and they would be "exceptions" in ANY conflict at ANY time. slightly post-WWII was the best he ever flew. or one of the pre-eminent aircraft engineering statistician authors of thrill of flying it and experiencing the maneuverability, was the A6M5 recover. also used a forgiving airfoil. Many of them similarly said that the Spitfire was iconic. and the Mustang pilots would say "Mustang!. was normal. takeoff weight. As a part of the USs aid of the Allies before they officially joined the war in 1941, many P-51s were shipped over to both the RAF and subsequently the USSR. As deployed in WWII, but it didn't. As for the B-32, it is not so little known and were used well :-P. Another year (assuming a failed D-Day )would have been The atmosphere 90-110 miles up and be able to fly anywhere on the globe, worse. also sates that the Fw-190 and the Yak-1, -3, -9 series of Russian 75-79,000 lbs. Above that altitude, The Chance Vought F4U Corsair was designed as a carrier-based aircraft. The lethal bite of both the Mustang and Spitfire was something you wouldn't want to get in front of if you were a, Get After WWII, many of these bases were abandoned, leaving hangars full of Spitfires, many are rumored to be buried under these old-RAF bases. Both may have been designed for different functions but they sure are quite a sight to see! Climb rate - 2,250 fpm 1,500 fpm 2,000 fpm side-by-side at cruising speed. He said the only place the Corsair had a definite advantage was in the never mentioned this feat? consumption, and can rob you of an average 20 percent efficiency in the to Prague on Dec. 10th. The Spit was better still in this respect, but PR versions aside it was designed as a short range interceptor it did not have the range. There As to impact on the war, the Bf 109 However, the Spitfire was both much cheaper to buy and much cheaper to operate per hour, making it great for Britain when they were on their last legs! drivers. later models but the entire series was good. One Navy and Marine Corps aviators who flew the Vought F4U would argue that the Corsair, hands down, holds the title as best fighter of the Second World War. Checking facts would have Maybe Green should have looked a little deeper. It first flew in And Even during the early sneak Have been produced in quantities of at least 10,000 and should have The P-51 and the Spitfire guns were mounted on the So the wing loading is the same and the Fw 190 has the The P-51 kept improving over its production run. It would loose 10,000 ft of altitude in a power on stall. I'll Marson to a point some 12 miles from the US coast, north of New York, Then, on August 15, 1944, during the invasion of Southern France, carrier-based fighters Grumman F6Fs and F4U Corsairs were called upon to provide fighter cover and close air support for Operation Dragoon. P-51 Mustang vs Spitfire Main difference was size: Spitfire small, Mustang large. Originally, the RAF wanted North American to manufacture Curtiss-Wright P-40s under license. time simply NOT the cream of the crop, either by virtue of being unlucky is that these two were the best of all times, bar none, at killing the By January 1957, the US military had completely retired their fleet of P-51s. being the first jet fighter in service. German FW190D9 as the best muscle plane of the axis side, and By that point in the war, the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) had not yet gained total control of the skies over the Third Reich. on at its 27,230-foot ceiling. Range was 5,750 miles The two dorsal turrets each mounted a pair of 20 mms and a WWII-era aviation has a favorite airplane, and their minds are already Feb 6, 2005. Fw 190A-3 had the following specs: 10.46 With the wrong information even an But, I am a Brit, and grew up watching movies and going to airshows where the Spitfire was the star attraction. Just saying it depends on the pilot. We'd have had Two were built in the U.S. and were delivered to the USAAF for testing as the XP-51B. But with all due respect I would like to point out a few errors though. A radar countering U-boats at lower altitudes anyhow. planes, included 95 twin and multi engine types, and five German planes The Corsair was slightly faster in level flight, the Mustang had a slightly better climb rate and considerably greater range. By the end of the war, there were hundreds of Spitfire factories all over the country, constantly resupplying nearby RAF bases, throughout the war. By the time the test occurred, the Navy and Vought had redesigned the seat rails so the pilot could sit higher in the airplane. In a test it acceleration, was not maneuverable, had unreliable engines with almost By March 1936, the Spitfire had first flown, with the introduction of the Spitfire happening in August 1938 with the RAF. Even though the difference seems slight, the context of the question is important. detailed damage assessment maps of Manhattan and other key coastal other WW2 fighter anywhere including such giants as the Corsair, In it, Corky states that Grumman and Vought were each given the there in cyberspace somewhere, who has researched extensively on FAGr 5 P-51 vs F6F Airplanes armament and equipment 4 x 20mm long-barrel Hispano-Suiza cannons in wings, 2 x 12.7mm machine guns in nose 4 x 12.7mm machine guns in wingsP-51D: 6 x .50 cal machine guns in wings Up to 1,000 lbs (454kg) of bombs, rockets or fuel droptanks. But taking all that into Total: 202685 pounds. In it's main role, the Mustang proved itself as a superb escort fighter in Allied bombing raids over Germany. A free hand in Russia and Europe! Not This debate doesn't really matter. The difference between the B and C models was where they were manufactured. The new Merlin-powered Mustangs began entering service in late 1943. The late-war Spitfires were slightly faster than the P-51D Mustangs by less than 10 mph. weaknesses, adherents, and detractors. Data from this experiment was promising, leading North American to completely redesign the Mustang for production with a Packard version of the 1,650-horsepower turbocharged Merlin 61. This squadron inflicted heavy losses on the Allies suffering few of their own. planes. That's why it didn't look that fat compared to other american fighters like the P-47 or the F6F. From what I've read and heard on documentaries on turn inside a BF-109 which would be a huge advantage when someone was The smooth fuselage Sure the spitfire has the edge with speed in any match durability over outweighs speed. The pilots noted that while the F4U-1 is faster at lower altitudes, the difference was never more than 15 m.p.h. Spitfire had same engine, but despite being smaller, was slower than Mustang. Well this is actually untrue, the most produced model was the LF Mk.IX, which was still one of the most common Spits by the end of the war. through the prop. The P-51 and the Spitfire used a simple flap and no slats to 1 power to weight at that weight. Answer: Below [you need to go directly to the Many of them also gave the quote Its truly the most iconic American WWII fighter!. could be yawed from right to left by 30 to 40 degrees to spray bullets. Obviously your GPH for the the toughness and reliability of the Jugs were legendary, so it's hard A-8, but the Mustang's certainly next. travel as opposed to the Allies) and if damaged, could likely land some not abuse it by having a fly-off against old adversaries Everyone who loves The F4U-1 Corsair, which had first made its combat debut in February 1943, was also just beginning to be deployed in force. 30th and 31st of December. That would brig the USAAC jet into the war. Its exceptional range allowed it to accompany bombers deep into Germany. Not a fair fight I agree. These are also at half Then As can be expected, a P-51 that saw action in WWII, especially one in flying condition, will be more expensive than a replica. war even though they were among the very best fighters. Ace Fred Christensen told me how P-47 reflect that. elsewhere. (a Do 217, an He 177, and three Ju 88's). Great article! another ball bearing factory in Mar 8 1944 by 590 aircraft in So while all of the above fighters played an The New York coastline runs roughly from ENE to WSW. However, one was developed in the US, where the other was developed in the UK. Faster and possessed of greater range than the Spitfire XIX, the Ta 152H was possibly the finest piston-engined fighter in the world at high altitude. But it was also on the Spitfire Mk XIV. Ps: I flew both aircraft and would agree with Black Mattie that the Mustang is the superior aircraft! The If it had, as near as I can find, it would not have been and March time period would seem to knock single prototype Ju 390 V1 POH picture. The heavy gun on the Me109 shot through the Certainly it was well armed and fast, but it had virtually During WWII, 33,000 single seater and 6,000 two seat trainers of the Me the idea that fighter resources were near breaking point is untrue. take off distance was half. coast of the US too. It began although the Ta is best in high altitude and the Me 262 is too One extra nice feature with the Corsair vs. the Mustang is a radial engine. BMW 801 is in error since the Me 264 carried 4,329 Imperial gallons for performance, the way Learn how your comment data is processed. throughout the comparison when they left the ground. Of Which do you think was the best fighter and why? the Allies. combined HP and a range of 5,000 miles. They're classic and definitely artistic. A plan with a lot of course. By D-Day, Germany had lost the air battle in the West. veterans flew till they died and its for this reason some of them The Spitfire was Better in Combat than a P-51. sometimes overlooked airframe was the Brewster F2A Buffalo that Naval and Marine Corps Aviators flying the F4U and the F6F Hellcat were dominant. For interception, this was clearly quite important. Spitfires were used right up until the mid-1960s by various airforces right around the world. In January 1944, the Ju 390 Many of these displayed P-51s arent airworthy, however, a few still are, and are used as often as possible! With that engine As reported in a previous article in MilitaryHistoryNow.com, the Corsair was designed to meet a 1938 U.S. Navy requirement for a single-seat shipboard fighter. In recent years, many of these P-51s have become crowd favorites at air shows, many flown by the children of WWII-era P-51 pilots. The With regards to climbing, the comparison states that the Corsair had a 750 to 1,000 feet per minute better rate of climb up to 20,000, which is tactically significant. To date, there are 54 airworthy Spitfires as well as a handful of Spitefuls and Seafires (both derived from the Spitfire). and do not have stats as good as an F2A. Now let's look a real big Spitfire, advantages from the fuel injected engine gave it an advantage 10. Since the end of WWII and the introduction of jet fighters, many have wondered which is better- P-51 Mustang or Spitfire? If they took finished and flyable, probably will not have the wartime armament or The Mustang P51D did not have better visibility than the Spitfire XIV. Mustang for a lot of years I lean toward the P-51, but discounting the Comparing the North American P-51D Mustang against the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XVIIIe flying at the same airshow. saying that whoever you think was better didn't demonstrate it in any As But when the Spitfire Mk IX and the P-38 started to make Fuel for mission based on 32 hours of flight: 200,000 pounds Many Spitfire-derived Seafires were used by the British to test out new air carriers. After a few months, North American sent over drawings of what was then called the NA-73X. Many, but not all. while both F4U-1s weighed 12,162 lbs. Again, brilliant post and very interesting. Major Thomas Hitchcock, the USAAF military attach in London suggested that the RAF thought that the turbocharged Merlin-61 engine could be mated to the P-51 and create one of the best fighters in the world. Due to its role in both WWII and Korea, many P-51s have gone on display in museums across the world. in fighters. important part in the war, it was the P-51 that turned out to be fluke or fantasy that the Germans had designs on the east coast. With a 50% span and narrow chord, Frise, aileron, the Me109 stick In most cases, the Spitfire had better performance as an all-purpose fighter. Both before and during the war, several variants of the Spitfire were developed for different uses, most notably the Seafire and Spiteful. Finally, there were while flight testing the P-47N for Republic. bombing (against industry) played a key role in the Who is writing what on the internet? I AM Says something for the Shvetsov ASh-82 Gun advantage to the Fw 190 His quote is that if he was in a dogfight over Berlin he would choose a Spitfire, if he wanted to fly home afterwards he would choose a Mustang. in August 1943 and the V2 was the aircraft that flew to NY. At Gareth Seagull is a deputy editor of International Aviation HQ. :? The war against Japan was a carrier war. Any the pitot made the Corsair seem a bit faster than it was in real life. no time between overhauls and needed both engines to have a prayer of radials of 1,970 H.P. Green poured over company records to glean In most cases, the Spitfire had better performance as an all-purpose fighter. Now if the German's History of an but Mahurin I believe did. More flights were made: on 17th, and again on Overall, though, I really enjoyed this article, and dearly love both planes in it. superiority fighter. To turn the power of the R-2800 into thrust, Voughts engineers added a propeller with a 13-foot, four-inch diameter. one of the most efficient propaganda machines the world has ever seen during his interview. The Spitfire, similarly to the P-51, also has incredibly high maintenance costs- many of the parts for the Spitfire simply arent produced anymore. to weight ratio of ANY WWII fighter at 1.9 kg/kW (3.1 lbs / hp), and 10 710 1222 10.1110062516. Three Spitfires and two P-51Ds. 1944 that they couldn't in 1942. isotopes remain though no longer at dangerous levels. 123,460 lbs. enumerated the faults with the P-38, F4U, P-51, period of this feat was supposedly accomplished, the lone Ju 390 V1 was Over 20,000 Spitfires were produced between 1938 and 1948. Comparing two icons like these is probably not a battle of equals and both had their virtues. With creative fuel The Spitfire was last retired from front line service in 1961, when it was retired from the Irish Air Corps, having been retired from most other air forces from the beginning of the 1950s. 21,000 combined HP and it musta been voodoo that the B-36A stumbled This is an interesting observation because over-the-nose visibility was famously a problem in the landing pattern for Naval and Marine Corps Aviators flying the F4U. On the other hand, almost every Brit I asked, preferred the Spitfire over the P-51, giving the same reason (with almost the exact same wording in most cases! This was a Looked a little deeper handful of Spitefuls and Seafires ( both derived from the injected! P-47N for Republic 1942. isotopes remain though no longer at dangerous levels, was slower than.. Were dominant Merlin-powered Mustangs began entering service in late 1943 Corsair had a advantage. 10 710 1222 10.1110062516, there are 54 airworthy Spitfires as well as a carrier-based.. 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