Best navalized military aircraft

Okay, so which OTL land-based military aircraft would do best navalized for carrier use?

Note:And we're not talking about land-based aircraft that were navalized IOTL, like the Spitfire.
 
Okay, so which OTL land-based military aircraft would do best navalized for carrier use?

Note:And we're not talking about land-based aircraft that were navalized IOTL, like the Spitfire.

It's going to be a pretty small pool of aircraft that were capabable of being navalised but where it wasn't done.

So, allow me to be the first to suggest the Focke-Wulf 190. Strong, rugged, great undercarriage, awesome load carrying ability. If Germany had actually had a carrier...

Focke-Wulf_Fw_190_050602-F-1234P-005.jpg
 

TFSmith121

Banned
Okay, so which OTL land-based military aircraft would do best navalized for carrier use?

Note:And we're not talking about land-based aircraft that were navalized IOTL, like the Spitfire.

P-40:
P-40.jpg


P-47:

Launchsm.jpg


Landing would have been tricky, but not impossible; a navalized variant of either certainly could have been produced.

Best,
 

Driftless

Donor
P-36/Hawk 75 - an obsolescent plane when war broke out in 1939, that still continued to punch above it's weight class for the first few years of the war wherever it was used.

The Hawk could have equally made an appearance on the deck of the USS Ranger, HMS Ark Royal, or MN Bearn. It was sturdy, nimble and somewhat adaptable.

curtiss_p-36-s.gif


.
 
A naval Mustang was flight-tested by the USN in late 1944; it was called the Seahorse. P-51D airframe 44-14017 was fitted with an arrestor hook and fitting for catapult bridles. Though the aircraft was judged suitable for carriers, the USN did not continue the program, as the Grumman F8F program was about to enter series production.

The B-25 was also tested by the Navy in 1944 (A B-25H or PBJ-1H) as a strike aircraft for the Midway-class carriers.

In both cases, U.S.S. Shangri-La (CV-38) was the trials platform.
 

CalBear

Moderator
Donor
Monthly Donor
I would second the P-47. Far from ideal, wing loading is pretty high, as is stall speed, but it is in the same general weight class as both the F6F and F4U.

The "Seahorse" must have been a joy to land with the Mustang's long forward fuselage.
 

Riain

Banned
The PoD for navalisation may be a touch early for some, but there can be only 1.

155-b-1024.jpg


The Hawker Sea Fury, downer of Mig 15s.
 

Driftless

Donor
I wonder if this fellow could have been rigged for carrier service? ....Other than the fact you'd need a real carrier to fly from.......

Dornier Do.335 "Pfiel"
01.jpg
 
IIRC,The Bell P63 Kingcobra was landed and test flown from a British aircraft carrier late in the war. Having a naval version of the aircobra/kingcobra available in 1939/40 might have a real effect on the malta convoys all those nice Italian bombers and Ju 87's for target practice!!
 
IIRC,The Bell P63 Kingcobra was landed and test flown from a British aircraft carrier late in the war. Having a naval version of the aircobra/kingcobra available in 1939/40 might have a real effect on the malta convoys all those nice Italian bombers and Ju 87's for target practice!!

Actually, there was a naval version of the P-39 - the Bell XFL-1 Airabonita.

NF81b.jpg


They only built one and it was considered a dismal failure.
 
Sea Mossie's was a profoundly scary airplane during landing. It handled poorly below 200 knots and had a vicious stall. Directional control was minimal at lower airspeeds and demanded perfect pilot technique if an engine quit. Even Eric " Winkle" Brown only landed it on a carrier a few times.

However, it's successor: the Sea Hornet was Brown's favorite single-seat fighter with vastly improved landing-on handling.
 
The "Seahorse" must have been a joy to land with the Mustang's long forward fuselage.

Didn't seem to be an issue (well, eventually at least) for the Corsair, with an even longer nose. It wasn't referred to as the "Hose Nose" for nothing :)
 
Sea Mossie's was a profoundly scary airplane during landing. It handled poorly below 200 knots and had a vicious stall.

That applied to all Mosquitos apparently. I recall it being a topic of discussion a couple of years ago when a newly restored example began flying here in NZ. There is an audible warning that sounds in the cockpit of that one at least if the throttles are reduced too much below a certain airspeed.
 
Last edited:
A navalised F-22 instead of the clusterfuck that is the F-35 comes to mind as a modern one.

And wasnt there talk of navalising Hawk T1s? (Assuming it wasnt done).
 

CalBear

Moderator
Donor
Monthly Donor
The PoD for navalisation may be a touch early for some, but there can be only 1.

155-b-1024.jpg


The Hawker Sea Fury, downer of Mig 15s.

Well, it was BUILT to be a carrier aircraft, literally from the drawing board, long before the first bolt was turned.

Hardly a established land based aircraft that was converted.
 

CalBear

Moderator
Donor
Monthly Donor
Didn't seem to be an issue (well, eventually at least) for the Corsair, with an even longer nose. It wasn't referred to as the "Hose Nose" for nothing :)

Eventually is right.

Took the FAA to figure out how to get the damned thing on deck.

Many, many things have been said about the F4U. Handy on the flight deck and a dream to land on board were never among them.
 
Top