Posted on 07/10/2020 2:52:40 AM PDT by C19fan
The early version of the Wildcat the -3 had 4 mgs. The rest of the Wildcats had 6 mgs to the best of my knowledge.
Yes the FM2s were used on the escort carriers. Their slower landing speed and ability to take off with out need a catapult made them ideal for the escort carriers. The FMs also help to provide close air support for the amphibious landings which was another major task for the CVEs
And speaking of aircraft that did not have 6 .50s was the P-47 Thunderbolt which had 8 .50s in the wings.
The P47M model had only 4 mgs IIRC and had a top speed at altitude of 475mph!
One final side note. It was not unusual for in the field mods to the standard gun layout. Perhaps damage to a gun or the need to get more speed or altitude for a particular reason were some of the reasons.
Or in Pappy Gunn’s case if 2 .50s are good 6 or 8 is better:-)
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Bookmark
The He 177 had 4 enginges, if in an unusual arrangement. Over 1000 of the planes built. The Ju 290 had a more conventional 4 engine arrangement, but it had very low production numbers and was used primarily for reconisance and long range patrols rather than as a bomber. The Fw 200 could also be used as a bomber.
The central pod had four .50-caliber machine guns and a 20-millimeter Hispano cannon. A bulkier 37-millimeter Oldsmobile cannon on early models was quickly ditched.
Kelly Johnson, later of Skunkworks fame, led the P-38 design and overall project.
Brief video of this story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRpWMlZ6s3M
Part of the Germans problems was Hitler himself.
Hitler was adamant that the K98K Mauser bolt action with it’s 5 round stripper clip was the ultimate rifle for the Wermacht even though the 10 round Garand semiautomatic allowed for more time aiming and firing.
If the 1898 Mauser had been good enough for corporal Hitler then it’s descendants were good enough for his army.
Hitler fought the production of the StG44 until reports from the Russian front begging for more of the rifles were made known to him.
And the tanks!
Hitler thought bigger was better in every way. He wanted bigger, heavier tanks with bigger guns.
Between that and the German propensity to over engineer EVERYTHING the tank line-up was a mess with too many of the heavier tanks unable to cross most European bridges.
The failure to completely mechanize the Wermacht was a huge failure. Without the trucks and transport needed for the infantry Blitzkrieg was prevented from reaching it’s true potential.
Hitler also delayed the introduction of the ME-262 fighter.
He vacilated between wanting the plane as a fighter only, a fighter bomber and a light bomber. In any event he delayed the introduction for a little over a year.
Hitler was his own worst enemy.
Read later
the 10 round Garand semiautomatic
==========+=======
Eh?
The real problem with the Me 262 was not Hitler so much as it was Junkers could not make the engines fast enough. And the engines they did make only had a service life of about 10 hours or so. This was due mainly to the lack of critical metals, like nickel, chromium and molybdenum that were needed to make the heat resistant metals needed to make jet engines.
Messerschmit had produced hundreds of airframes that sat idle for lack of jet engines. And those engines that were made were also used by the Arado 234 jet bomber.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Original design was 10 rounds. Don’t think they ever went in service.
Yeah, like pa_dweller implied, Garands did not have 10 rounds. In the original design they did, with the new .276 Pederson round. However, when the Army stuck with .30-06, the en-bloc clip was reduced to 8 rounds, and that’s the way they were fielded.
The Germans had come up with the jet engine in the late 30’s but Hitler wanted to stick to propellers. He really was our best general.
My next door neighbor did a full tour in B-17’s and then switched to fighters. He flew P-51’s and P-38’s. When he crashed his 5th plane, they awarded him an “Iron Cross”(made from foil gum wrappers) for being a German ace.
My 1st cousin was killed in April 1945, when his B-26 was shot down by a German JET!
The failure to completely mechanize the Wermacht was a huge failure.
Interestingly our Navy had trouble supplying the fleet with fuel in the early part of the war as well. Battles and ship movements were tied to fuel supply.
Okay, I screwed the pooch on the 10 round magazine. Mea culpa.
Still an 8 round magazine in a semiautomatic beats a 5 round stripper clip bolt action every day of the week.
Even when the Luftwaffe had the 262’s they lacked the fuel to fly them.
Again Hitler screwed his people by fighting on multiple fronts.
“My next door neighbor did a full tour in B-17’s and then switched to fighters. He flew P-51’s and P-38’s. When he crashed his 5th plane, they awarded him an “Iron Cross”(made from foil gum wrappers) for being a German ace.”
I love that type of little story. They make the men and war more than dates and numbers to be learned/remembered.
So he kept his “Iron Cross” as a memento?
Point taken.
Even when the Germans turned east to Russia they counted too much on using the Soviet rail network which was a different gauge than used in Europe.
One of the mistakes of the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, other than missing our carriers, was failing to destroy the fuel tanks. They left all that fuel sitting there available to our navy when taking it out would have cost them nothing.
Not arguing there, bro.
It’s been said the German bolt rifles were there to protect the squad machine gun (MG38 or MG42), and the U.S. machine gun (M1919) was there to protect the Garand riflemen. It’s just a perspective on what was your main weapon.
Yea I have seen a number of pics of the Luftwaffe towing or pushing various aircraft out to the runway to save fuel.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.