In 1940s? I don't think it was possible.
I think that the Zero was too lighty armoured to resist the heavy guns of the German fighters.
In flight refueling was taking place before WWII.
In 1940s? I don't think it was possible.
I think that the Zero was too lighty armoured to resist the heavy guns of the German fighters.
Why should it have any? The jets were clean sheet designs which owed nothing to prop fighters, with the exception of the Supermarine Attacker which used the Spiteful's wings.
WI No P51 Mustang
then whe would be talking about the P-53 or the P-38 or theThe Mustang justifiably was the greatest fighter in history in that it enabled the defeat of the Luftwaffe and the establishment of total allied air superiority. It combined range enough to escort bombers to Berlin with a performance edge over most German fighters.
What influence would no P-51 have on the development of jet aircraft postwar?
Post war Sweden retro fitted it's twin Tail with a Jet engine, while Russia did the same to It's Yak 3's.Why should it have any? The jets were clean sheet designs which owed nothing to prop fighters, with the exception of the Supermarine Attacker which used the Spiteful's wings.
First POD needed is for NA to agree to build P40s for the British Air Ministry rather than talking them into a new fighter. Second POD is for some bright individual to say "gee, I wonder how the Mustang Is would perfrom with a Merlin up front?"
then whe would be talking about the P-53 or the P-38 or theas the best plane of WW2, The US had dozens of planes on the drawing boards, many not built due to resource shortages, No P-51 means these resources go to some other plane.
Only experimentally and only between larger multi-engined aircraft or aircraft with multiple persons (such as observors, engineers or gunners, and not in single seat fighters) and not in a viable fashion. The technology and concepts simply didn't exist for it at the time. It was damned dangerous and impractical beyond the experimental stage.In flight refueling was taking place before WWII.
the p38 had a lot of early compressability problems that made the pilots not fans
BlairWitch749 said:also it had the smallest possible cockpit of any ww2 fighter if you put it on a 6-10 escort job youd have to pry the pilot out with the jaws of life
BlairWitch749 said:it is not going to do well against an fw190 individually
then whe would be talking about the P-53 or the P-38 or theas the best plane of WW2, The US had dozens of planes on the drawing boards, many not built due to resource shortages, No P-51 means these resources go to some other plane.
Why not use the F4-U instead it had almost the same range as the P-51 with drop tanks .
As an avowed P-38 fan, I'm biased, here, but let me say: Yep. 2 possibilities: the prototype isn't wrecked on a stunt flight on delivery in '39 & the program works out the bugs before she enters combat. (This also means there are P-38s in Hawaii & P.I. 7 Dec '41, BTW.) Or, less likely, IMO, but more...interesting, re-engine her with R2800s, like the P-47. (A proposal to re-engine with Merlins, which occurred to me first, was evidently quashed by AAF.)I think the Allies would have found a replacement. The P-38 might (?) have worked. It was meant to be a long range intersceptor/fighter.
Evidently, Lindy's efforts have been overstated; as I understand it, SWPA P-38 squadrons were routinely getting longer radius missions a year earlier. Also, with modifications to the cowlings & intercoolers, there was room for more internal fuel in later versions (plus the prospect of boom tanks, or tiptanks, which AFAIK were never mooted), not to mention bigger (310USgal?) drop tanks (which IIRC 'stang can't operate).(Though apparently the extreme range of the P-38 was first achieved with the flying techniques pioneered by Charles Lindbergh--in 1944. So for a successful long range P-38K to enter service at the same time as OTL's P-51B, Lindbergh or someone has to get their hands on it in the middle of '43 to see how to nurse the engine to optimal performance.)
Ahh, that sounds like a plan: the F4U-4D was offered to USN with tiptanks, but rejected... And she could also carry a pair of 2000pdrs, or Bat PGM.Why not use the F4-U instead it had almost the same range as the P-51 with drop tanks .
Difficult, but possible. First trials were around 1919, IIRC. Not really practical for single-engine fighters, tho.In 1940s? I don't think it was possible.
And NAA's FJ-1, essentially a Jet Mustang...Why should it have any? The jets were clean sheet designs which owed nothing to prop fighters, with the exception of the Supermarine Attacker which used the Spiteful's wings.
As an avowed P-38 fan, I'm biased, here, but let me say: Yep. 2 possibilities: the prototype isn't wrecked on a stunt flight on delivery in '39 & the program works out the bugs before she enters combat. (This also means there are P-38s in Hawaii & P.I. 7 Dec '41, BTW.) Or, less likely, IMO, but more...interesting, re-engine her with R2800s, like the P-47. (A proposal to re-engine with Merlins, which occurred to me first, was evidently quashed by AAF.)
pacifichistorian said:Evidently, Lindy's efforts have been overstated; as I understand it, SWPA P-38 squadrons were routinely getting longer radius missions a year earlier. Also, with modifications to the cowlings & intercoolers, there was room for more internal fuel in later versions (plus the prospect of boom tanks, or tiptanks, which AFAIK were never mooted), not to mention bigger (310USgal?) drop tanks (which IIRC 'stang can't operate).
What do you think of the proposed K model? Allison V1710F-15 engines, generating 1,875 bhp, plus the addition of the P-47's Hamilton propellers. With extra boom tanks it's a SuperLightning!
However, in terms of the overall USAAF bomber offensive, I tend to believe the campaign strategy would have continued with the same overall effect whether or not the P-51 existed. Even if the P-38 lacked the manuverability of the P-51 and the P-47 its astronomical range, both planes were far superior to Luftwaffe heavy fighters and good enough to meet outnumbered Fw-190's and Bf-109 on more than even terms. In fact, some would argue that the P-47 was overall a better fighter than the Mustang anyway.