World War II in the Pacific |
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FIGHTERS
P-26 Peashooter Boeing. This first all metal, single wing fighter had an open cockpit, wing struts, and fixed landing gear. It was the primary fighter from 1934 to 1938 and still in second-line service at Pearl Harbor and with the Philippine Army where all were wiped out in the first days.
160 planes; 234 mph; 360 miles, 2-.50
P-35 Guardsman Seversky (later Republic). First modern AAC fighter -- enclosed cockpit, retractable landing gear -- entered service in 1937. About 135 were built for the US with 48 in the Philippines when war came of which 8 survived after two days, all were lost. Remaining inventory sold to South American market.
135 planes; 280/310 mph; 900 miles; 1-30, 1-.50.
P-36 (Mo)Hawk by Curtiss. Primary fighter from late 1938-early 1941 with over 240 in use; it was being followed but not yet replaced by the P-40 by Pearl Harbor. In service early in WW2, two got into the air
at Pearl Harbor and others fought in the Philippines and Dutch East Indies retreats. A popular international fighter. US survivors were used for training.
1,440 planes ; 320 mph ; 800 miles ; 4-.30, 2-.50.
P-39 Airacobra by Bell was designed for ground attack with a 37mm anti-tank gun in the nose, the engine was behind the pilot. A small, high performance prototype (think A-10 Warthog) caused it to be purchased by England as a fighter with a 20mm gun as the P-400 fighter with delivery beginning in mid-1941. When equipped with the paraphernalia of a full size fighter, its performance fell and the order was canceled which made the P-400 available in the Pacific where anything with wings was needed as a fighter. It's low altitude limitation hurt (no supercharger) in the defense of Guadalcanal. Used in North Africa and SW Pacific, it really found its niche in Russia as a panzer killer. Almost 10,000 were built with half going to Russia, plus over 3,000 of it's successor, P-63 Kingcobra introduced in late 1943 for Russian service.
Almost 10,000 ; 380 mph ; 650 miles ; 2-.30, 2-.50, 1-37mm
P-40 Warhawk by Curtiss. This was the reengined upgrade of the P-36 and most numerous US fighter to serve in WW2. Entered service in late 1940, it equipped the Flying Tigers in China. Six took off and two were credited with 8 Japanese bombers at Pearl Harbor. The P-40 was a good plane and able to compete with the Zero under some conditions -- what those conditions were were painfully learned in the early days of the war where its ruggedness let it survive.
P-40s were replaced by the P-38 in the Pacific in 1943 and replaced by the P-51 Mustang in Europe. P-40's remained still in service with Australia at war end.
Over 14,000 planes; 340 mph; 900 miles; 4 (later 6)-.50
P-41/43 Lancer by Republic was successor to the P-35. The few hundred made in 1941-42 were converted for reconnaissance while Republic concentrated on working the bugs out of the P-47 Thunderbolt.
1943
P-38 Lightening by Lockheed was designed as a maximum interceptor. It first saw combat in N. Africa in late 1942 and started reaching the Pacific in 1943. P-38s saw service in all theaters; its long range made it desirable in the Pacific
where it became the best Zero killer of the Army. Tragically, this plane was delayed for a year while Lockheed worked on the obsolete but export-profitable Hudson bomber.
A high maintenance aircraft, all P-38s were destroyed immediately before the Korean conflict where its was sorely missed.
Over 10,000 ; 414 mph ; 450/1,100 miles ; 4-.50, 1-20mm.
P-47 Thunderbolt ("Jug") by Republic was large in all respects. It was big with a big engine, a high rate of climb, fast and maneuverable at altitude and had 8-.50. The AAC allowed a few to the Pacific in 1943 where it proved able to handle the high altitude advantage the Japanese had held.
In 1944 both P-38 and P-47 were needed for long range escort over Germany; fortunately the Navy was back in the air war with the F4U Corsair and F6F-Hellcat.
12,600 planes, 430 mph, drop tanks 1,900 miles, 8-.50
| Japanese Army Fighters | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A5M "Claude" and the navy led the air fighting in China and was able to defeat anything the Chinese presented.
A6M "Zero", the super-Claude was light, maneuverable, without concern for survivability. | ||||
| Ki-27 "Nate" | 1938-1943 | 290 mph | 2-.30 | 3.400 built |
| The Army copy of the Claude, used in N.China and in the occupation of Burma, Philippines and East Indies. Fixed landing gear, but closed cockpit . | ||||
| Ki-43 "Oscar" | 1941-1945 | 329 mph | 2-.50 ; 2- 550 lb | 5,900 built |
| The Army equalivent to the Zero, but even lighter, superior maneuver, tho slower in level flight and dives. | ||||
| Ki-44 "Tojo" | 1941-1945 | 376 mph | 4-.50 | 1,220 built |
| Interceptor version of Oscar for home island defense: big engine, high climb rate. | ||||
| Ki-61 "Tony" | 1943-1945 | 348 mph | 2-.50; 2-20mm ; 2- 550 lb | 2,750 built |
| Similar to Messserschmitt Bf-109, superior to Zero, equal of P-38, F4U. Production problems keep the numbers low; mechanical problem kept those out of service. | ||||
| Ki-84 "Frank" | late 1944-1945 | 392 mph | 2-.50; 2-20mm | 3,500 built |
| Equal to our best, too late to do much good. | ||||
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About this page: AAC42 - Army Air Corp, the early years. Last updated on June 13, 2004
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