In the TA, I took 25% gas and a belly tank, with 267 rounds per gun (6 guns). I took off climbed to 38k. Now with about 18-20% fuel I eased down to 30k and hit WEP while doing 470 mph. The P-47N stablized at 476 mph. I ran several minutes of film just in case anyone doubts it. Speed was taken from E6B.
Here's the
Fast Jug film Climb: With just over 20% gas, it was climbing at 2,450 fpm at 30k in WEP. Weight is a big factor in terms of climb and (to my surprise) speed.
Roughly same fuel load but 8 gun, 267 round load, I got 366 mph on the deck.
Now, I flew just over 12 sectors with 25% gas and a drop tank, including climbing to 38k. Fuel burn in the TA is 1.0, so in the MA you would need 50% and the belly tank to fly about half that distance. In other words, there's hardly any reason to take more than 50% gas internally.
Power-on stall was 66 mph with full flaps, 79 mph clean.
Handling wise, it is more stable than the other Jugs at all speeds, right down to stall. Turn rate and radius is about the same as the D-11, but it requires less effort to prevent wing drop at the limit.
Roll rate wasn't measured but seemed faster than its siblings. Did a full power dive from 30k and at 591 mph, I engaged auto-level and it pulled out without damage.
I tested acceleration on the deck and at 20k. My test is to stablize speed at 200 mph and then apply max power (WEP) and measure the time required to reach 300 mph. It did this in 33.71 seconds at 100 feet. That's faster than the Ki-84, P-38s, P-51s, etc. At 20k it required 29.21 seconds, which is better than the 109G-10 (at 29.28 seconds). The SpitXIV does it in 28.90, the F4U-4 in 28.59 and the Dora requires 30.78 seconds. In contrast, the Tempest needs 39.63 seconds and the La-7 requires 40.10 seconds.
With a max speed between 472 and 476 mph at 30k for the P-47N, I can see no justification for having a perk price on the Ta-152 any longer.
My regards,
Widewing
