Best Prop Fighter I

[Jack Cook]

Yes, Bill the P-61 flew in the CBI, PTO & ETO had a few aces and a very good combat record.

P-61A 6th NFS SWP 1945

[wwiiavfan]

I hope you guys don't mind if I throw in my un-qualified opinion.
It would seem that most, if not all, fighter pilots would have but a few brief moments actually in a position to shoot down another plane. So, it would stand to reason that no matter how long you hold down the trigger, a scant few rounds are actually going to hit. That being the case, I'd want those few rounds to be the hardest-hitting rounds possible, i.e., the cannons. As much as I like the Jug, Corsair, and 'stang, if they were all lined up on a field with a P-38, cannon equipped Spit or 109, and I knew it would be an air-air battle, I'd jump in one of the latter before the former.

Maybe someone more knowledgable can jump in here and say whether having a greater quantity of guns (i.e. Jug or Hurri) would be as effective?

I just grateful there were brave enough gents to jump in them in the first place!

[Former Member]

(some of you guys would have a hard time with the instructions in a roll of toilet paper)

Bill...my wife tells me that all the time when she sees me cussing like a sailer while trying to put together some cheap chinese made book cabinet or shelving unit (without reading the instructions first)!

John

[Mudge]

WAIT JUST A MINUTE....We're GUYS here. Guys don't need no stinking INSTRUCTIONS and we don't have to ASK DIRECTIONS.

Mudge the manly-man

[Ollie]

The DAP built Mark 21 refers to an Aussie built Beaufighter.

[Bill Greenwood]

Then DAP must refer to Down Under Pilots or D U Patriots. I guess I've got a lot to learn about them there Bullflingers. I have a vague impression of a bulky twin radial engine job that's none too nimble. I guess it could pulverize a 109, the question is could it catch one? As for toilet paper, I have just been informed that some people unroll it from the outside; it does seem simpler not having to deal with that cardboard part.I'll put a " new topic" tonight on what I consider the next asset category.

[dhfan]

I've no idea how nimble it was, but despite the weight of armament I guess the Beaufighter was a bit outclassed by many of the others mentioned here. Maximum speed was only around 320 mph.

As far as I know, neither Mossie or the Beau ever had .50 machine guns, only .303s.

Try a Mosquito FB.VI with 4 x 20mm cannon, 4 x .303 machine guns, 2 x 500lb bombs behind the cannon and 8 x 60lb rockets.

(I know Bill said he'd talk about underwing armament later but I like the Mosquito )

[oz rb fan]

bill
dap stands for department of aircraft production(later became government aircraft factory) it was set up for building beauforts and beaufighters i must of forgotten to mention that sorry,yes the beau wasn't very nimble but it could hit very hard' and as i mentioned most in both theater's were used for anti shipping and ground pounding.
dh fan the aussie built beaufighter's had 4x 50's in stead of 6x303 (as mentioned in stewert wilson's ) they could also use american rocket's .
so as pure fighters i stand by either the nik2 george or ki84 frank
paul

[mjanovec]

But I do agree that this package was necessary to qualify for a hard-hitting fighter by the end of the war -- 6 or even 8 .50s were a relatively light punch by then.

I respectfully disagree. After watching footage of the damage the P-47 could inflict on ground targets with those 8 .50s, there was nothing lightweight about it's firepower. One thing to keep in mind is how rapidly those .50s could fire.

Also, recall that the F-86 Sabre kept those .50s for a very successful combat record in Korea. They may not have been as destructive as a cannon, but they did just fine on their own.

[Tom Crawford]

Well this string has accomplished a lot. I'm as confused as ever......I'll take a J-3 Cub with a double barrel twelve gauge any day.....

[Bill Greenwood]

At 320mph for a Beau, it seems like the only way it would score a 109 or Fw was if it parked facing them in the same hanger! I think the Mosi did use .303s. My thought was to rate as dogfighters, with ground attack only as a minor asset down the road, but we sort of got into fighterbombers. Anyway some good info, some good humor has been brought out. Please see the index for the next category.