Best fighter of WW2 - difficulties in coming to a conclusive answer

Prefab Sprouter

On the Hurricane versus Spitfire thread there was mention of the best fighter of the war. Here is a quote from an article entitled "Best of the Breed" by Colonel Kit Carson : Anyone who believes that he can satisfactorily demonstrate which WWII fighter was the "best" out of the whole bag that appeared from 1940 to 1945 is incredibly naive. There are so many performance variables and kinds of missions, that arguing them to all to a bedrock conclusion that would convince everyone is virtually impossible.


so what do you think. Is it possible to pick a "Best of" conclusively?

Here is the link to the full article: http://www.sturmvogel.orbat.com/breed.html

Tony EH

in a word...no.

Prefab Sprouter

Agreed

silverharp

I'll give it a go . P-51 Mustang


"The day I saw Mustangs over Berlin, I knew the jig was up." Hermann Goering

Tony EH

BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!

Wrong.

Next!

By the way, there's some dispute to whether Göring actually said anything about US fighters over Berlin.

Prefab Sprouter

Tony EH wrote: »

BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!

Wrong.

Next!

By the way, there's some dispute to whether Göring actually said anything about US fighters over Berlin.

I thought his famous quote was "if Berlin was bombed you can call me meier"

RedRebel

It all depends on what the criteria are.

Is it to be used as an interceptor? A long range escort? Who are the proposed opposition? What is the theatre of operationb? etc

Without answering these it's impossible to say what the best fighter is. With given criteria it's much easier to define a best of the best.

ReacherCreature

Like RedRebel said, there's different categories.

Fighter bombers, pursuit/air superiority fighters, escort, etc., there's many different considerations to look at. Unless you pick an aircraft for all this - that's a well rounded fighter, something like the P-51, Bf109, or Yak-3 would come into consideration.

doolox

..the only RAF aircraft to have served in all commands:- Fighter,Bomber,coastal,transport in the war. Similar to the Bristol Blenheim in this regard. The twin engine bomber model with emphasis on speed to avoid interception, resulted in much lower casualties than the 4 engine heavies.
This model was carried into the post-war era in the Canberra, which went on to serve in various roles for 50 years.
As a fighter that mosquito could take on most single engine opponents and had the range and ability to cary heavy armament.