What is in your opinion, the best fighter "one twopunch" by country of WW2?

[KG_GASXTREME]

Ya'll know what to do :)
-steve

[KG_Swampfox]

There can be only one choice from those available, P51 & P47

The Mustangs laminiar flow wing was the best flying wing design to come out of the war, Thunderbolts in a ground attack role were superb, 2000 HP and once the paddle blades came out, a huge jump in preformance. No cannons, but rockets were starting to replacing cannons by that time anyways.

A few other outstanding aircraft not mentioned, TA152, Typhoon, Tempest, He129, FW 190D9
Not to mention the ME 262 with the 234 Arado, the best jet combo....
The TA 152 was probably the most dangerous propeller driven opponent of the Mustang. Tempests were 24 cylinder, 3000 HP beasts, only flown by the best RAF pilots, one of the fastest propeller driven aircraft of the war...

Swamp

[KG_Kharkov]

I second that, although don't ask me to explain laminiar wing flow! Damn mechanics -- always making me feel dumb . . .

[KG_Jag]

I can't match Pat from the technical side. However, my pick is the Hellcat and Corsair. Once they took flight in the theater, the Japanese could not compete. Plus they both could operate from aircraft carriers, which none of the rest on the list can claim.

[KG_Jag]

By the way, I'm sure that Pat meant that the Luftwaffe pilots and not the RAF fighter jockeys flew the TA 152, or perhaps he is speaking of the Tempest (in which case he is clearly correct). Here's a link to an interesting web page about the FW 190 and TA 152:

http://fw190.hobbyvista.com/variants.htm

Here's another link with a photo: http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/focke_ta152.htm

Here's one more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ta-152

[KG_Noggs]

Are you saying the Zero could not operate from carriers?

[KG_Jag]

No Noggs, the Zero could, but the Tony couldn't. Sorry--I should have said that the pair I selected was the only one-two punch (as in both) that could come at you from carriers. But the Zeke is the only other fighter on the list that could and did operate from carriers in any numbers. There were some carrier capable versions of the British pair--the Hurricane (Sea Hurricane) and Spitfire (Seafire).

[KG_GASXTREME]

For me, its gotta be option A, the mustang and the thunderbolt. Enough cannot be said about the mustang..... That plane is STILL faster today than some jets, with a top speed of 451mph (486mph for the H model). The thunderbolt is not slotch itself with a top speed of 406mph.....Both were great, all-around aircraft! :)
-steve

[KG_SSpoom]

I also have to go with the P-47/P-51 duo
When the Mustangs were able to start escorting the bombers deep into
Germany It sealed the end of the Third Reich.

[KG_Soldier]

I voted P-51/P-47, but I really like the P-38s.

[KG_AGCent]

I voted P-51/47. The biggest eye-opener for me was seeing the majority of these planes side-by-side-by-side at the Champlain Air Museum in Chandler, AZ. The FW and ME's are TINY compared to the P-47 and P-51. You can definitely see the design philosophy differences.

[KG_Cloghaun]

While not being an expert on fighters by any means, it's obvious the P-51 was the best fighter overall. However, I voted for for the Spitfire based on the fact that it won the Battle of Britain at a time when the Luftwaffe was sending out it's best pilots in ME-109's, a tough plane in it's own right.

For pure looks, I like the F-4u Corsair. It's an odd shape but it just looks cool to me.

[KG_Panzerschreck]

I voted for the Hellcat / Corsair combo. They have if im not mistaken, the highest kill to loss ratio of USA planes in the war. Hard to argue with numbers. Plus im a little biased, the corsair is my favorite American plane of the war. I always wondered how that plane would of stacked up against the ME-109 & FW-190.

[KG_SSpoom]

I was actually hard pressed not to take the Hellcat/Corsair combo
Very close to a tie with P-51/47.
All were excellent in their own ways.

[KG_Panzerschreck]

I forgot to mention how i fell in love with the Corsair. As a kid growing up in the 70's, I never missed an episode of Baa Baa Black Sheep. Robert Conrad was the man!:star: I even had the Corsair and Zero models that monogram had made of the fighters from the show.