Greatest Fighter Aircraft of All Time

[FLYBOYJ]

Bekka Valley!!! At one point there were over 200 aircraft batteling in the air at the same time!!! That's about as high intensity as it gets!!!!!

Thats a single battle.

And the Bekka valley was nothing like flying over Hanoi/Haiphong or over the Suez/Golan heights in 1973.

The F4 performed well as a recon, fighter-bomber and a wild weasel. The F15 has only flown combat missions as a fighter (and yes I know about the F15E)

The Bekka Valley went on over several days - it wasn't a single battle, it went on for close to a week...

http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/apj/apj89/hurley.html

And yes, the F-4 did perform well in multi roles, the fact remains it did get shot down in air to air, one could argue the environment, pilot skill and scenario, but the fact remains the F-15s air-to-air combat record is unsurpassed...

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Bekka Valley!!! At one point there were over 200 aircraft batteling in the air at the same time!!! That's about as high intensity as it gets!!!!!

Thats a single battle.

And the Bekka valley was nothing like flying over Hanoi/Haiphong or over the Suez/Golan heights in 1973.

The F4 performed well as a recon, fighter-bomber and a wild weasel. The F15 has only flown combat missions as a fighter (and yes I know about the F15E)

You have to look at this way. If the F-15 had been around during the F-4's reign as the best there was, the F-15 would have put the F-4 to shame when going up against he fighters that the F-4 had to. Now take an F-4 and put it up against the advanced fighters that the F-15 would have to up against today and where do you think the F-4 is going to stand?

Who cares what kind of fighting the F-4 did during Vietnam. It was engaged against different aircraft than the F-15 will be up against and the F-15 would outperform the F-4 against them.

Therefore logical reasoning states: F-15 is better.

 

[syscom3]

What made the F15 superior was its engines. Put those F100 engines in an F4 and the Phantom has a whole different flight regime.

One other thing..... the F4 was also a carrier fighter. The F15 isnt.

 

[plan_D]

The avionics of the F-15 are also superior . The argument about the engines is age old , it's like saying that if you put the engines of a F-15 in a EE Lightning it'd be better ... that would be awesome to see though .

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Point being?

Do you really think that a F-4 would beat a F-15 in a fight?

 

[evangilder]

Man, if you did that, he Lightning would climb like nothing else. That would have been cool!

 

[FLYBOYJ]

What made the F15 superior was its engines. Put those F100 engines in an F4 and the Phantom has a whole different flight regime.

Yea - it's called mach lawndart!

 

[plan_D]

They're lighter engines with about 5,000 lbs more thrust ... ! I'd like to see something out-climb the Lightning then , I bet a Saturn-5 rocket would be struggling !

 

[loomaluftwaffe]

yikes

 

[Gnomey]

That would of been an interesting race...

 

[syscom3]

Point being?

Do you really think that a F-4 would beat a F-15 in a fight?

As Ive said numerous times, we have to breakout the aircraft by "eras".

The F15 could beat an F4, which could beat an F100, which could beat an F86, which could beat an P80, which could beat an P47, which could beat ....blah blah blah blah.

From 1960 through the middle 70's, the F4 was the best fighter and it proved it in two major airwars.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

That I can agree with.

Cuz the way this was going before one could say the Sopwith Camel was better than a Spitfire.

 

[102first_hussars]

Anyway I still thing the Mustang was better.

 

[loomaluftwaffe]

prove ur point...

 

[syscom3]

I could agree that the P51 was the best piston engined fighter of the WW2 era.

 

[102first_hussars]

Thankyou now all we need to do is find away to make those numbers work in its favour

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Not going to happen.

 

[Gnomey]

Nope...

 

[davparlr]

As Ive said numerous times, we have to breakout the aircraft by "eras".

The F15 could beat an F4, which could beat an F100, which could beat an F86, which could beat an P80, which could beat an P47, which could beat ....blah blah blah blah.

From 1960 through the middle 70's, the F4 was the best fighter and it proved it in two major airwars.

Yes, but could an F-4 beat a F-8, or even an F-5E?

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Yes, but could an F-4 beat a F-8, or even an F-5E?

If flown correctly - yes. F-8s and F-4s used to go at it all the time in early top gun classes.

The F-5E is a harder target - it boils down to pilot skills and tactics...