The greatest fighter that never made it

[Oreo]

Which fighter that didn't quite make it into combat, or more specifically, wide-spread use, woulda-coulda-shoulda made a huge difference if the war had lasted a few months longer?

[JugBR]

he 162, no doubt, another great project of germans.

[Wayne Little]

Sorry, have to go with my favorite, the Ta152....

[seesul]

Originally Posted by Wayne Little

Sorry, have to go with my favorite, the Ta152....

second that!

[renrich]

The F8F would have been a significant player in the Pacific or Europe if needed.

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I am going to go with the Ta 152.

[drgondog]

I would be split on this. Depends on when introduced. At end of the war I go as follows

The Ta 152 would have been conterbalanced by the P-80. The 162 was introduced but not clear that it was a difference maker over the Me 262 although it was as good as the P-80. P-51H would have been a worthy adversary to the Ta 152 and would have been able to engage more Me 262's than the P-51D but still at a disadvantage.

The F8F had awesome performance but not a quantum leap forward and not s difference maker.

I lump the Hornet and F7F in same pot - great potential and versatility but not up to a me 262 or P-80.

For me, the P-80 to restore parity against the 162 and the 262 and counter the Ta 152 as an escort fighter.

If introduced at earliest possible date based on protoype - the P-38M would have been very important in late 1943/early 1944.

[Thorlifter]

Piston I go with the Ta-152. From your list, I'd have to say the P-80. It would have equaled (or got close to) the Ta-152, Me-262, and He-162, which would have kept things balanced. Plus given the manufacturing capabilities of the U.S., it could have filled the sky while Germany was still producing planes in bunkers and caves.

[Marcel]

Sorry, would like to call a Fokker again, maybe not the best, but one which belongs to the list: Fokker G.I. Would have made quite a mess with the Germans if being deployed in larger amounts. As a proof, see the attack on Waalhaven, where they still had to take off while the Germans were already bombing, then shooting down 12 germans while loosing only one to enemy fire (one that took of without the tail gunner). With a hundred of these planes in the LVA, the Germans would have had a big problem.

[KrazyKraut]

I vote for the He-162 due to its mix of performance, low costs, use of non-critical resources and optimiziation for distributed production. It adressed a lot of the problems the Luftwaffe was facing in '44 but was simply too late.

Personally, I doubt the Ta 152 would've kept enough of a lead over Allied piston fighters like the P-51 for more than a few months. So I don't think it would've made that great a difference overall.

[bigZ]

Problem with this poll is the major difference a fighter can cause given that all them are late war types. Allies are still going to win with or without the P-80. The best the Axis can hope for is an extension. Perhaps a few thousand D520's might have made more of a difference in blunting the Blitzkrieg?

But from the list I will go with the unproven Horton and some sort of 152 cover it as my knowledge of Japans arsenal is not too great.

[kool kitty89]

Perhaps a few thousand D520's might have made more of a difference in blunting the Blitzkrieg?

Or if the VG-33 had come in time. (an aircraft which fits very well for this topic, though not late war as seems to be implied)

[Njaco]

split between the 152 and the F8F - went with the TA.

[Bigxiko]

He 162
tottaly!!!!!!!!!!

[merlin]

I'll go for the Bloch MB-157. Although some may disagree with the 'speed'. Nevertheless, if it had been available in '40 or '41 it would have given the luftwaffe some real problems IMO!