Ready to Debate?

[The Ruptured Duck]

Ok, here we go-
What, in your opinion, was the best aircraft of WW2?
I have been "grading" them on-Impact on the war, powerplant, firepower, payload, manuverablility, and looks (not really)

I have narrowed it down to 4 planes, all fighters(so far)-
NA P-51 Mustang(all models)
Sub. Spitfire (all models)
FW-190
A6M2 "Zeke"


Those almost making the list-
P-38
P-47
ME-109
B-17
Hurricane

You can debate any of these planes, or if you can make a decent argument, any other.  It doesnt heve to be fighters.

I ask because I will be writing a large history performance demonstration, and i'd like to see what you say.

[Jared]

I've always been partial to the B-29 Superfortress...:-)

[OTTOL]

The B-29 used to be my choice of choices. But now I've re-thunk the whole thing, and I'm going with the V-2.

Just push a button, send that baby downrange and sit back and eat weiner schnitzel and drink beer.  ::)

[Cvrt7.62Ghst]

[quote]The B-29 used to be my choice of choices. But now I've re-thunk the whole thing, and I'm going with the V-2.

Just push a button, send that baby downrange and sit back and eat weiner schnitzel and drink beer.

[Sock]

The P-47.  Big, fast, powerful, heavy firepower, range (more so in later models), and beautiful.

The 47 had eight .50 caliber machine guns, in the N model, it had 500 rounds per gun, and all that would be gone in 25 seconds!  It could fire ten five inch rockets and it could carry 2,000 pounds of bombs or fuel under it's wings and fuselage.  

Even in the D models, fitted with drop tanks it could reach Berlin, just like the Mustang with a range of 1,100 miles or more.  Without, it could not go very far into Germany...  The N model, built for service in the Pacific, had a range of 2,300 miles with drop tanks.

It was powered by the Pratt and Whitney R-2800 with 2,300hp.  The 47 was rated at 433 mph but in a power dive could pass 500, and even enter the sub-sonic zone, where the controls would freeze up and most pilots wouldn't be able to pull out, and it crusied at 40,000 feet.

It weighed 13,500 lbs loaded, and later 17,500 lbs, and most of it steel.  And she could take a pounding.  Round after round of thirty cal. and could take quite a few 20 mm's.  If not direct hits to the fuel tanks or weapons, the 47 could survice 88s and quad-mounted 20 mm's.

And you can't argue with those looks!  Mean and beastly, yet it has feminine lines and is very beautiful.

Plus it has the numbers to back it up!  15, 683 were built, 12,602 being P-47Ds.  It flew 546,000 combat sorties with a combat loss rate of only 0.7 percent.  It dropped 132,000 tons of bombs.  Fired 135 million rounds of 50 cal. bullets.  It flew 1-1/2 million hours in combat.  Consumed 20 million gallons of fuel.  It destroyed 11,878 Enemy planes; 1/2 in the air; 1/2 on the ground.  She destroyed 160,000 military vehicles, and destroyed 9,000 enemy locomotives.  It has more victories than any American airplane in any American war.  It flew escort, ground attack, rodeo, and fighter sweeps.  It flew in every threater in WWII, the Western Front, Eastern Front, Mediterraenain, North Africa, India and Indo-China, and the Pacific.

So for your history prefomance thingy, pick the P-47!

[WebbPA]

Hmm, not a lot of German or Japanese aircraft in the list, are there.  That's OK, because sticking to your criteria (and everyone always hates me for answering the question and not going off on a tangent) of impact on the war, powerplant, firepower, payload, manuverablility, I would have to go with the ones that won the war - the British Lancasters and the American B-17's.  They only thing they lacked was manuverability.

[Meinas]

P-51D!!!!! "represent'n"

[ozzy72]

Spitfire. No ifs, no buts

[HawkerTempest5]

My standard answer to this question is the Vickers Supermarine Spitfire Continually developed and updated to keep it on the front line from the begining of WW2 and beyond.
To be fair, the Spitfire was designed as a pure short range interceptor/fighter and was never truly happy to do the other tasks such as ground attack. It was however a superb photo recon platform.
The NA Mustang was the finest long range fighter and the Typhoon and Thunderbolt, both designed as pure fighters, found a roll as ground attack aircraft without equal.
The Avro Lancaster was the most successful heavy bomber and the Mosquito the first and finest multi-roll aircraft.
In short, I don't think you can single out one aircraft as "The Best" simply pick a favourite from the many superb aircraft that served on both sides. With that in mind, my favourite is and always has been the superb Spitfire.

[TerryW]

The most "impact", firepower and payload?...the Enola Gay. Not too pretty or manouverable though.
Terry

[Smoke2much]

Always an impossible debate and as has been said it comes down to personal favouritism in the end.

My personal favourite has to be the Brtistol Blenheim but as for the most impact on the war.....  I'm a Brit so I have to come down the BoB route and go for the Hurricane.  No Hurricanes and we would have lost the war, the Americans would have had no chance to prove their aircraft in the European theatre and the Spitfire and BF109 would not have developed as much as they did.

Will

[Cvrt7.62Ghst]

It may be better to not get into this guys.  This will most likely end up as a fight between us Americans touting our aircraft and you Britt's (Or is it Brit's), touting yours.

[BFMF]

Not all Americans will only have American aircrafts as favorites.

I'm an American, and the Spitfire is one of my favorite aircrafts

[Smoke2much]

It would be a shame if that happened.  I personally have a huge amount of respect for the Americans who fought and the machines they used.  I fulfiled a lifelong ambition the other day and actually touched a B-17 .

The P-51 Mustang was beyond doubt the greatest high altitude interceptor of the war.  I still believe that the Hurricane may have been the first of the greats even if it never shone as brightly as more famous colleagues.

Us Brits are funny like that...

Will

[Craig.]

like all votes in this case, it should be split into differant categories. Bombers, fighters, recon and so on. There were just to many greats to vote on just one.
But i would have to go for the Spitfire,