P-36, P-35 or Wildcat

[plan_D]

The Wildcat only had a dive, durability and armament advantage over the P-36.

[Glider]

With the speeds being almost the same that gives the P36 climb and turn. I will take the Dive, Armament and durability.

[plan_D]

The Vichy French did prove that Wildcats could be brought down with the Hawk. So, I reckon it would be on pilot skill.

[carpenoctem1689]

I dont know how the P-35 "peashooter" even could contend with the Hawk and wilcat. It may have been manouverable, but it was slow, and way too lightly armed. even the italian aircraft like the Cr.42 would dance circles around the P-35. The only place i could see the P-35 having any effect, insignificant as it would have been, would be a light attack/support aircraft, using its small bombload, and low speed for dive bombing/strafing attacks. However the US had better planes available already, so this was never realized...

[evangilder]

The P-35 was not the peashooter. The peashooter was the P-26.

The Seversky P-35 was the fore-runner to the P-47. 76 P-35s were built for the US Army, with one more being used as the basis for the prototype P-41. Sweden ordered 60 of them in an improved version (P-35A). The Army took these before the Swedes could get them. The Japanese also ordered and received 20 two-seat versions of the P-35. I am pretty sure these were the only American production aircraft used by the Japanese in WWII.

The Boeing P-26 Peashooter was America's first all metal fighter. It's first flight was on March 20, 1932. The Army ordered 136 of the P-26. 11 were sold to China and 1 to Spain. In 1941, one squadron of American P-26s were given to the Philippines. At least one P-26 shot down at least one Zero!

The P-35 had a top speed of 281 MPH, P-36 was 313 MPH and the F4F was 318 MPH. They all had a range of about 800 miles.

[carpenoctem1689]

yeah, i know..im sorry about that, my un-enlightened freind i have over, doesnt know much and took it upon himself to post..at my expense, i apologize.

[evangilder]

That being said though, the P-35 doesn't match up too well to the other 2. But I am looking only at soe minor stats. I don't know what it was like to fly, nor have I ever met anyone who flew one.

[FLYBOYJ]

There was an export version of one flying around for a few years. I heard it was great to fly, real stable airplane.

The P-35 was good for formation flying pictures, visiting 1930s airshows and WW2 movie posters......

[cheddar cheese]

I went for the P-35, because the Re-2000 was based on it and that was a great plane.

See, I can weeble in Italian planes anywhere!

[HealzDevo]

I think the Wildcat being used for the greatest part and being available in numbers.

[Dragontech64]

I have to go with the Wildcat as well, still being built and in service long after the Seversky and the Curtiss were memories.

[Dragontech64]

Originally Posted by evangilder

That being said though, the P-35 doesn't match up too well to the other 2. But I am looking only at soe minor stats. I don't know what it was like to fly, nor have I ever met anyone who flew one.

I have never met anyone who flew them either, however, Jackie Cochrane did well flying a modified, civilian version of the P-35 in air races before the war. I have heard that they were nimble, though with good stability and good pilot comfort. In wargames the P-35 beat the P-36 and I have heard more than once that the first enemy aircraft shot down by the Americans in WW2 was by a P-35, but then I have heard the same of the P-36 and SBD Dauntless, so there may be some bias on that bit of history. I would think though that the large, raised greenhouse canopy of the P-35 would give better visability than the P-36 had.

[renrich]

If you compare the P36 with the F4F3 you will find that the Wildcat had even more of a performance edge. The 3 only had 4 guns but with a huge ammo load(for that day) did not have self sealing tanks(Idoubt if the P36 had them either) and no folding wings. It was much lighter than the F4F4 and was a pretty good hot rod. The Navy pilots hated to see it degraded by all the weight.

[JF3D]

Originally Posted by renrich

If you compare the P36 with the F4F3 you will find that the Wildcat had even more of a performance edge. The 3 only had 4 guns but with a huge ammo load(for that day) did not have self sealing tanks(Idoubt if the P36 had them either) and no folding wings. It was much lighter than the F4F4 and was a pretty good hot rod. The Navy pilots hated to see it degraded by all the weight.

Navy pilots who flew both preferred the -3 over the -4 because it carried the same amount of ammo over 4 guns vice 6. They had more firing time and the -3 had a batter rate of climb over the -4. The quintesential wild cat was the FM-2 which went back to a 4 gun config and a bigger engine. Still had top hand crank the landing gear though.

[otftch]

The Wildcat because Grumman made it.
Ed