Best Planes of WWII

[Karnak]

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

Maybe, maybe not.  About the same production, would not be at all surprised if there were more Il-2s still functional at the end of the war.

That said, it is possible that the stat I recalled was specific to aircraft most shot down by other aircraft, and that would unquestionably be the Bf109.  Many, perhaps more than half, Il-2s were downed by AA fire.

[Saxman]

Which planes during WW2 were considered the shining stars of their country

For the US it's really hard to argue against the F4U series. The F4U-4 met or exceeded the P-51 in raw performance in most every category but range. The series in general DID out-range most P-47 variants, are often placed on equal terms with it in terms of durability, and outperformed the Jug at most altitudes below 20,000 feet. The airframe itself demonstrated the capability to SIGNIFICANTLY out-haul most single-engine propeller-driven fighter and attack planes prior to the arrival of the AD Skyraider (I've seen figures ranging anywhere from 6000-8000lbs of ordinance for the AU-1). Designed in 1938, first flown in 1940, and flew her last combat mission in 1969 (downing a Mustang, of all planes), outlasting the Hellcat in active service.

She had her teething problems, but so did the vaunted Mustang. Although certainly outperformed by later designs like the F7F and F8F, by the time they arrived the era of the piston-engine naval fighter was already drawing to a close.

[Phoenix3107]

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.

That's an ironically heavy reputation for one such a fighter. To be on the recieving end as well as the giving  one too.

[WaffenVW]

I'm fairly confident it is the Il-2 since it was no longer in production by war's end (production switched to the Il-10 in 1944) and the 109's production figure, already 2000 units short of the Il-2, includes post war production. There are fewer surviving Il-2s around than 109s.

[bozon]

Mosquito, period.

Best bomber of the war, best night fighter, best photo-recce - all in one basic design, which made it also the best multi-role aircraft of the war.
Eventually also the first twin-engine carrier plane and evolved into one of the best piston day-fighter planes (Hornet).

Ground breaking concept - check.
Inovative design - check.
Most efficient use of resources in its construction - check.
So radical that almost no one believed it would work and then were stunned when it exceeded every expectation - check.
Impressed the enemy so much that Goering was obssed by it and they tried to copy the design - check.
So influential that it forever changed the design of bombers - check.
The poster-boy of a sucesful multi-role fighter/bomber till today - check.

[WaffenVW]

If we're arguing on a pure performance based criteria then can there be anything more worthy of the title than these two? If the Mosquito 'forever changed the design of bombers' these two made every other aircraft obsolete, Mosquito included. These two did not merely show the way to the future, they were the first steps into that future.

[Karnak]

They did not.  That path was already blatantly apparent.

Heck, they're not even the first operational jets.

[WaffenVW]

First operational jet fighter and jet bomber. The HE 178 while technically 'operational' was nothing more than a technology demonstrator.

[glzsqd]

For the US it's really hard to argue against the F4U series. The F4U-4 met or exceeded the P-51 in raw performance in most every category but range. The series in general DID out-range most P-47 variants, are often placed on equal terms with it in terms of durability, and outperformed the Jug at most altitudes below 20,000 feet. The airframe itself demonstrated the capability to SIGNIFICANTLY out-haul most single-engine propeller-driven fighter and attack planes prior to the arrival of the AD Skyraider (I've seen figures ranging anywhere from 6000-8000lbs of ordinance for the AU-1). Designed in 1938, first flown in 1940, and flew her last combat mission in 1969 (downing a Mustang, of all planes), outlasting the Hellcat in active service.

She had her teething problems, but so did the vaunted Mustang. Although certainly outperformed by later designs like the F7F and F8F, by the time they arrived the era of the piston-engine naval fighter was already drawing to a close.

I second this.

[JVboob]

I disagree with the P51 for the US.

The P38 was in service the entirity of the war and 3 of the top 5 aces the US produced were 38 pilots. It filled every role a land based fighter could fill. It along with the Mossie were the two most versitile a/c of the war (IMO). The 38 did struggle in the ETO compaired to other allied a/c in the 38s defence I saw combat with the LW unlike the pony that faught the last of the pilots the LW could muster, but none the less it did its job and still produced aces and had a large impact on the war. In the PTO Id say it accomplished more than the F6F due to the F6F coming after the IJN/IJAAF had lost its best pilots. Had it come sooner the F6F might have proven its self against the might of Japanses airpower. Just my opinion on the USAs a/c 

[Oldman731]

In the PTO Id say it accomplished more than the F6F due to the F6F coming after the IJN/IJAAF had lost its best pilots.

True of the 38 as well.  Wildcat gets credit for eliminating the cream of the Japanese pilot population (which was never very large).

- oldman

[Karnak]

First operational jet fighter and jet bomber. The HE 178 while technically 'operational' was nothing more than a technology demonstrator.

Meteor Mk I.  First operational jet fighter.

[bozon]

The P38 was in service the entirity of the war and 3 of the top 5 aces the US produced were 38 pilots. It filled every role a land based fighter could fill. It along with the Mossie were the two most versitile a/c of the war (IMO). The 38 did struggle in the ETO compaired to other allied a/c in the 38s defence I saw combat with the LW unlike the pony that faught the last of the pilots the LW could muster, but none the less it did its job and still produced aces and had a large impact on the war. In the PTO Id say it accomplished more than the F6F due to the F6F coming after the IJN/IJAAF had lost its best pilots. Had it come sooner the F6F might have proven its self against the might of Japanses airpower. Just my opinion on the USAs a/c

In the PTO, the F6F was the most significant Fighter by far. The p38 had a good contribution and operated in other theatres, but in the PTO was not even close to the F6F - there was no substitute to being carrier bourne. Also, the F6F entered combat on September 1943 and the Japanese pilots were still good even though some have been removed from the roster by WildCats. The P38 started  to see significant action in the PTO only from early 1943, only about 6 months before the F6F and with much lower intensity since it was far from the action. The P38 is not the plane that killed the IJN aces.

[MiloMorai]

The P38 is not the plane that killed the IJN aces.

But it did shoot down IJA aces.

[WaffenVW]

Meteor Mk I.  First operational jet fighter.

Heh no.