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Top Ten Fighter Aircraft of all time!

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Bret

Bret

Yoda
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I love digital cable. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbsup.gif

So according to the Military Channel, these are the “Top Ten Fighter Aircraft of all time”. Great program, but I'm not sure I agree with the order and could think of a few I would have liked to see on the list.

So looking over the list how does your list compare?

#10 F/A-22 Raptor (Amazing aircraft but only scored so low because it’s never been proven in combat)
#9 AV-8 Harrier (Falklands war: Brits operated over 8000 miles from home and where out numbered about a hundred to one)
#8 Sopwith Camel (mainstay of allies during the war to end all wars)
#7 ME 262 Messerschmitt (first operational Jet Fighter but thankfully way to late to win the war)
#6 Spitfire (When Britain stood alone in 1940 the Supermarine Spitfire symbolized British defiance)
#4 Tie! Mig15 & F86. (dog fight battles above the 38th parallel by two swept-wing designs based on German WWII aircraft – Pilots gave the F86 the 10 to 1 kill ratio)
#3 F4 Phantom (15 Aviation records, First multi-service multi-role aircraft but most of the credit & success for this aircraft has to go to it’s two big fat engines)
#2 F-15C Eagle (Two words: “Air Superiority”. Not the fastest - but fast enough & mean enough to get the job done)
#1 P-51D Mustang. (Best of the Best – “Nasty Little Shark & Killing Machine”, first true “long range” fighter to escort bombers to Berlin. Bomber crews saw a 75% drop in losses after the Stang joined the battle)
 
I'm surprised the F-16 didn't make the list, nor the F-18 or F-14.
 
Agreed! While I’m sure they where close (certainly in the top 15)

F-16 Agile & darty. Good ground support fighter jet.
F/A-18 Versatile multi-role fighter. Capable of ground support & mixin it up and going toe to toe with just about anything in the air. Air & Mud Marines Lov’em!
F-14 Top flight Naval air superiority aircraft. Best Pulse-Doppler Radar money could buy at the time could track 24 aircraft & attack 6 of those simultaneously.
 
All great aircraft James, But according to the program they based the results on a number of factors came into play for this list that bumped a few of my favorites too.

But in their cases the numbers just didn't put them in the top ten. The aircraft that made the top ten list got there by their over all ratings. Among the categories rated was the actual combat & service records, battlefield impact, simplicity, ease of production & numbers, innovation and fear factor.

Example lets take one of my all time favorites the F4U Corsair. Great fighter, rugged good combat & service records and the enemy was scarred to death of the dang thing. Moreover it F4U saw service in the Korean conflict after the war as a close air support platform. However it was a complicated aircraft to produce and it wasn’t a good carrier aircraft so most where relegated to use with the Marine Corps and land base operations, both of witch hampered it’s overall service record in the Pacific Theater. The real premier fighter in the Pacific with it’s 19 to 1 kill ratio at wars end was the F6F Hellcat – but like the many fine aircraft F6F (ace maker) didn’t make the top ten either.

This brings up another issue with the list – with two exceptions (the AV8 Harrier & F4 Phantom) the total lack or mention of true Naval aviation, leads me to believe that the folks compiling the list had a bias towards aircraft with clear “Air Force” type roles.
 
I'll throw tuppence in.
The differences between the Sea Harrier, RAF Harrier, and AV8B are huge, not only their roles, but their equipment. The Sea Harrier had a massively superior radar system compared to the Harrier GR3. The Sea Harrier was used in the Falklands, the AV8 wasn't. The AV8 is considerably superior to both of them, but again, differing roles.
Based on the criteria of judging, shouldn't the F-15 win based purely on the kill:loss ratio?
The P-51 was junk with the Allison Engine in it. The D model (With Rolls Royce motor) was no doubt worthy of the win.
ME109 was superior to the Spitfire in as many ways as the Spitfire was superior to it, particulary in that the ME109 could dive inverted because of the fuel injection, the Spitfire could not because its carbs would flood and the motor would stall. Besides that, the Hawker hurricane was superior in kill:loss numbers than both.
I agree with James's list being worth a mention but would like to include the following in terms of being truly influential in the war effort:
Hawker Hurricane.
P-47 Thunderbolt.
 
There's no such airplane as the ME 109. You are thinking of the Bf109, designed by Willy Messerschmitt, but not made by his company due to politics.
 
My bad. Thanks for the info, Yank.
 
Me Ol' Fella shot 'em outta th' sky over France and Germany and I ~always~ heard 'em referred to as ME-109's. He had a shot at ONE 262... said it was SHOCKING how unequipped we were to combat that bird.


And tho Jeff is gonna stick his snoot in here and chastise me: I think F-4 Phantoms were an awesome weapons platform for their time.
Not as nimble as the A-7's but WHAT A TRUCK!!! Should'a had a bulldog hood ornament onna nose. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif
 
It is pretty difficult to rate 10 aircraft over time....I know that's the premise of the show (which I like), but how do you compare and contract aircraft from WWII to WWI to Vietnam to present? Seems an impossible task.

I mean, there was some not-to-hot equipment which made the difference in the hands of superior pilots.

I have a problem with having the F-22 on the list- low production and unproven. By all accounts it will be the class of the class for some time to come, but in combat, I prefer to evaluate results, not potential.

As for the ME 262- it never made a difference and with a 25 hour expected life from the engines, it was not likely to. Influential? Of course, but not a difference maker in the war.
 
Yeah, James. Like "Dream Team" baseball.
 
Doc, I'm surprised that you think I may have something bad to say about "Ol' Double Ugly"
Besides, the SLUF was basically designed for air to mud, which rarely gets any recognition anyway. Except from the guys on the ground next to the wire.
Jeff
 
mehheh. : "Ol' Double Ugly"...

"I didn't call 'em trollups an' I didn't call 'em sluts..."

"Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean"... loosly paraphrased.



/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif
 
I've always liked the A-10 Warthog myself, and a friend
calls it the F350 of the sky... He's a truck fan...

SteveL
 
The Hawker Hurricane was similar to the F-4 Phantom in that it was an outstanding weapons platform, it was far superior to the Spitfire in that respect, and able to take more punishment. I agree with Barry, and vote for the "Hurri".
 
Always been partial to the A-10 also... How can one not love a plane who's "maiden flight" was the exact same day you were born?

Alas, it's not a "Fighter Aircraft" so it's disqualified from this particular list...

I grew up in the "jet age" and had the 33rd Tacticle Fighter Wing in my back yard. So, I've always loved turbine powered fighters. The F15 has always been a fav, as are the F4 and the FB-111. The AV-8B and the FA-18 are always cool too. Although, by the title of the list the AV-8 shouldn't be on it.

F14's while I think are cool looking aircraft, I never really cared for them too much. Aside from it being the only fighter capable of carrying the Pheonix A-to-A missile, I wasn't ever very impressed with it... Don't ask me why, I just wasn't. Maybe it has something to do with "Top Gun"...
 
Many folks say that the two best "fighters" in WW II were the ~L-4~ (Piper Cub) and the ~DAKOTA~ (DC-3 / "Gooney Bird").

The Cub, (when used as forward aerial support for ground-based guns) was reponsible for aiming more total weight of effective munitions than most bombers. And of course, the Dakota carried a lot of troops and materiel for the war effort.

And +1 for the A-10. It deserves a mention just because it's so darn homely (plus it has that great big gun in the snout).

Surprised the "Forked Devil" P-38 was left out, but I guess it's a matter of opinion.

And Russian IL-2 ~STURMOVIK~ probably had a huge effect on the outcome ot WW II because they were so effective against the German's eastern front. (Sturmoviks were the most mass-produced WW II fighter by far....over 35000 built).
 
I don’t agree I think the Harrier is right at home in that list. The British used them in the Falklands with great success taking out something like 21 Argentine aircraft in the Air with 0 losses in the air.

Here are some of the more advanced aircraft the Harrier took out.
9 Daggers Darts (basically an Israeli version of Mirage V).
1 Mirage III.
8 A4 Skyhawks.

Worth mentioning is that while that while most agree the Harrier isn’t a premier front line fighter aircraft, it’s pretty dang impressive kill list considering the only Harrier combat losses where due to ground fire.
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbsup.gif
 
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