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HiOne of the more interesting and often overlooked aspects of the air war is the generation of aircraft that directly preceded those that we know from the war. I'm speaking of those introduced during the 30s, a time where aircraft design advanced so quickly that those that were excellent designs in the late 30s were considered obsolete by the time the war broke out. Some of these continued to have illustrious careers despite being considered dated such as the F4F and Hurricane, but most have been relegated to mediocrity and irrelevance in the pages of history. Personally, I'm quite interested in this era, as this really set the stage for what we would see mass produced only a few years later. What do you think was the best fighter design of the 1930s, and why? I would say the peak of 1930s fighter design would consist of the Soviet I-16, Dutch D.XXI, British Hurricane and Gladiator, German 109B and D, American F2A, F4F, P-35 and P-36, and French M.S. 406. Personally, I choose the P-36, as it was exceptionally good handling and reasonably durable (lacking SS tanks but that was standard for the time).
Bf 110 or Hurricane.Spit and Emil tie, the battle it's for the third place and we have already some wrote on this
Spit and Emil tie, the battle it's for the third place and we have already some wrote on this
I like the Hawk 75/P-36 too, but rather than just guess or promote our favorites, does anyone have statistics showing which 1930s fighter shot down the most AC before 1 Jan 40?One of the more interesting and often overlooked aspects of the air war is the generation of aircraft that directly preceded those that we know from the war. I'm speaking of those introduced during the 30s, a time where aircraft design advanced so quickly that those that were excellent designs in the late 30s were considered obsolete by the time the war broke out. Some of these continued to have illustrious careers despite being considered dated such as the F4F and Hurricane, but most have been relegated to mediocrity and irrelevance in the pages of history. Personally, I'm quite interested in this era, as this really set the stage for what we would see mass produced only a few years later. What do you think was the best fighter design of the 1930s, and why? I would say the peak of 1930s fighter design would consist of the Soviet I-16, Dutch D.XXI, British Hurricane and Gladiator, German 109B and D, American F2A, F4F, P-35 and P-36, and French M.S. 406. Personally, I choose the P-36, as it was exceptionally good handling and reasonably durable (lacking SS tanks but that was standard for the time).
Isn't P-39 with 1st flight of 6/Apr/'38, the best of the 30s designs; and everything else a distant 2nd?There's your answer, Spit and Me-109 were the best of the 30s designs. F4F wasn't operational in the 30s. Hurri was damned good for its time. Zero isn't in the time-frame. MS-406 ... meh.
Now we're getting somewhere. How about the Italian Fiat CR.32? According the all-knowing Wiki, it seemed to be 2-Winged Death to it's opponents in SpainI believe the I-16 fought in the Spanish Civil War, in China, and also against the Japanese during the Soviet Japanese border conflict in 1939. Perhaps that model had the most victories scored before 1/Jan/40.
Eagledad
Definitely the best paint jobs.Considering aircraft that were operational for the majority of the decade, the P-26 has my vote! Deliveries started in 1933.
Considering aircraft that were operational for the majority of the decade, the P-26 has my vote! Deliveries started in 1933.
Hello,I believe the I-16 fought in the Spanish Civil War, in China, and also against the Japanese during the Soviet Japanese border conflict in 1939. Perhaps that model had the most victories scored before 1/Jan/40.
Eagledad
Defiant?I can't think of anybody that introduced a fighter (went into production) in 1938-39 that was inferior to what the same country had been producing in 1934-37 let alone earlier.
Well, it did beat the Hawker Demon.Defiant?
I guess, Republicans losses are drastically overclaimed by Italian authors. Thus, Francoists claimed 485 I-16 shot down, whereas the Republican AF confirm only 187 I-16 of all types lost during the whole period of war. Indeed, both the Soviet pilots and technical specialists were not impressed of FIATs despite of certain advantages of the latter.According the all-knowing Wiki, it seemed to be 2-Winged Death to it's opponents in Spain