The six most famous aircrafts of the WWII majors?

[Easy1]

USA, UK, Germany, USSR and Japan (France, Japan). What do you regard as these countries six most famous aircrafts from the WWII period?

[Thorlifter]

If by famous you mean popular, then I submit this list in no particular order.

USA - C47, Corsair, Mustang, B17, Lightning, B24
England - Spitfire, Hurricane, Mosquito, Lancaster, Halifax, Swordfish
Germany - Bf109, Fw190, Me262, He111, Ju88, Ju-52
USSR - Pe-2, Il-2, La-7, Mig-3, Yak-3, i-15
Japan - A6M Zero, B5N Kate, D3A Val, G4M Betty, Ki-43 Oscar, Ki-84 Frank

France and Italy are not quite as easy since they were not in the war very long, so my list for them is half based on popularity and half on quality of the plane.
France - Dewoitine D.520, Morane-Saulnier MS 406, Bloch MB 200 and 210, Loire 130
Italy - Macchi C.200, Macchi C.202, Fiat G.55, Reggiane Re.2005, Fiat CR.42, Piaggio P.108

[Easy1]

Thanks Thorlifter! I did mean famous as in popular. Like in popular history and by mainstream media.

I wrote France and Japan in the parantese but meant France and Italy. Suggestions regarding them are also appreciated. I mean, if it makes sense to say those countries had that number of aircrafts that can be said to be famous/popular.

[drgondog]

I tried to rank most important

USA - C47, P-47, Mustang, F4U, B24, AT-6...I struggled over F4U vs F6F, P-38 vs P-47, B-24 vs B-17 and AT-6 vs B-25 and B-26..
England - Spitfire, Hurricane, Mosquito, Lancaster, Beaufighter, Swordfish.. hard to leave Halifax out, ditto Typhoon.
Germany - Me 109, Ju 87, FW 190, Do 217, Ju 88, Ju 52 I debated the He 111 and Do 217 and Fw 200 but the others seemed clear.
USSR - Pe-2, Il-2, La-7, MiG-1, Mig-3, Yak-3, Yak-9
Japan - A6M Zero, B5N Kate, D3A Val, G4M Betty, Ki-43 Oscar, Ki-84 Frank

I left France out because IMO nothing they had was adequate to achieve parity except perhaps the D.520 or MS 406
Italy - Reggiane Re.2005, Fiat CR.42, Piaggio P.108, Macchi C.200, Macchi C.202, Fiat G.55

[oldcrowcv63]

I'll try and rank in both importance and popularity (public & media awareness) and use Thor's post as a template cause with only minor deviation I think he pretty much nailed it for me...

USA - P-47, B17, C47, P-51, P-40, (Tie between the F4F, F6F & B24), (F4U, P-38 & B-25 get an honorable mentions.)
England - Spitfire, Hurricane, Mosquito, Lancaster, Halifax, Swordfish
Germany - Bf109, Fw190, Ju88, Ju-52, Me262, He111
USSR - Il-2, Yak-1, La-7, Pe-2, i-16, Mig-3
Japan - A6M Zero, B5N Kate, D3A Val, G4M Betty, Ki-43 Oscar, Ki-84 Frank
France - Dewoitine D.520, Morane-Saulnier MS 406, Bloch MB 150, BR-690, Amiot 354, Arsenal VG33
Italy - Macchi C.200, Macchi C.202, Fiat G.55, Reggiane Re.2005, Fiat CR.42, Piaggio P.108

I don't think much of the P-40, except it was what we had in quantity at the war's start and had a high public profile early on. It should have been better than it was especially if its armament had been reduced to 4 x .50's or 6 x .30s and of course given the Merlin, which finally happened, but too late for it to have an impact.

[fastmongrel]

Guys just a small point its not Englands airforce the RAF fought for England, Scotland, N Ireland, Wales, The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The English outnumber the rest of us in the British Isles by about 3 or 4 to 1 but we never let them forget that the rest of the country has a disproportionate number of fighting men. Please say Great Britain or UK so you dont leave us Vikings and Celts out.

[Thorlifter]

Thanks for the correction FastMongrel. No disrespect intended........

[Juha]

Mine is almost identical to that of Thorlifter
Hardiest was Germany, IMHO Ju 87 is a must, but what to left out, in the end I dropped Ju 88, as good it was.
1. USA - C47, F4U Corsair, P-51 Mustang, B17, P-38 Lightning, P-40 Warhawk
GB - Spitfire, Hurricane, Mosquito, Lancaster, Anson, Swordfish
Germany - Bf109, Fw190, Me262, He111, Ju87, Ju-52
USSR - Pe-2, Il-2, La-5, DB-3F/Il-4, Yak-3, I-16
Japan - A6M Zero, B5N Kate, D3A Val, G4M Betty, Ki-43 Oscar, Ki-84 Frank
France - Dewoitine D.520, Morane-Saulnier MS 406, Potez 63.11, Breguet Br. 693, Bloch MB 210, Bloch MB 152
Italy - Macchi C.200, Macchi C.202, Fiat G.55, Reggiane Re.2005, Fiat CR.42, S.M. 79 Sparviero

[fastmongrel]

Same as Juha just swapped Anson for Sunderland and He111 for JU88

USA - C47, F4U Corsair, P-51 Mustang, B17, P-38 Lightning, P-40 Warhawk
GB - Spitfire, Hurricane, Mosquito, Lancaster, Sunderland, Swordfish
Germany - Bf109, Fw190, JU88, Me262, Ju87, Ju-52
USSR - Pe-2, Il-2, La-5, DB-3F/Il-4, Yak-3, I-16
Japan - A6M Zero, B5N Kate, D3A Val, G4M Betty, Ki-43 Oscar, Ki-84 Frank
France - Dewoitine D.520, Morane-Saulnier MS 406, Potez 63.11, Breguet Br. 693, Bloch MB 210, Bloch MB 152
Italy - Macchi C.200, Macchi C.202, Fiat G.55, Reggiane Re.2005, Fiat CR.42, S.M. 79 Sparviero

[drgondog]

No disrespect FM - it occurred to me when looking at Thor's list that every design was associated with a specific country and England was where all the designs I put up originated.. to me RAF is in fact a major distinction (including US fighter pilots early) as it was comprised of men from all over the Commonwealth as well as Poland, Czechs, etc.

The reason I went a different direction is that I was tring to eliminate different aircraft if there were two or more engaged primarily in the same mission. If I had to reduce to six that IMO the US had the highest priority for in 1944 it would be:
C-47, P-51B, B-24, AT-6/SNJ, F4U and TBF.. but that wouldn't reflect 'most pics of/most news about' as all the fighters and bombers would overwhelm the C-47 and AT-6.

[Thorlifter]

In regards to the US, UK, Germany, and Japan, there were many honorable mentions. But this thread isn't about the best plane, but the most popular. Could definitely have included the Stuka, Hellcat, AT-6, Ki-100, B-25, B-26, Sunderland, Tempest, Sterling, P-40, etc, etc, etc as very popular aircraft being in the public eye.

[wuzak]

I tried to rank most important

USA - C47, P-47, Mustang, F4U, B24, AT-6...I struggled over F4U vs F6F, P-38 vs P-47, B-24 vs B-17 and AT-6 vs B-25 and B-26..
England - Spitfire, Hurricane, Mosquito, Lancaster, Beaufighter, Swordfish.. hard to leave Halifax out, ditto Typhoon.
Germany - Me 109, Ju 87, FW 190, Do 217, Ju 88, Ju 52 I debated the He 111 and Do 217 and Fw 200 but the others seemed clear.
USSR - Pe-2, Il-2, La-7, MiG-1, Mig-3, Yak-3, Yak-9
Japan - A6M Zero, B5N Kate, D3A Val, G4M Betty, Ki-43 Oscar, Ki-84 Frank

I left France out because IMO nothing they had was adequate to achieve parity except perhaps the D.520 or MS 406
Italy - Reggiane Re.2005, Fiat CR.42, Piaggio P.108, Macchi C.200, Macchi C.202, Fiat G.55

The P-47 was mor important than the P-51?

[Arossihman]

The P-47 was mor important than the P-51?

I would say yes on survivability alone! Of course then theres firepower!

[wuzak]

I would say yes on survivability alone! Of course then theres firepower!

That may make the P-47 more potent, but in no way makes it more important.

[fastmongrel]

The P-47 was mor important than the P-51?

But this isnt about most important or best its about most famous. I would venture to say that the P51 is more famous whether that is deserved or not.