FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
NICE DATA!
what was the best fighter in the Pacific
- Thread starter The Nerd
- Start date
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trackend
Chief Master Sergeant
That looks a lot more feasible GN
- Thread starter
- #24
The Nerd
Airman
Hey, what about in the European theater of war?
syscom3
Pacific Historian
The P51 was the best
the lancaster kicks ass
Major General
- 19,937
- Dec 20, 2003
no it wasn't........
lesofprimus
Brigadier General
No it wasnt...
evangilder
"Shooter"
Hard to pick the best for Europe, but I wouldn't put the P-51 as even the best American fighter of the ETO. It was a good looker though. I would have to go with the Fw.190.
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
syscom3 said:
Not even close!
lesofprimus
Brigadier General
Fw-190D for ETO
F4U-4 for PTO
F4U-4 for PTO
evangilder
"Shooter"
I would go with that list too, Les. But I still have a soft spot for the Hellcat.
Id go with the Fw-190D or a Late Spitfire Mark. The best American fighter in my opinion for the ETO was the P-47. The P-51 is a very overated myth.
trackend
Chief Master Sergeant
I like the P47 also Adler, but I guess I would pick the 262 overall I think the Stang was so legendary because of its bomber escort duties it really shifted the Luftwaffe onto it's back foot over home ground and became revered by the bomber crews as there savior at a desperate moment.
I agree with you on the P-51s mythical qualities. It comes from its ability to take the fight to the Germans but it was only unbeatable because it was in overwelming numbers. The P-47 was a much better fighter than the P-51.
It wasn't the P-51 in the ETO. In my opinion it would be between a late mark Spitfire, an FW190 or the ME262.
the lancaster kicks ass
Major General
- 19,937
- Dec 20, 2003
i don't see why so many people think the -262 it's not got the best record, yeah she's fast and heavily armed but she was mostly used as a bomber interceptor, very different to a fighter..........
The Me-262 could still deal with fighters, it's not like it was at the mercy of fighters when it was in the air. When in a dogfight the Me-262 would be near impossible to stop on a equal fight in numbers. However, I'd say the best for the ETO was the Spitfire 21.
trackend
Chief Master Sergeant
The Hurrie was a fighter Lanc but she was used mostly for bomber interception a guy on the box a few weeks ago who flew P51's said that the ME262 was just too fast for the P51. I agree the ME262 was used mainly against the bombers but thats only because the bomber was a bigger threat to the countrys infrastructure and industry, without the bombers presents I feel the speed advantage combined with the hitting power would have proved overwhelming against the prop driven fighters of that period.
Agreed Lee.trackend said:
carpenoctem1689
Airman 1st Class
- 285
- Sep 10, 2005
Not surprised the japanese are hardly considered contenders in here, but it is hard to compete against the american aircraft in the pacific. I did see someone mention the Ki-100, and yes it was a successful adaptation of the Ki-61. However speed was rather inferior even to some carrier-borne fighters, like the F4U. The N1K2-J shiden Kai was a very good aircraft, fast, manoueverable, and had good speed and armament. The problems were the fact that they werent reliable enough because of engine troubles, and pilot inferiority. But the N1K2-j could have made nothing out of hellcats, and been an even match for corsairs and lightnings, had pilots been on scratch, and the aircraft been made more available. However it still gets my vote.
