Which fighter brought the biggest new advantage when introduced?

Which fighter gave the best new advantage when introduced?

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Oreo

Senior Airman
347
2
Jul 18, 2008
South Carolina
Think in terms of the time when each plane came on the scene-- which fighter really threw its opposition for a loop the most?
 
dificul pool, because me 262 was the first jet fighter but there was so few, and when germany was almost falling... it didnt brought some real advantege for germany that time.

also there the yaks, the mustangs, the spitfires, the fw 190, etc.. all great machines...

but i believe the bf 109, by its big superiority over the planes that fought in spain at that time brought a real adavantage for that war.
 
The FW-190 was a nasty surprise for the British and they were even more surprised when one was landed by mistake in England and they got a GOOD look at it.

tom
 
Im'm torn beteeen P-51B, Fw 190A and Me 262. From my perspective it was the P-51 B

It took on and defeated the best fighters the LW had to defend aginst the B-17 and B-24 - and did it over Berlin when it was 200 miles farther into Germany than any other fighter except the P-38. It saved Strategic Daylight Bombardment

Most of the LW pilots that I have talked with siad it was a 'major agent of change' to put it lightly.

Having said that, the Fw 190 was a major shock to the RAF Spitfire - and obviously the Me 262 was the best of the war.

Take your pick - but Spit got control of air over Britain and P-51B did it over Berlin, and the 262 didn't.
 
It would be intersting to include the meteor, and perhaps the P-80 in the list. Whilst the 262 was superior to the Meteor, the contest becomes intersting because the Meteor was the first to enter squadron service, also the later marks of the Meteor reportedly started to close the performance gap
 
I'm gonna go with the Me262,...but I have to agree with drgondog about the P51! It certainly improved the odds of more bombers hitting the target and getting home to fight another day.....and it got better with the P51D..
 
Technically, the Me262. But it didn't affect the war. The airwar went on, much as it had before the introduction.

P51 showed up and did what other fighters could do over their home airdromes. But it could do it 300 miles away. Pretty much the end of the luftwaffe at that point. It was a long range air supremecy fighter. The airplane everyone was looking for since the late 30s.

Technically, it was not a great advancement. Strategically, it marked the begining of the end for the Luftwaffe.

Gets my vote.
 
Tim you nailed it - the 262? Greatest innovation but its advantage was never fully exploited. The P-51, its strengths were exploited to the fullest and the proof is in the end result.
 
The Zero swept the skies clear of Chinese aircraft during the period before Pearl Harbor, and outperformed European-flown fighters for several months after Pearl Harbor, before Allied airmen discovered its weak points.
 
me 262 without a doubt, every US bomber crewmen from the 8th and 15th swore they saw them and those that did wish to God they never met them.

sure the thing was in the infant stage but it was just the start of something so much bigger everyone can attest to that - the impression it gave the Allies was one of fear until they met up with it and could combat it
 
What did the Me262 really do? It had absolutely no impact on the course of war. Some others had, Bf109, best fighter of the early years, helped the Germans greatly in their conquer of Europe, being the best fighter around. Hurricane (not on the list????!) helping stem the German advance. Zero because of their impact and victories in the Naval warfare, by far the best in the early months of the Pacific war. Made the Americans have to fight a long way before reaching Tokio. Americans had to change tactics for this plane. I voted this one but could as easily have voted Bf109 for the same reason.
 
Marcel the Me-262's were seriusly outnumbered, mostly piloted by inexperienced pilots, and the few which were available couldn't always fly because of fuel shortages. That's the reason it had little impact on the outcome of the war.

However the headline of the topic is "Which fighter gave the best new advantage when introduced?" which would be the Me-262 without any doubt as it was the biggest leap forward in a/c technology of the entire war. One on one and with an experienced pilot the Me-262 was unbeatable.
 
I was looking at the impact the ME-262 had on aviation in general, not so much during the war, which really was not all that much. But the poll was for which fighter brought the biggest new advantage. For me, the ME-262's jet engine was a huge advantage as far as speed goes. Had it been employed right and used correctly in would have made a larger impact on the war, but it would not have changed the outcome.
Once the Allies knew the Zero's secrets, it's domination was over. Newer and faster piston driven planes appeared and made the Zero obsolete once it's weaknesses were used against it. Even a good pilot in a Wildcat or a P-40 was more than a match for the Zero. Once the newer Allied planes were introduced, Lightning, Hellcat, Corsair, etc, the Zero was outclassed. These newer planes could pick and choose when and where they would fight. The US changed their tactics because they had to and with their new planes, they could change them. The Zero pilots were not able to change tactics, or do anything if their opponent insisted on keeping his speed up!
 
I think that the advantage the ME262 had over other existing AC was so great that it would have to get the nod. As a bomber interceptor it was almost impossible to defend against. If you exclude the ME262 because of it's lack of any real overall impact on the outcome of the war, I would go with the P51B or A6M because of almost identical impacts. The Mustang made daylight precision bombing much more possible because it kept losses of the bombers in the bearable range. There was no other fighter in the world that could accomplish the mission the Mustang did in late 43-44. Likewise in late 40-41, the A6M could accomplish a mission no other fighter in the world could. Some historians have said the performance of the Zero is the reason that Japan decided to go forward with the war. If the LW had had the A6M in July,Sept, 1940, the BOB might have had a different ending.
 
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