Why were the planes used in the two theaters of WWII different?

Hello everyone,,
I just watched a TV show about WWII, and it talked about the P-51 in Europe and the Hellcat in the Pacific, and the B-17 https://19216801.onl/ https://routerlogin.uno/ in Europe and the B-29 in the Pacific. What made these and other planes more suited for one theater than the other?

 

Been there...Done that.
http://www.ww2f.com/threads/why-wer...theaters-of-wwii-different.74624/#post-853125

You must have watched the same TV show. Same topic thread, same wording, and almost - to the day - a year apart. What are the chances?

 

Hello there!! That is a great question. It was never so much about suitability as it was circumstantial. The Pacific Air war was predominantly Naval and Marine Corps aircraft, with USAAF aircraft in some major parts of the CBI, but not a whole lot in the Pacific. The Hellcat served in Europe as well, but with the Fleet Air Arm in a limited capacity. The P-51 also served in both theaters, but not in the Pacific until the end of the war. The B-29 was perfectly suited for the long range bombing in the Pacific, range that the B-17 didn't have. All were great in their own ways, and they became great because of their circumstances and the pilots who flew them.

 

Damn, what a coincidence.

Do you suppose someone thought the responses would change?

 

And another one from 5 years ago!

Reddit - AskHistorians - Why were the planes used in the two theaters of WWII different?

 

The free market system, in particular the Government contract bidding system.

 

This is an oversimplification, but: In Europe service ceiling was more important as combat took place at higher altitudes. In the Pacific it was about range.

A good example is the P-38 Lightning. The P-38 suffered from poor cockpit heat and mechanical/freezing problems at altitude. The early P-38s also had an aerodynamic structural problem known as compressibility. P-38 pilots could not follow the Germans in dives because of this problem. In the Pacific however, the P-38 went on to great success. The P-38's range famously allowed it to intercept Admiral Yamamoto, and escort B-24s on long missions well before the P-51 arrived.

The US Navy did use GM Wildcats in the Atlantic. I'm not sure about Hellcats. Although the Fleet Air Arm had a number of Hellcats and Martlets.

 

The only USN use of Hellcats in the European theater was on two escort carriers supporting the Dragoon landings in southern France. These were one Bogue and one Casablanca class ship, as far as I know the only combat use of F6Fs on those classes. The USN usually used F4F/FM-2s on them and reserved F6Fs for the larger Sangamon and Commencement Bay classes. A few CB class ships also used F4Us late in WWII and in Korea.

The Royal Navy used Wildcat/Martlets, Hellcats and also Corsairs, including on Bogue type CVEs.