[piersyf]

Hi guys. I wouldn't take wing loading alone as a measure of maneuverability. The P51 may have a loading of 192 kg/msq, but the B17 had a wing loading of 190kg/msq. Does that make the B17 as maneuverable as a P51? . Short, high loaded wings have less drag and usually have a high rate of roll. Good pitch control will have a/c like that change vector very quickly. High a/c weight then has angular momentum to overcome. In short, a Zero with the shorter wingspan and the lighter airframe will easily over-match an a/c even if it has comparable wing loading. One area the TBF would have an advantage over other bombers is that the G loading would be higher than for normal "bombers" and would be inside the range for a fighter, as you would expect from any a/c capable of dive bombing.

Just an "off the cuff" reply as I cannot find any useful data on the TBF such as G load or rate of roll.

P