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Originally Posted by Franek Grabowski
I am afraid we are going off topic, so perhaps you can edit the thread to a separate topic?
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The late P-47s and P-38 matched or surpassed the P-51 in certain areas, but the overall sum clearly points towards the P-51.
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What areas? Certainly Thunderbolt was superior to Mustang as a ground attack aircraft but I think we do not discuss that role. |
Some members of the 4th FG assumed that the P-51B was superior, and attempted to test that theory when they tried to jump some P-47s from the 56th FG:
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27 February 1944: At 1315 a Rolls-Royce tech representative held a briefing on the P-51. Blakeslee held a discussion on flying problems with the Mustang, which had been disappointingly numerous. A plague of mechanical gremlins diminished the pilots' enthusiasm for the highly touted fighter. Jim Goodson, Willard Millikan and George Carpenter had bounced the new paddle-bladed P-47s of the 56th and frustratedly reported that
these Thunderbolts were a match for the Mustang upstairs and downstairs. This added to the air of uncertainty" (See ESCORT TO BERLIN, Garry Fry and Jeff Ethell).
The P-47M and P-47N had better performance, and both types probably would have been available sooner without the presence of the Merlin-engined P-51. What I mean is that the USAAF would have seriously pressured Republic to make those modifications.
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Originally Posted by Franek Grabowski
RAF rejected T-bolt as an escort aircraft and send it overseas instead.
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The RAF used the Thunderbolt to escort their Liberators in the Far East. They tangled with Japanese fighters occasionally.