BEST pure DOGFIGHTER in WWII

[moot]

That's one way to do it, yep...

[Rolex]

And the sound of F4U-4 pilots gnashing their teeth continues... 

[morfiend]

My money's on a Colby but pound for pound all bets are off if a good Irish staffie shows up!




 ooops,wrong kind of dogfight.

[rapp25]

My money's on a Colby but pound for pound all bets are off if a good Irish staffie shows up!




 ooops,wrong kind of dogfight.

Irish wolfhound used to be put in arenas in roman times and are supposed to have killed lions which I find hard to believe but it is certainly possible as the breed has been around since maybe 3000BC can kill a wolf like a cat kills a rat and its probably mellowed down and become smaller since. They were also used for de-mounting fully armoured nights knights on horseback and for anti-chariot work! They defo were used a lot in Africa and did kill male lions (perhaps in groups) or chased them away. Irish staffie is an odd breed but you dont wanna piss off a wolfhound even though it takes some doing .

Back on topic I'd say the spitfire xiv or fw190a9 up high, but pure turning dogfighter (which i think you mean) hurricane or zero. The N1k2-j might deserve a mention also but due to 400-500 being produced hard to tell as well as the fact most of the good pilots would've been dead by the time it came around even though it was issued to elite units.

[s4njur0]

Point of order, probably;  a few of the posts above have been trying to point out the difficulty of comparing apples with oranges, in terms of early or late-war aircraft.  The better question to ask is, what is the most influential dogfighter of World War II? 

I have an illustrative example from World War I:  I think a good argument could be made for the Albatross D.XII which was specifically mentioned in the Versailles Peace Treaty.  On the other hand, the Sopwith triplane probably advanced the state of the art for aerial furball combat more than any other plane - most sources credit it as the direct ancestor of the Fokker Dr.I.  All by way of showing that it's perfectly reasonable to consider the pros and cons of early and late war aircraft, if you define your terms with more accuracy. 

You all rock.   

[BaldEagl]

Stictly by the numbers it was a F6F Hellcat.  It scored more kills and produced more aces than any other plane in WWII.

From the heart I'd have to say the Spitfire due to it's iconic stature during the Battle of Britan.

But as others have already mentioned, at least until the introduction and deployment of the F6F, it was probably the Zeke.

[Karnak]

Stictly by the numbers it was a F6F Hellcat.  It scored more kills and produced more aces than any other plane in WWII.

I think with a little research you'll find that comment isn't true.  I can't speak to the ace part, though it is unlikely, but for most kills, that goes to the Bf109.

Think beyond the US armed services.

[BaldEagl]

OK (from various sources)...

The F6F Hellcat had the highest Kill/Loss ratio of any American fighter plane in Army, Navy, Marine or Air Force service during WWII.

No fewer than 75 percent of all enemy aircraft in the entire conflict were downed at the hands of Hellcat pilots (EDIT: The F6F accounted for 75% of all aerial victories recorded by the U.S. Navy in the Pacific), credited with some 5,156 total kills in the war for a mind-boggling kill ratio of 19:1. 307 Hellcat pilots were made aces thanks to the fine machine. The aircraft were duly noted for their role in supporting Task Force 58 to which some 400 Japanese aircraft were destroyed in a single week.

Navy and Marine F6Fs flew 66,530 combat sorties (45% of all fighter sorties of the war, 62,386 sorties were flown from aircraft carriers and destroyed 5,163 (56% of all Naval/Marine air victories of the war) at a cost of 270 Hellcats (an overall kill-to-loss ratio of 19:1). The aircraft performed well against the best Japanese opponents with a 13:1 kill ratio against Mitsubishi A6M, 9.5:1 against Nakajima Ki-84, and 3.7:1 against Mitsubishi J2M during the last year of the war. The F6F became the prime ace-maker aircraft in the American inventory, with 305 Hellcat aces.

The Corsair was an extremely impressive aircraft, but all admitted it was unforgiving, and for the cost of two Corsairs the Navy could buy three Hellcats and get them quickly. The Hellcat was much easier to fly, which was far from a trivial consideration when the US was turning out pilots on an assembly line and throwing them into combat, and its availability rate and survivability were outstanding.

In sum, it appears that the Corsair had the edge in sheer capability while the Hellcat had the edge in simple utility. Given that the Hellcat fought in greater numbers, there is no doubt it carried the greater weight in winning the war in the Pacific.

... Still pretty damn impressive.

[Saxman]

The F6F Hellcat had the highest Kill/Loss ratio of any American fighter plane in Army, Navy, Marine or Air Force service during WWII.

The FM-2 beat out the F6F by a CONSIDERABLE margin (think I saw somewhere estimated as high as 30-40:1).

Given that the Hellcat fought in greater numbers, there is no doubt it carried the greater weight in winning the war in the Pacific.

The F4F won the fighter war in the South Pacific. Guadalcanal was the meat grinder that broke the back of Japanese air power in the theater, and was to the cream of Japan's fighter pilots what Midway was to their carrier forces. Before Guadalcanal the Allies could STILL have lost the war. Guadalcanal guaranteed that they would WIN, and it was the WILDCAT that saw them through that campaign. Later fighters were really just the final nails in the coffin.

[Anaxogoras]

Think beyond the US armed services.

Woah, there... what are you trying to say???

[Karnak]

OK (from various sources)...

The F6F Hellcat had the highest Kill/Loss ratio of any American fighter plane in Army, Navy, Marine or Air Force service during WWII.

No fewer than 75 percent of all enemy aircraft in the entire conflict were downed at the hands of Hellcat pilots (EDIT: The F6F accounted for 75% of all aerial victories recorded by the U.S. Navy in the Pacific), credited with some 5,156 total kills in the war for a mind-boggling kill ratio of 19:1. 307 Hellcat pilots were made aces thanks to the fine machine. The aircraft were duly noted for their role in supporting Task Force 58 to which some 400 Japanese aircraft were destroyed in a single week.

Navy and Marine F6Fs flew 66,530 combat sorties (45% of all fighter sorties of the war, 62,386 sorties were flown from aircraft carriers and destroyed 5,163 (56% of all Naval/Marine air victories of the war) at a cost of 270 Hellcats (an overall kill-to-loss ratio of 19:1). The aircraft performed well against the best Japanese opponents with a 13:1 kill ratio against Mitsubishi A6M, 9.5:1 against Nakajima Ki-84, and 3.7:1 against Mitsubishi J2M during the last year of the war. The F6F became the prime ace-maker aircraft in the American inventory, with 305 Hellcat aces.

The Corsair was an extremely impressive aircraft, but all admitted it was unforgiving, and for the cost of two Corsairs the Navy could buy three Hellcats and get them quickly. The Hellcat was much easier to fly, which was far from a trivial consideration when the US was turning out pilots on an assembly line and throwing them into combat, and its availability rate and survivability were outstanding.

In sum, it appears that the Corsair had the edge in sheer capability while the Hellcat had the edge in simple utility. Given that the Hellcat fought in greater numbers, there is no doubt it carried the greater weight in winning the war in the Pacific.

... Still pretty damn impressive.

None of which backs up your claims I was responding to.

[BaldEagl]

None of which backs up your claims I was responding to.

That's why I said OK... but still pretty impressive.  Sheesh.

[Masherbrum]

That's why I said OK... but still pretty impressive.  Sheesh.

It's not worth arguing with them.   They'll contradict themselves, which they've done already in this thread.   

   Bald,  they just HAVE to be right.   Let them and laugh at them.   

[AirFlyer]

And here I thought everyone despised the little A6M I putt around in all the time, nice to see it getting recognition.

+1 to the A6M.

[Jebus]

How come I am not seeing any P-38 love here?

I mean they did have the top two American Aces in the War.

It does everything well, not great but well.