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Your Favourite WW2 Aircraft


2ad82recon
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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.

 

:)

 

 

I love Allied WW2 gliders! I'm even building my own RC waco CG-4A, from scratch!

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I love Allied WW2 gliders!

Wow, now we are two! bye1.gif

 

I learnt to fly in very old wooden glider with only 17.1 glide ratio (not much more than in the case of 1940s era gliders) that is why I admire WWII glider pilots and I understand famous slogan "No Second Chance" describing their work at the controls of those flying coffins.

 

Best regards :)

 

Greg

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The almighty Typhoon which flew in support of Allied ground troops. Fast, well armored and great weapons.

 

I had the great pleasure of interviewing Harry Hardy, an RCAF pilot who flew a Typhoon named Pulverizer. Harry flew almost 100 ops (96 in total I recall correctly) - the first was during the Battle of the Falaise Gap.

 

His sorties were usually in support of British troops, but he also flew in support of American troops at the Battle of the Bulge, where he was shot down while chasing a Tiger tank into a wooded area - he figured there was a mobile German flak unit in the woods that nailed him in the rear stabilizer - he managed to bail out over a British Army camp. The Brits cut him out of the tree he landed in, gave him a drink and then lent him a driver and jeep so he could get back to his airfield.

 

Harry also flew two sorties during Market Garden. His last was in support of troops crossing the Rhine River into Germany.

 

Harry is a great man with great stories.

 

I'd post some of his recollections and pictures in the veteran's section but he doesn't fall within the parameters of this forum's "nothing but US militaria" rule as he's Canadian.

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Other favorites are the PBY- got about a 40 minute flight in a Black Cat and have liked it ever since.

Also like the B-26, we have one of only six left at a museum I volunteer at. Great stuff.

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love the Lancaster. My grandfather was a flight engineer with the RCAF and trained in them during the war, but finished his training the month after the war ended. He flew a couple supply missions and what not, and I remember him telling me they were instructed not to fly over the Russian lines or they were likely to get shot down! I go to university in Hamilton, Ontario, which is also the home of the Canadian Warplane Heritage museum. The museum has one of only 2 (i think) flying lancasters left in the world... I gotta say there really is nothing like a flyby by a lanc... those merlins really purr.

l_lancaster8.jpg

 

 

I also love the Westland Whirlwind, relatively unknown twin engine fighter that was plagued by poor engines (The vulture engine, i believe). Only several hundred were made (i think), and it wasn't until after production was stopped and some of them were equipped with better engines that their real potential became apparent.

westland%20whirlwind%20I.jpg

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Without a doubt the B-17 flying fortress in all it's variation is singularly my favorite WW2 aircraft.

As a child of 8 years old teh TV program Twelve 0'Clock High was on our local station. My parents were rather strict and did not appove of me staying up to watch the show. So, what hd to be done Twelve O'Clock High night was, I had to go to bed at 8 O'Clock to get up at 10 O'clock to watch Twelve O'Clock High.

Even 40 years later can't go sleep till after 10:30, when the program ended.

Cheers

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  • 5 months later...
brandon_rss18

One that I cant believe no one said on here P-38 lightning!!!!! How can you NOT like something that the Germans referred to as "The Fork Tailed Devil"!!!! But the Germans did have the Folk Wulf 190 which was a beautiful plane considering the Germans made it. And the all too forgotten Italian Macchi c.205 Veltro was an absolutely beautiful plane.

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Well I have a couple that are my favorites...

 

Most of my friends that are into World War II thought me nuts but, they were the backbones of their country's arsenal when they needed them in dire circumstances....

 

The unmentioned Grumman F4F Wildcat...

F4F.jpg

*Courtesy of the U.S. Navy Archives

 

and, the Hawker Hurricane Mk. I...

Hurricane.jpg

 

Kind Regards,

FRISCAN

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The Brewster Buffalo, scorned and disliked by most countries that had them, but loved by the finns. With good tactics and high morale, the finnish pilots turned it to a deadly machine. That airplane helped keep Finland independent. Period.

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The P-38, fork tailed devil.I think the shape & design is something else. One crashed about 15 miles from where i live in September 1945, one of the engines was with the local A.T.C......

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My all-time, number 1 favorite plane from WWII is easily the B-17 Flying Fortress. Without a doubt, one of the most beautiful machines to ever grace the skies, and also one of the most durable. I can't remember what started my love for the Fort, but when the movie Memphis Belle came out when I was 12 or 13, I was completely blown away.

Then, I saw Twelve O'Clock High for the first time and it was all over.

With all the variants of the Fort, there's something for everyone to love. The plain ol' "F" model. The "G" with it's sinister-looking chin turret. The pathfinder Forts with the Mickey Mouse H2X radar. The WB-17 weather recon version from the post-war years. The H(?)B-17 search and rescue version with a life raft slung from the belly (also post-war). If you're a fan of "ugly ducklings", there was even a B-17 with a B-24J nose stuck onto it, nose turret and all.

 

The B-24, -25, and -29 are all close 2nd, 3rd, and 4th to me, though. What can I say? I love bombers. :)

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  • 5 years later...

Not easy to answer...... but...

 

British...

Fighters: Spitfire VC

Bomber: Mosquito

 

US...

Fighter: P-51D Mustang, F8F Hellcat

Bomber: B-24 Liberator, SBD Dauntless

Recon: OS2U Kingfisher

 

German...

Fighter: FW190A

Bomber: JU88

 

Japanese...

Fighter: Ki61 Tony

Recon: Dianah

 

Australian... :)

Fighter: Boomerang

Bomber (aust made): Beaufort, Mosquito

 

Cheers,

 

-John

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Cobrahistorian

Wow, for some reason I never replied to this one.

 

Pretty easy for me. The two best US fighter bombers of the war: A-36 and P-47.

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Johnny Signor

Can't just have one, just like the "tater chips ' :D

P-51

P-47

P-38

P-40

P-61

A-20

B-24

B-25

B-26

A-26

B-29

F4U

F4F

F6F

F7F

PBY

J-3/L-4

T-6

SBD

C-46

C-47

Just to name a few...............................................................................................

Johnny

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SergeantMajorGray

That one is in "Scouting Two " markings correct ????????????

Im not sure in fact I just learned that SBD stands for scout bomber douglas lol. I got the picture off google and it actually looks like its from a videogame.

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