The most important Aircraft for any given country!

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US P-47: All the US needed was air superiority and the Jug achieved that as well as the Jabo role very effectively.

GB Spitfire: Air superiority was very important.

DE Ju-87: Helped the blitzkreig.
 
renrich said:
Britain- Spitfire, the BOB was not decisive so the Hurricane's success does not outweigh the same type of job the 109 did for Germany.
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Depends what you mean by decisive. Britian falls in 1940 and the war is over right there, Germany fights Russia on its own terms on a single front.

Everything that came after the BoB came because Britain did not lose.

However I chose Spitfire
 
This is a 'phase' question also. The Hurricane for exapmple may have been the most important Brit weapon in 1940 but the Lancaster was most important 1943-1945.

I think the B-24 was the most important through 1943 for US in overall contribution, then the Mustang starting with very small numbers enabled the battle of Germany to be won.

The IL-2 probably fits my perspective for USSR.

Zero for Japan but this was toughest for me.

Italy SM-79

Germany - another 'phase' question. Maybe Ju 87 early and 109 through 1944. Me 262 was perhaps Most important but it ultimately failed its role.
 
drgondog said:
Germany - another 'phase' question. Maybe Ju 87 early and 109 through 1944. Me 262 was perhaps Most important but it ultimately failed its role.
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The Me-262 certainly didn't fail its' role, there just wasn't enough fuel or trained pilots to operate the a/c as intended. The a/c itself was the best fighter to see service in WW2. The only role in which it failed, and understandably so as it was never designer for it, was the dive bomber role. But perhaps this is what you meant.
 
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Actually I meant 'failed' as in it didn't achieve the results that a heavliy armed fighter that was 100 mph faster than its competition, piloted by the LW top pilots and could engage or withdraw at will - should have been able to accomplish.

That is my opinion only
 
UK- Spitfire.....in the BoB, the Hurricane could not have lived without the Spitfire, but the Spitfire could have lived without the Hurricane. And without the Spitfire there may have been no Lancaster raids.

Germany- Messerschmitt 109. No explanation needed.

Japan- Zero, kind of like facing your fears. Not as bad as you made them to be.

Russia- IL 2

U.S.A. The Lockheed P-38. I pick this because like mentioned, you want to say Hellcat in the Pacific, and Mustang in Europe. But the P-38 served in all theatres. It was cutting edge. It was present from the start. (yes, in small numbers) It was THE Army fighter in the Pacific. It was very good in Africa and the Mediterranian. Just as it started to shake its bugs and prove its worth as a fighter based from England, the Mustang became the better choice. But in all theatres, the photo recon Lightning contributed greatly. It was a Weapon.
 
Colin1 said:
Marcel
Surprised you didn't give the Dewoitine D520 a mention, it could hold its own vs the Bf109E, though slightly slower
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I believe the P36/H75 was there in greater numbers at the start of the German campaign. There were only a few D.520's. Later there were more, but by then, German superiority was too much to handle, so it was too late. The Curtiss was simply there. That's why I choose the H75.

It's a pitty that not more people give a shot at the smaller airforces. The biggerAF's already have been discussed very much, while we can still learn a lot about the smaller ones. For instance which aircraft would you think to be the most important of Hungaria? Is it the Bf109, the He112 or another aircraft I forgot?
 
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Now He 112 was not much good for Romanians, they removed it quickly from front line IIRC.

Juha
 

Excellent point, a wrote about that same point in an essay once. I think as well, the British took great pride in having the best fighter in the air when everything else was going wrong.
 

It's hard to argue with that. The Hurricane did the bulk of the work, but needed the Spitfire's help to perform it effectively. People tend to considered the Hurricane redundant after the BOB but it made an excellent ground attack aircraft in North Africa and once again was present in most numbers and performed the bulk of the work. (together with the P-40).
 

Bill the Me-262's were mostly flown by rookies, so the result is understandable. There were few experten flying the Me-262, and they were limited to Nowotny's squadron.

Also aren't you forgetting the fact that they hardly got to fly because of fuel shortages ? I'd say that nomatter how superior your a/c might be then it aint gonna do much good just sitting on the ground

That however still doesn't change the fact that the Me-262 was the best fighter to see service during WW2.
 
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