F4U-4 vs Tempest

[Widewing]

Last night, after a successful night of cherry picking in a C-Hog, I decided to take up an F4U-4 for my last sortie. I loaded it up with 2k of bombs and a wing full of rockets. Flying over to a low activity field, I dumped my bomb load, rocketed and strafed some acks. On the return trip, I climbed out to 25k to feel out the -4 at altitude. Nearing my field, I spot two dot near my height on an opposite heading. These turned out to be a Lanc, escorted by a Tempest. A quick check of my ammo state was not encouraging, with 16 rounds remaining. Spotting me, the Tempest heads in on a HO merge. I side-stepped his run and high yo-yo onto his 6, about d1.4 behind. I watch the Tempy ease into a high-speed climb. This was a mistake, because I closed down to d.8 in seconds, easily out-climbing the Hawker. He then steepens the climb, only exacerbating his position. Now just 400 yards behind, he hits the panic alarm and begins turning left. I follow without any sweat. Trying like hell to shake me off, he pushes his nose down and jinks like a madman. No joy there... Finally, he does a split-S and runs. However, we're still at 24k and the Corsair closes so quickly that I have to pull off throttle to avoid overshooting. Finally, at less than 200 yards, I fire my few remaining rounds. I see a few hit sprites and smoke begins. He's hit in the radiator. Down below, I see several enemy fighters and decide to disengage. The Tempy must have made it to an airfield or ditched, because I never got credit for a kill. A few more rounds would have made the difference....... Indeed, if I had more ammo, the fighters below (at 10-12k, I believe) would have had to deal with me as well.

Anyway, I was quite pleased to see the performance edge the F4U-4 has over the much vaunted Tempest at altitude. Other than the Me 262, there's nothing else that can get away from the -4 without resorting to a terminal velocity dive. Without question, if I were in a Mustang or Dora and stumbled upon an F4U-4 at Co-Alt, I'd be sweating bullets. Especially if it's near Co-E as well. Now I understand why it's perked so high.

Now, if HTC would give us the F4U-4B, with those 4 Hizookas, (just like the C-Hog) you'd have the ultimate BnZ monster.

My regards,

Widewing

[K West]

That's one way to remind, or learn, one of the a 'daft lads' that the Tempest (and Typhoon) weren't known for any kind of sterling hi alt performance.  

 Westy

[pimpjoe]

that high alt performance must be why its perked. because on the deck...la7's and p51's will eat ya alive. kinda like a 152...but even a 152 can be a monster on the deck sometimes.

[Widewing]

Originally posted by pimpjoe
that high alt performance must be why its perked. because on the deck...la7's and p51's will eat ya alive. kinda like a 152...but even a 152 can be a monster on the deck sometimes.

Well Joe, it's not just high alt performance, the F4U-4 is a monster on the deck too. It's 20 mph faster on the deck than the P-51, and about 5 mph faster than the La-7 down there too. In fact, the -4 out-performs the Mustang at just about every height, and climbs much better too. Now, the La-7 has a slight edge in speed between 2k and 5k. Above that, the -4 rules the roost.

Down in the weeds, the only fighter that has any chance of catching the -4 is the Tempest. However, it only has about a 5 mph advantage, so it had better be close when the chase starts, but if the -4 has any initial speed advantage, it'll take all day to catch it.

Clearly, HTC recognized that the F4U-4 was a superlative fighter, and easily out-classes the C-Hog, which can also dominate when flown wisely. If the -4 were perked like the C-Hog, the La-7, P-51 and Dora would become somewhat of a rarity as the -4 would soon be the ride of choice.

My regards,

Widewing

[Zigrat]

disagree. i think -r should be a 10 perk ride. this prevents it from being common but still lets it have fun and get down n dirty.

[MadBirdCZ]

Well from what you wrote I think that you just met some unexperienced Tempie hotshot.... Im affraid that if you met someone who knows how to fly it you would be dead... But im not denying that F4U-4 is a beast... It is and it deserves to be perked...

[SFRT - Frenchy]

P47M

[eddiek]

......the shame of one of our big birds running them down and hammering them with eight 50-cal's!  

[VWE001]

The 152 is a turd at low atl, I know cause I bounced 2 of em last tour in a Mossie and shot down 1 and outran the other.

[Widewing]

Originally posted by MadBirdCZ
Well from what you wrote I think that you just met some unexperienced Tempie hotshot.... Im affraid that if you met someone who knows how to fly it you would be dead... But im not denying that F4U-4 is a beast... It is and it deserves to be perked...

At 25k, it matters little what the skill level of the pilot is as long as the F4U-4 pilots knows his aircraft. With a speed advantage of nearly 40 mph, and twice the rate of climb, the Tempy is at a distinct disadvantage to the -4. It is just a case of forcing the Tempy to turn. With a considerable power advantage, breaking the Tempest down to a stall isn't especially difficult. Indeed, the Tempy had better get below 20k as fast as possible to have any chance. Add to this, the Corsair pilot can disengage at will. The Tempest is a great fighter, but a pilot has no business up above 25k. Too many of the better fighters out-perform it way up there.
Mustangs and Jugs rule the thin air. That is, if no F4U-4s show up.

As Frenchy points out, the antidote for the -4 is the P-47M or even the N model. Forget the Ta 152, it needs to get much higher to really shine. Better off with the Dora at 25k.

My regards,

Widewing

[MadBirdCZ]

Originally posted by Widewing

Mustangs and Jugs rule the thin air. That is, if no F4U-4s show up.

Hmm will have to point Orel to this thread... Maybe he would be interested in some 'tests' consisting of him driving the Tempest and 'someone else' driving the F4U-4... He is quite dedicated Temest driver...

But I agree that Tempest's performance degrades rapidly over 20k

[Hristo]

IMO, it is not right to compare a brand new F4U-4 with an old P 51D. P51H is a much closer to the -4, concerning the production dates.

As for Tempest, well, Brits used it for low alt AFAIK. They had Dweebfire XIV for high alt job, I believe.

[funkedup]

Don't compare Mk. XIV to F4U-4.  Mk. XXI is a more direct comparison in terms of production and service dates.

[SageFIN]

Well how would P-51H and Spit XXI compare to the F4U-4 then?

[MadBirdCZ]

Do not compare... Kill them All!