Marines bring in his Wildcat

Daily Iberian ^ | June 7, 2007 | Alicia Duplessis

[donmeaker]

The P-40 had a 14 to 1 kill ratio against Jap planes in China.

Assymetrical warfare is the way to go. Dogfighting just gets you shot. Slash and go wins.

[Vision]

The Zero had a twin 20mm cannon and twin 13.7mm MGs, which, imho, gave it a fire power advantage over both the Wildcat and the Hellcat’s six 0.50 Cal.

Why?

[donmeaker]

Eric Hartmann called the P-47 a “20mm sponge”.

Great plane. If the Army Air Corps kept them they could have used them instead of A-1s in Vietnam.

[VOA]

Speaking as a never-served civilian that would have been easy meat in
any dogfight...

Of all the luminaries on The History Channel’s “Dogfights”, DeBlanc’s
monologue on the “Guadacanal” episode is just the greatest. When he
recalls his plea to his group to stick together and that he’s making
a one-way trip with a leaking gas tank,
then he drawls out “Now, ah ain’t no hero...”
Just classic.
Better dialogue than 99.99% of all the war-time movies made in Hollyweird.

My next favorite is Robin Olds of WWII and Vietnam conflict.
And the pilot (name escapes me) that pursues a likely Russian pilot
back into China in the “Mig Alley” episode, blowing the holy cr-p out
of a row of Migs.

But for one favorite episode, I go with the underdogs of “Long Odds”.

Links below:

Dogfights: Guadalcanal DVD
http://store.aetv.com/html/product/index.jhtml?id=76951

Dogfights: Long Odds DVD
http://store.aetv.com/html/product/index.jhtml?id=77190

Dogfights: MiG Alley DVD
http://store.aetv.com/html/product/index.jhtml?id=76923

[fso301]

The Zero had a twin 20mm cannon and twin 13.7mm MGs, which, imho, gave it a fire power advantage over both the Wildcat and the Hellcat’s six 0.50 Cal. The Hellcat was an entirely new airframe.

Number and caliber are important but you also need to know the rate of fire and velocity to make a final determination of pounds of steel on target and energy delivered on target per unit time.

[VOA]

“If anyone wants to see a Wildcat, there is one on display in the concourse
O’Hare airport in Chicago.”

And for the younguns’ that want to know...
1. Why the plane was placed there
AND
2. Why it’s “O’Hare” airport

here’s a link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_O’Hare

“Colonel Robert R. McCormick, publisher of the Chicago Tribune,
suggested a name change of Chicago’s Orchard Depot Airport as tribute
to Butch O’Hare. On September 19, 1949, the Chicago, Illinois airport
was renamed O’Hare International Airport. “

“The aircraft was restored by the Air Classics Museum to look like
the exact one that O’Hare flew, and is exhibited in Terminal Two at
the west end of the ticketing lobby to honor
O’Hare International Airport’s namesake.”

[ryan71]

“An olive green Wildcat — I don’t think so”

That caught my attention, as well. I’ve never seen a picture of a Wildcat, Hellcat, or Corsair with olive green paint.

[yarddog]

I read a great book about Erich Hartmann. His Father, a Dr. was a medical missionary to China and his mother a blonde bombshell.

He was the all time ace of aces and deserves to be much more famous than he is. 352 confirmed kills and the Germans were the most unforgiving in crediting an air to air kill. They literally required proof before giving the pilot credit.

[GATOR NAVY]

I’m guessing it was a weight factor since that seemed to be their primary consideration for just about everything else.

[GATOR NAVY]

Zeros had 7.7mm machine guns, not 13.7mm. Rifle caliber machine guns didn’t have near the punch of a .50 cal BMG, especially against studier US aircraft.

The Zero’s 20mm cannon is a heavy hitter but it has two major drawbacks. It has a slow rate of fire and a very limited ammo supply (60 rounds per gun IIRC). A great weapon against a big, slow bomber. Not so great against a small, nimble fighter.

[MediaMole]

There is very little evidence that any Marine or Navy aircraft flying out of Henderson were painted OD green. They really weren’t in any position to do major maintenance on the aircraft during the battle of Guadalcanal. Most of the aircraft were flown until they were worn out, shot down or too badly damaged to fly again. Then the usable parts were stripped off and used to keep the remaining aircraft flying.

The reference to OD green on the restored aircraft sounds like the reporter was vamping a description of an event he didn’t witness. The only actual flying F4F Wildcat is in the early war blue-gray over white scheme. Most of the others in existence are General Motors FM2 Wildcats, which are late war aircraft.

[wolficatZ]

It’s great to know DeBlanc is still with us to share his experiences..

Gunther Rall is the highest scoring WWII ace still surviving, he published a book of his aviation career in 2004.

The also is a very good older series from the 90’s called “Hunters in the Sky”, noteworthy because it contains some candid interviews with some of the great fighter pilots of WWII, most who have since passed on; Saburo Sakai, Adolph Galland, Joseph Gabreski, and many others.

With the development of the “Thatch Weave” tactic, the F4Fs became very competitive against the A6M Zeros.

Anyone interested in the most thoroughly researched and detailed accounts of the air battles these Wildcats took part in during the first years of the war should read “First Team And the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942”

A superb book..

[VOA]

Thanks for your mention of the reference materials.
After seeing how the WWII “Dogfights” went down, I’ll definitely
get some extra reading in (when time permits!).

I’m a total sucker for WWII warbirds. Fortunately I get a mainline-fix
once a year with the local “Salute To Veterans” airshow.
http://www.salute.org

It’s even gotten more exciting in the past couple of years with the
appearance of well-meaning but snarky anti-war activists.
It is a hoot to just take the “informational” papers they offer to
airshow attendees...and after a walk of maybe 10 paces, turn the papers
over to “Operation Simply Shred”.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=simplyshred

[fso301]

Rifle caliber machine guns didn’t have near the punch of a .50 cal BMG, especially against studier US aircraft

In a fighter -vs- figter situation or attempt to bring down a bomber from the rear I would agree. However, in a frontal attack on a bomber formation, the high cyclic rate of fire of the 8mm class machineguns used by German reciprocating engine fighters gave a higher probability of hitting a bomber crew member, especially the pilot and co-pilot on the initial "12 O'Clock/12 O'Clock High" attack run. In a fighter -vs- fighter role which the German pilots were generally under orders to avoid, the 8mm was inadequate against the tough American fighters, esopecially the P-47.

I read one account of a battle damaged P-47 returning to base coming under attack by a German pilot who was out of cannon ammo. The German peppered the P-47 with 8mm until he expended all of his 8mm but couldn't bring the "Jug" down.

[Plutarch]

I read a great book about Erich Hartmann. His Father, a Dr. was a medical missionary to China and his mother a blonde bombshell.

I was going to look up a color photograph of a Wildcat from WWII, but instead I got distracted to go looking for a photo of the Teutonic blonde bombshell. I think there is some rule that if you mention the aesthetic attributes of a female at FR, you are obligated to post the pic.

Erich's parents Dr. Alfred Hartmann & Elisabeth Machtholf

[wolficatZ]

Thanks for the link to Salute to Veterans 2007, looks like it was a great event.

I haven’t been to any airshows since I moved to AZ, I been to the Pima Museum in Tucson many times, one of my fave places of all time.

The Wildcat is one warbird I would love to see in person..

Here’s one of my airshow vids I made with my little Canon 8mm way back in ‘99..I got really lucky and found a spot away from the crowd near the taxiway;a very memorable moment for me..

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GD1y8u_iQLI

[kms61]

the 20mm cannons had a slow rate of fire, which made them somewhat impractical in many situations.

[CoolPapaBoze]

Hey, that was in Lafayette, my home town! Aaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!