Some thoughts on the top three AAF fighters of WW II.
Apr 16, 2014 11:41:37 GMT -5
Post by rah on Apr 16, 2014 11:41:37 GMT -5
There can be no legitimate argument about which were the top three Army Air Force fighter aircraft of WWII.
They were: The North American P-51 Mustang, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, and Lockheed's P-38 Lightning.
Each of these aircraft were designed for something other than for what they became most famous for during the war. And yet each developed to become deadly dogfighters and multirole aircraft.
I. The P-51 came about from a British Requirement order for a low altitude tactical-reconnaissance and fighter-bomber aircraft. The Brits gave their new aircraft the name "Mustang" and with it's Allison engine it served it's purpose well as long as it didn't have to fight above 15,000 feet which is where BTW most air combat occurred in the European Theater. The US Army Air Force liked what it saw and ordered some for it's self giving these Allison powered fighter bombers the designation of A-36 Apache.
The Brits loved the maneuverability of their Mustangs so as it seemed would inevitably would have to happen the British decided to mount a Roll Royce Merlin 61 engine in a Mustang to see what it could do.
The performance astounded them.
Soon the US adapted the Mustang to take the Packard V-1650-3 which was an American made copy of the Merlin engine and thus was born what many believe was the best propeller driven fighter aircraft produced by any country during WW II. The ultimate WW II version being the P-51 D
II. What would become the P-47 started out as an US Army Air Corp. requirement order for a lightweight high altitude interceptor and that was initially what came off the desk of the designerin Aug, 1939. But in the meantime more information of the type of combat being fought in Europe was becoming available and the requirement was changed and what resulted was the heaviest single engine fighter aircraft produced by anyone during WW II. It was heavy because it was designed around the 18-cylinder, air-cooled, turbo-supercharged P&W R-2800 Twin Wasp radial which was the most powerful radial engine available at the time ready for mass production. It took a lot of power to carry the heavy armament of 8 .50 caliber machine guns with ammunition, armor plating, and the large amount of fuel required to carry such a heavy aircraft long distances.
Though the P-47 was designed as an interceptor it's durability, relatively heavy firepower, and ability to carry a significant bomb load made it an excellent tactical bomber and it was in this capacity that the majority of the P-47s served in during WW II even though with the addition of a paddle bladed propeller and a bubble canopy the high altitude performance of the fighter was enhanced to the point that it could take on about any opponent with confidence. More P-47s were built during WW II than either P-51s or P-38s
So what was intended to be a light weight high altitude interceptor made it's greatest contribution to the war effort as a heavy single engine fighter bomber and ground attack aircraft and it served in such a capacity in all theaters that US forces fought in from 1942 till the end of the war.
III.
The P-38 was designed to be an escort fighter for high altitude bombers and interceptor. It was the first American twin engine fighter and the only really successful one during WW II until the P-61 Black Widow night fighter showed up in 1944. The two top American Aces of WW II got all their kills flying P-38s. It destroyed more Japanese aircraft in air to air combat than any other aircraft during WW II.
The unique and complex design went through many changes over it's long life but right off the bat the fighter had problems at altitude due to the unreliability of the turbochargers and the problem of compressibility when the aircraft got into a steep high speed dive and approached the sound barrier. But in it's first combat action in N. Africa it was so effective that the Germans gave it the name "Forked Tailed Devil" and it proved to be a deadly dog fighter at lower altitudes and an absolutely deadly ground attack aircraft.
The P-38 served throughout the war after the US entered and was the only fighter aircraft the US even attempted to ferry over the Atlantic to get it to Europe. And though the aircraft did great work in Africa and Europe where it really shined was in the Pacific. The Japanese just had no answer to the big two engine fighter and it chewed through their pilots and aircraft at a terrible rate. The Pilots in the Pacific loved the P-38 for many reasons but one of the most important was that it had two engines and could easily fly on one which when one is flying and fighting over large expanses of water is an important safety factor.
In the end the P-38 did all of the missions that a fighter aircraft can do. Ground attack, recon, pursuit interceptor, and it did one other mission that no other fighter in WW II did. It was an assassin taking out Japanese Admiral and architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Isoroku Yamamoto.
They were: The North American P-51 Mustang, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, and Lockheed's P-38 Lightning.
Each of these aircraft were designed for something other than for what they became most famous for during the war. And yet each developed to become deadly dogfighters and multirole aircraft.
I. The P-51 came about from a British Requirement order for a low altitude tactical-reconnaissance and fighter-bomber aircraft. The Brits gave their new aircraft the name "Mustang" and with it's Allison engine it served it's purpose well as long as it didn't have to fight above 15,000 feet which is where BTW most air combat occurred in the European Theater. The US Army Air Force liked what it saw and ordered some for it's self giving these Allison powered fighter bombers the designation of A-36 Apache.
The Brits loved the maneuverability of their Mustangs so as it seemed would inevitably would have to happen the British decided to mount a Roll Royce Merlin 61 engine in a Mustang to see what it could do.
The performance astounded them. Soon the US adapted the Mustang to take the Packard V-1650-3 which was an American made copy of the Merlin engine and thus was born what many believe was the best propeller driven fighter aircraft produced by any country during WW II. The ultimate WW II version being the P-51 D
II. What would become the P-47 started out as an US Army Air Corp. requirement order for a lightweight high altitude interceptor and that was initially what came off the desk of the designerin Aug, 1939. But in the meantime more information of the type of combat being fought in Europe was becoming available and the requirement was changed and what resulted was the heaviest single engine fighter aircraft produced by anyone during WW II. It was heavy because it was designed around the 18-cylinder, air-cooled, turbo-supercharged P&W R-2800 Twin Wasp radial which was the most powerful radial engine available at the time ready for mass production. It took a lot of power to carry the heavy armament of 8 .50 caliber machine guns with ammunition, armor plating, and the large amount of fuel required to carry such a heavy aircraft long distances.
Though the P-47 was designed as an interceptor it's durability, relatively heavy firepower, and ability to carry a significant bomb load made it an excellent tactical bomber and it was in this capacity that the majority of the P-47s served in during WW II even though with the addition of a paddle bladed propeller and a bubble canopy the high altitude performance of the fighter was enhanced to the point that it could take on about any opponent with confidence. More P-47s were built during WW II than either P-51s or P-38s
So what was intended to be a light weight high altitude interceptor made it's greatest contribution to the war effort as a heavy single engine fighter bomber and ground attack aircraft and it served in such a capacity in all theaters that US forces fought in from 1942 till the end of the war.
III.
The P-38 was designed to be an escort fighter for high altitude bombers and interceptor. It was the first American twin engine fighter and the only really successful one during WW II until the P-61 Black Widow night fighter showed up in 1944. The two top American Aces of WW II got all their kills flying P-38s. It destroyed more Japanese aircraft in air to air combat than any other aircraft during WW II. The unique and complex design went through many changes over it's long life but right off the bat the fighter had problems at altitude due to the unreliability of the turbochargers and the problem of compressibility when the aircraft got into a steep high speed dive and approached the sound barrier. But in it's first combat action in N. Africa it was so effective that the Germans gave it the name "Forked Tailed Devil" and it proved to be a deadly dog fighter at lower altitudes and an absolutely deadly ground attack aircraft.
The P-38 served throughout the war after the US entered and was the only fighter aircraft the US even attempted to ferry over the Atlantic to get it to Europe. And though the aircraft did great work in Africa and Europe where it really shined was in the Pacific. The Japanese just had no answer to the big two engine fighter and it chewed through their pilots and aircraft at a terrible rate. The Pilots in the Pacific loved the P-38 for many reasons but one of the most important was that it had two engines and could easily fly on one which when one is flying and fighting over large expanses of water is an important safety factor.
In the end the P-38 did all of the missions that a fighter aircraft can do. Ground attack, recon, pursuit interceptor, and it did one other mission that no other fighter in WW II did. It was an assassin taking out Japanese Admiral and architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Isoroku Yamamoto.