[ealgeone]

Any list without the P-51 Mustang is bogus.

[rjsimmon]

Any list without the P-51 Mustang is bogus.

Agreed. The Supermarine Spitfire as well. The FW190 needs to be included and possibly the ME109. The ME262 was an excellent fighter aircraft, but better as an interceptor. Its primary detractor was maintenance. The finest multi-role was the F4U Corsair and the P40 should receive honorable mention.

[G Larry]

I believe power:weight and turn radius were strikes against the Mustang.

U.S. valued the weight of armor.

[nuconvert]

Exactly what I was thinking!

[mikeus_maximus]

“Any list without the P-51 Mustang is bogus.”

Absolutely. (Although the Corsair was better according to some pilots:)). I’d add the FW190 D (analogue to the Mustang- used a bomber engine too) and the F-8 Bearcat, which would have outclassed everything if the war hadn’t ended right before it was off-loaded from the ships.

[Mollypitcher1]

Glad to see the WW I SPAD S XIII on the list, but disappointed not to see the WWII P 51, (Sexiest plane that ever flew) not on the list.

[Rockingham]

Amen. The P-51 Mustang was an exceptional fighter with clean lines and high speed and maneuverability. When equipped with drop tanks, it had long enough range and fuel reserves to serve as a comprehensive bomber escort. At the decisive moment, the P-51 thereby assured US aerial superiority in Europe and made D-Day and the eventual defeat of Germany possible.

The P-51 should be on the best of list in place of the Me-262, which was an extraordinary aircraft but with disabling faults: inadequate fuel, no air brakes, and with engines prone to flameouts and cursed by minimal service life. As it was, P-51s and P-47s shut down the Me-262 threat by attacking them when they were on take-off or landing.

Meanwhile, for lack of serviceable engines, Me-262 hulls accumulated uselessly at German airfields and depots. The high-temperature alloys and technicians desperately needed for Me-262 engines were instead devoted to the V-2 program.

[South Dakota]

Yamamoto was pretty impressed with the P 38 lightning

[jim_trent]

> “Any list without the P-51 Mustang is bogus.”

Agreed.

Interestingly, the Mustang used the US Packard version of the Merlin 1650, the same engine used in the Spitfire. However, the Mustang outperformed the Spitfire in almost all respects.

When the Packard Merlin Mustang came online, the Spitfire was re-engined with the Griffin 2240. Only with the 1/3 larger engine, could the Spitfire match the Mustang. Not exceed it in most cases, but match it.

Just think what the Mustang could have done with 1/3 more cubic inches of power.