which one maneuvers better ?
Maneuverability:
1 a : to perform a movement in military or naval strategy in order to secure an advantage
b : to make a series of changes in direction and position for a specific purpose
2 : to use stratagems
That would depend on the pilot skill... The standard spitfire would have better turning maneuverability and the clipped wing spit would have better rolling maneuverability. Both have an advantage in one mean of changing direction (standard spit has advantage in turn rate and clipped wing spit has advantage in roll rate).
In a fight based on maneuverability i would give the edge to the standard spitfire. It can turn sharper and has a lower stall speed. In a fight based on tactics however, I would give the edge to the clipped wing spit (Maneuvering vs Energy Fighting).
In aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing. The faster an aircraft flies, the more lift is produced by each unit area of wing, so a smaller wing can carry the same weight in level flight, operating at a higher wing loading. Correspondingly, the landing and take-off speeds will be higher. The high wing loading also decreases maneuverability.
When discussing turn rate, that is why wing loading (which others have discussed before) is so important. The P38 may be a very large aircraft, but in turn it has very large wings. Not to mention its flap design further increases its wing size at no additional cost of weight. This allows a larger P38 to out maneuver a smaller P51.
Change for thought:
The wing loading of a spit v is roughly 120
The wing loading of a C47 is roughly 123
The wing loading of a B-17 is roughly 190
The wing loading of a 109 is roughly 210
