Show American Baffle Battle Planes Planes' Must Be Worlds World's W arid arid's s Best Is Pledge of f Designers and Manufacturers Ij i U. U S S. Air Superiority Result of Constantly Improved Machines The test of battle the battle the only valid test of the performance of f combat aircraft has aircraft has ft-has has by now resulted in a number of box scores which reveal the pattern of accomplishment of American combat planes In UIn every theater of operations American airmen and AmerIcan planes have met the challenge of ol olour our enemies s and outfought them hem by I scores never worse than two to toone one in J. J 1 our favor favor said Gen Henry H H. Arnold Amold commanding comm general of the army air forces All types of American fighter planes have shot out of the skies the best Interceptors both Germany and Japan have put against This has been true since January 1942 when our planes were outnumbered on practically all all' J fronts While much of this favorable fight fight- fightIng fighting Ing ratio is attributable to the ex- ex excellent excellent excellent training versatility and cour cour- courage courage courage age of our pilots a good part is traceable to the mechanical superiority superIority of our planes Constant im improvement im- im improvement provement Is the watchword Even tho though gh production pr schedules must be delayed our aircraft must be the best possible say army and navy air corps officers Here Is a summary of the chief combat planes which have run up the high scores in our favor from a report Just released by the Office of War Information Fighters V-type V liquid cooled engines are found in iri most fighter tIghter models because the long slender shape of a liquid- liquid cooled engine Is more adaptable to streamlined fighter fight r design It allows bitter better b vision and has a smaller frontal area for the same er But it will be noted that in the P 47 where 2000 horsepower was desired an cooled air-cooled engine was used use The same is true of the navys navy's Vought Corsair and the new Grumman FF F F Hellcat The navy uses no liquid cooled engines The navys navy's fighter program Is large An airplane carrier carries torpedo planes bombers and fight fight- fighters ers ens erSt and of these the fighters are needed to protect the other planes and the carrier itself Fighters also protect land bases In the South Pacific army P are doing this latter Job along with navy fighters In the opinion of the materiel com com- command command the Curtiss War- War mand P 40 or hawk has reached the limit of its de de- developmental developmental de- de possibilities It has gone through numerous type changes the most basic being the P when the engine was changed from Allison to Merlin Although the latest model mod l P 39 ceiling and general performance have been improved the P 39 has shared the deficiency climb of the P It is being supplanted by a anew a- a anew anew new model now under construction with a low drag wing and a two- two stage Allison supercharged engine which will make it an efficient plane at any altitude up to rr tr feet The greatest efficiency of the P 39 models has been below feet Like the P 39 the new plane will be equipped with cannon Low Altitude Fighter Although superior to the P 40 and P 39 the original P 51 or Mustang is also only a low and medium- medium altitude fighter Now in production is a new P 51 with a highly super super- supercharged charged Packard built Royce Rolls-Royce Merlin engine similar to the Merlin 61 engine in the newest Spitfires Its performance is reported as even bet bet- better better better ter than that famous ships The new engine gives the plane the high high- highest hl highest h- h hest est ceiling up to feet and the highest speed well over miles an hour of any fighter in existence The A 36 Invader the fighter- fighter bomber version of the P 51 P has seen heavy service in the Mediterranean theater and its best features fe tures are arc being incorporated in the new P 51 which will replace both the A 36 and the old P The latest model of the Lockheed P 38 or Lightning is a fast powerful fighter that has been given greatly Increased horsepower in its Allison engine improved pilots pilot's vision and Improved for better high-altitude high performance It out out- outperforms outperforms outperforms performs the Zero and later Jap fighters at all altitudes The P P- P 8 has always possessed the versatility that is coming increasingly IncreasIngly to characterize all combat air craft It has excelled at low altitude low altitude strafing high-altitude high fighting and andas andas andas as a particularly range long-range bomber escort Its distinctive silhouette with its twin tail booms has been seen over four major fighting fronts The newest fighter at present in J j R r HAVOC One One of the latest of the nations nation's battle planes Is the Douglas Havoc fighter bomber a two motored ship combat the P 47 or Thunderbolt has bas been currently rolling up a score of approximately el four fo to one in its contests with and high flying Focke over Eng Eng- England England land France and the Low Countries Armed with eight 50 caliber ma ma- guns chine and heavily plat armor ed ed it is capable of flying over miles an hour and of reaching an altitude of feet nigh High Scorer for Navy The Grumman Wildcat or a an navy n vy fighter with Pratt Whitney Twin Wasp cooled air-cooled engine and with folding wings for compact stow stow- stowage stowage stowage age on aircraft carriers has run up many high scores in Mediterranean Although the will continue to tobe tobe tobe be manufactured for use on auxiliary carriers and for training it is now being supplemented by a new plane the Grumman Hellcat This newest member of the navys navy's fighter family is described by the navy as an Uan answer to the prayers of our pilots A big brother ot the famous Grum Grum- Grumman Grumman Grumman man Wildcat the Hellcat has better range speed climb maneuverability ity and altitude It has a 2000 horse horse- power engine as compared with the Wildcats Wildcat's 1200 It has a low wing improved armor and a new flexible type gasoline tank which is an Im- Im improvement improvement provement over the ordinary proof ture-proof type It carries 50 cali- cali caliber ber cr machine guns The Corsair or also has a 2000 horsepower Pratt Whitney engine and is easily distinguishable by sy its Inverted gull wing The Cor Cor- Corsair Corsair Corsair sair has until recently been the chief navy fighter in the South Pacific Now taw Hellcats are beginning to join joint it t in large numbers Heavy Four-Engine Four Bombers The newest models of both the Boeing B 17 Flying Fortress and the he Consolidated B 24 Liberator bombers are equipped with new de de- in the form f rm of nose nose turrets with w th machine gun In- In External racks bomb-racks can increase the potential bomb capacity of the B 17 to pounds Nevertheless this plane has a small small- smaller er bomb capacity at long range than the B The most accurate com corn comparison comparison parison perhaps is to say that load load- r Tt tr HELLCAT Successor HELLCAT Successor sor to the fa fa- famous famous a- a amona mona Grumman Wildcat is the new Hellcat It has folding wings as aa shown In the picture below so that hat it will vin take up a minimum of space on the deck of a carrier The Hellcat Is a standard fighter now in both the U. U S. S and British navies It has more power ver and i climbs faster than the Wildcat ed with 2800 2000 gallons of gasoline the 17 B can carry pounds of bombs x the usual load carried over targets in western Europe where where- whereas as the B 24 with 2900 gallons can carry pounds of bombs Conse Conse- Consequently Consequently the B 17 is being concentrated ed in the western European theater and the B 24 is being used chiefly elsewhere in in in the Middle East in In In- din dia China and Australia for Australia for longer range operations B have made trip round-trip flights up to 2600 miles the raid on the oil fields in Rumania from bases in hi Egypt the theraid theraId theraid raid on the works at ati i Wiener Neustadt and raids in the Pacific on Wake and Surabaya The B 24 is by the the navy under the designation l. Medium 1 Light and Dive Bombers New models of the two-engine two Tokyo raider the North American 25 B Mitchell Mitchem are equipped with heavier armament and possess in increased in- in increased increased creased speed and range The B 25 is the chief medium bomber in the present program production of ot the Martin B 26 Marauder being ta ta- tapered tapered ta- ta tapered off B powered with Wright Cyclone engines are flying on 11 fronts are used by both army and navy for submarine anti-submarine pa pa- patrol patrol patrol service se ice and have scored par par- particular particular particular successes with skip The Douglas A 20 Havoc is the principal light army bomber in the program until the totally new ad ad- advanced advanced advanced light bomber mentioned mention d dabove above comes into production The newest Havoc used by bythe the army for low level bombing is fitted with a power turret and with armament for ground strafing The A 24 army version of the Douglas Dauntless dive- dive bomber Is now being produced in decreasing numbers chiefly for training purposes Grumman Avenger The Grumman Avenger r. r the navys navy's carrier based torpedo bomber has completely supplanted the Douglas TBD Devastator It carries ma ma- machine machine machine chine guns as well as torpedo or bombs and has destroyed many Japanese vessels In the Pacific Chief among the navys navy's patrol bombers are three flying boats and two land planes The land planes are the Consolidated 1 l and the Vega PV PV-l. The flying boats are the Consolidated Consolidated Catalina Con Con- Consolidated Consolidated Consolidated Coronado and Martin Mariner All three flying boats are used for transport purposes as well as for patrol and bombing operations The two-engine two the oldest slowest and small small- smallest smallest est the ship which first spotted the Jap forces on the Aleutians is still being built still dive-bombing dive and strafing enemy shipping and rescuing rescuing ing jag pilots who have been downed at sea The four-engine four has dou dou- double double ble the horsepower of the The does good work in antisubmarine anti rine coastal patrol and range long-range reconnaissance Not even the new new- newest newest newest est navy flying boats have speeds much m ch above miles an hour but b t tall all are required to be able to land landin in a choppy sea The Vega PV 1 a navy adaptation of the twin Vega B 34 Ven Ventura Ventura tura bomber is the navys navy's chief land based submarine anti patrol plane It carries depth death charges or ora ora ora a torpedo is heavily armored and andis andIs andIs is now often used in preference to flying boats in submarine anti-submarine op op- operations operations because of its greater speed The Consolidated 1 l is a four- four engine land-based land bomber and as previously mentioned is used for range long-range bombing missions and for submarine anti-submarine patrol work Design and Technical Improvements Aeronautical engineering demands experimentation with numerous de de- designs designs de- de designs signs in order to obtain several high high- performance aircraft of the required types But on the other hand the con con- constant stant stant- improvements being made on models already in use and the con con- continuing continuing addition of totally new air air- planes to our forces slow down the thera rate ra te of production Nevertheless even at this stage In Inthe inthe inthe the war when cut clear-cut air superior superior- superiority ity over the enemy has been achieved there is no assurance that the planes which have achieved It are superior to planes which the enemy may produce tomorrow Changes in strategic and tactical problems too arid and arl changes of ter ter- terrain terrain terrain rain over which w ich fighting takes place bring with them new rn w demands for aircraft design and equipment Even planes which have run up high box- box scores must be constantly improved and replaced The make up of our air fleet has never been static and andis andIs andis is not to become so |