Fastest Prop Fighter WWII

[Hank Taylor]

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This may surprise many but the P51- Spitfire - Corsair were not. The Jug P47J at 505mph . The P-47 was not only fast but could handle any mission and the chances of coming home were a heck of a lot better then any other plane. Built like a tank and could not only dish out tremendous firepower but could take a hell of a beating and get you home.

 

Hank

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[John Z. Goriup]

Nice shot, Hank.

 

During final test flights of the P-47 and in pre-production practice high-speed bombing runs, test pilots filed what were at the time interpreted as unprofessional and vague reports, not very helpful to engineering development….until calmer minds finally realized that the plane was actually on the verge of or momentarily actually exceeding the speed of sound.

 

JZG

[stuny]

Terrific.

[Hank Taylor]

Nice shot, Hank.

 

During final test flights of the P-47 and in pre-production practice high-speed bombing runs, test pilots filed what were at the time interpreted as unprofessional and vague reports, not very helpful to engineering development….until calmer minds finally realized that the plane was actually on the verge of or momentarily actually exceeding the speed of sound.

 

JZG

 

Thanks John for your informative response. I had a neighbor next door when I lived in Mission Viejo who was an ace with 8 credited air kills and flew the the P40, P51 P38 but his all time favorite was the thunderbolt because he knew it was the best; no question every pilot had his own opinion. I gust there will always be others who will disagree, but for me I too would pick the Jug.

Best regards

Hank

[robert_parker]

I thought I was going to see a picture of a P51 !!

 

Looking at the apparent size and weight of the aircraft, you wouldn't have immediately thought that this was the fastest of them all - I can imagine it must have been very exciting at 550 mph !!

[Photoskeptic]

A friend of mine was an ace in WWII flying a P38. He also flew during the Korean "War". He always said that the P38 taught him the value of having two engines which was reflected in his choice of personal conveyance, a Beechcraft Bonanza.

He also had an interesting experience with a ME 262, which he related buzzed him so quickly he never even realized it was in the vicinity. He said the pilot waggled his wings at him and disappeared into the sky.

[Hank Taylor]

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I thought I was going to see a picture of a P51 !!

 

Looking at the apparent size and weight of the aircraft, you wouldn't have immediately thought that this was the fastest of them all - I can imagine it must have been very exciting at 550 mph !!

Robert when the P-47 first arrived in England it had a 3 blade prop and the RAF did simulated dog fights with their Spitfires and were not impressed. Later the new 4 blade was installed and that made a difference. As most will tell you, the Spitfire was a pilot's plane excellent flight characteristic and a beauty to behold. The Jug on the other hand was ugly only a mother could love or a fighter pilot who flew her.

Hank

[Hank Taylor]

A friend of mine was an ace in WWII flying a P38. He also flew during the Korean "War". He always said that the P38 taught him the value of having two engines which was reflected in his choice of personal conveyance, a Beechcraft Bonanza.

He also had an interesting experience with a ME 262, which he related buzzed him so quickly he never even realized it was in the vicinity. He said the pilot waggled his wings at him and disappeared into the sky.

 

Thanks for the reply John, I also loved the P-38. My boss when I was with Colgate Palmolive was an instructor with the P-38 and loved the fact it had counter rotating props which made it one of the best handling planes to fly.

Hank

[250swb]

This may surprise many but the P51- Spitfire - Corsair were not. The Jug P47J at 505mph .

 

Hank

 

Just to be picky the P47J was an experimental prototype though, and it never went into service. The production P47D pictured was actually slower than the Mustang. All the same nice photo

 

 

Steve

[Hank Taylor]

Just to be picky the P47J was an experimental prototype though, and it never went into service. The production P47D pictured was actually slower than the Mustang. All the same nice photo

 

You are quite right however when put to emergency power the P47 was faster then the P51 . The main point I believe the P-47 was a better plane here is why.

Usually I think of the Mustang as the best fighter of WWII, but this account of a pilot who flew both the Jug and the Mustang was quite interesting.

 

P-47 THUNDERBOLT

 

This is a summary of his 12 points (italics are quotes from the article):

 

1. Air-cooled radial engine was more reliable and could take hits and keep on running, even with inoperable cylinders.

 

2. The Jug's air-cooled engine did not have the Achilles' heel that the Mustang did: A small-caliber hit on an aluminum coolant line could down a Mustang in minutes, even if the fighter was otherwise undamaged.

 

3. The P-47's big turbocharger enabled it to fly higher than the P-51 (over 40,000 feet).

 

4. The Jug could outdive the Mustang.

 

5. The Thunderbolt had eight .50's. The Mustang had six. That's 33 1/3% more firepower.

 

6. Later model Jug's could carry 2,500 lbs of bombs.

 

7. The P-47 was larger and much stronger, in case of a crash landing. The Jug was built like a machined tool. Mustangs had a lot of sheet metal stamped out parts, and were more lightweight in construction.

 

8. The Thunderbolt had no "scoop" under the bottom, so it handled ditchings and gear up landings much better.

 

9. The Thunderbolt had a much larger, roomier cockpit. You were comfortable in the big Jug cockpit. In my Mustang, my shoulders almost scraped the sides on the right and left. I was cramped in with all my "gear." I could not move around like I could in the P-47.

 

10. The Mustang went from 1,150-horse power Allison engines to the Packard built Rolls-Royce Merlin engine that had 1,590 hp. The Thunderbolt started out with a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney engine, and ended up with 2,800 war emergency hp with water injection.

 

11. The Jug had a very wide landing gear, which was especially valued when landing on rough fields.

 

12. The Jug's record against all opposing aircraft is remarkable. The ratio of kills to losses was unmistakably a winner. Thunderbolt pilots destroyed a total of 11,874 enemy aircraft, over 9,000 trains, and 160,000 vehicles.

 

But, the big factor, above all else, it saved pilots in great numbers. Ask most fighter pilots who flew both in active combat and they will tell you that, given a choice to fly either one in combat, it would be the Juggernaut hands down.

 

Now one last thing: the P-51 Mustang was a superb fighter. I am fully aware of that! But, considering that I flew about every kind of mission the Pentagon could dream up, and a few they didn't know about, I will rate that 8 tons of destruction first as long as I live, and no one can change my mind. I was there. Simply walk up to one of them and see for yourself.

 

 

I guess that the fact that the Mustang is more aesthetically appealing than the Thunderbolt probably has something to do with its continuing popularity.

 

Hank

[tobey bilek]

The Navy preferred air cooled also.

 

I had a peak inside a P47 cockpit at the Kalamazoo air museum and it is indeed sized generously, something like 30/50% wider than others.

 

The ruggedness is why they were used for ground attack missions.

[pauledell]

Hank,

 

A fine picture and much interesting information. I have seen a Mustang flying around Fort Wayne where the owner is based and it is impressive but the only Thunderbolts I see are the A10 Warthogs presently flown by the 122 ANG wing base in Fort Wayne.

 

Paul

[Hank Taylor]

Just to be picky the P47J was an experimental prototype though, and it never went into service. The production P47D pictured was actually slower than the Mustang. All the same nice photo

 

 

Steve

 

Steve as I said you were right but here is info that does show at emergency setting the P-47 was faster:The Dornier DO-335 was capable of a max speed of 474mph at 21,000 feet but this was with the MW 50 boost. Without the boost top speed was 426mph.

 

The Focke-Wulf Ta-152 could reach speeds of 472 mph at 41,000 feet using the GM-1 (nitrous oxide) boost. However, without the boost top speed was in the 440 mph range at around 34,000 feet.

 

The P-47M could attain 470-480mph at 28,500 feet in full military power. Running the engine at WEP (War Emergency Power) provided an over-boost, and pilots of the 56th fighter group reported obtaining 500mph in level flight on numerous occasions.

 

It's a fairly difficult question to answer. If you're talking of level flight at 20,000ft+ altitude with no boost of any sort, just 100% military power then several planes were faster than the DO-335. With artificial boosting methods or running the engine past military power, the P-47M and P-47J were the fastest.

Thanks Hank:)

[Bill W]

Thanks for the interesting information Hank. I am a real WWII buff. My dad was a B17 pilot out of Italy. He never talked a lot about his experiences and I only have the briefest notes on what he did.

[Hank Taylor]

Thanks for the interesting information Hank. I am a real WWII buff. My dad was a B17 pilot out of Italy. He never talked a lot about his experiences and I only have the briefest notes on what he did.

 

Thanks Bill, there were a lot of great stories to tell during the II WW but few who were actually there wanted to.

 

Hank

[Jeff Bird]

The 'Jug" was a great plane and yours is a great photo of one.