"Mr. President, the Buru government also hopes that we can provide them with a batch of advanced fighter planes. Judging from their performance on the battlefield, the P-40 fighter is simply no match for the Germans." Secretary of State Hull continued.
General Arnold's expression turned somewhat ugly. The P-40 fighter was unquestionably the mainstay fighter of the US Army Air Corps. Of course, it was common knowledge that the P-40's performance fell short of German Air Force fighter planes.
"During the German Air Force's strategic bombing campaign against Buru, the Buru Air Force dispatched P-40 fighters to intercept them. But regrettably, the P-40 fighters were utterly helpless against German bomber formations flying above ten thousand meters. Afterwards, the German Air Force's escort fighters attacked the Buru Air Force, and our P-40 fighters performed terribly in combat, practically allowing themselves to be slaughtered by the German Air Force." Secretary of State Hull continued.
General Arnold's face had already turned as black as the bottom of a pot. The German Air Force's easy slaughter of P-40 fighters on the Russian front made him, the Commander of the Air Corps, lose a great deal of face. It seemed to mean that if the US Army Air Corps clashed with the German Air Force, the P-40 fighters piloted by their own aviators would likewise be easily slaughtered by the Germans.
"General Arnold, do we have more powerful fighter planes?" President Roosevelt asked.
"Mr. President, the Air Corps currently has two fighter planes undergoing flight tests. One is a heavy fighter, codenamed P-47. The other is a long-range fighter, codenamed P-51. Neither of these fighters performs worse than the BF-109 fighters currently fielded by the Germans; they can even rival their FW-190 fighters. However, they will still need time before mass production can begin," General