Which was the best aircraft of WW2?

Which is your favourite aircraft of WW2?

To me the best aircraft was the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. Although it was considered obsolete in the mid late stages of war, in 1941-1942 the ¨ Infamious Zero ¨ was almost unbeatable, making lots of aces such as Hiroyoshi Nishizawa.

"Best" Aircraft in what Categories? And how do you determine "Best"? Fighter,Interceptor,Light Bomber,Medium bomber.Heavy,Bomber,Dive Bomber,Torpedo Bomber,Multi-purpose,Ect? And for some the "Best" may not be what they consider their "favorite". It could be two seperate things.

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

Favorate Aircraft?
Have a look at this thread.

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well i know fav does not mean best. Sry i mean best fighter

The best aircraft of any category depends on the time frame and the numbers employed. Not to mention the strategy of use. You can also get into issues of fuel and materials. Many of the German and Japanese later aircraft suffered from poor fuel and lack of specialty metals that would have kept them flying more often, not to mention the lack of trained pilots.

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Exactly. There are alot of factors to vetor in when trying to come up with a "Best". And for me one of my "Favorite" aircraft is the Brewster Buffaloe. Not exactly one of the "Best". I have a few others that I happen to like alot. None would be considered a "Best".

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

In my opinion the spitfire all the way, it can be used in many different roles from close bomber support, photo recon, interceptor, tank buster, flying CAP's, ground attacks and an all round great aircraft.

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My opinion would be the P51, like the Spitfire but...different, if you get my idea.

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Yea the Mustang in my opinion was the best for bomber escort by far.

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the best fighters (as far as i know) to roll-out before august 1945 but hardly mattered for the war are:

spitfire mk 22
p-51H
mitsubishi reppu
fw ta152
la-20(?)

of those employed in large numbers to a point that they could affect the outcome of a battle or campaign, definitely the p-51D.

I believe it is the la-5 and la-7 which you are referring to?

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I'd vote for either the Ta152 or the P51D Mustang

Yay....here comes the P51 Best Aircraft brigade. It wasnt even the best US aircraft. The best aircraft in WW2 and the most important was in my opinion the C47 not only the best aircraft of the war, but arguably the best of all time. Its hard to dispute that fact.

As far as fighter planes go, throughout the war I think that its hard to go past the Spitfire for the development and role it played throughout the war. It remained able to take on any plane from the start of the war to finish. In a similar logic I think that the ME109 and FW190 come close.

Again it all depends on the role in which you are placing this aircraft, would you use the C47 in intercept a He111 coming over your lines, or would you use a Spitfire to deliver paratroopers?

No, you wouldn't because each and every plane has been designed for a different role and different situcations, so you cant base these anwers in an overall situation but in there designed roles.

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They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
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It also depends on the combat zone. Some aircraft did better in the pacific than the european theater, and vice versa.

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The P-51 had one significant advantage over the Spitfire: its longer range, which made it better for escorting bombers. In other respects, the Spitfire was at least its equal, and was a more agile dogfighter. And bear in mind that the Spitfire served throughout the war yet was still as good as anything else at the end, whereas the P-51 was a later, mid-war design. Finally, the Spitfire made a vital contribution to winning the most important air battle of the war, the Battle of Britain: if that had been lost, the war would have been over and Hitler would have ruled Europe.

The Bf 109 had an equally long history and also proved itself capable of being massively upgraded, but was less able to cope with the extra power and weight, becoming in its final versions a postively dangerous plane for anyone but an expert to fly.

The Fw 190 was a better and more versatile plane than the Bf 109, and (depending on the versions we're comparing) as good a fighter as the Spitfire, but was a couple of years later.

It's a pity IMO that the USAAF didn't persevere with the A-36 dive-bomber version of the P-51; that would have been very useful later in the war.

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"Best" Aircraft in what Categories? And how do you determine "Best"? Fighter,Interceptor,Light Bomber,Medium bomber.Heavy,Bomber,Dive Bomber,Torpedo Bomber,Multi-purpose,Ect? And for some the "Best" may not be what they consider their "favorite". It could be two seperate things "Best" or "Favorite". And as pointed out by another poster, in what Theaters? The best in the ETO? Pacific? Eastern Europe? The Med? Or the "Best" of each indivdual Air Force? Basically what happens to these "Best" threads is that they come down to the same arguements over and over.

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

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Anothony 'Swoff ' Swofford : A story: A man fires a rifle for many years, and he goes to war. And afterward he turns the rifle in at the armory, and he believes he's finished with the rifle. But no matter what else he might do with his hands, love a woman, build a house, change his son's diaper; his hands remember the rifle.

This is absolutely true JCF.

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They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We shall remember them. Lest We Forget

What about the C-46 or the C-54?

Yes if you have Chuck Norris at the controls.

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Chuck Norris could build his own plane out of bubble gum and paddle pop sticks and use it to chase down an F-16, and win

__________________
They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We shall remember them. Lest We Forget