trackend
Chief Master Sergeant
In flames I trust
Best Battle of Britain Aircraft
- Thread starter cheddar cheese
- Start date
Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
Heinz
Captain
what the???????
was that aimed at me.
Either way they are banned which is the main thing!
was that aimed at me.
Either way they are banned which is the main thing!
Negative Creep
Staff Sergeant
The RAF weren't aiming to shoot down fighters, they were after the bombers. 109's on the other hand only had to worry about facing fighters, so that's why you get the discrepancy
I think the spit had a higher ratio of kills than the hurricane and better survivability stats. I like the Hurricane. Wide track landing gear, sloped nose (so you can actually see what's ahead of you) and famously docile handling.
But I voted for the Spit. I'd rather fly a crap airplane that gives me a good or better chance of survival than a docile airplane I like with a lesser chance of coming home. And the Spit wasn't crap by any standards.
But I voted for the Spit. I'd rather fly a crap airplane that gives me a good or better chance of survival than a docile airplane I like with a lesser chance of coming home. And the Spit wasn't crap by any standards.
renrich
Chief Master Sergeant
To me, it is hard to choose the best BOB AC but if you go by results the Hurricane shot down more German bombers. The BOB was about LW bombing targets in England and the RAF trying to stop them. Of course there were a lot more Hurricanes than Spits so it was natural that the RAF tried to concentrate the Hurricane, lacking in performance, against the bombers while the Spits took on the escort fighters. The Hurricane lacked the performance to have an even chance against the 109. The Spit and 109 were pretty equal where usually Lady Luck or pilot skill determined the winner. Overall I believe the LW pilots were more experienced. The RAF was putting up very low time pilots in some cases and they had to be lucky to survive long enough to become proficient. Overall if you choose the best ac it is a draw between the Spit and 109, which actually were very similar.
Konigstiger205
Staff Sergeant
Well as usual in the war someone in the lead had to take a certain decision and stop the bombing of RAF airfields and radars...Hitler was the best leader and general the Allies had...
Kurfürst
Staff Sergeant
I've never actually understood why there's so much question about the best fighter to take part in the Battle of Britain... when it's so dead obvious.
It's the Bf 109 F.
It's the Bf 109 F.
Konigstiger205
Staff Sergeant
I've never actually understood why there's so much question about the best fighter to take part in the Battle of Britain... when it's so dead obvious.
It's the Bf 109 F.
SoD Stitch
Banned
The Spitfire is, truly, a "great" plane, as is the Hurricane; but I love German engineering (I even have a Porsche!), so it's hard for me to not vote for the -109 (which I did).
planeman45
Recruit
Battle of Britain....Hurricane has my vote...although I knew Spitfire would come out on top.
It allways does. I agree with you though on the Hurricane.
Instal
Airman
So, when the Spit wins a poll like this do you guys think people are voting with thier hearts and not minds?
Civettone
Tech Sergeant
Even though it has to be the Spitfire... I voted (out of sympathy) for the He 111, by far the best bomber of the BoB: the Ju 88 had more losses than the He 111 even though there were twice as many He 111s. Even the Do 17 did better than the Ju 88.
Kris
Kris
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
I'm still with the Hurricane.......
Glider
Captain
Agreed
Allways Hurricane and allways will be...
Civettone
Tech Sergeant
Why?
Of course the Hurricane was the one that 'won' the BoB as there were twice as many as Spitfires. But I don't know if that can qualify for 'best'. I don't think anyone can argue that the Hurricane was a better fighter than the Spitfire. Or ...?
Kris
Of course the Hurricane was the one that 'won' the BoB as there were twice as many as Spitfires. But I don't know if that can qualify for 'best'. I don't think anyone can argue that the Hurricane was a better fighter than the Spitfire. Or ...?
Kris
No one ever said the Hurricane was the better fighter. It is not asking for the best Fighter of the Battle of Britian but rather asking the best Battle of Britian Aircraft. The Hurricane bore the brunt of the Battle of Britian and therefore we think the Hurricane was the best Battle of Britian aircraft.
Jerry W. Loper
Airman 1st Class
- 121
- Oct 2, 2007
If the question is about performance, it's a tossup between the Spitfire and Me-109. If the question is about relative importance, it's a tossup among those two and the Hurricane. Hitler wanted to conquer and occupy Britain, but to do that he had to eliminate the Royal Air Force. Although the Luftwaffe's bombers were the planes dropping the bombs, they were sitting ducks for RAF fighters, so what the Battle of Britain amounted to at its essence was duel between the RAF's and Luftwaffe's fighters (i.e., the whole Battle was decided by fighters, not by bombers), a duel which the Luftwaffe failed to win. That is, the RAF and Britain "won" the Battle for the simple reason that Fighter Command remained a fighting force till the Luftwaffe gave up its attempt to knock out the RAF, switched to night bombing of cities, and permanently postponed its invasion (Operation Sealion). While the Spitfire and Me-109 were roughly equal to each other, the Hurricane was just a notch below, i.e. Hurricanes with competent pilots were capable of contending with Me-109s when necessary.
