People cant follow simple directions....go figure....and then people wonder why we are where we are....just makes me laugh...in other news i did save a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to geico...
''F 15
I'd have to give it to the F 15 due to it's being undefeated in air to air. When introduced, it was a league ahead of anything else in the air. I'd give honorable mention to the FW 190, Corsair and Hellcat. All were fantastic aircraft of their day, but none were in a class of their own when compared to other aircraft of their day. The FW 190 was the perfect aircraft to attempt to counter the heavy bomber threat. It had 4 cannons and 2 heavy machine gun to try and knock down the heavy metal that was pounding Germany. The Corsair and Hellcat were both instrumental in building air superiority in the Pacific.
The P 51 was a good aircraft, but had a lot of compromises that keep it off the top. Structurally, it was weak and could lose a wing in heavy turbulence. What made the P 51 great was not it's ability as a fighter, but it's ability to reach any part of Germany and still have the fuel to fight. The P 47 was a great aircraft but this discussion is about air to air. It took a pilot that understood energy management to do well in a Thunderbolt but energy management was not taught to fighter pilots until 20 or so years later.
It's really tough to say what the best aircraft is without looking at it's ability to do the job it was tasked with. By some measures, the P 51 would be the top aircraft due to its ability to take the fight deep into Germany but as a simple 1 on 1 air to air fighter, it could be beat. The Fw 190 was a creditable fighter that had the punch to take a bomber down but could be beat in the air by a Spitfire. The Spitfire was a great aircraft for defending Britain but had trouble taking the fight deep into occupied territory when the time came. Even the P 40 was a solid performer and was favored by many pilots as an honest, solid aircraft to take to war.
But, in the end, the Eagle was designed to be an air superiority fighter and it excelled at that. It's won in battles over Israel as well as Iraq and Kuwait. It's returned to base missing a wing. It's also drop dead gorgeous.
F/A-18 Hornet
Its so bada$$ that it can attack and be a fighter.
Honorable mention--The F-14 Tomcat which also was used as an attack aircraft in Bosnia in 1995 even though the Tomcat was never built with the attack role in mind for the airframe. I was there. Wow that Tomcat can carry alot of ordnance!
''
Early P-51's were under powered (Allison V-12) and were regaled as great for ground support but above a point they lost to much power to run with the 109's.
When they squeezed a Merlin in the nose that configuration in a "D" air frame it was one fast tough SOB. It could and did outrun any prop offerings the Germans had to counter it. NO Cannons but not really needed. It was built for air superiority in that time and for the most part (German Jets/rocket powered planes) did just that.
Can you tell I am a fan......
I have heard a Merlin powered P-51 fly over at very low altitude at military power.....It is a sound that still makes the hair on my arms stand up.
The F-14 Tomcat is another one that does not get a lot of love.