The good old spit and maybe strange but I've got a pashion for the supermarine walrus. Ugly little chap but saved a lot of lifes.
Yeah, I've got a passion for the Swordfish, mostly because it's so archaic and was still put to great use, what with the Taranto Raid and the Weakening of the Bismarck and all.
Hey Arne! that reminds me, I also really like the PBY! All of them! Here's one taking off in fromt of a group of PT boats!
[video]http://www.aircraftowner.com/videos/view/f22-raptor-on-the-flightline-tv-show_1769.html[/video] I like the P-51 Mustang in WW 2. This F 22 Raptor is right up there. At 7:06 you will see a vertical, maximum power pull 9 - 9.5 G's. At 8:00 mark, the pilot, at 10 degrees off vertical, is able to slide backwards without stalling. Freedom is not free!!
one of my favorate World War II era aircraft has to be the Mosquito, also known as " the wooden wonder" or" the tremites dream "
While there are a lot of gorgeous aircraft flown during WW2, many of which I am quite artial to, and some birds so ugly they fly by dint of pure character(such as the Vultee Vengeance), my choice as the most beautiful of them all has to be, arguably, the DO26, hands down. Dornier Do 26 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Long, sleek, and lethal-looking, she even sports a graceful gull wing.
Gotta be the F4U Corsair, a great aircraft that served from early WWII into the '60's. Designed in 1939 and first flown in 1940 it enjoyed the longest production run of any american fighter aircraft. 1942 to 1953. The only Korean War ace to fly a piston engined fighter, flew the Corsair. Many Japanese fighter pilots judged it the best U.S. fighter of the war. My second favorite would have to be the SBD-Dauntless, a very good plane that served the Navy and Marine Corps well. A true classic.
two planes in WWII fascinate me: the lockheed hudson bomber and the b-25G. the hudson, because saburo sakai claimed it was the only twin-engined bomber that, when being pursued by fighters, can loop up and back at you, roll upright, and blast away at the fighters with its forward guns. one zero then got on its tail and the thing did a snap roll: the fastest roll by a twin-engined bomber he had ever seen. as to the b-25G, who can't love a big plane that mounts at least 8 forward-firing .50 calibers plus one 75mm gun? i'll bet no AC-130 has sunk a ship. well one b-25G did.
For a design lover,there is nothing beating the curves of a P 51 !!!!!!!!! For a music lover,the Merlin plays a music that no plane(except Spit and Lanc ) can compete. This plane is an icon.
Like Gunney says"that's what i'm talking about!" Pure P-51 Mustang Whistle Sounds " Without Music ". - YouTube
My all time favorite is the P-47. Good in aerial combat and a solid platform at strafing. P-51 is 'purty' but "sloppy & loose" at ground attack mode. Best looking plane - I go with the Spitfire or Mustang. Current aircraft would have to be the F-15 Strike Eagle. The wanta' fly if I could plane - A-10 Thunderbolt II. for a PS: the AH-64 Apache for rotary wing aircraft "for the he** of it" fun flight. Fully armed of course.
Maybe not the greatest (except for the C-47), but my favorites..... Heavy bomber: B-17G IMHO the most beautiful airframe to ever fly through the clouds. And the toughest. Medium: B-25 Made famous by the Doolittle Raiders. Dive Bomber: Douglas SBD Dauntless, hero of the Battle of Midway. AAF Fighter: P-38 Counter-rotating props, tricycle gear and concentrated armament in her nose. Navy/Marine Fighter: F4U Corsair "Whistling Death" Cargo: C-47 The greatest aircraft of all time. German: FW-190D Japanese: None Steve
As a sci-fi nerd, there are a few that take the cake in my book: • P-38 • B-17 • Ho-229 • V-2 Great lines and tons of power on all of them!
