Top Medium Bomber

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Because of the arguement in the Best Bomber thread I figured I would start this up.

What do you think was the Top Medium Bomber? Now Top does not necessarily mean the best or anything like that. I personally dont really like the "Best of" threads because each aircraft can be considered the best in something in most cases.

Well have a go at it...

 

[comiso90]

A-26..

fast, good bomb load.....

B-25 for sentiment

I like the Petlyakov 2 but thats more of a twin engine light bomber.

 

[Jank]

On the American side--

In terms of most damage inflicted on the axis -- B-25 Mitchell

In terms of which plane actually saw service and had the best mix of range, speed, payload and defensive armament -- A-26 Invader

 

[Marcel]

Because of the arguement in the Best Bomber thread I figured I would start this up.

What do you think was the Top Medium Bomber? Now Top does not necessarily mean the best or anything like that. I personally dont really like the "Best of" threads because each aircraft can be considered the best in something in most cases.

Well have a go at it...

Good idea and I totally agree on your statement about "the best"
Okay, my list of top medium bombers because of their war effords in no particular order:
- Mosquito
- J88
- B25

Honourable mention:
-Wellington, not for being superlative, but for trying against all odds
- He111
- B26

 

[syscom3]

The JU88 was demonstrated to be the best overall medium bomber.

Except for the low altitude strafing missions, in which the B25 was best.

But that was unique to the pacific.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

My vote goes for the

Ju 88
Mosquito
B-25

I like the Ju 88 because of its versatility.

I think the Mossie was overall the better aircraft (I dont think anyone will disagree with me either) but I still like the Ju 88 better because of its versatility and its war effort. Also as I said I dont think that the Best is necessarily the Top aircraft.

B-25 for its pacific war effort as syscom has said.

As for the Ar 234. I would not vote for it because in my opinion it was too little to late and it was proved more as a recon aircraft (in my opinion). It was however designed as a jet powered tactical bomber and therefore I included it in the poll.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Also I will be starting a poll for this for Heavy Bombers as well and as well as light bombers.

 

[Marcel]

I agree, B25 also performed quite nicely in the tectical role in ETO furthermore it had a huge impact on Japanese moral because of the Doolitle raid, so it is indeed one of the top bombers

 

[Gnomey]

The contenders would be the Ju-88, A-26, B-25 and the Mosquito. Of them all the Mossie and A-26 are faster and carry good bomb loads whilst the B-25 probably had the most effect on the war (in the Pacific). As for the Ju-88 it was proved to be a good all round bomber. For me it is the Mossie as it could carry a good bombload with a good armament whilst still being fast. The Ju-88 would be a close second (sort of joint first) with the A-26 and B-25 not far behind.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

My Top 3 are the A-26, B-25 and JU 88. I hold the A-26 in the same manner as the B-29 for aerodynamic and systems advancements when comparing to other medium bombers. The B-25 really brought the war to the enemy and the JU 88 was an extremely versatile aircraft. I rate the A-26 slightly above both listed.

 

[Glider]

The plane I would choose is the Do217. Beats the B25/B26 in performance, payload and its versitility is better than anyone.

However it isn't on the list so I would go for the Ki67. It lacked payload like all Jap bombers but it had range, performance and was well armed. It also had self sealing tanks and armour making it more robust than any other Jap bombers.

 

[renrich]

I believe some of the bombers on your list are more likely to be classified as light bombers, for instance the A20 and JU88. The B25 and B26 would be clsssified as medium bombers along with HE 111 and DO 17.

 

[comiso90]

I never though of the Mossie as a medium bomber... How can u compare it to the B-26?

Both great aircraft but very different...

 

[FLYBOYJ]

The A-26 was far from a light bomber when you look at its weapons and bomb load...


Armament
Guns:

8× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in the nose
6× 0.50 in M2 machine guns in the wings
2× 0.50 in M2 machine guns in remote-controlled dorsal turret
2× 0.50 in M2 machine guns in remote-controlled ventral turret
Bombs: 6,000 lb (2,700 kg)-4,000 lb in the bomb bay and 2,000 lb external on the wings

 

[ToughOmbre]

B-25 - Very versatile (Doolittle Raider, low level strafing)
A-26 - Most advanced (fought in Viet Nam)
B-26 - Bad early rep, but lowest attrition rate of any American aircraft serving with the Air Corps' 9th Air Force in Europe.

All excellent

TO

 

[ppopsie]

To me it is B-26 Marauder. But I don't know which is the "best."

On discussions like this, I think it is better to set a certain time point to define what was the best, for example;

Each at the end of
1940 Ju-88
1941 G4M1
1942 B-25 Mitchell
1943 B-26 Marauder
1944 Mosquito
1945 A-26 Destroyer

 

[davparlr]

Okay, my shot.

Best medium bomber shouldering the load of WWII. Tie between Ju-88 and B-25.

Best overall, A-26B. Mosquito is faster but has limited load carrying capacity (half the A-26, B-25) and the A-26B is quite a bit faster than the Do217 with similar bombload/range capability. And, one could not picture any other bomber that could fly for another 20-25 years and fight two more wars.

 

[comiso90]

Please educate me... I cannot understand why the mosquito is a medium bomber....

In my estimation, it is a kick-ass, twin-engine light bomber. Perhaps it is in a category of its own but it does not belong in the same category as the B 26!!

All they have in common is twin engines.

If we are lowering the standards for "medium bomber"... the Petlyakov Pe-2 was freakin awesome early in the war.
Petlyakov Pe-2 - attack



,

 

[Freebird]

To me it is B-26 Marauder. But I don't know which is the "best."

On discussions like this, I think it is better to set a certain time point to define what was the best, for example;

Each at the end of
1940 Ju-88
1941 G4M1
1942 B-25 Mitchell
1943 B-26 Marauder
1944 Mosquito
1945 A-26 Destroyer

I like the idea of the timelines. Its hard to beat the Ju-88 as an effective versatile early war aircraft.

Also does "best medium bomber" judge only the bombing ability? Or does capability as night fighter/ground attack improve its rating?

Comiso - you have a good point, its hard to compare the 2. What would you use to separate light from medium bombers, payload or gross weight? Would the A-20 or Pe-2 then be "light bombers?

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I believe some of the bombers on your list are more likely to be classified as light bombers, for instance the A20 and JU88. The B25 and B26 would be clsssified as medium bombers along with HE 111 and DO 17.

I based them as medium based off of there bomb load they could carry.