Which plane was best?

[visitor]

OK! Everyone sit down and be quite!!
And hear what I have to say!!!


[glb]P-51[/glb]

That's IT!!!


Brad

[chomp_rock]

I'd have to say the Hurricane I know it was not as fast or maneuverable as some others but It has been my fave ever since I built a 1/48 scale model of it 4 years ago!

[visitor]

They all had their place in history! No one plane
did it all, Hurricanes were the unsung heros of the
Battle of Britian! The P-51s made the B-17s great!
The P-47s were so tough, they just won by staying
in the fight! The Spits were the "Babes", Show Girls of
the air!! Even the 'bad' planes did a part!! The Jets
changed history more than any others!! The B-24s
dropped the most bombs, the B-17s shot down the
most planes! One B-29 changed history for all times!!
One U-2 almost did it agin!! The F-117 has flown
thousands of missions and never have a mark on
one of them yet!!

Brad

PS the comment about the Spits was given in
the highest sense of praise, appearance and
preformance!!    

[Polynomial]

In the right hands the FW-190 would have been an awesome plane but by the time it came out all the experience pilots were POW's or dead so the Germans only had young rookies to fly them and they never saw their full potential.  But as everyone seems to be saying, you can't single out a favourite because they were all good in their own right.

[ozzy72]

Brad I think you'll find that an F117 was shot down over Serbia when it was being bombed by NATO?

Mark

[Professor Brensec]

I suppose the likes of Hawker, Hagar, Andrew, Ozzy etc have been wondering where Steve is with his ridiculous P40......................

Seriously, I've been crook, and I'm kicking myself for missing such a great discussion (for the nineteeth time - no offense to original poster.... )

I haven't had the oportunity to read all the preceding posts, so forgive me if I repeat other peoples remarks.
I did see one earlier regarding the question of the most successful American fighter in the Pacific.
If my friends at History Channel are correct (and I have checked this), it was in fact, the P38, that shot down the most Japanese planes.

As said, they all made thier contributions, some during very desparate times, up against far superior machines.
But the early ones (that may not have been the great 'performers'), held the front until the 'wonder' machines arrived.

For Australia, it was the P40, as in the earlier days in China, it was used to great advantage against the Japanese, with the right pilot and tactics.

But my vote, for the 'all-time' winner, had to be the P51-D. It was responsible for taking the fight to the Continent and was instrumental in the distruction of the Lufwaffe. Without them the B17's, B24's and Lanc's would have been hard up till the end.
Although in the Pacific, the P51 wasn't really needed for the victory, as such. Apart from the fact that there were other fighters that did the job superbly, at the time the fight got to within a thousand miles of Japan, the B29 could literally outrun most (if not all) of thier fighters.  ;D

[Smoke2much]

I don't think that this debate is ever going to get resolved.

[Professor Brensec]

What's wrong, Will? That's not a long post!  ;D

To comment on your point regarding the P51 and Spit, and the opinions and anectdotes of the blokes that flew them in battle. I agree. Adolf Galland did ask for a Squadron of Spitfires when asked by Goering what he wanted to defeat the RAF (Much to the fat man's chagrin).
Then, I've seen many interviews of American (and Australian) pilots who flew the P51-D (I always make the distinction with the 51-B). The only negative (or near negative) comment from any of them was that it was a difficult plane in a fight if you hadn't gotten rid of the fuel in the fuselage tank. (To the point where, against procedure, most pilots flying escort, drained the fuselage tank before the drop-tanks). It apparently made that much difference.

But what you say is right, it is an unsolvable question.

I've heard it said that the Griffon model Spitfires were so different from the original in design and config that they could hardly be described as Spitfires. Once again, another 'qualifier' that makes the comparison business, pretty much moot.  ;D

[visitor]

Brad I think you'll find that an F117 was shot down over Serbia when it was being bombed by NATO?

Mark

My info, was based on a 'WingsTV' show and may
well be outdated!!

Brad

[Jester]

My choice isn't on the list: P-38. Gotta love the twin tailed devil. Germans and Japs both feared her

Jes

[Professor Brensec]

Well.........a quick glance at the poll results seems to put the P51 (D, I presume) well ahead, over twice as many as the Spitfire.

Funny thing that everyone seems to have gone for fighters, when the question was clearly "which plane".
No-one asked for a bomber to be added to the poll.

There are bombers that made hefty contributions to the war. Let's face it, for the most part of the war, the purpose of the fighters was to protect or destroy the bombers, which were the real threat to war production, troops, equipment and population (although we all know of the debate regarding their efectiveness).

I am surprised at the low score for the Mosquito. I'm told that it could carry the same load of bombs to Berlin, faster and using less fuel. Also, for at least, the first 4 years, could outrun the German fighters, or give them a good fight.

I wonder why the British didn't make more use of this capability. They were certainly used as often as possible and to great effect in the Pacific, especially by the RAAF.

[Smoke2much]

I think Mossies were used more for reccon and pathfinding than actual bombing.

Will

[Woodlouse2002]

Well.........a quick glance at the poll results seems to put the P51 (D, I presume) well ahead, over twice as many as the Spitfire.

The reason for this is that there are more americans voting than from other nations. Also people are choosing there favorite plane and not the best. If no one was biased in anyway at all then i'm sure that the Spitfire would we way ahead of anything else with the Hurricane not far behind.

[HawkerTempest5]

Well.........a quick glance at the poll results seems to put the P51 (D, I presume) well ahead, over twice as many as the Spitfire.

.

Most people would say the P-51D was the best Mustang, most likely because this is the one we se at airshows and in all the books and in model shops but I remember reading that most pilots liked the B/C (same plane built at two different plants. One was called the"C" the other the "B") model best. It was faster and better handling. Later D model aircraft had a fin extension fitted to make up for the loss of fuselage  side area due to the fitting of the bubble top.

[Ivan]

My info, was based on a 'WingsTV' show and may
well be outdated!!

Brad

it's hard to admit it was shot down by a combination of planing error (took the same route too often) and a outdated Anti-air installation which had a lucky night that day