Everyone Prides themselves on knowing of, or arguing for, the 'Best Aircraft' of WWII. What about the WORST Aircrafts of WWII? Here are my choices:
HORRID DESIGN: Tie: UNITED STATES of America Curtis SO3C'Sea Mew' Float plane (so bad it was replaced in production with the SOS Seagul Biplane it superceeded) and the Brewster Buccaneer (so bad, the British would scrap it on the docks for parts and then melt it for the metal. Runner Ups (tie) ME 210 Germany (worst flying characteristic ever built) and VL Myrski Finland (so bad,the first three prototypes disintergrated in mid flight. All scrapped in 1945-7. MIG-1 Poor armament (1# 12.7mm 2" 7.62mm) and poor low level performance did it in.
Wretched Reliability: Heinkel He 177 "Flying Coffin" Germany (it's wretched Daimler-Benz DB 606 engines did it in) Runner Ups Lockheed C-69 Constellation USAAF(it's wretched P/W R-3350 engines grounded the entire fleet in 1944) Bloch 151/152 FR (All delivered 151/152 in 1939 declared 'unfit for service')Lockheed P-38H Lightning (engine cooling/detonation problems=more were lost due to engine seizures than combat loss!!!)
Operationally (i.e. "A sitting duck") Morane Sauliner MS 406. France 175Kills vrs 400 Killed says it all!!! Fairey Battle GB(60% group losses in France were typical) Vought SB2U Vindicator USA. 100% loss rate when used in France; 60% loss rate (0r more) when used by USN in Battle of Midway. MIG-1, MIG-3 CCCP (near worthless armament 1#12.7mm/2# 7.62mm guns) and low level performance meant it was a deathtrap for the soviet pilots who flew it.
TOO OLD TO FIGHT, but did Amoit 143M France (1928) Boeing P-26 USA in Phillipine service (1930) Polikarpov U-2/Po-2 MULE CCCP (1927) Fiat CR32 Italy (1933)