Best all-round fighter of WWII

Best all-round dogfighter of WWII?

  • Total voters
    78

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Oskar the Pilot

Airman
46
0
Dec 27, 2011
Great Britain
This is a pretty open question, I guess, but I'm asking what the supreme, best all-round dogfighter of World war II was. On this poll, I listed what have been said to be some of the best fighters.

Let the voting begin! IF YOU REPLY PLEASE VOTE ASWELL

EDIT, PLEASE READ: I know this is a bit troublesome, but I'm changing it to the best overall FIGHTER, instead of dogfighter. Thank you!
 
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When I see polls like this, I usually focus in on my beloved Corsair. But before I voted, I thought it through. Considering firepower, range, versatility, bomb capacity, ground attack, carrier capable (that narrows it down), survivability, manuverability, rate of climb, etc, etc, etc., I just have to stick with the Corsair.
 
..what it is 'dogfighter' or best 'all round' - and hasn't this poll been done before ?

....FWIW my own choice as "Dogfighter" has to be the Spitfire or possibly the Yak 3 but I don't usually participate in these types of threads ..so many variables that the discussion usually ends going up round and round...having said that, you probably left the best one out ! I've just read Roland Beamont's 'Tempest over Europe'. In his book Beamont describes the comparative testing he undertook at the end of the war. He was a huge fan of the later marks of (Griffon-engined) Spitfire of course, although he describes the P-51 as a true fighter pilots aeroplane, although not quite as handy in the dogfight....but surpassing all of these in Beamont's view - and able to take on the Luftwaffe's Ta 152 and beat it low down- was the Hawker TEMPEST V.
 
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What is a Supermarine Spitfire Mk XIVE, never heard before?
cimmex
 
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Best all around fighter and best all around dog fighter is two diferent things
With Me 262 out of the competition I vote for P38 L because of the safety of two engines, the central placed armament, the turbosuperchargers,the range, the ydraylicaly boosted ailerons , the combat flaps, the opposite turning propellers, the tricycle landing gear,the 360 canopy. Of caurse it was the most expensive as well, only America could have built it , and in a low level, low speed turning fight it would be in trouble
 
P-47
Good fighter, could take a tremendous beating and terrific firepower with those 8 fifties. My father was in a column of P.O.W.s when 2 mistakingly made a strafing run on them. He said he never wanted to go through something as terrible at that again.
 
Well my vote was the P-38L, because I was thinking best "overall" fighter. A myriad of uses. Then I read "dogfighter".......guess I should read and then vote. Of the choices listed, as listed, I would go with the Bf 109. And I would complete that selection by making it the Bf 109F. I think that particular model would have the best chance overall in air combats versus the others on the list.

And now that it this topic is "overall" and not "dogfighter" only, I will stay with my orginal choice of the P-38L. I should be a politician.
 
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So difficult to decide, there are so many great aircraft and all very useful highly competent in their own way.

Spit, Mustand, Wulf 109 for me in that order.

Just don't ask me why. lol
 
wuzak said:
I'm a little confused....

The OP clearly states the best all-around dogfighter of WW2. Yet the P-47 is winning. Am I missing something?
Click to expand...


Maybe because the thread title says "best all-round fighter" and in the poll question "best all-round dogfighter" so that can make some confusion.
 
I'd agree with Mike in the fact that if this was "best over all fighter" I'd choose the P-38 in a heartbeat. But in terms of sheer dogfighting, I'll vote for the Yak-3

Edit: didn't read re-read Oskars post. Argh!
 
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Yak-3 could be easily the winner under 15000 ft, but maybe Spitfire is the best above 20000 ft? And then the P-47 above 30000 ft?
 
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