It's a real war, and you must pick your planes. What will they be?

[Sikboy]

Hm. 5 Planes.

P-47N For Long Range High Alt Escort.
109K as my Interceptor. You can't replace climb rate when it comes to short notice.
F4U-1D for CV Based Strike/Fighter.
Ki-67 Medium Bomber.
B-24 Heavy/Strategic bomber.

-Sik
 

[CAP1]

If you were in charge of picking the airplanes that your country would have during a WWII-type war -- what 5 aircraft would you pick?  Assume that the aircraft perform just as they do in Aces High, that you can pick any non-perk plane from Aces High, and that cost is not a factor.  (These are what you'd pick for a real war, not just what you like flying best in the Main Arena.)

I'd go for the following:

P-47N.  For fighter, fighter-bomber, and high-altitude escort.  I'd pick this because of its range, speed, performance at altitude, lethality, ruggedness, and ability to carry a lot of ordnance.  The P-51D is also a contender here for me, but the P-47N is more rugged and has more punch.

F4U-1D.  For my carrier aircraft, both as fighter and divebomber; also as general fighter and fighter-bomber.  It's faster than the F6F, outturns the F6F by a little, and carries more than the F6F in Aces High.

B-24J.  For my heavy bomber.  The Lancaster is a great plane, but its defense armament isn't nearly as good as the B-24 and B-17.  I'd pick the B-24 over the B-17 because the B-24 is a little faster and carries a bit more, yet has the same good defensive armament.

B-25H.  With cannon, for ground attack and attack against ground vehicles.  The cannon is a great weapon against ground vehicles and buildings.  I'd pick it over the Il-2 as it carries more bombs and especially because of the cannon.

Spitfire Mk XVI.  For quick-climbing field defense and intercept.  This would be a base-defense fighter and a fighter to use when you need to get up in a hurry to intercept things.

in the real world, WW2 era, all the great aces scored the majority of their kills by NOT turnfighting, but rather by using(the hated in the arenas) hit and run.... so..for air superiority, i'd have to pick the P51D(and i don't/can't fly this yet in the arenas)as she's fast enough to do this. this machine would be a good bomber killer(part of her original design i think) and would be a good escort. for base defense, i like the spitfires...any one of the later ones..fast acceleration, good turning, good climb. for ground attack, the ME110 or the P47.....both forces to be reckoned with. for bombing, a boatload of B17's. well defended, and accurate...and they bring thier crews home. P38's to work with the P51's escorting the bombers........very deadly combination.


now..how about this question?(holy thread hijack batman!!!!)

same conditions, but modern day?

<<S>>

[Gremlin3]

Let's see
Intercepter BF 109 K
Escort P 51 B
Attack A 20
Light Bomber B 25 H
Heavy B 24

[Pannono]

Fighter: Ki 84
Med bomber: Ki 67
Heavy Bomber: B-17
Fighter-bomber: P-47N
Ground Attack: IL-2
Carrier Fighter: F4U-1C
Carrier Bomber: B5N2

[Motherland]

Carrier Bomber: B5N2

I would rather join the army than fly a B5N2 into combat.


My choices would be...(in order from what I'd like to fly most to least...)
Ta.152H1
Fw.190D9
Bf.109G10/K4
Bf.109G14
Fw.190A8 (non-sturm)
Bf.109G6


Simply for the ability to get in and out of the fight quickly.

[0Mav0]

F6F HellCat- Main fighter since it can do land and sea operations. Manuverable, reliable, good for attack/support role also.

TBM Avenger- Main carrier attack/bomber plane, as well as close air support craft for ground ops

B25 Mitchell-Well rounded plane. Can be used for bombing(glazed nose version, or for attack missions(mg nose)

Lancaster- Heavy Bomber of the group. Since it can carry huge load, makes my list

P51D- Main interceptor and Escort Plane For Landcasters(due to their so-so defensive weapons).

[republic]

My pick would be:

109-G2 - Fast and turney, vastly underrated, for field defense
Mossie - Quickest way to deliver jabo ord
B-24 - For those big bombs of love
190-A5 - Anti-bomber & escort
Ki-84 - Allround excellent performer

[Brooke]

Maybe I'd take the P-47N instead of the Ta 152H ...

What's the critical altitude for the P-47N? (The HTC charts only go to 30k.)

I think the P-47N achieved top speed at 30-32k.

[Brooke]

You have to determine what the situation is going to be.

What Germany required of planes is vastly different that what USA needed.

[etc.]

and

What do you mean by WWII-type war?  Do my aircraft have to able to compete at nosebleed altitudes like the ETO, off carriers like the PTO, and in the weeds killing tanks like the Eastern Front?

True, but I'm more wondering what people would pick in the following situation, not in a specific historical situation.  You and another country are going to go at it in a WWII-style war for world domination.  You each can pick whatever aircraft you want.  The war may end up with you on the defensive (if you are losing) or you on the offensive and covering more territory (if you are winning).  It might be Russian/German style of fighting if you end up taking over part of central Asia and if your tactics end up being like what the Russians used; or it might be US/IJN/IJAAF style of fighting if you end up taking over portions of the Pacific; or anything in between.  You only get to pick aircraft at the start, but you don't know how it will end up -- that is to be determined depending on how the war goes.  What would you pick as aircraft?  Basically, head to head, all other things being equal for each side other than choices of aircraft, what would you pick?

[Lumpy]

I think the P-47N achieved top speed at 30-32k.

I think I'll stick with the Ta 152H then.

[GooseAW]

F6F-5 Great all around fighter/attacker Land or Sea based
P51D  fighter/escort range, speed, high alt perf
Ju88  med bomber/torpedo capability
B17   Duh
C47   You have to get troops in there to win the war...

[SgtPappy]

Probably a P-38J/L because I can accelerate, dive, run and zoom away when the bullets start flying   
It can also do pretty much everything else.
I wouldn't mind flying a P-51B either because it's likely to keep me alive. by running! The only thing I don't like about this plane is acceleration.

Or perhaps the F4U for its great versatility and carrier capability, though I don't like its climb rate.

[humble]

You have an issue here in that you havent determined the nature of the fight. For example the luftwaffe would have been totally non mission capable in the PAC and so would the Russians. Historically neither the Germans or Russians were even BOB capable or really capable of efficient bomber defense do to range limitations.

If you view the equation from the viewpoint of true force projection you basically have the 8th airforce. You can go farther, fly higher and deliver more payload then anyone else. So the B-24 and P-51 are your backbone for true force projection. Sticking within the confines of the AH plane set the A-20 is the only logical ground attack choice...why....because it flew in all fronts till the end of the war and did very well. The russians operated more A-20's the anyone and used it extensively with great effect. It was much more survivable in a fluid enviornment then the B-25 and more suited to ground interdiction then the B-26.

The Tempest is your best low alt multipurpose "fighter/bomber" but questions of range are unknown. Given no clear tasking you'd need greater range. The P-47N is inferior at lower alts so while it has the range its not suited for sustained low level operations. With the F7F unavailable the P-38 has the best combination of range, payload and survivability in this role.

While the allies faced no inbound bomberstream you need an interceptor. While the pony has the tools it doesn have an ideal gun package...so the choice is either the P-47N or the spitXIV. The spitty climbs better, turns better and hits harder then the jug and is faster at mil power at all alts. So while it has shorter range it still gets the nod as a better point defense plane for bomber interception.

[EskimoJoe]

If it's a real war, I'd choose the F-15 Eagle with the most experienced ground crew possible. That way, I would have the capability of speed and maneuverability for Air to Air, and have the ordinance options for good Air to Ground.

[Sikboy]

You have an issue here in that you havent determined the nature of the fight.

I figured we were trying to use our five planes to maximize our coverage across the board for all possible missions. Each nation had to play the hand they were dealt, and therefore came up with different planes for different missions. Not knowing what to expect, I wanted to get every mission taken care of, and I think that I did a fair job of it given the 5 plane limit.

Interestingly enough, my favorite planes didn't make the cut. There just isn't room for a Yak unless you are totally devoted to ground support (and covering that ground support). Instead of Il-2s, I'm stuck with Jugs, which wouldn't need the Yaks nearly as much. And I don't have a true CV strike capability, though with 2k of bombs the Hog does a fair job with it. And really, how can you bet against the 109 series as an interceptor? Max Climb, good high alt performance, gun package from hell. The main limitation of range is minimized by the nature of the mission.

It's a fun exercize. How about it we limited it to aircraft in game and available in 1941? That would change things quite a bit I suppose.

-Sik