Originally posted by F4UDOA
Widewing,
Was that Corkey Meyer who flew the F4U-4 for Grumman?
You wouldn't happen to have any other info on that report or interview?
I just ran into Bob McClurg from the Blacksheep squadron over the weekend at the Reading Pa WW2 Airshow. He has a new book coming out. It is very hard to get subjective aircraft opinions from those guys. The more you talk to them the more you realize the were just regular guys (very Young) who were doing a job. The Aircraft were really secondary to survival and friends.
I only have what Corky told Bodie. However, I believe Corky has written about this testing. I know that Grumman tested the F4U-4 against the F7F-1 and F8F-1. Both were far more agile (especially the F8F, which was considered more maneuverable than the Hellcat, but with staggering acceleration and climb). Like the F4U-4, the Bearcat could push 390 mph on the deck, and climb at better than 4550 fpm. Picture this monster in AH. Hellcat turning ability, faster and better climbing than the La-7, it would dominate the Tempest, easily in fact. How good was acceleration?
Grumman testing showed that when the F6F-5 and F8F-1 took off together, the F8F was passing 2,000 ft before the Hellcat had its gear up. Indeed, the F6F-5 required 800 ft of runway to get airborne, whereas the F8F-1 was up in half that distance.
Now add in the F7F, similar climb to the Bearcat, even better acceleration, and it was reportedly a better turner than the P-38L. Oh, it also managed 394 mph on the deck!. Even more daunting is the fact that the F7F-1 was armed with four Hispanos AND four .50s! The F7F-2N, which was the predominate version in service at the war's end, was a bit slower on the deck, and lost the 4 fifties. However, it was as fast as the F4U-4, Spit XIV or 109G-10 at altitude (445 mph at 26,400 ft).
Now, some will argue that neither of these fighters saw combat. However, more of them were in service with frontline squadrons than Ta 152s. Unlike Germany's situation (where the war came to them), they had to be transported with all the required logistics from the east coast to the western Pacific. Moreover, the F7F-2N WAS flying combat patrols, they just had no targets and the war ended days later. F8Fs where aboard carriers inbound to Japan. Both types were operational. Likewise, the P-51H had begun combat ops about a week before the surrender. Once again, the lack of enemy aircraft prevented them from getting blooded before Japan tossed in the towel. I'd like to see all three types added to this game some day, albeit heavily perked.
Of course, there are many others that should be developed first, especially Japanese aircraft. There's a few German aircraft missing that were relatively common, same for Soviets. A few Italian A/C are needed too. We should also have some more early-war types as well as the late-war P-47N. Personally, I'd like to see the P-63A added as it was a mid-war fighter, made in fairly large numbers and saw considerable combat.
My regards,
Widewing
