I appreciate the German planes of WW2 but...

[meatloaf109]

Me. 109E, well, all the 109's but definately the "E". Then the 262, Fw190D, and I've always been partial to the P-40

 

[timmy]

Funny how some really look great only in some angles. P47d flying at you from front on is stunning.. other angles not so much. Spitfires doing loops so we see that wing always looks stunning. P51d always looks great looking side on in formation for some reason

 

[spicmart]

For me it's the Fw 190D/Ta 152C and Me 109K. While many find the bulges on these and other very late war machines ugly (well, the blisters above the cowl guns of most the 109G series ARE ugly), I think they just project the hardly tamed power underneath their skin.
The right bulges on the right places just makes them look muscular and ripped while still in proportion. Don't like the wider span of the Ta 152H too much though.

 

[fubar57]

Not a fighter but I do have a fondness for the Dakota/DC-3.

Geo

 

[[SC] Arachnicus]

Funny how some really look great only in some angles. P47d flying at you from front on is stunning.. other angles not so much. Spitfires doing loops so we see that wing always looks stunning. P51d always looks great looking side on in formation for some reason

When you stand in front of the P-47 feet away from it, it feels like it's going to chew you up with it's paddle props and eat you.

 

[rlgdestroyu]

When you stand in front of the P-47 feet away from it, it feels like it's going to chew you up with it's paddle props and eat you.

Completely agree. Hate to see it dive in anger at me.

 

[Bucksnort101]

Funny how some really look great only in some angles. P47d flying at you from front on is stunning.. other angles not so much.

I like jugs from any angle, P-47's too!!!

 

[Gixxerman]

When you stand in front of the P-47 feet away from it, it feels like it's going to chew you up with it's paddle props and eat you.

I see that in the Focke Wulf Ta152, it looks like such a mean plane but it also has a lean quality too

This pic seems to capture it well.

 

[AARP Hurricane]

Contenders for German ugly's are:
Ju287 must be one of the most ugly jets ever built:

 

[AARP Hurricane]

Next most ugly has to be the completely appalling Junkers W.34 built like a 'brick sh1thouse':

 

[AARP Hurricane]

But for me this is the summit of all that is ugly in the flying world: the Fighter/Glider prototype Blohm Voss Bv 40:

 

[NiceShotAustin]

You can't talk about ugly aircraft without the LWS-6 Zubr getting a fair mention Hurricane!

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

But for me this is the summit of all that is ugly in the flying world: the Fighter/Glider prototype Blohm Voss Bv 40:

Havn't seen many French Bombers have you? They are Fugly...

 

[GrauGeist]

WWII was a transitional period where old met new, so you had almost an art-decco influence on the earlier designs which gave way to the "modern" school of design.

The end result were some incredibly beautiful aircraft from all corners of the world.

Some of my favorites were the He280 jet with it's "twin tail" and elliptical wing, the Macci M.C202 which looked even better with it's North Africa camo. The Me264 and B-29 both had thier own unique look of the future with thier streamlined bodies and greenhouse cockpits. The A6M series had a certain grace and beauty to it's lines that that almost makes you forget how deadly it was. The He111 was another good looking aircraft that had that art-decco feel of the 30's with hardly any "straight" lines at all...if you look closely enough, you'll realize that it's all gently radiused lines thoughout it's entire structure. And the list goes on

It's hard to nail down any one single aircraft of the war as the most beautiful aircraft, since beauty is in the eyes of the beholder...

 

[GrauGeist]

Havn't seen many French Bombers have you? They are Fugly...

LMAO...I almost forgot I was going to post what is perhaps the ugliest damn thing to ever get in the air...and it is certainly French (circa 1940, during the battle of France), even though this isn't the ugliest plane thread...lol

 

[Messy1]

I always had a fondness for the bubble canopy P 47D. Guess that makes me a chubby-chaser...

I'd agree. Liking the big ol' P-47 would make you a chubby chaser!

 

[stug3]

I always liked this early He 112 model. It looks like a flying cigarette racing boat.

Also, it has a sort of cartoonish "Buck Rogers" look to it, much like the SM.79.

 

[zoomar]

One trait of German design that always got to me was the grouping of all bomber aircrew together in a bulged forward glasshouse, often with beetle-eye glass panels everywhere (Ju-88, Ju-188, Ju-388, Ju-288, Do-17, Do-215, Do-217, Do-317, etc) At least Heinkel did this in a much more attractive way with the He-111. To me this has always made German bombers look less aerodynamic and efficient than most allied (French excluded) or even Japanese types.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I always like the look of that "forward glasshouse".

Different tastes I guess...

 

[tyrodtom]

Those forward glasshouses in the D0-17, Ju-88, and He-111 must have been like a madhouse when they were under fighter attack. All that gunsmoke , noise, and flying brass, in one area. Looks like they'd get in each other's way. It also meant attacking fighters just had to aim in one general area to hurt the crew.

Put one burst into that glasshouse, and you're bound to hit somebody.