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Your Favourite WW2 Aircraft


2ad82recon
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Thought this froum was looking a bit bleak...so a fun poll for you guys/girls

 

What is your favourite WW2 Aircraft and why ! thumbsup.gif

 

Looking forward to the replies

 

Regards

 

Lloyd

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The Supermarine Spitfire.

 

You just can't beat the looks, and the gallantry and "romance" of The Few" in the Battle of Britain just adds to it. It was also my Dad's favorite airplane, so I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

 

I actually got to work on one a few years ago, and it was a two-seater. I never did manage to talk the guy into a ride in it, though. crying.gif

 

Steve

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Hi Steve happy holidays buddy...i actually have 3 faves

 

the B-17 and P-51...because of my parents historical ties with the 8th USAAF here in the Uk i have grown up with them

 

and the F4U Corsair......what a plane......just love it

 

Regards

 

Lloyd

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Mine would have to be the TBM or TBF Avenger.I loved that plane ever since I was a kid building models.The torpedo bomber was about obsolete when the avenger made it's first appearence,dive bombing was much more effective but if you understand the tactics of sinking vessels the torpedo bombers play thier role.Basically groups of aircraft approach from all directions and altitudes diverting supporting guns and aircraft.The Avenger was a workhorse in the navy it was very versitile able to carry torpedos,bombs and many other types of cargo.This plane was a good troop support craft able to carry hundreds of pounds of cargo food water and ammo to be air dropped plus napalm,many sorties were flown in support for the marines on pelielu.This plane was also used for search and rescue able to drop rafts and supplies to aviators and dunked sailors it helped in saving many lives.The plane was also well armed able to make strafing runs as well.

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My favorites in order of appearance:

Spitfire

B17

ME 109

P51

Hawker Hurricane

Sorry had to remove photos. Possible copyright infringement.

BEAR

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Sorry, I forgot that this was a US site... :) picture changes:

Official USAAF photos

 

 

Eagle Squadron, of course!

Official Air Ministry photo

 

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Yes!

8th USAAF, 7th Photo Reconnaissance Group, 14th Photo Squadron.

BEAR

 

German Aircraft Identification after D-Day: "American planes are silver, English planes are blue...Luftwaffe planes are invisible!"

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I would have to say the B-17. My uncle was a top turret gunner in the B-17E. He was at Hickam Field Dec. 7,1941 then off to Fiji and then Australia with the 435th Squadron, 19 Bomb Group. Coral sea, Guadalcanal, Rabaul. They did photo recon mostly which doesn't sound too glorious but they saw lots of action & lost many men.

I also like the P-40, P-51,B-25, & Spitfire.

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I have always had a "thing" for the F4F Wildcat. The Navel Aviators, Navy and Marine, that flew the type at Coral Sea, Midway and Guadalcanal have my admiration and thanks for their making the best of an aircraft that was near obsolete. I am also grateful to Grummann for making a plane so tough to shoot down the Japanese pilots could not believe their eyes.

 

Although soon replaced by the F6F as the primary USN carrier fighter improved Wildcats flew on with Allied pilots and in secondary roles, as in the anti-submarine hunter-killer groups launched off "jeep" carriers.

 

This is typically a question that brings up many ideas about favorite types. Usually a type becomes of interest because of a discussion, reading an historical treatment or perhaps best of all meeting someone that flew them.

 

In this last catagory I worked with a man that had some very interesting and vivid tales of his experience in the Army Air Corps. He wanted to fly fighters but was assigned to train on the B-26 Marauder. He said that he was soon impressed with the B-26. He eventually flew many combat sorties in the ETO with the 9th Air Force. He was also severly wounded by flak and flew no more missions. The B-26 was a "hot" aircraft that some people considered too dangerous. The pilots and crews that trained on the Marauder called it "The widow maker" and "One-a-day-in-Tampa Bay." The aircraft was unforgiving of pilot error, but in many ways was a better combat aircraft than the B-25.

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For sure the F4U Corsair, but I have to admit that the most exciting thing I've ever seen takeoff was a B-17. To actually see one of the WWII bombers flying is, to me, just an incredible experience.

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Hello,

 

Frankly speaking I am a lover of the other aircraft always forgotten, always underestimated. The army cooperation aircraft as Taylorcraft L-2, Aeronca L-3, Piper L-4, Stinson L-5. As an ex-glider pilot I also love both WWII-era military training gliders and troop type ones taking part in monumental air assaults.

 

Best regards

 

Greg

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I'm a P-40 man all the way. My Grandfather worked at Curtiss here in Buffalo and that's probably the main reason I go for the type.

 

However, my first really vivid warbird memory involved a P-40 and that's probably what clinched it. I was about twelve or thirteen... we were walking up to the gates at the airshow in Hamilton, Ontario when we heard this sound in the distance, gradually building...

 

When we reached the gate, our forward view was restricted by two large buildings and all we could see was a small block of the sky. All of a sudden this mean, olive green flying machine flashed past and was gone in the blink of an eye, taking with it the most beautiful growl I'd ever heard.

 

Anyhoo, as was the case with any airshow, I'd come out that day with my Dad and a friend of his to see airplanes... any airplanes. Didn't matter what they were. But after that opening act, all I was concerned with was getting an eyeful of that airplane. Normally I'd oogle at each and every bird we came to on the flightline. But this day I impatiently waited as my Dad and his pal inspected and photographed what seemed to be every other airplane on the field before we finally came upon the beast.

 

DocsHawk001a.jpg

 

 

My Dad must have sensed that I found this airplane to be something special because he took more photos of it than any other that day. We then had to vacate the flightline because the show started... and again I impatiently waited for that magnificent machine to make its appearance. And when it did, I don't think I took but two gulps of air while it was up there.

 

The flying for the day was over and the flightline was now open once again. Usually I'd check out each and every airplane for the second time, but on this day I simply ran past all the other aircraft to get one last look at that beautiful bird. It wasn't adorned with a flashy paintjob like those worn by so many other airplanes. It wasn't polished to perfection... it didn't possess elegant and graceful lines such as those types which I later came to know as the Mustang and Spitfire. It was not... 'beautiful'... but it was good looking and it was sleek.

 

This time there was a man in a green flightsuit hovering around the airplane. At this time of the day there were less folks on the line and it was a perfect time for taking unobstructed photos. So, in my mind, I was cursing this fella for 'ruining' all the photos my Dad was taking until it dawned on me... this was the pilot!

 

Doc001z1.jpg

 

 

Well, with a little prompting from my Dad, I walked over to him, shaking like a leaf, and started babbling incoherently about P-40s, Curtiss and my Grandfather. I dunno if he found any of what was coming outta my mouth to be intelligible or not... but he understood me prefectly.

 

'Wanna sit in the cockpit?' he asked...

 

MeinP-40001c.jpg

 

 

From that moment on, all is a blur. I recall sitting there for a while and recall my Dad taking some photos... but that's it.

 

Nevertheless, I will never forget the experience... my previous airshow experiences were responsible for making me the incurable nut for things with wings that I am today. But it was this experience which made me a bonafide P-40 lover...

 

 

Fade to Black...

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I would have to say that the P-51 Mustang had the most impact and is the most sexy looking fighter the U.S. produced. Had the P-51 and later the "Jug" not been made the Bombers would have never been as effective in the ETO as they were!

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C-47 Dakota "Skytrain".

Why?

They towed Waco gliders both on D-Day and Market Garden.

One towed the unfortunate Waco glider carrying 6 GIs of the 101st AB Signal Co. and 1 Englishman of the Royal Signal Corps which crashed here in my area.

The Dakota circled around - which was against orders - to look for survivors ... there were none.

 

Below is a monument we inaugurated in 1994.

 

GliderMonument_helmet2.jpg

 

Picture was taken on September 24, 2006 ... a week after the yearly commemoration.

 

As for the German side: the Messerschmitt Bf-109E.

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  • 6 months later...
IMPERIAL QUEST

B-17 Flying Fortress.

 

I could probably write a book explaining why, but I'll keep it short. This plane to me, is the embodiment of the greatest struggle in human history to date. It is a living memorial to the dead and to victory, a traveling epitaph that represents the young men who lived, fought and died in these planes.

 

Nothing on this earth sings as beautifully as a quartet of Fortress engines, whether they are humming in unison on the tarmac, or belting out in competition during a high-speed low pass. The very sound of the engines conjure up feelings and a connection to a past in which I had no part in. They are the sound of history, resonating from the past to remind us of a time when thousands of young men stood together to face tyranny, and evil.

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My personal favorite is the F4U Corsair. I got to sit in one when I was young, and it just took me over. The gull wing make it so identifiable. I really wanted to be a Navy carrier fighter pilot all through High School until I took the test and found that someone 6'4" and growing had a hard time sitting in a jet cockpit. More importantly to the Navy, my depth perception was so bad that they doubted I could land anything on a carrier, so I flunked the test.

 

My father commented many times about the B-29. He was a Seabee on Guam in 1945, and his living quarters (he was a CPO so he got a little better than the barracks) was near the end of the main airfield for the B-29s. They took off quite early for the bombing runs on Japan, and he said that the roar of the engines (remembering that they had a full bomb and fuel load so they were wound pretty tight getting off the ground) shook the whole building he was in. He said it was a sound you will never forget.

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Amen Bayonetmen, Corsairs all the way!! I particuarlly like the Goodyear FG-1D model. A little under 4000 of them were built here in my hometown of Akron. Oh yeah...they were constructed better than their Vought counterpart...I'm not even going to compare it to the Brewster. ;)

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I've always liked the FW-190 A8 and the way it looked with the BMW radial engine in the nose. Never cared much for the D9. The 190 looks the part of a fighter.

 

Next on the list would have to be the Spitfire. What a beautiful airplane with that elliptical wing!!!

 

My 3rd choice (there's no way to pick just one) would be the B-17. I think because my dad was in the USAAF as an armorer and that's all he ever talked about. But just reading the exploits of the crews, especially those of the Bloody 100th BG, is enough for me. If you can ever get hold of a copy of "Flying Fortress" by Edward Jablonski, get it, it will definitely bring a tear to your eye.

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'Wanna sit in the cockpit?' he asked...

 

MeinP-40001c.jpg

From that moment on, all is a blur. I recall sitting there for a while and recall my Dad taking some photos... but that's it.

 

Nevertheless, I will never forget the experience... my previous airshow experiences were responsible for making me the incurable nut for things with wings that I am today. But it was this experience which made me a bonafide P-40 lover...

Fade to Black...

 

Steve,

 

That's a great story!! Isn't this the kind of story that makes us all love these old planes. thumbsup.gif

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What a boom in this topic! w00t.gif:lol:

 

But still nobody loves WWII gliders, only me. You have had so beautiful military gliders as Schweizer TG-2A for instance.

 

:)

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