Best WW1 Fighter?

[comiso90]

The D.VII was the only weapon specifically mentioned by name in the armistice agreements at the end of the war (Surrender in good condition by the German Armies of [...] all aircraft of the D7 type [...]).

 

[renrich]

Haztoy, this is a great site and I too have learned much since joining it. There are some very well informed people on this site and, I think, some fine gentlemen also.

 

[lesofprimus]

Well, I may be informed, but dont u ever assume to call me a gentleman.... Thats a banning offense...

 

[trackend]

I'll go along with that Les

Be carefull what what you say to him David (Renrich) I only said good morning once and he opened his can of whoopass and I got a 5 week ban.
In the end I had to PM him and e-mail an image of a $10 bill bribe but as he works cheap he fax back 50cents change.
all the best Lee
PS dont tell Les I told you

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

 

[renrich]

Les, naturally I was not including you in the gentleman category. What in the world is a Long Island native doing in Miss. anyway.

 

[Cyrano]

 

[renrich]

I agree Cyrano, there were more Corsairs destroyed operationally than by enemy fire and that probably was true of the Camel also. I guess the big difference as far as difficulty in handling the a/c was that the Corsair in the air was a dream to fly, just difficult for a rookie to land and had to be trimed correctly on takeoff whereas the Camel was, I understand, tricky in all flight regimes.

 

[Marcel]

Voted Fokker D.VII.
Nice myth about Anthony Fokker:
The Fokker D.VII was not a very stable design, the first vprototypes had a lot of problems with directionally instability. Fokker used that to impress the german army at the Adlershof competition. He told the test pilot that he should notice how responsive the D.VII was and how manouverable (because of the instability). Fokker did impress the germans with this and maneuverability became one of the D.VII best properties.

 

[davparlr]

The DVII has gotten all the publicity, however, I am sure the Spad and SE5a were worthy opponents, both being faster and with a higher ceiling. Also, I don't think too much about the Allies naming the DVII in the armistice. They were the only one who go to pick. I am sure they thought it was the best the Germans had.

I don't know too much about WWI aircraft, so I would have to vote for the DVII just because of its fame (kinda like the P-51).

 

[Gnomey]

Fokker D.VII for me too (all the reasons already stated). Camel would probably be second for me.

 

[Haztoys]

If you can get the movie "The Red Baron".."The compelling story of the most legendery personality in the annals of aviation"...Wow really good old WW1 footage...No date on when it was made ..But they speak to alot of WW1 pilot and at the end ..They have some WW1 vets at a German Air base .. And they are checking out out "new modern" planes ...F4 Fantom and F104's..So it had to be made in the 60's... Not sure how the info is ..They have footage of his Funeral ..Footage of dog fights..One of the better doc movies I've come across ..Hard to find any doc moves on ww1 ..

Got it at a yard sale late week ..With VCR tapes of Patton ..Battle of the Bulge..Victory at sea three of these tapes..And books ..World War 11 combat aircraft..The great book of WW11 airplanes..These two books are huge must way ten pound apeace ...WW1 in photograph..and Tank@ weapons of ww11..For $5.00 ..Graet score

If you can get the Red Baron movie I would ..

 

[Christopher Tarana]

I like the RAF Camel for it's all around approach!

Christopher Tarana

 

[FLYBOYJ]

I like the RAF Camel for it's all around approach!

Christopher Tarana

Hi Christopher -

Just so you know, this thread hasn't been active in 15 years.

 

[buffnut453]

Someone just needs to mention the P-39…that'll bring the thread right back to life (in a zombie-like way).

 

[SaparotRob]

I feel a disturbance in The Force.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I'm glad this thread got resurrected, I've always loved av history from WWI. I haven't voted, but in my little opinion it's a toss-up between the D.VII and the SE5a. The former was a little gentler to fly, and I think a better all-round craft, but the SE was faster, could climb and dive very well, and while not as maneuverable, if flown right I think it could hang (yo-yos, diving attacks, essentially energy maintenance). Its dihedral made it very stable so in a dogfight it's at a small disadvantage vs D.VII? Both were fairly rugged (for the era).

I'd give the D.VII the edge because its gun layout was better for point-and-shoot, and you didn't have to worry about reloading a Lewis on the upper wing. You give up a little speed for a bit more maneuver (important when swirling dogfights were still the main thang). It was still sturdy, capable of high-alt flight (for the era), and with good dive and climb as well.

I like the comment long-past in this thread about the Brisfit, too. For a two-seater, it was a positively dangerous opponent.

 

[buffnut453]

I'm glad this thread got resurrected, I've always loved av history from WWI. I haven't voted, but in my little opinion it's a toss-up between the D.VII and the SE5a. The former was a little gentler to fly, and I think a better all-round craft, but the SE was faster, could climb and dive very well, and while not as maneuverable, if flown right I think it could hang (yo-yos, diving attacks, essentially energy maintenance). Its dihedral made it very stable so in a dogfight it's at a small disadvantage vs D.VII? Both were fairly rugged (for the era).

I'd give the D.VII the edge because its gun layout was better for point-and-shoot, and you didn't have to worry about reloading a Lewis on the upper wing. You give up a little speed for a bit more maneuver (important when swirling dogfights were still the main thang). It was still sturdy, capable of high-alt flight (for the era), and with good dive and climb as well.

I like the comment long-past in this thread about the Brisfit, too. For a two-seater, it was a positively dangerous opponent.

My heart wanted to vote for the Brisfit since I have a personal connection to that type. However, my head tells me it was not the best fighter. It was certainly dangerous and gave at least as good as it got...but it wasn't in the same class as the Fokker D.VII, SE5a or Sopwith Snipe. All that said, the Brisfit was a remarkable achievement given that it was supposed to replace the BE2 series aircraft. As arguably the first multi-role aircraft, it certainly was one of the outstanding airframes of the Great War.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

My heart wanted to vote for the Brisfit since I have a personal connection to that type. However, my head tells me it was not the best fighter. It was certainly dangerous and gave at least as good as it got...but it wasn't in the same class as the Fokker D.VII, SE5a or Sopwith Snipe. All that said, the Brisfit was a remarkable achievement given that it was supposed to replace the BE2 series aircraft. As arguably the first multi-role aircraft, it certainly was one of the outstanding airframes of the Great War.

Right, it wasn't top-tier as a fighter, nor was it meant to be. It was much better than the planes it replaced.

 

[MikeMeech]

My heart wanted to vote for the Brisfit since I have a personal connection to that type. However, my head tells me it was not the best fighter. It was certainly dangerous and gave at least as good as it got...but it wasn't in the same class as the Fokker D.VII, SE5a or Sopwith Snipe. All that said, the Brisfit was a remarkable achievement given that it was supposed to replace the BE2 series aircraft. As arguably the first multi-role aircraft, it certainly was one of the outstanding airframes of the Great War.

Hi
In service the Bristol F2b Fighter replaced the RAF Fe 2b/d (many of these were later used as night bombers) as a fighter reconnaissance aircraft (as in Nos 20 and 22 Sqns) during 1917. The aircraft types that replaced (during 1917) the RAF BE 2 series in the Corps squadrons were the RAF RE 8 and AW FK 8. From the beginning of 1918 the Bristol Fighter was being used as a long-range artillery spotter for heavy artillery using two-way wireless telegraphy (eventually equipping L, M, N, O and P Flts.) and near the end of the war started (powered by the Arab engine) to re-equip the RE 8 and FK 8 Corps squadrons.
It is interesting to note the the SE 5a, which entered service from mid 1917, was still very competitive with the 1918 introduced fighters such as the Fokker D VII and Sopwith Snipe.

Mike