What was the best fighter plane of world war 2?

betterdeadthansorry

The P-51D Mustang was overall the best fighter of the war. Some fighters had better firepower (The late Spitfires, the P-38 Lightning and most of the German fighters had heavy cannons in addition to machine guns, allowing them to kill tanks as well as aircraft better), some of them were faster (the German Me262 Schwalbe jet fighter obviously but also some other planes like the British Mosquito were as fast if not faster), but none of them could match the Mustang's long range (sufficent to cover most of Western Europe from bases in the UK). The Mustang was also very fast and maneuverable (sufficent to match all the other fighters at the time), and the firepower (six .50cal machine guns) was enough for most threats. It was also mass produced (sufficent enough to win the war) and it also looked good asthetically.

Leogirl0804

P51 Mustang. This is what the opinion is of my German friend.

gogol

Russian Yak 3 - maybe not the best but the pilots were

CoolHardik

P-51

Skypilot49

I agree on the North American P-51 Mustang.

4XTrader

P-51 Mustang was the best fighter to come out of WWII.

Joe H

The Grumman F-4 Corsair was the best air-to-air fighter. Ask any of the "Blacksheep". Easily repaired and maintained. Less down time that anything else.

John L

The were a number of great fighter aircraft in WWII but probably the best was the P-51 Mustang. It was the first fighter to be able to escort bombers all the way into Germany.

Carol

The best fighter plane of WW-2 was the Spitfire (In my opinion) It was well regarded by Pilots and Engineers alike. It was extremely maneuverable and had an excellent turning radius and had a very powerful Merlin Rolls-Royce engine.

iraq51

That is an excellent question and it comes down between 2 superior aircraft.

The P-51 Mustang
The P-38 Lightening

pcmonkey1976

spitfire ..was the best looking and had the best pilots..but it had carburettors..which meant it would stall at high altitude and during extreme manuvours..the geman fokker was fuel injected and could cope with almost any arial situation..but had inferior pilots

lighthouse

The P-51 Mustang.

mick

The Hurricane which shot down many more German planes in the Battle of Brittan than the Spitfire.Plus your American Mustang would not have had a decent engine if it were not for the Rolls Royce Merlin.

The Landlord

Agree with most comments here - P51D Mustang was superb aircraft, and an excellent escort fighter. You've got to give credit to Spitfire Mk9, and also, I'd rate the German Fw190 too.

Glad to see the F4 Corsair gets a mention too. Too often overlooked, probably the most excellent Naval fighter of its time.

namsaev

The ME262 was the best fighter but fortunately weren't produced in sufficient numbers to have much effect. If you doubt me, ask any P51 pilot who went up against them. The only thing the really lacked was range.

As far a prop jobs go the P51 was the king. It had speed, maneuverability, firepower, and best of all RANGE.

BobTheBizGuru

Most people would say the Mustang but the Thunderbolt wasn't bad either, the pilots who flew them wouldn't take anything else.

Phil My Crack In

P-51 Mustang baby.

HHH

The British spitfire,it outsmarted the Germans and the Germans wanted them for themselves.The Americans would say it was their Mustang but i know it wasnt half as good as the spitfire

ceprn

P-38

p0indexterous

Messerschmitt Me. 262
Nothing could fly with it.
Max speed was 100 MPH faster than the P-51.
4 x 30mm cannons.
One on one, with pilots of equal skills, against any fighter, it would come out on top, hands down.

robert43041

The Spitfire is my aircraft of choice.

badmts

F8F BEARCAT FIRST SQUADRON WAS OPERATIONAL IN MAY OF 1945. It still holds the record as the fastest piston engine propeler driven aircraft @ 528 mph, and a consistant WINNER of the RENO AIR RACES.post war it routinely out flew JET AIRCRAFT

jesito_sascec

Probably the Messerschmitt 232. The German Jet. It came out too late to really affect the war, but it showed the world the future of the air force of every country and the advantages to switching to jets over planes.

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