So threadjack:
What were your favorite small-arms of WW2? Pick one SMG, one battle rifle, and if you’re feeling saucy, one MG. Sidearms are a no-go since there were like three in common use throughout the world and we all know the .45 wins =)
B-17 baby.
Damn straight the .45 wins.
I’m not sure for the SMG, but the Garand is my favorite battle rifle bar none. I own one and they are an absolute blast to shoot.
Also, the P-61 kicked all sorts of butt in Heroes of the Pacific, perhaps my favorite arcade-sim of the past few years. Nice, sensible picks from everyone, though I’m surprised the Helldiver made it in!
Onto BTG’s threadjack: FG 42, for looking like a rifle that fell through a time machine (especially the ones with scopes). Bren for LMG. PPSh-41 for SMG, because it reminds me of Lee Marvin. And I would’ve picked a P-38 for sidearm, because of Megatron…
FW190. It’s an absurdly good plane when flown correctly.
PPS42, Lee-Enfield, and MG42.
I love the 'Widow to be honest. Such a great fighter. And the Lancaster is tops as well. Good choices.
I’ll tell you an underrated fighter – the Hellcat. That thing was really a great fighter, particularly in pairs, and it was the unsung Pac theater hero when everyone else was going googly over the 38 and Corsair.
I think the Hellcat had two things going against it – it was boring as hell looking, and it reminded everyone of the Wildcat, which basically was the plane that the Zeroes used for target practice.
I’d go with the M1 Garand…although there were numerous good rifles during the war.
SMG: Thompson
MG: MG42
Pistol: Agreed on the old 1911.
For you tank guys, I am a T-34 fan as well.
I totally agree with you on this one Bacon. Hellcat and P-47 FTW. Unsung heroes.
The Hellcat isn’t underrated. It has the highest K/D ratio of the war. Of course, that’s also because it was fighting against the crappiest fighter of the war, and unlike the Corsair/P-38, it wasn’t used for bombing all that much. Most of its opposition was IJN, rather than IJA, where the better Japanese fighters were.
That said, I do love me some Grumman, especially the Bearcat.
Lee Enfield .303
StG44
MG42
Oh, everyone respects the Hellcat big time, by “underrated” I guess I really mean “underappreciated”. On any list of ‘favorite fighters’ you’ll find the Corsair, Mustang, Lightning, Thunderbolt, and even the P40 (which wasn’t a very good fighter), but you rarely see the Hellcat. Sure, I understand why maybe no one lists the Wildcat and the Aircobra, but the Hellcat was a great plane that people just don’t seem to care about.
And I think, again, it’s because it just didn’t have any major distinction. The Corsair and Lightning were funky looking and dominant in their own ways. The 47 had that huge ass engine and it was armored like mad. The Mustang was maneuverable and had stellar range. The Hellcat? Well, it was just good. But it was bland as hell and had nothing particularly neat about its design, it was just well executed.
I like the P-38 and the F4U. Bombers are dumb.
Is there even any debate with which weapon?
Sturmgewehr 44. Although i do have a soft spot in my heart for the BAR.
The unsung hero of the Pacific isn’t really the Hellcat but the Wildcat pilots. Of all the theaters of war it was only in the Pacific (imo) where you can legitimitely say an inferior force beat a superior force. In 1942 Japanese planes were superior to American planes, both in number, power, and (supposedly) pilot skill. The last turned out not to be true, and American pilots really did take on and beat the odds against Japanese planes that flown correctly would or should have won.
The difference in the long run was that Japan made the same error as Italy in believing that dogfighting and maneuverability were the true future of air combat - the difference was that Japan made this decision based upon a fairly modern airframe, where Italy banked on a freakin’ biplane.
It also happened, somewhat by chance, that the American engine culture created far superior radial engines than Japan, and superior to the in-line engines it was producing. In fact to a certain degree the course of the air war in a strategic sense in every nation was dictated by it’s engine culture. The giant radial engines that the US created were perfect for bombers and sea fighters; the US never made anything more than an adequate in-line until they copied the Merlin. Since Japan’s engine culture was also based around radials, this turned out to be a fatal deficiency, and by the time the Japanese pilots and industry turned around it’s combat culture and industrial production from pure dogfighters to interceptors with good top speeds, it was too late.
I like the Beaufighter- ‘whispering death’ is a cool nickname to get from your enemies.
B-17 for bomber, because I’ve flown in one.
P-38 for fighter. Totally unique look, and kicked ass in the Pacific. (Props, so to speak, for the F4U, my favorite as a kid. Baa Baa Black Sheep probably had something to do with that.)
As for the Hellcat, I think the pilots loved it, but it just didn’t have the good looks. The Wildcat was cute and tubby, the Corsair had the bent wings and hose nose, the P-47 was a big jug, the P-38 an art deco masterpiece, the P-39 had a car door, and the P-51 just looked like an aerodynamic masterpiece. The Hellcat, though? Big square wings on an undistinctive fuselage. Lacked the sexy.
fighter pilots make movies. bomber pilots make history! - from some bomber pilot movie
the sbd dauntless gets no love. the real pacific war winner.
i agree on the f4f and hellcat posts. i always preferred the hellcat over the weird looking corsair.
Hellcat FTW!
edit: Stupid Mobygames with their crappy bandwidth. It was a screenshot from the Apple ][ version of Wings of Fury. Damn, I loved that game.
Fighter: ME 262
Bomber: B24 Liberator
Fighter: Spitfire
Bomber: B-29 or Mosquito