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I vote for the Hellcat. Not the most glamorous fighter but it was damn good at what it was intended for and was fielded in large enough numbers to really make a difference.
I don't think you can pick one fighter as 'most important'. Too many different theaters of operation requiring different capabilities from it's aircraft. No doubt the P-38 was very important in the earlier years of the war, as it was available in numbers and had very good range. While it performed well in the MTO & Pacific, it wasn't well suited to cold weather ops in the ETO. As the OP pointed out, pilot training and familiarization with the P-38 in the ETO was poor at best. The 38 had a habit of sudden engine failure, many planes & pilots were lost because of lack of training on how to handle the situation. Lockheed's chief test pilot Tony Levier was sent to England to tour P-38 units for training and achieved some success in reducing losses, but problems of reliability/serviceability never went away completely.
I would agree that in the Pacific Theater the F6F Hellcat would get the nod for most valuable fighter for the Allies.
In the ETO I would still pick the P-51, due to it's range and it's ability to best anything (except the ME-262) the Luftwaffe could put in the air. The continuation of the 8th AF strategic bombing campaign was in question prior to the arrival of the Merlin-engine Mustangs. Bomber losses were becoming prohibitively high due to lack of long range escorts. Without the P-51B & later models, it's quite possible the bombing of German war production/cities would have been greatly reduced, if not halted completely, and the war in Europe would dragged on considerably longer. The 51 may have had it's vulnerabilities, but the same can be said of any particular type. IMO the Merlin P-51 deserves the 'most important' slot, at least in the ETO.
Hmmm, I can't add the detail that you did, but my opinions:
British Spitfires for it's performance in the Battle of Britian.
and of course the Messerchmitt ME262 jet fighters - Germany could never make enough to make a difference, but they were very successful.
Spitfire is considered the overall best conventional fighter plane of the WW2.
ME262 is definitely the most advanced fighter plane development. Surprisingly, they could have been available by 1941, but thanks to a fella by the last name Milch, they were discarded from priority production. When Germans finally realized what they missed and all the advantages of a jet fighter, it was too late.
I'd also like to mention Yak3. Not because it was somehow outstanding by general standards. But look at it this way. Country needed a lot of very cheap fighter planes. Yak3 had extensive wood for metal substitution, making it very light - and very inexpensive to manufacturer.
If the Battle of Britain was the most important battle of WWII, I think the Spitfire wins hands down.
If you believe that daylight strategic bombing was the most important factor in the War in Europe, then supporters of the P-51 should prevail.
However if you believe as I do that the air war in the Pacific was indispensable to the victory over the Japanese, then I have to vote for the Hellcat.
I wish I would have had more time to fully appreciate the Hellcat experience...
The seller moved to a retirement community and has since passed away... he did leave me a black and white glossy with him in his plane and signed it adding "Fly Right"
The Hellcat must have been one incredible plane... he was in dog fights and shot down 5 Japanese planes on one mission.
The commander summed it up... it was the right plane at the right time for the Pacific.
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 09-30-2015 at 10:45 PM..
Reason: edit number
Spitfire is considered the overall best conventional fighter plane of the WW2.
ME262 is definitely the most advanced fighter plane development. Surprisingly, they could have been available by 1941, but thanks to a fella by the last name Milch, they were discarded from priority production. When Germans finally realized what they missed and all the advantages of a jet fighter, it was too late.
I'd also like to mention Yak3. Not because it was somehow outstanding by general standards. But look at it this way. Country needed a lot of very cheap fighter planes. Yak3 had extensive wood for metal substitution, making it very light - and very inexpensive to manufacturer.
The Spitfire was a very good plane, with some real strong suits. Good dogfighter (comparable to the BF-109) and a great rate of climb. But it was quite range limited throughout the war-as such there were lots of missions it couldn't even attempt. It was excellent for what it was designed for-a defensive fighter for protecting Britain. One of the best DESIGNS where the plane did the job it was designed to do, and did it very well.
No argument that the ME-262 was the most advanced plane of the war. Far faster than anything it faced. However, it was still a "niche" plane. Correct me if I'm wrong (no expert on this one) but I don't think it was much of a dogfighter. It took too long to accelerate when it lost energy, and wasn't a great turning plane. IIRC the vast majority of it's kills were against bombers. It was also very range limited and very costly to manufacture. Much like the Tiger and Panther tanks-very advanced, but too few in number and too specialized.
I agree with you on the Yak3-it was an outstanding fighter. Unfortunately it wasn't introduced until (again, IIRC) 1944. The Yak1 (introduced in 1940) was also a very good fighter, and produced in higher numbers. (BTW y a k gets you ***, really?)
It is amazing how quickly new planes were designed and built, and how rapidly technology progressed from 1940-1945. Which is what makes it so hard to find one "most important" or "best" one-but makes for an interesting thread.
Last edited by Toyman at Jewel Lake; 09-29-2015 at 08:55 PM..
Has anyone seen a chart or spreadsheet that compares the performance of all common WWII fighters? Also, a timeline of the various ones showing when they were available? I've read a fair amount...but get confused when bouncing between many different sources.
Both the Hellcat and the Corsair were great fighters. I admit to being a bit of a Corsair fanboy. It was significantly faster than the Hellcat (450mph vs 380) and actually went into service earlier. And...it looked far cooler. However...it failed to do the job it was designed to do, for nearly 2 more years. Specifically to be qualified for carrier landings. Which, really, was probably a good thing. It "freed up" the Corsair for use by the Marines, while the Navy took the nearly as capable, but much easier to land (and fly from what I understand) Hellcat. Both were produced in very large numbers (IIRC they were our 2 highest production fighters, could be wrong about that). I believe the Corsair was our "longest used" fighter, remaining in service until the late 50s.
While the Corsair was "better performing", I agree that the Hellcat was more important. It entered service in mid '43, a year plus before the Corsair was cleared for carrier landings. It was easier to land (the Corsair's long nose made visibility a problem and early versions were noted for the left wing stalling first on landing approaches). And it was more than good enough to take on the Japanese fighters of the time. Without the Hellcat the entire carrier-based Pacific campaign would have been badly hampered.
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