What is one plane that is underappreciated for how effective it was in combat?

[MIflyer]

Well, one you would not think about would be the V-1/Fi-103/FZG-76.

The Buzz Bomb did not look nearly as impressive as the V-2 ballistic missile, but it was far more effective as a weapon, able to deliver explosives on the enemy much cheaper than any other method the Third Reich had available. The fact it could be intercepted was a plus, not a defect. Only the latest and fastest Allied fighters could intercept the V-1, thereby drawing off a significant portion of the fighter force away from the actual combat areas. Had the Luftwaffe been able to deploy really significant numbers of jet fighters, those machines intercepting the V-1's would have been vital to opposing that new capability.

The USAF and USN should have built on the V-1 technology immediately after WWII, adding radar homing (from the Bat missile) and TV Guidance (from Project Aphrodite) along with air launching from B-29's and PB4Y-2 (actual air launches of Loon copies did not go very well) to produce stand off weapons. We could have had them ready for Korea but in reality the fools did not even have them ready for Vietnam.

And of course today cruise missiles are a big deal and in actual combat have proved to be far more useful than ballistic missiles. Ship the UKR a few thousand cheap V-1's and let them drive the Russians nuts.

 

[pbehn]

Very under-appreciated, without them you have no pilots, and no combat at all. Plenty of British pilots were trained in USAAF schools too (or at least US civil schools which were later certified by the USAAF to provide basic military instruction).

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Without the A-6 Harvard there also is no client customer relationship between NAA and the RAF, so the Mustang / P-51 becomes an even bigger leap into the unknown.

 

[Snautzer01]

Ship the UKR a few thousand cheap V-1's and let them drive the Russians nuts

Agree.
What can we think of to better this one?

 

[Venomstick121]

SBD-3 Dauntless dive bomber

 

[MIflyer]

What can we think of to better this one?

Well, obviously equip some with GPS guidance and UAV style remote control. But I think at least half of them would have no ordnance at all on board and perhaps have reflective structures designed to make them look much bigger on radar along with extra fuel. Let them cruise East at 5000 to 10000 ft at 400 kts and let the Russians try to figure out if they are worth intercepting.

I just saw where Romania is building a new jet fighter trainer. Over there you have Germany, France, U.K., Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and even Romania capable of building modern V-1's. Go to town, boys!

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

SBD-3 Dauntless dive bomber

As much as I love the SBD, I think it was very, very appreciated for its combat effectiveness.

 

[special ed]

The P-43.

 

[SaparotRob]

The SBD is appreciated by enthusiasts but not necessarily the general public. The Ju-87 is probably better known.

 

[Denniss]

SBDs excelled at midway (or were just lucky with perfect timing) and basically broke the neck of the japanese carrier force, they never recovered from the loss of these CVs and trained crew. The SBD deserved its place in history of aviation.

 

[SaparotRob]

The SBD is what planes should look like. Politics be damned!

 

[MIflyer]

The SBD is what planes should look like.

A lot of people seemed to agree. Originally designed by Northrop, and called the BT-1, Douglas took the basic idea further. Meanwhile, just down El Segundo Blvd from Northrop, NAA was building trainers that looked awful darn similar, including a Basic Combat aircraft that used not only the same layout but the same engine, and was dubbed the A-27 when the USAAF unexpectedly ended up with some. So at one time there were three factories in the same area all building airplanes that you almost needed a maintenance manual to tell which was which.

 

[Admiral Beez]

SBD-3 Dauntless dive bomber

I like, but the Dauntless is hardly underappreciated, as per the thread title. It's famous for its record of cracking carriers. Underappreciated dive-bombers, I'd say Vengeance, Skua and Barracuda. IIRC, the Skua scored the first British aerial kill of WW2 and was the first dive-bomber to sink a cruiser.

 

[MIflyer]

but the Dauntless is hardly underappreciated,

Indeed! After all, I recently bought a DVD of a Major Motion Picture entitled "Dauntless." How many other WWII airplanes have receive that treatment? "Memphis Belle?" although that is the name of a specific one.

 

[SaparotRob]

A lot of people seemed to agree. Originally designed by Northrop, and called the BT-1, Douglas took the basic idea further. Meanwhile, just down El Segundo Blvd from Northrop, NAA was building trainers that looked awful darn similar, including a Basic Combat aircraft that used not only the same layout but the same engine, and was dubbed the A-27 when the USAAF unexpectedly ended up with some. So at one time there were three factories in the same area all building airplanes that you almost needed a maintenance manual to tell which was which.

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I love yellow wings and I'm not the first here to say it.

 

[MIflyer]

Grasshoppers At War!

 

[SaparotRob]

I believe "Rosie the Rocketer" is a Forum member.

 

[BobB]

A lot of people seemed to agree. Originally designed by Northrop, and called the BT-1, Douglas took the basic idea further. Meanwhile, just down El Segundo Blvd from Northrop, NAA was building trainers that looked awful darn similar, including a Basic Combat aircraft that used not only the same layout but the same engine, and was dubbed the A-27 when the USAAF unexpectedly ended up with some. So at one time there were three factories in the same area all building airplanes that you almost needed a maintenance manual to tell which was which.

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BT-1 was built by Northrop Corp. which was a subsidiary of Douglas Aircraft and in 1937 became Douglas El Segundo Division. Jack Northrop left in 1939 and formed Northrop Aircraft Inc.

 

[MIflyer]

Just after WWI two brothers named Loughead formed a company in Santa Barbara, CA to build a flying boat and use it to sell rides to sightseeing tourists. They hired a local young man as a draftsman who had just graduated from high school; his name was Jack Northrop.

The two brothers later changed the spelling of their name to match its correct pronunciation: Lockheed.

So on that stretch of State St in Santa Barbara, between where PCH came through the town and the beach, two great aerospace firms got their start.

 

[MIflyer]

I love yellow wings and I'm not the first here to say it.

The prettiest yellow winged airplane was this one.

 

[special ed]

Grasshoppers At War!

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It's interesting to learn Naugahyde was in existence in 1944.