What Was the Best Fighter of WWII?

[BTs_GhostSniper]

I figured I would make a new poll since I really havn't made a totally worthless poll in quite a while.  I only included single-engine day fighters that were produced in huge enough numbers to affect the outcome of the air war and scored considerable numbers of air kills in their theaters of operation.

Notice there are no Russian-built or Italian-built fighters on the list.  That was no mistake.[/size] 

[*NADS Lo$eMoney]

The Me 262 was the best; but since its not on the list I'll go with the Bf109. It might not have had the range or speed of the p51, but it served all the way from 1939 all the way to 45, and bf109 pilots had more kills than in any other fighter.

[Toxic::Joka]

I think most people will just vote by national preference since few actually know anything about WW2 aircrafts, acordingly I voted for the Spitfire. Go brits! 

They did overcome "The battle of Britain" with those planes so they can't be bad.

[Mr.Mellow]

Went with Spitfires as well. Raping the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain and crippling them for the rest of the war= good times.

[BTs_GhostSniper]

The Me 262 was the best; but since its not on the list I'll go with the Bf109. It might not have had the range or speed of the p51, but it served all the way from 1939 all the way to 45, and bf109 pilots had more kills than in any other fighter.

Unfortunately, the Me 262 came far too late in the war, and in far too few numbers to affect the outcome of the air war.  I only included fighters that were built in huge numbers and scored enough kills in their theaters to really make a difference.  I also left out twin engine fighters and night fighters (the P-38 Lightning basically led the air war in the Pacific).

The Bf 109 was a great fighter, it was just a little old even by the time WWII started (few people realize it first flew in 1935 and was even used in the Spanish Civil War).  The Fw 190 was the premier Luftwaffe fighter during WWII, but was not produced in the high numbers of the Bf 109 (35,000 Bf 109's were built versus 20,000 Fw 190's).

Also, the Spitfire was another old fighter by WWII standards.  Its basic airframe first flew as a racing plane with pontoons in the early 30's.  Very good fighter, although the Hawker Hurricane probably deserves more credit in the Battle of Britain than the Spitfire (the Spitfire still wasn't available in as high of numbers as the Hurricane at that time).[/size]

[KoS.Rebel]

My vote goes for the messerschmitt because it was one of the fastest planes during its time and it was a bitch to take down for american pilots and their mustangs.

[BTs_GhostSniper]

My vote goes for the messerschmitt because it was one of the fastest planes during its time and it was a bitch to take down for american pilots and their mustangs.

Well, wasn't too hard for my grandfather to take down three Bf 109's flying his P-38 Lightning.  Too bad he never got a chance to fly the P-51.[/size]

[KoS.Rebel]

Wasnt the lightning the answer to the germans invention of the messer? I though the messer came first and we couldnt catch so we invented the lightning and then from their out we dominated due to the fact our pilots were far superior?

[*NADS Lo$eMoney]

all due respect but German pilots were the best in the war.  They had the most kills (mostly due to the fact that  there was a lot of stuff to shoot down over Germany).  I can't remember the exact number, but the top 10 German fighter pilots all had over 200 kills.

[BTs_GhostSniper]

Wasnt the lightning the answer to the germans invention of the messer? I though the messer came first and we couldnt catch so we invented the lightning and then from their out we dominated due to the fact our pilots were far superior?

No, both the P-38 Lightning and the Bf 109 flew long before WWII began.  They are rare in that respect, as most of the other fighters that served during WWII were developed closer to the beginning of the war.[/size]

all due respect but German pilots were the best in the war.  They had the most kills (mostly due to the fact that  there was a lot of stuff to shoot down over Germany).  I can't remember the exact number, but the top 10 German fighter pilots all had over 200 kills.

No, that is not true.  The German pilots had the most kills because they weren't rotated home from combat every year like the American pilots were.  Big difference when you are flying non-stop throughout the war, instead of only in combat for 1 year periods, or less.

As for the German pilots being better trained, well that was only true at the beginning of the war.  By the time 1942-1943 rolled around, the American pilots were much better trained then everyone else.[/size]

[*NADS Lo$eMoney]

A country doesnt have much time to train its pilots when it is being bombed every day. Or much time to afford their pilots any time off for that matter.

[BTs_GhostSniper]

A country doesnt have much time to train its pilots when it is being bombed every day. Or much time to afford their pilots any time off for that matter.

Exactly.  Sucks to be on the losing end of a war you started, doesn't it?[/size] 

[KoS.Rebel]

Hahah pwned.

[*NADS Lo$eMoney]

Hahah pwned.

Comming from the guy who thought the lightning was the answer to the bf109......

[bronto]

well, UK was being bombed like none other and they still managed to hold their own in the air, so i'm not sure if that's such a great example. germans were just stretched too damn far i suppose.

[KoS.Rebel]

Lose if ur head wasnt so far up ur ass ud notice that i was asking if it was. But hey what can i expect....

[*NADS Lo$eMoney]

Haha, man rebel, calm down.  There is no need to insult eachother.  The truth of the matter is your opinions are misinformed. I mean you said that the bf109 was was one of the fastest planes in the war, which is completely wrong, it wasn't slow, but compared to the me262 the me 169, and the Glouster Meoter it was nothing.  In fact you even say that the bf109 was fast enough to be a "bitch" to the mustang, but the fact is the mustang was a faster and superior plane. The lightning was relatively fast, but it was used more for its range in the pacific campaign and was hardly used in Europe.  It had very poor cornering and had little success versus German fighters. Furthermore the mustang came out after the lightning, and the reason for its production was that the lightning had proved ineffective against german fighters as a long range escort for bombers, so they designed the mustang to do the job the lightning was supposed to do.  I could go even further and tell you the different engines they installed in each plane. I could tell you about the drop tank they formatted for the mustangs to give it longer range. I could tell you about the balancing mechanism the bf109 had that made it possible for the Gemans to mount their guns in the propellar. Shit, I could even tell you that American pilots nick named the bf109 "the blow job" because they enjoyed shooting them down so much that the sensation the got from the kill was similar to that of getting your cock sucked. And finally, if the bf109 was "such a bitch" for mustangs to take down, how is it that Chuck Yeager shot down 5 of them in one day? Don't go around flaming and talking shit when you obviously don't have much knowledge on the subject, son.

[BTs_GhostSniper]

well, UK was being bombed like none other and they still managed to hold their own in the air, so i'm not sure if that's such a great example. germans were just stretched too damn far i suppose.

Actually, the British trained their pilots out of the range of German bombers (not to mention you had American pilots flying in defense of Britain with the RAF from the very start).  Plus the German bombing effort wasn't nearly as intense as the Allied bombing effort.  The Germans did very well, all things considered.[/size]

[bronto]

not being a dick, but are you sure from the very start or just from the time the us officially entered the war?

[BTs_GhostSniper]

not being a dick, but are you sure from the very start or just from the time the us officially entered the war?

Yes, from the very start.  Many American pilots resigned their commissions in the U.S. Military to go fly in the Eagle Squadrons under the Royal Air Force.  Also, many civilians who couldn't get into the U.S. Military flying program joined the RAF and RCAF to fly in WWII.  These American flyers in the Eagle Squadrons were transferred to the U.S. Army Air Force in September 1942.  They flew Spitfires and Hurricanes right along with their British counterparts in defense of Great Britain.