What was the most over rated plane of WW2, and the most underated?

[GtoRA2]

I would have to say, most over rated is the P-51.

A great plane no doubt, but it came pretty late in the war and though it had an impact, was it any greater then the other US planes? It gets so much attention it overshadows some far more interesting planes.



I am going to go with the P-40 as the most underated. A decent plane that helped hold the line for almost all the allies, and seems to get little respect for that.

[Chairboy]

What about the Me-262?

[BlueJ1]

Over rated= P51

Under rated= Spit I

[GtoRA2]

Hardly counts in my book. Yeah it saw some limited action, but it was used as a fighter to late to make much of an impact.


It also does not get the same attention the mustang does.

[GtoRA2]

The Spit series almost made it to the over rated spot.

After the BoB how usefull was it really with such short range and limited load carrying?

[Heretik]

Over = P51.  A great plane, for sure but it would have been useless without the bombers it was tasked to escort.

Under = C47.  If a plane won the war, this was it.  The allied war effort would have folded like wet cardboard without its supply lines.

[BlueJ1]

Are we basing this off of actual use in WWII or use in AH ?

If in AH I would have to agree that the P51, La7, and Spit series would be over rated. And the p-40 series would be under  rated.

If in WWII I would have to stick with P51 as being most over rated, and the Spits as being under rated.

[GtoRA2]

WW2,


The spit gets most of the credit for winning the BoB when the Hurri was the real work horse so,  I don't really consider it overrated hehe

[Slurpee]

Overated: P51
Underated:Me-109 series

An old design that was able to be updated fairly well and defend Germany againt great odds, even competeing with 51s in combat and allied fighters. If you look, alot of Germanys top aces perferred the 109 to the 190 and were very succesful with it. I still love 190s alot though, 109s just hold a special place.

[midnight Target]

Underrated.. P47 or F6F

Overrated - FW190

[GtoRA2]

Why do you think so MT?

I am not a big Hellcat fan, and the but it did a hell of a job with the fleet. Still by that time the Japanese navy was putting up some pretty bad pilots so even the F4F may have dominated.


I didnt think most people rated the P-47 very high, not a bad fighter, but not the best. It almost made the list, but I think the P-40 is more underated.

[33Vortex]

Overrated: P51

Underrated: Bf109

I'm with Slurpee on this one. The 109 was upgraded countless number of times and an airframe originally designed for a 600 hp engine mounted by the end of the war a 2000+ hp engine! It was not a high speed design yet incredibly competitive in the air, the germans biggest problem was not the machines, it was the men supposed to operate them there were none left.

Perhaps the 190D is a bit underrated, it's hard to tell because there is no hard evidence on it's performance. It's conveniently 'lost' despite both US and SU had airworthy planes of the type post-war. Granted it entered service too late to play any big part in the war, it's performance may be somewhat underestimated, is my guess.

[midnight Target]

Originally posted by GtoRA2
Why do you think so MT?

I didnt think most people rated the P-47 very high,  

It is the most under-rated for that very reason. It performed the main air to ground work of the war in the ET and was loved by its pilots for its survivability and characteristics.  

The F6F is usually overshadowed by its sexier cousin the Corsair. So it falls into the under-rated catagory as well.

The 190 had little affect on the war and seems to be placed in high regard all too often.

[Pongo]

Easy.
Over rated. Early 109
Underrated P39.

[Krusher]

Over rated = FW190
Under Rated = Me109