I took this form the book "JG26- Top Guns of the Luftwaffe" Page 202-203. The author starts out stating that in early 1944, the Schlageter pilots found themselves opposing five Allied fighter types..the Spitfire, P-51B (one FG), typhoon, P-38, and the P-47. The athor goes on to say that the P-51 was an unknown quantity to this point in the war, the P-38 unimpressed them (no offence lightening fans, just what the author says), and then he went on to state this-
"when flown by an experienced pilot, the "jug" had proved able to hold its own at high altitude against any German fighter. New models had engines equiped with water injection, which boosted combat performance at all operational altitudes. Another modification, the paddle blade propeller, markedly improved low altitude climbrate. the new props were retrofitted to all P-47's in the United Kingdom as rapidly as possible. In the P-47D, the Americans had an airplane capable of driving the Luftwaffe from the skies. Thunderbolt pilots could chase their targets from the vicinityof the bomber stream all the way to the deck, confident in their mount's ability to return them, if necessary, to the security of high altitude. the only barrier to more aggresive tactics by the American fighter pilots was the Eighth Air Force's policy on close escort- and that was now about to change."
OK Im done
