Interesting Essay - Most Strategically Important Aircraft WW2

[macguba]

Well, if you apply this standard, maybe the only strategic aircraft in the whole war was the B-29. Let's take the war in Europe. If you threw enough P-38s at the problem, you could have replaced the P-47 and the P-51. The P-38 wouldn't have done the escort or ground attack job as efficiently, but eventually it would have gotten done. Heck, you could even take an F4U, put 100-120 gallons of extra gas in the wings, take off the tail hook revise the supercharger gearing, and if necessary, remove two machine guns, and it could have escorted bombers into Germany.

If you're going to engage in reductio ad absurdam, take it all the way: no aircraft were strategically significant because wars are not won by aircraft. They are won only when a filthy grunt kicks in the door of the palace.

It's all nonsense anyway: the real candidates for the most strategically important aircraft of WW2 are the Yak UT2, the J-3 Cub, the Tiger Moth and the like.

 

[michaelmaltby]

... C-47 is No 1 ....

 

[tomo pauk]

Form my perspactive, the problem is that word 'aircraft' can mean both singular and plural.

 

[Conslaw]

If you're going to engage in reductio ad absurdam, take it all the way: no aircraft were strategically significant because wars are not won by aircraft. They are won only when a filthy grunt kicks in the door of the palace.

It's all nonsense anyway: the real candidates for the most strategically important aircraft of WW2 are the Yak UT2, the J-3 Cub, the Tiger Moth and the like.

Yeah, our arguments can get absurd. Sometimes the more abstract and theoretical they get - and subjective - the more fun.

 

[Dimlee]

For the USSR it would be: 1) Yak-3, 2) La-5, 3) IL-2, 4) Il-4

Since Yak-3 took part in WWII in small numbers and Il-4 served (after 1941) mostly in the night bomber force, I'd suggest the following strategic four:
1) "early" Yaks from Yak-1 to Yak-7 2) La-5 3) Pe-2 4) Il-2.
Honorary mention: P-39.
Why I emphasize early variants of Yak - because they fought in the most critical period before VVS has achieved dominance.

 

[Conslaw]

The idea behind Japan holding the Island chains in the South Pacific was to both restrict supply to Australia while creating a buffer for the South East Asian territories.

While that might have seemed like a great idea on paper, it wasn't going to work unless the U.S. was out of the equation.

 

[Conslaw]

The idea behind Japan holding the Island chains in the South Pacific was to both restrict supply to Australia while creating a buffer for the South East Asian territories.

While that might have seemed like a great idea on paper, it wasn't going to work unless the U.S. was out of the equation.

I agree that the idea was flawed. If the Japanese had won the Battle of Midway, the Japanese Solomons strategy might have made some sense, but as soon as the US won the Battle of Midway, the idea of building an airfield at Guadalcanal lost its rationale and backfired. As we saw, the uncompleted airfield became a target, a target that was at the end of Japanese supply lines and ability to protect from Rabaul. The US was itching for a place for a limited offensive. It had a newly combat ready First Marine Division and a need to work out doctrine and tactics. With the repaired Saratoga and the arrival of the Wasp from the Atlantic, the US suddenly had 4 fleet carriers, something Japan couldn't math. The US had new amphibious equipment and tactics it had to verify one way or another as well. When Japan built an airfield and didn't fortify it with a garrison worthy of the prize, the natural result was to create a tempting target, and that's what happened. It was partially a matter of luck that Japan was able to contest Guadalcanal until November 1942. The Battle of Savo Island had an unusually one-sided result. The I-19's amazingly lucky torpedo salvo that sunk the Wasp and the destroyer O'Brien and knocked the battleship North Carolina out of the campaign may have eliminated a US advantage that could have been decisive. (Sorry, I went off on a tangent.)

 

[PAT303]

... C-47 is No 1 ....

And Spitfire, not only was it a great fighter but the photo recon versions were simply indispensable, the Allied intelligence service could not work without them.

 

[Admiral Beez]

There never was a Zero with 1,300 hp.

There was, but only prototypes, and only two. A6M8 Type 64, powered by the 1,560 hp Mitsubishi Kinsei 62.

Mitsubishi A6M Zero - Wikipedia

 

[nuuumannn]

Article is not bad, however I don't think that parts of it should be quoted as gospel before cross-checking with several other sources.

Yup, agree Tomo, he gets details wrong, but his synopsis and strategic context is spot on. If he were writing a history of these fighting machines included in his analysis, he might get lower marks for accuracy.

 

[Engineman]

I do enjoy reading this type of analysis. It does take a tremendous amount of work to compile and correctly argue a coherent conclusion.
Unfortunately, I can see here ( in my understanding of the facts) a large number of technical holes and simplifications. Again, unfortunately, such technical errors really do corrupt the validity of the core arguments.
TBH, I do not think that the complexity of WW2 Strategic airpower can be condensed into a simple hit parade of aircraft types. The author actually alludes to the reality that the importance of different types was largely specific to certain campaigns or time periods. So, it is an interesting round-up of WW2 combat aircraft, but the tech detail is weak and the overall argument is far too wide.

Eng

 

[LexYmae]

It is very interesting that although the aircraft was not designed according to ideological specifications, the Bf 109 met Hitler's requirements. I thought Hitler was always dissatisfied with his army and equipment. In general, I really enjoyed reading this kind of essay because you learn a lot of information from a short text, which is how it should be. I am currently writing a term paper on the army and technology of the countries of the second world war, and I want to take some of the information from this essay because it is very useful, and then throw a piece of information in the essay writing service reddit and correct a few points.

 

[tomo pauk]

Welcome to the forum.

It is very interesting that although the aircraft was not designed according to ideological specifications, the Bf 109 met Hitler's requirements. I thought Hitler was always dissatisfied with his army and equipment.

Care to elaborate about the ideological specifications that Bf 109 competed against, and Hitler's requirements wrt. Bf 109?
Bf 109 was air force's piece of kit, not army's

 

[GrauGeist]

The Bf109 met the RLM's requirements for a fighter outlined in the 1934 request LA 1432/33, besting the submissions by Focke-Wulf (Fw159), Arado (Ar80) and Heinkel (He112).

Hitler had nothing to do with it.