Best fixed-gear monoplane fighter?

[Oreo]

I did:

Look at the wing. If the pilot looks left, he'll see a wing. He can only look foreward in a straight line, slightly left and right and he's looking at the wing. Foreward and down his view is hampered by the wing struds. Yeah, he can look straight down and backwards, but that's not the point for a fighter, is it?
View was probably better than that of a biplane, but there's a reason why later fighter designs were all low wing.

Well I guess I'd have to fly it to know for sure.

 

[Marcel]

Well I guess I'd have to fly it to know for sure.

Ah yes, that would be something

 

[Oreo]

For the record, I'd enjoy flying any plane we've talked about on this thread.

 

[Marcel]

Yes, you'll never forget to lower your gear before landing Unfortunately there aren't many left. As far as I know, only 1 D.XXI still exists

 

[marshall]

About the visibility in PZL fighters. In P.11 it was very good because it was an open cockpit plane, so you could look under or above wing but in P.24 it couldn't be as good because of the closed cockpit. I know that simulations aren't real life but you can check the visibility of P.11 in Targetware mod War over Poland. It's not great but it's better than you think after looking on the photos of the plane.

 

[kool kitty89]

The P.11 is also playable in Il-2.

 

[Juha]

In Finland we have one real thing, D. XXI I mean and in Holland there is at least one good replica.

Juha

 

[Oreo]

About the visibility in PZL fighters. In P.11 it was very good because it was an open cockpit plane, so you could look under or above wing but in P.24 it couldn't be as good because of the closed cockpit. I know that simulations aren't real life but you can check the visibility of P.11 in Targetware mod War over Poland. It's not great but it's better than you think after looking on the photos of the plane.

That's what I thought.

 

[Oreo]

Marcel,
I found in one of my books the following paragraph:

(referring to D.21)

"These aircraft's most important victory took place at dawn on May 10, 1940. . . . . . they succeeded in shooting down 38 . . . . Ju 52's out of a group of 55 that was crossing the Dutch border."

Not bad. Go Dutch!

 

[Marcel]

Yes the Germans lost a hell of a lot Ju52's on that day, and even worse, a lot of fallschirm jaeger in the process.

 

[Marcel]

Marcel,
I found in one of my books the following paragraph:

(referring to D.21)

"These aircraft's most important victory took place at dawn on May 10, 1940. . . . . . they succeeded in shooting down 38 . . . . Ju 52's out of a group of 55 that was crossing the Dutch border."

Not bad. Go Dutch!

BTW, I never found evidence about this epic battle, so I think it's somewhat overrated. Most Ju52's were destroyed by AA and on the ground.

 

[colly123]

Just found this thread.
One fighter that isn't on the list is the Ikarus IK-2 a fighter developed ind produced in Yugoslavia in the late Thirties. a dozen or so made it to squadron service and saw action in 1941 against the Germans.
Heres a pic:
http://img.wp.scn.ru/camms/ar/343/pics/77_2.jpg

Here's the specs:

Performance
Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs liquid-cooled V12 engine 3-bladed, adjustable pitch, 860 shp (642 kW)
Maximum speed: 270 mph at 16,400 ft (435 km/h at 5,000 m)
Cruise speed: 155 mph (250 km/h)
Range: 435 miles (700 km)
Service ceiling: 39,400 ft (12,000 m)
Wing loading: 22 lb/ft² (107 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.21 hp/lb (0.35 kW/kg)
Armament
1 × 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon with 60 rounds
2 × 7.92 mm Darne machine guns

Seems comparable to all the others in the list. It was evaluated against a Hawker Fury biplane and outperformed it in all respects so must have been quite manoeuverable.

 

[nuuumannn]

A toss-up between the A5M and the PZL P-11 for no other reason than I like the look of the P-11. I visited the museum in Poland once and had a good look around it. A mervellos piece of machinery and very smart.

 

[oldcrowcv63]

For no better reason than I like the armament and its DNA linkage to the P-36 for which I've always had affection.

 

[parsifal]

A toss-up between the A5M and the PZL P-11 for no other reason than I like the look of the P-11. I visited the museum in Poland once and had a good look around it. A mervellos piece of machinery and very smart.

Poles were legendary for the smartness for many of their pieces of military hardware and uniforms. The only thing I dont like are their 1939 uniforms, very average IMO.