Recent content by dragonandhistail

The Hellcat was the top scoring aircraft period. That settles it in my mind.

The PPSh 41 was rugged, very mechanically reliable, and had a large drum magazine. It gets my vote. If I had a choice though the M-1 Garand is my baby because i can hit targets at 500 meters and I hit what I aim at. Subguns are junk. That's why no one uses them anymore.:twisted

Face it guys. The Hellcat was the top scorer in the pacific by a large margin. Yes it's performance was inferior to the F4U and P-38 in some regards but it was rugged, maneuverable, fast and available in great numbers. Give it the due it deserves and accept that your better performing...

The 109K-4 squeezed the last little bit of life out of an antiquated airframe. Sure it could go faster but it handled poorly, was less robust, and was less maneuverable at high speeds. No 109 flew for any amount of time at high speeds like that so that stat is useless. Pilots were key and...

The panther beats the T-34 on gun and armor easily but loses on mobility and ease of maintenance. In a gun fight with the panther's optics and 75mm cannon it was easily decided especially at long range. The Panther was an overall better tank but produced in quantities far too small to be war...

P-47N is my favorite WW2 aircraft. Thanks for building it.....it gets far too little credit for the workhorse and powerhouse that it was! Dragon and his Tail

Does anyone have the record of the Gladiator vs. the CR42? I would think the quality and aggressiveness of British pilots would win out hands down?

By my avatar it is clear which aircraft I prefer. I think the B-17 had much better PR than the 24 did earlier on and that created a strong perception in the public and with bomber crews about which aircraft was better. The B-24 was much more versatile, faster, heavier bombload, and served in...

Never discuss politics and religion with friends....that is what we are here. I learn so much from all of you with regards to WW2 Aviation. If we need a dose of bickering just turn on Cable news of any stripe. Let's get back to planes and pilots!:)

I've got to go with the A6M2 solely on performance stats. But I do agree that a veteran Hurrican pilot that knows the strengths of the aircraft would hold his own or win.

My vote is the F-86. There are too many Apples and Oranges to compare roles on this list. many of these aircraft were more prominent in the 1960s and shouldn't be on here. F86 was the best aircraft as an air superiority aircraft for its time and the pilots amade the difference.

DRGONDOG, But the F6F still topped the P-51 and that is what counts. As for your comment on strafing; different geography, different war. Lots of water in the Pacific and lots of land in Europe. The F6F would have been a much better strafer in the ETO as it was much more rugged. F6Fs tore...

The Hellcat was top scorer during the war and much more rugged with its radial engine. It was a better ground attack aircraft by virtue of its ruggedness. I'd take it in any fight under 25,000 feet and in any ground attack or interdiction role. I'd take the P-51 as an escort and above 25K in...

The Hurricane did all the killing that mattered. The Spitfire was sexier and got all the glory.

THunderbolt all the way. Great air superiority aircraft and an awesome ground attack bird.