"Obsolete" planes still dishing it out

[gjs238]

What WWII planes were obsolete, but continued to prove useful and provided utility throughout the war, or at least through a good part of it?

The Henschel Hs 123 comes to mind.
Henschel Hs 123 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[tomo pauk]

Fairey Swordfish, flying from escort carriers.

 

[AirWolf]

Fokker xxii obsolete fighter, it shot down a bunch of LW and russian fighters

 

[fastmongrel]

Obsolete = Adjective, No longer produced or used; out of date.

Obsolescent = Adjective, Becoming obsolete.

I would say the above aircraft were Obsolescent not Obsolete.

 

[ShVAK]

Fiat CR.32--sub-250 mph biplane fighter introduced in 1933, produced a number of aces in the skies over Spain, in the hands of the Regia Aeronautica still shooting down more advanced English fighters and bombers over East Africa as late as early '41. Served in the Hungarian Air Force against the Slovak Air Force around the same time frame to reasonable success.

 

[nuuumannn]

Vickers Vincents and Vildebeests, Short Singapores, Blackburn Baffins, Fairey Gordons were still in front line service with the RNZAF in 1941; Vildebeests were used by the RAF in the Middle East and Far East during the war for communications and other duties. During the fall of Singapore, Vildebeests made attacks against advancing Japanese troops.

 

[cherry blossom]

Probably not quite obsolete but the Hurricane Mk IV and contemporary Canadian production were not exactly state of the art fighters in 1943-4 but found use HURRICANE MK IV OPERATIONS

 

[michaelmaltby]

Gloster Gladiator(s) ... Malta ... briefly.

MM

 

[stug3]

Wildcats P-40s in 1944-45.

 

[buffnut453]

Vickers Wellesley, East Africa 1941

Airspeed Oxford, Hawker Audax and Fairey Gordon, Iraq 1941

 

[Merlin Power]

CAC Wirraway in the Pacific, from 1941 onwards. One even managed to destroy a Zero which was quite a feat given the performance disparity.

 

[Airframes]

Battle, Blenheim, Hampden, Whitley, Gladiator - all saw action, and were already obsolescent by the start of WW2. It could be argued that others, such as the Lysander, Anson, Walrus and even Wellington, were in the same class, but continued to give service throughout the war, even if in second-line, though active roles.
Training and transport types such as the Oxford and Harrow, although outdated, still had their uses, so can't really be classed in the same context.

 

[Capt. Vick]

Curtiss Mohawks with the RAF in Burma in 1943 (and possibly 1944 IIRC) as well as Vultee Vengeances same theater until at least 1944, not to mention versions of the Martin B-10 fighting with the Dutch in the NEI well into 1942, though perhaps pushed past it's prime. Oh and what about the PBY Catalina?

 

[Thorlifter]

Wildcat, P-40, and the Stuka

 

[claidemore]

Polikarpov PO2/U2.

 

[parsifal]

Fairey Battles. had an abysmal combat record, but were very useful as trainers. And it was in churning out Pilots that the RAF won its war.

 

[wiking85]

BF110 by 1941 and on. Also Me109 from 1943 on.

 

[Elmas]

CR 42 that was in production almost for entire war.......and it is not unlikely that, after the War, it was again proposed to the N.A.T.O. as a "Light Fighter"....

 

[Jack_Hill]

DH89 Dragon Rapide.
Not really beautifull to me, but having this British touch, simple elegance plus being a thin but rugged twin engined a/c.

 

[RAGMAN]

the defiant, devastator or buffalo maybe fall into this category?