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That is a really cool site, I am going to have to add that to the references page on my blog.
Can you imagine those Soviet female pilots horsing around those Yaks and such? It would have been intereresting what our WASPS might have been able to do during WWII.
I remember reading somewhere several years ago that women make better pilots than men on average. I think it had something to do with women in general having better reaction times and spacial visualization ability than men. I don't know how true that is though.
Neither do I. Not enough women have been battle tested to make a valid comparison. But according to fighter ace Historian Col. Raymond F. Toliver, 5% of all USAAF fighter pilots during WWII became aces, 5 or more confirmed air-to-air kills. Of course we had the luxury to take them out of combat after 25-50 mission whereas the Germans flew hundreds even more than a thousand. Eric Hartmann the top ace of all aces of all wars flew 1400 plus, and he did not have his first mission until 1942.
Check out Melitta Schiller, Hanna Reitsch, Jacqueline Cochran, Irene Englund, etchttp://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/WW2/women%20pilots%20in%20world%20war%202.htm http://www.libertyletters.com/resources/pearl-harbor/women-ferrying-pilots.php
A World War II RAF fighter, which crash-landed in a remote part of the Egyptian desert in 1942, has been discovered almost intact. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18038650
A World War II RAF fighter, which crash-landed in a remote part of the Egyptian desert in 1942, has been discovered almost intact. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18038650
That is an interesting, though sad story. It's remarkable that the plane had not been found until now, even though it is in a remote area. I hope they are able to find the pilot's remains.
There are almost certainly more planes and WWII vehicles to be found in the desert. It is almost unimaginable to conceive of how vast and trackless the desert is without having visited it.
I'm gonna have to agree with Reb up there, P-47. I don't know a lot, but I've heard a lot about their reputation.
The Spitfire was a very solid plane. The P47 was obviously superior, but by then designs were rapidly changing.
