My fault guys!!!! I thought there was a disconnect The peril of getting older I have to go to work now but will cut and paste this back together ASAP. The fact I am still working is scary !!! Gaines
Didn't the P-47 have the same engine as both the Hellcat and Corsair? The only difference is frame design and wing area?
Yes, the Pratt & Whitney R-2800. You are also correct, the P-47 was considerably larger than both the Corsair and Hellcat, (The biggest single engine fighter of the war), but the Hellcat, and Corsair especially, weren't small either.
So technically since the P-47 was larger than both and performed well over 400 mph in the European theater (the latest model got to around 470 mph to chase down V1s), than the Hellcat and Corsair could have done the same?
Not necessarily, the P-47 had to be extensively modified to reach such speeds, the Corsair's later models (I'm talking Korean war here) could possibly reach those speeds, but the Hellcat most certainly couldn't. The Hellcat topped out at 400, and trying to squeeze out another 70 mph would be a miracle without changing the design and power plant of the aircraft.
In a sense...Yes, the F6F, F4U, and the P-47 all used the P&W R-2800 "Double Wasp." Technically, however, no the F6F, F4U, and the P-47 all used different engines. The F6F mainly used the R-2800-10 and -10W engines. The F4U mainly used the R-2800-8 & -8W engines. The P-47 used mostly the R-2800-21, -59, -63 The later P-47 engines had more horsepower and maintained that horsepower to higher altitudes, while the F6F and F4U engines would drop off.
I know this site has been posted before, but it has been a while since I had seen it come up. The premier website on WW2 aircraft performance data... WWII Aircraft Performance