Of course ghi has a valid point. I dont think anyone is really saying that americans are stupid, lazy, etc.... I really point at mass consumption, "brand" recognition as the main reason which will decide the plane to be voted in. Its clearly obvious, from the first and second round of voting that the majority of votes are going towards those planes with the strongest "brand" recognition. Its the same reason we buy electronics of one brand or another, clothes of one brand or another, eat at certain establishments, etc. etc. Anyone with a mild interest on WWII has probably heard of the B25 or P39 ... no suprise they are the top. Less have heard of the He-111, Me410... which I think explains why they reached the second round. And very few have heard of the Pe-2 or Tu-2 ... which again, explains why they were voted out after the first round. What ghi is pointing out is valid for ANY country. If the majority of voters were italian, then the G.55 would have been voted in. If the majority were Finnish, then the brewster, etc. etc. Ghi is merely pointing out something that is part of reality and applicable to any nation, not just america.
Emu
ps: and yes, as with a lot of things already, the forum is not always a true reflection of your average AH player. Forum users are typically better informed about the planes of WWII, not because the average AH player is lazy, stupid, but because we choose to invest more of our time on learning about something which we are more interested in than some others.