Best European radial-engined fighters of WW2?

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Admiral Beez	Best European radial-engined fighters of WW2?	Lead	[-]
Posts: 4458 ( 4-Apr-2008 04:59:26) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Which were the best European radial-engined, single-engine fighters of WW2? Perhaps the better question, is can any other aircraft stand up to the FW-190? To be fair, let's compare the earlier designs separately. Early Group: Bloch MB.150 (Inroduced 1939/40) Fokker D.XXI (Introduced 1940) IAR 80 (prototyped 1938, Introduced 1942) Reggiane Re.2000 (Introduced 1940) Later Group: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 (Introduced August 1941) Lavochkin La-5 (Introduced July 1942) Bloch M.B.157 (prototyped 1940, first flight 1942) The Centaurus-powered Tempest would have been interesting, but the war was all but over by the time it entered service.
NewGolconda		#1	[-]
Posts: 3242 ( 4-Apr-2008 13:57:55) Commonwealth Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	FW-190 with the exception that you first have to ask what it is you want it to do.
Dave Bender	Ask what it is you want it to do	#2	[-]
Posts: 6385 ( 4-Apr-2008 14:33:04) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Isn't that normally the case? Most aircraft are optimized for a specifc mission. The Fw-190A was optimized for medium and low altitudes. The late war Fw-190 D9 could operate comfortably at all altitudes but that aircraft did not use a radial engine.
emc		#3	[-]
Posts: 3626 ( 4-Apr-2008 15:17:24) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Probably the various radial engined versions of the FW-190; possibly the La-7.
pukalshik		#4	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 12 ( 4-Apr-2008 15:17:29) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I'll also prefer FW 190. Sporty airplane with great firepower
flyingdutchman1980		#5	[-]
Posts: 48 ( 4-Apr-2008 16:39:54) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Admiral Beez wrote: Which were the best European radial-engined, single-engine fighters of WW2? Perhaps the better question, is can any other aircraft stand up to the FW-190? To be fair, let's compare the earlier designs separately. Early Group: Bloch MB.150 (Inroduced 1939/40) Fokker D.XXI (Introduced 1940) IAR 80 (prototyped 1938, Introduced 1942) Reggiane Re.2000 (Introduced 1940) Later Group: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 (Introduced August 1941) Lavochkin La-5 (Introduced July 1942) Bloch M.B.157 (prototyped 1940, first flight 1942) The Centaurus-powered Tempest would have been interesting, but the war was all but over by the time it entered service. In the early group I think you've both forgotten the main contestors and have some dates wrong. You've added a mid/late thirties airplane like the D-XXI (first Dutch squadrons equipped with them in '38) which are definitely a generation behind planes like the Bf 109 E/F and Spitfire. Why did you pick the Bloch MB 150? I'd either picked the Dewoitine D.520 as the best French fighter of '40 or the M.S. 406 which was the most numerous one in '40. The Bloch is neither. Main contestors missing IMHO, if you include everything produced up to end '40; Supermarine Spitfire Mk V, Bf 109 up to E (maybe F) or even Hurricane (Mk I if you want a more honest comparison with D-XXI, Mk II if you want the latest one in '40).
emc		#6	[-]
Posts: 3629 ( 4-Apr-2008 18:26:25) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	flyingdutchman1980 wrote: Admiral Beez wrote: Which were the best European radial-engined, single-engine fighters of WW2? Perhaps the better question, is can any other aircraft stand up to the FW-190? To be fair, let's compare the earlier designs separately. Early Group: Bloch MB.150 (Inroduced 1939/40) Fokker D.XXI (Introduced 1940) IAR 80 (prototyped 1938, Introduced 1942) Reggiane Re.2000 (Introduced 1940) Later Group: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 (Introduced August 1941) Lavochkin La-5 (Introduced July 1942) Bloch M.B.157 (prototyped 1940, first flight 1942) The Centaurus-powered Tempest would have been interesting, but the war was all but over by the time it entered service. In the early group I think you've both forgotten the main contestors and have some dates wrong. You've added a mid/late thirties airplane like the D-XXI (first Dutch squadrons equipped with them in '38) which are definitely a generation behind planes like the Bf 109 E/F and Spitfire. Why did you pick the Bloch MB 150? I'd either picked the Dewoitine D.520 as the best French fighter of '40 or the M.S. 406 which was the most numerous one in '40. The Bloch is neither. Main contestors missing IMHO, if you include everything produced up to end '40; Supermarine Spitfire Mk V, Bf 109 up to E (maybe F) or even Hurricane (Mk I if you want a more honest comparison with D-XXI, Mk II if you want the latest one in '40). You missed a main constraint: the poster was asking specifically about radial-engined fighters.
flyingdutchman1980		#7	[-]
Posts: 49 ( 4-Apr-2008 18:38:16) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Oops. Never mind my previous post then.
No1catman		#8	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 29 ( 5-Apr-2008 12:17:53) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	The early group should include for the Italians the Macchi MC 200 Saetta, this won the competition with the Re 2000, and saw service with the Italian Air Force in the Med., North Africa and Russia. Of the second group, yes the Fw-190 stands out - with only the Russian La-5 & La-7 to contest it. Though if France had stayed in the war longer the MB 157, would have given it a shock - it could have been in service in '41.
Red Admiral		#9	[-]
Posts: 1845 ( 5-Apr-2008 16:03:41) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	The Macchi C.200 is probably the best out of the early ones. Reasonable speed and very agile. The Fw190 stands apart during the mid-war years. I believe the commonly posted speed figures for the MB 157 to be incorrect when compared to the previous models. Theres a small increase in power and an absolutely huge increase in speed. We had a play with figures on another forum and came to the conclusion that someone had converted km/h - mph wrong and the error has been repeated since then.
No1catman		#10	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 32 ( 5-Apr-2008 17:07:41) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Small increase in power? Bloch MB-151 920 hp Gnome-Rhone 14N-35 fourteen-cyl radial engine: Max speed 301 mph at 13,120 ft. with max loaded weight at 5,706 lb's. Bloch MB-152 1,100 hp Gnome-Rhone 14N-49 or 1,080 hp 14N-25 engine: Max speed 320 mph with max loaded weight at 5,908 lb's. Bloch MB-155 1,100 hp Gnome-Rhone 14N-49 engine: Max speed 323 mph at 18,040 ft., with a max loaded weight 6,393 lb's. Bloch MB-157 1,590 hp (but gave 1,700 hp at 26,250 ft) Gnome-Rhone 14R-4 engine: Max speed 441 mph at 25,750 ft.,416 mph at 27,890 ft., with a max loaded weight of 7,165 lb. As a comparison the the Fw-190A had a 1,700 hp BMW 801D-2 fourteen cyl radial engine: Max speed 408 mph at 20,600 ft., with a max loaded weight of 9,750 lb. At first the difference in Bloch's aircraft takes some getting used to - the increase in power apparently mirrors the increase in spead, yet the better aerodynamics should count, and perhaps more so the thinner air where the max speeds are recorded. The only other consideration that occurs - does the loaded weight quoted include military equipement e.g. guns - which wouldn't have been aboard when flown! Still with the comparison of the '190' note how much heavier the German aircraft is!!

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Best European radial-engined fighters of WW2?

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