Greatest Contribution

[vultee43]

Hi All. Given the large amount of wet La Nina weather we have been having (at least in Australia) most activities have been indoors. Boredom sets in quite easily and that leads to the dangerous pastimes of thinking. It has got me on a tangent thinking about one of my favourite subjects- WW2 aircraft and the people who crewed and flew them. We all know those aircraft that may be considered the best or most iconic, but what aircraft (and their crews) made the Greatest Contribution during the War?

I would be interested in the opinions of other Forumites as to what they think. I will give mine below listed as Top Five -

1. P40 Kittyhawk/Warhawk series - this is easily my first pick for several reasons:

They served in every theatre (European, Mediterranean, Northern Africa, Eastern Front, CBI, Pacific and Aleutian).

They served continually for the duration of the conflict.

They performed multiple roles.

Despite been generally outclassed they performed well above their weight in many areas.

Rugged and dependable.

2. Messerschmitt Bf109 series -

Served the duration of the conflict.

Generally a very regarded combat aircraft right throughout its service.

Huge numbers produced.

Multi role platform with many modifications and experimental versions.

Served throughout the European, Eastern Front and Northern African theatres.

3. Douglas C47

Workhorse of supply chains.

Served in every theatre.

Flew the duration of the conflict.

Was copied by Allied and Axis forces.

Limited multiple roles.

4. Hawker Hurricane

Serve in almost all theatres.

Multiple roles.

Served the duration of the conlict.

Many adaptations.

Although outclassed towards the end still held its own.

5. Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero

Served the duration of the conflict.

Land and Naval based.

Multiple theatres of operations.

Performed well above its weight even after more modern types were introduced.

Fearsome reputation.


It would appear to many that it is very fighter aircraft heavy. But using multiple metrics, these aircraft stood out. Yes you may argue the B17 could be included as it ticks several of these boxes, however it also had a very small bomb load and did not actually serve the duration of the conflict.

I understand fully that this is purely subjective with only historical knowledge to guide but I did think that with the benefit of hindsight, the mix of opinions would be interesting.

Thoughts?

[Dave Homewood]

Two you have not mentioned I think would be the Junkers Ju88 and the Mosquito. They were both totally multi-role and good at everything they did. They were also employed across multiple theatres.

[nuuumannn]

No mention of the Spitfire??? The only Allied fighter in production before and after the war, served in multiple theatres on land and at sea, built in larger numbers than any other Allied fighter, used in a multitude of roles, maintained a qualitative edge throughout its career, although was briefly overshadowed by the Bf 109F and Fw 190A in 1941/1942, but the emergency mating of the 60 Series Merlin with the Mk.V fuselage placed it at an advantage over those types. Continued development into the jet age and remaining in service in numbers around the world after the war adds to the type's overall significance.

The Spitfire surely ranks in the top five greatest aircraft of WW2, in fact hard to rank below the P-40 as it exceeded that type in almost every metric, performance, number built, theatres operated in, operational use - the P-40 was not developed into a carrier-based fighter although they were flown from carriers in the Med, the P-40 was not developed into a purpose built high altitude reconnaissance aircraft...

One point, the Mitsubishi A6M did not serve through the duration of the conflict. It was certainly one of the war's greatest fighters, but was introduced into service in 1940 in small numbers only and despite a brief period of localised superiority was unable to match Allied fighter development from 1943 onwards. Later versions, although remaining highly manoeuvrable were outperformed by aircraft such as the F4U, F6F, P-47 and P-51. The A6M's potency diminished rather rapidly after a sharp spike despite remaining relevant within the IJN, but that was only because of delays in getting its carrier-based replacement, the A7M into service in a timely fashion. The IJN concentrated its efforts in developing land-based fighters such as the J2M and N1K series instead of focussing on an A6M replacement, forcing its manufacturer to constantly upgrade it beyond its development potential. Both the IJN and IJA had superior performing fighters in service compared to the A6M by the end of the war.

[nuuumannn]

So, it's always difficult to place in order the greatest aircraft of WW2; there are soooo many factors to consider and the gist of what's pertinent has been considered by our original poster. Such factors should include service length, production number, service use, i.e. role and theatres of operation, but surely should include development potential, appreciation by air and ground crews and technological advantage.

Aircraft such as the B-29 and Me 262 should rank highly because of their enormous potential, technological advance and capability compared to the status quo despite their limited service time and operational use. Stalwarts like the Bf 109 and Spitfire are obvious for the top rankers for their sheer staying power in the conflict across almost every metric, but the next ranked becomes more difficult, so, factors such as operational significance comes into play. How do you rank the Lancaster above the B-17 or B-24, for example? What about the Fw 190 and Ju 88, both exceptional aircraft widely used during the conflict but how do they rank compared to, say, the P-38 and B-25 for example? Again, the significance of the C-47 to the Allied war effort cannot be understated, but was it as important as the Mosquito and if we were to choose a top five, which of these would rank higher and why?

A bit of regional bias always comes into play, the P-40 is an example of this; it was, despite its proliferation, an average performer by 1942 but its widespread use and local connection might rank it highly in some people's eyes. I would struggle with putting the venerable Hurricane above the Fw 190, which although did not make an appearance until after the Hurricane proved a superior fighter to the plucky Brit, and by the time the first Fw 190As appeared the Hurricane I had been officially declared obsolete. The Hurricane went on to serve as an excellent ground attack/close support aircraft in the Med and Far East, but the Fw 190 was developed into the 'Friedrich, which was a dedicated ground attack aircraft replacing the Ju 87, one of the war's most significant types, as the Luftwaffe's primary tactical strike aircraft in the later years of the war. It's operational record, development potential and performance surely makes the Butcher Bird one of the war's greatest fighters.

What about the Mustang? To US readers this has to rank at the top, but it was a truly international effort, originally developed for the British and becoming famous once a British engine was fitted (I reject the notion the Allison engined Mustang was second rate - it served in large numbers with some 16 squadrons until the very end of the war with the RAF), and so how does the Mustang rank against the Spitfire? A tough choice in which national perspective might tip the scales.

How do we also incorporate types such as the He 111, Bf 110 and Wellington, all of which lasted far longer than they ought to have, the former simply because its intended replacement, the He 177 was plagued with issues and the latter two by being remarkably adaptable? What about the PBY or Ju 52 for example? Widely used and often underappreciated but both certainly having a large impact on the war. Then there is the Il-2 the most mass-produced combat aircraft in history, but it was used in one theatre, suffered at the hands of ground and interceptor fire, but signified a specific operational use, the importance of which came to be better recognised after the conflict? This is despite dedicated tank busters being employed by the British and Germans during the war. Where do dedicated dive bombers and naval fighters come into it? Aircraft like the A6M and F6F, D3A and SBD played a vital part in the war and compared favourably to land based types, such as the Ju 87, whose operational superiority, like the A6M spiked early in its career, but fell away relatively swiftly but managed to stick around longer than necessary.

So much to consider...

[shorty]

The Swordfish is also worhy of consideration

[Antonio]

Even the humble Marlet played an important role

[catcrew]

Showing my bias here, but I think the Catalina/Canso saw service in many theatres and roles.

[planecrazy]

This is a hard one?!

The Mosquito, wasn't even supposed to be built, used less essential materials and workers to build, out
performed all expectations, multi theatre, multi roll, achieved a surprising amount of air to air victories.

[ams888]

Its a hard list to pick because there are so many aircraft that were instrumental in their own field. Its difficult because is it more glamorous to pick fighters over transports, or heavy bombers over biplanes, or Allied over Axis? Here is my personal top 5:
1. De Havilland Tiger Moth - Think how many people were taught to fly in a Tiger Moth in air schemes all over the commonwealth and beyond
2. P-40. As others have stated, but i would also add the best fighter the US had at its disposal early in the war and did a lot of the hard fighting early on in the Pacific. I think units like the 49th Fighter Group are sadly overlooked as they defended Northern Australia and then took the fight to the Japanese in P40s. Not to mention the hard work the P40 did in North Africa (which freed up Britain's main fighters to keep defending Britain)
3. The Lancaster. Arguably the best bomber of World War 2 until the B29
4. The Mustang. The fact that the Allies got an Air Superior fighter with the range to fly to Germany and back was a game changar
5. The Hurricane. The swiss army knife of fighter aircraft. Not many others can claim to be front line fighters, catapult fighters on ships, flying anti tank weapons, light bombers, personal mounts, and fly in every theatre of war.