The P40′s and Airocobras were only stop-gap measures. Nontheless, the P40′s were used to great effect in the hands of the AVG (Flying Tigers) against the Japanese in China. The P47 was not the useless fighter aircraft that one might think. It made more American aces than the P51 Mustang. It was also far more robust than other fighters in the European theater. There were accounts of German pilots who ran out of ammunition trying to shoot them down and the aircraft still brought the pilot back across the channel. The engine powering the P47 was the most powerful piston engine in the world at that time (Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp, 16 cylinder, air cooled, radial engine providing 2000 HP). The Merlin engine was introduced into the Mustang at the suggestion of a British officer who noted that the airframe was more capable than what the Allison engine allowed. I believe it was Bell (don’t quote me on that as I am going by memory) that did some fine tuning of the Merlin and managed to squeeze an additional 250 horsepower out of that engine and it was that variant that powered later versions of the Spitfires and Mustangs. I believe that the Merlin ended up providing something along the lines of 1750 HP after it was fine tuned. For those who are sticklers to details, they may google up the specs. The US also had the P38 Lightning, another phenomenal aircraft that had very long range. Why it wasn’t used for fighter escort in the European theater, I’m not sure. It was mostly relegated to operations in N. Africa. The P38 was the aircraft that scored more kills in the Pacific theater than any other US aircraft. An extremely capable aircraft with lots of firepower, durability, range, and speed. We were certainly unprepared for that war but we weren’t too far behind the British. Much of our equipment were on blueprints and just lacked funding. In some areas, the British were ahead. In other areas, they were behind (carrier born operations and naval damage control are just two that come to mind). The US Navy had always been excellent at battle damage control but our carrier born operations, although efficient, it was still lagging behind the Japanese. The British and American cooperation in WW2 was mutually beneficial and has been something that still continues today. I would like to see that continue. It was mutually beneficial before, I trust it will continue to be so.

“rather than doing her doing her most excellent to create an impression of a nonexistent great Anglo-American”

.. should obviously have read:

“rather than doing her most excellent to create an impression of a nonexistent great Anglo-American DIVIDE”

She will no doubt argue that she isn’t in the least bit anti-British and that she is simply being critical of certain aspects of life in Britain; but exactly the same is true of all the things that she complains is anti-Americanism.

In Carol Gould’s twisted world of pitiful paranoia, any criticism of any aspect of America, or American policy, is viewed as prejudiced and anti-American – whereas any criticisms she makes are simply an objective commentary.

Any criticism by one person is painted as the widely held opinion of the whole country.

The simple truth is that if a foreigner were sat in America, writing the sort of banal stuff about America that she writes about Britain, then she – and indeed most of the Pajamas audience – would be demanding that persons arrest and deportation from America. I think it is a testament to the tolerance of British society that no one calls for her expulsion.

In the final analysis, the sort of drivel she writes does far more damage to our mutual perceptions of one-an-others countries than any of the largely fictional stuff she writes about – which then begs the question whether creating that sort of divide isn’t exactly what she is setting out to achieve in the first place? And if so, why .. what is her divisive motive?

Does she ever comment on the fact that polls here in Britain persistently, and by a very large margin, show that there is no country in the world that the British have a higher regard for, and identify, with than the United States?

Does she ever comment on the fact that most people in Britain know infinitely more about what is going on in the United States than they do about what is going on a few miles away in mainland Europe?

Does she ever comment on the fact that more Britain’s will visit America than any other country in the world?

If her motives were truly to foster greater understanding between our countries, are these not the sort of things she would be focussing her attentions on .. rather than doing her doing her most excellent to create an impression of a nonexistent great Anglo-American and to create the thoroughly inaccurate impression that Britain is a deeply anti-American country?

Why does she consciously agitate to force people into extremist positions that create the sort of disparaging arguments that have taken place here?

As both a Jew and a Zionist (but not the sort of unquestioning Zionist that she is), I think I know the answers – but I will leave you to make your own minds up.

As a British Jew, I will however give you a clue in the fact that most of our Jewish community here in Britain coexist peacefully with Muslims and give equal priority to both Palestinians and Israelis in their quest for a peaceful and secure future .. and Carol Gould, along with her dear friend Melanie Phillips, REALLY detests that.

As someone who spends her entire life churning out spiteful fictional drivel about all the abuse you recieve and how much you hate living in the United Kingdom – yet who isn’t kept here against her will – don’t you just think that your latest epistle of hate is more than a little hypocritical?

Yes – we remind American’s about NorAid and the thousands of lives lost to American funded bombs, but has that stopped us being the United States’ most loyal ally? Did it cause a diplomatic incident when Edward Kennedy, former fundraiser in chief for NorAid and who has the blood of thousands of innocent British people on his hands – was given a state funeral at the very same time that the American media were castigating us for showing compassion to a dying man?

Why do we mention NorAid? Because arrogant halfwits like you continually bang on about the eternal gratitude you want us to show for something that happened two generations ago, whilst expecting us to blindly ignore something that was still going on little more than a decade ago.

As Jew, I won’t even start on what I think about your preposterous claims about Israel being a beacon of freedom – they are just too fanatical to even credit with a response.

Now how about being honest about the real reason you stay in Britain? Socialised medicine and the fact that you would be too destitute to afford treatment for your many ailments if you went back to live in the United States – so instead you stay here and vent all your bitterness on the country that offers you unlimited free healthcare and offers yu the freedom of speech to vent that resentment.

On second thoughts – your views on socialized medicine probably wouldn’t go down to well on this site.

Aviad.

Between us, Britain and United States, have done rather well. In both Iraq and Afghanistan our troops have fought hard and done well together. Since I have read a lot of WWII history this seems like the proper way to do things. I also read a lot of Ike, and he worked very hard at this.
It’s the going forward part that’s a little dicey. We have had some great leaders who worked together; Winny and FDR, Thatcher and Ronny, Bush and Blair, but now we have our post-American leader dissing the Brits and of course we get it back from some Tory Lord Euro-trash who we should just start off by forgetting. We may be in for a rough patch.

Sorry, I don’t want to give the special relationship up. I’m an Anglo-sphere kinda guy. Too much good has come out of our special relationship to the throw it all away. My uncle flew 25 missions over Germany. I know who told who not to go ‘wobbly’. I like the sound of the Queen’s English spoken in Mingora, with a crisp accent I will never manage.

Grow up children, can’t we all just get along.

We are proud of our history. WW2 is on the school curriculum.
My ten year old son and his class recently invited their grandparents(who fought in the war)to a tea dance.
The children had learnt all the war songs,and the dances,not a dry eye in the place.My son wearing his grandfathers medals.

I show him ,now 87yrs old,fought the Germans what he thinks of the comments being made here by American’s.
The response, true bewilderment,then saddness these aren’t the Americans he knew,then realisation that this is how some Americans now feel about WW2.
The response then is ,we paid you back.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/article1264220.ece

Amazing that we’re here commenting on equipment from 60 years ao but here goes:

My point was that US was way behind the Brits when Pearl Harbor hit. We were lucky. Lucky the Brits bought us time. Lucky to get their cavity magnetron devices for radar. Lucky to get their code breaking stuff. Lucky they didn’t make a disgraceful separate peace.

No one should minimize what the Brits did, how lucky we were they did it, and how poorly prepared we were.

The Mustang was designed by NA for the Britsh–not the US which was ignorantly satisfied with its heavy P-40′s and P-47′s and useless Aircobras, which were outdated by 1940. The Mustang was ignored by the US for serious fighter work until someone suggested the Merlin be installed. The Mustang was not some purposeful design by the US military. It was an accident.

True enough that the Sherman was better than what the British were using, but it was no world beater either and its limited scope function-atatcking infantry–ignored reality and the german use of tanks in 1939. Tank crews suffered as a result and only when the US had air superiority did we beat back german tanks. The serious deficiencies of the Sherman were not fixed until 1945 when new US and Brit tanks appeared.

I cannot abide the Pragmatist’s bitter anti-american screeds, but I cannot abide either, the people who minimize what Britain did. It was magnificent. (I have no british ancestry so far as I know).