CynicAl
Posts: 327
Joined: 7/27/2001 From: Brave New World Status: offline
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Tiornu: I'm afraid I don't agree. The mission where the Seafire's advantages in climb and accceleration really make it a standout is deck-launched intercept; for maintaining a standing CAP, however, more endurance is better. It translates into more flexibility for the entire force - in particular, more freedom to maneuver (since the CV has to spend less time steaming into the wind cycling fighters). That's why I'd still give the award for Best CAP Aircraft (Naval) to the F6F. Tankerace: IMO, the whole "BEST FIGHTER" thing (and the attendant "Fighter X beats Fighter Y" thing) is a bit too much like Rock-Paper-Scissors. That is to say, it depends too much on the situation to yield a definitive answer. For example: if someone were to claim that the Wildcat was the best-performing Allied fighter of WW2, that would probably stir up a bit of controversy. Maybe even argument. Nevertheless, it's the truth - below 5-8 thousand feet, anyway. Down on the deck, the FM-2 was a world-beater. Of course that changed with altitude - above 10-15 thousand feet, the FM-2's engine was gasping for air and any of the late-war types could be expected to pick it off with ease. More examples, from the Eastern Front: the Finns got great service from their Buffalos against the Soviets, and Soviet pilots in turn enjoyed considerable success flying Lend-Lease P-39s and P-40s against Luftwaffe Me109s and FW190s. So, was the Buffalo really the best fighter of the war, without anyone realizing it? Were Soviet pilots so inept they couldn't even down Buffalos - and at the same time such amazing flying geniuses that in their hands even the lowly P-39 and P-40 were transformed? Of course not. General conditions in the East played to these types' advantages, and minimized the advantages of their opponents. The late-war USN fighters would not have done well escorting four-engine bombers at 35000 feet. That wasn't the mission they were designed for, and it wasn't the regime where they gave their best performance. But as Tiornu posted, F6Fs and F4Us flown by RN and USN pilots did encounter Luftwaffe fighters on a few (5 or 6, IIRC) occasions; and the Allies do seem to have come out ahead in those engagements.
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Some days you're the windshield. Some days you're the bug.
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