The five most dangerous fighters of the Second World
On the Internet, you can find the most incredible and even absurd collections of "the best fighters of World War II." Recently, one (by the way, highly respected in the world) edition brought one of them to the public. According to its author, among those machines are Supermarine Spitfire, Bf.109, P-51, Yak-9 and ... Zero. And if the first three could still be effectively applied in 44-45, with some reservations, then the “Japanese” is almost hopelessly outdated by the year of 1943. His speed was incomparably lower than that of the decked "Corsairs" and "Hellcat". And by what criteria this plane is the best - it is not clear. At the same time, most versions of the Yak-9 had a very small mass of a second salvo. This fact alone does not allow to put this car on a par with the best Soviet, German, American or British aircraft. In view of the foregoing, we decided to make an alternative assessment of the best fighters of the Second World War. We hope you enjoy it.
Hawker Tempest
The United Kingdom can rightfully be proud of its fighters from the Second World War. We can say that its cars were superior in quality to the fighters of other countries of the same period. Judge for yourself: British aircraft could confidently fight the enemy both at small and medium-sized and at high altitudes (the latter, by the way, is very characteristic of the Western Front). Other countries had a lot of good cars. However, for example, the best Soviet fighters, such as the Yak-3, with all their virtues at a low altitude, very much "handed over" at altitudes of more than four to five thousand meters.
In 1942-43, the British realized that Spitfire was becoming obsolete and at high altitude FW-190 could become an almost invincible adversary. To combat it, they began to use the new Hawker Typhoon aircraft, however, it had sensitive flaws, such as the destruction of the machine during overloads. Errors were taken into account, and a deeply modernized version of this aircraft, called the Hawker Tempest, became one of the most formidable aircraft of its era. Engine power 2180 l. with. I clocked the car at an altitude up to 700 kilometers per hour, which allowed it to destroy even the fastest targets. As early as September 1944, Hawker Tempest had 600-800 downed V-1 missiles on account of Hawker Tempest. Fortunately, the mighty weapons, consisting of four Hispano 20 mm cannons, made it possible with one salvo to "send to the forefathers" of any enemy. Add to this the good maneuverability and the ability to carry two 450 kilogram bombs and get, perhaps, the best screw fighter of those times.
North American P-51D Mustang
It may seem that respect for the "Mustang" - a tribute to the mass culture and the culture of the American weapons. But it is not. This plane not only played one of the most important roles in the war, but also possessed outstanding characteristics that, even at the end of the war, made it possible to consider it the best of the best. Fighter P-51D could not boast of very powerful weapons, outstanding survivability, stunning maneuverability or a huge combat load. His main qualities became a large combat radius. The combat range of the aircraft was 1500 kilometers! In sum, with excellent flight-technical qualities at high altitude, this made it the best choice for tasks associated with accompanying heavy bombers: The Mustangs saved many lives of B-17, B-24 and B-29 crews. In addition, the P-51D could carry two 450-kg bombs or unguided rockets, which allowed the aircraft with a certain amount of luck to be used as a fighter-bomber. Special survivability of the car, as already mentioned, was not. Therefore, the losses in carrying out such missions were high.
Focke-Wulf FW-190D
German aircraft industry in the second half of the war faced incredible difficulties. One of them is the conflicting requirements for a new car. For the Western front, a well-armed high-altitude fighter was needed, while in the East a cheap, unpretentious frontal vehicle with good maneuverability at low and medium altitude was required. This affected the quality of the aircraft, which in many respects began to lose the best machines of the enemy. Bf.109 quickly became outdated. The FW-190А aircraft also did not become a salvation (the Soviet pilots with the Messers were more difficult to fight than with them).
Nevertheless, by the year 1944, Germany managed to create a very successful aircraft for its time - FW-190D, nicknamed “Dora”. The first impression of the pilots about him was pretty bad, because in comparison with the earlier versions of the Focke-Wulf, the plane became even less maneuverable. But then the pilots saw good qualities: high dive speed, good handling and rate of climb, as well as powerful weapons with high ammunition. “Dora” at the height could reach speeds up to 700 km / h and was able to almost equal fight with “Mustangs”. True, the car felt best at mid-altitude. And she could carry bombs weighing up to 500 kilograms, which made the FW-190D a potentially good fighter-bomber.
Lavochkin La-7
The legendary car, which at the end of the war fought the famous Soviet ace Ivan Kozhedub - the most productive pilot of the anti-Hitler coalition, who had 64 aerial victories. La-7 appeared at the front in 1944, and thus marked the final loss of the Luftwaffe of all illusions about domination of the skies in the East. It is believed that the La-7 had a significant superiority over all enemy fighter propellers at low and medium altitudes in such significant characteristics as maneuverability and speed. At the height of the same car could accelerate to 680 km / h.
The plane had powerful by Soviet standards weapons - 20-mm ShVAK guns with good ammunition. This circumstance allows us to state that conceptually the “shop” has become a more successful aircraft than another Soviet fighter, the Yak-3, possessing a smaller mass of a second salvo. However, the Yak, so beloved by many, could boast the best build quality, so the choice of the most advanced Soviet fighter of times of war is traditionally subjective.
Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate
Found in our ranking place for the Japanese car. Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate is the pinnacle of the aircraft industry in the country of the Rising Sun during the Second World War. He was in no way inferior to the best American cars and could reach speeds of almost 700 km / h. At the same time he had very good maneuverability and powerful armament. A later version, the 4-2, could carry weapons consisting of two 12,7-mm machine guns and two 30-mm guns. With such weapons, one volley was enough to destroy a heavy bomber. By the way, until the end of the war the Japanese were able to produce more than three thousand Ki-84, who, of course, had their say. At the same time, the difficult conditions of production and the chronic shortage of fuel and materials led to the fact that the full potential of the machine did not work out.
Separately, it is worth mentioning about fighter jets, which at the time of the war were only taking their first steps. The famous German Messerschmitt Me.262 had very significant flaws, which greatly complicated its operation. For example, the low lifespan of the engines, which was 25 flight hours. The first British jet “Meteors” were also problematic; during the hunt for Fau, they had their weapons jammed and many other problems were observed. In general, neither Me.262, nor Gloster Meteor have become “miracle weapons”, although from a purely technical side they can be considered revolutionary.
Hawker Tempest
The United Kingdom can rightfully be proud of its fighters from the Second World War. We can say that its cars were superior in quality to the fighters of other countries of the same period. Judge for yourself: British aircraft could confidently fight the enemy both at small and medium-sized and at high altitudes (the latter, by the way, is very characteristic of the Western Front). Other countries had a lot of good cars. However, for example, the best Soviet fighters, such as the Yak-3, with all their virtues at a low altitude, very much "handed over" at altitudes of more than four to five thousand meters.
In 1942-43, the British realized that Spitfire was becoming obsolete and at high altitude FW-190 could become an almost invincible adversary. To combat it, they began to use the new Hawker Typhoon aircraft, however, it had sensitive flaws, such as the destruction of the machine during overloads. Errors were taken into account, and a deeply modernized version of this aircraft, called the Hawker Tempest, became one of the most formidable aircraft of its era. Engine power 2180 l. with. I clocked the car at an altitude up to 700 kilometers per hour, which allowed it to destroy even the fastest targets. As early as September 1944, Hawker Tempest had 600-800 downed V-1 missiles on account of Hawker Tempest. Fortunately, the mighty weapons, consisting of four Hispano 20 mm cannons, made it possible with one salvo to "send to the forefathers" of any enemy. Add to this the good maneuverability and the ability to carry two 450 kilogram bombs and get, perhaps, the best screw fighter of those times.
North American P-51D Mustang
It may seem that respect for the "Mustang" - a tribute to the mass culture and the culture of the American weapons. But it is not. This plane not only played one of the most important roles in the war, but also possessed outstanding characteristics that, even at the end of the war, made it possible to consider it the best of the best. Fighter P-51D could not boast of very powerful weapons, outstanding survivability, stunning maneuverability or a huge combat load. His main qualities became a large combat radius. The combat range of the aircraft was 1500 kilometers! In sum, with excellent flight-technical qualities at high altitude, this made it the best choice for tasks associated with accompanying heavy bombers: The Mustangs saved many lives of B-17, B-24 and B-29 crews. In addition, the P-51D could carry two 450-kg bombs or unguided rockets, which allowed the aircraft with a certain amount of luck to be used as a fighter-bomber. Special survivability of the car, as already mentioned, was not. Therefore, the losses in carrying out such missions were high.
Focke-Wulf FW-190D
German aircraft industry in the second half of the war faced incredible difficulties. One of them is the conflicting requirements for a new car. For the Western front, a well-armed high-altitude fighter was needed, while in the East a cheap, unpretentious frontal vehicle with good maneuverability at low and medium altitude was required. This affected the quality of the aircraft, which in many respects began to lose the best machines of the enemy. Bf.109 quickly became outdated. The FW-190А aircraft also did not become a salvation (the Soviet pilots with the Messers were more difficult to fight than with them).
Nevertheless, by the year 1944, Germany managed to create a very successful aircraft for its time - FW-190D, nicknamed “Dora”. The first impression of the pilots about him was pretty bad, because in comparison with the earlier versions of the Focke-Wulf, the plane became even less maneuverable. But then the pilots saw good qualities: high dive speed, good handling and rate of climb, as well as powerful weapons with high ammunition. “Dora” at the height could reach speeds up to 700 km / h and was able to almost equal fight with “Mustangs”. True, the car felt best at mid-altitude. And she could carry bombs weighing up to 500 kilograms, which made the FW-190D a potentially good fighter-bomber.
Lavochkin La-7
The legendary car, which at the end of the war fought the famous Soviet ace Ivan Kozhedub - the most productive pilot of the anti-Hitler coalition, who had 64 aerial victories. La-7 appeared at the front in 1944, and thus marked the final loss of the Luftwaffe of all illusions about domination of the skies in the East. It is believed that the La-7 had a significant superiority over all enemy fighter propellers at low and medium altitudes in such significant characteristics as maneuverability and speed. At the height of the same car could accelerate to 680 km / h.
The plane had powerful by Soviet standards weapons - 20-mm ShVAK guns with good ammunition. This circumstance allows us to state that conceptually the “shop” has become a more successful aircraft than another Soviet fighter, the Yak-3, possessing a smaller mass of a second salvo. However, the Yak, so beloved by many, could boast the best build quality, so the choice of the most advanced Soviet fighter of times of war is traditionally subjective.
Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate
Found in our ranking place for the Japanese car. Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate is the pinnacle of the aircraft industry in the country of the Rising Sun during the Second World War. He was in no way inferior to the best American cars and could reach speeds of almost 700 km / h. At the same time he had very good maneuverability and powerful armament. A later version, the 4-2, could carry weapons consisting of two 12,7-mm machine guns and two 30-mm guns. With such weapons, one volley was enough to destroy a heavy bomber. By the way, until the end of the war the Japanese were able to produce more than three thousand Ki-84, who, of course, had their say. At the same time, the difficult conditions of production and the chronic shortage of fuel and materials led to the fact that the full potential of the machine did not work out.
Separately, it is worth mentioning about fighter jets, which at the time of the war were only taking their first steps. The famous German Messerschmitt Me.262 had very significant flaws, which greatly complicated its operation. For example, the low lifespan of the engines, which was 25 flight hours. The first British jet “Meteors” were also problematic; during the hunt for Fau, they had their weapons jammed and many other problems were observed. In general, neither Me.262, nor Gloster Meteor have become “miracle weapons”, although from a purely technical side they can be considered revolutionary.
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