Hey TD can you look again at the Corsair..

[majorfailure]

Originally Posted by EJGr.Ost_Caspar

Not at the altitudes, where they fought (high up with the bombers). Not suited for carriers use and not having the necessary range for default PTO operations, it was best used in ground attack and low alt fight - as especially the russians use to do it.

And there was the Issue of the reacquired P-400s that did have British oxygen supply - and couldn't go higher than the pilot could endure the thin air. Add pilots not well versed with the type and its temperamental low speed handling - at a time when fighter doctrine was still to dogfight. And to some there was too much innovation in it, car doors, engine behind the pilot, sitting on the prop shaft, tricycle landing gear -bah that has to be bad. The 37mm cannon was not liked in the beginning, too - as its trajectory needed well trained marksmen. And then add psychology, a pilot not confident with his plane will not perform as well as one convinced of its superiority.

Originally Posted by EJGr.Ost_Caspar

If it had got the turbocharger, that prototypes had, then the picture would have been different maybe.

That would have been a hell of an interceptor. But the rather short range was still there.

Originally Posted by EJGr.Ost_Caspar

Later in the war, after D-Day, when ground attacks in Europe became more important, there were already better types available, like P-47 and P-51 (which could as well fly all the way with the buffs too).

Don't forget Northern Africa and Italy. There were some P-39s present.
And the Cobra could not have been that bad even in US service -of the ~10000 produced, only half went to the VVS. Okay some were used as trainers, but that still leaves a few thousand used in combat.

[Luno13]

That's certainly a surprising result. The AI is consistently very fast though, which might be creating the feeling that things are not right.

Another trick can be good timing for "merging" with the opponent. A slower plane can catch a must faster one by turning around at the right time, spraying some ammo, and getting a lucky hit on an engine. You can't really do this trick with a "fast" airplane because it will lose all of its speed, and get swooped, or you will G-lock. In such cases, playing like a coward is the best way (but generally boring, when your life isn't really at risk).

If I may say so, you could use Il-2 compare to find the "peaks" in true air speed for each aircraft. The Corsair has a very efficient supercharger, but is somewhat limited in altitude. The P-47 has a supercharger without stages, and can take it much higher.