Me 109, Spitfire, Zero or Mustang

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Originally Posted by CurzonDax

So please don't slap me, beat me, or make me fly in a French Bomber.
:{)

LOL

[Gnomey]

Originally Posted by CurzonDax

I happen to be very fond of Spits (the first WWII plane I saw in person), have flown in a Lanc (at an airshow in Texas more years ago than I care to recollect), but sadly have never seen a Me-109 in flight, just the Spanish versions. These and all WWII aircraft changed history and I will never diminsh that fact.

That is OK. Lucky person to have flown in a Lanc! Lanc will not be happy for sure.

Originally Posted by DerAdlerIstGelandet

LOL

[crowdpleaser]

damn guys i will finish u all in a dogfight with my zero, its light, fast, well armed but 1 minor is when u shoot me ill surely be dead cause, i havent got any armor, so i must relei(?) on perfect handling its shoot or be shot!

greeting

crowdpleaser

[CurzonDax]

Originally Posted by plan_D

*slap* By the way, I've got lanc flying a French bomber to your house ...I'm sure you'll both enjoy one another's company while in it. And then we'll blast you out of the sky with Spitfires ... who's filming it?

Now are we going to make this very Hollywood and use Me-108s to sub for 109's or the Hispano versions of the 109. Then of course, like in all Battle of Britain movies, you use EVERY version of the Spit, including bubble canopy ones. Lastly I will intecept with EVERY version of the Corsair like in Baa Baa Black Sheep, even the French 20 mm armed ones. Now there's irony, a French Corsair shooting down a French bomber. Also you repeat every scene like a million times from different angles or use VERY expensive special effects, with the wrong versions of the planes, to make it look very cool, you know like Pearl Harbor. Lastly you get Stephen Spielberg to direct because everyone knows a Moth or a Ford Tri-Plane can manuever like a F-105 evading a SAM.

:{)

PS- BTW, I happen to love all of the movies and series mentioned above.

[Parmigiano]

.. and I'll fly a French LeO, but instead of the tail gunner I will get Michel Platini: you dare to come close with your Corsair/Spit/FW and he'll shoot you down with a penalty kick.

[CurzonDax]

Originally Posted by Parmigiano

.. and I'll fly a French LeO, but instead of the tail gunner I will get Michel Platini: you dare to come close with your Corsair/Spit/FW and he'll shoot you down with a penalty kick.

Damned soccer hooligans.

:{)

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Originally Posted by crowdpleaser

damn guys i will finish u all in a dogfight with my zero, its light, fast, well armed but 1 minor is when u shoot me ill surely be dead cause, i havent got any armor, so i must relei(?) on perfect handling its shoot or be shot!

greeting

crowdpleaser

If you really think so. The Zero was not very well armed and she did not handle very well over 275 mph. She was a myth! Maybe on that flight sim of yours she might be alright.

[evangilder]

Yep. You would do okay in a turning dogfight at 250, above that, you are going to be meat.

[TigerSnake]

I leave this stuff to the 'Down to earth'' Pragmatic' EXPERTS!!!

EX-RN CAPT. Eric "Winkle" Brown is a living legend among the global test-pilot fraternity, with unrivalled experience since 1939 in an incredible variety of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft. He graduated from carrier-based fighter operations and deck-landing trials to test-flying at the Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down in 1943, and became Aero Flight CO and Chief Naval Pilot at Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) Farnborough until 1949.

In late 1945 he led a British technical commission, which entailed evaluating and ferrying 55 types of German aircraft. Apart from new jet fighters and bombers such as the Arado Ar 234, Heinkel He 162, Messerschmitt Me 262 and Me 163, they included even more exotic aircraft, like the tandem-twin Dornier Do 335 and the prone-pilot Berlin B9 and Horten Ho IV tailless research glider.

He was a highly experienced Combat pilot and a big fan of Grumman A/C

He was also very highly regarded by Grumman and the USN as a test pilot. It was he who, after the Americans scrubbed the Corsair as a FLEET CARRIER based A/C, was able to train service pilots to operate them from ESCORT CARRIERS!!!

Captain Brown was asked at a Test Pilot's Conference in 2002 which aircraft did he regard as being the best FIGHTER of WWII...

His answer: The Zero until 1943 - then little to choose between the FW 190D, P51D and Griffon engined Spitfires.

END OF STORY! (pity he wasn't able to test the Yak3!!)

[CurzonDax]

Still the tactic Du Jur was to dive away from the Zero, not turn with it.

:{)

[evangilder]

Welcome aboard, TigerSnake, but I think you will find that that is the opinion of one man. I know a couple of guys that fly a Zero today, regularly, who would disagree.

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

And Eric Brown is a pack of lies anyhow.

[Glider]

DerAlder. We've had this before but because one man may be wrong about something or you disagree about what he says doesn't make him a liar.
Personally I would agree that the Zero wasn't the best fighter in 1942/3. But if you look at what it was up against in its theater of operations then its a fair opinion. People will argue that the Wildcat performed better which is also a valid opinion.
Test pilots are not fools or they wouldn't last long, neither do they suffer fools gladly. Tiger is right when he says that Eric Brown is widely respected in that community, and I for one wouldn't disagree with the views of his peers.

[plan_D]

I would disagree with his opinion though. While I may not have flown the Zero, or any other plane for that matter, it seems to me that the Zeke is shrouded in myth that came from the initial shock of the entire Japanese success and has ran through as skimming references to the U.S being beaten in the first six months of war.

The fact of the matter is, the Zeke had range, climb and low-speed turning. In a dogfight if the Zeke's opponent fought on the vertical, the Zeke didn't stand a chance because it wasn't able to turn well above 250 MPH - and it was a slow plane. A few Spitfire Vb out in the CBI in 1941 - used properly, would have soon shattered the myth of the Zeke.

[FLYBOYJ]

1.43 to 1 kill ratio of the USAAF between Jan 42 and Nov 42. Although this includes the Oscar, but it says somethig out the Zero invinicability myth...