Forum: Air Power

The 262 was also supposed to have a rediculously large cannon on it--->what Hitler had wanted. I guess his general(or someone, im not sure who it was) told him that the plane was not designed for such crazy weapons...Hitler shrugged it off. It must have been God's gift to man that Hitler was stupid.

F-16.net Sponsor

Enthusiast Joined: Oct 27, 2004 - 10:49 AM Posts: 70

singularity wrote:

The 262 was also supposed to have a rediculously large cannon on it

That reminds me of this:
"Me 262 A-1a/U4
Bomber destroyer version, two prototypes with an adapted 50 mm MK 214 (or Bordkanone BK 5) anti-tank gun in nose."

The plane most probably saw action when the designated test pilot for the plane, Wilhelm Herget, took it out of Lechfeld when he joined JV-44. There are reports from USAF pilots stating that they saw an "Me-262 with a gigantic telephone pole sticking from its nose" in the air.

Only 50mm? Take a look at this B-25H, hauling around a 75mm cannon, plus assorted machine guns. Shocked

Ok, I'm going to do what I suggested earlier and break it down even further. It was very difficult to divide the following 30 fighters into just 3 categories, but somehow, I managed. I'm sure I've forgotten some, and I'll kick myself later for doing so, but here goes:

WWII:

10. P-38 Lightning (Bong and McGuire earned many kills)
9. A6M Zero (the most feared Japanese aircraft ever)
8. F6F Hellcat (helped the US take air superiority away from the Japanese in the Pacific)
7. Focke Wulf-190 (1 of Germany's 2 most deadly fighter aircraft of the war)
6. Hawker Hurricane (along with the Spitfire, they delivered the 1-2 punch that the Brits needed)
5. F4U Corsair (excellent multi-role fighter for the USN and USMC. Pappy Boyington and the "Blacksheep" downed many Zeros)
4. P-47D Thunderbolt (the aircraft that defined multi-role and CAS for WWII and inspired many to come.)
3. Me-109 (Erich Hartmann took her to 352 AA kills. The highest total in the history of aerial warfare.)
2. Supermarine Spitfire (Helped keep the Germans out of Britain)
1. P-51D Mustang (simply the best of its time, and arguably of ALL time.)

Korean War and Cold War:

10. F9J Cougar (served the Navy well right between the Korea and Vietnam eras.)
9. F2H Banshee (1 of the Navy's 2 most important jet fighters of the Korean War.)
8. English Electric Lightning (one of the fastest interceptors ever. Helped keep the skies over the UK safe until the late 80s)
7. F-101 Voodoo (an excellent interceptor, and recon platoform)
6. F9F Panther (defined multi-role for the Navy and Marines in Korea)
5. F-100 Super Sabre (the first operational fighter capable of level supersonic flight for the USAF, later served well as an FSAT.)
4. F-106 Delta Dart ("The Ultimate Interceptor", served until 1987, and still holds the official single engine speed record. )
3. F-80 Shooting Star (a very successful design from Lockheed's Skunk Works. Inspired the even more successful T-33.)
2. MiG-15 (the second best fighter over MiG Alley. In the hands of a capable pilot, it was extremely deadly)
1. F-86 Sabre (The best of Korea, and the heir to the Mustang's throne)

Vietnam to Desert Storm

10. MiG-29 Fulcrum (the plane that ushered in the latest era of Russian fighter technology)
9. MiG-17 Fresco (a development of the MiG-15. Was deadly against much more modern US fighters in Vietnam)
8. F-105 Thunderchief (the original workhorse of Vietnam. Could bomb, perform the Wild Weasel mission, and killed its fair share of MiGs too)
7. F-14 Tomcat (the first of the Teen Series. "Anytime, Baby!")
6. F-8 Crusader ("The Last of the Gunfighters". Was the last pure AA fighter for the Navy until the Tomcat, and killed its fair share of MiGs too)
5. MiG-21 Fishbed (the most produced combat aircraft ever built.)
4. F/A-18 Hornet (the plane which redefined multi-role for the Navy and USMC.)
3. F-16 Viper (one of the best multi-role aircraft ever built, and has been successful both in the US and around the world, especially Israel)
2. F-4 Phantom II ("The World's Leading Distributor of MiG Parts". Still serving in several air forces today)
1. F-15 Eagle (the greatest record in the history of AA combat: 104-0. The Strike Eagle proved it was an extremely capable bomb truck as well)

No F-104

? No Zipper Shocked

???

JR's gonna kick your...

What, no X-Wing???? Come on guys, the darn thing blew up the Death Star! Guiness

This kind of list becomes very difficult due to the advancement of technology over time. The P-51D is #1 on many lists but its reign was short once the jets came into play.

Maybe a breakdown by decade is more reasonable.

Quote:

What, no X-Wing???? Come on guys, the darn thing blew up the Death Star! Guiness

This kind of list becomes very difficult due to the advancement of technology over time. The P-51D is #1 on many lists but its reign was short once the jets came into play.

Maybe a breakdown by decade is more reasonable.

The X-Wing's success in the Battle of Yavin was due to unnatural outside forces acting upon the ordinance. TC broke it down by generation--so go ahead.

And I agree with leaving the -104 out of the list--while it looks awesome, its combat record sucks--no A2A kills in Vietnam, plus the poor safety record. I'd rather see the F-8 Crusader, that bird can even take off with its wings FOLDED!

parrothead wrote:

No F-104...?

Das Fliegender Sarg, or Das Witwinmacher flew fast, and looked really cool, but I don't feel that it rates, when compared to its contemporaries. I was trying to be all-encompassing. In doing so, I had to put a couple of hours of thought into dividing it into 4 wars/eras. There were many times when I had to stop and think, "Oh yeah! I forgot all about that one!" However, a comparable aircraft that I did pick was the BAC Lightning.

I sometimes wonder what the difference would have been if the US and Germany had "switched" fighters and they would have had the 38, 47, and 51 and we would have had the 109 and 190. Assuming the same number of pilots and planes made would anyone be changing their top ten list? Maybe we would all be singing the praise of the FW-190D-9...just a thought.

My ten:

F-15C
F-4E
P-47D
Fokker D.VII
F6F-3 Hellcat
Fw 190 D-9
MiG 21
F-86
A6M5
P-51D

Almost made it:

Vought F-4U
GD F-16C
P-38L
Spitfire Mk. IX
Spad S.XIII

Interesting list you have. To me, the Fokker especially sticks out. Interestingly, the D.VII only flew in combat for less than one year, but achieved 565 AA kills, none of which were claimed by Manfred von Richthofen, who was killed just days before it entered operational service.

Curiously, many also laud the Fokker DR.I "Dreidecker" for Richthofen's achievements. However, the DR.I's most famous pilot only claimed 20 of his 80 AA kills in that aircraft.

Great list. Would like to see what you can come up with by era.

Forum: Air Power

Top Ten fighters of all time...post your own list.