[Boomerang]

Gentlemen:

Are there comments about the report in Don Caldwell's excellent JG 26 War Diary Vol 2 that 'The survivors claim today that the Fw 190A could outrun any Allied fighter on the deck, regardless of the official performance figures'.

This statement occurs in the section of the book dealing with JG26's role in Normandy after D Day, so it would apply e.g. to performance of the 190 A versus the Spitfire IX, not the Spitfire XIV, and similarly for the other Allied fighters.

I was a bit surprised by this statement, but presumably getting this sort of this correct was literally a matter of life or death. This forum has also taught me that assessing aircraft performance is more complex than reading simplistic tables of numbers.

On a technical level, would excellent speed on the deck relate to the radial versus in-line engine issue?

Thanks

Don W (Boomerang)