Red Tails (2012)

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Anthony W.

You know, in instances, a tail slide like that was possible...

Not as dramatic as they made it look. That one shot made it look like it could outturn a biplane.

I love finding other people who know that the P-51 wasn't some uber UFO.

Too bad you guys weren't here a couple of years ago. I went 'round and 'round with a guy who insisted that the Mustang was worlds better than anything else in the sky. I couldn't make him understand that the P-51's claim to fame was that it was the only single-engined fighter with the range to escort bombers from England to Berlin and back again. It was marginally faster than the late-model Bf.109s, and the turn radius was about the same. In return the 109G-10 and K models could outclimb the Mustang and rolled faster. The Germans were also limited to 85-octane fuel. If they could have gotten our 100-octane they may have been just as fast.

But we'll never know. I hate it when they make planes do things they shouldn't, but hey, it's got planes in it, so they'll get my money. Once. More will depend on how well they pull it off.