superunknown
Airman
What do you think is the most underrated aircraft of WW2, you are not allowed to include prototypes or aircraft that never saw operational service.
I propose first of all the Vultee Vengeance, outdated? maybe, but in the CBI theatre these dive bombers of the RAF provided close air support to the ground troops on a daily basis, in arguably the worst theatre of the war. They have been wrongly slated in the past with myths such as "They couldn't operate without fighter escort", this is utter crap, most Vengeance missions flew outside of the escort fighters range, and operated more often than not without any fighter cover at all. The pilots that flew them praised their concrete construction, and the ground troops praised their ability to drop their ordanance right on target, often within 50 metres of their own troops without casualties. This aircraft may have been considered as useless elsewhere in the world, but in Burma it was a life saver. A forgotten aircraft, with the forgotten air force, supporting the forgotten army.
I propose first of all the Vultee Vengeance, outdated? maybe, but in the CBI theatre these dive bombers of the RAF provided close air support to the ground troops on a daily basis, in arguably the worst theatre of the war. They have been wrongly slated in the past with myths such as "They couldn't operate without fighter escort", this is utter crap, most Vengeance missions flew outside of the escort fighters range, and operated more often than not without any fighter cover at all. The pilots that flew them praised their concrete construction, and the ground troops praised their ability to drop their ordanance right on target, often within 50 metres of their own troops without casualties. This aircraft may have been considered as useless elsewhere in the world, but in Burma it was a life saver. A forgotten aircraft, with the forgotten air force, supporting the forgotten army.