"Favorite WWII aircraft" Topic

After seeing all of the responses in the favorite non-tank vehicle thread, I got to thinking about my favorite airplane. But, it is so hard to come up with a single favorite as I like several aircraft for different reasons.

In that vein, can you choose a single favorite aircraft of the war? If not, can you limit your favored to just three?

For me, my favorite is the P-51D, mainly due to the sleek lines and the sound of the engine. I could listen to audio playback of a P-51 all day long.

But, I also really do like the P-47D-25 (it's the bigger props!) and the B-25J (the hard-nosed variant of the J).

How about the rest of you?

Tend to love the lines of the P-40, but also really have an attraction for the P-39. Honorable mention goes to the FW-190.

Damon.

Got to agree with Garand. P-40 with a sharkmouth painting or the FW-190

Corsair: gull wings
P-38: unusual design, fast, powerful, guns!
Stuka (37mm tankbuster): cool and ugly at the same time

Me-163B Komet.

Hurricane – workhorse of the Battle of Britain.

The Spitfire just looks pretty and I don't have even one amongst my 1/600th collection.

Corsair, Short Sunderland, Beaufighter

Spitfire IX – far more than just a pretty face, assuming the opposition includes Bf109F or better and Fw190

Mosquito – the outstanding multi-role aircraft of the war

Lancaster – for when there is need to drop bombs on something

Been inside a Short Sunderland, was like walking around inside a cathedral!

Wonder how much lottery I'd need to win to have a reproduction built???

La-5 or 7

I've always had a think for ME-110's and JU-88's.

Thunderbolt, about as subtle as I am.

Focke Wulf 190 D-9
Messerschmitt 110 G-2
Junkers Ju 188

Mosquito, for its versatility.

Westland Whirlwind.

Don't know why, just liked the look of it since I was a kid.

It will have been the Airfix kit :-)

Always like the looks of the the P-61 Black Widow

The Mustang, it just looks like a souped up hot rod.

B-25J. Looks cool and will rip you a new one….

Oh, the Whirlwind was the Airfix kit.

Asked for one for Christmas once. Got a helicopter.

I've heard the engines on a B17, B24, P51, and one of the Curtis trainers. A wonderful sound of power. However my favorite WW II planes are:
PBY 4A
Me 109E
A 26

Mike

Me 109, FW 190, any mark on either and the Corsair

Hawker Hurricane or de Havilland Mosquito for me.

F4F Wildcat, one of the unsung hero's of the pacific.
Also like P-40, P-39 and Hurricane.

P-39

I love the Hurricane for helping to save our bacon in the battle of britain.

But my fav is one that was used by Rommel. The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch ,anyone know of a really good 15mm one I could add as scenery for my FoW DAK ? (I already have the old glory one )I think it was pre war but used all the way through.

P51D & Spitfire MkI

The Short Stirling.

Douglas Dauntless, aka SBD-(various). Winner at
Midway !

I-16 Rata and B239.

H6K Mavis.
-Kle.

Too many to choose from.

Fighter – Spitfire 9
Bomber – B-17 G

IAR 80

If they could have produced it earlier and in greater numbers it would have been much better known … and modelled.

P-40 for looks.
Spitfire for right plane at the right time.
P-51 for getting the job done.

Brewster Buffalo
De Schelde S-21
Blackburn Roc

Wow, so many favorites that I love for different reasons. But the F4U Corsair will always have top billing for me.

Honorable mention to:
Spitfire up to Mk IX
Bf-110, love the concept
Me-262
"Tony"
CR-42
I-16
etc.

Mitsubishi J2M Raiden
Fast, maneuverable, heavily armed and armored by Japanese standards. The only drawback is that occasionally it would disintegrate in mid air for no reason. Mitsubishi never solved the problem and eventually stopped production. Those left in service were badly needed and their pilots were a special breed who scorned death. If the enemy didn't get them the Raiden probably would.

P 47 Thunderbolt
No one could build a single seat fighter with a reliable turbo supercharger. The problem was that everyone was trying to shoehorn the new engines into existing airframes. The key to a reliable turbo charger was to cool it down. It could be done by building a new larger airframe, and ducting the exhaust gasses to the rear of the fuselage and then back to the engine. Sure, but that would take an enormous fighter and it would require a massive engine to restore performance, and $$$$.
Enter Uncle Sam and the P47. Heavier than axis twin engine bombers, powered by a Pratt and Whitney 18 cylinder engine. Long range, heavy armor, huge payload, massive firepower. Was it elegant? No. Was it huge, ugly, scary and deadly? Yes. The coolest thing is when you look at a photo, it looks like a regular single seat fighter, but look how small the pilot's head looks. Go America!

@Agesilaus,

Yep, P-47 is my second because of its ruggedness. The later versions, with the much bigger props, and heavier payload made for a ferocious ground attack platform.

P-47
Number built 15,660
Unit cost US$85,000 in 1945

P-51
Number built 16,766
Unit cost US$50,985 in 1945

Just food for thought.
I like both of them.

for my third pick I was trying to find another plane that reflected national character. The Sturmovik for the Soviets, or the Stuka for the Germans, etc.
The winner is the deHavilland Mosquito.
The RAF wanted a new super advanced fast bomber that could outrun enemy fighters and used futuristic non strategic materials. Old man de Havilland (of WWI fame) said, "I can do that." They ask how and he said, "We'll make it out of wood." Everyone thought he was goofy and he was going to submit a drawing of a biplane with a wooden frame covered in cloth.
Instead he invented a system that used plywood bonded with an epoxy glue he invented, thereby creating the first composite airframe. Strong, light, easy to repair. It became one of the most versatile designs of the war.

That's right wrgmr1. USAAC motto: Price is no object.

I've always liked the FW 189. No it's not a great fighter, or bomber, and in some ways it looks like it shouldn't even get off the ground. It looks like a sun room with wings, and flying it must have been kind of fun.

Beaufighter. No doubt that the Mossie was largely the better aircraft (unless in the Far East with the humidity playing havoc with the structure), and the more classically good looking. But the Beau has a certain something about it, and was there when it mattered in late '40 and '41, and was still competitive to the end of the war.

Second place has to be a toss-up between the Lancaster and Wellington: Lancaster for all it achieved during the full weight of the Bomber Offensive, and the sound of four Merlins is still unbeatable. But the Wellington as a pre-war design of remarkable strength and flexibility from Barnes Wallis, that was still just about going strong in 1945.

Third place goes to the Lysander! Unspectacular, but good looking for its type, and saved many lives whether in SOE or ASR mode.

If I had to choose a US type, then probably a toss-up between the P-51D and the P-47D. Again, like the Mossie and the Beau, one is pretty and advanced, the other brutally functional and effective.

Axis? Me 410, though some of the late war Italian fighters, such as the Centauro, could have been contenders in a less dire environment.

Difficult to choose only three but here goes,

He 219
Beaufighter
Ta 152H

Would have packed the MB.5 but assumed it had to be a production aircraft.

Beaufighter gets it for me closely followed by the Mossie

P-47
Beaufighter
Corsair
B-17
A-26
Typhoon
Dauntless
D.520
Meteor

Mosquito

Spitfire
P-51 Mustang
F4U Corsair
Beaufighter
Fw-190D
Ki-61 Hien

and finally the MiG-3 – such a hot rod looking plane, too bad it never found a worthwhile engine.