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The Northrop A-17, a development of the Northrop Gamma 2F was a two seat, single engine, monoplane, attack bomber built in 1935 by the Northrop Corporation for the US Army Air Corps.

The Northrop Gamma 2F was an attack bomber derivative of the Northrop Gamma transport aircraft, developed in parallel with the Northrop Gamma 2C, (of which one was built, designated the YA-13 and XA-16. The Gamma 2F had a revised tail, cockpit canopy and wing flaps compared with the Gamma 2C, and was fitted with a new semi-retractable undercarriage. It was delivered to the United States Army Air Corps for tests on 6 October 1934, and after modification, including fitting with a conventional fixed undercarriage, was accepted by the Air Corps. 110 aircraft were ordered as the A-17 in 1935.

The resulting A-17 was equipped with perforated flaps, had fixed landing gear with partial fairing. It was fitted with an internal fuselage bomb bay that carried fragmentation bombs and well as external bomb racks.

Northrop developed a new undercarriage, this time completely retractable, producing the A-17A variant. This version was again purchased by the Army Air Corps, who placed orders for 129 aircraft. By the time these were delivered, the Northrop Corporation had been taken over by Douglas Aircraft Company, export models being known as the Douglas Model 8.

The A-17 entered service in February 1936, and proved a reliable and popular aircraft. However, in 1938, the Air Corps decided that attack aircraft should be multi-engined, rendering the A-17 surplus to requirements.

In 1939, 93 ex-USAAC aircraft were purchased by France and given new engines. Not having been delivered before the fall of France, sixty one were taken over by the British Purchasing Commission for the RAF and given the name Nomad. They were assessed as being obsolete and sent to South Africa for use as trainers. The remaining thirty two aircraft from the French order were transferred to Canada, where they were also used as advanced trainers.

The last remaining A-17s, used as utility aircraft, were retired from USAAF service in 1944.

The Republic of China Air Force received a mixed shipment of forty-five Northrop Gamma 2E and A-17 aircraft, along with two C-19 Alpha. The Gamma 2E and A-17 were used extensively in combat to attack Japanese shipping lines at Shanghai by the 1st and 2nd Groups, before being retired from front line service to training duties.

General characteristics

• Crew: two (pilot and gunner)
• Length: 32 ft (9.8 m)
• Wingspan: 47 ft 9 in (14.6 m)
• Height: 11 feet 10 1/2 inches (3.61 m)
• Empty weight: 4,874 lb (2,210 Kg)
• Loaded weight: 7,447 lb (3,377 Kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 2,420 lb (1,100 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-1535-13 Twin Wasp Jr double row radial air-cooled engine, 750 hp (560 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 206 mph (332 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 170 mph (274 km/h)
• Range: 700 miles (1,127 km)
• Service ceiling 19,400 ft (5,900 m)

Armament

• Four 0.3 in. fixed forward machine guns
• One 0.3 in trainable rear machine gun
• Internal bay for bombs
• External wing bomb racks (total bomb load 544 kg (1200 lb)

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The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was an carrier-based dive bomber aircraft produced for the United States Navy during World War II. It replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless in US Navy service. Despite its size, the SB2C was much faster than the SBD it replaced. Crew nicknames for the aircraft included the Big-Tailed Beast (or just the derogatory Beast), Two-Cee and Son-of-a-Bitch 2nd Class (after its designation and partly because of its reputation for having difficult handling characteristics).

Although production problems persisted throughout its combat service, pilots soon changed their minds about the potency of the Helldiver.

The Helldiver was developed to replace the Douglas SBD Dauntless; it was a much larger aircraft able to operate from the latest aircraft carriers of the time and carry a considerable array of armament and featured an internal bomb bay that reduced drag when carrying heavy ordnance. Saddled with demanding requirements set forth by both the U.S. Marines and United States Army Air Forces, the manufacturer incorporated features of a "multi-role" aircraft into the design.

The Model XB2C-1 prototype initially suffered teething problems connected to its R-2600 engine and 3-bladed propeller; further concerns included structural weaknesses, poor handling, directional instability and bad stall characteristics. The first prototype flew in December 1940. After the prototype crashed in February 1941, Curtiss was asked to rebuild it with revised structures and shapes. This second prototype version was also lost when in December 1941 the Helldiver pulled out of a dive and the starboard wing and tailplane failed catastrophically.

Large-scale production had already been ordered on 29 November 1940, but a large number of modifications were specified for the production model. The size of the fin and rudder was enlarged, fuel capacity was increased, self-sealing fuel tanks added and the fixed armament was doubled to four 0.50 caliber machine guns in the wings, compared with the prototype's two cowling guns. The SB2C-2 was built with larger fuel tanks, improving its range considerably.

The program suffered so many delays that the Grumman TBF Avenger entered service before the Helldiver, even though the Avenger had begun its development two years later. Nevertheless, production tempo accelerated with production at Columbus, Ohio and two Canadian factories: Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. (Canada) which produced a total of 300, designated XSBF-l, SBF-l, SBF-3 and SBF-4E, while Canadian Car and Foundry built 894 examples designated SBW-l, SBW-3, SBW-4, SBW-4E and SBW-5, these models being respectively equivalent to their Curtiss-built counterparts. A total of 7140 SB2Cs were produced in World War II.

General characteristics

• Crew: Two, pilot and radio operator/gunner
• Length: 36 ft 9 in (11.2 m)
• Wingspan: 49 ft 9 in (15.2 m)
• Height: 14 ft 9 in (4.5 m)
• Wing area: 422 ft² (39.2 m²)
• Empty weight: 10,114 lb (4,588 kg)
• Loaded weight: 13,674 lb (6,202 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 16,800 lb (7,600 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Wright R-2600 Cyclone radial engine, 1,900 hp (1,400 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 294 mph (473 km/h)
• Range: 1,200 miles (1,900 km)
• Service ceiling 25,000 ft (7,600 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,750 ft/min (8.9 m/s)

Armament

• 2 x 20 mm cannon in the wings
• 2 x 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns in the rear cockpit
• Internal bay: 2,000 lb (900 kg) of bombs or 1x Mark 13-2 torpedo
• Underwing hardpoints: 500 lb (225 kg) of bombs each

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The Chance Vought F4U Corsair was a carrier-capable fighter aircraft that saw service in World War II and the Korean War (and in isolated local conflicts). Goodyear-built Corsairs were designated FG and Brewster-built aircraft F3A. The Corsair served in some air forces until the 1960s, following the longest production run of any piston-engined fighter in U.S. history (1942–1952). Some Japanese pilots regarded it as the most formidable American fighter of World War II. The U.S. Navy counted an 11:1 kill ratio for every F4U shot down.

In February 1938, the U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics published two requests for proposal, for twin-engined and single-engined fighters. For the single-engined fighter the Navy requested the maximum obtainable speed, and a stalling speed not higher than 70 mph (113 km/h). A range of 1,000 miles (1,610 km) was specified. The fighter had to carry four guns, or three with increased ammunition. Provision had to be made for anti-aircraft bombs to be carried in the wing. These small bombs would, according to thinking in the 1930s, be dropped on enemy aircraft formations.

In June 1938, the U.S. Navy signed a contract for a prototype, the XF4U-1, BuNo 1443. The Corsair was designed by Rex Beisel and Igor Sikorsky. After mock-up inspection in February 1939, construction of the XF4U-1 powered by an XR-2800-4 engine, rated at 1,805 hp (1,350 kW) went ahead quickly. The first flight of the XF4U-1 was made on May 29, 1940, with Lyman A. Bullard, Jr. at the controls. The maiden flight was eventful, although a hurried landing was made when the elevator trim tabs failed because of flutter.

On October 1, the XF4U-1 made a flight from Stratford to Hartford with an average ground speed of 405 mph (650 km/h), the first U.S. fighter to fly faster than 400 mph (640 km/h). The XF4U-1 also had an excellent rate of climb. On the other hand, the testing of the XF4U-1 revealed some requirements would have to be rewritten. In full-power dive tests, speeds of up to 550 mph (885 km/h) were achieved, not without damage to the control surfaces and access panels, and, in one case, an engine failure. The spin recovery standards also had to be relaxed, as recovery from the required two-turn spin proved impossible without recourse to an anti-spin chute. The problems clearly meant delays in getting the type into production.

Reports coming back from the war in Europe indicated that an armament of two .30 caliber (7.62 mm) (mounted in engine cowling) and two .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns (one in each outer wing panel) was insufficient, and so when the U.S. Navy asked for production proposals in November 1940, heavier armament was specified. The Navy entered into a letter of intent on March 3, 1941, received Vought's production proposal on April 2 and awarded Vought a contract for 584 F4U-1 fighters on June 30 of the same year. It was a remarkable achievement for Vought; compared to land-based counterparts, carrier aircraft are "overbuilt" and heavier, to withstand the extreme stress of deck landings.

The F4U incorporated the largest engine available at the time, the 2,000 hp (1,490 kW) 18-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial. To extract as much power as possible, a relatively large, 13 ft, 4 inch (4.06 m) Hamilton Standard Hydromatic three-blade propeller was used. To accommodate a folding wing, the designers considered retracting the main landing gear rearward, but for the chord of wing selected, it was difficult to fit undercarriage struts long enough to provide sufficient clearance for the large propeller. Their solution was an inverted gull wing, a similar layout to the one used by Germany's Stuka dive bomber, considerably shortening the length of the main gear legs The anhedral of the wing's center-section also permitted the wing and fuselage to meet at the optimum angle for minimizing drag, without the need for wing root fairings. Offsetting these benefits, the bent wing was more difficult to construct and would weigh more than a straight one.

F4U-1A

General characteristics

• Crew: 1 pilot
• Length: 33 ft 4 in (10.1 m)
• Wingspan: 41 ft 0 in (12.5 m)
• Height: 16 ft 1 in (4.90 m)
• Wing area: 314 ft² (29.17 m²)
• Empty weight: 8,982 lb (4,073 kg)
• Loaded weight: 14,000 lb (6,300 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-8W radial engine, 2,250 hp (1,678 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 425 mph (369 knots, 684 km/h)
• Range: 1,015 mi (882 nm, 1,634 km)
• Service ceiling 36,900 ft (11,200 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,180 ft/min (16.2 m/s)

Armament

• Guns: ** 4× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, 400 rounds per gun
  • 2× 0.50 in Browning M2 machine guns, 375 rounds per gun
• Rockets: 4× 5 in (12.7 cm) High Velocity Aircraft Rockets and/or
• Bombs: 2,000 lb (910 kg)

F4U-4

General characteristics

• Crew: 1 pilot
• Length: 33 ft 8 in (10.2 m)
• Wingspan: 41 ft 0 in (12.5 m)
• Height: 14 ft 9 in (4.50 m)
• Empty weight: 9,205 lb (4,174 kg)
• Loaded weight: 14,669 lb (6,653 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-18W radial engine, 2,450 hp (1,827 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 446 mph (388 knots, 718 km/h)
• Range: 1,005 mi (873 nm, 1,618 km)
• Service ceiling 41,500 ft (12,649 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,870 ft/min (19.7 m/s)

Armament

• Guns:
   
  • 6× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, 400 rounds per gun or
  • 4× 20 mm AN/M2 cannons
• Rockets: 8× 5 in (12.7 cm) high velocity aircraft rockets and/or
• Bombs: 4,000 lb (1820 kg)

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The Grumman F4F Wildcat was an American carrier-based fighter that began service with both the United States Navy and the Fleet Air Arm in 1940. Although first used in combat by the British in Europe, the Wildcat would become the primary carrier fighter for the first year and a half of the United States Navy's involvement in World War II in the Pacific Theater. The FM Wildcat, built by General Motors, remained in service throughout the remainder of the war on escort carriers, where larger and heavier fighters could not be used.

The F4F-1 began as an unbuilt biplane design entered in a U.S. Navy competition, being beaten by the monoplane Brewster F2A-1 design. This resulted in its complete remodeling into the monoplane XF4F-2. This was evaluated against the Buffalo, but although the XF4F-2 was marginally faster, the Buffalo was otherwise superior and was chosen for production.^[1]. Grumman's prototype was then rebuilt as the XF4F-3 with new wings and tail and a supercharged version of the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 "Twin Wasp" radial engine. Testing of the XF4F-3 led to an order for F4F-3 production models, the first of which was completed in February 1940. France also ordered the type, powered by Wright R-1820 "Cyclone 9" radial engines, but France fell before they could be delivered and they ultimately went to the British Royal Navy, which named them "Martlet I"s. Both the British aircraft and the U.S. Navy's F4F-3 with an armament of four .50 caliber Browning machine guns, joined active units in 1940.

All versions of the Wildcat used fuselage mounted, hand-cranked landing gear with a relatively narrow track, making landing accidents, where the landing gear were not fully locked into place, distressingly common. This unusual main landing gear design was originally designed by Grover Loening, for his firm's aircraft in the 1920s, and as Leroy Grumman had worked for Loening before starting up his own company, it was readily licensed to Grumman and was used earlier on all of Grumman's fighter biplanes (from the FF-1 through the F3F) of the 1930s and on the J2F Duck amphibious biplane.

The name "Wildcat" was officially adopted on 1 October 1941.

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 28 ft 9 in (8.8 m)
• Wingspan: 38 ft 0 in (11.6 m)
• Height: 9 ft 2.5 in (2.8 m)
• Wing area: 260 ft² (24.2 m²)
• Empty weight: 5,760 lb (2,610 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 7,950 lb (3,610 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-1830-86 double-row radial engine, 1,200 hp (900 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 320 mph (290 knots, 515 km/h)
• Range: 770 mi (670 nm, 1,240 km)
• Service ceiling 39,500 ft (12,000 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,950 ft/min (9.9 m/s)

Armament

• Guns: 6 x 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, 240 rounds/gun
• Bombs: 2 × 100 lb (45 kg) bombs and/or 2 × 58 gal. droptanks

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The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a United States Navy carrier based fighter aircraft developed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat. Although the F6F bore a family resemblance to the Wildcat, it was a completely new design powered by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800. Some tagged it as the "Wildcat's big brother". The Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair were the primary USN fighters during the second half of World War II.

The Hellcat proved to be the most successful aircraft in naval history, destroying 5,171 aircraft while in service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps (5,163 in the Pacific and eight more during the invasion of Southern France), plus 52 with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during World War II. Postwar, the Hellcat aircraft was systematically phased out of front line service, but finally retired as late as 1954 as a night-fighter in composite squadrons.

Grumman was working on a successor to the F4F Wildcat well before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. While the F4F was a capable fighter, early air battles revealed the Japanese A6M Zero was more maneuverable and possessed a better rate of climb than the F4F. The F4F did have some advantages over the Zero. Wildcats were able to absorb a tremendous amount of damage compared to the Zero, and had better armament. The F4F was also much faster in a dive than the Zero, an advantage Wildcat pilots used frequently to elude attacking Zeros.

These advantages carried over into the F6F and, combined with other improvements, created a fighter that outclassed the Zero almost completely. The contract for the prototype XF6F-1 was signed on 30 June 1941. The F6F was originally to be given the Wright R-2600 Cyclone engine of 1,700 hp (1,268 kW), but based on combat experience of F4F Wildcat and Zero encounters, Grumman decided to further improve their new fighter to overcome the Mitsubishi Zero's dominance in the Pacific theater. ^[1]Grumman installed the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) estimating a 25% increase in performance would result.^[1] The first Cyclone-equipped prototype (02981) flew on 26 June 1942 while the first Double Wasp-equipped aircraft, the XF6F-3 (02982) had its first flight on 30 July 1942.

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 33 ft 7 in (10.24 m)
• Wingspan: 42 ft 10 in (13.06 m)
• Height: 13 ft 1 in (3.99 m)
• Wing area: 334 ft² (31 m²)
• Airfoil: NACA 23015.6 mod root; NACA 23009 tip
• Empty weight: 9,238 lb (4,190 kg)
• Loaded weight: 12,598 lb (5,714 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 15,415 lb (6,990 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10W "Double Wasp" two-row radial engine with a two-speed two-stage supercharger, 2,000 hp (1,491 kW ^[33])
• Propellers: 3-blade Hamilton Standard
  • Propeller diameter: 13 ft 1 in (4.0 m)
• * Fuel capacity: 250 U.S. gal (946 L) internal; up to 3x 150 U.S. gal (568 L) external drop tanks
• Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0211
• Drag area: 7.05 ft² (0.65 m²)
• Aspect ratio: 5.5

Performance

• Maximum speed: 330 knots (380 mph, 610 km/h)
• Stall speed: 73 knots (84 mph, 135 km/h)
• Combat radius: 820 nm (945 mi, 1,520 km)
• Ferry range: 1,330 nm (1,530 mi, 2,460 km)
• Service ceiling 37,300 ft (11,370 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,500 ft/min (17.8 m/s)
• Wing loading: 37.7 lb/ft² (184 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (260 W/kg)
• Time-to-altitude: 7.7 min to 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
• Lift-to-drag ratio: 12.2
• Takeoff roll: 799 ft (244 m)

Armament

• Guns:
   
  • either 6× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, with 400 rounds/gun, (All F6F-3, and most F6F-5)
  • or 2× 20 mm cannon, with 225 rounds/gun
  • and 4× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns with 400 rounds/gun (F6F-5N only)
• Rockets:
   
  • 6 × 5 in (127 mm) HVARs or
  • 2 × 11¾ in (298 mm) Tiny Tim unguided rockets
• Bombs: up to 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) full load, including:
  • Bombs or Torpedoes:(Fuselage mounted on centreline rack)
    • 1 × 2,000 lb (910 kg) bomb or
    • 1 × Mk.13-3 torpedo;
  • Underwing bombs: (F6F-5 had two additional weapons racks either side of fuselage on wing centre-section)
    • 1 × 1,000 lb (450 kg) or
    • 2 × 250 lb (110 kg)
    • 6 × 100 lb (45 kg)

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The Grumman F7F Tigercat was the first twin-engined fighter aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. Designed for the new Midway-class aircraft carriers, the aircraft were too large to operate from earlier decks. Although delivered to United States Marine Corps (USMC) combat units before the end of World War II, the Tigercat did not see combat service in that war. Most F7Fs ended up in land-based service, as attack aircraft or night fighters; only the later F7F-4N was certified for carrier service. They saw service in the Korean War and were withdrawn from service in 1954.

The contract for the prototype XF7F-1 was signed on 30 June 1941. Grumman's aim was to produce a plane that out-performed and out-gunned all existing fighter aircraft, and that had an auxiliary ground attack capability. Armament was heavy: four 20 mm cannons and four 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, as well as underwing and under-fuselage hardpoints for bombs and torpedoes. Performance met expectations too; the F7F Tigercat was one of the highest-performance piston-engined fighters, with a top speed well in excess of the US Navy's single-engined aircraft—71 mph faster than a F6F Hellcat at sea level. The opinion of Capt. Fred M. Trapnell, one of the Navy's premier test pilots, was that "It's the best damn fighter I've ever flown." The Grumman F7F was originally named the "Tomcat" but this name was rejected as it was considered at the time too suggestive. The name would much later be used for the Grumman F-14.

All this was bought at the cost of heavy weight and a high landing speed, but what caused the aircraft to fail carrier suitability trials was poor directional stability with only one engine operational, as well as problems with the tail-hook design. Therefore, the initial production series was only used from land bases by the USMC, as night fighters with APS-6 radar. At first, they were single-seater F7F-1N aircraft, but after the 34th production aircraft, a second seat for a radar operator was added; these planes were designated F7F-2N.

The next version produced, the F7F-3 was modified to correct the issues that caused the aircraft to fail carrier acceptance and this version was again trialled on the USS Shangri-La (CV-38). A wing failure on a heavy landing caused the failure of this carrier qualification too. F7F-3 aircraft were produced in day fighter, night fighter and photo-reconnaissance versions.

A final version, the F7F-4N, was extensively rebuilt for additional strength and stability, and did pass carrier qualification, but only 12 were built.

General characteristics

• Crew: 2 (pilot, radar operator)
• Length: 45 ft 4 in (13.8 m)
• Wingspan: 51 ft 6 in (15.7 m)
• Height: 16 ft 7 in (5.1 m)
• Wing area: 455 ft² (42.3 m²)
• Empty weight: 16,270 lb (7,380 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 25,720 lb (11,670 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W "Double Wasp" radial engines, 2,100 hp (1,600 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 400 knots (460 mph, 740 km/h)
• Range: 1,200 mi (1,000 nm, 1,900 km)
• Service ceiling 40,400 ft (12,300 m)
• Rate of climb: 4,530 ft/min ()

Armament

• Guns:
   
  • 4× 20 mm (0.787 in) M2 cannon
  • 4× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun
• Bombs:
   
  • 2× 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs under wings or
  • 1× torpedo under fuselage

Avionics

• AN/APS-19 radar

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The Grumman F8F Bearcat (affectionately called "Bear") was an American single-engine naval fighter aircraft of the 1940s. It went on to serve into the mid-20th Century in the United States Navy and other air forces, and would be the company's final piston engined fighter aircraft.

Designed for the interceptor fighter role, the design team's aim was to create the smallest, lightest fighter that could fit around the Pratt & Whitney R2800 engine (carried over from the F6F Hellcat). Compared to its predecessor, the Bearcat was 20% lighter, had a 30% better rate of climb and was 50 mph (80 km/h) faster. It was also considerably smaller in size, as it was designed to be operated from small escort aircraft carriers, something the big Hellcat rarely did. Thus the F8F Bearcat was intended mainly as a replacement for the obsolete FM2 Wildcat, still the mainstay fighter of the many wartime escort carriers.

In comparison with the Vought F4U Corsair, the initial Bearcat (F8F-1) was marginally slower but was more maneuverable and climbed faster. Its huge 12' 4" Aero Products four-bladed propeller required a long landing gear (made even longer by the mid-fuselage position of the wing), giving the Bearcat an easily-recognized, "nose-up" profile. For the first time in a production Navy fighter, an all-bubble canopy offered 360-degree visibility.

The Bearcat concept was inspired by an evaluation in early 1943 of a captured Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter in England by Grumman test pilots and engineering staff. After flying the Fw 190, Grumman test pilot Bob Hall wrote a report he directed to President Leroy Grumman who personally laid out the specifications for Design 58, the successor to the Hellcat, closely emulating the design philosophy that had spawned the German fighter, although no part of the German fighter was copied. The F8F Bearcat would emanate from Design 58 with the primary missions of outperforming highly maneuverable late-model Japanese fighter aircraft such as the A6M-5 Zero, and defending the fleet against incoming airborne suicide (kamikaze) attacks.

Unfortunately the target weight (derived from the land-based German aircraft) was essentially impossible to achieve as the aircraft had to be made stronger for aircraft carrier landings. As a weight-saving concept the designers came up with detachable wings; if the g-force exceeded 7.5g then the tips would snap off, leaving a perfectly flyable aircraft still capable of carrier landing. Unfortunately while this worked very well under carefully controlled conditions in flight and on the ground, in the field, where aircraft were repetitively stressed by landing on carriers and since the wings were slightly less carefully made in the factories, wings tended to break off while the vehicle bombed targets, and the aircraft would then crash. This was replaced with an explosives system to blow the wings off together, which also worked well, however this ended when a ground technician died due to accidental triggering. In the end the wings were reinforced and the aircraft limited to 7.5g.

Grumman's project pilot for the Bearcat series was legendary test pilot Corky Meyer, who also had this role on the F6F Hellcat, F7F Tigercat, F9F Panther, XF10F-1 Jaguar, and the F11F Tiger series. Meyer was head of Grumman Flight Operations at Edwards Air Force Base from 1952–56.

Another famous name is associated with the type; when asked his favorite aircraft to fly, Neil Armstrong's immediate and unequivocal answer was "Bearcat". Armstrong had flown the type in 1950 during his Navy Advanced Training, field qualifying in it at age 19.

The F8F prototypes were ordered in November 1943 and first flew on 21 August 1944, a mere nine months later. The first production aircraft was delivered in February 1945 and the first squadron was operational by 21 May, but World War II was over before the aircraft saw combat service.

Postwar, the F8F became a major U.S. Navy fighter, equipping 24 fighter squadrons. Often mentioned as one of the best- (if not the best) handling piston-engine fighters ever built, its performance was sufficient to outperform many early jets. Its capability for aerobatic performance is illustrated by its selection for the Navy's elite Blue Angels in 1946, who flew it until the team was temporarily disbanded in 1950 (during the Korean War). The Grumman F9F Panther and McDonnell F2H Banshee largely replaced the Bearcat in USN service, as their performance and other advantages eclipsed piston-engine fighters.

An unmodified production F8F-1 set a 1946 time-to-climb record (after a run of 115 feet) of 10,000 feet in 94 seconds. The Bearcat held this record for ten years until it was broken by a modern jet fighter (which could still not match the Bearcat's short takeoff distance).

Other nations that flew the Bearcat included the French Air Force and Royal Thai Air Force. French aircraft saw combat service in the First Indochina War as fighter-bombers in the early 1950s. Nearly 70 surviving aircraft passed to the Vietnam Air Force upon its creation in 1955.

General characteristics

• Crew: 1 pilot
• Length: 28 ft 3 in (8.6 m)
• Wingspan: 35 ft 10 in (10.9 m)
• Height: 13 ft 10 in (4.2 m)
• Wing area: ft² (m²)
• Empty weight: 7,070 lb (3,210 kg)
• Loaded weight: 9,600 lb (4,400 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 12,947 lb (5,870 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W "Double Wasp" two-row radial engine, 2,100 hp (1,567 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 421 mph (366 knots, 678 km/h)
• Range: 1,105 mi (1,780 km)
• Service ceiling 38,700 ft (11,800 m)
• Rate of climb: 4,570 ft/min (23.2 m/s)
• Power/mass: 0.22 hp/lb (360 W/kg)

Armament

• Guns: 4× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns
• Rockets: 4× 5 in (127 mm) unguided rockets
• Bombs: 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs

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The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. The aircraft was used in a number of different roles, including dive bombing, level bombing, ground strafing, photo reconnaissance missions, and extensively as a long-range escort fighter when equipped with droppable fuel tanks under its wings. The P-38 was used most extensively and successfully in the Pacific Theater of Operations and the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, where it was flown by the American pilots with the highest number of aerial victories to this date. America's top ace Richard Bong earned 40 victories (in a Lightning he called Marge), and Thomas McGuire (in Pudgy) scored 38. In the South West Pacific theater, it was a primary long-range fighter of United States Army Air Forces until the appearance of large numbers of P-51D Mustangs toward the end of the war.

The P-38 was the only American fighter aircraft in active production throughout the duration of American involvement in the war, from Pearl Harbor to VJ Day.

Lockheed designed the P-38 in response to the 1937 United States Army Air Corps Circular Proposal X-608 request for a high-altitude interceptor aircraft having "the tactical mission of interception and attack of hostile aircraft at high altitude". Specifications called for a maximum airspeed of at least 360 miles per hour (580 km/h) at altitude, and a climb to 20,000 feet (6100 m) within 6 minutes; the toughest set of specifications USAAC had presented to that date. The Bell P-39 Airacobra and the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk were designed to the same requirement, as was the unbuilt Vultee XP1015.

The Lockheed design team, under the direction of Hall Hibbard and “Kelly” Johnson, considered a range of configurations. All options considered by Lockheed were twin-engined, as it was judged that no single available engine was powerful enough to be able to meet the USAAC's requirements. (Engine development during World War II subsequently saw an approximate doubling of fighter engine horsepower, allowing many later single engine designs to achieve 400+ mph.)

The eventual design was relatively unique in comparison to existing fighter aircraft with only the Fokker G.1 and later Northrop P-61 Black Widow having a similar planform. The Lockheed team chose twin booms to accommodate the tail assembly, engines and turbo superchargers, with a central nacelle for the pilot and armament. The nose was designed to carry two Browning .50" (12.7 mm) machine guns with 200 rounds per gun, two .30" (7.62 mm) Brownings with 500 rounds per gun, and an Oldsmobile 37 mm cannon with 15 rounds. Clustering all the armament in the nose was unlike most other U.S. aircraft, which used wing-mounted guns where the trajectories were set up to crisscross at one or more points in a "convergence zone". The nose-mounted guns did not suffer from having their useful ranges limited by pattern convergence, meaning good pilots could shoot much farther. A Lightning could reliably hit targets at any range up to 1,000 yards (910 m), whereas other fighters had to pick a single convergence range between 100 and 250 yards (230 m). The clustered weapons had a "buzz saw" effect on the receiving end, making the aircraft effective for strafing as well.

The Lockheed design incorporated tricycle undercarriage and a bubble canopy, and featured two 1000 hp (746 kW) turbo-supercharged 12-cylinder Allison V-1710 engines fitted with counter-rotating propellers to eliminate the effect of engine torque, with the superchargers positioned behind the engines in the booms. It was the first American fighter to make extensive use of stainless steel and smooth, flush-riveted butt-jointed aluminum skin panels. It was also the first fighter to fly faster than 400 mph (640 km/h).

General characteristics

• Crew: One
• Length: 37 ft 10 in (11.53 m)
• Wingspan: 52 ft 0 in (15.85 m)
• Height: 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m)
• Wing area: 327.5 ft² (30.43 m²)
• Airfoil: NACA 23016 / NACA 4412
• Empty weight: 12,780 lb (5,800 kg)
• Loaded weight: 17,500 lb (7,940 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 21,600 lb (9,798 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Allison V-1710-111/113 liquid-cooled turbosupercharged V-12, 1,725 hp (As certified by Lockheed and Allison Industries) (1,194 kW) each
• Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0268

• Drag area: 8.78 ft² (0.82 m²)
• Aspect ratio: 8.26

Performance

• Maximum speed: 443mph War Emergency Power-1725 hp@64inHG(28,000ft)(Courtesy of Lockheed-Martin Corp.)

414mph on Military Power-1425hp@ 54inHG (667 km/h at 7,620 m)

• Stall speed: 105 mph (170 km/h)
• Range: 1,300 mi combat, over 3,300 mi (5,300 km) ferry (1,770 km / 3,640 km)
• Service ceiling 44,000 ft (13,400 m)
• Rate of climb: maximum: 4,750 ft/min (1,448 m/min)
• Wing loading: 53.4 lb/ft² (260.9 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (0.27 kW/kg)

Turn Radius: At Eglin Field in 1942, the P-38 was said to have an "equal or tighter radius of turn from 15,000 ft (4,600 m) on up" against the P-51, P-40, P-47 and other aircraft. The tests were conducted with the engine power restricted, which means the P-38F that was tested was probably a bit more maneuverable. Further versions of the P-38 were even more agile, especially the P-38L. (The rate of roll was also found too slow at high speeds and medium at low speeds.)

• Lift-to-drag ratio: 13.5

Armament

• 1× Hispano M2(C) 20 mm cannon with 150 rounds (2 AP, 2 tracer and 2 HE ammo belt composition) and 4× Colt-Browning MG53-2 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns with 500 rounds per gun. The rate of fire was about 650 rounds per minute for the 20×110 mm cannon round (130 g shell) at a muzzle velocity of about 2887 ft/s, and for the .50 in MGs (43–48 g), about 850 rpm at 2756 ft/s velocity.
• 4× M10 three-tube 4.5 in (112 mm) rocket launchers or:
• Inner Hardpoints: 2× 2,000 lb (907 kg) bombs or drop tanks; or 2× 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs or drop tanks, plus either 4× 500 lb (227 kg) or 4× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs; or 6× 500 lb (227 kg) or 6× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs
• Outer Hardpoints: 10× 5 in (127 mm) HVARs (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket); or 2× 500 lb (227 kg) or 2× 250 lb (113 kg) bombs

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The Bell P-39 Airacobra was one of the principal American fighter aircraft in service at the start of World War II. Although its mid-engine placement was innovative, the P-39 design was handicapped by the lack of an efficient turbo-supercharger, limiting it to low-altitude work, although the type was used with great success by the Soviet Air Force. In the P-39, Soviet pilots scored the highest number of individual kills attributed to any U.S. fighter type. Together with the derivative P-63 Kingcobra, these aircraft would be the most successful mass-produced, fixed-wing aircraft manufactured by Bell.

In 1937, the United States Army Air Corps issued a specification for a new fighter via Circular Proposal X-608. It was a request for a high-altitude interceptor aircraft having "the tactical mission of interception and attack of hostile aircraft at high altitude". Specifications called for a maximum airspeed of at least 360 miles per hour (580 km/h) at altitude, and a climb to 20,000 ft (6100m) within 6 minutes; the toughest set of specifications USAAC had presented to that date. Other competing designs included the Curtiss P-40, an outgrowth of a previous design, and the Lockheed P-38, which utilized a complex twin-engine twin boom configuration. Although Bell's limited fighter design work had previously resulted in the unusual Bell YFM-1 Airacuda, the Model 12 proposal adopted an equally original configuration with an Allison V-12 engine mounted in the middle of the fuselage, just behind the cockpit, and a propeller driven by a shaft passing beneath the pilot's feet under the cockpit floor.

The main purpose of this configuration was to free up space for the heavy main armament, a 37 mm Oldsmobile T9 cannon firing through the center of the propeller hub for optimum accuracy and stability when firing. In fact, the entire design was made to accommodate this gun in the aircraft. This happened because H.M. Poyer, designer for project leader Robert Woods, was impressed by the power of this weapon and he pressed for its incorporation though the original concept had been a 20-25 mm cannon mounted in a conventional manner in the nose. This was unusual, because fighters had previously been designed around an engine, not a weapon system. Although devastating when it worked, the T9 had very limited ammunition, a low rate of fire, and was prone to jamming.

A secondary benefit of the mid-engine arrangement was to create a smooth and streamlined nose profile. The weight distribution necessitated a tricycle undercarriage, a first among American fighters, concurrent with the Lockheed XP-38. Entry to the cockpit was through side doors (mounted on both sides of the cockpit) rather than a sliding canopy. Its unusual engine location and the long driveshaft caused some pilot concern at first, but experience showed this was no more of a hazard in a crash landing than with an engine located forward of the cockpit. There were no problems with propshaft failure.

As originally designed, the XP-39 had a turbocharger with a scoop on the left side of the fuselage; both were deleted for production. The production P-39 retained a single-stage, single-speed supercharger with a critical altitude (above which performance declined) of about 12,000 ft.

The XP-39 made her maiden flight on 6 April 1938 at Wright Field, Ohio, achieving 390 mph at 20,000 ft. (630 km/h at 6,100 m), reaching this altitude in only five minutes. The Army ordered twelve YP-39s (with only a single-stage, single-speed supercharger) for service evaluation and one YP-39A. After these trials were complete, which resulted in detail changes including deletion of the external radiator, and on advice from NACA, the prototype was modified as the XP-39B; after demonstrating a performance improvement, the 13 YP-39s were completed to this standard, adding two .30 cal. (7.62 mm) MG to the two existing .50 cals. Lacking armor or self-sealing fuel tanks, the prototype was 900 kg lighter than the production fighters.

After completing service trials, and originally designated P-45, a first order for 80 aircraft was placed 10 August 1939; the designation would revert before deliveries began.

General characteristics

• Crew: One
• Length: 30 ft 2 in (9.2 m)
• Wingspan: 34 ft 0 in (10.4 m)
• Height: 12 ft 5 in (3.8 m)
• Wing area: 213 sq ft (19.8 m²)
• Empty weight: 5,347 lb (2,425 kg)
• Loaded weight: 7,379 lb (3,347 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 8,400 lb (3,800 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Allison V-1710-85 liquid-cooled V-12, 1,200 hp (895 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 376 mph; (605 km/h; Redline dive speed=525 mph.)
• Range: 1,098 miles (1,770 km)
• Service ceiling 35,000 ft (10,700 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,750 ft/min (19 m/s; 15,000'/ 4.5 min at 160 mph (260 km/h).)
• Wing loading: 34.6 lb/sq ft (169 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (0.27 kW/kg)

Armament

• 1x 37 mm M4 cannon firing through the propeller hub at the rate of 140 rpm with 30 rounds of HE ammo.
• 4 x .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns. Rate of fire was 750 rpm x 1 gun in each wing, only 300 rpm each x 2 guns synchronized in the cowl. Ammo: 200 rounds per nose-gun, 300 per wing-pod.
• Up to 500 lb (230 kg) of bombs externally

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The Curtiss P-40 was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. It was used by the air forces of 28 nations, including those of most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in front line service until the end of the war. By November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built.

The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36; this reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service.

Warhawk was the name the United States Army Air Corps adopted for all models, making it the official name in the United States for all P-40s. The British Commonwealth and Soviet air forces used the name Tomahawk for models equivalent to the P-40B and P-40C, and the name Kittyhawk for models equivalent to the P-40D and all later variants.

The P-40's lack of a two-stage supercharger made it inferior to Luftwaffe fighters in high-altitude combat and it was rarely used in operations in Northwest Europe. Between 1941 and 1944, however, the P-40 played a critical role with Allied air forces in three major theaters: North Africa, the Southwest Pacific and China. It also had a significant role in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Alaska and Italy. The P-40's high altitude performance was not as critical in those theaters, where it served as an air supremacy fighter, bomber escort and fighter bomber.

P-40s first saw combat with the British Commonwealth squadrons of the Desert Air Force (DAF) in the Middle East and North African campaigns, during June 1941. The Royal Air Force's No. 112 Squadron was among the first to operate Tomahawks, in North Africa, and the unit was the first to feature the "shark mouth" logo, copying similar markings on some Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engine fighters. The logo was most famously used on P-40s by the Flying Tigers in China.

In theaters where high-altitude performance was less important, the P-40 proved an effective fighter. Although it gained a post-war reputation as a mediocre design, suitable only for close air support, more recent research including scrutiny of the records of individual Allied squadrons indicates that the P-40 performed surprisingly well as an air superiority fighter, at times suffering severe losses, but also taking a very heavy toll on enemy aircraft. The P-40 offered the additional advantage of low cost, which kept it in production as a ground attack fighter long after it was obsolete in air superiority.

 The P-40 had good agility, especially at high speed and medium to low altitude. It was one of the tightest-turning monoplane fighters of the war, although at lower speeds it could not out-turn the extremely maneuverable Japanese fighters such as the A6M Zero and Ki-43 Hayabusa ("Oscar").

Allison V-1710 engines produced about 1,040 hp at sea level and at 14,000 ft (4,300 m): not powerful by the standards of the time and the early P-40's speed was average. (The later versions with 1,200 horsepower (890 kW) Allisons were more capable, as were the Merlin engined P-40F/L series.) Its climb performance was fair to poor, depending on the subtype. Dive acceleration was good and dive speed was excellent. The highest-scoring P-40 ace, Clive Caldwell (RAAF), who scored 22 of his 28.5 kills in the P-40, said the type had "almost no vices", although "it was a little difficult to control in terminal velocity". Caldwell said that the P-40 was "faster downhill than almost any other aeroplane with a propeller." However, the single-stage, single-speed supercharger meant that it could not compete with contemporary aircraft as a high-altitude fighter.

The P-40 tolerated harsh conditions in the widest possible variety of climates. It was a semi-modular design and thus easy to maintain in the field. It lacked innovations of the time, such as boosted ailerons or automatic leading edge slats, but it had a strong structure including a five-spar wing, which enabled P-40s to survive some mid-air collisions: both accidental impacts and intentional ramming attacks against enemy aircraft were occasionally recorded as victories by the Desert Air Force and Soviet Air Forces. Caldwell said P-40s "would take a tremendous amount of punishment — violent aerobatics as well as enemy action."

It had armor around the engine and the cockpit, which enabled it to withstand considerable damage. This was one of the characteristics that allowed Allied pilots in Asia and the Pacific to attack Japanese fighters head on, rather than try to out-turn and out-climb their opponents. Late-model P-40s were regarded as well armored.

Caldwell said that he found the P-40C Tomahawk's armament of two .50 caliber machine guns firing through the prop and two .303 Browning machine guns in each wing to be inadequate. This was rectified with the P-40E Kittyhawk, which had three .50 caliber guns in each wing, although Caldwell preferred the Tomahawk in other respects.

Operational range was good by early war standards, and was almost double that of the Supermarine Spitfire or Messerschmitt Bf 109, although it was inferior to the A6M Zero, Ki-43, P-38 and P-51.

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 31.67 ft (9.66 m)
• Wingspan: 37.33 ft (11.38 m)
• Height: 12.33 ft (3.76 m)
• Wing area: 235.94 ft² (21.92 m²)
• Empty weight: 6,350 lb (2,880 kg)
• Loaded weight: 8,280 lb (3,760 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 8,810 lb (4,000 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Allison V-1710-39 liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,150 hp (858 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 360 mph (310 knots, 580 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 270 mph (235 knots, 435 km/h)
• Range: 650 mi (560 nm, 1,100 km)
• Service ceiling 29,000 ft (8,800 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,100 ft/min (11 m/s)
• Wing loading: 35.1 lb/ft² (171.5 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.14 hp/lb (230 W/kg)

Armament

• Guns: 4× .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, 150~200 rounds per gun,2 .30cal LMG
• Bombs: 250 lb (113 kg) to 1,000 Ib (453 kg), a total of

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The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was a long-range single-seat fighter aircraft that entered service with Allied air forces in the middle years of World War II.

The P-51 flew most of its wartime missions as a bomber escort in raids over Germany, helping ensure Allied air superiority from early 1944. It also saw limited service against the Japanese in the Pacific War. The Mustang began the Korean War as the United Nations' main fighter, but was relegated to a ground attack role when superseded by jet fighters early in the conflict. Nevertheless, it remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s.

As well as being economical to produce, the Mustang was a fast, well-made, and highly durable aircraft. The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a two-stage two-speed supercharged 12-cylinder Packard-built version of the legendary Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, and was armed with six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) Browning M2/AN machine guns, a version of the Browning adapted for use in combat aircraft.

After World War II and the Korean conflict, many Mustangs were converted for civilian use, especially air racing. The Mustang's reputation was such that, in the mid-1960s, Ford Motor Company's Designer John Najjar proposed the name for a new youth-oriented coupe after the fighter.

In 1939, shortly after World War II began, the British government established a purchasing commission in the United States, headed by Sir Henry Self. Along with Sir Wilfrid Freeman, who, as the "Air Member for Development and Production", was given overall responsibility for Royal Air Force (RAF) production and research and development in 1938, Self had sat on the (British) Air Council Sub-committee on Supply (or "Supply Committee"), and one of Self's many tasks was to organize the manufacture of American fighter aircraft for the RAF. At the time the choice was very limited: none of the U.S. aircraft already flying met European standards; only the Curtiss Tomahawk came close. The Curtiss plant was running at capacity, so even that aircraft was in short supply.

North American Aviation (NAA) was already supplying their Harvard trainer to the RAF, but were otherwise underutilized. NAA President "Dutch" Kindelberger approached Self to sell a new medium bomber, the B-25 Mitchell. Instead, Self asked if NAA could manufacture the Tomahawk under license from Curtiss.

Kindelberger replied that NAA could have a better aircraft with the same engine in the air in less time than it would take to set up a production line for the P-40. By now the executive head of the British Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP), Freeman ordered 320 aircraft in March 1940. On 26 June 1940, MAP awarded a contract to Packard to build modified versions of the Rolls-Royce Merlin engines under licence; in September, MAP increased the first production order by 300.

P-51D Mustang

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)
• Wingspan: 37 ft 0 in (11.28 m)
• Height: 13 ft 8 in (4.17 m)
• Wing area: 235 ft² (21.83 m²)
• Empty weight: 7,635 lb (3,465 kg)
• Loaded weight: 9,200 lb (4,175 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 12,100 lb (5,490 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Packard Merlin V-1650-7 liquid-cooled supercharged V-12, 1,490 hp (1,111 kW) at 3,000 rpm; 1,720 hp (1,282 kW) at WEP
• Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0163
• Drag area: 3.80 ft² (0.35 m²)
• Aspect ratio: 5.83

Performance

• Maximum speed: 437 mph (703 km/h) at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)
• Cruise speed: 362 mph (580 km/h)
• Stall speed: 100 mph (160 km/h)
• Range: 1,650 mi (2,755 km) with external tanks
• Service ceiling 41,900 ft (12,770 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,200 ft/min (16.3 m/s)
• Wing loading: 39 lb/ft² (192 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.18 hp/lb (300 W/kg)
• Lift-to-drag ratio: 14.6
• Recommended Mach limit 0.8

Armament
 

• 6 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns; 400 rounds per gun for the two inboard guns; 270 per outboard gun
• 2 hardpoints for up to 2,000 lb (907 kg)
• 10 × 5 in (127 mm) rockets

P-51H Mustang

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 33 ft 4 in (10.16 m)
• Wingspan: 37 ft 0 in (11.28 m)
• Height: 11 ft 1 in (3.38 m)
• Wing area: 235 ft² (21.83 m²)
• Empty weight: 7,040 lb (3,195 kg)
• Loaded weight: 9,500 lb (4,310 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 11,500 lb (5,215 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Packard Merlin V-1650-9 liquid-cooled supercharged V-12, 1,490 hp (1,111 kW) at 3,000 rpm, 2,220 hp (1,655 kW) at WEP^[79]

Performance

• Maximum speed: 487 mph (784 km/h) at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)
• Range: 1,160 mi (1,865 km) with external tanks
• Service ceiling 41,600 ft (12,680 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,300 ft/min (16.8 m/s)
• Wing loading: 40.4 lb/ft² (197.4 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.23 hp/lb (385 W/kg)

Armament

• 6 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns with 1,880 total rounds (400 rounds for each on the inner pair, and 270 rounds for each of the outer two pair), or 4 of the same guns with 1,600 total rounds (400 per gun).

1940 - USAAF

1942 - USAAF

1919-1942 - U.S. Navy

1942 - U.S. Navy - Africa

1942-1943 - U.S. Navy

1943 - USAAF

1943-1947 - U.S. Navy

1940-1942 - USAAF

1943