Welcome to the Hardcore Husky Forums. Folks who are well-known in Cyberland and not that dumb.

Your favorite WWII era (piston engine) fighter?

2»

Comments

  • RedRocket
    RedRocket Member Posts: 1,527
    edited June 2018
    PurpleJ said:

    image

    Balls too buttcheeky.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dflea
    dflea Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 7,287 Swaye's Wigwam
    Vought F4U Corsair
    BearsWiin said:

    dflea said:

    BearsWiin said:

    Would have voted for the F8F Bearcat, but it didn't see combat in WWII. Fw190 was just the best plane, even though my personal favorite was probably the Razorback/Thunderbolt. Always liked the look of the P-38, but it couldn't turn for shit

    Dick Bong apparently thought the P-38 had a decent turn radius. So did the 40 pilots he shot down.

    The P-51 is the king of kills, with the Grumman F6F Hellcat just behind it. The Corsair only had 2140 claimed kills, but only 189 were lost in combat.

    I had a chance to fly in a P-51 years ago and didn't do it. I often look back and think about what a faggot I was.

    Dick Bong also flew against a lot of pilots who didn't have the experience that he had, and who flew planes that didn't have the armor to withstand the .50cal and 20mm he could throw at them. You could ask him, I suppose, but he'd probably tell you that most aerial combat kills are made by surprise. The P-38 just wasn't very maneuverable. Powerful and well-armed, yes, but not particularly maneuverable.

    There's a local guy who has recently started flying his Bearcat out of the Watsonville Airport and buzzing the beaches between La Selva and New Brighton. Fun to watch the aerobatics, and even more fun to hear that engine.
    No argument here.

    I've seen the Bearcat "Rare Bear" race at Reno a couple times, and that thing is a screaming monster. Nothing sounds like those engines do.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Southerndawg
    Southerndawg Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 8,347 Founders Club
    Vought F4U Corsair
    YellowSnow said:

    Southerndawg said:

    YellowSnow said:

    BearsWiin said:

    Would have voted for the F8F Bearcat, but it didn't see combat in WWII. Fw190 was just the best plane, even though my personal favorite was probably the Razorback/Thunderbolt. Always liked the look of the P-38, but it couldn't turn for shit

    Both the Hawker Sea Fury and Bearcat had greater performance than the P-51 but neither made it into the war, of course.
    The ultimate Bearcat. Incredible plane.

    https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/the-bear-is-back-136220946/
    4,500 HP? Holy phuck!!
    Rare Bear is truly an incredible airplane. I think it still holds the short distance speed record for piston engine aircraft at almost 530 mph. As @dflea describes it, it is a screaming monster.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • 89ute
    89ute Member Posts: 2,486
    I'm more of a Size King


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Pitchfork51
    Pitchfork51 Member Posts: 27,662
    King?
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Southerndawg
    Southerndawg Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 8,347 Founders Club
    Vought F4U Corsair
    89ute said:

    I'm more of a Size King


    Except for the lack of piston engines and WWII vintage, cool big plane.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZIdAsvr5Kk

    If we're changing the rules, gotta include the F22 in the cool plane category.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=totzfPN4hWQ

    Kelly Johnson's most impressive project has to be on the list too. He pulled this off with an historically small team at Lockheed and through outstanding management of subcontractors including key contributors 3M and Pratt & Whitney. Together they developed a slew of highly advanced technologies in materials and material processing, low observables, propulsion, fuels, ... etc, and they did so in an amazingly short period of time, just a few short years. These days, projects of this stature receive an overwhelming amount of artery clogging bureaucracy and risk aversion that slow their development to geological time scales. Damn shame.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye72yJyWxs8
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter