What was the best stop-gap fighter of WWII?

[A4K]

Must admit, the Spit IX is the first type that springs to my mind on this subject... though the P-51 may be a better candidate.

 

[davebender]

Messerschmitt developed several improved fighter airframes such as the Me-155, Me-209 II and Me-309. Without the critical need to maintain production for the war effort I suspect one of the new designs would have replaced the Me-109 by 1943.

Ju-88C, Ju-88G and Me-110G are more aircraft that owe their mass production existence to immediate wartime needs. If RAF Bomber Command wasn't bombing continually from September 1939 to May 1945 the Luftwaffe would have taken time to develop a purpose built night fighter aircraft such as the He-219.

 

[stona]

Absolute no brainer. Spitfire IX.
Cheers
Steve

 

[renrich]

I believe that the US found themselves after 12-7-41 with fighters in the PTO that were all inferior in performance to the Zeke. The US had to wait until the P38s, P47s, P51s, F6Fs and F4Us were available in quanity to have a fighter which would be able to out perform the Zeke. In the meantime the fighter which, based on the record, was able to at least meet the Zeke on somewhat equal terms was the F4F3 and later versions of the F4F. It was around a year or more before the superior fighters showed up. Meanwhile the F4Fs filled the gap, admirably which IMO makes it the best stopgap fighter and the most underrated fighter of the war.

 

[Shortround6]

Are we talking about fighters that "filled a gap" by being available while better fighters were built and deployed or fighters that were deliberately designed, built and deployed to buy time for better fighters.

MK IX Spit was a "stopgap" while waiting for the MK VIII to go into production.

Boomerang was a stopgap until better planes could be delivered.

P-40 was a stop gap because, being a re-engined P-36, it could be produced and gotten into service quicker than any other option.

To me, a 'Stop gap' needs some element of time attached to it. It is produced specifically to bridge a period of time until a better fighter can reach the service squadrons.

Continuing production of a plane or model of plane while better ones are worked on is not quite the same thing regardless of how well the older plane may perform in it's role.

 

[davebender]

Without the benefit of hindsight nations have no idea how long a stop gap solution will be needed. I doubt anyone in 1942 Germany expected the Me-109G to remain in production for 3 years. That's just the way things worked out.

 

[renrich]

To me, when a war begins and a country finds that it's first line fighters are outclassed by the opponent then you have a gap. You plug the gap with what you have until you can close the gap. Thus a stop gap. The US had P39s, P40s, the UK had Hurricanes and Spifires and they both had a few Buffaloes in the PTO. The Zeke outclassed them all in 41-42. The best of the stop gap fighters was IMO the F4F. Developing a fighter which is only equal to the other guy's best does not make sense to me. You try to bring on something which is better than he's got. However. I expect that this is all up for interpretation.

 

[stona]

Surely a stop gap must have a whiff of the Heath Robinson about it? I don't count an aircraft already in development or service. The Spitfire IX was a reaction to the introduction of the Fw 190. The decision was taken to fit the latest two-stage two-speed-supercharged Merlin engines to an existing airframe as an interim measure. An interim measure pretty much defines the Mk IX as a stop gap,at least initially. The first 100 odd Mk IXs were simply conversions of Mk Vc airframes.
Cheers
Steve

 

[DonL]

The FW 190 D9 --> Ta 152H

Fw 190 F/G ---->Ta 152C

From the planning to the reality everybody know the result but both fill the role of this threat "stop-gap" fighter or fighter bomber/destoyer/ground attack a/c.

The Ta 152H had shown that it was ahead of the Fw 190 D9!

 

[stona]

The FW 190 D9 --> Ta 152H

Fw 190 F/G ---->Ta 152C

From the planning to the reality everybody know the result but both fill the role of this threat "stop-gap" fighter or fighter bomber/destoyer/ground attack a/c.

The Ta 152H had shown that it was ahead of the Fw 190 D9!

None of these are stop gaps. You are describing the evolution of an aircraft. The Spitfire IX was never intended as the evolution or successor of the Spitfire V.
A stop gap is improvised to fill a gap,or fulfill a role,whilst the intended solution is developed.

Cheers

Steve

 

[vikingBerserker]

I think I'd go with the Mosquito

 

[meatloaf109]

I will nominate the F-4-U. As I understand it, developement problems and carrier-suitability issues caused this plane to be issued to "stop-gap" Marine squadrons that used it to pretty good effect.

 

[riacrato]

None of these are stop gaps. You are describing the evolution of an aircraft. The Spitfire IX was never intended as the evolution or successor of the Spitfire V.
A stop gap is improvised to fill a gap,or fulfill a role,whilst the intended solution is developed.

Cheers

Steve

Well the Fw 190 D was. At least that is my understanding. It's history is not so dissimilar from the Mk IX. The Ta 152 is not an evolution of the Fw 190 D, both were developed in parallel. The Dora just intended to fill in until a decent quantity of Ta 152s was available. There was actually a moderate initial resentment of the bird within the squadrons because of this. They had a feeling they were getting a hackjob stopgap instead of what they were supposed to receive.

 

[davebender]

Designed from scratch. 3 1/2 months from original specification to start of mass production. The design was sound but Heinkel didn't have enough time to fix teething problems.

A stop gap solution can only be rushed so fast.

 

[tyrodtom]

Designed from scratch. 3 1/2 months from original specification to start of mass production. The design was sound but Heinkel didn't have enough time to fix teething problems.

A stop gap solution can only be rushed so fast.

I don't see how that would make it the best stop gap fighter, or the ultimate. That would only make it a attempt at making a stop gap fighter.

 

[Oreo]

Yeah, I actually put the He 162 in the Hail Mary category, along with the Ki-100. It was a last, desperate thing done by people who knew their time was almost up. The Ta 152, on the other hand, likely would have been developed whether the Luftwaffe were ailing that badly or not. It was more of a carefully planned main combat type. The He 162 and Ki 100 were acts of desperation. In the case of the Ki 100, we got to see the results. With the He 162, we didn't.

There is a difference between the imagination and resourcefulness of designers who are at the end of their rope, versus those (such as in the USA in 1944-45) who could get up in the morning and drive to work without much fear of dodging bomb craters. The engineers in the US and Britain late in the war were still imaginative and resourceful, but the desperation factor was more about keeping their job than about keeping their life.

 

[DonL]

None of these are stop gaps. You are describing the evolution of an aircraft. The Spitfire IX was never intended as the evolution or successor of the Spitfire V.
A stop gap is improvised to fill a gap,or fulfill a role,whilst the intended solution is developed.

Cheers

Steve

To my books the FW 190 D-9 was described as temporary solution till the Ta 152 in all versions was fully developed.
The start of the Ta 152 dvelopment was autumn 1943 and to my books the FW 190 D9 and Tank 152 were both developed at the same time, but the FW 190 D9 could go quicker in production because the production of the Ta 152 was planed for France.

Source Dietmar Herman FW 190 and Ta 152!

 

[Njaco]

I'm going to choose the Curtiss P-36/P-40 Hawk series. While it was designed as a fighter, it was outclassed by many of the fighters it met but still held its own until better machines could replace it. From the ETO, the MTO to the PTO it performed well enough to hold the line.

 

[Shortround6]

I am not sure the the P-36 was a stop gap. Again it depends on your definition. Are older fighters that "held the line" stop gaps or not? The P-40 was a deliberate choice to make a fighter that could not do what the army wanted ( P-38 and P-39) BUT could be produced in numbers much quicker and since most any plane is better than no planes it got the first large construction order. It got followup orders for the same reason. The Production lines were in place and the rapidly expanding USAAF needed LOTS of planes. By 1944 however it's continued production was more of an embarrassment.

The P-36 was the Best the US could do at the time or for the next year or two. The US didn't have a better engine or airframe available in the near future that the P-36 was providing a "stop gap" for. P-36s being ordered in 1937.

 

[Njaco]

I was thinking the P-36 in French and other service during the early years.