the best ww2 fighers and bombers 1-10

[b-1]

hi every one. i was thinking about the fighers and bombers of ww2 and its really hard to say wich one was the best so i was hoping some of u mite help. to make it easyer how about we do the first 10 of both. i dont think i would be fair to only put interceptors of the persute fighters on and same go's with the bombers little medeum or hevy.


fighter:Typhoon-IB,Spitfire-XIV,Yak-U9,P-39,P-40C,P-51D,F6F,FW190 d-9,BF109 f-1,KI-61




bomber:Mosquito,B-25,JU88,lancaster,B-17,SBD,TBF,JU87,Beaufighter,He111

[Red Admiral]

Its too subjective really. For fighters there is a thread on hte next page which does a by the numbers comparison for fighters. The Seafire XV comes top and there is a strong showing from the other Spitfires as well. Personally, I think Reggiane 2005 which is easy to justify, but not easier to say why it is _the_ best.

For bombers its far easier. Arado 234, then B-29.

[Tony Williams]

One of those questions which can't be answered.

What do you mean by 'best'? One might be faster, another have a longer range. Which is more useful depends on the circumstances.

Even if you list objective criteria, you still have to apply some sort of weighting to each of the elements before combining them, and that is a subjective process - so it basically boils down to a matter of opinion.

Then of course, aircraft developed a lot during the war, so one which was outstanding in 1940 might be out of the picture by 1945.

There's only one outcome you can be reasonably sure of: an American will tend to regard US planes as the best, a Brit UK planes, a German will pick from the Luftwaffe etc :)

Tony Williams
Military gun and ammunition website: http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk

[Ricky]

We already have some extremely long topics on this - and the basic outcome was that by the end of the war, the front-line fighters of all countries were about equal.:)

[Tony Williams]

quote:Originally posted by Ricky

We already have some extremely long topics on this - and the basic outcome was that by the end of the war, the front-line fighters of all countries were about equal.:)

But some were more equal than others [8D]

Tony Williams
Military gun and ammunition website: http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk

[seppalar]

I'll propose one that might not get too much agreement. The Seversky AP-1 and the rest of the family. These planes led to a lot of the best aircraft of the war, most notably the P-47 and the Reggianne 2005.

If everyone except the U.K. and Germany had adopted the AP-1 etc. series of aircraft just about everyone would have been a lot better off. I don't think any later designs showed any significant improvements at all. (In the prop era, that is.)

Rick Seppala

[GregP]

There was a WWII fighter pilot who had flown both the Mustang and the Thunderbolt. When asked which he preferred he said it depended on what you were doing. If you were firing at an opponent he wanted a P-51. If were being fired at he wanted a P-47.

So, a lot depends on the engagement at the time.

The moral is survival ... a P-47 was a better bet for survival and P-51 was better bet as an offensive fighter ... as long as you didn't fall into a German gunsight.

[Lightning]

Hi Greg,

Quoting you:

quote:There was a WWII fighter pilot who had flown both the Mustang and the Thunderbolt. When asked which he preferred he said it depended on what you were doing. If you were firing at an opponent he wanted a P-51. If were being fired at he wanted a P-47.

So, a lot depends on the engagement at the time.

Which is why we will never fully resolve the "Best-Fighter" issue. :)

Regards,
Lightning