Best Fighter aircraft of WW2

Discussion in 'The War In The Air' started by kiwimac, Jul 20, 2006.

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Vote for the aircraft you think was best

  1. Spitfire

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  2. Hurricane

    48.6%
  3. ME-109

    10.8%
  4. FW-190

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  5. RE-2005

    10.8%
  6. MC-205

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  7. Fiat-G55

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  8. Mustang

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  9. Lightning

    24.3%
  10. Zero

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  11. ME262

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  12. Other, please specify below.

    5.4%
  1. sdkfz181

    sdkfz181 Junior Member

    I think the deal with the .50 vs. the 20mm was penetration of armor. The 20mm shell against an aircraft was pretty effective due to the explosive round, but the .50 was probably more effective at armor penetration, making it better against ground targets.
    This is my opinion only, as I am not a ballistics expert.
     
  2. kiwimac

    kiwimac Member

    I wonder if there are any documents about comparing the two? Time for an in-depth Google search I think.
     
  3. PingaHead

    PingaHead Junior Member

    I see that my favourite isn't in the poll, either.
    As a US Marine, I am partial to the F4U "Corsair". The best propeller Carrier plane ever made.
    [​IMG]
     
  4. igs942

    igs942 Junior Member

    The Spitfire was the best fighter in the eyes of the public and boosted morale no end but I went for the Hurri for it robustness and ability to take a pounding. Although slightly slower it shot down a lot more that the Spit
     
  5. Gnomey

    Gnomey World Travelling Doctor

    Gnomey


    1.5 x 4 = 6, not 12! So by this measure a P47's firepower was greater than a Typhoons. And weren't there issues around 20mm cannon shells exploding on impact with tank armour, while the .50 bullets were more able to penetrate (at least, with 8 of them hitting the thinner rear armour)?

    Or did I read too much of J****'s stuff?

    Adrian
    Oops, that multiplier might of been 2.5 then, it came out as more than the 8 50's anyway.
     
  6. mahross

    mahross Senior Member

    Had to go for the Spit. Main reason is the number of variants and improvements that went into the plane. It went from a pure interceptor in the early war to being a swing role plane by 45 doing most things it was asked to do. It also saw service on the carriers.

    Ross
     
  7. adrian roberts

    adrian roberts Senior Member

    Don't forget the Japanese and the Russians.
    The Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate has been described as a match for the best US fighters, with a max speed of 427 mph; it was let down by its Homare engine.

    The Yak-9 especially the 9U version, and the Lavotchkin, especially the La-11, were up there with the best.

    Adrian
     
  8. kiwimac

    kiwimac Member

    Yup, true but there was only room for only 10 choices in the poll, so I had to pick and choose.

    Kiwimac
     
  9. Gage

    Gage The Battle of Barking Creek

    It's the Mustang for me. A beautiful aircraft and deadly.
    Still love the Hurricane, Spitfire and 109 from the BoB thou.
     
  10. drgslyr

    drgslyr Senior Member

    I am going with the ME 109 for its length of service as a fighter that could hold its own. I seem to remember hearing that the 109 was better as a high-altitude fighter than the FW-190. Does anyone know if this was true?
     
  11. Stephen White

    Stephen White Member

    This is one of those questions that can have several different answers, depending on how you interpret the word favourite and therefore your reasons for a particular aircraft been "favoured".

    If I were to go down the most asthetically pleasing to look at, it would be the Spitfire.

    If it were to be an aircraft that fought in pratically every theatre of war and could stand massive amounts of battle damage and still get home it would be the Hurricane.

    You could go on and on and to be honest I can't disagree with anyones choice and their reasons for choosing the aircraft they did. The two aircraft mentioned above, I can think of three or four reasons for choosing either one of them.

    However my choice would be for the P51 Mustang (which is what I voted for) and it's contribution in the mid to later stages of the war, especially in it's long range bomber escort roll. Plus it's a damn good looking aircraft.

    Stephen
     
  12. niicccllas

    niicccllas Junior Member

    for some reason you all forgot where ww2 was fought(in soviet union,76% of all german casulties ,air and groundforces where suffered on the eastern front).yakovlev especialy yak3 and lavochkin 5 and 7 are some of the best piston engiened fighters ever,under 15000 ft the best(lavochkin 7 whith up to 1850 hp 3 20mm later 23mm cannons,low wheight,robust and extremely agile simpley the best dog fighter of the war)the 50+ highest scoring allied aces were all soviets most of them flew lavochkins ,ivan kozhedub ended the war whith 62 victories plus several shered victories that he"gave"the other pilots and 2 p51s that attaked him over berlin(confirmed by usaaf).the soviets built ca 30000 yak fighters and 15000 lav5 and 7 anyway the best fighters of ww2,excluding the 262 is hawker tempest mk5,the last of the fw 190 series and lavochkin 7
     
  13. Cpl Rootes

    Cpl Rootes Senior Member

    I have to go with the Hurricane
     
  14. Kitty

    Kitty Very Senior Member

    Hornet, the reason the Soviet fighters weren't included in the oll is that there are a limited number of options to be had, so the fighters had to be selected carefully, and the commonest know ones were used. But please feel free to fighth the corner of the Soviet fighters. Maybe start a new thread?
     
  15. lancesergeant

    lancesergeant Senior Member

    I am going with the ME 109 for its length of service as a fighter that could hold its own. I seem to remember hearing that the 109 was better as a high-altitude fighter than the FW-190. Does anyone know if this was true?
    True, the FW 190 performance dropped off above about 15-20 thousand feet. Adam went into it in detail in a post on another forum which shall remain nameless.
     
  16. oldmadbadger

    oldmadbadger Junior Member

    But my gut feeling would be the Spitfire, in terms of its contribution for the whole duration of the war: it may not have been the best all the time, but surely in the top three or four at any given point? For an Englishman, its about the legend.

    I notice the P47 Thunderbolt doesn't figure in the poll! I wouldn't have voted for it but I think it should get a mention.
    Adrian

    on a purely aesthetic point of view I think the Spit wins hands down, how can any other plane compare with the sheer beauty of that wing shape ... but on the subject of the P-47 : has anyone read that quote from a Spit pilot about the Thunderbolt's roominess - "taking evasive action in a Thunderbolt means taking off your safety straps and running around the cockpit" or words to that effect

    badger
     
  17. drgslyr

    drgslyr Senior Member

    True, the FW 190 performance dropped off above about 15-20 thousand feet. Adam went into it in detail in a post on another forum which shall remain nameless.

    I searched for the post on the other forum that shall remain nameless, but I can't find the thread. I would like to read it, can you point me in the right direction?
     
  18. Ferahgo

    Ferahgo Senior Member

    I went with the Hurricane because of it's versitality. Fighter, fighter-bomber, cannon, rockets, reliability, sturdy, cheap and resilient.
     
  19. Django

    Django Treadhead

    Bearing in mind that I feel there is no "best" fighter,maybe best under certain conditions I picked an old fav the Spit.
    If I had to pick one for my size (I'm a big guy lol) and survivability it would be the Jug which didn't make the list.
    Lots of good choices on the list and many that could have made the list.
     
  20. Kharkov43'

    Kharkov43' Junior Member

    Ta152 hands down best of WWII. But I voted for the Focke-Wulfe 190, especially the Dora 9.
     

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