Corsair vs FW190 - Aircraft of World War II

pinsog · 02-10-2009, 05:55 PM

Capt. Eric M Brown in "Duels in the sky" pretty much trashes the F4U Corsair(seems to love the Hellcat for some reason). He hates it. He states that a FW190 would eat its lunch, yet, in seperate tests conducted by the US, the Corsair outperformed not only the Fw190, but also the P51 Mustang up to 24000 ft. It outmanuevered both of them significantly and was faster than either up to around 20,000 to 24,000 ft. It could also outmanuever the Hellcat, a fact which suprised me until I did some further research.

Do most of you agree with Brown or the US military tests? Which is the better fighter, the Corsair of the 190?

lesofprimus · 02-10-2009, 06:14 PM

Well, first of all, u get a split decision here with the "validity" of Mr. Browns highly opinionated decisions concerning the vast armada of planes he flew....

I myself follow the line that my Grandfather took of him, which is "He is a severely biased man"....

As for ur comparison, gotta get more specific pal... Which version of the F4U vs. which version of the Fw 190???

If ur comparing the Dora-9 or even the D-11/-13 with the late War F4U-4 and we got us a hot topic, thats been discussed many times before....

pinsog · 02-10-2009, 06:58 PM

I began to think he might be an idiot after he placed the Swordfish above the Avenger as the greatest torpedo plane of the war.

lesofprimus · 02-10-2009, 07:01 PM

Do a search of the forum pin for some of the what ifs u might have... Theres alot of reading and debates on this forum...

MikeGazdik · 02-10-2009, 07:45 PM

The problem with Mr. Brown is he expresses his opinion as fact. I believe he is biased, but that is ok. I vote for the home team more often than not, I have no problem that he does too. But he doesn't explain that his biases affect the opinion he expresses. I read that book too and much of what he said, both previously and since, I have found information disagreeing with what he stated.

HellToupee · 02-10-2009, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinsog

I began to think he might be an idiot after he placed the Swordfish above the Avenger as the greatest torpedo plane of the war.

Well Tbh swordfish was actually very good at a torp bomber and anti sub duties.

SoD Stitch · 02-10-2009, 09:17 PM

This is a toughie; as much as I like the 190, I gotta go with the F4U on this one. I'm sure it doesn't have the instantaneous rolling ability of the 190, but I'll bet it could turn with it, especially down low.

Catch22 · 02-10-2009, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoD Stitch

This is a toughie; as much as I like the 190, I gotta go with the F4U on this one. I'm sure it doesn't have the instantaneous rolling ability of the 190, but I'll bet it could turn with it, especially down low.

No, it didn't have the same roll ability, but it was damn close. The Corsair had an excellent roll rate.

Watanbe · 02-11-2009, 05:41 AM

Corsair was hands down the best US fighter of the war in my opinion. There is so much talk of the P51 while I think the Corsair was a better aircraft! It had the range the P51 did!

As for how it would fair against the late model FW190's I would love to hear peoples opinions! It would appear quite a close match!

davebender · 02-11-2009, 10:05 AM

I agree. The U.S. Army Air Corps should have adopted the F4U during the fall of 1942 rather then the P-47. The problem plagued P-38 gets cancelled along with the obsolescent P-40. There is no need for the P-51. A long range variant of the F4U will fill the bomber escort role.

timshatz · 02-11-2009, 10:26 AM

Anybody know the wing loading on the 51, F4U, F6 and FW190? It might help towards the arguement about manuverability. Also, the power/weight ratio?

Good place to start.

drgondog · 02-11-2009, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davebender

I agree. The U.S. Army Air Corps should have adopted the F4U during the fall of 1942 rather then the P-47. The problem plagued P-38 gets cancelled along with the obsolescent P-40. There is no need for the P-51. A long range variant of the F4U will fill the bomber escort role.

There are two problems with this scenario from a practical standpoint. First the P-47 was designed from the beginning as a high performance/High altitude fighter and was deployed to operational units in USAAF well before the F4U. For the USAAF mission, the F4U had to be redesigned to strip the carrier gear, design and incorporate a turbo supercharger vesion to replace the P-47 - and have the foresight to make that decision early in 1940 - shortly after the F4U first flew.

It would be easier for the Army to say 'aha' and test an early P-51 with a Merlin Engine. The Mustang had far fewer critical performance/reliability issues than any of the P-38/P-47 and F4U variants. So why not pick the Mustang (USAAF).

Last - and back to the topic. The F4U performed well against the Mustang and vice versa - the Mustang performed very well against the Fw 190.

The question of the day, until the Fw 190D-9 enters combat, is how well does the F4U perform against the Me 109 at 28,000 feet (escort heights) and is there a material difference between the F4u-1 and the Fw 190 A5,6 and 7 during the late 1943/early 1944 timeframe at 22-28000 feet?

davebender · 02-11-2009, 12:03 PM

Quote:

For the USAAF mission, the F4U had to be redesigned to strip the carrier gear, design and incorporate a turbo supercharger vesion to replace the P-47

Why? The P-51 performed just fine with a normal supercharger.

Catch22 · 02-11-2009, 12:08 PM

The Merlin was better at high altitudes than the Corsair's P&W.

davebender · 02-11-2009, 01:19 PM

Copy the RR supercharger installation and put it on the P&W R2800 engine. That's a lot easier then trying to make a compact and reliable turbocharger system for a WWII era fighter aircraft.

02-10-2009, 05:55 PM	#1
pinsog Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 32	Corsair vs FW190 Capt. Eric M Brown in "Duels in the sky" pretty much trashes the F4U Corsair(seems to love the Hellcat for some reason). He hates it. He states that a FW190 would eat its lunch, yet, in seperate tests conducted by the US, the Corsair outperformed not only the Fw190, but also the P51 Mustang up to 24000 ft. It outmanuevered both of them significantly and was faster than either up to around 20,000 to 24,000 ft. It could also outmanuever the Hellcat, a fact which suprised me until I did some further research. Do most of you agree with Brown or the US military tests? Which is the better fighter, the Corsair of the 190?

02-10-2009, 06:14 PM	#2
lesofprimus Minister of Whoopass Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Long Island Native in Mississippi Posts: 17,494	Well, first of all, u get a split decision here with the "validity" of Mr. Browns highly opinionated decisions concerning the vast armada of planes he flew.... I myself follow the line that my Grandfather took of him, which is "He is a severely biased man".... As for ur comparison, gotta get more specific pal... Which version of the F4U vs. which version of the Fw 190??? If ur comparing the Dora-9 or even the D-11/-13 with the late War F4U-4 and we got us a hot topic, thats been discussed many times before.... __________________ My IL2 Video Tribute to My Grandfather: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtzN5RuNNJk

02-10-2009, 07:01 PM	#4
lesofprimus Minister of Whoopass Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Long Island Native in Mississippi Posts: 17,494	Do a search of the forum pin for some of the what ifs u might have... Theres alot of reading and debates on this forum... __________________ My IL2 Video Tribute to My Grandfather: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtzN5RuNNJk

02-11-2009, 05:41 AM	#9
Watanbe Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Adelaide Posts: 510	Corsair was hands down the best US fighter of the war in my opinion. There is so much talk of the P51 while I think the Corsair was a better aircraft! It had the range the P51 did! As for how it would fair against the late model FW190's I would love to hear peoples opinions! It would appear quite a close match! __________________

02-11-2009, 10:05 AM	#10
davebender Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 610	Corsair was hands down the best US fighter I agree. The U.S. Army Air Corps should have adopted the F4U during the fall of 1942 rather then the P-47. The problem plagued P-38 gets cancelled along with the obsolescent P-40. There is no need for the P-51. A long range variant of the F4U will fill the bomber escort role.

02-10-2009, 06:58 PM	#3
pinsog Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 32	I began to think he might be an idiot after he placed the Swordfish above the Avenger as the greatest torpedo plane of the war.

02-10-2009, 07:45 PM	#5
MikeGazdik Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Ohio Posts: 240	The problem with Mr. Brown is he expresses his opinion as fact. I believe he is biased, but that is ok. I vote for the home team more often than not, I have no problem that he does too. But he doesn't explain that his biases affect the opinion he expresses. I read that book too and much of what he said, both previously and since, I have found information disagreeing with what he stated.

02-10-2009, 09:17 PM	#7
SoD Stitch Banned Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Pine Mountain Lake, California Posts: 981	This is a toughie; as much as I like the 190, I gotta go with the F4U on this one. I'm sure it doesn't have the instantaneous rolling ability of the 190, but I'll bet it could turn with it, especially down low.

02-11-2009, 10:26 AM	#11
timshatz Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Phila, Pa Posts: 3,446	Anybody know the wing loading on the 51, F4U, F6 and FW190? It might help towards the arguement about manuverability. Also, the power/weight ratio? Good place to start.

02-11-2009, 12:08 PM	#14
Catch22 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Posts: 4,293	The Merlin was better at high altitudes than the Corsair's P&W. __________________

02-11-2009, 01:19 PM	#15
davebender Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 610	Merlin was better at high altitudes Copy the RR supercharger installation and put it on the P&W R2800 engine. That's a lot easier then trying to make a compact and reliable turbocharger system for a WWII era fighter aircraft.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode