In ww2 who do you think had better planes Germany or Japan

In ww2 who do you think had better planes Germany or Japan

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I agree.

The 1930s Japanese economy wasn't large enough to fight China and the Soviet Union plus develop the latest military technology. So they fell behind in critical areas such as aircraft engines and 20mm cannon. 1930s Italy had a similiar problem. Money necessary for military modernization was mostly siphoned off to fight in East Africa and Spain.
 
Mmmm! Generally I agree that Germany had the more technically advanced aircraft,however the Japanese developed a number of long range naval aircraft,not neccessarily carrier borne. Anyone care to name a German naval aircraft which could compete with the Japanese types? I can think of the Fw 200.
Steve
 
davebender said:
Variants of the Ju-87, Ju-88, He-111, Do-217 and He-177 were all excellent maritime attack aircraft.
Click to expand...

Scratch the Ju 87 on grounds of limited range. Only good for coastal operations like the Kanal Kamf.

The He 177 is an aircraft which I wouldn't fancy a long over water flight in! It was also produced in relatively small numbers..

How about a fighter?

Steve
 
A German deficiency for the entire war due to RLM decision not to place the Fw-187 into mass production. However the Me-110 was probably as capable as the A6M for aerial combat.
 
How many heavy bombers were employed against Japan prior to capture of the Mariana Islands during the fall of 1944? I don't think it was many. Consequently Japan had little incentive to pour scarce aircraft resources into a bomber interceptor program. If RAF bomber command had been attacking Japan from September 1939 onward then Japanese aircraft priorities would have been different. Just as German naval aircraft priorities would have been different if they had operational CVs throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
 
I agree,but the original question was "who do you think had the better planes...?". Generally most agree that this was Germany but at least in the case of a naval fighter it was certainly Japan.
It's actually a "no contest" unless we count the woeful Bf 109 T.
Steve
 
Last edited:
What was so woeful about the Me-109T? When they entered service (i.e. 1940) the Me-109T was as good as any other CV based fighter aircraft.

If the German CV program had not been halted the Me-109T would have been replaced with the Me-155. I suspect that also would have been as good as any other CV based fighter aircraft.
 
People claim the Luftwaffe didn't coordinate with the German navy but that was not the case for CV based aircraft. Development of the Me-109T1 and Me-155 proceeded in parallel with construction of CV Graf Zeppelin. Work on CV aircraft halted when work on the CV halted.

Sep 1939.
KM Graf Zeppelin 85% complete. Expected to start sea trials during July 1940.
…..Work on sister ship halted 19 Sep 1939.
…..Partially completed sister ship scrapped February 1940.

8 Dec 1939.
KM Graf Zeppelin launched.

1940.
60 x Me-109T1 produced for CV use.
Based on Me-109E4. DB601N engine.

29 Apr 1940.
Work on KM Graf Zeppelin halted.
…..This triggered conversion of Me-109T1 CV based fighter aircraft into Me-109T2 land based fighter aircraft.

15 May 1942.
Work resumed on KM Graf Zeppelin.
…..Significant design changes delayed completion.
…..This triggered design of Me-155 CV based fighter aircraft.

Sep 1942.
Detail design of Me-155 completed.

30 Jan 1943.
Work discontinued on all large German naval vessels.
…..This ended Me-155 CV fighter aircraft program before a prototype could be constructed.


Starting, stopping, resuming and then cancellation of CV program must have left RLM officials wondering if the German navy knew what they were doing.
 
Since the 109T was never used for carrier operations there is no way to know how well it would have performed as a ship board fighter. I suspect that at the very least there would have been problems with the landing gear. Also it would have been very limited because of it's short range. The BF110 would have been definitely an underdog against the A6M just like it was with the Spitfire.

Designing carrier borne AC for the Germans must have been a real problem since the KM had never operated a carrier.
 
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