Were P-51 mustangs used at Pearl Harbor?

Answer 1

first answer:

No. There were no P-51 mustangs used at Pearl Harbor. Early in the war, the Japanese Zero was far superior to any fighter airplane the Americans had. It was not superior to the British Spitfire but Americans did not have the Spitfire. It was not until the Hellcat fighter (F6) that the Americans had a plane equal to the Zero.

second more correct answer:

The P-51B Mustang did not enter Service until May 1943, and the earlier Allison-engine P-51A & A-36A Apache entered service in 1942. As to the superiority of the Zero: It was excellent a turning at low speeds & climbed very well. The Japanese pilots used these strengths to defeat many types of aircraft in the early months of the war. The Zero had excellent long range capabilities. The Spitfire was not necessarily superior to the Zero. The Spitfire nor any Allied aircraft could out-urn the Zero at slow speeds. The Spitfire would have to maintain speeds up around 300 MPH or more to out-turn the Zero. The Zero could out-roll the Spitfire. Also the Zero could out-climb the Spitfire, but the Spitfire could out dive the zero. Early versions of the Spitfire & Zero lacked the firepower that American fighters had. The earliest Zero versions had no armor or self-sealing fuel tanks. American & British fighters as of early 1942 had both. A major problem for the Spitfire & all British fighters was their lack of combat range compared to American & Japanese aircraft of all types.

If an Allied fighter pilot wanted to defeat the Japanese Zero, Oscar, Nate, Claude or Rufe, then the Allied pilot needed to avoid turning at speeds under 250-300 mph, and keep his speed up. Usually the Allied fighter could out-run them in level flight & out-dive them. The best tactic was diving on the Japanese from higher altitude, shoot, keep up the high speed, go straight, then zoom-climb up above the Japanese, and come around for another diving pass. This was the technique perfected by American pilots flying the P-40 in China as part of the Flying Tigers against the Nate & Oscar. The British fighter aircraft were not as good at that type of technique as the American fighters either in Europe or Asia, If you got caught in a turning combat with a Japanese fighter, then usually it was best to corkscrew downwards to gain speed enough that the Japanese turning advantage was lost. A good pilot has to understand the strengths & weaknesses of his aircraft & the enemy aircraft. This is the most important factor in air combat.