The German - ME109 vs Spitfire

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by scottbombedout

Really nice video. Absolutely love the sound of a Spitfire, right up there with a P 51.

Considering that both airplanes have exactly the same engine, the should should be... the same!

[stuartj]

The P51 was ofcourse developed by USA company NAA under a British specification. It originally had an Allison engine and it was a dog. It wasnt till they stuffed the Rolls Royce Merlin, and later a Packard version of same, into the thing that they could make it work.

Currently building an Airfix 1/24 Mustang "Big Beautiful Doll" with the boy at present. Big Beautiful Doll (or a replica) is hanging from the roof of the Imperial War Museum in London.

[Jeff Higgins]

Mustangs and Spitfires served two completely different roles during the war. The Spitfire was a pure dogfighter, a defensive weapon meant to protect hearth and home. As such, it could be built light and nimble, with no consideration given to range or anything like that. The Mustang, on the other hand, was a long range "escort" fighter, meant to accompany Allied bomber flights deep into Germany. As such, it was a good deal larger than the Spitfire and had significantly more range. Both represent the best of the best in their respective roles. Both are stunningly beautiful airplanes.

The Mustang had arguably the harder assignment. Not only did it require the range to penetrate deep into Axis territory, it had to be able to mix it up with the BF109's and FW190's when it got there. It's predecessor, the P47 Thunderbolt (or "Thud"), had the range and firepower, but was akin to chasing sports cars with a truck. The German fighters were closer to the Spitfire in philosophy - light and maneuverable, a mainly defensive weapon. The Mustang, in its final form as the D model, was the answer to that. It had the range of the Thud but could dogfight with the best of them once it got there.

Cool stuff, these old warbirds. I would suggest that anyone who has never seen one fly do it soon. Reno Air Races, local air shows, wherever - you owe it to yourself.

[pavulon]

from wikipedia:

One of the earliest uses of methamphetamine was during World War II, when it was used by Axis and Allied forces.[90] The company Temmler produced methamphetamine under the trademark Pervitin and so did the German and Finnish militaries. It was also dubbed "Pilot's chocolate" or "Pilot's salt".[91] It was widely distributed across rank and division, from elite forces to tank crews and aircraft personnel, with many millions of tablets being distributed throughout the war.[92] More than 35 million three-milligram doses of Pervitin and the closely related Isophan were manufactured for the German army and air force between April and July 1940.[93] From 1942 until his death in 1945, Adolf Hitler may have been given intravenous injections of methamphetamine by his personal physician Theodor Morell. It is possible that it was used to treat Hitler's speculated Parkinson's disease, or that his Parkinson-like symptoms that developed from 1940 onwards resulted from using methamphetamine.[94] In Japan, methamphetamine was sold under the registered trademark of Philopon (ヒロポン[95] hiropon[96]) by Dainippon Pharmaceuticals (present-day Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma) for civilian and military use. As with the rest of the world at the time, the side effects of methamphetamine were not well studied, and regulation was not seen as necessary. In the 1940s and 1950s the drug was widely administered to Japanese industrial workers to increase their productivity.[97]

Methamphetamine and amphetamine are given to Allied bomber pilots to sustain them by fighting off fatigue and enhancing focus during long flights. The experiment failed because soldiers became agitated, could not channel their aggression and showed impaired judgment.[88] Rather, dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) became the drug of choice for American bomber pilots, being used on a voluntary basis by roughly half of the United States Air Force pilots during the 1991 Gulf War, a practice which came under some media scrutiny in 2003 after a mistaken attack on Canadian troops.[98]

[MauleM5-235]

Contrary to an earlier post, the P-47 did not have the range to escort bombers all the way to Berlin and back.

[cashflyer]

I've never heard of the P47 referred to as "Thud" - I have only hear the F-105 referred to by that nickname.

[pavulon]

P-47's were frequently called "Jugs".