What's wrong with it, Fenrir? Much as I like the Mustang, the Zero's always been my true favorite WWII aircraft.

Here, click up this article; I wrote it (sorry about the poor editing; that's my editor's fault, not mine): http://www.wwiitech.net/main/japan/a...a6m/index.html

Yours,
Paul

There are so many to choose from. But I would have to say that my favorite bombers were the B-17 and the Lancaster. My favorite fighters are the Spitfire and The Corsair.

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It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.
--General Douglas MacArthur

Kick ass article Paul. really good reading.

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"Don't send me any more Lithuanians ... my Russian soldiers keep shooting them"
Sturmbannführer Magill
Staff officer, SS-Regiment Dirlewanger, in correspondence to the SS main office.

Thank'ee kindly, Fenrir!

Actually, Timothy's right--there are just so many to choose from.

Your ob't servant,
Paul

*bump* for newer members - and older ones who may have changed their minds...

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

STUKA!!!

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"Watch that Fu*ker, he'll 'ave someones eye out!" King Harold at Hastings 1066.

I think we're going to have to put RedBaron under sedation.... [img]tongue.gif[/img]

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

Ok, this is a little story I recently came across when reading up on the German assault on Festung ( ) Holland, May 1940.

Two officers were stationed at the Grebbeberg, the main Ducth line of defense, when they were subject of an Stuka attack. Both men took cover and had the might of these planes unleashed almost on top of them.

When the attack was over, one officer looked into the pale face of the other and said: "Well, yes, that does work laxativying"

(forgive me my spelling...Gordon)...

Mine is still the mossie...because it is such a beautiful plane...

[ 11. June 2004, 12:36 PM: Message edited by: Stevin ]

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"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!" - Homer Simpson

For the RAF it has to be the Mossie XXX nf.

for the US the P-51D

for Germany.............too many, the heavy Fw 190A-8/R8, the Ju 88G-6 nf, the Ta 152H which was never able to prove itself and of course a load of what-if's

E ~

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E ~

go/ho-229 - It's just one of the coolest "almost" designs of ww2 - way ahead of its time.

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"I die for my fatherland. I have a clear conscience." - Admiral Wilhelm Canaris

I had to go-ho ( sorry ! [img]redface.gif[/img] ) and look that one up, drache - it's that flying-wing-thing from Germany.....

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

ah what-if time eh ?

Horten flying wing and the ancestor of the US stealth program..........

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E ~

crap why does cancer medicine have to taste like s♪♪t anyway ?

ok fantasy time guyz........how about the

Me P 1100 sweptback ?

the inverted Ju 287 V5 ?

or the Me P 1101, now that is a fine looking craft... (!)

did you all know that the flying disaster He 162 had experiments done with forward as well as swept wing desings ?

ok back to the real world....

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E ~

Now on the just plain (plane?) werid side there is the Blohm u. Voss BV 141.



Now tht is one lopsided airplane!

I remember making an Airfix kit of this strange aircraft when I was about 10 - had rather a soft-spot for it ever since....

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

I have to say, some of the 'what if' designs are beautiful. The ho-299 is a hell of a beaut!


As far as "cute but 'plane' weird" goes:
ta-238



or better still the Fw-500

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There's no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war. Except its ending.

Why am I suddenly filled with a sense of foreboding that Stefan is playing Germany...


I can see FW 500s dropping onto New York!!!

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"Watch that Fu*ker, he'll 'ave someones eye out!" King Harold at Hastings 1066.

You aren't supposed to give away what you read in my orders!!!

Seriously though, if you look at some of the designs they are VERY clever but often highly over coplicated. Then again, we all know about the Heinkle jet design that flew in 1939, IIRC Hitler determined the jet to be a 'defensive weapon' and held the project up.

As for my real favorite aircraft, it is a tough one, the Mosquito rates fairly high and the Spit Mk. 1 just for its looks (to my mind it was the most beautiful of the series, if not the best fighter, it is amazing how far it came by the end of the war), with the FW 190 D-9 topping the 'best fighter' stakes.

Actually, I am not sure whether it counts but how about the DH Vapire, it flew before the end of the war and some had been delivered before VJ Day. What do you folks think?

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There's no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war. Except its ending.

Favorite "what-if"plane ouglas Skyraider. [couple years too late] Favorite "real" plane: P-38 Lightning.

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The Vampire didn't enter squadron service until 1946, so didn't fire a shot in WWII, unlike the Meteor.

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

True Martin, but it was better than the Meteor

The other thing is, it first flew in 1943 and the first Mk.1 flew 20th April 1945 (Hitlers birthday no less) so I think it counts.

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There's no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war. Except its ending.

Hmmmm...then you could definitely allow the Lockheed P80 Shooting Star, some of which flew in Italy toward the end of the war but couldn't find anything to shoot at....

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

C,mon the Fiesler storch was the boss, but seriously the FW 500 looks cool. Did it fly like the flying flapjack? or was it the mysterious saucer technology we hear about.

I started off liking the 109, then learned about the 109 & D-9. Its east to like the famous ones, the Spit, 109, & Mustang. I rather like the Yak 3, as it incorporated the best qualities of the 109 & spit. Flipped motor & nose cannon, as well as the wide wing for fab turning quality. It was slower than 109 I know.One was at Santa Monica a few yrs back & the test pilot there said it could smoke a Mk 9 Spit, the Mustang, & anything really exapt the Bearcat. The latest interest is the P-40 Q. it had got rid of the ugly chin scoop, replaced with Corsair style root scoops, & a cool looking canopy, a top speed of 422. wonder how it would manuever compared to a Mustang. The old P-40's were no match. I spoke to a Tuskeegee airman about that. He said the Mustang was a whole league beyond the P-40. Um, also like the Tony & Frank. Sumpthin like that.

What about those lovely P-39 Aircobras. They look so graceful weather on land or in the sky. Not to mention the 37 mm gun..

Welcome to the forums, hamburg !
I have to admit to knowing very little about the P-39 : -

http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/p39-1.jpg

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson