Posted on 04/09/2009 2:29:15 PM PDT by mikeus_maximus
I know there are "seasoned" ex-military types on this board. I'd like your and anyone else's opinion on this topic. Every year of WWII saw improvements in aircraft development and performance-- so much so that what was state of the art at the beginning of the war, such as the Me 109 and Supermarine Spitfire, would have been death traps by the end, 6 years later.
For years I'd heard the P-51 Mustang was the ultimate WWII fighter. Then I read a quote from a former FockWulfe 190 pilot who said Mustangs were frail-- one bullet in the aluminum cowling and they went down. No one can deny their service record, though.
Other sources say the FW 190D was the best plane to come out of WWII. It was built on the same concept as the P-51-- take a good fighter, shoehorn in a huge bomber engine, and now you've got a great fighter. Except in this case it was a radial engine, which could lose one or two cyl. and keep on ticking (as opposed to the Mustang's inline engine).
Some say the Japanese "Frank" fighter produced near the end of the war was tops. Other have said the Russian YAK3 was.
Recently I heard that the F8F Bearcat was undoubtedly the best plane. Grumman took apart a captured FW 190 and made it better. The Bearcat was a plane deisgned from scratch around a huge radial engine, rather than vice versa. It was smaller, faster and more agile than any of the above. It had a production speed of 455 mph, a rate of climb twice that of a Mustang, and a ceiling almost as high. Is was delviered to the Navy in the Pacific theatre, but the war ended before it saw action, or it would have made its own legend. A few years later a modifed version set the airspeed record for piston planes at 528+ mph.
It gets my vote. Anyone else have an opinion?
It won the war with it's capabilities plus it's extreme range with the laminar flow wing.
By far the best as far as wars outcome.
The F4/4U and F6 could take a major pounding and keep on flying.
I think, however, the P40 had the most kills.
P-38 lightning !
I tend to believe it’s the Mustang, but the F4 Corsair was no slouch either.
The Bearcat never saw action, the first CVL equipped with it was steaming to Japan when the surrender came.
And in large numbers they were sold to several allies.
The P-40 was outdated before the war started.
It was a pig comparatively speaking among most fighters of WWII.
I think for trade off between taking punishment and still flying, dishing out punishment, and flying ability, the p-38 was probably the best.
One correction. The FW 190D had a bomber engine yes, but not a radial. It had the Jumo 213 twelve-cylinder liquid-cooled engine
So basically it was like the Kalashnikov, antiquated but everyone used it and they sold it to everyone because it was and old reliable pig.
Noted. Thanks!
Don’t leave out the Corsair. “best” is not just dogfighting - it’s the ability to perform its primary mission ‘best’ in theatre, whilst tackling additional roles with aplomb.
Since my dad flew Corsairs, I’ll put one vote in for it.
I'm with you. The mustang was the fastest, longest ranged and most nimble. But, the F4 could take a pounding perhaps like no other and still stay air and combat worthy.
Audie Murphy
You have a point with the 38, what’s props counter-rotate.
Earlier this week I posted that I once did photos for a WWII pilot’s reunion. Every one that I talked to (18 or so) had flown both the Mustang and the 47 Thunderbolt. All liked the 47 better.....they liked it because it could deliver a pounding, take a pounding, then get you back home.
Returning from a mission is a serious consideration when judging combat aircraft.
The P-38 I would say was the plane that if it was introduced earlier, wasn’t hamstrung politically or restricted in engine performance could have change things earlier, the first prototype crashed and was destroyed, the ones sent to England were not as powerful as the original concept, same old story like the Warthog, it was a deviation in tradition and was not liked.
There were reports that it may have been the first to actually have broken the sound barrier in a power dive.
There was an Italian fighter that out preformed all other piston engined fighters in acceleration ,climb rates and top speed , but only a couple dozen were manufactured.
Nope, it was just available to those who needed it when the war started. The Mustang was designed after the war started and started as the A-36 (another pig) and was made the war winning fighter after being married to the Rolls Royce Merlin engine.
Those twin-tailed devils are a nice-looking airplane. I’m not really qualified to evaluate the planes but it seems that everything that I have read or heard is that the Lightning, the Mustang, and the Corsair were great planes.
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