Best Planes of WWII

[Phoenix3107]

This might have been answered before but I'll ask it anyways.

Which planes during WW2 were considered the shining stars of their country, in realistic and overall performance from their role(s)? Like for instance, say the U.S. P-51D, or the Supermarine Spit., Bf-109F....I'd like to know what you guys think.

[Zimme83]

There is no answer to that question, it all depend on what role you want the plane to fill.

[FESS67]

I agree with Zimme,

For years we have heard that the P51 was the ultimate fighter - and I love it.  However, pretty easy to be on that perch when you outnumber people 10:1

To answer your question in the spirit it was asked.  My pick is the ME 109.  In its many variants it lasted for many years and performed well.

[Zimme83]

P-51 wasnt that awesome, it had the range to go to Berlin and back and thats why it was the No 1 USAAF fighter. It was not bad in any way but in terms of performance planes like the K-4 and Spit XIV were at least as good as the pony.
But unless we talk about WWI the performance of the plane is only a small part of it. Factors like Tactic, training, quantity, support systems etc is far more vital than raw performance of the fighters.

But if I would pick the best design I would take the spit. It was one of the first "modern" prop fighters and despite being designed in mid 30:s the structure allowed the spit to evolve and remain an outstanding fighter even beyond WW2. The 109 was a great fighter until the end but suffered more than the spit from the increased weight.

[FLS]

This might have been answered before but I'll ask it anyways.

Which planes during WW2 were considered the shining stars of their country, in realistic and overall performance from their role(s)? Like for instance, say the U.S. P-51D, or the Supermarine Spit., Bf-109F....I'd like to know what you guys think.

Generally every country's latest fighter is their best. It may not be the best for your style of AH gameplay.

[WaffenVW]

I'd say the 109 as well, if only for all the aces it made and that it shot down more planes than any other aircraft in history.

[Zimme83]

I'd say the 109 as well, if only for all the aces it made and that it shot down more planes than any other aircraft in history.

that has very little to do with the performance of the 109. Again that is a result of the imbalance in quality of the German and Russian pilots during most of the war. Against better trained Allied pilots over Germany the k/d ratio for the 109 was horrible. Not because the 109 was inferior but because the pilots were. Combat record tells a very small part of the story. If combat record was the most significant my vote goes to the B-239...

[Gman]

Hard to argue against the 109, it sure was a brilliant design considering it lasted from before the war until after it, or at the very least it was the most improvable design of the war.  Galland said that it was in his opinion the best accelerating fighter in nearly every stage of warfare throughout the years, and that acceleration was one of the most important features to him in terms of combat.  Very subjective discussion, and I agree that depending on the mission and purpose, the answer could be argued to be a wide variety of platforms. 

I do think that the last two years produced fighters that would have absolutely demolished anything from the previous years.  Imagine the BoB with Fw190Ds or 109Ks, and so on.  In just a few short years the capability of the front line fighters increased at a rate we'll never see again, in all metrics, be it speed, armament, range, ease of use. 

One thing that's always stuck with me was Osprey's book on the 190s, and accounts in it from most of the pilots who switched to the 190 from the 109 and other fighters said it was like jumping forward in time, and I can understand that based on their descriptions of the very advanced features it had making the fighter pilot's job easier.  In terms of the most modernized fighter, IMO the 190 could probably take it.

Strong case for the Mustang as well, regardless of whatever numerical advantages it had, it's mission was harder than the defenders by definition IMO - having to fly a long way into enemy territory and wrestle air superiority from a foe over his own territory is no easy task, and it was the first fighter in history to really do it.

[BaldEagl]

I'd have to go with the Spitfire which isn't unusual given it's always been my favorite.

First flown in 1936 it remained operational from August 1938 until April, 1954 finally being retired from the Irish Air Corp in 1961.

It served in nearly every theater of combat in WWII including both the Eastern and Western fronts, The Mediterranean, Burma and Australia being used by 37 countries.

It was Britain's first high speed photo reconnaissance aircraft and, in it's Seafire configuration was aircraft carrier worthy.

Like it's contemporary, the Bf-109, the Spitfire was adapted throughout the war to produce ever greater speeds, however, the engine configurations available allowed it to be adapted to a wider variety of roles.

And, while the Hurricane was the workhorse in the battle of Britain, the Spitfire is largely credited with winning the battle due to it's much higher kill per loss ratio.

It is truly a legendary aircraft the retains a very special place in aviation history.

[Oldman731]

Which planes during WW2 were considered the shining stars of their country, in realistic and overall performance from their role(s)?

Yikes.

As others have said, in terms of raw performance, just pick whatever the most recent plane each country fielded at the end of the war.  For Brits I imagine that would be the Tempest, for the US the F4U-4, you get the idea.

In terms of actual effect on the war, for fighters, I'd go with this:

US:  F4F Wildcat, P-38 and F6F Hellcat in the Pacific.  P47 and P-51B in the ETO.

England:  Spitfire.

Germany:  109.

Japan:  Zeke.

USSR:  Actually, I have no idea here.

Italy:  This is not a real question for Italy.

- oldman

[Zimme83]

The potential of develop the spit in terms of armament etc was greater than the 109. The main reason the 109 were in production the entire war was that its successor(s) failed. In -44/-45 there wasnt much options for the Germans but to increase the engine power on the 109 and build them as fast as they could.
The spit had better potential of development, it was not just the engine that was upgraded. 

But regardless of personal favorites, the contest is between the 109 and the Spitfire. They were the first and pretty much also the last of the latest generation of prop fighters.

[Gman]

Good points all round.  I was going to get into the Spit as well, and agree that it's more or less the 109 equivalent for the British and various Allies.  My grandfather worked on them in the war in various places, mainly doing radio/electrics stuff.

I just went and was re reading the Osprey 190 book (excellent btw, and I have a copy I can lend through email if anyone wishes to peruse it), and it specifically mentioned the Spitfire as well, and how well it lent itself to upgradability as the 109 did.  Looking at the BoB models, then the Griffin powered 1944/45 models - incredible.  Even the leap to the Spit 9 at the time was a huge surge ahead in capability for the RAF/Etc, when the 190s at the time were far ahead of the Spit 5 and whatnot.

EDIT- I would be interested to hear others take on the best Soviet fighter of the war.  Very interesting subject there, many good ones to choose from, not the least of which wasn't even really a fighter, but a CAS/attack plane.

[Zimme83]

Soviet LW fighters, although very good planes, was imo not as good designs as comparable western/German fighters. Poor armament and gun sights, use of wooden parts, lack of superchargers etc made them less capable. SwAF for ex flew ponys and Spit XIX on PR missions over soviet union in the late 40s and La-7/9:s had no chance of intercept them. Later Russian designs were good for the need that the russians had but in terms of aircraft design they were nothing remarkable.

[Karnak]

Mosquito was the best plane of the war.  Or the F4U.  I am frequently torn between those two.

Breaking it down by country:

France: D.520

Germany: Bf109, Fw190, Ju88 and decendants

Italy: C.20x

Japan: A6M, Ki-84

USA: B-17, B-24, P-47, F4U, F6F

UK: Lancaster, Mosquito, Spitfire

USSR: Il-2, La-5FN/7, Yak-3/9


About the Bf109, remember that while it shot down more aircraft than any other in history, it was also shot down more than any other in history as well.

[WaffenVW]

I think that dubious honor goes to the Il-2.