Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1943-11-19
American Battle Planes Must Be Worlds Best,
Is Pledge of Designers and Manufacturers
U. S. Air Superiority
Result of Constantly
Improved Machines

The test of battle-the only
valid test of the performance of
combat aircraft-has by now re-
suited in a number of box scores
which reveal the pattern of ac-
complishment of American COM
bat planes.
Sin every theater of operations,
American airmen and American
planes have met the challenge of
our enemies and outfought them by
scores never worse than two to one
in our favor" said Gen. Henry H.
Arnold, commanding general of the
army air forces. "All types of
American fighter planes have shot
out of the skies the best interceptors
both Germany and Japan have put
against them" This has been true
since January, 1912, when our planes
were outnumbered on practically all
fronts.
While much of this favorable fight
ing ratio is attributable to the ex-
cellent training, versatility and cour-
age of our pilots, good part is
traceable to the mechanical superb
ority of our planes. Constant i'm
provement is the Watchword. Even
though production schedules must be
delayed, our aircraft must be the
best possible, say army and navy air
corps officers.
Here is summary of the chief
combat planes which have run up
the high scores in our favor from a
report just released by the Office
of War Information:
Fighters.
V-type liquid-cooled engines are
found in most fighter models because
the long, slender shape of liquid
cooled engine is more adaptable to
streamlined fighter design. 1t allows
better vision, and has a smaller
frontal area for the same horsepow-
er. But it will be noted that in the
PAT, where 1000 horsepower was
desired, an air-cooled engine was
used. The same is true of the navy's
Vought Eau (Corsair) and the new
Grammar F6F Hellcat. The navy
uses no liquid-cooled engines.
The navy's fighter program is
large. An airplane carrier carries
torpedo planes, bombers and fight
ers, and of these the fighters are
needed to protect the other planes
and the carrier itself. Fighters also
protect land bases. In the South
Pacific, army P-38's are doing this
latter job along with navy fighters.
In the opinion of the materiel COM
mand, the Curtiss P-40, or War
hawk, has reached the limit of its de-
velopmental possibilities. 1t has
gone through numerous type
changes, the most basic being the
P-40F when the engine was changed
from Allison to Merlin.
Although the latest model P-39
ceiling and general performance
have been improved, the P-39 has
shared the climb-deficiency OF the
P-4O. 1t is being supplanted by a
new model now under construction,
with low drag wing and two
stage Allison supercharged engine
which will make it an efficient plane
at any altitude up to $4,000 or 40, 900
feet. The greatest efficiency of the
P-39 models has been below $1,000
feet. Like the P-39, the new plane
will be equipped with cannon.
Low Altitude Fighter.
Although superior to the P-40 and
P-39, the original Psi or Mustang
is also only. low and medium
altitude fighter. Now in production
is a new Psi with a highly super
charged, Packard-built, Rolls-Royce
Merlin engine, similar to the Merlin
81 engine in the newest Spitfires. Its
performance is reported as even bet
ter than that famous ships. The
new engine gives the plane the high
est ceiling Cup to 10000 feeD and the
highest speed (well over 400 miles
an hour) of any fighter in existence.
The A-36 Qnvader), the fighter
bomber version of the Psi, has seen
heavy service in the Mediterranean
theater, and its best features are
being incorporated in the new Psi
which will replace both the A-36 and
the old Psi.
The latest model of the Lockheed
P-38 or Lightning is fast, powerful
fighter that has been given greatly
increased horsepower in its Allison
engine, improved pilots vision, and
improved intercooling for better
high-altitude performance. It out
performs the Zero and later JAP