P-51 at nearly 500 MPH!

[miketx]

Awesome! 70 year old tech....

 

[Ringel05]

Awesome! 70 year old tech....

Ah, the glamour gal of WWII but nothing beats the sound of a Rolls Royce Merlin engine in a Supermarine Spitfire.



And arguably the most versatile and feared aircraft of WWII, the De Havilland Mosquito (the wooden wonder). German fighter pilots were awarded two kills if they brought down a Mosquito.



Then there's the real work horse of the American Army Air corps, the P-47 Thunderbolt, "the Jug", it was basically a flying tank.......

 

[westwall]

Awesome! 70 year old tech....

There is NOTHING about that aircraft that is 70 years old! The only part of that aircraft that is 70 years old is the look! That being said the guys that prepare Voodoo, and Strega, are the best A&P's in the world, bar none!

 

[miketx]

Awesome! 70 year old tech....

There is NOTHING about that aircraft that is 70 years old! The only part of that aircraft that is 70 years old is the look! That being said the guys that prepare Voodoo, and Strega, are the best A&P's in the world, bar none!

I kinda new that, but still 70 years ago, it would hit close to 500 mph.

 

[jimsouth123]

I read an article about a Thunderbolt that was being tailed by a group of Messerschmitt's, The pilot said he could hear & feel the machinegun fire bouncing off the armored cockpit. He took it into a power dive ( 500 mph + ), and came out of cloud cover behind the German planes. Eight .50s in the wings. I guess I don't have to tell you how it ended. The plane was 5 tons ---- 7 tons fully armed. It was not unusual for one to head back to England with two or three cylinders blown off the radial engine, still flying & in control. The saying was: Thank God - Republic Aircraft - & Pratt & Whitney. R-2800 DOUBLE WASP ENGINE - Pratt & Whitney