Greatest Aircraft of World War Two.

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Basically there is more to WW2 aviation than fighters and more than just fighters and bombers that won the war.
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Definetley the DH Tiger Moth. Was flown by many before, during and after the war and was a classic!

Le Stuka
 
Le Stuka said:
Definetley the DH Tiger Moth. Was flown by many before, during and after the war and was a classic!

Le Stuka
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Oh boy...

Lets see.

1. She was a 2 seat trainer? Yeah trainers are worthy of mentioning because they teach the fighter pilots how to fly but there were better trainers our there than the biplane Tiger Moth such as the T-6 Texan.

2. Fully loaded she topped out at 1825 lb which means she could not carry the weight that the cargo aircraft could such as the C-47. She could not carry a decent amount of bombs if any so that takes her out of the running as a bomber aircraft and she could not tangle with any of the Luftwaffe fighters so that takes her out of the running there.

3. Top speed was 109 mph at 1,000 ft (175 km/h at 300 m), not very impressive even for a trainer. Range was 302 mi (486 km) which was not a lot, and had a cieling of only 13,600ft which is not where most of the air war was being fought over Europe.

She was a good primary trainer but had no impact on the war and there for was not the Greatest Aircraft of World War 2.
 
To be fair with trainers, the Tiger Moth was a good primary trainer. So was the Stearman. The Texan was an advanced trainer, so I wouldn't necessarily put the primary and advanced trainers quite in the same grouping. Different speeds and performances. There were several great trainers out there, but I still go with the C-47 as the greatest aircraft of WWII. I would go a step further and say it is one of the greatest aircraft of all time.
 
HEY! I'm opening up a thread - "The Best Trainer of WW2!!!!"
 
Gotta love a C-47, just like you would a Hercules today. They also delivered airborne troops, which is where I know them best (82nd Abn. Div.'78-'81). Not exactly in the context you're referring to, but significant, nonetheless.
 
I have to agree with the C-47.
I used to live next to a CBI vet who worked in supply and he told me about how they some times had order up special fights when mission critical avation parts were running short or out. Fighters and bombers (Not to mention ground forces) can't fight with out parts and medical supplies and short falls can't always be made up with ground or sea transport in the time needed.
Add in the use as a paratrooper transport and glidr tug and you have a pretty unbeatable aircraft.

I would have to disagree with not counting trainers... they are up there on my personal list of the greatest. With out that massive fleet of trainers those bombers and fighters and transports are nothing more than paper wieghts.
Just my two cents, which don't add up to much
Art
 
Interesting that the Junkers JU-88 didn't even make it on the list.

Wasn't that supposed to be one of the 5 greatest aircraft of WW2?
(Decided by historians- not me!)

The Spitfire, Mosquito, Mustang and pretty sure the BF-109 were the others.

Just quoting a book I read, open for debate.
 
plan_D said:
That was a great comeback, but mine would have been this (which isn't as a good)

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Just a quick point! The above picture shows the B-50 with the american 42,000 pound, IIRC, T-12 prototype bomb! Not Grand Slam! Do some google foo!
 
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