What Is Your All Time Favorite Fighter Airplane?

Gulfecho

Gulfecho

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The F15 Eagle. It can hunt and track multiple targets and shoot them down at extreme ranges and being U.S. flown has never been shot down in combat.

I recently viewed a documentary where five F15s were sent up to kill one F22 Raptor. The Raptor killed all five. The Eagle pilots didn't spot the plane on visual or radar. Very impressive given the F15s air superiority history.
 
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Got to admit, WW II had some really nice examples.

Favorite... for what in particular?

Best all-arounder - P 47 from Grumman Iron Works.

Excellent air to air and superb ground pounder.

F4U is a sweetheart too, as was the F6F.

P 38 shell shocked more than a few Axis pilots.

Modern, I'm an A 10 guy all the way, but it's not so much an air to air as air to ground. F 14 is where I look for beauty and capability, certainly not maintenance. :)
 
Lee Barner said:
i'll stick with the P-51 Mustang just because of it's kill ratio and coolness factor. lee
Click to expand...

What is the Mustang's kill ratio? I think the Hellcat was 1:19 against Japanese fighters, favoring the F-6F.

I think the F-86 Sabre had a 1: 14 ratio against MiG's in Korea, but that dropped a lot when we fought MiG-21's in Vietnam. Our pilots weren't trained any longer in air-to-air combat. Early Phantoms didn't even have guns! The brass thought that missiles ended dogfighting. That led to the Top Gun and Red Flag training plans.

The F-22 Raptor is the deadliest fighter of which I know. But I like the classics, like the Hawker Hunter, the F-86 Sabre, and the Spitfire and Thunderbolt. I learned a lot about the P-38 Lightning by researching it, and the late P-38's with dive brakes, cockpit heating, & combat flaps were remarkable planes.

A Royal Navy test pilot named Capt. Eric Brown flew about all of the Axis and Allied fighters during and after WWII. He reckoned the Spitfire MK XIV was the one to be in in a real dogfight. He did like the Mustang and it had much greater range, but the Spit will turn a little better and was a refined killing tool without peer. But the later Lagg and MiG prop planes were also very dangerous. They gave Mustang and Sea Fury pilots a nasty time over Korea.

Finally , I admire the results the P-40 gave against better enemy planes. Its pilots coaxed it to worthwhile performances, using tactics that let them engage the much more maneuverable ME and FW and Japanese planes. Also outclassed the Italians' best, like the Greyhound. Macchi 202?

I wonder how good the latest Russian planes are. I hope we don't have to find out first hand. I think war with China is actually more likely. They have some advanced planes, too.
 
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The Curtiss P6E, the quintessential 1930s biplane fighter:

autoxautomAUTOcWHITE.jpg
 
Snapping Twig said:
Got to admit, WW II had some really nice examples.

Favorite... for what in particular?
Best all-aroun
der - P 47 from Grumman Iron Works.

Excellent air to air and superb ground pounder.

F4U is a sweetheart too, as was the F6F.

P 38 shell shocked more than a few Axis pilots.

Modern, I'm an A 10 guy all the way, but it's not so much an air to air as air to ground. F 14 is where I look for beauty and capability, certainly not maintenance. :)
Click to expand...


The P-47 Thunderbolt was a Republic product. Grumman made the Wildcat, Hellcat, and Bearcat. North American made the Mustang. Curtiss made the P-40 series. I think Chance-Vought made the Corsair.
 
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I really don't have one favorite fighter plane but the F4F Wildcat went toe to toe with the Mitsubishi A6M and some of the best pilots in the world. The Wildcat was by no means the best but it was what we had. The Wildcat has been accused of being inferior to the Zero but that is just not true. The Wildcat was made tough, but not too pretty. Like me. :D

Funny story about the Wildcat. When it first came out the navy pilots were ecstatic. This little plane was like hot rod. Then the Navy said "We're going to put a 200 chunk of armor plating behind the pilots seat." The pilots protested saying it was like having an extra pilot. Then the Navy said "We're going to add a resealing fuel tank." and the navy pilots protested again. "You are adding more weight and cutting down on our range!" Then the Navy said "We are going to add folding wings so we can fit a few more on a carrier" and the pilots lamented "MORE WEIGHT!! Thanks for nothing!" Then lastly the Navy said "4 50 caliber machine guns is not enough, we are going to add one on each wing, giving you 6 .50s but we are going to cut the number of rounds per gun from 350rds to 247 rounds." The pilots protested "Four 50's are plenty for shooting down Jap planes, We don't want the extra weight and less trigger time." So by the time the Navy got through with the F4F it was 30mph slower and it's climb rate was halved.

F4F-3_new_pitot_tube_of_later_model.jpg
 
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de Havilland Mosquito

My pick for all time favourite but I'm swayed a bit as my Father piloted one during WWII. Here he is on the field in England in 1944. Some of his Squadrons Mosquito's on the field behind him.
 

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For a piston engine the P-38-LO would be the one for me. After a rocky start in the European theater the bugs and quirks was ironed out and for the Army Air Corps it worked out quite well in the Pacific theater. The two highest scoring U.S. Aces, Richard Bong and Thomas McGuire both flew the P-38. It just looks fast and mean. For jet powered and this is for just how cool it looks is the F-100 Super Sabre.
 
Lot of good choices named in this thread over a lot of time periods.
Every choice named is good for the reasons named for that choice and the particular time period. Some reasons include kill ratios.
One factor that has not been mentioned is the rules of engagement the particular plane and pilots had to fly under.
WW I pilots first flew under 'gentleman' rules like in the days of chivalry.
WW II pilots flew under looser ROE, kill the enemy, but they also were restricted at times. Protect the skies over Britain during the Battle of Britain period. US pilots first had to protect the bombers and could not go after German or Italian fighters unless they were coming after bombers. This was later loosened, and the US fighters could go after Axis planes anywhere, anytime.
In the Pacific it was different, Navy, Marine and Army planes were first protecting ground troops, ships, especially carriers, then as the Pacific Theater proceeded, an all out offensive, though they again protected the bombers over Japan, as the US offensive got closer to the main home islands, the air war moved up for US planes. Not forgetting the kamikaize attacks against ships where the enemymairplane had to be totally destoyed , and the enemy pilots would/could not bail out.
Korea had restrictions, mainly US planes could not cross the Yalu River into China, possibly could not go into a zone near the Yalu River border. Don't know about restrictions on attacking airfields or planes on the ground in Korea though
Vietnam had a lot of restrictions. Can't attack enemy fighters on the ground was one. I believe their were certain borders fighters could not cross at various times. Again can't cross the Chinese border. Also I believe at times there had to be a visual confirmation of the plane before a US pilot could fire.
Lots of restrictions affecting air warfare as time moves closer to present. This has to affect choices based upon kill ratios and success in air to air combat. Not always the airplanes capabilities, or the pilot skills, though that certainly is the major factor.
 
All time favorite I would have to go with the Vought F4U Corsair. It stayed in service longer than it's contemporaries, and it looked great. I will admit I may be biased from watching too many episodes of "Blacksheep Squadron" as a kid. I know I am biased towards radial engines, my first plane ride was in a Stearman with a 300hp Lycoming.

The P-51 Mustang is my runner up. I was actually fortunate enough to get a ride in a P-51 back in '97, one of the best experiences in my life.

As far a modern aircraft I'll stick with the A-10. It's survived everything the bad guys and the Air Force could throw at it so far. The A-10 is rare example of a military project that delivered all it was supposed to and more.
 
Gulfecho said:
Did Vought make any noteworthy airplanes other than the F4U Corsair?
Click to expand...

Yes, the F-8 Crusader. It had the best victory ratio of the Vietnam War. 3 F-8's lost for 19 Mig's shot down. A rate of 6 to 1 for the Crusader, when the overall rate for the US was only about 3 to 1. The F-8 remained in service as a fighter until the last Essex class carrier, the Oriskany, was withdrawn from service in '75. The last Crusaders in service were the photo recon RF-8's that stayed in service with the reserves until '86.
 
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