Please, can someone solve an argument for me.?

Question

In a discussion last night about WW2 Fighter Planes, I voted the Focke-Wulf Ta152H or the F4U as the best Fighter Planes.( I know the Ta 152H was a late to the war).

One friend voted the F4U Corsair while another said the Grumman Hellcat was the best.

Please can anyone solve this argument for me.

CATHORIO.

Answer 1

nice post Woah Limahl. Great link.

Answer 2

although all the combat aircraft you are considering are pretty suitable for their purpose, I have to propose the supermarine spitfire for it's sheer elan, reported handling and clear combat success. AND the simple fact that it removed Lufwaffe air supremacy over the UK enabling the allies to launch D Day which eventually unseated national socialism in Europe.

Answer 3

Hellcat flat out. Maybe mustang two???

Answer 4

By most standards, and according to most experts, the North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was the finest all-round fighter of World War 2, with excellent performance, handling, and armament. Some may argue that the Spitfire was better handling, or the Zero was the best in a close-quarters, turning dogfight, or the P-47 Thunderbolt was more robust and surviveable, but the fact that the Mustang produced more aces, flew longer distances, shot down more aircraft, survived the War to go on to serve in more air forces worldwide than any other WW2 aircraft, and is certainly one of the most beautiful fighters to have ever flown clinches the deal in the Mustang's favour in my opinion.

Thats all I could find, sorry!

Answer 5

Six years was a long time and advances in aircraft design were pretty swift.  In the early days before the USA got involved, the two best aircraft in the European theatre of war were probably the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the British Supermarine Spitfire.  Douglas Bader (who flew with two artificial legs), scored 9 of his 20 kills from a Spitfire cockpit and most other British "aces" flew a Spitfire as well.  Likewise, most top-scoring German pilots flew a Bf 109 in the early years of the war, at least until the Focke-Wulf 190 started appearing in numbers by late 1941 by which time the North American P-51 Mustang was coming out of the factories as well to both the RAF and USAF.  Chuck Yeager (first man to break the sound barrier) flew a Mustang.   The F4U and Hellcat were flown by the US mainly in the Pacific theatre against Japan.  I'm sure both top US fighter pilots in the war actually flew the Lockheed P-38 Lightning though.  There really are too many planes to choose from.

As a result, the whole "best WW2 fighter plane" thing is somewhat subjective at best, depending on what factors you include in a decision.  Most of the "better" planes from a technical standpoint were obviously produced later in the war as technolgies advanced.  Personally, I wouldn't choose either of those planes you mention.  I'd probably place my vote with the Spitfire or Me 109.

Answer 6

Although the F4U Corsair was a great plane, my vote for "best fighter plane has to go to the P-51 Mustang.

Answer 7

Twas the Mosquito. This was the most versatile aircraft of WW2, take a look.

http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-air-...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havillan...

http://www.world-war-2-planes.com/mosqui...

Answer 8

Ok UK perspective.. Hurricane or Spitfire MkXIV

I often hear about FW 190 as a fighter plane to contend with.. sorry but this guy's opinion might help you out a bit..http://www.chuckhawks.com/best_fighter_p...

Answer 9

Hellcat, hands down. Mustang next.

Answer 10

well going on i am biased i would happily say the Spitfire.

Answer 11

Wheres mention of the ME 262 Here?????

Answer 12

While the F4U is my favorite, the most capable fighter aircraft

were the p-47 and p-51.

Answer 13

Hello Cathario - The Spitfire was the prettiest, and without it (and the Hurricane)...well you know the rest

I always liked the Typhoon - fearsome looking beast

One of the best - and most forgotten in the west is the formidable Yakovlev Yak-9 (The most prolific fighter of WW2)

http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviatio...

But the best (for me) is the de Havilland Mosquito - it was very fast, could fly very low, and was very easy to patch up as it was made of wood.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havillan...

Answer 14

Actually, if you  look at the specs. of the planes you mentioned, each had its strong and weak points.  It depended on the mission, and what plane it was fighting against.  Maybe not a plane at all.... which was best against ground troops and anti-aircraft fire?

     For instance, one of the worst dogfight aircraft in the war was the stuka.  Yet... if I had to do some very close combat ground support for troops, it couldn't be beat!  It could come almost down to the ground vertically and drop a bomb just meters from its own friendly troops without endangering them much.  It was also armored so it could take more rounds than most anything in the air even today.

     The Mustang could take so much fire that it is frightening!  Germans who faced the Mustang told me that it took 10 times the anti-aircraft fire that any Russian or 5 times the British plane could take and it would still strafe the heck out of their position! (this was from a Panzer SS veteran).

The Japanese Zero could do all sorts of damage just as long as it wasn't hit too many times because it's agility was due to having almost no (and later NO) armor!  Until we figured that out, we were scared $hitless of that plane, and once we found out we simply used incendiary rounds and they fell out of the sky like so much bird p**p.