No autopilot in WWII fighter aircraft

[Stephan Wilkinson]

Am I correct in assuming that U. S. World War II fighter aircraft did NOT have autopilots? I'm writing about the A-10 Warthog, which until recent upgrades lacked an autopilot, and I'm wondering whether I can say this was an example of its WWII-type simplicity.

[51fixer]

Am I correct in assuming that U. S. World War II fighter aircraft did NOT have autopilots? I'm writing about the A-10 Warthog, which until recent upgrades lacked an autopilot, and I'm wondering whether I can say this was an example of its WWII-type simplicity.

Auto pilot technology pre dates WWII.
Due to the size of components it was typically used in transport and bomber size A/C when it was used.
Some of the larger Navy Single engine types may have had a few systems but it wasn't the norm through most of the war.
Stability of an A/C was/is used for most flying and was an important feature of any design when accepting it into the service.

[daviemax]

If I recall correctly, single-engine Navy night fighters (e.g., F6F-5N) were equipped with autopilots. Need to verify.

[Mark Allen M]

My dad used shoe string in F6F's ... go figure!

[Stephan Wilkinson]

Stability of an A/C was/is used for most flying and was an important feature of any design when accepting it into the service.

I guess things have changed. The A-10 is said to be ridiculously unstable; Hog pilots joke that the best evasive maneuvers are created by simply letting go of the controls. They also hated the lack of an autopilot, particularly on the long slogs from the U. S. to the Mideast.

[JohnB]

How about the P-51H and P-47N both of which were designed for long range missions in the pacific? If any WWII-era fighters had them, they would be my guess.

[Taylor Stevenson]

On another note, man is it amazing how simple that F6F cockpit is...

[Mark Allen M]

It needed to be ... for what a teenager/early 20's guy used to do for a living just a few months before, he now was tasked to fly a Hellcat in combat.

[Invader26]

The P-47N was the first US fighter to utilize a three-axis auto-pilot, and it had tail warning radar!

[Stephan Wilkinson]

Okay, there's my answer, since as far as I know, no P-47Ns saw combat.

[Dan K]

Okay, there's my answer, since as far as I know, no P-47Ns saw combat.

Don't be silly...P-47N was very active in combat.

The USAAF's last WWII ace-in-a-day, Oscar Perdomo, was driving an N.

Urban Drew, ace in the ETO, flew his final combat missions over Japan in the N.

This just from memory. The list goes on...

(Unless you were just being facetious...then you got me good)

[Stephan Wilkinson]

No. I really did think the N post-dated the War, but thank you for the correction. That's really interesting, and valuable to know.

[Xrayist]

Charles Blair had one installed on NX1202, Excalibur III when he flew over the North Pole. I realize that this is post war, but found it interesting just the same.

[Dan K]

No. I really did think the N post-dated the War, but thank you for the correction. That's really interesting, and valuable to know.

Be sure to Google it...boatloads of stories.

Here's an earlier WIX thread to help get you started:

viewtopic.php?p=180796

[lmritger]

Oh hey, I can be Mark for a moment! All the below photos of the 318th FG N's were taken on Ie Shima, and were found on the late Jeff Ethell's site "WW2Color.com".
































































Cheers,

Lynn