What is your favorite fighter of WW2? Bomber?
B-52.
uhhhhh
From IL-2 i’ve really grown to love the A-20 light bomber. German bombers all suck. Russian bombers suck worse than the German bombers though :).
As far as fighters go… it’s probably a tie between the Bf-110 and the P-39. Neither were especially great but they’re a blast to fly in and recreate. For some reason the Bf-110 is always more fun for me than the P-38…
Now, as far as flying online, i VASTLY prefer the 109s to almost any Allied fighter. The presence of leading-edge slats gives it low speed handling and maneuverability that makes the Spitfire look like a pig. The Spit is an equal as long as it keeps it’s speed up. And i hate most American planes :/, as machine guns are worthless to the way i fly.
Actually some of the LaGGs and Yaks that were armed with 37mm cannon are some pretty scary planes, but are just too lightly built and underpowered… The 109 with the 30mm is nearly the perfect snapshot plane though.
Based entirely on playing Panzer General, the FW-190a.
b-17
p-40 (gotta love those shark teeth)
and i used to dislike but now really like the p-47…maybe i matured?
I am not a pilot in real life or in sim life, but I was a huge fan of WW2 aviation growing up (what boy wasn’t, eh?). So as such I have sentimental favorites, i.e. the planes that I thought were cool: P-38 and the B-25. I’d have to argue that the F4U is also in there for its quirkiness.
Those weren’t factory options.
and i used to dislike but now really like the p-47…maybe i matured?
Nah, you just got fat and can identify with it now. =)
I am with you on the P-47. IMO it is the fighter that won the European air-war (besides B-17 strategic bombing).
By the time the P-51s came on the scene, the 47s had killed all of the good German pilots (obviously along with everything else that killed good German Pilots).
Nah, all those German pilots died by the hands of the Liberator and Lancasters :).
Well, not directly. The P-47 was never a match for the German fighters in a dogfight. But what the heavy bombing campaign did was force the Germans to fight where and when the Allies wanted. In WW2 airwarfare initial engagement position is half the battle, and the P-47 could start the dogfight from a position of strength.
It also goes to the Eastern Front as well; while it’s true that the Russians faced the vast majority of German land forces, after 1943 they faced only a small fraction of the German airforce (a small part that was still able to inflict casualties many times what it sustained); the rest was being tasked with destroying Allied bombing raids.
So it really was the B-17 that won the airwar, although it wasn’t the GUNS of the B-17 that did it, but merely it’s strategic effects.
I’ve been in a restored B-17, and it’s like a flying doublewide that drops bombs. Plus, it’s called a FLYING FORTRESS. So badass.
The fighter’s a harder choice. I’m the kind of guy who chooses “favorite” stuff based on a mix of reliability, widespread use, and iconic status. (For example, my favorite tank of the period is the T-34, not some crazy shit like the King Panther.) I will hesitantly throw down my Pokeball for the Zero, but that certainly doesn’t mean it was the most effective or most influential or best in terms of performance. I just think there were lots of them and they were cool. Throw in a punchy nickname, stylish livery, and presence in some really sweet battles, and how can you go wrong?
Favorite fighter is the Fw 190 D-9. Very mean looking, and the equal of a Mustang, performance-wise.
B-17F for favorite bomber.
I’m in a carrier warfare phase
Fighter: F4U Corsair- Pappy Boyington’s ride
Bomber: SB2C Helldiver- freaking gutsy to dive headlong into flak from a carrier group
If you’re talking favorite, rather than best, I like the Lancaster as a bomber, and the P-61 Black Widow night fighter as a fighter. But I don’t think they’d fit on anyone’s “best” list.
The P-61 was one of the first fighters to be equipped with radar.
The Hawker Tempest and the de Havilland Mosquito.
Love the Corsair. The swept wing design looks elegant and futuristic for the time, but the front is pug-nosed and brutish. Add to the fact that it pOwns zeros in IL2 (well, it can get outmaneuvered, but a quick burst will put a zero in flames, not to mention that if the buggers run, the corsair’s power will catch 'em up and put 'em down) and provides me the easiest carrier landing give it the thumbs up.
P-47. The raw horsepower of that P&W radial engine is amazing. The Jug was also a very stable gun platform. It also could take the abuse as much as give it. The Corsair is a close second for me. It moves to second place because it was a real pain to fly and had very limited visibility over the nose cowling. Pilots landed them in a swooping turn so that they had better visibility for line with the runway and carrier. They weren’t called the Ensign Eliminator for nothing. I used to know some pilots that flew them and they would tell me how it wasn’t the fighting that scared them; it was the take-offs and landings where they couldn’t see what what really infront of them.
For bomber, it is a tie between the B-25 and the Mosquito. On one hand, you have an American bomber that had so many variants to fit each of needs of the theater. It did everything from medium altitude bombing to skip bombing to being fitted with cannons for strafing and close air support. On the other hand, you have an aircraft born out of what was an adundant resource (wood) that was very quick and handled much like a fighter and was naturally stealthy to German radars.
I’m more of a tank guy. Panther FTW!
Just FYI, the British and Germans had radar equipped night fighters from 1941 on. The P-61 was one of the first American night fighters with radar though (we didn’t really care about the class because there wasn’t a threat of night raids on American territory).
Corsair all the way, always loved the look and it’s history.
Runners up include the P47 Thunderbolt, the Spitfire and the P38 Lightning.
As for bombers, I have a soft spot for the B25 but probably have to go with the B29.