The one aircraft that dominated the Pacific war was the Grumman F6F Hellcat that was responsible for 75% of the Japanese downed planes. In the European theater it was the Spitfire Mark V and Republic P-47. By the time the effective version of the P-51 arrived in Europe, the Allies have already won the air superiority over the Germans. Only the American insistence on the daylight bombing campaign made the development of the long range fighter for a European theater a necessity. Germany, like Japan, were able to produce enough aircraft and in the case of Germany even superior aircraft, but the constant attrition battles deprived them of the quality pilots. Both countries were forced to throw thousands of novice young pilots into battles where they faced professional and extremely well trained opponents.The P-51 didn't make much impact in the Pacific Theatre. Much of American air power there was carrier based.
Naval victories opened the way for land based B-29's to attack the enemy's home islands.
"The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot"
The U.S. Navy’s offensive in the Central Pacific gathered tremendous strength in early 1944 and moved to within striking distance of Japan. With the threat of an American push into the Marianas Islands by June, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) hoped to protect their home islands. Realizing the...www.history.navy.mil
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The P-51 Mustang
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The German jet was not a dogfighter and didn't pose a threat to the P51 if seen in time. Its purpose was to use its superior speed to get at the bombers.
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The ME262 was introduced far too late in the war to make an impact and did not have a storied history like the stalwart P51 Mustang.
P-51 Mustang | Facts, Specifications, & History | Britannica
P-51, single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft originally designed and produced by North American Aviation for the British Royal Air Force and later adopted by the U.S. Army Air Forces. The P-51 is widely regarded as the finest all-around piston-engined fighter of World War II to be produced...
www.britannica.com
I didn't know that.......
One of the most remarkable air combat stories of WW2 is that of Japanese ace Akira Sugimoto who was attacked by 4 P38s while flying an obsolescent Ki-43. One of the P-38s was flown by Thomas McGuire who was Bong's rival in the so-called ace race.The P-38 Lightning.
The P-38: When Lightning Strikes
Explore the Legacy of the P-38 Lightning, the iconic twin-tailed fighter aircraft that redefined aviation with its speed, innovation, and unmatched versatility.www.lockheedmartin.com
Richard Bong - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Major McGuire Crashes To His Death.
avstop.com
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Compare and contrast the sound of a Rolls Royce Merlin engine to the later generation Rolls Royce Griffon engine.
The Merlin has this distinctive low frequency growl to it whereas the Griffon has a very noticeable whine to it as the plane approaches which is replaced by a purr as the plane flies past you.
Both are remarkable engines. I'm a bit biased to the Merlin I must admit.
Should only be listened to with decent speakers.
I would put the FW-190D, Spitfire XIV (Griffon engine) and P-51 on a plateau for late '44 piston engine fighters. P-51 had FAR more range than the others. As the quip went: "The P-51 can do everything a Spitfire can do, but it can that everything over Berlin".
The P-51's Merlin was putting out about 500 less hp than the Spit XIV's Girffon and the P-51 was a larger a/c. That suggests that the P-51 would have been a far better design that the other 2 planes if up-engined with a Griffon. But the P-51 was only a year ahead of the jet age and the need to continue its development simply wasn't there.
The P-51's Merlin was putting out about 500 less hp than the Spit XIV's Girffon and the P-51 was a larger a/c. That suggests that the P-51 would have been a far better design that the other 2 planes if up-engined with a Griffon. But the P-51 was only a year ahead of the jet age and the need to continue its development simply wasn't there.
The P-51 was to the RAF what the T-32 tank was to the Red Army. Efficient and easy to mass produce. I don't know that much about aviation technology as I do tanks. In open combat the T-32 stood no chance against the Jagdpanzer much less the Tigrpanzer but it made that up in numbers and maneuverability. The Tigrpanzer looked invincible but if a T-32 got behind it, it was a sitting duck.
I wonder if Cruise will try to fly it himself. Many people, including expert pilots, have been killed flying WW2 aircraft, and not just during WW2.
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If you haven't done so, try to watch The Gypsy Months starring Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr.
I don't know. I heard him talking about sounds he loved and he mentioned the engine in his Mustang. What he didn't like was silence when he was flying it. Sounded like he was piloting it. Who knows?
Keep in mind that when you hear a prop driven aircraft you are hearing the combined sound of both the engine and the propeller, and the type of prop used can have a significant effect. And the change in pitch as it goes by is mostly explained by the Doppler effect.
I think you got it wrong again, sport. The Russian, or more correctly, Soviet tank was the T-34, not the T-32.
