Originally posted by BlckMgk
Considering I've never flown a real plane, and my only experience has been AH. My thought process is as follows
In The MA: P-51 Just because there are so many assorted contacts including other 51's !.
In real life I'd probably take the P-47, it seems to out perform the LW planes in at least 1-2 aspects, i.e. fighting a 109, roll and it can turn inside most of them, except for the F4 and g2, I'd then use the p-47's speed and High speed manueverability. Vs a 190 it'll be close but I'd still choose the p-47 over the 51.
So in the end the P-47... she just looks so powerful, and who wouldn't want 8x.50cals on the wing to blast an enemy if ya get a chance..
well said and id agree.
but to be fair ill give my "for and against" thoughts like these reasons:
1) the P51 in the role you have described is to go down and straffe after the escort duties are complete.The P51 was a good fast fighter but its worst feature was the ease with which the radiator was hit and even a very small object (a single round of small caliber even) would cause catastrofic failure/damage to the radiator. It wasnt suited therefore to ground attack role unless it had an adaption like a trop filter to help protect its soft underside. Im not sure they did this, just guessing.If you had this conversion it would undoubtedly affect your high alt performance and so make the escort task more dangerous. You cant win with that one.
2) Distance to target would play a major factor though, Say the target was at the edge of the P47s range but within the others then this is where i would choose the aircraft with the best range which would be the P51 I believe? I realise the P38 used certain fuel burn techniques to increase range in the PAC theatre but they didnt do so well in Europe apparently, I think on tv once it said it had something to do with the different types of weather over Europe which affected its superchargers and so its performance or something.Id discount it on those grounds and......
3) ive read several times German Pilots saying they prefered to engage a P38 than any other types of american fighter and I tend to believe they werent just saying it to annoy some flight sim nerds some 60 years into the future
4) The P47 was well known to be one of the most rugged fighters of the war and could sustain severe battle damage compared to other types.If its my hide i want it surrounded with as much protection as i can get!!
5) the late versions of the P47s if flown well ( stress this again! IF FLOWN WELL
) could i think be a match for most of the late LW prop aircraft it was likely to meet.So at worst you have a sort of even chance and you can always use that superior dive to evade if it gets too scarey.
6) P38s having the extra safety of a twin engines is a big plus. However it applies more over vast stretches of open sea like the PAC theatre than over a Land based war where the two forces are engaged in a battle line in close proximity. And it just wasnt as manouverable as the P51 or P47 in several areas at least not until it got power ailerons.Also you have to use that crazy YOKE!!! ewwww
7) P47s 8x.50 cals cannot go without another mention!!
so there you have it!. Id choose the P47.
If it was based on which id like to fly and think is best through a personal choice of the 3 types then the jug is the most American looking beast of an aircraft and you Americans should be more proud of this than the P51!! nothing else has that American over extravance look just like your huge cadillac cars or enormous buildings etc. It is a totally different concept in aircraft design compared to all European type planes of the time and you went against all the rules and built a HUGE heavy fighter that dwarfed the oppersitions designs yet you maintained an amazingly manouverable weapon. American aircraft designer: "we cant build what?
whoopee nazies!! we'll build em twice as big again!" heheh.
It did most of the dirty work for you (if not all of it in Europe early on) and took the brunt of the ground attack work toward the end of the War.The P51 has a MERLIN engine which as a Brit im proud of but the P47 had an all american design. For me if the hurricane was all British made and the spitfire was British made but with an American engine that made it suddenly more capable, Id say hats off to the Americans for making a good engine but it would invalidate the Spit for me as an all British aircraft and so the hurri would win. (just example 
) Funny my favourite British aircraft is the 'Fairey Swordfish', favourite LW type is the 190 and fav US type is the P47, I think i got a thing for radial engined planes!
good fun post
