The Forum's Favorite WW2 Aircraft?

[Marcel]

Done

 

[parsifal]

for me its the stringbag. An obsolescent anachronism that achieved a massively impressive record at sea. not bad for an aircraft more at home in wwi and still flying in the age of jets....

 

[Wildcat]

Other. My favourite is the brutish looking Vultee Vengeance Definately one of the unsung heroes of WWII.

 

[Glider]

I went for the Mossie. It was a brave idea and design, looked good and you will be hard pressed to find an aircraft that was at the top of the tree in so many different roles.

 

[RabidAlien]

P-38. Looks cool, and its what got me interested in WW2 history.

 

[Milos Sijacki]

I go for FW-190 any time. I find it to be the best looking aircraft of that war and not to mention the characteristics of it. Here are the characteristics for my personal favorite FW-190 A8.

Cheers

Performance:

* Maximum speed: 656 km/h at 4,800 m, 685 km/h with boost (383 mph at 19,420 ft (5,920 m), 408 mph (657 km/h) with boost)
* Range: 800 km (500 miles)
* Service ceiling 11,410 m (37,430 ft)
* Rate of climb: 13 m/s (2560 feet/min)
* Wing loading: 241 kg/m² (49.4 lb/ft²)
* Power/mass: 0.29 - 0.33 kW/kg (0.18 - 0.21 hp/lb)

Armament:

* 2× 13 mm MG 131 machine guns with 475 rounds/gun
* 4× 20 mm MG 151/20 E cannons with 250 rounds/gun in the wing root and 140 rounds/gun outboard.

 

[drgondog]

I'm probsbly selfish - the P-51 saved daylight bombing and probably more American lives than any other airplane.. and conversely did more damage (air and ground) to Luftwaffe than any other fighter.

Gets my vote.. F-86 close second for all time

 

[magnocain]

Corsair

 

[Airframes]

I'd be hard pressed to settle on a single favourite. Of course, the Spit, P51 and Mosquito are near the top of my list, along with others, but one that is in there somewhere is the B25 Mitchell. Not for any reasons to do with performance or ability in intended role, but for its looks. See one on the ground today, and remember when it was designed and built; it looks modern, with the tri-cycle gear, the rounded lines and smooth exterior, that is, with the Perspex nose. It just looks right and, as most engineers would say 'If it looks right, it probably IS right!'

 

[Juha]

Very difficult to choose only one, but in the end I chose Spitfire, which like 109, 88 and Wellington fought from 1939 to 1945 and like 109 and 88 most of the time as among the very best of its type. And it had the looks. I especially like Mks I, VIII and XIV even if Mk XII was the most sinister looking Spit.

Juha

 

[Gnomey]

The Spitfire, the Dora and the Ta-152 are my favourites, going to have to think about this a bit before I vote...

 

[Sgt. Pappy]

Being a Canadian, it's gotta be the Spitfire for me.
I like the Mustang too, but I find it a bit overrated and a slightly worse dogfighter.

 

[Bernhart]

hawker hurricane, did everything, fought everywhere, one of the few airplanes to serve from beginning of the war until the very end with few changes. it is hard to pick one favourite, I love Typhoons, the swordfish, C 47's, the macchi 205's...

 

[Arsenal VG-33]

Neither of my favorites are on the ballot (Bloch 174, Arsenal VG-33), so I'm voting "other".

 

[johnbr]

For me it is the Horton Ho 229 Xp 67 and Ki 84 What the xp 67 need was the RR Crecy with 2-stage supercharging.

 

[rochie]

fw190, f4u, hurricane, mosquito, bf109 and even A6m and beaufighter struggling to to choose just one may vote with my eyes closed !!!!

 

[ToughOmbre]

The Flying Fortress. Beautiful airframe, looks graceful, powerfull, tough from almost any angle.

But most of all, because she would bring her crews back after suffering battle damage that would prevent most aircraft from flying at all.

TO

 

[chuckn49]

For me, it will always be the P-38 Lightning. I grew up listening to my brother talk abouit it with great affection. It also looks really cool on the ground or in the air.

If I had a second choice, it would be the Mosquito. Once again, an unconventional aircraft doing an incredible job.

Great poll idea!

 

[ccheese]

Lockheed P-38 Lightning for me..... beautiful on the ground or in the
air. Good combat record, too.

Charles

 

[Venganza]

I think all the choices mentioned in the posts are good ones. I've always loved the Spitfire, Beaufighter, Invader and the Swordfish, but I went with the IL-2 Shturmovik. People can debate whether it was a deathtrap that succeeded just because of sheer numbers, or a good design hampered in the beginning by bad tactics and German air superiority, but in my opinion it was the single plane most responsible for defeating the Nazis. Plus it looked like the tough, no-nonsense mudmover it was.

Venganza