@ABWorsham4 probably still scared the starving civilians , carrying rifles and 2 bullets each, half to death at the time though .
109,Spitfire or Mustang?
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What is your favourite single engined fighter for whatever reason.
Mine is the 109. Always liked it, despite knowing top speed of the Spit (in 1940), was higher and that by the war’s end it was total outclassed by allied fighters and that the 190 was a better plane. Have always liked German planes and tanks. -
I have always like the FW 190.
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The P51 Mustang is one of the most beautiful aircraft ever to take to the skies. Spitfire isn’t far behind.
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What saddens me is that I will never see a 109 fly. I remember reading 10 years ago(maybe longer) how the last flying one had crashed in England and was beyond repair. Have seen Spits, Hurricanes, Mustangs and a Thunderbolt at Duxford, in Cambridgeshire, but am not sure if i will ever see a 109.
As a side note, my English grandfather was a popular desk sergeant at Duxford when the first Spits arrived in August 38. Was his 21st birthday and he told me he was taken up in one as a surprise present. Can only imagine how uncomfortable, but exhilerating that was! -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPtmbBFCk4A
I think you may be wrong here. There are a few Survivors left today that can fly.
By far My fav. is the Folke Wulfe 190. If i ever win the lottery, that would be my extravagant Purchase, or maybe a Huey :evil:
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Thanks. Saw some of thise videos of 109s. I just remember reading about a 109F orG that was being flown by an RAF Marshall and how it had crashed. I was very sad as I am sure it said it was the last one flying. Wierd.
190 was a better late war fighter and better armed to bring down US day bombers.
Having a grandad who was RAF meant I read And heard about The Battle of Britain and made many early war aeroplane models, which is why I started the thread Spit or 109.
Added the best US one as an afterthought. -
Fw 190
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Fw 190
Not one of the choices or anybody would say Me-262 or something…
Mustang for me, its a late model plane
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ME262 is my favourite too. The Meteor was so ugly in comparison.
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@wittman:
What is your favourite single engined fighter for whatever reason. […] ME262 is my favourite too. The Meteor was so ugly in comparison.
The Me262 and the Meteor were both twin-engined planes.
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Thanks for that. Started it a month ago. I was so excited someone else posted after two weeks, I forgot my own question! Suppose I thought more people would have answered, as I thought we liked those sort of things.
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I’ve always thought the Zero was a beautiful plane.
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Paper Macche and Bamboo isn’t a real plane.
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Zero is not a real plane. Its not even one. Its a Ronson! Some even think its a ball of fire.
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Paper Macche and Bamboo isn’t a real plane.
Zero is not a real plane. Its not even one. Its a Ronson! Some even think its a ball of fire.
Tell that to the Allied pilots shot down early war. Think they would have swapped their fighters for one!
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Zero is not a real plane. Its not even one. Its a Ronson!
The British gave the same nickname to the Sherman tank because it too “always lit the first time.”
There are always trade-offs when one designs an aircraft or ship or vehicle. In the case of the Zero, the Japanese favoured speed, maneuverability and range over survivability. In the environment of the early Pacific War, this trade-off worked well and the Zero dominated the skies. Once the Americans had captured and analyzed the Akutan Zero in mid-1942, however, they developed combat tactics which took advantage of its weaknesses. The arrival on the scene of new American fighter designs, plus large numbers of well-trained US pilots, tilted the scales even further – as did the decline in Japanese fighter pilot numbers and skill in the second half of the war.
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You are right. Must have been a shock to the Allies to be bettered in the sky though. The Japanese Navy’s tactics were so good, suppose like Germany, the pre war experience must have helped too.
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Another example of how the environment can be decisive for an airplane is the Stuka. In Poland and France, where it was operating over short distances under the cover of German fighter superiority, the Stuka was a highly effective and fearsome weapon. In the Battle of Britain, however, where ranges were longer and the RAF had control of the air, the Stuka became a sitting duck and it was soon withdrawn from the campaign.
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Don’t get me started on the Stuka. Love it and its folded wing. Always imagined myself flying over Russia in a tank busting 37ml cannon version hunting T34s.
Blitzkrieg was fun while air superiority lasted. -
@wittman:
Paper Macche and Bamboo isn’t a real plane.
Zero is not a real plane. Its not even one. Its a Ronson! Some even think its a ball of fire.
Tell that to the Allied pilots shot down early war. Think they would have swapped their fighters for one!
I doubt very much if you could find a Navy F4F or an Army P-38 pilot who would trade their planes for a 0 after they discovered how easy the 0 would light up. Dont forget that the F4F held the line for the Navy until the F4U and the F6F were operational. The Navy would have been in a world of hurt without the old Wildcat. I think a good case can be made for declaring the Wildcat one of the most valuable U.S. fighters of the war.