Most "Bad Ass" looking Aircraft of WW2

[XBe02Drvr]

But...that wasn't an Emil; it had an under-chin radiator, making it a Dora, or earlier

I beg to differ. This is the one I had.
Aurora 1/48 Messerschmitt ME-109 Famous Fighters of All Nations - (Bf-109), 55A-69
1/48 scale, under chin oil cooler scoop, underwing coolant radiators, looks like an Emil to me, (despite the sickly red color) though I admit Aurora's attention to detail wasn't exactly exemplary.
Cheers,
Wes

 

[Denniss]

that looks more like a comic version than a real Bf 109, mixed-in features of multiple subversions.

 

[SaparotRob]

Like I said, "Messerschmidtish".

 

[XBe02Drvr]

that looks more like a comic version than a real Bf 109, mixed-in features of multiple subversions.

Seriously subverted for sure.

 

[Koopernic]

I beg to differ. This is the one I had.
Aurora 1/48 Messerschmitt ME-109 Famous Fighters of All Nations - (Bf-109), 55A-69
1/48 scale, under chin oil cooler scoop, underwing coolant radiators, looks like an Emil to me, (despite the sickly red color) though I admit Aurora's attention to detail wasn't exactly exemplary.
Cheers,
Wes

Its a stylised Me 109 but I like it. It has an iconic 1950's feel. The most obvious oddities are 1 The split trail flaps used as radiator outlets are not there, 2 bombs are carried under the wing which Me 109 didn't do (but children like bombs). In those days there wasn't an internet to go into fine detail. In this case accuracy wasn't an objective of the kits market.

 

[Shortround6]

I remember those kits. Every plane got two bombs under each wing. 109, Zero, P-40, Spitfire, didn't matter they all got two bombs under each wing.

There was no internet but there were books, mostly by William Green. It took me several years of Christmases and Birthdays to get both Famous Fighters and both Famous Bombers books.

 

[Greg Boeser]

One year for Christmas my brother got the P-40 and I got the Spitfire, a dark pearly blue, if I recall.

 

[pgf_666]

I beg to differ. This is the one I had.
Aurora 1/48 Messerschmitt ME-109 Famous Fighters of All Nations - (Bf-109), 55A-69
1/48 scale, under chin oil cooler scoop, underwing coolant radiators, looks like an Emil to me, (despite the sickly red color) though I admit Aurora's attention to detail wasn't exactly exemplary.
Cheers,
Wes

It's been a few decades since I actually saw the kit, but my parrity-error riden memory says that the chin scoop was way bigger than the boxtop shows; Dora class. At one time I was thinking of doing surgury to grraft it onto a Mono- Emil to make an almost acceptable D....

 

[pgf_666]

Oh, and for my nominee of most B/A aircraft of all time--the mere fact that they had a pilot who was crazy enough to ntaxi it still gives me nightmares!

The Kalenin K-7; a real Flying fortress!

Dishonorable mentions:

Germany: He-111 Z towing a Me 231....ditto....
UK: Manchester--they had to throw it off of a cliff to get it in the air--again, crazy aircrew.

US: B-32. Ugly enough to make you surrender.

Czechoslovakia: Aero (I think) MB-200. I'd include a pic, but I don't want to risk my monitor....

France: D-520--especially the sea-plane version.

Remember, the topic is B/A looking aircraft--the fact that some of these we too weakn to fight off a dead kitten doesn't count against them....

Australia: CA Boomerang.

U.K. That bloody 12 story high, fixed gear, biplane night bomber....(yeah, two British bombers)

Poland: PZLP-11 et famile....

 

[pgf_666]

Like I said, "Messerschmidtish".

I thought it was a real piece of Messerschiest, myself....

 

[XBe02Drvr]

It's been a few decades since I actually saw the kit, but my parrity-error riden memory says that the chin scoop was way bigger than the boxtop shows; Dora class.

If you do a google images search for Aurora ME 109, you get a whole page of Aurora boxtops of various vintages. Some have enlarged chin scoops and no underwing radiators, and others are like the one I had, which despite being a hideous dark red color, was clearly an attempt at an Emil. They cranked those things out by the millions and probably reworked the molds several times. I think the ME was probably the most popular of that 1950s lineup, as every store that carried any kind of toys stocked it. I bought mine in a stationers store, who undersold the hardware store by 25 cents, Western Auto by 30, and the hobby shop by $.50! Was I a happy camper? You bet!
Cheers,
Wes

 

[SaparotRob]

We went from most badass looking aircraft of ww2 to "fruity colored messerscheists".

 

[XBe02Drvr]

We went from most badass looking aircraft of ww2 to "fruity colored messerscheists".

Getting there is half the fun! Where?
Wherever!

 

[gjs238]

The vaunted MB 2 with floats.
Can't find a pic to post.

 

[TheMadPenguin]

"U.K. That bloody 12 story high, fixed gear, biplane night bomber....(yeah, two British bombers) " Could you expand on this a bit? My Google-jitsu is weak this Saturday.

 

[Schweik]

The Beaufighter has been described as "two engines closely followed by an aircraft".

The Beaufighter has also always been a favourite of mine because my granny on my mothers side helped build them in WW2

Agree on the Beaufighter. That is a tough, pugnacious looking aircraft. And the records show they really put a dent in enemy forces. It's amazing how closely linked it was to the comparatively feeble Blenheim.

 

[Schweik]

B-26B View attachment 502073
Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'

Wow... great shot!

 

[Schweik]

Love the thread, and particularly appreciate all the photos. I'm often struck by how some planes do just have that 'tough' look even though they may not always be the very best warplanes. I love the one where the B-26 navigator (bombardier?) looks like he's smoking!

I agree 100% on the Beaufighter, I think the Hurricane often looks badass, particularly the IIA with the 12 guns. Similar for the Typhoon. The comment about low-flying Me 109s looking like they are "looking for trouble and ready for it" on a Freie Jagd rings true. Fw 190s look tough as hell to it goes without saying. I agree B-25's and B-26s look pretty butch, and also with the SM.79, which to me is both tough and beautiful (albeit, at the same time definitely an ugly duckling.) I think a lot of the Italian planes have a pretty 'tough' look. B-24 does also look pretty tough but to me also always a bit like a UPS truck. P-47 of course looks tough, and the Corsair definitely threads that needle of tough and elegant, particularly all roughed up in the Pacific Islands. For me weathering often contributes to that tough look. Lancaster bombers look tough.

BF 110 - looks very belligerent to me

No big surprise, I have weakness for the P-40, particularly the later model ones operating in the MTO

The Sturmovik looks tough as nails to me

I know it's just a big goofy float plane, but CANT Z.506 looks tough


Late model B-17s with the extra turrets are pugnacious as hell looking. I never fully appreciated that until I saw one in person.

I think the Ki-43 looks pretty tough, and Japanese military aircraft in general especially when heavily weathered

I think Baltimore bombers look pretty mean too, for a light bomber1

 

[Schweik]

I also kind of have a weakness for the Fairey Firefly even though I'm not a huge fan of the type (more because of how late it arrived than any other reason). They look tough to me.

 

[swampyankee]

Of course, "tough" and "useful" aren't necessarily synonyms. The F3F always looked pugnacious (and missed facing enemy aircraft by only a few weeks).

"Tough" (and effective, albeit not an easy aircraft), was the SB2C Helldiver. (Curtiss' Helldiver series all looked tough).

The Blackburn Roc looked tough but was pretty much useless.

The Hurricane looked tougher than the Spitfire. The Typhoon looked tougher than either. The radial-engined FW190s always seemed tougher-looking than the V-12 variants.

I always thought the toughest-looking USAAF fighter was the P-40, followed closely by the P-47.