10 Allied planes that sealed Nazi Germany's fate

[stug3]

Boeing B-17Es under construction. This is the first released wartime production photograph of Flying Fortress heavy bombers at one of the Boeing plants, at Seattle, Wash. Boeing exceeded its accelerated delivery schedules by 70 percent for the month of December 1942. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Operation Gomorrah, the RAF and USAAF attack on the port of Hamburg in July 1943 produced the one of the most destructive raids of the war. The combination of 2,326 tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs tore open the tenement buildings and set them alight. Once the fire started, it fuelled itself. The burning flames sucked in oxygen, creating huge winds that spread the fire further. Soon it was a firestorm, completely out of control.

German civilians look on as smoke billows above the Deutsche Werke submarine construction works following the devastating British and American air raid on Hamburg.

 

[Coyote]

1. B-17
2. B-24
3. Lancaster
4. P-47
5. Spit/Hurricane (BoB)
6. P-51
7. Il-2
8. LA-5/7
9. Mosquito
10. B-26 Marauder

 

[Conslaw]

1. Spitfire
2. Hurricane
3. Lancaster
4. B-17
5. B-24
6. P-51
7. P-47
8. IL-2
9 Mosquito
10. Pe-2

These actually aren't in a particular order. If transport planes are included, I'd include the C-47 and drop off the Pe-2. I have a hard time evaluating Soviet fighters, though even if I had better information about them, I think I'd have a hard time leaving off any of the other aircraft on the list.

 

[Kryten]

1, Spitfire/Hurricane(mention is despatches to radar and the observer corps)
inseparable as they decided the outcome of the war for the Western allies, If the Luftwaffe had neutralised the RAF in the BoB, Britain would have either had to negotiate peace terms, if Hitler was prepared to, or surrender or risk invasion!

either way, with Britain and the commonwealth out of the war in Europe there would have been no big week, no bomber offensive, no defeat of the Luftwaffe, no P38/47/51 in Europe or the Med, in fact would the US even have entered the war?

politically we could easily have seen WW2 diverge into separate European and Pacific conflicts, and ultimately Europe could well have been a communist empire as I believe the Russians would have defeated Germany in the long term, unless of course the Germans produced a viable nuclear weapon first?

So first I would have to say the Spit and Hurricane, simply because by keeping Britain in the war they set the stage for everything that happened next, without them the world could well be a very different place to what we know today!

 

[pattle]

This is a very hard question to answer, I can only say that the Hurricane and Spitfire started the ball rolling against the Germans during the Battle of Britain and that a lot of newer planes all chipped in to finish what was started.

 

[zoomar]

I agree with the first 3. My remaining 7, in order:

North American P-51 as long range escort of USAAF bombers (in fact, I'd be tempted to go with the Mustang as more important than the B-17 and B-24, since it was the arrival of P-51s that really made the difference in the USAAF daylight offensive)
DeHavilland Mosquito - Those Germans hated them. They really hated them
Supermarine Spitfire - The Spit would certainly be named by the Germans for its role in the BoB if nothing else
Hawker Typhoon - The scourge of German tanks and staff cars throughout France
Republic P-47 - It was versatile, hard to shoot down, and as good or better than what the Germans had
Handley Page Halifax - Bomber Harris would have done OK with these even without Lancs, and the Germans
knew it
Consolidated B-24 - Ditto the Halifax, pretty much. Plus the Americans churned them out by the thousands

Honestly, I don't see the Germans listing any of the Soviet fighters or any US/British medium or light bombers other than the 'Squito

 

[stug3]

Operation Gomorrah

Oblique aerial view of ruined residential and commercial buildings south of the Stadtpark (seen at upper right) in the Eilbek district of Hamburg, Germany. These were among the 16,000 multi-storied apartment buildings destroyed by the firestorm which developed during the raid by Bomber Command on the night of 27/28 July 1943 (Operation GOMORRAH). The road running diagonally from upper left to lower right is Eilbeker Weg.

 

[swampyankee]

Ten is probably too small a number, but I'd say:

Hurricane (which did most of the heavy lifting during the Battle of Britain), Spitfire, Lancaster, Halifax, B-17, P-51, B-24, Swordfish, Il-2, Yak-1

 

[Procrastintor]

1: P-40( large numbers early in the war, and good aircraft for many purposes)
2: Spirfire ( The BoB would have been a catastrophic battle to lose.)
3: Hurricane (same as spit)
4: P-51 (B-17s would have taken many more casualties if it wasnt for the Mustang here)
5: Me 163 ( killed lots of experienced LW pilots) hehehehe jk, 5. Mosqito.
6 IL-2 (stopped German tanks in their 'tracks')+ built in immense numbers
7 B-17
8 B-24 ( B-24 and B-17 both caused massive damage to factories and many other targets)
9 Lancaster ( The raids at the Ruhr dams couldnt have been done without it)
10 P-38/P-47/Tempest tied for 10th ( all were great, many purpose aircraft.)

Obviously this excludes all aircraft for support roles and the primarily PTO aircraft

 

[dutchman]

The B-17 and the B-24 for the US the Lancaster, for the UK. I'd have to mention the Wellington as deserving of consideration because in the early days they were the workhorse of the bomber wings. But it was over shadowed in the later years. The Mosquito, the Typhoon, The Spitfire and Hurricane, the P-51 the P-47. The Il-2 was a winner. There are many other planes that were good and made a difference, but I looked at it as if to say if the plane on this list wasn't there how much effect would it of had on the war. Without the Spits ot the Hurricanes the Battle of Britian would have been fought with Gloster Gladiators. Don't even want to think about that!!!!Or our bombers without the 47's and the 51's escortng them!!! Just my thoughts.