View Poll Results: Best Fighter Aircraft of WW2

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  • P-51 Mustang

    29 61.70%
  • F6F Hellcat

    4 8.51%
  • P-47

    5 10.64%
  • Spitefire

    4 8.51%
  • A6M Zero

    0 0%
  • Yak-3 series and developments

    0 0%
  • ME-262

    0 0%
  • BF-109

    1 2.13%
  • Focke Wulf FW-190

    3 6.38%
  • Other

    6 12.77%
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Thread: Best Fighter Aircraft of WW2

  1. #31
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    Tempest was a good late war plane, it's strength was low altitude though. And early models liked to shed their tails. That's rather disconcerting in the middle of the scrum.

    I am going to have to say Do 335 for axis. P-51H for Allies.
    P-47M and F8F just behind.

  2. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by soulezoo View Post
    I am going to have to say Do 335 for axis.
    Well, if we are going to get esoteric. TA-152H. Kurt Tank was flying to a meeting in an unarmed one and was warned by controllers of 2 P-51 in the area, who appeared behind him. He gave it full throttle and some NOx boost and they were quickly left behind.
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  3. #33
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    Esoteric? I think it means something other than you think it means.

    The H model they only made a few of. That was the high altitude model. Had wings like a U2.
    The C model was for more common altitudes.

    On a comparison thread like this, a Corsair or Tempest or Hellcat couldn't even hope to fight a P47, TA152 or even P51 or certain Spitfire or Bf109 variants. European theater was fighting at ever increasing altitudes. CAP for a carrier at sea is a different animal altogether.

  4. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by soulezoo View Post
    Esoteric? I think it means something other than you think it means.
    It was not well known (still isn't except amongst the WW2 "scholars" who get into the subject).

    Would "obscure" or "exotic" be more fitting?


    The H model they only made a few of. That was the high altitude model. Had wings like a U2.
    The C model was for more common altitudes.
    The H model was the only version known to have reached full production. C models seem to have only been produced as pre-production. While the total production TA-152 of all variants is unknown, it was one of those limited in quantity end of war planes. Only 69 TA-152H of all variants (pre-production and production) are known according to the source I saw (on Wikipedia).
    Last edited by chadbag; 06-15-21 at 19:52.
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  5. #35
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    It is interesting to see everyone's criteria for best fighter. Although performance was certainly an important factor in my decision my reason for Spitfire as best fighter and P-51 close second is based probably more on historic significance rather than absolute performance.

    With Spitfire, I simply don't see Great Britain winning the Battle of Britain without Spitfire. Yes Hurricane shot down more German planes but the Spitfire took on the Bf-109s which the Hurricane had a very tough time against the Bf-109. If Britain lost the Battle of Britain, WW2 would have turned out very different.

    With the P-51, it was the aircraft which could escort the bombers all the way into Germany. Yes the P-47 and P-38 had some capability to do that but not as well. I think the bombing campaign against Germany shortened the war by many months if not a year. An American war effort without the P-51 would have seen probably heavier American bomber loses and ground loses. Furthermore, it is likely that the war would of ended with the Soviet Union occupying more of Europe.

    Or would the atomic bomb be dropped on Germany first over Japan?

    Remember we only bombed Japan with the atomic bomb because they were the sole axis power left by the time it was ready.
    Last edited by crusader377; 06-15-21 at 20:17.

  6. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by crusader377 View Post
    It is interesting to see everyone's criteria for best fighter. Although performance was certainly an important factor in my decision my reason for Spitfire as best fighter and P-51 close second is based probably more on historic significance rather than absolute performance.

    With Spitfire, I simply don't see Great Britain winning the Battle of Britain without Spitfire. Yes Hurricane shot down more German planes but the Spitfire took on the Bf-109s which the Hurricane had a very tough time against the Bf-109. If Britain lost the Battle of Britain, WW2 would have turned out very different.

    With the P-51, it was the aircraft which could escort the bombers all the way into Germany. Yes the P-47 and P-38 had some capability to do that but not as well. I think the bombing campaign against Germany shortened the war by many months if not a year. An American war effort without the P-51 would have seen probably heavier American bomber loses and ground loses. Furthermore, it is likely that the war would of ended with the Soviet Union occupying more of Europe.

    Or would the atomic bomb be dropped on Germany first over Japan?

    Remember we only bombed Japan with the atomic bomb because they were the sole axis power left by the time it was ready.
    The big weakness for the P-51 Mustang was the liquid cooling system where the P-47 had an air cooled system. But I agree that the P-51 made a huge difference escorting the B-17 into Germany and may have shortened the war in Europe.

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  7. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by flenna View Post
    And my vote goes to the F6F Hellcat, which helped turn the tide in the Pacific air war.
    I might respectfully disagree here. The Battle of Midway was fought with F4F Wildcats (and some older Brewster Buffalos) which really was what turned the tide in the Pacific.

    An argument could be made that the Battle of the Philippine Sea broke the Japanese for good which was fought mainly with Hellcats, but the damage to the Japanese fleet as well as their pilot staff was done at Midway.
    Last edited by Grand58742; 06-15-21 at 20:35.
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  8. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tony617 View Post
    The big weakness for the P-51 Mustang was the liquid cooling system where the P-47 had an air cooled system. But I agree that the P-51 made a huge difference escorting the B-17 into Germany and may have shortened the war in Europe.

    https://www.wearethemighty.com/might...h-legend-wins/
    A weakness shared with most British and many German planes (Bf-109, Bf-110, and lots of others). Very few Japanese planes were inline (liquid cooled) engines. The FW-190 (A/F models) were also radial air-cooled on the German side.
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  9. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by chadbag View Post
    A weakness shared with most British and many German planes (Bf-109, Bf-110, and lots of others). Very few Japanese planes were inline (liquid cooled) engines. The FW-190 (A/F models) were also radial air-cooled on the German side.
    The big weakness for the Japanese fighters in WW2 was the lack of self sealing fuel tanks. They saved weight without the self sealing fuel tanks and the range of the Japanese Zero was very impressive.

  10. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tony617 View Post
    The big weakness for the P-51 Mustang was the liquid cooling system where the P-47 had an air cooled system. But I agree that the P-51 made a huge difference escorting the B-17 into Germany and may have shortened the war in Europe.

    https://www.wearethemighty.com/might...h-legend-wins/
    Yes and no, The air-cooled radial engines on the P-47 and Hellcat/Corsair certainly could take more damage, however the liquid cooled engine on planes such as the P-51, Spitfire, Bf-109 etc.. normally allowed the aircraft better aerodynamics due to the engine being considerably smaller thus allowing for a smaller and harder to hit plane.

    Both designs had their advantages and disadvantages.

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