Most Beautiful Aircraft of WW2?

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And according to the movie Dunkirk, it was one of the most efficient gliders in history!
 
Well Terry, the reason for that, is the roundels.

Now if the Spitfire were sporting black crosses, it would have been much faster and sturdier. And it would have had a die-hard fan base, too!


(Image source: interwebs)
 
Lots of picks here with great personalities. I'm partial to A model Marauders with great big spinners and a tight cowl, but she needs to go on a bit of a diet. Can't deny the Brit Merlin sisters, but I have to give the nod to the sleek figure of the Westland Whirlwind.
 
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there is no accounting for taste, but the more I think about it, IMHO, the simple beauty and casual elegance of the Spitfire puts it at #1 on my list.
 
pinehilljoe said:
there is no accounting for taste, but the more I think about it, IMHO, the simple beauty and casual elegance of the Spitfire puts it at #1 on my list.
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Agreed. Not that there aren't some less attractive mods and variants...







To my eye I never took to liking the bubble canopy, clipped wing, pointy tail variants as much, especially once the long nose necessitated by the Griffon was added. Still nice.... but this is not as nice....



...as this...

 
gomwolf said:
Beautiful means, not about performance, only about looking good. Please choice only one aircraft you think beautiful.

I vote to Bf109. I think it has sharpe shape and beautility.8)8)


Vote finished!
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No Contest: KYUSHU 'Shinden' !!
 
Looks DID kill in Soviet hands. They used the P-39 very effectively.

How about a beautiful flying boat, the Latecoere 631. First flight in 1942:



To me, it is the best-looking of the flying boats, especially when airborne and the tip floats were retracted:



No the absolutely prettiest aircraft, but likely the prettiest flying boat built.
 
I've been lurking for years, but I finally have a legitimate reason to register because I found this thread - a rare thread in which I can offer an opinion that might contribute something unique with regard to the topic at hand. I mean, man, I thought I had learned quite a bit about WW2 aircraft, since mystifying my grandparents in the late 1960's by selecting William Green books in the Marshall Field Department Store book section when I visited Chicago and they gifted one book of my choice to me on each visit. It wasn't until several years ago that my bubble was burst, when I found this forum and discovered how little I really knew. You've all taught me a lot, even though you did not know I was reading your posts. I still have and re-read those William Green books, though.

Getting down to the topic at hand, I cast my vote for an aircraft that nobody else has voted for in this thread (I think):

The Bell P-59

Runner's up: P-38 and P-80
 
I'm with you my friend. I used to think I knew about aviation. Nope.
 
Hey N33,

If you're ever out on the west coast, come to Chino and the Planes of Fame. We are restoring a Bell YP-59A, SN 42-108777, to flight status.

We have most of the restoration done and the GE I-16 engines (some call them J-31 engines, but that designation was some time after our airplane flew) are installed. You might enjoy an up-close-and-personal look at it. The Navy throws everything away, but the Marines keep everything since their budget is smaller. We got our engines for the Marines and they were overhauled in the late 1990s. Ran great.

Here it is at an airshow in 2007:



Looks a lot better now, but I don't happen to have a handy pic just now.

Cheers.
 
GregP: I had no idea that particular aircraft existed! And I'm really happy to hear it is being restored to flight-worthy status. I don't know how you can come up with the funds to do that kind of restoration, but I would love to see that beautiful bird aloft....

I've never been to the museum in Chino, but I have long wanted to visit. I hope to do that someday. Thanks for the great photo - it does my heart good to see that a YP-59A still exists, and will at some point be airborne.
 
They started on the YP-59A in 1992 and it has been more or less ready for the A&P guys for about a year, but they have been working on other warbirds. I started on the Airacomet in 2006, and we have added firewalls, added fire bottles for each engine, and have gutted the cockpit in prep for instrument panel and other final goodies. Meanwhile we fabricated a new windscreen and frame for it, a completely new canopy frame system with emergency releases from a Tigercat, have revamped the aileron system , made new trailing edges, reskinned the wings, and a host of other restoration / improvement items. In the last few years, they have completed a Yokosuka D4Y3, Tigercat, a Canadair Sabre Mk.VI, a complete down-to-bare-aluminum overhaul of our A6M5 Model 52 Zero (except for the Sakae 21 engine and Sumitomo prop), finished a complete restoration of an F8F Bearcat, and we have done 90% of the work to get our Ha.1112 Buchon back in the air, including overhaul of the Merlin 228 engine.

When I say "they" above. I mean Steve Hinton's Fighter Rebuilders. Plane of Fame volunteers did most of the work on the Hispano Ha.1112 and the YP-59A, but the rest was Fighter Rebuilders ... and the Fighter guys have also helped with the YP-59A and the Buchon when things were beyond our restoration skills. Great bunch of guys who really don't get enough recognition when it comes down to it, but they are wizards with Aluminum and other raw material needed in quantity on a WWII aircraft.

Here's a pic of our windscreen frame:



There are a LOT of new pieces in there along with some older, original pieces. You can see one piece we replaced sitting in front of the new one, at the front. It's the one with all the patches and holes in it. The gray piece at the top of the frame (remember it is upside down) was whittled out of a solid piece of 7075 aluminum on an old Bridgeport mill by me and Bob Velker. All the silver rivets are new, and it now has new glass / plexi, and is ready for re-installation anytime ... well ... post-COVID anyway. You can see the fake cannons at the top of the pic, ready for paint.
 
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