[Shawn 507]

Sorry, I'm a 1/72nd guy. Don't have the room or desire for anything bigger in my collection.

[SKUNKY]

I think the "which was the best fighter?" debate has already been argued to death many times over.......

[lanslide]

I'm just say'n that for such a popular aircraft not to be done correctly is a shame. Armour has really killed us! Jeez, it's ONE of the best - okay? SKUNKY's library of images is amazing!

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by lanslide

I'm just say'n that for such a popular aircraft not to be done correctly is a shame. Armour has really killed us! Jeez,!

of course 100% total agreement here, 'slide.....

[Cruver Collecter]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

I think the "which was the best fighter?" debate has already been argued to death many times over.......

The Mustang was definitely a good fighter, but what do some of the numbers point to. If you take a look at the 20 top scoring aces how does it break down. Lets see,,,
1. Major Richard Bong 40 victories P-38
2. Major Thomas McGuire 38 victories P-38
3. Cdr. David McCambell 34 victories F6F
4. Lt Col. Frances Gabreski 28 victories P-47
5. Major Robert S. Johnson 27 victories P-47
6. Col. Charles MacDonald 27 victories P-38
7. Major George Preddy 27 victories P-51
8. Capt Joe Foss 26 victories F4F
9. Lt. Robert Hanson 25 victories F4U
10. John Meyer 24 victories P-51
11. Lt. Cecil Harris 24 victories F6F
12. Captain Ray Wetmore 23 victories P-51
13. Lt Eugene Valencia 23 victories F6F
14. Col. David C Shilling 23 victories P-47
15. Major Gregory Boyington 22 victories F4U
16. Captain Gerald Johnson 22 victories P-38
17. Lt. Col. Neel Kearby 22 victories P-47
18. Major Jay Robbins 22 victories P-38
19. Major Dominic Gentile 22 victories P-51 (2 Spitfire, 4.33 P-47, 15.5 P-51)
20. Captain Frederick Christensen 21.5 victories P-47

So out of the top 20 it looks to break down to 5 P-38s (They also get top honors) 5 P-47s, 4 P-51s, 3 F6Fs, 2 F4Us and a F4F to round things out. Numbers tend to support that the United States actually had three excellent Army Air Force fighters in its stable. The P-47 and the P-38 often take the back seat, but they also went up against the Luftwaffe when there was still a number of their more veteran pilots still around. Seem remember a Wings episode where Gunther Rall describes an encounter with P-47s of Zemkes Wolf Pack that did not end so well for him. I also found a site that had a breakdown of the 8th Air Forces ETO list of top scoring aces and out of the top ten, 6 were P-47s (P-47 also had top honors) with P-51s making up the remaining 4. To state that the P-51 is the undisputed champion as far as top dog goes, well,,, the numbers really do not support this claim. Excellent design, fantastic fighter, yes, not much of an argument there, but it seems it is fairly safe to say that the same could be said for the P-47 and the P-38 too. (F4U too, do not want to leave out any of the Bent Wing club).

Site I went for some of the numbers was: Acepilots.com - WW2 and aviation history
It matched up well with some of my other sources, but for ease was all in one place.

[Captain Eddie]

Don't forget the importance of the 51 being able to escort the bombers all the way to Berlin and back.

[lanslide]

Originally Posted by Cruver Collecter

The Mustang was definitely a good fighter, but what do some of the numbers point to. If you take a look at the 20 top scoring aces how does it break down. Lets see,,,
1. Major Richard Bong 40 victories P-38
2. Major Thomas McGuire 38 victories P-38
3. Cdr. David McCambell 34 victories F6F
4. Lt Col. Frances Gabreski 28 victories P-47
5. Major Robert S. Johnson 27 victories P-47
6. Col. Charles MacDonald 27 victories P-38
7. Major George Preddy 27 victories P-51
8. Capt Joe Foss 26 victories F4F
9. Lt. Robert Hanson 25 victories F4U
10. John Meyer 24 victories P-51
11. Lt. Cecil Harris 24 victories F6F
12. Captain Ray Wetmore 23 victories P-51
13. Lt Eugene Valencia 23 victories F6F
14. Col. David C Shilling 23 victories P-47
15. Major Gregory Boyington 22 victories F4U
16. Captain Gerald Johnson 22 victories P-38
17. Lt. Col. Neel Kearby 22 victories P-47
18. Major Jay Robbins 22 victories P-38
19. Major Dominic Gentile 22 victories P-51 (2 Spitfire, 4.33 P-47, 15.5 P-51)
20. Captain Frederick Christensen 21.5 victories P-47

So out of the top 20 it looks to break down to 5 P-38s (They also get top honors) 5 P-47s, 4 P-51s, 3 F6Fs, 2 F4Us and a F4F to round things out. Numbers tend to support that the United States actually had three excellent Army Air Force fighters in its stable. The P-47 and the P-38 often take the back seat, but they also went up against the Luftwaffe when there was still a number of their more veteran pilots still around. Seem remember a Wings episode where Gunther Rall describes an encounter with P-47s of Zemkes Wolf Pack that did not end so well for him. I also found a site that had a breakdown of the 8th Air Forces ETO list of top scoring aces and out of the top ten, 6 were P-47s (P-47 also had top honors) with P-51s making up the remaining 4. To state that the P-51 is the undisputed champion as far as top dog goes, well,,, the numbers really do not support this claim. Excellent design, fantastic fighter, yes, not much of an argument there, but it seems it is fairly safe to say that the same could be said for the P-47 and the P-38 too. (F4U too, do not want to leave out any of the Bent Wing club).

Site I went for some of the numbers was: Acepilots.com - WW2 and aviation history
It matched up well with some of my other sources, but for ease was all in one place.

This is ridiculous:
Again - I'm just say'n that for such a popular aircraft not to be done correctly is a shame. Remember the reason for my original thread and post?

[SnoopyAce]

I would like to see a properly done P-51D in 1/48 scale also. But I would also like to see a 1/48 corsair with folding wings done too. Hopefully Hobby Master will knock the Fmint's block off and do it right!

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by Cruver Collecter

Excellent design, fantastic fighter, yes, not much of an argument there, but it seems it is fairly safe to say that the same could be said for the P-47 and the P-38 too. (F4U too, do not want to leave out any of the Bent Wing club).

All well and good, C.C. and point taken, but which one of those aircraft made Hermann Goering look up into the skies and say "The day I saw (blank) over Berlin, I knew the jig was up".....?

[STARMAN 352ND]

I notice you got Boyington down to 22 and not 28 kills to his tally ?
Lets not go to far off topic with this thread too..
JP