For the battle in the pacific, 18 cylinder radial, go Pappy.
2400 hundred horses of grunt
pffft P40 was the sexiest aircraft
Col Pay's restoration in memory of bobby gibbs from No 3 squadron RAAF .
closely followed by the FB VI mossie
Republic P47.
Its ability to absorb battle damage gave it a 90% return rate.
Bit of a behemoth at 7 tons but would have been nice to know the crates going to get you home in those days.
Zeros don't have any fans it seems.
What about the Grumman Hellcat, not a beauty but a great performer.
From the pilots pilot's of view apparently it was the Hurricane, but from everybody else in Europe, during WWII it has to be the Spitfire. Even the Germans wanted them.
The P51 once they had Merline's in them made a great escort for the bombers as it was the only fighter with the range, but as an intercepter it could't match the performance of the Spitfires and the Hurricanes.
My vote is for the Spitfire
I read someplace that when the P47 was replaced by the P51, the pilots were not very impressed.
The '47- granted- it was big, but they loved them. It hit hard, could dive faster than the German aircraft, and it would get them home.
I think beancounters might have had a bit to do with the adoption of the P51's as they were something like 1/4 of the price of a P47 to build.
It doesnt matter how good the aircraft, firearm tank or ship is- it comes down to how quick they can be built- and how many you can churn out.
A good example of all these are the American P51 Mustang fighter, the British STEN submachine gun, the American M4 Sherman and the Russian T34 tanks, and the American Liberty ships.
All were cheap, some downright nasty, a couple were gems- but importantly, they were able to be built cheaply, quickly and in huge numbers.
It was mostly the huge numbers the allies could put into battle that beat the AXIS in WW2- not necessarily the more skilled, or better technology (that came later)
. Was also on duty one day at Richmond RAAF base when we had a P51 showing off. A full speed run (nearly 400kts) 10' above the tarmac about 50' away, and then a 7g climb at the full 60" boost. I was most definitely born 30 years too late 
.
^^^
RR Merlin 12 cly - 27 litres - carburettor - supercharged
RR Griffon 12 cyl - 36.75 litres! - carburettor -supercharged
time warp alert!
Griffon engines spitfire with contra-props,
and invasion stripes
someone got thier dates mixed up a bit
still looks awesome though!
Hawker Sea Fury
Confirmed jet kills in the early part of the Korean war
Was near unbeatable in the early days of piston engined Pylon Racing in the US (1970/80s?) (I believe it ate the Mustangs) 'til the big money hybrids appeared....
Not exactly a fighter,( norWWii, first flew in 1946) but if you judge an aircraft by the sound it makes this one is up there. Back in about 1984 I was working on a project to evaluate airtankers for fighting bushfires. We contracted Conair to bring over a converted DC6B airtanker. Didn't get a ride but had a few beers with the crew, the mechanic used to drawl "This aircraft has multi parts, it's got 144 spark plugs".
We'd put out ice cream containers in the bush, the DC6 would do a low pass and drop a load of retardent. We'd then check on the distribution and try and guess if it would put out a bush fire.
We were worried about the wind affecting the drop. On a couple of runs I was up at canopy height in a cherry picker with an anemometer, as it did the flyover. You can hear it coming, here it comes, here it comes, but nothing can prepare you for the sound it makes as it goes overhead.
This could be exactly the same aircraft. I just checked the specs it has 4 by 2,500 hp Pratt and Whitney double Wasp 18 cylinder twin row radial engines. That checks out, 2 spark plugs per cylinder = 144.
Got a taste again recently when the Grumman Albatross was flying around.
Got a taste again recently when the Grumman Albatross was flying around.
The best sound I've ever heard was from P-51D doing a low high speed pass over Albert Park Lake then going vert.
Love the looks of the Spitfire, P-40 with shark teeth and the Corsair but as an all rounder I'd give my vote to the P-51D Mustang. The easiest to scratch build as an RC model as well.
86-87, Americas cup fever at boiling point in Perth,
I was working in the rooftop air conditioning plant room of the Orchard hotel (Wellington street)
My offsider and myself were trying to track down a rumbly noise that didnt belong.
Couldnt track down the noise- so we stepped out onto the roof for a break- (a lot cooler- and usually a lot quieter out there)
Promptly found our rumbly noise.
A DC3 was overhead- pointed directly into a hefty Fremantle Doctor, and rapidly getting nowhere.
It took ages to get out of sight- and when it banked around, the tailwind made it scream past in no time at all.
sounded awesome.
note to self, must cadge a ride in one of those beauties one day.
stephen
stephen
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