Whirlwind vs Me 109 during B of B

[stravinsk75]

No pilot would hang onto his stores, whether fuel tanks, or bombs, if a dogfight developed; first action was always to "clean up," and rid the airframe of any drag. Since pilots were told to always keep their speed up, and not let it drop, that didn't apply.

Edgar

Yes, pilots are told to keep their speed up and not turn, as the Flying Tigers were doing for instance, and that is useful when they are flying the inferior-turning aircraft...

One Western FW-190 A-8 ace speaks of reducing the throttle well before the merge, and using reduced power turns exclusively against all Allied aircrafts.

For Speed issues in combat, Me-109G 32 kill ace Finnish ace Karhila is most instructive:

"I learned to fly with the (3 cannon) "Cannon-Mersu" (MT-461). I found that when fighter pilots got in a battle, they usually applied full power and then began to turn. In the same situation I used to decrease power, and with lower speed was able to turn equally well. --------When the enemy decreased power, I used to throttle back even more.-----------250kmh (160 mph) seemed to be the optimal speed."

http://www.virtualpilots.fi/feature/articles/109myths/#g6r6

As far as always dropping your bombs in a low-level dogfight, well you don't need to do that if you have the superior-turning aircraft do you?

"On Special Missions: KG 200": "The P-47D out-turns our Bf-109G"

Osprey, P-47 Thunderbolt units of the 12th Air Force.

P.32: "15th May 1944, 87th Fighter squadron operational report (Paddle-blade propellers only starting to be delivered to the group in late may 44, and only with new aircrafts).

That afternoon, the 87th FS took off (16 aircrafts) with 32 X 1000 lbs bombs underwing to add to the destruction in Acquapedente. Target Acquapedente bridges.

"A flight of 15 Me-109s and 5 FW-190s was encountered. One section kept the fighters occupied while the remainder attacked the bridges. Three enemy fighters were destroyed for one of ours damaged.

A gratifying result of this engagement was that a P-47, not considered a low-altitude aircraft, can maneuver advantageously with Me-109s almost on the deck, even though under the handicap of being on a bomb run." (2 X 1000 lbs of bombs underwing)"

So you see, they didn't always have to drop their bombs in a dogfight...

And they don't mention out-turning FW-190 As either, though admittedly these did not achieve much...

On the deck and outnumbered two-to-one in a bombed-up P-47? No sweat. It is the Me-109Gs that should have kept the speed up, exactly as you said. (Unless they knew about Karhila's downthrottling "trick", in which case it might have turned out differently: Note that he says: "I found that when fighter pilots got in a battle, they usually applied full power and then began to turn....")

No doubt about it, flight physics have this one all nailed down...

J. Stravinsky