Best Aircraft in many different roles

cheddar cheese · Dec 2, 2004

BombTaxi said:
Hi all!

My vote on this would be the Ju88. It was deployed in an extraordinary range of roles, yet never became obsolecent like the Bf110. Furthermore, it was well-proven in each role:as a bomber from 1939 onwards, as a nightfighter, it saw service almost nightly from its introduction in 1944, and as an anti-shipping a/c, it served well throught the war, on all fronts.

On the other hand, the Mossie NF only entered service after the worst German night raids were over, and so was never proven as thouroughly as the 88. As GrG mentioned, the big-gun anti-shipping version operated in only small numbers. The only roles the Mossie was fully proven in were light bomber and recon machine. So while it can be argued that it was a better aircraft than the 88, it doesnt have such an extensive combat record behind it.

As for the P38, it really was too limited in its deployment. It was used more-or-less exclusively fas a fighter-bomber or photo recon machine. It never served as a bomber, tank-buster or night-fighter, making it hard to put in the same league as the Mossie or Ju88.

Just my 0.02 8)

The P-38 was used as a bomber - there was a special "Droop Snoot" version used specifically for this. It would carry maximum payload whilst being escorted by Regular P-38J's/L's carry smaller bombs. It proved very effective.
It also did see service as a nightfighter - albeit very briefly. About 60 or so were deployed in the role in the dying days of the war and I think scored a few kills.

the lancaster kicks ass · Dec 3, 2004

On the other hand, the Mossie NF only entered service after the worst German night raids were over, and so was never proven as thouroughly as the 88. As GrG mentioned, the big-gun anti-shipping version operated in only small numbers. and recon machine. So while it can be argued that it was a better aircraft than the 88, it doesnt have such an extensive combat record behind it.

The mossie was the allie's most extensively used NF, it flew escort for our night bombers over germany and proved very effective.........

The only roles the Mossie was fully proven in were light bomber

i'd class it as a fast light-medium, and it was extremely effective in this role, so fast nothing could intercept it...............

cheddar cheese · Dec 3, 2004

When fully laden I dont think the Mossie would be going its maximum speed, And I think FW-190's and Bf-109's were more than capable of intercepting it.

Tony Williams · Dec 3, 2004

cheddar cheese said:
When fully laden I dont think the Mossie would be going its maximum speed, And I think FW-190's and Bf-109's were more than capable of intercepting it.

But in its strategic role it bombed by night, so it mainly had the German night-fighters to worry about, and it could leave those behind with ease until the He 219 arrived - and there were never very many of those.

In daylight yes, it could be caught by fighters going flat-out but it was still a very difficult target. If the fighters were too far away when they saw it then they would probably fail to catch it before running out of fuel! They had to be in just the right position to make an interception, and it was difficult to achieve that, particularly since in daylight attacks the Mossie tended to attack at low level, so it was hard for the Luftwaffe fighter control stations to pick up and direct fighters to.

Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and Discussion forum

cheddar cheese · Dec 4, 2004

Heres yet another point up for the P-38 lanc - Each individual model of the Lightning was more versatile than each individual model of the Mosquito.

the lancaster kicks ass · Dec 4, 2004

what makes you say that??

cheddar cheese · Dec 4, 2004

Well lets take the P-38J - it could be used as a fighter, interceptor, fighter-bomber, bomber, recon, nightfighter, dive bomber, torp bomber, skip bomber, tank buster and ground attack.

Could any single mark of the Mossie do all that? No. Thats why there's B, F.B and N.F versions of it. They all had to be modified to perform different roles.

the lancaster kicks ass · Dec 4, 2004

fighter, interceptor

same thing

fighter-bomber

dive bomber

skip bomber, tank buster and ground attack

essentially all the same thing..........

cheddar cheese · Dec 4, 2004

All slightly different though, if you wanna be lame like that you could say theyre all essentially the same cos they involve flying...

Fighter and interceptor ar different, fighteing involves the actual combat with another plane, intercepting includes taking off, getting to altitude and then engaging combat.

Skip-bombing, tank busting, ground attack and dive bomber all come under the hood of Fighter-Bomber.

the lancaster kicks ass · Dec 4, 2004

then why'd you put them separatly just to make it look as though it could do more??

cheddar cheese · Dec 4, 2004

Because they are all slightly different.

the lancaster kicks ass · Dec 4, 2004

they're not different enough to have to change the aircraft to do them.....................

cheddar cheese · Dec 4, 2004

I know, but on top of the other things its still more than a single Mk of the Mossie could do.

MP-Willow · Dec 4, 2004

C.C, Dive Bombing is a lot different then level fight Yes the P-38 did do this but Most would leave it to the P-47s.

This argument of Mossie or P-38 is only partly affective because in the PTO the P-38 was King and really did it all.

the lancaster kicks ass · Dec 5, 2004

i agree it is a bit useless arguing about it

cheddar cheese · Dec 5, 2004

Yeah but its about the only thing thats properly debated on the site

If only the Me-410 was a better aircraft that it was

the lancaster kicks ass · Dec 5, 2004

it had the potentail............

cheddar cheese · Dec 5, 2004

Yep, it could have and should have been better than the Ju-88. But because the Me-210 from which it was derived from was so crap they probably didnt put their full effort into it

the lancaster kicks ass · Dec 6, 2004

well the war was lost for them anyway, no plane could have saved them...........

cheddar cheese · Dec 6, 2004

The 210 and 410 werent that late...

Best Aircraft in many different roles

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