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Could a T-6B defeat a P-51 in a dogfight?

HackerF15E

Retired Strike Pig Driver
None
I've flown both, and I thought the T-6A handled a lot like a Mustang but without the nasty power-on stall characteristics. Outside of the sex appeal, I even thought the T-6 was more fun to fly, although the Mustangs I've flown were all 2-seaters, and from the back seat, and we didn't really twist it up with them, so that might have something to do with the perception.

My suspicion is that the T-6 would have better sustained energy, and thus an advantage if they were both armed with gun only.

But there's only one clear winner in terms of which airplane it is better to taxi up to the FBO in after flying.
 

sevenhelmet

Low calorie attack from the Heartland
pilot
OK, I'll nerd out a bit:

IMO, it would come down to pilot skill and/or armament. That said, once we arm and/or uprate the PT-6 engine, we aren't really talking about a "T-6" anymore. For a straight-up game of gun-only tag, the P-51 is significantly faster (500+ mph vs. about 360 mph) both in a dive and straight & level flight, so a savvy attacker might use "dive, boom, & zoom" tactics to get in quick snapshots, enable better use of the vertical, and deny T-6 gunshots. On the P-51 side of things, that's the first thing I'd try. A pure turning engagement is hard to assess without an EM diagram, but I'm betting it would be close enough that once either airplane is in your control zone, it's going to be hard to gain angles. However, as long as the P-51 doesn't get slow, he could still accelerate and/or dive to get outside gun range and gain turning room.

A high-energy, high-aspect start would probably become a series of follow-on merges with fleeting snapshots from both aircraft. Slow speed starts might favor the T-6, although a savvy P-51 pilot could evade long enough to gain energy and use his speed advantage. In typical fashion, the guy who makes the fewest mistakes would stand a good chance of winning.

My money's on the P-51.
 
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Pags

N/A
pilot
OK, I'll nerd out a bit:

IMO, it would come down to pilot skill and/or armament. That said, once we arm and/or uprate the PT-6 engine, we aren't really talking about a "T-6" anymore. For a straight-up game of gun-only tag, the P-51 is significantly faster (500+ mph vs. about 360 mph) both in a dive and straight & level flight, so a savvy attacker might use "dive, boom, & zoom" tactics to get in quick snapshots, enable better use of the vertical, and deny T-6 gunshots. On the P-51 side of things, that's the first thing I'd try. A pure turning engagement is hard to assess without an EM diagram, but I'm betting it would be close enough that once either airplane is in your control zone, it's going to be hard to gain angles. However, as long as the P-51 doesn't get slow, he could still accelerate and/or dive to get outside gun range and gain turning room.

A high-energy, high-aspect start would probably become a series of follow-on merges with fleeting snapshots from both aircraft. Slow speed starts might favor the T-6, although a savvy P-51 pilot could evade long enough to gain energy and use his speed advantage. In typical fashion, the guy who makes the fewest mistakes would stand a good chance of winning.

My money's on the P-51.
Good nerdery. P-51 has higher speed and ceiling per Wikipedia. I assume that the P-51 performance specs are at least for an aircraft with 6x.50 installed. Unsure if it's for a full load of ammo (doubtful). T-6 specs are for an aircraft without any weaponry. Adding any will result in a performance decrease regardless of how the weapons are installed. At the very least the P-51 could stay high and zoom down on the T-6 and then escape with superior speed. So I agree with @sevenhelmet, a P-51 would win due to performance edge.

All this obviously assumes you manage to weaponise a T-6B. Because the question asked a T-6B I assume the OP meant "stock". Because otherwise the P-51s going to win unless the T-6 driver is a kamikaze.
 
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