P-47
- Thread starter Mystic
- Start date
- Status
wemay
Site Donor 2023
My favorite WWII workhorse.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing.
Last edited:
Just thinking about the plane diving on enemy positions with the 6 x 50 cals blazing and dropping 500 lb bombs.
The definition of OP.
The definition of OP.
Originally Posted By: Danno
Just thinking about the plane diving on enemy positions with the 6 x 50 cals blazing and dropping 500 lb bombs.
The definition of OP.
Eight .50 cals. Four in each wing. One big hunking fighter/bomber.
Just thinking about the plane diving on enemy positions with the 6 x 50 cals blazing and dropping 500 lb bombs.
The definition of OP.
Eight .50 cals. Four in each wing. One big hunking fighter/bomber.
wemay
Site Donor 2023
This may be my all-time favorite machine, not just plane!
Long time fan of the P47 myself. Thanks for posting!
The P 47 was a fine aircraft but some say the F4U was better.
Probably the P-51 Mustang and the F6F Hellcat were better fighter planes in WWII. Most would probably say the P-51 but the Hellcat was an awesome fighter plane in the Pacific. But somehow the war in the Pacific is kind of overlooked by some people.
But one hit in the cooling system and the P-51 was going down. The P-47 could take a pounding.
To realize just how good the Hellcat was people need to consider that the Japanese Zero was better than just about any fighter plane. But the Hellcat, combined with the limited training of replacement Japanese pilots, was decisive in air combat in the Pacific.
I can't remember for sure but I think the Hellcat had the best kill ratio. But there were other factors also. The USA had learned a lot from a captured Zero fighter plane and replacement Japanese pilots tended to be not as well trained and skilled as the pilots they replaced.
But one hit in the cooling system and the P-51 was going down. The P-47 could take a pounding.
To realize just how good the Hellcat was people need to consider that the Japanese Zero was better than just about any fighter plane. But the Hellcat, combined with the limited training of replacement Japanese pilots, was decisive in air combat in the Pacific.
I can't remember for sure but I think the Hellcat had the best kill ratio. But there were other factors also. The USA had learned a lot from a captured Zero fighter plane and replacement Japanese pilots tended to be not as well trained and skilled as the pilots they replaced.
wemay
Site Donor 2023
Here i go, top five for me:
P-47
Spitfire
FW-190
Mitsubishi Zero
F4U Corsair
P-47
Spitfire
FW-190
Mitsubishi Zero
F4U Corsair
I am not sure if my top choice would be the P-51 or the Hellcat. And of course near the end of the war jet fighter planes started to make an appearance.
The German ME-109 and the FW-190, and later the jet fighters they had were pretty good.
The British Spitfire was good; I don't know very much about the British Hurricane.
The Zero has to be somewhere near the top but I am not sure exactly where. At the start of the war in the Pacific the Zero was awesome. But later there were a few fighters that were pretty good against the Zero, such as the F4U, the Hellcat, the P-51, and the P-38.
I suppose you really have to separate the jet fighters that appeared late in WWII from the earlier fighters.
The P-47, and some other aircraft like the P-38, were very important in attacking ground targets.
In Europe the P-51 was very important because it was able to escort bombers all the way to their targets and back. So at least in Europe the P-51 would I guess have to be considered the most important non-jet fighter plane.
But the Hellcat was awesome in the Pacific.
Some of the fighter planes of WWII that do not impress me very much were the Buffalo fighter plane that was not much against Japanese Zeros and the P-40, although various versions of the P-40 were used successfully in China by the Flying Tigers. But they had awesome pilots in the Flying Tigers organization.
So I guess I would say the best non-jet fighter planes were the P-51 in Europe and the Hellcat in the Pacific.
The German ME-109 and the FW-190, and later the jet fighters they had were pretty good.
The British Spitfire was good; I don't know very much about the British Hurricane.
The Zero has to be somewhere near the top but I am not sure exactly where. At the start of the war in the Pacific the Zero was awesome. But later there were a few fighters that were pretty good against the Zero, such as the F4U, the Hellcat, the P-51, and the P-38.
I suppose you really have to separate the jet fighters that appeared late in WWII from the earlier fighters.
The P-47, and some other aircraft like the P-38, were very important in attacking ground targets.
In Europe the P-51 was very important because it was able to escort bombers all the way to their targets and back. So at least in Europe the P-51 would I guess have to be considered the most important non-jet fighter plane.
But the Hellcat was awesome in the Pacific.
Some of the fighter planes of WWII that do not impress me very much were the Buffalo fighter plane that was not much against Japanese Zeros and the P-40, although various versions of the P-40 were used successfully in China by the Flying Tigers. But they had awesome pilots in the Flying Tigers organization.
So I guess I would say the best non-jet fighter planes were the P-51 in Europe and the Hellcat in the Pacific.
Last edited:
I guess it can also be said that you need more than one type of fighter plane. You need aircraft that are good for ground attack, like the modern day Thunderbolt, and you need air superiority fighter planes like the F-22 and dogfighters like the F-18.
Last edited:
The Japanese never really improved the Zero that much and they were unable to produce enough Zero fighter planes for their needs. But few people know that the Japanese actually had other fighter planes. They had a twin engine fighter plane and they had a larger fighter plane that at low altitude was considered to be superior to the Hellcat. But they did not produce large numbers of these fighter planes.
But maybe the biggest factor was that after the Japanese lost many of their best pilots in the early years of WWII, they were unable to replace those pilots. Some of the Japanese pilots near the end of WWII had only about 100 hours flight time when they went into battle.
But maybe the biggest factor was that after the Japanese lost many of their best pilots in the early years of WWII, they were unable to replace those pilots. Some of the Japanese pilots near the end of WWII had only about 100 hours flight time when they went into battle.
What was the purpose of the different length gun barrels?
I thinking so the muzzle flash doesn't effect the other bullet maybe.
I thinking so the muzzle flash doesn't effect the other bullet maybe.
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
What was the purpose of the different length gun barrels?
I thinking so the muzzle flash doesn't effect the other bullet maybe.
The guns are staggered so that the ammo belts are fed straight from the ammo storage trays without having to twist.
What was the purpose of the different length gun barrels?
I thinking so the muzzle flash doesn't effect the other bullet maybe.
The guns are staggered so that the ammo belts are fed straight from the ammo storage trays without having to twist.
Love the P-47. Heavy-duty brute that could take serious punishment.
Big giant radial engine....it's almost like the aircraft is just a big radial with wings.
The earlier models had a different canopy. More rugged looking with that old "razorback" design (but less rear visibility of course).
Big giant radial engine....it's almost like the aircraft is just a big radial with wings.
The earlier models had a different canopy. More rugged looking with that old "razorback" design (but less rear visibility of course).
Last edited:
I love old allied air craft. Didnt Snoopy fight Red Baron in P38?
- Status
