Originally posted by TracerX
Moving from a Spit16, you should check out the following in order of strongest to weakest:
Yak9U. Very solid all around plane. Small ammo load is only drawback.
KI-84, it is not as weak as you might think.
Bf-109F-4 Turns very well with flaps, all guns in the nose, but small cannon load.
KI-61. Great turner with two 20mm cannons in the nose. Poor vertical performance.
Hurricane IIC. Missing only speed and climb. Very dangerous guns.
F6F. Tough, turns better than almost all planes it can't out run. Poor vertical performance
Spit V. Speed is only weakness.
FM2. Like the F6F only better turning and worse guns.
Some aspects here need clarification and/or elaboration.
Yak-9U: Reasonably fast, but only average acceleration. Good climb, but only average zoom climb at best. Turn rate above corner speed is G limited just like every other fighter. Between 200 mph and corner speed, it's rather agile. Below 200 mph it rapidly loses its luster, until down around 160 mph, where it's a wallowing sow. Marginal guns.
Ki-84: Excellent climb, good acceleration and a very fast rate of roll. Turning ability is respectable, but it needs the flaps out to excel in turns. The problem lies in having to get below 170 mph to begin getting flaps down. Good gun package, very good visibility. Fight in the vertical and trim manually to overcome the stiffening elevators at higher speeds.
Bf 109F-4: Excellent turn rate and radius with flaps. Adequate in vertical, but no great shakes. Will not roll to the right when slow with flaps out... Average acceleration. Marginal guns
Ki-61: This is one of those aircraft that suffered under the drag model update. I would not classify the Ki-61 as a "great turner". Not even close, especially when slow. Like the Yak, it's quite agile between corner speed and about 200 mph. However, it lacks the power to remain in that range when maneuvering. Thus, it scrubs of E and soon finds itself a hopeless, helpless wallowing hunk of scrap metal. To be successful, you need to have some altitude that you can trade for speed. You will need to have good E management skills. Terrific gun package.
Hurricane Mk.IIC: Very agile within its envelope. Its lack of speed can be a big liability against a pilot in a fast plane who refuses to turn with it. Be wary of the pilot who will not maneuver with you , but maintain an altitude and E advantage, his intent being to run you out of air speed and blast the Hurricane at his leisure. Its powerful guns can make the enemy pay for a mistake. Most Hurricanes get picked while turning with other fighters. So, you'll need good SA. Small magazines mean that you cannot spray ammo with abandon.
F6F-5: Maneuverability on par with the F4Us. Better in the vertical than all F4Us except the mighty -4 model. Suffers from a roll instability at high AoA, so be quick on the rudder and smooth on the controls. While the F6F is not a stellar climber, it isn't bad either. What it does do exceptionally well is zoom climb (or E climb, if you prefer). Co-E, no fighter can pull away from it in a zoom climb. Vertical maneuvering in a dogfight is primarily a function of potential energy. The Hellcat's great mass means it offers high levels of potential energy. I've dueled 109K-4s with the F6F, and they could not gain any edge in vertical maneuvering. Of course, if you're not a good E manager, you may waste your E and that's always a bad thing. The F6F is rough and tough, with adequate guns and plenty of ammo. It is, however, not especially fast in level flight. It's about 15 to 20 mph too slow at 22,000 feet, and perhaps 3-5 mph slow at sea level (comparing it to Navy and TAIC test data). Despite its lack of raw speed, it retains E very well.
Spitfire Mk.V: Faster than the Hurricane, but still rather slow. Adequate climb, but bleeds E rapidly if power is reduced, even just a little. Excellent maneuverability. Small cannon magazines means that you'll be running low rather quickly. I prefer the Spitfire Mk.IX, even in a furball, and this despite not being as good in turning.
FM-2: Terribly slow, but climbs well enough. Excellent turn, until it bleeds off its E, where like many of the lower powered fighters, it loses a great deal of agility. It can turn small circles, but with flaps out, they are also very slow circles. Suffers the same risks as the Hurricane, but is a far more robust fighter, able to absorb more damage, in general.
My regards,
Widewing
