Most underated fighter

[Oreo]

Now we're talking about the fighters that have a bad popular reputation, and possibly combat record, but that may not deserve all the bad rap that they get. When you vote for this one, please make sure that you believe TWO things about the machine: A, it was a good machine, and B, people popularly dismiss it as being no good. If you don't believe BOTH things about it, please don't vote for it. We're talking about the BEST plane on the list that has the WORST reputation. Please help your favorite picked-on type by standing up for it! I will leave an "other" option in case you think of others.

[Matt308]

Oreo, put this up as a poll with a list of fighters to choose from. Members can nominate other fighters, but this will allow folks a catalyst to make some decisions and participate.

[magnocain]

The F4U isn't even on there.

[drgondog]

hard to comment that it was under rated..but I see your point

[Matt308]

Oh I don't know. Ask some Navy brass when first introduced. It passes Oreo's A & B test.

[Oreo]

My A and B test is for current opinion, not wartime opinion. In my opinion, the F4U is not underrated in current opinion, nor do I believe most people would think it is. However, I could be wrong.

[Oreo]

And, if you believe the F4U should be in the category, then you should vote for "other". Thank you!

[ONE_HELLCAT]

Maybe I misinterpreted the question in the pole and all, but I remember reading that the P-39 got a reputation that in a crash or even just a hard landing, the engine would crush the pilot. This was something that never happened despite what pilots feared, and in Russian hands, the plane was put to good use.

[eddie_brunette]

Altough the Hellcat was a awesome plane it really deserves more attention. IMHO the best US DOGFIGHTER of WW2, but my vote:

The P40 has the worst undeserved bad reputation.

edd

[Juha]

Hello Oreo
a good and very difficult question. I'm not able to choose the most underrated.
P-39, not the greatest fighter but definitely better than its reputation. Even Ds didn't do so badly than seemed to think and Ns and Qs did rather well in SW Pacific, but they lacked range and after going offensive US needed longer ranged fighter there.
With Soviet AF, now the bird was successful, many of the Soviet top aces flew them and the CO of 9th GIAD, Pokryshkin, refused the offer to chance Cobras of his division to the newest Soviet type. And one big offensive was delayed so that the supply of 100 octane fuel for 9th GIAD Cobras could be arrange before its beginning and Ns and Qs were used by 9th right to VE-Day.

Now F2A, or to be more exact B-229, did a sterling service in Finnish AF and had very light and effective controls and reasonable firepower. Also Dutch seemed to assest their B-339Ds better than Hurricane II with tropical filter.

I-153 and I-16 were both very manouevre and had rather good powerloading. Of course I-16 was an old type in 1941, but when it entered service it was a very modern concept. I-153 was on other hand a dead end when accepted in service.

Bf 110 was definitely better than its popular reputation in English speaking world indicates. A truly multi-role a/c and even if did not live up Göring's expectations during the BoB it wasn't a bad plane.

P-36/Hawk 75A/Mohawk, the most successful fighter of the French AF in 1939-40, did a sterling service in the Finnish AF 1941-44 and was still useful in Burma in 43-44 or 1944 only against Ki-43s which also were better than their reputation. As Spit pilots found out, Ki-43 wasn't a plane to underestimate and in no way an a/c to be fought against in slow speed turning combat.

Maybe I'll make my choice later.

Juha

[Oreo]

I'm glad to see everyone mulling it over. Most of the planes I put on the list I have heard or read other people maligning. I chose the F2A or Buffalo, but most of the planes on the list probably could fit the category. I agree with Juha especially about the P-39. The combat records in the Pacific show a positive kill-to-loss ratio, even if the records seem to be incomplete, they did well for themselves, Saburo Sakai's exploits notwithstanding. We must remember, too, that a huge difference abounded between skills and experience levels of pilots in different times and places. Sometimes it is impossible to come to conclusions about planes based on our lack of information about pilots, and wartime conditions.

[KrazyKraut]

So many choices: P-40 has a reputation of being outclassed in North Africa but really that was more of a tactical problem and the plane itself was overall not much worse than the Bf 109s it was facing.

Bf 110 had an extremely bad reputation after the BoB but it was really a well-made multi-role plane without any major technical flaws and apparently very nice to fly. It served well in a number of roles until the end of the war.

[JugBR]

the komet, because its a very unstable aircraft besides its performance. also 8 minutes of power its a quite few time to try change the war.

[Thorlifter]

I'm sorry, there isn't enough planes on the list to choose from. Could you add 20 or 30 more? heh heh. Just playin'.

Another plane to consider was the Curtis SB2C Helldiver. Because of the designation SB2C, it's crews called it Son of a Bitch 2nd Class. While they made constant changes throughout it's production run, it was plagued with problems. However, eventually it's crews grew to appreciate the plane.

But on your list I'd probably go with the P-39.

[claidemore]

Gotta vote for the Guaranteed Varnished Coffin, LaGG 3.
Not sure if its reputation is completely undeserved, the early models definately had their share of problems.
Later ones (late 42 and 43) however had good performance, the problems had pretty much been dealt with. Gunther Rall even called them (and Yaks) "very good".
Of course all LaGG production was switched over to the radial engined La5s etc, but it was still the same basic airframe as the original LaGG 3.