Best World War II Aircraft?

[netudki]

To FLYBOYJ
No but it could carry a barrel of beer without any conversation! And of course it could fly with only one engine!!!!!
Thanks DerAdlerIstGelandet

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by netudki

To FLYBOYJ
No but it could carry a barrel of beer without any conversation! And of course it could fly with only one engine!!!!!
Thanks DerAdlerIstGelandet

welcome!!

[netudki]

Welcome to the site netudki.

That is a good argument for the Spitfire.

I personally go with the C-47 only because of its role in the logistical side of the war. Without the Allies would not have been able to supply and keep there troops fighting.

Its true, but without defending, these C-47 are worth nothing! In the siege of Burma in 1944 Spiti VIII defended the transport a/c-s and the Japanese fighters could shot down only 3 C-47.

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by netudki

Its true, but without defending, these C-47 are worth nothing! In the siege of Burma in 1944 Spiti VIII defended the transport a/c-s and the Japanese fighters could shot down only 3 C-47.

In the beginning of the war C-47s and C-46s were rarely escorted in the PTO....

[netudki]

In the beginning of the war the C-47s weren't so important then in the ending phase. Anyway, I think nobody can win the war only with transport aircraft.

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by netudki

In the beginning of the war the C-47s weren't so important then in the ending phase. Anyway, I think nobody can win the war only with transport aircraft.

No, and you can't win one without one - a good one!

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Just look at the mass tonnage of supplies they carried. Dont forget the airborne drops into Normany.

I look at this way, there is more to fighting a war than just the weapons. One thing I have learned since being in the Military is you have to have support so that you can do your mission. I would not have been able to fly day in and day out without food, water, medical supplies and what.

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by DerAdlerIstGelandet

Just look at the mass tonnage of supplies they carried. Dont forget the airborne drops into Normany.

I look at this way, there is more to fighting a war than just the weapons. One thing I have learned since being in the Military is you have to have support so that you can do your mission. I would not have been able to fly day in and day out without food, water, medical supplies and what.

Amen!

And the fact that the C-47 did its job so well on all fronts by all participants (the Japenese even had their version) says something for the aircraft....

All round its got to be the best aircraft of WW2 and probably the greatest aircraft ever built!!!

[Nonskimmer]

Originally Posted by DerAdlerIstGelandet

One thing I have learned since being in the Military is you have to have support so that you can do your mission.

You said it, bro.

[netudki]

OK its true so the good old C-47 won the war. But I can imagine a new Spiti, with a box for 10 soldiers and the beer.....

[evangilder]

Originally Posted by netudki

Spiti, of course. It was used from 1939 to 1945, in almost all of roles (interceptor,fighter-bomber, carrier fighter, reconnaissance, trainer, escort fighter, seaplane fighter, long-range escort fighter), in all of the theater of II WW. The Spiti shot down last german, the Seafire shot down the last japanese aircraft.

The last aerial engagement in the war in Europe did not involve fighter aircraft actually. The last aerial battle was fought between a Fiesler Storch and a Piper L-4.

The pinnacle of the Grasshopper's career as a warplane came on April 12, 1945, when pilot Duane Francies and observer William Martin, flying an L-4 named Miss Me downed a low-flying German Fieseler Storch observation aircraft with their .45-caliber pistols. Author Cornelius Ryan describes the action:

By radio Martin reported that they had spotted a German plane and announced calmly "we are about to give combat." On the ground, astounded 5th Armored tankers, hearing Martin's call, craned their necks skyward searching out the impending dogfight.

Martin got the side doors open as Francies dived. Swinging the Cub into a tight circle over the German plane, both men blasted away with their .45's. … Violently sideslipping, the Storch began circling wildly. Above it, Francies and Martin, like frontier stagecoach guards, were leaning out of their own plane emptying their automatics as fast as they could pull the triggers. ... They were so close that Francies saw the pilot "staring at us, his eyeballs as big as eggs." Then suddenly the German maneuvered wildly and spun in. ... Francies set the Miss Me down in the next field and ran across to the downed plane. The German pilot and his observer were already out. … As Martin covered the pilot with his gun, Francies examined the [superficially] wounded observer.

Later that day, Francies and Martin posed happily beside their captured prize. They had fought what was probably the last World War II dogfight in the European theater and they were undoubtedly the only airmen in this war to bring down a German plane with a pistol. For Francies "it was a day of pure joy."

--Cornelius Ryan, The Last Battle, 310-12

[grumman-cats]

I have to agree with you c-47 guys. the airplane is really adaptable to just about any mission, wheather that's carring troops, towing gliders, flying the hump to deliver crucial supplies or being turned into a gunship later in its career. It's an amazing, tough, and versatile aircraft. You would think that it was designed by grumman aerospace.

[Aggie08]

haha, can you now imagine ten drunk soldiers onboard said spit?

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by grumman-cats

I have to agree with you c-47 guys. the airplane is really adaptable to just about any mission, wheather that's carring troops, towing gliders, flying the hump to deliver crucial supplies or being turned into a gunship later in its career. It's an amazing, tough, and versatile aircraft. You would think that it was designed by grumman aerospace.

A DC-2 wing was placed on a DC-3 and it even dropped bombs....

[evangilder]

And remember that there were a couple of bombers born out of the C-47 program, The B-18/Digby and the B-23 Dragon were all based from the DC-2/DC-3 development.