The deadliest fighter planes of WWII ...

OK, so we have added the British Typhoon or the Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 as they they are multi-role attack aircraft. Over a period of six years of conflict, from 1939 to 1945, aircraft designs had progressed in leaps and bounds. From the obsolete biplane, to the world’s first jet fighter, from crude two-engined bombers, to radical designs of the B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers, World War Two had seen the most radical use of aircraft in the battlefield. So lets have a look at the 10 deadliest fighters of WWII. It will cause debate but lets see what you think….

Hawker Hurricane

source

The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Although overshadowed by the Supermarine Spitfire, the aircraft became renowned during the Battle of Britain, accounting for 60% of the RAF’s air victories in the battle, and served in all the major theatres of the Second World War.


The 1930s design evolved through several versions and adaptations, resulting in a series of aircraft which acted as fighters, bomber-interceptors, fighter-bombers (also called “Hurribombers”) and ground support aircraft. Further versions known as the Sea Hurricane had modifications which enabled operation from ships. Some were converted as catapult-launched convoy escorts, known as “Hurricats”. More than 14,583 Hurricanes were built by the end of 1944 (including at least 800 converted to Sea Hurricanes and some 1,400 built in Canada by Canadian Car and Foundry).

Vought F4U Corsair

source

Claiming an 11-to-one kill ratio, the Corsair is widely considered to be the most successful fighter of WWII. The Japanese nicknamed it “Whistling Death,” due to its distinct engine noise. The Corsair’s inverted gull-wing design ably accommodated both the gigantic propeller and the short, stout landing gear that was an integral part of its design. To improve its aerodynamic efficiency, flush riveting and the new technique of spot-welding were used so that the plane’s body was as smooth as possible, with nothing interrupting air flow. The armament suite included six .50-cal Colt-Browning M2 machine guns and either two 1,000-pound bombs or eight 5-inch rockets.

Republic P-47D Thunderbolt

source

Flown by the U.S. and several other Allied forces during the war, the P-47D was mostly used either as a bomber escort or for its remarkable ground-fighter capabilities. Each one was heavily armed with eight .50-cal machine guns and 2,500 pounds of rockets or bombs. Unfortunately, range was a problem for the P-47D, which meant that the P-51 Mustang ended up taking over many of its previous bomber escort duties on long-range missions. At least 12,500 P-47Ds were built–far more than any other model of Thunderbolt before or since.

Yakovlev Yak-9

source

The Yakovlev Yak-9 was a single-engine fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union in World War II and after. Fundamentally a lighter development of the Yak-7 with the same armament, it arrived at the front at the end of 1942. The Yak-9 had a lowered rear fuselage decking and all-around vision canopy. Its lighter airframe gave the new fighter a flexibility that previous models had lacked. The Yak-9 was the most mass-produced Soviet fighter of all time. It remained in production from 1942 to 1948, with 16,769 built (14,579 during the war). Towards the end of the war, the Yak-9 was the first Soviet aircraft to shoot down a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet. Following World War II it was used by the North Korean Air Force during the Korean War

Lockheed P-38 Lightning

source

Two engines made this bad boy twice as awesome as previous fighters in the Allied arsenal. Its reputation earned it the Luftwaffe nickname of “The Fork-Tailed Devil.” Equipped with four .50-cal machine guns and a single 20mm cannon, it was a fearsome force to be reckoned with. The P-38 Lightning was very versatile, too. It performed admirably as a long-range escort fighter, dive bomber, level bomber, ground strafer, and photo reconnaisance plane.

Messerschmitt Bf 109

source

Lucky for Great Britain that it had the Spitfire, because this was the only plane at the time that could match (and eventually surpass) the might of the Bf 109 in combat. The Luftwaffe used this plane in combat throughout the war. It was so successful that the plane continued to be used in Spain and Israel in the post-war years. Several variants existed, each with different deadly armament suites.

P-51 Mustang

source

Although the Tuskegee Airmen flew a few different planes, the P-51 Mustang is the one for which they’re most remembered. Members of the 332nd Fighter Group painted the tails of their P-51 Mustangs red, thus earning the nickname “Red Tails” or “Red-Tail Angels.” They flew with distinction, mostly as bomber escorts in Europe. They were later regarded as some of the best pilots the U.S. Air Force had produced in its history up to that point. Armament included six .50-cal machine guns and either 10 5-inch rockets or 2,000 pounds of bombs per plane.

Supermarine Spitfire

source

The Spitfire was how Great Britain won the Battle of Britain against the German Luftwaffe forces. It’s also how the Royal Air Force fought Germany’s V-1 rockets, thwarting and destroying more than 300 of them before they could hit their targets. Considering that the V-1 rockets that weren’t intercepted killed 30,000 British civilians, that’s quite a record. Four different armament suites existed for Spitfires over the course of the war. Spitfires were equipped with either eight 7.7mm machine guns, four 7.7mm machine guns and four 20mm cannons, or two 20mm cannons and two 12.7mm machine guns.

Mitsubishi A6M Zero

source

This is the plane that answered the question of whether the U.S. would get into World War II. On December 7, 1941, Mitsubishi A6M Zeros, Nakajima B5Ns, and Aichi D3As were launched from Japanese aircraft carriers in the attack against the U.S. Naval installation at Pearl Harbor. Armament included two 7.7mm machine guns, two 20mm cannons, and two 132-pound bombs. In addition to being a long-range fighter with manoeuvrability, speed, and range that outclassed Allied fighters at the beginning of the war, this was the plane that Japanese Kamikaze pilots flew on suicide missions.

Yakovlev Yak-3

source

The Yakovlev Yak-3  was a World War II Soviet fighter aircraft. Robust and easy to maintain, it was much liked by pilots and ground crew alike. It was one of the smallest and lightest major combat fighters fielded by any combatant during the war, and its high power-to-weight ratio gave it excellent performance. It proved a formidable dogfighter. Marcel Albert, World War II French ace, who flew the Yak in USSR with the Normandie-Niémen Group, considered it a superior aircraft to the P-51D Mustang and the Supermarine Spitfire. After the war ended, it flew with the Yugoslav and Polish Air Forces

Focke-Wulf Fw 190

source

The Fw 190A started flying operationally over France in August 1941, and quickly proved superior in all but turn radius to theRoyal Air Force’s main front-line fighter, the Spitfire Mk. V, especially at low and medium altitudes. The 190 maintained superiority over Allied fighters until the introduction of the improved Spitfire Mk. IX.^[4] In November/December 1942, the Fw 190 made its air combat debut on the Eastern Front, finding much success in fighter wings and specialised ground attack units called Schlachtgeschwader (Battle Wings or Strike Wings) from October 1943 onwards. In the opinion of German pilotswho flew both the Bf 109 and the Fw 190, the latter provided increased firepower and, at low to medium altitude, manoeuvrability.