I am no wordsmith/typer or collector of pics of stuff like @Miami_JBT  but

here I go

This isn't the which was the best fighter of WW2 thread.


And yes I know most would probably pick what they thought was the best.



I don't provide a list because there were sooooo many from every combatant country.

The question is, which one would YOU have wanted to fly and why?  Provide and label pics please.




mine would be the P38


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bonus points if you can find cutaway pics of your plane as well----I had books growing up that had the pic of the plane, then the cutaway with specs and explanations of what was what---always mesmerized me

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why? because I fit in one.   And two engine.  Over the pacific?  I'll take two engine please.   And they could get at least the air over the wings close to the speed of sound.


oh

and because guns are icky


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2nd place
Douglas A-1 Skyraider----I know----wasn't IN ww2----but it was made during WW2---and this is my thread

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Why?


Because it is just huge!


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I'll play:  P-47 Thunderbolt, specifically the D model.  Why?  Eight .50s good armor and overall survivability, long legged, and very fast at altitude.

I like cutaways.

At a cost basis, perhaps the P-40 or F4F.

Longevity, the P-38 or P-40.

Cost effectiveness, the F6F or P-51.

non poll fail


which one would YOU want to fly?

P51 Mustang, B17 Flying Fortress and the good old JU 87 "Stuka" are the planes I grew up drawing and wishing I could fly. Spent many years in aviation and never touched a prop plane

I’m a sucker for German WW2 aircraft so for me it’s easily the ME-262. Just looks like a shark in the sky.
I can only imagine the feeling of being an allied airman when someone spotted one of these bastards.

ETA: Why? Looks honestly. Besides, landing is overrated.
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worthy



worthy


good reasons also

but how long/far could if fly?

I have to pretty much agree with this post - although for me, the F4-U is also has a soft spot for me.

See edit.

ME 262, because speed. Glorious speed. Hit and run like a little bitch. You can't catch me. I'll be back before you see me coming.

Either a p-51B with a Malcom hood (slightly faster than a D) or a bf-109G6AS !

I would agree with the P38. It didn't have the highest top speed, but it did have a much higher rate of climb of any other (piston or jet) fighter of WW2, including the me262. The only thing I'm aware of that could beat it's rate of climb was the me 163, which was rocket powered. Also, the gun placement made it easier to hit your targets since the guns were directly in front of the pilot, not out on the wings. It also had an incredible record for getting pilots home. The p38's incredible climb performance made it a great energy fighter.

F8F squadrons were on their way towards Japan so I’ll go with that.


 If seeing no combat use discounts it then I’d want to fly a Ju-88 and shoot down Lancasters at night because the explosions would be pretty.

 

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It fights in the air

It blows shit up on the ground, it’s made of wood.


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Any of them.

To go into combat? A P-38, Mosquito, or P-47.

The P47 would have been my pick.


The P39 Aircobra should have been a hot ship as designed.  It was designed with a turbo charger unit but it was deleted because the turbocharger production was insufficient for the P38 and the P39.  

Much as the P40 suffered forhorsepower.  

I want to say in the Pacific theater the P39 had more kills than other aircraft.

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I'm going to branch off from the regular P51/Spitfire/etc.

I've always thought the Macchi 205 "Veltro" (Greyhound) was a nice looking plane and was reportedly well-regarded by both Allied and Axis pilots.

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What my old BMW bike w/ the loud muffler sounds like in my head.



What it really sounds like to everybody else.

I love the P-38, but this is cool.

I'm going with the Typhoon. Why? Because it looked cool. Too bad none had a shark mouth painted on

I always liked the Butcher Bird.

why because I am a crazy fuck? & I do not know how to fly , but late model 163s had two flack guns aming up out of the fusalage triggered by a solor cell on the dorsal

if the polot simply flew thru the shadow of a bomber the 2 flak guns would fire.  I thibk I might be abel to do that.

You would be one of very few to fly that high speed interceptor.  There were just a handful of pics ever seen if I recall.

ba ba ba

Tough bastards too. Can you imagine a today's 20-something explaining how he made it home in this?
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My answer would hands down be the Corsair, but If you are going to include the Skyraider which was post WW2 I will include the Hawker Sea Fury.....which went up against MiG's in Korea.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Sea_Fury

P-47N Thunderbolt.

PW R2800 Double wasp engine which was damn near bulletproof, eight .50cal M3s, bubble canopy, designed for longer range for the Pacific, wing bomb racks

Not even close

F6F = 5,221
F4U/FG = 2,155
P-38 = 1,700
F4F/FM-1/FM-2 = 1,408
P-47 = 697
P-40 = 661
P-51/A-36/F-6 = 297
P-39/P-400 = 288
P-61 = 64
PV = 20
F2A = 10
P-36 = 3
P-70 = 2
P-26 = 2
P-35 = 1

Even the SBD had 200ish air to air kills, this is for the pacific theater

P-47, its just so American.

Big fat tough loud airplane with a lot of guns!

But I think the P-40 would be easiest, to me, an enthusiast but not a pilot.  The cockpit is just elegant simplicity:

http://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/cockpits/WWII_tour/WWII-22.html

And no really good ones that I've seen

Absolutely gorgeous airplane though.

Cool thread

P-47 or F6F because radial > V-12 when people are shooting at you.

I cannot imagine there being any more fun possible in the world than rolling in on trains and tanks and buildings and cows and everything else in a P-47 and opening up with all eight .50 cals. Those gun films of them strafing trains and watching them blow up is satisfying beyond words.

Flew the FW190A8 most of the time when I played Air Warrior, followed by the P51.

Thank you.

Ftmfw.

Grumman F7F Tigercat. It had range: 1181mi. and speed: 460mph but was unfortunately a little late to the ballgame.

Oooh... Good call... That's a pretty awesome, sexy machine.

Dec 7th 1941...it did exist for a few hours

Cool thread.

U.S.: P-47 and P-51
Britain: Hurricane Hawker and Spitfire
Germany: Bf 109 and FW 190
Russia: Yak-9

Thread Fail no P61 Black Widow

Yes it certainly did.

Edit for proof:

P-47, any one with a bubble canopy.  The US could have built nothing but jugs for the air force fighter squadrons and still dominated the skies.  They were without a doubt the toughest fighter flying.  They could take an insane beating and still keep flying. The mustang could be downed with a single bullet to the radiator.  Jugs got home with entire cylinders shot away and the pilot had armor around him for safety.   At least once a german in a focke wulf emptied his entire magazine into the tail end of a wounded jug and STILL didn't shoot him down.  The german, recognizing the superiority of this American monster, was forced by his code of honor to escort the jug home because he knew the better plane when he saw it.

It was huge, like the brass balls of the heroes that flew them.  It had to be huge because you couldn't pack all that awesomeness into a small package.

That big double wasp engine was tweaked to eventually put out something like 2400hp. They used every trick in the book.  A supercharger alone wasn't enough.  They also put on a turbo charger too because yo dawg we heard u like chargers so we put a turbocharger on your super charger!   They gave it things like water injection, intercoolers, high octane fuels, new propeller and all it ever did was go faster to the point where it's earlier deficiencies in climbing were reversed to become excellent at climbing so poor jerry couldn't run away anymore.   Those pussy merlin engines never even came close to matching the horsepower of this monster.   The brits had to go invent a new engine and steal all of the improvements the jug pioneered just to come close.

They were one of the fastest fighters in the sky and NOTHING could out dive it. If a german tried diving after them in an ME 109 they would literally  rip their wings off.  Nothing the germans made in any real quantity could really match it up high where the bombers worked.  The germans mopped the floor down low vs the russians but their little planes would gasp for air  where the Jugs held court.  

With drop tanks they had plenty of gas to get to berlin, say fuck you to hitler and get back with gas to spare.  And of course 8 x .50 cal mgs would shred anything unfortunate enough to cross their sights, like the 20 or so ME 262 JETS they shot down.  Because fuck your jet, jugs rule.  They could also carry a couple of bombs if they wanted to because fuck you down on the ground, too.  

An all American, heavily armed muscle car of the sky.   Face it, it's fucking sexy in that special way only something huge, powerful and dangerous is sexy.   There is no other choice.

I love me some P-38!

Last year I was looking to go for a ride in a P-40 but they were booked up for the day. I was going to do it this year and then the damn COVID!

Corsair is my first choice, followed by the bubble canopy P-47.


Both were rugged, powerful and would fuck shit up in the air and on the ground.

Always liked the Dornier Do 335 Pfiel

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TA152 is a fav non-allied fighter