Longest range single engine military aircraft of WW2 and post war

[Norse]

Essentially the attack aircraft with the longest range? I'm looking for discussions and pictures of said aircraft?

 

[Piper106]

Essentially the attack aircraft with the longest range? I'm looking for discussions and pictures of said aircraft?

I assume you are looking for un-refueled range.

Just about any of post-war jet attackers or fighter/bombers equipped for air-to-air refueling have 'global' range given enough 'drinks' from tankers.

Un-refueled, I would start by looking at the Douglas AD Skyraider. It has a 350 gallon internal tank, plus a lot of external load carrying capacity. Range depends on how many wing pylons are carrying drop tanks... more range, less ordinance.

The Martin AM Mauler has a similar load carrying capability to the Skyraider BUT the Mauler has an even more thirsty R-4360 engine.

British and Russian planes usually have fairly dinky internal tank capacity, so not likely to find a winner in that lot.

Though not technically 'attackers', P-51 / P-82 (F-82) line has a lot of unrefueled range.
Maybe an A-36 ungraded with the same rear fuselage tank used by the P-51B/C/D/K models.

But in my mind the late 1930s Vickers Wellesley bomber is the long range winner. A flight of Wellesleys (with extra internal tanks) was flown non-stop (and non-refueled) Egypt to Australia, 7000+ miles by the British Long Range Development Unit (LRDU) in 1938.

 

[Norse]

Most piston engine aircraft from ww2 with aerial refueling or non-aerial refueling

 

[Norse]

Just the longest range single engine aircraft from ww2?

 

[publiusr]

But in my mind the late 1930s Vickers Wellesley bomber is the long range winner.

Ugh—looks like something out of the human centipede…

 

[Kiltonge]

Grumman AF-2 Guardian, 420 gallon fuel capacity, endurance over six hours. Single-engined aircraft as heavy as a DC-3, 3,700lb ordnance.



Boeing XFB-8, fuel capacity 384 gallons. Internal bay for 3,200lb ordnance plus a mix of six 0.5" or 20mm wing guns.

 

[Norse]

Is there anything such a long range single engine attack aircraft from ww2?

 

[Norse]

Or fighter or bomber it just has to be single engine with weapons etc no transport or utility etc

 

[Norse]

Preferably from ww2 with piston engines?

 

[Norse]

It doesn't have to be an attack aircraft just a WW2 single engine aircraft with weapons aka bombs guns etc with the longest range with or without refueling just enough range for us to Germany or US to Japan etc?

 

[Norse]

My idea (that I could find) was the f4f or p51? What are you suggestions?

 

[Kiltonge]

Preferably from ww2 with piston engines?

Probably P-47N if you're looking for WW2 production fighter, 566 gallons internal and over 1000 gallons with drop-tanks

 

[Archibald]

P-51s flew all the way from GB to Poland and back, escorting bombers. But P-47N was specifically tailored for the Pacific theater, so even longer range.

 

[Ozair]

P-51s flew all the way from GB to Poland and back, escorting bombers. But P-47N was specifically tailored for the Pacific theater, so even longer range.

You could probably add the P-51H which was complimentary to the P-47N. Lighter structure, more powerful engine and streamlined as well as an additional fuel tank. I expect it would have flown a long way but never saw combat in WW2.

 

[Archibald]

You are right, a very optimized P-51 just like the P-47N & M were optimized P-47s.

 

[TMA1]

Not sure if out of context but the ant-25 could be a front runner under the definition of the threads title.

 

[1635yankee]

Just to put some numbers out: the sfc of the R-4360 is about 0.43; that of the non-turbo-compounded R-3350 is about the same

 

[Norse]

What about the longest range dive bomber sb2c or Saab 17?

 

[Norse]

?

 

[Norse]

What is the longest range dive bomber ?

 

[Deltafan]

What about the longest range dive bomber sb2c or Saab 17?

When I don't know an answer and don't have the documentation that answers it, I first do a Google and/or Wikipedia search.
Which gives, in this case:

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

-SB2C-4: Combat range: 1,165 mi (1,875 km, 1,012 nmi) with 1,000 lb (450 kg) bomb-load

Saab 17 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

-B 17C: Range : 1,700 km (1,100 mi, 920 nmi)

This is not THE answer, but ONE answer, or at least part of the answer, which seems to indicate that the range of the SB2C-4 is very much greater than that of the B 17C.