Most Versatile Aircraft of WW2?

[Wildcat1]

F4's operated in the Pacific Theatre...as far as I know exclusively...so I think we would possibly have to either break this topic down into the Western Europe/Middle East/Italy and Pacific Theatre categories.  Anyone else?

the P-38 fought on all fronts of the war except for Eastern Europe 

 if were talking about in-game, its the P-38 hands-down. in what other plane can you take out the vh, deack, get a few town buildings, beat a few spits in a dogfight, and make it home with extra feul to spare?

[Ack-Ack]

the P-38 fought on all fronts of the war except for Eastern Europe 

 if were talking about in-game, its the P-38 hands-down. in what other plane can you take out the vh, deack, get a few town buildings, beat a few spits in a dogfight, and make it home with extra feul to spare?

While the P-38 didn't fight on the Eastern Front, it was flown.  The Soviets received a few Lend-Lease P-38s for evaluation and one was used as an aerobatic show and VIP plane that would go from base to base putting on aerobatic displays.  Can't find anything that tells what the final fates of these planes were.

ack-ack

[cobia38]

the P-38 fought on all fronts of the war except for Eastern Europe 

 if were talking about in-game, its the P-38 hands-down. in what other plane can you take out the vh, deack, get a few town buildings, beat a few spits in a dogfight, and make it home with extra feul to spare?

  A-20

[ACE]

A-20 was a good bomber I don't really think it can dogfight that well or am I wrong ?

[Wildcat1]

A-20 was a good bomber I don't really think it can dogfight that well or am I wrong ?

against a B-25, its the best dogfighter in the world 

[uptown]

A-20 was a good bomber I don't really think it can dogfight that well or am I wrong ?

Cobia is a dogfighting fool in a A20. He collects more scalps in that thing then a lot of spit drivers.

[Karnak]

Cobia is a dogfighting fool in a A20. He collects more scalps in that thing then a lot of spit drivers.

A-20 wasn't structurally able to fly upside down, or so I was told by an A-20 pilot.

[Ack-Ack]

A-20 wasn't structurally able to fly upside down, or so I was told by an A-20 pilot.

There was a standing USAAF operational order not to fly the A-20 inverted, can't recall the technical reasons though.

ack-ack

[Noah17]

F4U

Land or carrier, day or night, Fighter-bomber-fighter/bomber. Served in both PTO and ETO and production continued well in to the fifties. It continued to fly in combat(in S. America) well in to the sixties.
In Korea it carried the same bomb load as many medium/heavy bombers did in WWII (5,000lbs). It shot down a Mig 15 in Korea as well. Flew in Indochina(Vietnam) with the French and continued carrier service with them until the early sixties if memory serves me right.

I can't think of a plane that can claim so much.
 

[Kev367th]

Mossie

...High level bomber
...Insane low level bomber ops
...Precision attack
...Day fighter
...Night fighter
...Anti shipping
...V1 interception
...Sneaky beaky ops with radio operator crammed into the fuselage
...Pathfinder
...Photo recon
...Carrier ops (post war)
...Transport (BOAC post war)
...European, Med and Pacific
...Flew from 41--->56
...During its 15 years it flew with around 20 different Air Forces.
...Final Combat was seen with the IAF in 1956 during the Suez crisis.

Still hold three records
...1st ever carrier landing by twin engined aircraft.
...Highest ever night time photograph
...F for Freddie flew most combat ops of ANY allied aircraft in WWII

Quite an achievement for a plane built by piano makers (according to Herman anyway)

[Scherf]

Mossie

...Transport (BOAC post war)
...European, Med and Pacific

BOAC actually flew people from Sweden to the U.K. during the war, including physicist Niels Bohr.

Don't forget CBI as well as the other theatres.

[bozon]

Still hold three records
...1st ever carrier landing by twin engined aircraft.
...Highest ever night time photograph
...F for Freddie flew most combat ops of ANY allied aircraft in WWII

I doubt the 1st and 3rd recored will ever be broken.

Quite an achievement for a plane built by piano makers (according to Herman anyway)

Don't forget the furniture industry.

[ACE]

i took the a20 up its nice

[IrishOne]

I doubt the 1st and 3rd recored will ever be broken.

i hope thats a joke...

[BoilerDown]

i hope thats a joke...

Few people know that the first record was broken when the time warp happened, as documented in the historic movie, The Final Countdown.