# What WWII fighter did I see? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 18, 2021, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200 "2021-03-18T20:29:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JohnnyEcks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnnyecks/32/18197_2.png) [@JohnnyEcks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyEcks)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2021, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/21 "2021-03-18T21:49:47Z")
Wow, never meant to create such controversy! I’m afraid that given the brief view, my fallible memory, and the plausibility of the suggestions, all of them seem possible candidates. I’m afraid this may remain a mystery. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2021, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/22 "2021-03-18T21:53:21Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Says the Doper who insisted that a ocelot is a savannah cat. > [@DrDeth](#): > > I said nothing of the sort. I said that _if_ it was a domestic cat, it _wasnt_ a ocicat, that a savannah cat was much more likely. There are all sorts of hybrid domestic cats that look quite a bit different. > > In fact i said the likelihood is “ocelot, fake or savannah cat in that order.” > > And that cat has still not been IDed. Actually, I think the picture is faked as coming from that locality, that it is a real ocelot from the ocelots normal range. **Moderator Note** Don’t bring in an argument from an entirely unrelated thread. Let’s drop the hijack. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2021, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/23 "2021-03-18T21:55:53Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Don’t mind me, just bringing this thread to the attention of [some resident aviation experts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-general-aviation-thread/600499/). What say you, @Asimovian? @Johnny_L.A? As soon as I read ‘I noticed it had squared off wingtips, a blunt nose with a pronounced cowling around the engine, and white army stars painted on the underside of each wing’, I thought ‘T-6 Texan.’ I see that Gorsnak already posted the link I was going to post. Here’s a [plan view](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/488781365782455767/) of the Texan that shows the square wingtips and, of course, the round cowling over the radial engine. The T-6/SNJ is a ubiquitous ‘warbird’. They’re relatively inexpensive – you can get them for well under $200,000. Most people who own a warbird paint them in military schemes, so the stars make sense for just about anything from that era. Anyway, I think the description and availability make the T-6/SNJ the most likely plane you saw. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2021, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/24 "2021-03-18T21:59:00Z")
Speaking of North American warbirds, check this out: [1944 NORTH AMERICAN XP-82 TWIN MUSTANG For Sale in Titusville, Florida | Controller.com](https://www.controller.com/listing/for-sale/196714395/1944-north-american-xp-82-twin-mustang-piston-military-aircraft) > One of the most remarkable warbirds flying today. The prototype North American XP-82 “Twin Mustang”. The XP-82 is one of five surviving P-82 Twin Mustangs and is currently the only one flying and one of two in civilian ownership. If you happen to have an spare 12 megabucks lying about… ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/25 "2021-03-19T07:25:13Z")
The F4U Corsair also had a massive radial engine and squarish wingtips. Not as squared-off as on the Grumman cats, but not as round as, say, on a Japanese Zero either. > **[Vought F4U Corsair](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vought_F4U_Corsair)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts were given to Goodyear, whose Corsairs were designated FG, and Brewster, designated F3A. > The Corsair was designed and operated as a carrier-based aircraft, and entered service in large numbers with the U.S... I was once surprised by one of these taking off from the airport in Madison, WI. At first, all I could hear was the engine noise, and it took a couple of seconds for me to realize it was no _ordinary_ engine. It sounded like a buzz saw, or a hornet/wasp on speed. I turned around and saw this magnificent airplane emerge from over the treetops. It was a moment I’ll never forget! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/26 "2021-03-19T07:43:03Z")
Interesting anecdote about massive radial engines and the F8F Bearcat in particular: I once knew a woman who had been a WAVE at a US Naval Air Station back in the '50s, when the F8F was still around for non-combat duties. She was showing a group of deaf schoolchildren around the station and got a pilot to fire up the Bearcat’s engine for them. The children started crying with joy. They were hearing something for the first time in their lives!. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/27 "2021-03-19T08:51:16Z")
I just thought of this: It was unusual to have US national insignia on both wings after the first part of 1942. They were normally applied to the left wing only, supposedly to present a more asymmetric target to the enemy. Did the plane you saw have the red “meatball” inside its white stars? That would also place it prior to mid-1942 (they were abandoned because US pilots in the Pacific tended to shoot at anything red like a Japanese _hinomaru_). If the plane was from early WWII, my guess would be that it was a Grumman F4F Wildcat, which preceded the Hellcat, the Corsair, and the Avenger. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/28 "2021-03-19T13:48:25Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > It sounded like a buzz saw, or a hornet/wasp on speed. Or a Double Wasp, maybe? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/29 "2021-03-19T13:55:40Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I was once surprised by one of these taking off from the airport in Madison, WI. At first, all I could hear was the engine noise I was at WJF one day when a Corsair took off. (I think it was Bill Barnes, son of Pancho Barnes, flying.) I was 3,400 feet away, and I could feel the engine. It literally shook the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/30 "2021-03-19T14:23:29Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > If the plane was from early WWII, my guess would be that it was a Grumman F4F Wildcat, which preceded the Hellcat, the Corsair, and the Avenger. A very cursory search indicates there are 16 airworthy Wildcats in the U.S. FWIW, there are about 27 airworthy Corsairs, 13 airworthy Bearcats (2 civilian-built), 6 airworthy Hellcats, 13 airworthy Thunderbolts, and 33 airworthy Avengers. I was unable to find how many T-6/SNJs there are flying, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the number was in the hundreds. My guess is still that the OP saw a T-6/SNJ. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/31 "2021-03-19T14:35:32Z")
I think it unlikely it was a P-47; they had wings shaped like orange segments, more like the Spitfire. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/32 "2021-03-19T14:47:54Z")
The propeller tips can actually go supersonic in F4U’s (just the tips) which make a cracking sound… To all the good questions asked of the OP thus far I’d ask where this aircraft was seen. (No need to give too many details.) For example, near Reno, NV one might expect to see an F8F modified for air racing, etc. Or Oshkosh WI or Abbotsford BC, could be part of an airshow. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/33 "2021-03-19T16:09:19Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But there are a LOT of T6’s out there. Enough that in the 1970 movie, _Tora Tora Tora!_ T6s substituted for [Zekes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tora!_Tora!_Tora!#/media/File:Mitsubishi_A6M_Zero_Replica.jpg) and modified T6s for [Kates](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tora!_Tora!_Tora!#/media/File:Japanese_Kate_(2783320658).jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/34 "2021-03-19T16:23:55Z")
Did you know that there’s an [Internet Movie Plane Database](https://www.impdb.org/index.php?title=Tora!_Tora!_Tora!)? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/35 "2021-03-20T20:05:55Z")
The Commemorative Air Force Museum in Mesa Az offers rides in a T-6 Texan that’s painted in Navy blue colors. It would be in the air a lot, so if this was anywhere near there, that could be it. [https://www.azcaf.org/plane/snjt-6-texan/](https://www.azcaf.org/plane/snjt-6-texan/) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/36 "2021-03-22T02:10:02Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > one The T-28 (also sometimes AT-28) is another good possibility. More rare than a T-6, but more square and fighter-like. The T-6’s wingtips are not square. They’re not semicircles, but they’re distinctly rounded. As is the horizontal and vertical tail. The T-28 is much more rectangular overall. The T-6 has long-ish trainer wings, not stubby broad-chord fighter wings like the T-28. > **[North American T-28 Trojan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_T-28_Trojan)** > > The North American Aviation T-28 Trojan is a radial-engine military trainer aircraft manufactured by North American Aviation and used by the United States Air Force and United States Navy beginning in the 1950s. Besides its use as a trainer, the T-28 was successfully employed as a counter-insurgency aircraft, primarily during the Vietnam War. It has continued in civilian use as an aerobatics and warbird performer. > On September 24, 1949, the XT-28 (company designation NA-159) was flown for the ... ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/37 "2021-03-22T13:26:26Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > The Commemorative Air Force Museum in Mesa Az offers rides in a T-6 Texan that’s painted in Navy blue colors. It would be in the air a lot, so if this was anywhere near there, that could be it. > > [https://www.azcaf.org/plane/snjt-6-texan/](https://www.azcaf.org/plane/snjt-6-texan/) I live five miles from Falcon Field but at $360 a flight I’m too cheap. However when my nephew was a teen my brother popped for a flight on his birthday. You shoulda seen the grin on his face when the flight was over. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/38 "2021-03-22T13:50:36Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I live five miles from Falcon Field but at $360 a flight I’m too cheap. Avgas is… what? Six dollars/gallon? A T-6 burns something like 30 gph. So that’s $180/hour just for fuel. I’ve heard radial engines tend to use a lot of oil. I don’t know how much that costs. As they’re charging for flights, they would have to pay for 100-hour inspections plus the annual inspections (the annual counts as a 100-hour). Then there’s hangar space, insurance, routine maintenance, and overhauls that also have to be figured into the hourly cost. Not to mention the cost of the pilot. But $360 for one-third of an hours does seem a bit dear. If I could afford it, I’d chalk it up to a ride in an expensive-to-operate aircraft plus a nice donation to the museum. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/39 "2021-03-22T13:53:23Z")
Oh, I didn’t mean to imply I was begrudging them the money, just that my light-weight wallet won’t stand for it well. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200/40 "2021-03-22T14:02:37Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > my light-weight wallet won’t stand for it well Mine neither. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wwii-fighter-did-i-see/938200.md?page=3)