This new series will explore the qualities of the greatest fighter aircraft from all the combatants of WWII. From the Spitfire to the Messerschmitt Me-109, the protaganists of the Pacific war, the F6F Hellcat versus the Zero, the excellent Lavochkin LA-7, the mercurial P-51 Mustang and the late war German fighters. Plus more.

So what was the best fighter of the war?

I've chosen three types, but you're welcome to disagree.

Regards Bob.

The introduction to Bob's series has been published on the frontpage.

i'd have to say the mustang was the best. it's the popular choice, but i think it actually was. I didn't have the gaudy kill stats of the Me109, but it was faster, and had a greater range. it could out turn the vaunted spitfire, and was faster then the twin engine lightening.
It wasn't in the war long enough to build up awsome stats, but I believe it would have. It's still the fastest piston powered plane in the world.

I also like the lightening. ugly but awsome, anything that can shoot down yamamoto is good enough for me.

I guess the Me262 might have been better, but they had very little time to prove itslef, but they did have several aces in the very short time they flew.

maybe more later

Thanks sdibello. We'll be kicking off the forum with the P-51, then detailing two more US fighters. Obviously due to time and space constraints I can't detail every fighter aircraft of the war, so there are omissions, some of them surprising. However this is a interactive post and input from the members will make it more exciting.

I agree to a point about the Me-262, it came too late to really impact on the war and then it was only in the last days of the war with the introduction of the R4M rockets it became the complete weapon system to take on the bomber formations Galland had been seeking. I think part of the mystique about the Me-262 is it was the only jet fighter of the war to engage enemy aircraft in combat and that is why it figures so prominantly in 'what if' discussions.

Don't worry there will be a section on the 'what if's' with a couple of big surprises. The only issue I have is the P-38 Lightning. I reckon it was one of the best looking fighters of the war, but don't take my word for it.
Regards Bob.

I just finished reading through all these articles. Very impressive work, Bob! You've got a lot of knowledge of these planes that were made famous by the greatest of wars. Out of curiosity, are you a pilot yourself?

Also, the last article I found was Part I of Bf-109. Is this the most recent article in the series?

Thanks for your comments Justin and welcome to DS.

I'm in two minds whether to continue this series for a number of reasons. I'm not exactly sure if people have enjoyed the articles and would have thought there might have been more input. With each article I have attempted to find something different about the subjects and if I could i would re-write some of the earlier articles as ongoing research in other areas unearths some surprising information. I particuarly discovered this when researching the Me-109.

Sources of previously unpublished materials on the air war continue to come out at a prodigious rate and in cases expose certain log held 'facts' as anything but. This was particuarly true of the 109, which many German pilots still considered to be a favourite mount as Germany's war fortunes declined. Some of the supposed deficiencies in the late war 109 are more founded in legend rather than fact and this is true of many aircraft of the period, both Allied and Axis.

Since the war many articles, books, films have downplayed the 109 as an overburdened, obsolete fighter by 1944, but it was anything but. Sure it had limitations like any aircraft, but still an all in the hands of a capable pilot it was still able to match it, with the most modern Allied types. This is a tribute to the original design. Though small which limited modifications to airframe and wings, the prime goal was to fit the most powerful engine in the smallest airframe to attain the highest performance possible. As evidenced with late model G variants and the K-4 variant Messerschmitt was still acheiving this goal in 1945.

So what was the best fighter of WWII? I still don't know and I doubt could say this type or that type is the best. Rather I would think several types held the mantel at various stages of the war. And would it surprise anyone if I said Daimler Benz powered Macchi fighters or the Lakovichan La-7 were very high on the list. They've certainly been overlooked/ignored in such debates and by history and yet they have very good credentials for the title of the best fighter of WWII.

Regards Bob.

Bob, that's unfortunate about the lack of response you got the articles. I've got a couple of friends that are WWII buffs. I've told them about this forum and hopefully they will join in the fun.

You said the Me-109 has been down played in recent films and books. Can you give an example? What is their reasoning?

I think a lot of the rumoured deficiencies of the type were begun by other manufacturers during the prototype stage. A lot of prestige and money was attached to the race for the first modern fighter of the Luftwaffe.

By definition WWII propaganda also played a role and much was made of (and still is) the weak and undercarriage of the 109. This has been held as one of the great inadequacies of the type. And yet the Spitfire's undercarriage was even more narrow. From many accounts of the pilots who flew the Messerschmitt, she was quite stable on the ground, if you obeyed SOP. This is true of any aircraft. For the record something like 1,500 Me-109's were lost in take off or landing accidents during the war, but many of these crashes were caused by pilot error, rather than any inadequacey of the design.

Regards Bob.

Bob, you have a great series going here. I was only able to read the first two, but I will certainly read the rest tonight.

When I think of the "best" weapons, tanks, or aircraft, I try to break them out into different categories. What was the fastest? What was the most feared? What did the most damage on the ground? What did the most damage in the air?

My personal favorite would be what was the most likely to get your ass home in one piece?

They all had their strengths and weaknesses (some stronger than others), but I want to look at it from the perspective of "If I were a fighter pilot in World War II, which plane would I want to be in?"

I'm not sure how I'd answer it just yet, but when I am, I'll be back here.

Bob,

I'd have to pick the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.

Which was used in the Later Period of the Pacific Theater.

I will always say the F6F - most air-to-air kills of the war = winner.

The measure of success for any combat aircraft is it's ability to bring home pilot/crew safely. In this regard the Hellcat and Thunderbolt were the best American fighters. Also being equipped with aircooled radial engines, they were much more robust in combat and could absorb considerable punishment, where as a single hit in the wrong area was enough to bring down a fighter powered by a liquid cooled engine.

But all this is only part of the equation. The most important aspect of any piece of military hardware is the human element. A classic case in point is over Normandy when a force of Fw-190's bounced a squadron of P-38's, managing to knock down several. But when another squadron of P-38's rushed to their comrades aid, the Fw-190's copped a pasting, which from a technical point of view, should not have happened. This was a measure of the declining standards of German fighter pilots.

British test pilots after the war were astounded by the performance capabilities of the Fw-190D-9, so much so several of them would prefer the type over any other fighter in a combat situation. Why, when the combat record of the the Fw-190D was not that spectacular? Simply again the decline in standards of German pilots would have a lot to do with it, but also the worsening war situation meant this advanced fighter just simply could not be used to it's full potential. This situation is also true of Kurt Tank's masterpiece the Ta-152 and of course the Me-262.

Put simply the whole arguement of what was the best fighter, is not as simple as we think.

Regards Bob.

All the planes you've written about thus far had their time to shine. Each could brag of being the best at one point or another. When you pull out and look at all the planes, the one that was the best at the end was the P-51.

Had the war continued, I believe this plane would have surpassed all previous records set by other planes in the war. Then again, in that "if" situation, something better could come along and make it obsolete.

I will continue this series within time constraints.

The point that is obvious, several fighters can lay claim to the title of the best, but not one fighter dominated for the entire war. What is amazing is how the two early fighters-the Spitfire and the Me-109 were still very competitive at the cessation of hostilities.

Regards Bob

Sorry for my ignorance Colonel Kollins, welcome to the forum and thankyou for your input. Certainly the P-51 can lay claim to the title and it's almost certain the next generation of fighters would have outclassed all existing fighters.

Ignoring jet fighter development for the moment, piston engine types of the next generation were awesome in their potential. Test pilots who flew the martin Baker Mb 5 reckon it was far superior to the Spitfire and of course the Hawker fury series were dynamic aircraft. grumman's final development of excellent fighters-the Bearcat would have at a stroke made all naval piston engine fighters obsolete. it was a superlative aircraft. As I said before the Daimler Benz powered Maachi's offered great potential and final developments of the Soviet Lakovichan were the equal of anything else flying. The Germans had three very powerful piston fighters about to enter service in 1945, the Ta-152H, Ta-152C and the Do-335, the latter was everything the Luftwaffe had prayed for since 1942. Finally the last 'new' piston engine development of the war the Wackett designed Ca-15 was a masterpiece, despites it's overlong gestation.

Regards Bob.