a further nine.[35] The aircraft proved itself to be the most effective RAF tactical strike aircraft, on interdiction raids against communications and transport targets deep in North Western Europe prior to the invasion and in direct support of the Allied ground forces after D-Day. A system of close liaison with the ground troops was set up by the RAF and army: RAF radio operators in vehicles equipped with VHF R/T travelled with the troops close to the front line and called up Typhoons operating in a "Cab Rank", which attacked the targets, marked for them by smoke shells fired by mortar or artillery, until they were destroyed.[36]



198 Sqn. Typhoons on airfield B10/Plumetot, France, in July 1944. MN526 TP-V has the larger Tempest tailplane and a four-bladed propeller. A heavy dust cloud has been stirred up by the taxiing aircraft.

Against some of the Wehrmacht's heavier tanks, the rockets needed to hit the thin-walled engine compartment or the tracks to have any chance of destroying or disabling the tank. Analysis of destroyed tanks after the Normandy battle showed a "hit-rate" for the air-fired rockets of only 4%.[37] In Operation Goodwood (18 to 21 July), the 2nd Tactical Air Force claimed 257 tanks destroyed.[nb 9] A total of 222 were claimed by Typhoon pilots using rocket projectiles.[38] Once the area was secured, the British "Operational Research Section 2" analysts could confirm only ten out of the 456 knocked out German AFVs found in the area were attributable to Typhoons using rocket projectiles.[38][39]

At Mortain, in the Falaise pocket, a German counter-attack that started on 7 August threatened Patton's break-out from the beachhead; this counter-attack was repulsed by 2nd Tactical Air Force Typhoons and the 9th USAAF. During the course of the battle, pilots of the 2nd Tactical Air Force and 9th USAAF claimed to have destroyed a combined total of 252 tanks.[40] Only 177 German tanks and assault guns participated in the battle and only 46 were lost – of which nine were verified as destroyed by Typhoons, four percent of the total claimed.[41]

The effect on the morale of German troops caught up in a Typhoon RP and cannon attack was decisive, with many tanks and vehicles being abandoned, in spite of superficial damage, such that a signal from the German Army's Chief of Staff stated that the attack had been brought to a standstill by 13:00 '...due to the employment of fighter-bombers by the enemy, and the absence of our own air-support.'[42] The 20 mm cannon also destroyed a large number of (unarmoured) support vehicles, laden with fuel and ammunition for the armoured vehicles.[43] On 10 July at Mortain, flying in support of the US 30th Infantry Division, Typhoons flew 294 sorties in the afternoon that day, firing 2,088 rockets and dropping 80 short tons (73 t) of bombs.[44] They engaged the German formations while the US 9th Air Force prevented German fighters from intervening. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, said of the Typhoons; "The chief credit in smashing the enemy's spearhead, however, must go to the rocket-firing Typhoon aircraft of the Second Tactical Air Force... The result of the strafing was that the enemy attack was effectively brought to a halt, and a threat was turned into a great victory."[45]

Another form of attack carried out by Typhoons was "Cloak and Dagger" operations, using intelligence sources to target German HQs. One of the most effective of these was carried out on 24 October 1944, when 146 Typhoon Wing attacked a building in Dordrecht, where senior members of the German 15th Army staff were meeting; 17 staff officers and 36 other officers were killed and the operations of the 15th Army were adversely affected for some time afterwards.[46]



Armourers loading RP-3 rockets with 60 lb High Explosive heads onto steel Mk. I rails. The large hinged gun bay doors are open. The weathered Invasion stripes are on upper and lower wing surfaces, indicating this photo was taken some time in June 1944.

On 24 March 1945, over 400 Typhoons were sent on several sorties each, to suppress German anti-aircraft guns and Wehrmacht resistance to Operation Varsity, the Allied crossing of the Rhine that involved two full divisions of 16,600 troops and 1,770 gliders sent across the river. On 3 May 1945, the Cap Arcona, the Thielbek and the Deutschland, large passenger ships in peacetime now in military service, were sunk in four attacks by RAF Hawker Typhoon 1Bs of No. 83 Group RAF, 2nd Tactical Air Force: the first by 184 Squadron, second by 198 Squadron led by Wing Commander John Robert Baldwin, the third by 263 Squadron led by Squadron Leader Martin T. S. Rumbold and the fourth by 197 Squadron led by Squadron Leader K. J. Harding.[47]

The top-scoring Typhoon ace was Group Captain J. R. Baldwin (609 Squadron and Commanding Officer 198 Squadron, 146 (Typhoon) Wing and 123 (Typhoon) Wing), who claimed 15 aircraft shot down from 1942 to 1944. Some 246 Axis aircraft were claimed by Typhoon pilots during the war.[48]

3,317 Typhoons were built, almost all by Gloster. Hawker developed what was originally an improved Typhoon II, but the differences between it and the Mk I were so great that it was effectively a different aircraft, and was renamed the Hawker Tempest. Once the war in Europe was over Typhoons were quickly removed from front-line squadrons; by October 1945 the Typhoon was no longer in operational use, with many of the wartime Typhoon units such as 198 Squadron being either disbanded or renumbered.[49][50]

...
Flight characteristics


A Hawker Typhoon Mk IB of No. 486 Squadron RAF in flight, in 1943

Flight Lieutenant Ken Trott flew Typhoons with 197 Squadron and recalled:

Rather a large aircraft shall we say, for a single-engine fighter. Terrific power. Quite something to control. I liked it from the point of view of speed and being a very stable gun platform. You could come in on a target at 400 mph and the thing was as steady as a rock.[81]

In early March 1943, at Tangmere, the then new Squadron Leader of 486 (NZ) Squadron, Des Scott, flew a Typhoon for the first time:

She roared, screamed, groaned and whined, but apart from being rather heavy on the controls at high speeds she came through her tests with flying colours...Applying a few degrees of flap we swung on down into the airfield approach, levelled out above the runway and softly eased down on to her two wheels, leaving her tail up until she dropped it of her own accord.

We were soon back in her bay by the dispersal hut, where I turned off the petrol supply cock. After a few moments she ran herself out and with a spit, sob and weary sigh, her great three-bladed propeller came to a stop. So that was it: I was drenched in perspiration and tired out...[82]

The performance limitations for speed were noted on the pilot's notes, published by the Air Ministry. Indicated airspeed for diving was set at 525 mph (845 km/h). The Typhoon could, if needed, be flown at 300 mph (480 km/h) with the cockpit "hood" open. Flight with undercarriage and flaps down could be made without incident, at the respective speeds of 210 and 155 mph (338 and 249 km/h). Owing to stability problems, when the aircraft was carrying bombs, the speed could not exceed 400 mph.[83]

Notes for the management of the fuel system stated that indicated airspeeds (IAS) in excess of 380 mph (610 km/h) were not advisable when fitted with auxiliary drop tanks. Tanks were jettisoned at about 200 mph (320 km/h), but in an emergency, a release at 350 mph (560 km/h) was permitted. Tanks were to be ejected in straight and level flight only.[84] General flying ability was positive. The maximum climbing rate was 185 mph (298 km/h) up to 16,000 ft (4,900 m) reducing speed by 3 mph (4.8 km/h) per 1,000 ft (300 m) above this mark. In stability terms, the aircraft was stable "directionally" and "laterally" but slightly unstable longitudinally, except at high speed, when it was just stable. Aileron control was light and effective up to maximum speed, but at very low speed response was sluggish, particularly when carrying ordnance. The elevator control was rather light and should not be used harshly. There was a tendency to "tighten up" in a looping aircraft. If "black out" conditions were accidentally induced in steep turns or aerobatics, the control column was to be pushed forward "firmly".[85]

Stalling speeds were quite low. The typical Typhoon trait, as with most aircraft at the time, was to drop a wing sharply with flaps either up or down. The stalling speeds varied. The various loads depended on external fittings. All-up weight plus two 500 lb (230 kg) bombs (12,155 lb in total) with flaps up could induce a stall at 90–100 mph. With flaps down, stall was initiated at 70–75 mph. Normal all-up weight (11,120 lb) would see stall at 80–90 and 65–70 mph respectively. With all ammunition and nearly all fuel expended (9,600 lb) stall occurred at 75–80 and 65–70 mph.[86]

...
Specifications (Typhoon Mk Ib)

Data from Mason 1991 unless otherwise stated[90]

General characteristics
  • Crew: One
  • Length: 31 ft 11.5 in[nb 21] (9.73 m)
  • Wingspan: 41 ft 7 in (12.67 m)
  • Height: 15 ft 4 in [nb 22] (4.66 m)
  • Wing area: 279 ft² (29.6 m²)
  • Empty weight: 8,840 lb (4,010 kg)
  • Loaded weight: 11,400 lb (5,170 kg)
  • Max. takeoff weight: 13,250 lb (6,010 kg) [nb 23]
  • Powerplant: 1 × Napier Sabre IIA, IIB or IIC liquid-cooled H-24 piston engine, 2,180, 2,200 or 2,260 hp (1,626, 1,640 or 1,685 kW)
  • Propellers: 3 or 4-blade; de Havilland or Rotol propeller
Performance
Armament
  • Guns: 4 × 20 mm Hispano Mk II cannon
  • Rockets: 8 × RP-3 unguided air-to-ground rockets.
  • Bombs: 2 × 500 lb (227 kg) or 2 × 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs
 
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"P-40" redirects here. For other uses, see P-40 (disambiguation).

P-40 Warhawk
Tomahawk / Kittyhawk

A Hawk 87A-3 (Kittyhawk Mk IA) serial number AK987, in a USAAF 23d Fighter Group (the former "Flying Tigers") paint scheme, at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

Role Fighter
Fighter-bomber
National origin United States
Manufacturer Curtiss-Wright Corporation
First flight 14 October 1938[1]
Retired Brazilian Air Force (1958)
Primary users United States Army Air Forces
Royal Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
Produced 1939–1944
Number built 13,738[2]
Unit cost
US$44,892 in 1944[3]
Developed from Curtiss P-36 Hawk
Variants Curtiss XP-46

The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service. The Warhawk was used by most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in frontline service until the end of the war. It was the third most-produced American fighter, after the P-51 and P-47; by November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built,[4] all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation's main production facilities at Buffalo, New York.

P-40 Warhawk was the name the United States Army Air Corps and after June 1941, USAAF-adopted name for all models, making it the official name in the U.S. for all P-40s. The British Commonwealth and Soviet air forces used the name Tomahawk for models equivalent to the P-40B and P-40C, and the name Kittyhawk for models equivalent to the P-40D and all later variants.

P-40s first saw combat with the British Commonwealth squadrons of the Desert Air Force in the Middle East and North African campaigns, during June 1941.[5][6] No. 112 Squadron Royal Air Force, was among the first to operate Tomahawks in North Africa and the unit was the first Allied military aviation unit to feature the "shark mouth" logo,[7][8] copying similar markings on some Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engine fighters.[7] [N 1]

The P-40's lack of a two-speed supercharger made it inferior to Luftwaffe fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 or the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in high-altitude combat and it was rarely used in operations in Northwest Europe. However, between 1941 and 1944, the P-40 played a critical role with Allied air forces in three major theaters: North Africa, the Southwest Pacific, and China. It also had a significant role in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Alaska and Italy. The P-40's performance at high altitudes was not as important in those theaters, where it served as an air superiority fighter, bomber escort and fighter-bomber. Although it gained a postwar reputation as a mediocre design, suitable only for close air support, recent research including scrutiny of the records of individual Allied squadrons indicates that this was not the case: the P-40 performed surprisingly well as an air superiority fighter, at times suffering severe losses but also taking a very heavy toll of enemy aircraft.[10] The P-40 offered the additional advantage of low cost, which kept it in production as a ground-attack aircraft long after it was obsolete as a fighter.

Specifications (P-40E)
Data from Dean's America's Hundred Thousand, page 235.

General characteristics
Performance
Armament
  • Guns: 6 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns with 235 rounds per gun in the wings
  • Bombs: 250 to 1,000 lb (110 to 450 kg) bombs to a total of 2,000 lb (907 kg) on three hardpoints (one under the fuselage and two underwing)

Lockheed P-38 Lightning
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"P-38" redirects here. For other uses, see P-38 (disambiguation).

P-38 Lightning

P-38H of the AAF Tactical Center, Orlando Army Air Base, Florida, carrying two 1,000 lb bombs during capability tests in March 1944[1]

Role Heavy fighter
National origin United States
Manufacturer Lockheed
Designer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson
First flight 27 January 1939
Introduction July 1941[2]
Retired 1965 Honduran Air Force[3]
Primary users United States Army Air Forces
Free French Air Force
Produced 1941–45
Number built 10,037[4]
Unit cost
US$97,147 in 1944[5]
(equivalent to $1,308,087 in 2015[6])
Developed into Lockheed XP-49
Lockheed XP-58

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American piston-engined fighter aircraft. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. Allied propaganda claimed it had been nicknamed the fork-tailed devil (German: der Gabelschwanz-Teufel) by the Luftwaffe and "two planes, one pilot" (2飛行機、1パイロット Ni hikōki, ippairotto?) by the Japanese.[7] The P-38 was used for interception, dive bombing, level bombing, ground attack, night fighting, photo reconnaissance, radar and visual pathfinding for bombers and evacuation missions[8] and extensively as a long-range escort fighter when equipped with drop tanks under its wings.

The P-38 was used most successfully in the Pacific Theater of Operations and the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations as the aircraft of America's top aces, Richard Bong (40 victories), Thomas McGuire (38 victories) and Charles H. MacDonald (36 victories). In the South West Pacific theater, the P-38 was the primary long-range fighter of United States Army Air Forces until the appearance of large numbers of P-51D Mustangs, toward the end of the war.[9][10]

The P-38 was unusually quiet for a fighter, the exhaust muffled by the turbo-superchargers. It was extremely forgiving and could be mishandled in many ways but the rate of roll in the early versions was too slow for it to excel as a dogfighter.[11] The P-38 was the only American fighter aircraft in production throughout American involvement in the war, from Pearl Harbor to Victory over Japan Day.[citation needed] At the end of the war, orders for 1,887 more were cancelled.[12]

...
Service record


Pilot and aircraft armorer inspect ammunition for the central 20 mm cannon

The P-38's service record shows mixed results, which may reflect more on its employment than on flaws with the aircraft. The P-38's engine troubles at high altitudes only occurred with the Eighth Air Force. One reason for this was the inadequate cooling systems of the G and H models; the improved P-38 J and L had tremendous success flying out of Italy into Germany at all altitudes.[59] Until the -J-25 variant, P-38s were easily avoided by German fighters because of the lack of dive flaps to counter compressibility in dives. German fighter pilots not wishing to fight would perform the first half of a Split S and continue into steep dives because they knew the Lightnings would be reluctant to follow.

On the positive side, having two engines was a built-in insurance policy. Many pilots made it safely back to base after having an engine failure en route or in combat. On 3 March 1944, the first Allied fighters reached Berlin on a frustrated escort mission. Lieutenant Colonel Jack Jenkins of 55FG led the group of P-38H pilots, arriving with only half his force after flak damage and engine trouble took their toll. On the way into Berlin, Jenkins reported one rough-running engine, causing him to wonder if he would ever make it back. The B-17s he was supposed to escort never showed up, having turned back at Hamburg. Jenkins and his wingman were able to drop tanks and outrun enemy fighters to return home with three good engines between them.[87]



P-38J 42-68008 flying over Southern California.

In the ETO, P-38s made 130,000 sorties with a loss of 1.3% overall, comparing favorably with ETO P-51s, which posted a 1.1% loss, considering that the P-38s were vastly outnumbered and suffered from poorly thought-out tactics. The majority of the P-38 sorties were made in the period prior to Allied air superiority in Europe, when pilots fought against a very determined and skilled enemy.[88] Lieutenant Colonel Mark Hubbard, a vocal critic of the aircraft, rated it the third best Allied fighter in Europe.[89] The Lightning's greatest virtues were long range, heavy payload, high speed, fast climb and concentrated firepower. The P-38 was a formidable fighter, interceptor and attack aircraft.

In the Pacific theater, the P-38 downed over 1,800 Japanese aircraft, with more than 100 pilots becoming aces by downing five or more enemy aircraft.[86] American fuel supplies contributed to a better engine performance and maintenance record, and range was increased with leaner mixtures. In the second half of 1944, the P-38L pilots out of Dutch New Guinea were flying 950 mi (1,530 km), fighting for fifteen minutes and returning to base.[90] Such long legs were invaluable until the P-47N and P-51D entered service.

...
Specifications (P-38L)



Data from Lockheed P-38 Lightning Pilot's Flight Manual[137]

General characteristics
Performance
Armament
  • Inner hardpoints:
    • 2× 2,000 lb (907 kg) bombs or drop tanks; or
    • 2× 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs or drop tanks, plus either
      • 4× 500 lb (227 kg) bombs or
      • 4× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs; or
    • 6× 500 lb (227 kg) bombs; or
    • 6× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs
  • Outer hardpoints:
    • 10× 5 in (127 mm) HVARs (High Velocity Aircraft Rockets); or
    • 2× 500 lb (227 kg) bombs; or
    • 2× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs
 
SvenSvensonov said:
The P-51d was the best fighter of that generation and during the war. I'm not going to argue that with anyone. I like the look of the FW-190 better though. The P-51d is good looking, sleek and sensual with its curves. The FW-190 looks rugged and it was. It looks like a killing machine should.
Click to expand...

P51-D and for Navy P-47D was great fighter planes but Germans and Japanese didn't get time and resources to fully use similar capable fighters, this is one of many reason Allied forces won air war.
 
Hawker Hurricane
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hurricane


Hurricane Mk I (R4118), which fought in the Battle of Britain

Role Fighter
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer Hawker Aircraft
Designer Sydney Camm
First flight 6 November 1935
Introduction 25 December 1937[1]
Primary users Royal Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
Produced 1937–1944
Number built 14,583[2]
Variants Hawker Hurricane variants

The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s-1940s that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Although overshadowed by the Supermarine Spitfire, the aircraft became renowned during the Battle of Britain, accounting for 60% of the RAF's air victories in the battle, and served in all the major theatres of the Second World War.

The 1930s design evolved through several versions and adaptations, resulting in a series of aircraft which acted as fighters, bomber-interceptors, fighter-bombers (also called "Hurribombers") and ground support aircraft. Further versions known as the Sea Hurricane had modifications which enabled operation from ships. Some were converted as catapult-launched convoy escorts, known as "Hurricats". More than 14,583 Hurricanes were built by the end of 1944 (including at least 800 converted to Sea Hurricanes[3] and some 1,400 built in Canada by Canadian Car and Foundry).

...
Hurricane aces
The top scoring Hurricane pilot was Squadron Leader Marmaduke "Pat" Pattle, DFC & Bar, with 35 Hawker fighter victories (out of career 50 total, with two shared) serving with No. 80 and 33 Squadrons. All of his Hurricane kills were achieved over Greece in 1941. He was shot down and killed in the Battle of Athens. Wing Commander Frank Reginald Carey claimed 28 air victories while flying Hurricanes during 1939–43, and Squadron Leader William "Cherry" Vale DFC and Bar, AFC totalled 20 kills (of 30) in Greece and Syria with No. 80 Squadron. Czech pilot F/Lt Karel M. Kuttelwascher achieved all of his 18 air victories with the Hurricane, most as an intruder night fighter with No. 1 Squadron. Pilot Officer V.C. Woodward (33 and 213 Squadrons) was another top-scoring ace with 14 (out of 18 total, three of which are shared), while F/Lt Richard P. Stevens claimed all of his 14.5 enemy aircraft flying the Hurricane.[108] Richard "Dickie" Cork was the leading Fleet Air Arm Sea Hurricane ace, with nine destroyed, two shared, one probable, four damaged and seven destroyed on the ground.[109] Czech pilot Josef František, flying with 303 Polish Squadron, shot down at least 17 enemy aircraft over southeast England during September–October 1940. Polish pilot Witold Urbanowicz, flying with 303 Polish Squadron, had 15 confirmed kills and one probable during the Battle of Britain.

...
Specifications (Hurricane Mk.IIC)


A Hawker Hurricane on display at the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution
Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II[127]

General characteristics
  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 32 ft 3 in (9.84 m)
  • Wingspan: 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m)
  • Height: 13 ft 1½ in (4.0 m)
  • Wing area: 257.5 ft² (23.92 m²)
  • Empty weight: 5,745 lb (2,605 kg)
  • Loaded weight: 7,670 lb (3,480 kg)
  • Max. takeoff weight: 8,710 lb (3,950 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Merlin XX liquid-cooled V-12, 1,185 hp (883 kW) at 21,000 ft (6,400 m)
Performance
Armament
  • Guns: 4 × 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano Mk II cannon
  • Bombs: 2 × 250 or 500 lb (110 or 230 kg) bombs
 

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