Favourite Aircraft of WWII

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

 

ah what-if time eh ?

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

 

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....

 

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....

 

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

 

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


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

 

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?

 

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

 

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

 

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.

 

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....

 

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

 

The P-39 was arguably the best looking US plane. The original ones that flew in pacific in 42 did not have sufficient altitude performance. Also the motor being in the center instead of the front made it hard to work on. Some pilots said the wings were heavier than the wings on the P-40, & therefore the P-40 was more maneuverable. It did get upgrades in the P-39 Q & later the P-63 King cobra. I believe it was Yeager that said the 39 or perhaps P-63 could outroll & outturn a Mustang. bout all I know.

 

Gentleman,Gentleman!

I refuse to believe that after three pages of Posts, no one had made reference to the....

HAWKER HURRICANE IIc

A realy beautifull plane

Best Regards
Clausewitz

 

I like the TAnkBuster version...

 

Hah!

Another person with good taste!

Lets start a "Front" for the glorification of the Hurricane

Best Regards
Clausewitz

 

Yes the German pilots really loved those Hurricanes ! Roll up big kill numbers with out raising a sweat.
Welcome to the forums.