LostCosmonaut Posted July 13, 2016 Report Share Posted July 13, 2016 Because Luft '46 is for lame wehraboos. FH Phantom XF2R Dark Shark XB-42 Mixmaster XP-67 XP-79 XF-12 Rainbow Collimatrix, LoooSeR and Belesarius 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belesarius Posted July 13, 2016 Report Share Posted July 13, 2016 That last one is a pretty big 'fighter'. oO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sturgeon Posted July 13, 2016 Report Share Posted July 13, 2016 "F" at the time stood for "Fotorecon". It's a spy plane; one of the coolest ever designed. Belesarius 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collimatrix Posted July 14, 2016 Report Share Posted July 14, 2016 No fancy digital cameras back then, so they actually crammed an entire photography lab into the fuselage. RobotMinisterofTrueKorea, Belesarius, Sturgeon and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collimatrix Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 The F7F, a design straight from the rantings of POWs in Japanese camps who were trying to scare their interrogators. The F7F is a wonderful example of straightforward, unsubtle engineering. Analysis of the air war in Europe led Grumman's engineers to conclude that what counted were horsepower, firepower and armor. To this end, two might R2800s, a quartet of 20mm cannons and a box of 3/8" hardened steel were married together to make an absolute monster of a fighter. It's like two hellcats glued together. With more range. And bigger guns. And eighty miles per hour faster. The few Japanese fighter pilots around in 1945 were lucky that their government managed to lose the war fast enough that they didn't have to face off against F7Fs. The F6F chopped zeros out of the sky like a giant, radial-engined ax. F7F would have been a chainsaw. Belesarius, Sturgeon, Jeeps_Guns_Tanks and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xthetenth Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 There was also design work done on a scout/torpedo bomber variant, the XTSF. I'll also point out the XP-71 for people talking about big fighters. Bigger than the B-25. Didn't get made but when has that stopped Luft 46? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khand-e Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 The F7F, a design straight from the rantings of POWs in Japanese camps who were trying to scare their interrogators. The F7F is a wonderful example of straightforward, unsubtle engineering. Analysis of the air war in Europe led Grumman's engineers to conclude that what counted were horsepower, firepower and armor. To this end, two might R2800s, a quartet of 20mm cannons and a box of 3/8" hardened steel were married together to make an absolute monster of a fighter. It's like two hellcats glued together. With more range. And bigger guns. And eighty miles per hour faster. The few Japanese fighter pilots around in 1945 were lucky that their government managed to lose the war fast enough that they didn't have to face off against F7Fs. The F6F chopped zeros out of the sky like a giant, radial-engined ax. F7F would have been a chainsaw.It It also had x4 .50 BMG AN/M2 machine guns to go with that 20mm barrage, and a pretty impressive payload for ground weapons if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scolopax Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 I'll also point out the XP-71 for people talking about big fighters. Bigger than the B-25. Didn't get made but when has that stopped Luft 46? Two 37mm cannons and a 75mm is a rather nasty armament, particularly for an escort fighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khand-e Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 F8F Bearcat, x4 20x110mm Cannons and absolutely incredible performance for a piston engine carrier fighter. Belesarius 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khand-e Posted July 18, 2016 Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 Posted about this before but, the Martin AM Mauler really deserves a mention. Although it was proposed in 1943 and first flew in 1944, when it became obvious it wouldn't be needed to win the war (same is true with quite a bit of equipment), this meant it wouldn't actually be accepted into service until 1948. Now, aside from being rather good looking, let's take a look below at why the Mauler is dominate and you should bow to it. And here we are. What made the Mauler historically significant is, well, that right there in the foreground is a photo of a single engine piston aircraft breaking the record for most payload carried ever in said class, x3 2,200lb Torpedoes (1,000kg for non US, could also carry 3 2,000lb or 1,000kg bombs in a hypothetical foreign use scenario instead), x12 250lb bombs (the background one has x12 5" Aerial rockets instead), and 200 rpg each for it's x4 20x110mm cannons. If you think the IJN got sodomized hard enough by what the USN already had, just imagine when these fuckers were now attacking your ships. Toxn and Sturgeon 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sturgeon Posted July 18, 2016 Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 The Mauler was totally rad, but unfortunately for it the AD Skyraider was considerably less trouble to operate, and could do much the same work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostCosmonaut Posted July 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2016 Belesarius, Sturgeon, Collimatrix and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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