13 Best planes of WWII


Number 1: F6F Hellcat 
This plane accounted for 75% of all aerial victories by the US navy in the Pacific. Before it came into the field the old F4F wildcats where brutally outmatched by the Zero's of the Japanese. With its Pratt and Whitney R-2800 it had power to spare when maneuvering. The hellcat earned its name with a 19:1 kill ratio. A great feat of engineering.

Number 2: P-47 Thunderbolt
Another beefy, bird this plane is powered with the same engine as the F6F. This plane spawned from the request of a light weight interceptor. It obviously did not end up being light weight but it Excelled in its new role as a fighter and later ground strike Attack craft.

Number 3: Supermarine spitfire
The hero of the Battle of Britain. Highly maneuverable, fast and packing a respectable punch. The Spitfire entered service in 1938 in time to battle the Luftwaffe for air superiority. It was short range but that was not a particularly important trait as this plane was used mostly for defense of the British isles at the beginning of the war and later on it could be equipped with fuel drop tanks.

Number 4: P-51 Mustang
The only reason this is not higher is because of the other planes more impressive records. The P-51 has a serious bid at being the best fighter of WWII. It had an exceedingly high range and could fly right alongside bombers for the entire duration of their missions. This plane even bested the Me-262, a jet fighter.

Number 5: Fw-190
The German butcher bird. It started out as bomber interceptor but it could not match the high altitude performance of the P-51 But found much more success as a lower altitude terror. with 4 20mm cannons and 2 7.7mm machine guns, if it got a shot off it often wouldn't need another.

Number 6: Bf-109
The workhorse of the Luftwaffe. The 109 has been fighting since the Spanish Civil war. Most German aces earned their 5 kills in this. Germans utilized its good energy retention to boom and zoom on lower flying targets.

Number 7: P-38 Lightning
A two engine interceptor primarily used in the Pacific due to its high speed and long range. The P-38's most notable mission was the assassination of Admiral Yamamoto as he was flying across Asia.

Number 8: A6M Zero
This Plane contributed to the fall of Asia. Until planes like the Hellcat came along Japanese air superiority reigned supreme. It achieved its great maneuverability and range with a lightweight plywood construction.

Number 9: P-39
The Russians absolutely adored this plane. It didn't see much use with us forces due to its bad high altitude performance. Russian front aircraft typically flew low and this plane had great low altitude performance. Which is a good thing as it utilized its 39mm cannon in order to ground attack.

Number 10: Yak-3
Well liked by pilots and maintenance crews alike, this was the soviet go to dogfighter. It can be compared to most things built by the Russians. Durable and easy to maintain it had high power to weight ratio that allowed it to climb very effectively.

Number 11: P-40 Warhawk
The P-40 was a lend lease plane. it was not the best at anything, but it was decent at everything and cheap. the US produced a ton and shipped them off to wherever they where needed. The famous Flying Tiger volunteers in china used this.

Number 12: Dh-98 Mosuito
There where two doctrines when designing bombers. Fast and lightly armored and heavy and built like a tank. the Mosquito falls in the former category. At the time of its building it was the fasted plane in the world. This fighter bomber stayed in production even during the age of jets.

Number 13: Me-262
I seriously considered excluding this based on the fact that it had little impact on the course of the war. But credit given where credit is due. The Germans really outdid themselves with one of the first true jet fighters in the world. The Me-262 became the inspiration for every jet after it. It was revolutionary but not infallible. Germany only produced a few due to Hitlers obsession with jet bombers.

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