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Re: Carrier Trials for P-51s and B-25s, 1943/44
The question was not why the USN “rejected” the P-51, but the point of the trials in the first place. I suspect the key is the B-25. The USN was looking to extend the payload/range of its aircraft, and this would mean larger twin-engined types. These tests were part of the studies going into the Midway class carriers, and eventually led to the Savage (the nuclear dimension is almost irrelevant here).
Perhaps the P-51 was considered as a long-range escort for a big twin. It may just be that the USN was evaluating the USAAF’s best fighter, a sensible enough course in itself. After all, the RN had taken the Spitfire to sea.
It is sometimes forgotten that the F6F was the slowest production fighter with a 2000hp engine. This demonstrates that top speed and its associated benefits were not the only drivers to success. However, the USN must have been considering having to meet higher-performance fighters than the IJN had offered to date, and the P-51 offered one (fairly) immediate option.
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