The WWII fighter thread!

[Simon Darkshade]

You know, if you ever wish to discuss any of the merits of these various aircraft, or their importance, instead of just showing pretty pictures, then I'd be up for it.
It's certainly needed, with more voting for Spitfires than Hurricanes

 

[Mikoyan]

You may have a point there.
The My-26 Myrsky was a finnish made fighter manufactured at tractor factories, they were manufactured from 1943-1948, they saw a great deal of action during the winter war against the Soviet Union, one finnish ace scored 112 kills with his Myrsky.
Armament: Two 7.62 mm Machine Guns, Two SjVAK cannons, rockets stolen from the Soviets were also used.

 

[Crazy Eddie]

Not a true fighter, but the most versitile plane in WWII.

When the prototype first flew, it was faster than any fighter in service anywhere in the world.

 

[Case]

Simon, I voted for the P-51D Mustang. IMHO, its clearly the best fighter of the war based on its long range, high manuverability, good armament and excelent visibility. All this was confirmed in combat when P-51D pilots essentialy destroyed the Luftwaffe in early 1944.

And now, a few pictures

The Boomerang:

An Australian built Mosquito:

And the Vultee Vengance (which was a lot worse then it looked)

 

[Mikoyan]

The Yak-9
Manufacturer: Yakovlev OKB, Moscow
Type: Single-seated monoplane Fighter
Engine: One Klimov VK-105PF 1.260 horse-powers
Max speed: 700km/h
Armament: one 20mm SjVAK cannon, two 12,7mm Machineguns
Manufactured: 1942-1946
Users: Soviet Union, Poland, France

The Yak-9 was to most people the best Soviet Fighter of WWII.
At one time, a squadron of Yak-9's flew down to bari, italy to aid a group of partisans, fighting against the Axis forces, the squadron suffered extremely few losses.
What do you think of it?

 

[Simon Darkshade]

Ah! Good to see another believer, and an Aussie to boot!
Aren't all of those planes still in use with the RAAF ?
Again, I vote for the Spitfire as the most overrated fighter of the war, and maintain the Mustang to be one of the key weapons of the war itself
(And my opinion is never humble ) and would love to debate the issue with the elusive proponents of the Me-117(ugh, private joke with my own unconsciousness)

 

[Mikoyan]

MiG-1/3- The MiG era begins
Manufacturer: Mikoyan-Gurevitj OKB, Moscow
Type: Single seated Monoplane fighter/attack plane
Engine: One Ash-82A 1.600 horsepowers
Max speed: 650 km/h
Armament: Three 7,62 SjKAS machineguns, Two 20mm SjVAK cannons and up to six RS-82 rockets
Manufactured: 1940-1944
Users: Soviet Union
In late 1939 Artem I. Mikoyan and Michail I. Gurevitj got an order from the red air force, they wanted a new monoplane fighter to outmatch rival Luftwaffe and Romanian fighters, over 6,000 were built, though not many survived the war. The MiG-3 was one of the first planes to carry air-to-ground rockets.
What do you think of it?

 

[Mikoyan]

And CurtSibling, you're welcome to post here any time.

 

[CurtSibling]

Thanks Mike!

You are true Defender of the Skies!

ENEMY ACE has returned from the flames of CIV III,
A happy man after satisfying himself that C3 is the best
game he as played in years!

Anyway, check out this awesome He162 variant!

 

[CurtSibling]

Another classic, the deadly P-38!

 

[CurtSibling]

The Soviet guards of the sky...

Bane of the luftwaffe...the Yak 9!

 

[CurtSibling]

Funny pic:

"Heinrich! How many times do I haf to tell you!
The landing gear lever is here!"

HAW! Bad landing fellers!!

 

[CurtSibling]

On a sombre note;

A fallen eagle...
Where are all the young men who fought for all nations in the air and perished?

There is no glory for the ones who are shot down...

 

[CurtSibling]

The American Eagles over Europe!

Two mighty P51D mustangs! With P40 pal!

 

[CurtSibling]

A glimpse of the aerial future, but too late for the Luftwaffe...

The HE 162..

 

[CurtSibling]

A prototype that never was awaits takeoff...

 

[Esca]

Way back, Mikoyan posted a picture of a Spanish Me109. Hispano HA112.

These were used as the German aircraft in the movie, The Battle of Britain. Ironically, they are powered by RR Merlins!

A lot of the other aircraft were large, flying scale models. Some with 12ft wingspans.

Some people were singing the praises of the Lightning. P38

As I understand it the British ordered some, but when they evaluated it against captured Germen fighters they cancelled the order.
I guess they thought it was okay in the "second eleven" against the easy beats, the Japs, but it couldn't hack it in the first team against the Germans.

In my opinion, the De Havilland Mosquito was the best overall aircraft on the Allied side.
As someone said, when it came out, it was faster than any fighter flying.
It was almost impossible to intercept in the high level bombing role. This was true, right up to the advent of the Me262.
It could also carry the same bomb load as the early B17 to Berlin. (4000lbs.)
In the high level role it had a loss rate of less than 1%. Including mechanical problems.

There. That should get some conversation going.

 

[CurtSibling]

Originally posted by Esca

In my opinion, the De Havilland Mosquito was the best overall aircraft on the Allied side.
As someone said, when it came out, it was faster than any fighter flying.
It was almost impossible to intercept in the high level bombing role. This was true, right up to the advent of the Me262.
It could also carry the same bomb load as the early B17 to Berlin. (4000lbs.)
In the high level role it had a loss rate of less than 1%. Including mechanical problems.

There. That should get some conversation going.

I agree, the DH Mosquito was a top class war machine!

Th He 219 Uhu (eagle owl) was also a deadly opponent in the air,
On an early test mission, the german night fighter took out 7 Lancasters! And later became a match for the Mosquito!

Fortunatly it was not built in large numbers...due to demands for single engine fighters.

But being a Brit, I say the Mosquito ruled!!!

 

[Case]

Its true that the lightning was good in the Pacific but proved unsucessful in Europe. There are a few reasons for this:
* The Lightning's engines permormed a lot better in the warm air of the Pacific then they did in the cold air over Europe
* Japanese aircraft were typically lightly armed and armoured, and because of this they were at a disadvantage against the heavily armed and armoured lightnings. In contrast German aircraft had decent armour and armament.
*The Lightinings long range was a more important factor in the Pacific then it was in Europe

As for the Mosquito: I'd definetly agree that it was the best 'all round' aircraft of WW2. One of the mysteries of the war is why the RAF didn't use the Mosquito instead of the Lancaster as Bomber Commands primary aircraft. The Mosquito could carry roughtly the same bombload to Berlin as the American B-17, and flew so high and fast that they were nearly impossible to intercept.

 

[Alcibiaties of Athenae]

Originally posted by Esca
Some people were singing the praises of the Lightning. P38

As I understand it the British ordered some, but when they evaluated it against captured Germen fighters they cancelled the order.
I guess they thought it was okay in the "second eleven" against the easy beats, the Japs, but it couldn't hack it in the first team against the Germans.

This post is also for Case, to clarify about the P-38.

First, the British odered an example without turbo-superchargers, and as such, it's Allison engines could not perform at altitude.

Second, the early lightnings had a fatal flaw called "compressibility".
When the plane dived, it would become unstable, and often break apart.
It also lacked a heated cockpit in all versions up to "J", which made it ardous to fly at 20,000 feet over europe.

The Germans gave the plane the nickname "Fork-tailed devil", and feared it greatly in North Africa and Italy.
In fact, a P-38F could turn inside a BF-109F at any altitude up to 10,000 feet, as well as outgun it (4x .50 MM ,1x20mmCn vs 2 MM and 1x20mmCn), and also was faster in level flight than the Messerscmitt fighter.

A special "kit" was delivered to Lightning squadrons in 1944 that solved compressibilty and had heated cockpit equipment. USAAF pilots reported that they felt that the P-38L OUTPERFORMED the vaunted P-51D Mustang in ALL catigories with these improvements.

The Lightning takes a backseat to NO propellar fighter in the second world war.

There are a number of fine books on this AC, but "P-38, Fork-Tailed Devil" by Martin Caiden is highly recommended. It includes numerous ancedotes from the men who flew and fought in this fine aircraft.