Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire What's your Favorite WWII Fighter Plane

P-51, Rolls engine version.

MM

It was a push pull designed with two inline motors. Pretty fast from what I've read.

Think NorthPac and Korea for cold wx use of the Corsair. The biggest problem aside from mx, was twofold, visibility, especially when landing aboard the carrier and taxiing, and humongous P factor and torque, which resulted in numerous fatalities amongst young aviators. It was called the "Ensign Eater" for a good reason.

The P38 was an outstanding gun platform and had the speed and maneuverability. It's downside was supercharger freezing at altitude, which was a problem on fighter escort missions, but inconsequential during fighter sweeps and CAS missions. It was the superior fighter in the Pac theatre. There's a reason why Dick Bong was the all time high scoring ace for the USA, and flew the P38.

As a side note, I have the pleasure to work with both Dick Bong's great nephew and "Gabby" Gabreski's grandson, as well as some of the Mig killers from Vietnam. Seems aviation is a very small world.

I got to meet Pete Petersen, Chuck Yeager, and the other two guys who flew in their quartet during the War, at an airshow here in town several years ago. Petersen's book was better than Yeager's, and I told him so, he just grinned.

If I were pinned down, I'd have to go with the Mustang as my favorite, but the Thunderbolt and the Corsair are great aircraft, too.
That little airshow drew in all kinds of aircraft, and roughly 20 Mustangs, each year. Nothing makes me listen up quicker than a Merlin purring along. There's a guy over at that airfield with a Mustang, a Corsair, a Thunderbolt, a Sabre (F-86) and several other warbirds in his hangar. Must be nice to have that kind of money!

It was fast, but it's fuel consumption was terrible, had a very short time in flight and it was not a a very manueverable aircraft from what I've read.

Very expensive to build as well.

JM.

B-25 with the strafer nose:


Blister pack mounted on the fuselage:


And my personal favorite, the H model with a 75mm cannon in the nose:

The DO-335 Pfiel was another one of those well ahead of its time.


The first 10 Do 335A-0s were delivered for testing in May. By late 1944, the Do 335A-1 was on the production line. This was similar to the A-0 but with the uprated DB 603E-1 engines and two underwing hardpoints for additional bombs, drop tanks or guns. Capable of a maximum speed of 763 km/h (474 mph) at 6,500 m (21,300 ft) with MW 50 boost, or 686 km/h (426 mph) without boost, and able to climb to 8,000 m (26,250 ft) in under 15 minutes, the Do 335A-1 could easily outrun any Allied fighters it encountered. Even with one engine out, it could reach about 563 km/h (350 mph).

General characteristics

* Crew: 1, pilot
* Length: 45 ft 5 in (13.85 m)
* Wingspan: 45 ft 1 in (13.8 m)
* Height: 15 ft (4.55 m)
* Wing area: 592 ft� (55 m�)
* Empty weight: 11,484 lb (5,210 kg)
* Max takeoff weight: 19,500 lb (8,590 kg)
* Powerplant: 2� Daimler-Benz DB 603A 12-cylinder inverted engines, 1,287 kW, 1,726 hp (1,750 PS) each

Performance

* Maximum speed: 474 mph (765 km/h)
* Combat radius: 721 mi (1,160 km (half load))
* Service ceiling: 37,400 ft (11,400 m)

Armament

* 1 � 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 103 cannon (as forward engine-mounted Motorkanone)
* 2 � 20 mm MG 151 cannons
* Up to 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) bombload

And another site:

http://www.century-of-flight.net/Av...eline/ww2/Dornier%20Do%20335%20Pfeil.htm

Fuel consumption was no worse than any other twin engine fighter, amount carried on board might have been slightly less, but with drop tanks it was exceptable.

Maneuverability was exceptional due to both engines being in-line and near the center of gravity in the fuselage.

It was said to be a twin engine fighter with the maneuverability of a single engine fighter.



Phil

Truth. If Hitler hadn't been so obsessed with bombers, the ME-262 would have been operational in 1943 and the Air War would have been vastly different.

If you like the "gunfighter" version of the B25, then you'd love the book by Martin Caidin called "Whip". It's a novel, but based on real events in the formation of those types of B25's in the field in the early days of WW II. It's a great read, as are most other books by Caidin.

My grandmother built B-25's during the war in Kansas. A real life Rosie the Riveter.

Easy
#1. P38 Lightning
#2. P51 Mustang
#3. F4U Corsair

An incredible bird that wasn't used to it's fullest IMHO. If the USAAF had used the Merlin engins with the turbo chargers they would have ruled the roost!

+1! The Lightning was a superb plane for the Pacific Theater.

The Germans had some hot aircraft. Thank God they were burdened with an Arian Obama. The Me-190D was a great bird and the Me 262 was held back as the Blitz Bomber by the paper hanger. I know a fellow that was as an observer of the Me 262 in combat. He is alive because the jet went after the B-26 in front of his bird instead of him.

Another vote for the P-38 Lightning here. It just looks, well, WICKED! Kinda like that Me 262 also. Glad it was too little, too late tho. Tom

TA-152

As for a tank buster the Hawker Typhoon was one nasty sob. As for a pure fighter aircraft though, it's the Mustang hands down. Ask the boys from Tuskegee-who by the way never lost a single bomber they were escorting. The P38 was a good plane, but the Mustang gets my vote here.

Focke Wulf FW-190D-9. Nicknamed the 'Dora.'

I believe that the Corsair was the only prop driven airplane to shoot down a MIG, or any other jet fighter. I never really understood the gull wing design - it must have had something to do with them being designed for aircraft carriers, right?

How about these?