Best fighter of the war?

Site Issues 2006 Archive Room
#1

Had an idea this morning - I’ve seen a lot of people complaining that the current ‘which is best?’ threads that have started popping up recently.

So, in order to get the board’s opinion on this topic once and for all, I have an idea. We take all of the fighters in common usage during the war, pair them off in a random draw and have a couple of days debating the pros and cons of each. At the end of it, we decide which was best. The best goes on to the next round, the loser drops to the wayside like so much burning, twisted metal chaff.

I’m happy to do all the work this will need, if anyone’s interested?

IF YOU THINK I’M A SAD BASTARD WHO REALLY NEEDS TO GET A LIFE, THEN FEEL FREE TO TELL ME THAT TO

#2

Also - if this is a success, we could do the other categories of aircraft - heavy bomber, tactical bomber, etc to.

#3

Maybe would be a good ideea to discuss firstly on best fighter of Germany, British Empire, USA, Soviet Union and all countries which fought in WW2 and after that, with a limited number of planes and arguments from before, to discuss more for “the best fighter of WW2”.

#4

Maybe Dani, that’s why I thought I’d get the board’s opinion before jumping in and starting it. I thought that if we just did one thread for fighters, one for heavy bombers etc, it would give more scope for discussion - since most countries only used a small range of fighter aircraft (ie - Germany had Bf-109, Bf-110, Fw-190 and a couple of others) the debates would be over pretty quick. If we did every fighter on one thread, it might make it a bit more long running and diverse.

#5

As an example of how it would go (keeping the international flavour for now, which can be changed if the majority wish)

Mitsibushi A6M ‘Zeke’ (Japan) vs Curtiss P-40 ‘Warhawk’ (USA)

A6M

Max Speed - 351 mph (565 Km/h)
Service ceiling - 38517 ft (11740m)
Range - 710 miles (1143 km)
Rate of Climb - 19685ft (6000m) in 7 minutes
Armament - 1x 7.7mm (0.303in) and 1x 13.2mm (0.52in) MG in nose
2x 20mm (0.787in) cannon in wings
2x 60 or 250kg (132 or 551lb) bomb

Carrier borne fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1939 until the end of the war. It was extremely agile, outclassing the Buffalo, Hurricane and Warhawk fighters it faced at first. The agility came at the price of being very lightweight, with virtually no armour included in the design.

P-40

Max Speed - 378mph (609 km/h)
Service Ceiling - 38000 ft (11580m)
Range - 240 miles (386 km)
Rate of Climb - 15000ft (4570m) in 6.7 minutes
Armament - 6x 12.7mm (0.5in) MGs in wings
Up to 3x 227kg (500lb) bombs

Used by the USAAF, RAF and many other allied nations from 1938 until then end of the war. Very heavy armement of six 50-cal machine guns, but slower than many newer fighters, which eventually replaced it. Gave good service in the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Far East.

Everyone then has a couple of days to give their opinion about each aircraft and cast their vote for the best. The opinions should be based on purely the aircraft (ie assuming the pilots are of a similar skill and experience and that the combat is completely even, with no advantages).
Eventually we get to the grand final and the winner takes the title of official WW2 in colour best fighter

#6

BDL, if you remeber my discussion with Komissar http://www.ww2incolor.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=123, don’t you agree that also we had to agree about the criteria (hope it is correct) needed to declare ww2 in colour best fighter?
:smiley: :smiley:

#7

We would Dani (criteria is the right word) - I posted the top speed, rate of climb etc more as a starting point to discussion, rather than a be all and end all. If I was doing it for real, I’d probably expand the descriptions a bit to, and include more pros and cons reported by the pilots that flew them - for example the Bf-109 was difficult to control on take off for inexperienced pilots and a lot died in accidents, somthing which IMO would count against it in these types of discussion. We could use this thread as a kick round for ideas of how to set it out/what to include etc before we get started with the competition?

#8

For me the best fighters are german messerschmitt and british spitfire.

#9

Name the type 'cause Messerschmit it is the manufacturer! :slight_smile:

#10

Dani i think on plane thats obvious ,i think BF-109 :wink:

#11

:smiley: Bf 109 G?
I don’t mean to be rude, but I want to avoid any " sub marine spitfire" name of the plane. :smiley:

#12

ya, and what type of Spitfire?? Really guys if you know nothing about WW2 planes dont try to say something just for the sake of saying it!

#13

Thats an easy question…hands down P-51D. :slight_smile:

#14

Can we leave the opinions until the thread’s actually started please?

If people are interested, I’m off work tomorrow so I can get it sorted.

#15

Oh…Sorry. I thought the thread had been started. :oops:

#16

Right the list of nominees for the fighters debate is as follows:

Boomerang II (Australia)
MB152 (France)
D.520 (France)
Fw-190 D-9 (Germany)
Bf-109K-4 (Germany)
Tempest (UK)
Hurricane IIC (UK)
Spitfire XIV (UK)
G.55 Centauro (Italy)
MC.202 Folgore (Italy)
N1K1 Kyofu (Japan)
Ki-61 Hien (Japan)
A6M Zero (Japan)
Ki-84 Hayate (Japan)
Ki-43 Hayabusa (Japan)
Ki-44 Shoki (Japan)
P-39 Aircobra (USA)
P-63 Kingcobra (USA)
F2A Buffalo (USA)
P-36 (USA)
P-40E (USA)
F6F Hellcat (USA)
F4F Wildcat (USA)
P-51D Mustang (USA)
P-47 Thunderbolt (USA)
F-4U-4 Corsair (USA)
LaGG-3 (USSR)
La-7 (USSR)
MiG-3 (USSR)
Yak-9 (USSR)
IAR-80 (Romania)

The nominations are all single seat day fighters - therefore no P-38/Bf-110/Mosquito etc. If any fighters you desperately want to see have been missed, feel free to suggest them and I’ll add them to the list. The draw for the first round will be done tomorrow evening, giving you 24 hours (ish) to get your nominations in)

editted to add - I’ve replaced the Gloster Gladiator with the Hawker Tempest, I only realised last night that I’d forgotten it. :oops:

editted a second time - I realised I’d put the Wildcat in twice :oops:

#17

IAR-80 (Romania)

Edited: I want desperately( :slight_smile: ) to be included in the list for debate.

#18

The problem is that you can only compare fighters of a given period. Existing planes had weaknesses, that would be fixed in the next generation.

Jan

#19

Now we have to set the periods.

#20

That’s the idea Jan, if one plane is better than another then it won’t ‘go through’ as it where. I was hoping to keep it as simple as possible.