Quote:
Originally Posted by crwilli
I have watched the first hour. Not sure how much there is but will finish it shortly.
I recently attended an AirShow at the Marine Corps Air Station - Beaufort SC. There was a Spitfire and a P-51. They called it the class of ‘47. IPhone pic attached.
I learned that for all its victories, the P-51 was a functional failure for the US Navy. The huge propeller and rearward seating position gave the pilots terrible forward vision when landing.
There were apparently lots of crashes on carriers. It was then decided to be a land based plane only.
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It was a combination of things that prevented the Navy from adopting the P-51 for carriers. The biggest reason behind the use of the P-51 Mustang in naval operations was the need for B-29 escorts while bombing Japan. No naval fighter at the time had the range to accompany the B-29's so the P-51D was selected to determine if it could be a suitable carrier operator. There were quite a few modifications that needed to be made but the stall speed of 82 mph and the need to land at approx 90 mph was not an easy task to resolve. Not for the lack of trying either with tail hook, higher pressure tires, stronger frame, etc... The aborted landings and go arounds required careful throttle management as the power of the engine could easily torque roll the P-51 into a crash when applied abruptly as is often the case with aborted landings. By the time the P-51D could have been adopted the war was over... It worked out none the less in the Pacific Theater as the Hellcats, Bearcats and the Corsairs gave the Japanese hell.
