Von_Frag
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Joined: 5/7/2002
From: Dallas, Texas
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by crsutton
[B]Pretty much any 1st generation fighter in the Pacific suffered poor performance at higher altitudes. I don't think any had superchargers. P 40, Zero, Wildcat all really suffered at higher altitudes. Of course the heavier American planes could dive down fast. I suppose the game designers figured that all other things being equal. The performance issue between these planes just sort negated each other. Except for the pitiful P-39 which just could not hack it over 10,000 ft. [/B][/QUOTE]
The Allison engine was designed to use mechanical turbochargers ala P-38. ( I get turbo and supercharger mixed up ) That combo was effective. The P-40 had a single stage blower where the Merlin and DB-601 had 2 stage blowers. NACA castrated the P-39 by recommending the removal of the supercharger. The F4F actually did have a 2 stage blower, but even with that 1200 hp was not enough to make it effective at altitude. In fact the ground crews at Cactus wired the blowers open relegating engine life to about 15 hours. I'm not sure if the Zero had any help in that regard. Later FM-2's with 1350 hp Cyclones were thought to be equal with the A6M5.
A note on the P-38. There was a proposed version called the 38K that had an entirely re-designed oil intercooler ( which showed up on the L model ) and larger diameter props. This bad boy had a climb rate of 4000 fpm and a top speed of 450 mph at 20,000 ft in 1943!!!!! The armaments board vetoed it because they did not want to disrupt production. Let me see if I can find a link to the info. I believe the info on the FM-2 is on the same site.
Did anyone watch lost squadron on History channel last night? Glacier Girl took to the air in October of 2002, a beautiful sight to behold.
Here is that FM-2 aar I alluded to earlier. Note, mispellings are not mine.
The FM-2 vs. the Zero
On board the Gambier Bay, Ensign Joe McGraw of Composite Squadron 10 (VC-10) raced for his FM-2 Wildcat as the battleships Yamato, Nagato, Kongo and Haruna and heavy cruisers Kumano, Suzuya, Chikuma, Tone, Haguro and Chokai opened fire with 8-inch to 18-inch guns. His story is excerpted from Barret Tillman's Wildcat Aces of World War 2, which is reviewed later in this issue:
"I got off as the last fighter, I think, as I had to dodge a big hole on the forward port corner of the deck just as Capt. Viewig was throwing the ship into a turn."
Armed with small bombs, 0.50 caliber machine guns and 5-inch rockets, the Wildcats and Avengers attacked the Japanese ships, many FM-2 pilots making strafing runs on the bridges of the battleships. Planes from Taffy 1 and 2 plus those from land bases joined the attack, the carriers of Taffy 1 and 2 landing and rearming the planes as quickly as possible. On McGraw's third launch, his flight was vectored to attack a number of Val dive bombers and Zero fighters. He describes his FM-2's combat with a well-flown A6M5 Zero:
"The leader of the Zeros was good and he hit our division leader in the engine, putting him in the water (he was later picked up). As I had pulled up so hard and steep, I lost my wingman, but avoided the Zeros as they dove by." McGraw described how he got in position to shot down the Zero leader's wingman, and described what happened next:
"That either surprised or made the Zero lead really mad, because he did the tightest turn I've ever seen to try to get on me. Bit I also pulled up into a tight climbing left turn into him, and he missed his shot behind me. The FM-2's tight turn must have surprised him because I got around quickly on him into a head-on, and put a fast burst into his engine. That really made him mad, because he quickly pulled into me in what I thought was an attempt to ram. I had also pulled up hard to avoid him; it was a close thing."
McGraw last saw the Zero smoking heavily and diving for the clouds. He continued:
"I had the feeling he was an old hand and had expected the old Wildcats to be easy prey, so he was surprised and let his temper get the better of him – he probably didn't know about the much-improved FM-2 version. I don't know what happened to him, but with his engine shot up I don't suppose he made it back to base." By dark, McGraw had flown 11 hours in three missions and had to land aboard Manila Bay, his own ship, Gambier Bay, having been sunk by gun fire.
This battle also saw the first organized use of suicide planes, or kamikaze, by the Japanese, with several striking the little escort carriers. The CVEs proved much tougher than anyone had imagined, only the St. Lo being sunk when the kamikaze went through her flight deck and detonated the bombs and torpedoes in her hanger.
and here is a link to the archives, great site for aviation buffs.
http://rwebs.net/dispatch/art_idx.asp
Von Frag
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