Comparing the North American P-51D Mustang against the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XVIIIe flying at the same airshow. Looking at both Warbirds at a technical point of view and at the takeoff, simulated dogfight, low passes and landing.
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by design team headed by James Kindelberger North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission. The Purchasing Commission approached North American Aviation to build Curtiss P-40 fighters under license for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Rather than build an old design from another company, North American Aviation proposed the design and production of a more modern fighter. The prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940, 102 days after the contract was signed, and first flew on 26 October.
The Mustang was designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine, which had limited high-altitude performance in its earlier variants. The aircraft was first flown operationally by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber (Mustang Mk I). Replacing the Allison with a Rolls-Royce Merlin resulted in the P-51B/C (Mustang Mk III) model and transformed the aircraft’s performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft (4,600 m) (without sacrificing range),[9] allowing it to compete with the Luftwaffe’s fighters. The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the two-speed two-stage-supercharged Merlin 66, and was armed with six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns.
From late 1943, P-51Bs and P-51Cs (supplemented by P-51Ds from mid-1944) were used by the USAAF’s Eighth Air Force to escort bombers in raids over Germany, while the RAF’s Second Tactical Air Force and the USAAF’s Ninth Air Force used the Merlin-powered Mustangs as fighter-bombers, roles in which the Mustang helped ensure Allied air superiority in 1944.[12] The P-51 was also used by Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean, Italian and Pacific theaters. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed to have destroyed 4,950 enemy aircraft.
At the start of the Korean War, the Mustang, by then re-designated F-51, was the main fighter of the United Nations until jet fighters, including North American’s F-86, took over this role; the Mustang then became a specialized fighter-bomber. Despite the advent of jet fighters, the Mustang remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s. After the Korean War, Mustangs became popular civilian warbirds and air racing aircraft.
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, using several wing configurations, and it was produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft. It was also the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the war. The Spitfire continues to be popular among enthusiasts; nearly 60 remain airworthy, and many more are static exhibits in aviation museums throughout the world.
The Spitfire was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft by R. J. Mitchell, chief designer at Supermarine Aviation Works, which operated as a subsidiary of Vickers-Armstrong from 1928. Mitchell pushed the Spitfire’s distinctive elliptical wing with cutting-edge sunken rivets (designed by Beverley Shenstone) to have the thinnest possible cross-section, helping give the aircraft a higher top speed than several contemporary fighters, including the Hawker Hurricane. Mitchell continued to refine the design until his death in 1937, whereupon his colleague Joseph Smith took over as chief designer, overseeing the Spitfire’s development through its multitude of variants.
During the Battle of Britain, from July to October 1940, the public perceived the Spitfire to be the main RAF fighter, though the more numerous Hurricane shouldered a greater proportion of the burden against Nazi Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe. However, Spitfire units had a lower attrition rate and a higher victory-to-loss ratio than those flying Hurricanes because of the Spitfire’s higher performance. During the battle, Spitfires were generally tasked with engaging Luftwaffe fighters—mainly Messerschmitt Bf 109E-series aircraft, which were a close match for them.
After the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire superseded the Hurricane to become the backbone of RAF Fighter Command, and saw action in the European, Mediterranean, Pacific, and South-East Asian theatres. Much loved by its pilots, the Spitfire served in several roles, including interceptor, photo-reconnaissance, fighter-bomber, and trainer, and it continued to serve in these roles until the 1950s. The Seafire was a carrier-based adaptation of the Spitfire that served in the Fleet Air Arm from 1942 through to the mid-1950s. Although the original airframe was designed to be powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine producing 1,030 hp (768 kW), it was strong enough and adaptable enough to use increasingly powerful Merlins and, in later marks, Rolls-Royce Griffon engines producing up to 2,340 hp (1,745 kW). As a result, the Spitfire’s performance and capabilities improved over the course of its service life.
Sources: YouTube; Wikipedia
You needed more sky for a p515th than you did for a spitfire. The spit also had better armament (some marks had 4 20mms cannon). But the p515th had the range. If you wanted a bomber escort then it had to be the p51. But if you wanted a down-and-dirty street fighter that could sunshine the me109s and fw190s then it had to be the spit. It’s only failing was its lack of range.
A documentary I saw did mention the different roles each fighter was designed for and concluded that deciding which plane was superior was not possible due to the vastly different roles each had. Several veterans, a few British and a few Americans that were interviewed, all seemed to prefer the Spitfire, I think due to its slightly superior manoeuvrability. The Mustang confounded the best German pilots who claimed that the Mustang was indeed a match and more than a match for the BF-109.
Another serious fault of the Mustang was it’s weakness in the ground attack roll. Engine temperature control was critical and the cooling of oil and water went through that scoop under the fuselage. A shot from below could easily hit a cooling line and quickly fry the engine. The huge P47 is often overlooked. It was an effective fighter and ground attack aircraft. The radial engine was damn near indestructable. The last version was even long range. It wasn’t pretty but it was a good all around fighter bomber.
The Spitfire wasn’t a good ground attack aircraft either. Its thin wing profile wasn’t up to the stresses. Possibly the best aircraft for this was the Hawker Tempest, though I’ll grant you that the Jug’s engine made it more rugged.
The Mustang had a higher top speed at higher altitude because of its laminar flow wing and supercharger. Up high, I take the Mustang in a dog fight. Down low, I take the tighter turning Spitfire.
Before I even read the article I had it summed up as
Range – Mustang
Altitude – Mustang
Armament – A snitch to the Spitfire due to cannon, but the standard 50cal vs 303 is a no brainer
Survivability – Mustang
Maneuverability – Spitfire
Engine Performance – Spitfire
This isn’t correct. If we’re going to compare variants released in the same year; we’ll compare Spitfire Mk XIV and P-51D Mustang.
The Mustangs laminar flow aerofoil actually had HIGHER DRAG at high speeds – Supermarine were dissapointed when putting a laminar wing on the spit because of the lack of benefit it produced (Spiteful). So the spitfires wing was actually far better suited to higher speeds than the Mustang. The Speed of the 1943 Spitfire XIV was 454mph, compared to 437-442 of the Mustang D, released late 43/44. This myth comes from people Google searching the answer and being given a comparison between a 370mph Spit MkI and a Mustang D.
In terms of the better aircraft to have stuck to you in any tacticall situation, the one that had better raw performance in pretty much every single way – the spitfire easily wins. Better speed, better climb, better turn. However if you want to fight over Berlin – the performance trade of the mustang isn’t large, and it’ll do just as well against the significantly inferior Nazi fighters.
Interestingly, the US wanted the U.K. to use the spitfire to escort bombers to Berlin BEFORE the p51 and 47 – the British stupidly said it can’t be done even though USAF reconnaissance spots were flying over Berlin daily. To Proce their point, they had a spitfire shipped to the US to have drop tanks installed – and then they flew it back over the channel again to prove their point!
There are a lot of unfortunate myths about the spitfire having worse performance at high speed which is unfortunate as they are untrue. The spitfires wing was capable of going Mach 0.96 in a dive!
Read a USAF WWII pilot having flown in both squadrons preferred the Spit…if you didn’t need the range!