I like many but I consider the P-40 my favorite, probably because at a young age I discovered the Flying Tigers. There was always something appealing about that shark mouth artwork and the leaping tiger near the cockpit.

Of course, the P-40s weren't the only ones to do the whole shark mouth thing, but it really fits that plane best, based on the air scoop on the front.

Some planes, which may or may not be the best planes, just catch the imagination. We built a lot more B-24s in WWII than B-17s, but I've never seen a single movie which starred B-24s. Reading the Stephen Ambrose book "The Wild Blue" the B-24 pilots resented the glamour that the B-17 folks got.

Not that I wouldn't pick the B-17 as my favorite heavy bomber though. As for a light bomber, I have to go with the B-25, partly because I read "30 seconds over Tokyo" as a kid, and partly because "Yellow Rose," the CAF B-25 I saw as a kid had boobies on it. And for a 12-year-old kid from Texas, anything that bombed stuff, had boobies, and was from Texas...was cool stuff.



As for fighters, I'd probably pick the P-38.


[This message has been edited by aalan94 (edited 10/19/2007 11:22p).]

[This message has been edited by aalan94 (edited 10/19/2007 11:24p).]

B-26 Marauder


F4U Corsair


And I am probably the only person who has a love for this plane. Many a pilot owes their life to the Catalina.

All excellent picks. Picking a favorite WWII airbird is kind of like picking your favorite variety of chocolate themed Blue Bell ice cream - do you want milk chocolate, chocolate chip, triple chocolate, or something else?

My favorite heavy bomber would be the B-17 and I always leaned toward the B-25 among the medium bombers. Also love the P-38.

Heck, here's a few more. And on that Catalina, it wasn't the prettiest of airplanes but it played a huge role in so many places during the war that it deserves a place of honor among all WWII warbirds.

The only flyable Helldiver left in the world based at the CAF airfield in West Houston.


A pair of cats (Hellcat and Wildcat).


A Mustang and a British Hurricane.


A P-38, P-40, P-47 and P-51.


A B-17.


A B-24.


A B-25.


Another of my favorites, which I don't currently have a photo of, is the P-61 Black Widow. And that doesn't even begin to get to the rest of the warbirds from other nations such as the Spitfire and Bf109.

B-17. My Great-Uncle flew one in the Italian campaign, and had a little model on his shelf that he always loved to show us.

About the B-25 above the "Tondelayo."
http://www.collingsfoundation.org/cf_news_08-08-2002_B25.htm

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All excellent picks. Picking a favorite WWII airbird is kind of like picking your favorite variety of chocolate themed Blue Bell ice cream - do you want milk chocolate, chocolate chip, triple chocolate, or something else?

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Cookies and Cream.

There was another thread just like this about a year ago, and I think I put the Corsair down as my favorite plane there. Corsair, Lightning, P-51. All good. P-47 good, but not pretty. From looks, I think the Helldiver was abysmal, but it was not a bad plane. Looks wise, the best divebomber is the Dauntless.

B-29, cutting edge tech., dropped the 1st A-bomb, and my father's 1st assignemt in the airforce was as a tailgunner on a B-29 over korea. (and the reds stole the design and made their own heave bomber, so it must have be a great plane)

+1 on the B-26. My grandfather was a wasitgunner on them in France and Belgium. Flew air support over the Bulge, and his unit received a Presidential Citation for it.

As far as fighters, the P-51's were sexy and the P-47 "Jugs" were flying tanks, but the P-38's were just downright awesome. Range, firepower, maneuverabilty, speed, hit survivability. Just don't go into a dive in one of the early models. I read a book about them awhile back, The Fork-Tailed Devil (can't remember the author), and it did a very good job following their development and use in all theaters of the war. Damn impressive plane.

I, too, love 'em all. But it is funny that the P-51 and the B-17 get all the good press, when the stats show that the planes that won the war were the B-24 and the P-47. More bombs dropped, more enemy fighters shot down, etc. etc.

Of course if you want to talk about the vehicles that actually won the war, one could argue for:

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I, too, love 'em all. But it is funny that the P-51 and the B-17 get all the good press, when the stats show that the planes that won the war were the B-24 and the P-47. More bombs dropped, more enemy fighters shot down, etc. etc.

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I read once where the B-17 got most of the attention and good press because the 8th Air Force squadrons equipped with B-24s were located further away from London (because the B-24 had a longer range than the B-17). There were approximately 18,000_B-24s manufactured, compared with 12,750+ B-17s. But the B-17 was more photogenic, and was featured in Memphis Belle during the War and in Twelve O'Clock High in the post-war years.

BTW, Hurricanes shot down more German planes than Spitfires during the Battle of Britain. But that's because 2 out of 3 squadrons in 1940 were equipped with Hurricanes. Also, whenever possible, Hurricanes went after the bombers (easier to shoot down) while the Spitfires tangled with the Bf-109's (a more even match).

BBH-

I think you are correct. B-17s were in England and easy for reporters/filmmakers to find. B-24s were in the Pacific, North Africa, India, etc.

CanyonAg:

Don't forget Italy. My mom's older brother was a B-24 pilot briefly stationed in Italy (15th Air Force, 464 Heavy Bombardment Group, 777th Squadron); then he was an involuntary resident of Luft Stalag III ...

http://www.frankambrose.com/pages/SZue's%20Fotos/AsusiPg.html

[This message has been edited by BrazosBendHorn (edited 10/23/2007 10:59a).]

[This message has been edited by BrazosBendHorn (edited 10/23/2007 11:00a).]

Canyon you forgot to include the Jeep!

I have a family friend/ adopted grandfather/ who was a navigator on a B-25. He was involved in one of the raids that bombed Monte Casino. He crash landed in the Bay of Naples on one mission. Fast forward 50 years and I end up stationed in Naples, spending many a weekend walking the battlefield of Monte Casino and Nettuno.

People often neglect the B24 which was the real work horse. It was able to fly out of African bases and attack central Europe, providing a 2 directional approach to bombing. Of course the raid on Poelsti sealed its fate into history.


[This message has been edited by Aggies Revenge (edited 10/23/2007 11:22a).]

I didn't forget the 24s in Italy, just was being a little lazy, as they operated out of North Africa first, then Italy later.

Every time I hear about Plotsei, I think about Lloyd h. Hughes '43

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During the Aug. 1, 1943 bombing mission over the Ploesti oil fields in Romania, Hughes was the pilot of a B-24 heavy bombardment aircraft flying in the last element of a formation.

He arrived in the target area after previous flights had thoroughly alerted the enemy defenses. Approaching the target through intense and accurate antiaircraft fire and dense balloon barrages at dangerously low altitude, his airplane received several direct hits from both large and small caliber antiaircraft guns that seriously damaged his aircraft. Sheets of escaping gasoline streamed from the bomb bay and from the left wing. The leak was so heavy that it was blinding his waist gunner's view. The damage was inflicted prior to reaching the target when Hughes could have made a forced landing in any of the grain fields readily available at that time. The target area was blazing with burning oil tanks and damaged refinery installations from which flames leaped high above the bombing level of the formation. Knowing the consequences of entering the inferno when his airplane was leaking gasoline in two separate locations, Hughes elected not to make a forced landing or turn back from the attack. Instead, rather than jeopardize the formation and the success of the attack, he flew into the wall of fire at about 30 feet above the ground and dropped his bomb load with precision.

After successfully bombing the objective, he emerged from the conflagration with the left wing of his aircraft on fire. He attempted to pull up and away from the action, trying to save his plane and crew. He successfully slowed the plane's speed form 225 to 100 miles an hour. It looked as if he was going to be able to crash land when suddenly the left wing flew off and the plane cartwheeled into the ground. All in the plane were killed.

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Above is from

[url]http://www.af.mil/history/person.asp?dec=&pid=123006485[/url]

One of the good things about such low-level raids is that most of the anti-aircraft fuses won't set that low, so they're basically punching holes through the planes without blowing up.

However, the heat from the flames of the fire are intense, and consequently was the fire-created weather. In the firebombing of Tokyo, several B-29s were flipped onto their backs by the powerful updraft.

All the good guys, but what about the "bad guys"? Here are some great ones...


ME 109


The beautiful Mitsubishi Type 0



the F o c k e-Wulf FW-190



later model:



Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa, AKA "Oscar"


Nakajima Ki 84 Hayate "Frank"


Me 262:


As for some of the Allied aerocraft I love:

Spit of course:







Hawker Tempest II


Hawker Sea Fury (Post War)






Mosquito


Lancaster:




Some Grummans we may forget since they were designed during the war, but never got in:

Tigercat-beautiful




Bearcat:

w/ Hellcat




One more:






Something fun. This picture sure looks clear after 60+ years








[This message has been edited by Capitol Ag (edited 10/25/2007 2:01a).]

Re-enactors. Hence the smiley face? Gotta luv it, though. Thanks for the pics.

Exactly NormanAg. You wouldn't wear your e-tool like that unless you wanted to crack you tailbone when you hit the ground!

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Re-enactors. Hence the smiley face? Gotta luv it, though. Thanks for the pics.

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Hence the smiley face. This is a fun thread, and a nice change from the FB board. Warbirds are one of my favorite things....


[This message has been edited by Capitol Ag (edited 10/25/2007 2:04a).]

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Re-enactors. Hence the smiley face? Gotta luv it, though. Thanks for the pics.

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Although, I've seen some 40- to 50-year-old Kodachrome slides that were preserved so well you would think they had been shot last year.

Kodachrome, it gives us those nice bright colors
Gives us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah!
I got a Nikon camera, I love to take a photograph
So momma, don't take my Kodachrome away

-- Paul Simon

A note on the picture of the Sea Fury. I was watching "Victory at Sea" and they used footage of one. I didn't recognize the plane and paused the DVD to search it. I found the Sea Fury and then found that it never flew in WWII. But the footage was supposedly from the RAF in the Med.

That's typical of how they made documentaries back then - reenactments and stand-in footage.

I love those old warbirds. I think the P-40, P-51, P-38 and B-17 are my favorites, But I think the most remarkable plane from that war is the British Mosquito. It wasn't until recently I learned that it was made of wood and just how effective it was in the ETO.