S!
I read all these posts by U.S. and German fans complaining their aircraft are underrated in one way or another. The Russian, Japanese and Brits are all overdone. Well, time to wake up and smell the coffee. The modelling in AH is the most accurate of any Flight Sim around. The designers have accurately portrayed the aircraft as they existed.
The facts are, the various nations produced particular types of aircraft in order to fulfill their strategic goals. What that meant is the performance of their fighter aircraft was tailored to meet their military requirements. And most importantly, their military requirements were primarily centered around the delivery of ordinance, (in the case of the British, Americans and Russians) or the prevention of the delivery of ordinance (in the case of the Japanese and Germans) For example:
Britain:
Britain, (unlike the U.S.) made a decision in 1941 that they would build a strategic bomber fleet which would operate UNESCORTED at night. (not counting the small number of Beaufighters and Mosquitos which operated in the night intruder roles) This meant they DID NOT require a long range escort fighter. Their needs were:
1) Short range air superiority
This role was assigned to the various Marks of Spitfires, and later to a smaller extent, the Tempests. The Hurricanes were briefly used in this role in '41. These aircraft had no requirement for large fuel capacity, armour protection, or heavy weaponry. In the case of the Tempest, high altitude performance was sacrificed.
2) Bomber Interceptors
This is what the Typhoon was initially designed for. However, its altitude performance was not good. It did do a fine job of dealing with the low level FW190 Jabo raids in 1942-43. The Tempest filled in as an interceptor against the V1's. Once again, no major design handicaps were imposed, thus performance was excellent.
3) Ground attack
The Hurricane was initially assigned this role, but was superceded by the Typhoon when the threat of bombers diminished
Because the British did not need to concern themselves with escorting Strategic bombers long distances at high altitude, they could focus on performance from 20,000 ft down. They could also design aircraft which were lighter and performed better versus other fighters.
Germany:
Germany had initially on one requirement:
1) Short range Air Superiority
The German airforce was a tactical airforce at the start of the conflict. Its fighters were designed to establish air superiority over the battlefield in order that the Luftwaffe light and medium tactical bombers could strike the enemy ground forces. The 109 and 190 were both designed for this role, and in the period 1940-1942 they were very successful, being the best performing fighters in the world. They were designed to operate under 20,000 ft. However, with the advent of the American Strategic bombing campaign, there was suddenly a requirement for another Fighter type. The high altitude Interceptor. Unfortunately for the Luftwaffe, due to Goering and Hitler's bad planning, they did not have anything which was designed for this role. All the German resources, (which were now very limited due to the two front war they were fighting) went into interceptor developement, which meant the existing designs which could have been improved in their air superiority role, weren't. The only aircraft developed for the air superiority role after 1941 was the 190D. And it was a 'Patch' job. As AH users are discovering, it is a very good fighter, and a tribute to the German designers.
With the 8th Air Force raids beginning to seriously affect German industry, the Germans had to adapt their existing fighter types to a different role.
2) Interceptors
This type is typified by high speed at altitude, heavy armament and good pilot protection. An interceptor requires engine boosting systems to provide power at high altitudes as well as heating, sealed cockpits, and oxygen systems. None of these requirements were completely fulfilled by either the 109 or 190. The German designer's response was to accelerate new designs like the Me262, and in the meantime adapt the existing designs. This meant huge compromises in performance. For example, the 190's had sufficient armament and armour protection, but performance at altitude with all these encumbrances was inferior. The 109's had good altitude performance initially, but when sufficient armament was added, then performance fell off. In addition, the 109 was too fragile for a bomber interceptor. But these modifications were carried out anyway. And the result was the Luftwaffe fighters were generally inferior to their fighter opponents.
But the central factor in Germany's inferiority was economic. With the limited resources they had, they could not afford the programs required to develop a completely new series of Air Superiority Fighters, they had to direct their energies towards the real threats. Hence the pinnacle of German aircraft design was the Me262. An Interceptor. An aircraft not suited to the Fighter vs Fighter role.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union's VVS was designed much like the Luftwaffe. Its role was the delivery of ordinance on a Tactical level, on the battlefield. Its Fighter requirements did not vary throughout the war.
Air superiority:
All of the Soviet Fighters (with the minor exception of the Mig-3) were designed to fight under 20,000 feet. Usual operating altitude was between 5,000 and 10,000 feet. They were intended to provide cover for the Soviet Ground attack Squadrons, and additionally to act in the ground support role as well. There was no requirement for heavy weaponry, (there were no German Heavy bombers which would require mulitiple heavy cannon to bring down) and no requirement for a long operating range. This meant the aircraft could be light in design and therefore have better performance. Heavy Armour protection was not particularly stressed either.
All of this added up to a type of fighter which does very well in the AH enviroment.
United States:
The U.S. had two main air services: The USAAF and the USN. Each had different requirements.
The USAAF had as its primary doctrine the concept of Daylight Strategic Bombing with heavy 4 engined aircraft operating at high altitude over very long ranges. That meant its Fighter requirement was primarily:
High Altitude Long range Escort:
All of the big 3 U.S. Fighters, the P-38, P-47 and P-51 (Merlin engine model) were designed to provide escort for bombers at 20,000 feet and higher, (the B-17's were initially intended to bomb from 30,000 feet, but problems with cold resulted in them lowering their standard flight altitude) while operating over long distances. This meant they had to be larger aircraft, capable of carrying a lot of fuel. They also required heavy engine boosting systems which would provide power at high altitudes as well as heating, sealed cockpits, and long range oxygen systems. This all meant the aircraft were larger, heavier and less maneuverable. That American Industry was able to produce extremely good aircraft, despite all these competitive disadvantages is a tribute to their genius. At the altitudes at which the bombers were operating, the U.S. Fighters were superior to their opponents despite the requirement they fly very long distances to reach the combat zone.
Tactical Ground Support
As the numbers of opponents in the air diminished, an opportunity to use the Escort Fighters in a Ground support role presented itself. Although they were not designed for this task, two of the big three (P-38, P-47) performed superbly.
USN
The USN's theater of operations was the vast region of the Pacific, which could only be controlled with Carrier forces.
Medium Range Carrier Fighters
The USN's requirements were for medium range Carrier operable air superiority fighters which would provide escort for Dive bombers and Torpedo planes operating under 10,000 feet, as well as CAP over the Carriers themselves. These aircraft needed longer range than comparable land based aircraft, (hence more space required for more fuel) due to the very long sea distances which they were required to fly. Their undercarriages had to be sturdier to allow for the rigours of Sea landings, as well they needed to have folding wings, which also meant more weight. Overall they needed more tolerances built into the aircraft to compensate for the conditions under which they operated.
All of the above meant they were generally slightly heavier and larger than their land based opponents. (The Zero and Seafire are exceptions in Carrier aircraft. The Zero was a very lightly built aircraft, but that required very large sacrifices in the area of armour protection. The Seafire was less lightly built, but still had huge problems with its undercarriage collapsing in service. During the Salerno Campaign when the beachead was covered solely by Carrier based Seafires, 40% of the British aircraft were out of service by the second day due to damage incurred during landings.)
The USN's aircraft did not operate under as many design handicaps as the USAAF's, but they were comparatively disadvantaged compared to the British, Soviet and Japanese. Despite that, once again U.S. technology provided their airmen with the best carrier aircraft of WWII.
Japanese
The Japanese had two sets of requirements. One for their Navy and one for the Army.
Navy:
Medium Range Carrier based Fighter
The Japanese requirement was the same as the U.S., that being air superiority fighters which would provide escort for Dive bombers and Torpedo planes operating under 10,000 feet, as well as CAP over the Carriers. The Japanese chose to approach their design differently, sacrificing armour protection for performance. Ultimately this proved to be the wrong decision. Their later model Navy fighters were not expected to operate from Carriers, so they were not under the design handicaps which the U.S. aircraft had. They were essentially short range air superiority fighters designed to operate under 20,000 feet. Thus they were able to get very good performance out of these designs at those altitudes. But although they were successful at their intended role, they proved to be unable to adapt to the task of high altitude interception, with the arrival of the B-29's and Mustangs over Japan.
The Army
The Japanese Army required a medium range Air superiority fighter, designed to escort the Japanese medium tactical bombers. The longer distances of the Pacific theater meant more fuel capacity had to be designed in. Once again the Japanese responded by sacrificing armour protection and additionally in the case of the Oscar, firepower. And once again this proved to be a shortsighted decision. Although their aircraft were superbly maneuverable, they could not survive in a dense air to air enviroment.
The second generation of Japanese Army fighters were essentially designed for short range air superiority with their operating altitude being under 20,000. With no design handicaps, they were very successful. But once again, they proved incapable of being adapted for the high altitude interceptor role once the U.S. Strat. bombing campaign began. The Japanese NEVER were able to seriously challenge the B-29's in the way the Germans challenged the B-17's.
Fighters are not a end in themselves. They only exist to ensure or to prevent bombers from fulfilling their tasks. And while the later model U.S. and German Fighters perhaps are not able to compete as well in a low level, purely fighter versus fighter situation, that is irrelvant to their intended tasks. That the German aircraft were less successful is more a function of economics than design skill.
The best Fighter of the War? Considering the huge design handicaps imposed by USAAF requirements, undoubtably the P-51 was the most successful in carrying out its intended task while providing superior Fighter vs Fighter performance.
