Most Effective WWII American Fighter

[Marlin]

Very Funny......

[JohnK3]

Hmmm.....

"Most Effective WWII American Fighter"

My vote would be for Mustangs flown by Tuskegee Airmen.

Lowest number of escorted planes lost to enemy interceptors/fighters. They remembered their job was to protect the bombers, not get into glory-grabbing dogfights and they refused to be led off by Axis fighters trying to draw them away from the bombers.

As JohnG said, it's the pilot that makes the difference.

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by JohnK3

Hmmm.....My vote would be for Mustangs flown by Tuskegee Airmen.

You sure won't get any argument from me on that one, John. Those men were fine airmen indeed, and a credit to their country. Their record speaks for itself.

[Marlin]

I agree and second the motion WRT the Tuskegee Airmen. Impressive record unequaled by any other group.

[polishshooter]

Yeah, the "Red Tail Devil" are an interesting read...

I LOVED the irony of "They got more training because NOBODY wanted them until they NEEDED them." Then the "establishment" says "See? Blacks need SO much more training than WHITES before they can even be sent into COMBAT...."


THEN when they run up such a GREAT record, bomber group pilots REQUEST them whenever they can, the "establishment" says "What did you expect? After all, they got more TRAINING than any of the WHITE squadrons, of COURSE they're good!"


YES training is the number one determinant of which pilot will PROBABLY win no matter WHAT the equipment, but what is interesting is that the Mustangs with the Red Tails practiced CLOSE escort, which NO fighter pilot wanted to do, they wanted to "free range" and dogfight AWAY from the bombers, BEFORE they got to them...close escort is tough, quick and dirty, dive into them, break them up, turn away, engage the next ones, many times flying THROUGH the B-17 or B-24 .50 fire...and they did it WELL.

Now not to belittle the OTHER White pilots, it ALL worked well, but to the bombers, fighter escort they could SEE was comforting, fighter escort dogfighting 10 miles AWAY they couldn't see was, to them, "non-existant."



And by the way, anybody got a measely $850K I could borrow at a good rate?


Then I'll take your picture sitting in the cockpit of my New Eastern Wildcat...

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by polishshooter

Then I'll take your picture sitting in the cockpit of my New Eastern Wildcat...

But Polish, you could have a nice P-47 for the same money. Just think, you would be the first on your block to have your very own fighter armed with 8 fifty caliber machine guns! Fit a couple of 500 pounders under the wings and those trips to Texas would be much more enjoyable. Bad store audit? Dishonest employee? No problem!

[polishshooter]

Naw, at $1.50 a round, I'd rather feed 4 .50s than 8! Gotta save money SOMEWHERE...I'll just get CLOSER and AIM better....

Plus my driveway is pretty short, that arrester hook might come in handy when I get home....



But then again, CRANKING up the landing gear every day COULD get old....Hhhmmmm....

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by polishshooter

THEN when they run up such a GREAT record, bomber group pilots REQUEST them whenever they can, the "establishment" says "What did you expect? After all, they got more TRAINING than any of the WHITE squadrons, of COURSE they're good!"

It's interesting to note, Polish, that the Army did the same thing with black troops during the Civil War. If you want to read about unbridled heroism, take a look at the failed attack on Charlston or the Battle of the Petersburg Trench, both of which involved black troops under white leadership, and both were setups to "prove" black troops were inferior.