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Posted: 7/17/2017 12:13:10 PM EDT
Which US fighter would you personally chose to fly if you were to go back in time to WW2 and fight Axis aircraft? Assume you will be given various types of missions (escort, intercept, ground attack...), different theaters and different altitudes. You will be deployed for over a year and maintenance must be completed in the field. Which of these fighters would you chose to fight and get you back alive? You can choose whichever generation you prefer.
P-38 Lightning P-40 Warhawk P-47 Thunderbolt P-51 Mustang F6F Hellcat F4U Corsair |
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A B-29 with the Silverplate upgrade package loaded with a single Mk. III device - along with a Garmin GPS with "Berlin" loaded as the only waypoint.
Seems easier than running around shooting down a bunch of planes... |
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Logic says F4U , family history says P51. Either would be effective with someone who actually knew how to fight in one.
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Quoted:
Logic says F4U , family history says P51. Either would be effective with someone who actually knew how to fight in one. View Quote |
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my grandfather was a crew chief on P-38's in the Pacific. One of the brightest men I've ever known and if he had to work on them for years - and loved them the rest of his life - then that's plenty endorsement for me.
Plus I always appreciated the concentrated firepower and twin-engines! ETA - my next two choices are Hellcat and Corsair, respectively. Just felt like adding that. |
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Hellcat, or Jugg 8 50 cals are better than 6 View Quote Fasterer than the hellcat, and more importantly, faster than most 109s. Not to mention faster than almost every IJN aircraft it would face. built to fight japs, so not quite as maneuverable as the the hellcat but much more maneuverable than a mustang or a high. plenty maneuverable for killin germans and Japs. Better read vicibility than the hellcat (admittedly not as much as some of the other options) late war, I would try to get in a -1c variant... because quad AN/m2 20mm cannons... Also, a little known fact. The brits fixed the corsairs carrier problems by fitting them with solid rubber wheels instead of normal inflated wheels. This was done quite by accedent when they ran out of corsair wheels and had to improvise with what they had on board for one of their bombers. |
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Not mentioned but the deHavilland Mosquito would be my choice. The guys who flew those must have had stainless steel balls. Fast, carry bombs or use as a fighter, it could take on anything.
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America's top ace, Richard Bong, flew a P-38. I'll go with his choice.
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I can't fault you for those choices, but mine Would be the f4u hands down. Fasterer than the hellcat, and more importantly, faster than most 109s. Not to mention faster than almost every IJN aircraft it would face. built to fight japs, so not quite as maneuverable as the the hellcat but much more maneuverable than a mustang or a high. plenty maneuverable for killin germans and Japs. Better read vicibility than the hellcat (admittedly not as much as some of the other options) late war, I would try to get in a -1c variant... because quad AN/m2 20mm cannons... Also, a little known fact. The brits fixed the corsairs carrier problems by fitting them with solid rubber wheels instead of normal inflated wheels. This was done quite by accedent when they ran out of corsair wheels and had to improvise with what they had on board for one of their bombers. View Quote Americans got used to the straight in I can see everything approach and that just didn't work with the corsair. The Brits, being crazy and lazy, learned that if you crabbed into the approach and straightened out at the very last second, you could see quite well. They also got used to looking past the wing root to view the deck to the sides a little bit. Another problem was the variance in wing stall speeds. The port wing would stall before the starboard. Later variants had a stall block on the starboard side to fix that issue. Couple that with the massive amount of power the Corsair had to get them out of trouble, they did ok. Then they chopped the wing tips off. Then the limey bastards pushed their Corsairs over the sides of their carriers before the end of the war so they wouldn't have to pay for them. |
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I would go with the Jug. It has the most survivability and it's plenty effective.
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Hellcat, or Jugg 8 50 cals are better than 6 View Quote The Mustang and Corsair are sexier, but the Hellcat and the Thunderbolt are some tough bastards. If airframe dictates theater, I'd choose the P-47 to go to Europe because fuck fighting over shark infested waters and islands full of Japanese soldiers that eat downed aviators. |
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Mustang was built as a bomber escort, purpose built for dogfighting. P-51 all the way.
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Not mentioned but the deHavilland Mosquito would be my choice. The guys who flew those must have had stainless steel balls. Fast, carry bombs or use as a fighter, it could take on anything. View Quote If not I would have voted for the Spitfire. Lacked range and compared to the P-51, but it was a consummate dogfighter in the hands of a pilot who knew how to use it. |
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From "Empire of the Sun' Love this clip...
P51 the Cadillac of the sky |
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I think id fly a p-47 even though I like the p-51 look and ergonomics better
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Grandad's ass was saved more than once by a P38 in the South Pacific.
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You have to include the variant. There is a huge difference between an F4U-1 and an F4U-1A. The P-47 also improved throughout the War. The only plane on the list that didn't really change is the Hellcat.
If you are allowing the choice of variant I will go with either F4U-4 or P-47N |
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While the P-40 is my favorite fighter of all time, if I had to actually fight for my life I'm in a Jug.
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P-38, just because of this http://www.top80sgames.com/site/sites/default/files/images/cover/1943arcade.jpg I just realized that the Battle of Midway was in 1942, not the year used in the title of the video game. View Quote 1942 was the first in the series. They didn't want to have "1942 2" so they just incremented the year by one. There's also a 1944 and 1945. After 1945, they started incrementing it with Roman numerals (e.g. 1945 II and 1945 III), and then there were a bunch of ports and special editions that I have no idea how many there are. |
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F8F Bearcat would kick all the OP's listed aircraft's ass in a 1v1.
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While the P-40 is my favorite fighter of all time, if I had to actually fight for my life I'm in a Jug. View Quote Fun fact about the P-40 the original design lead engineer wanted a supercharger but he got switched off the project and they left it off. If it had the supercharger it would have been the best early fighter of the war instead of just mediocre. |
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You have to include the variant. There is a huge difference between an F4U-1 and an F4U-1A. The P-47 also improved throughout the War. The only plane on the list that didn't really change is the Hellcat. If you are allowing the choice of variant I will go with either F4U-4 or P-47N View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
You have to include the variant. There is a huge difference between an F4U-1 and an F4U-1A. The P-47 also improved throughout the War. The only plane on the list that didn't really change is the Hellcat. If you are allowing the choice of variant I will go with either F4U-4 or P-47N Quoted:
You can choose whichever generation you prefer. |
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F8F Bearcat would kick all the OP's listed aircraft's ass in a 1v1. View Quote |
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