In today’s Episode, we’re delving into the realm of war time aviation, and taking a look specifically at the best fighters of World War 2, and which one WE think …
What? No Mosquito? No Hellcat? I don't know who this guy thinks he is! I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind in his Discord server. Reeeeeeee!!! https://discord.com/invite/qt68efP
I will humbly explain the P-38 it was developed in 1937 and first flown in Jan 1939, the only American airplane used as a modern fighter that was operational when America entered the war and at the end of the war. Used as a fighter because it was sold to the USAAC (US Army Air Corp) as a twin-engine interceptor, having high speed, high altitude and long range. The USAAC had very restrictive rules for a fighter plane, that would hold back its performance compared to British or Axis Aircraft of the time, so this is how Lockheed got around the rules. It was fast first military aircraft to top 640 kph (400 mph) at least in the States. It had to have twin engines for the power since only the Allison engines were available and with its large size it was not designed as a dog fighter and rolled too slow, but had very good turning ability. But when that was understood by a pilot it could be very effective especially with all armament in the nose including cannon and with no P-factor (counter rotating twin engine set) the effective shooting range was a very long 900m (1000 yards). It is considered America's first truly modern military aircraft. It was impeded in the development time it could have been improved by the USAAF (US Army Air Force). First when Britain wanted to buy a large quantity of the P-38 they got a stripped down very with no supercharger and no opposite rotating engines and propellers crippling the plane and making it pointless. I get why Brits think it was just a hyped bad airplane I would be pissed too after that shortsighted episode. What a stupid thing to do because if we had sold them some of the original Lockheed planes designed as Kelly Johnson intended, its short comings would have been found and improvements would have happened much quicker. The armament effectiveness of the B-17, was greatly due to careful British criticism, based on their hard won superior knowledge a bomber needed to fly effectively against the Luffwaffe. Boeing addressed all the issues to improve it in the B-17D and made it the great bomber it was. The P-51 was not the P-51 until the British, not the USAAF, thought of putting the superior Merlin engine in the P-51 so it is Anglo-American the truly Allied fighter. When the P-38 was found to have its dive compressibility problem , since is was America's first 400 mph airplane, the USAAF decided it was a structural problem "flutter" while Lockheed's P-38 designer Kelly Johnson who knew how structurally strong his design was correctly guessed it was a compressibility problem getting close enough to the speed of sound. It took Lockheed over a year (14 months!) to convince the USAAF to get it into the only transonic windtunnel in the country the NACA's near mach speed windtunnel where the problem could be analyzed properly and solved quickly. I really think the RAF working with Lockheed would have solved the problem much faster, avoided the 14 month delay getting a better power-plant in the P-38 much faster and making it much more effective earlier in the European theater. Then of course after Lockheed finally got time in the near supersonic wind tunnel, they designed compressibility "dive break" flap kits to eliminate this problem but put the first 200 in the new Douglas C-54 4 engine skymaster which unfortunately looked too much like the FW-200 condor at a distance. I think we did not inform the RAF because that one C-54 was shot down by mistake, why all eggs in one basket USAAF? The P-47 and P-51 developed later in the war had the benefit of the painful dive comprehensibility experience from the P-38 that came before it. It is ironic that if the US would have taken the lessons 1932 naval aviation war exercise by Admiral Harry E Yarnell, that proved Pearl Harbor was vulnerable to a naval aviation attack by aircraft carriers and we patrolled Hawaii at sea better to protect Pearl, had P-38 interceptors and trained pilots, they could have lessened the blow or even completely broken up Yamamoto's attack it would have been the best plane to do so. Also if the Luffwaffe had a ME-110 more like the P-38 as interceptor it would have been a much deadlier foe to Allied bombing, higher speed, longer range, armament very good at ripping apart large aircraft and could have started harrassing Allied bombers and breaking up formations well before they even got to Germany.
To not include the Hawker Hurricane alongside the Spitfire is remiss of you. The Hurricane served in more theatres, fronts and campaigns than any other aircraft in WW2. It also shot down more enemy aircraft than any other RAF aircraft during the conflict.
Your Wrong. The Grumman Hellcat was the best with the most Kills. And more Kills than the North American P51 Mustang. Additionally, with a radial air cooled engine it was better at ground attack and could take more engine damage and get the pilot home. The Mustang was water cooled and could be put out of action with a minor hit on the cooling system. Read more, learn more, and produce the truth.
Very superficial comparison on the more famous fighters of the war. Like reading Wikipedia on plane stats. In reality the details are much more nuanced and a greater appreciation of history is needed in which these aircraft were produced, maintained, their theatre of operations, and finally the tactics. In regards to the P38 it was removed from the European theatre due to a slow roll rate. Its engine controls were too cumbersome & slow to maintain maximum power/speed in a dog fight as compared to other water cooled engines let alone aircooled ones. Lockeed took years, until 1943?, to address the jamming aileron issue at diving speeds. Last issue is the cost of the aircraft, it was nearly twice the cost of a p51.
Too see a good technical comparisons of WW2 aircraft see "Greg's airplanes & automobiles" you tube channel.
I am partial to the corsair. The Japanese really feared these aircraft when they had to go up against them. The other air plane I like is the P51 mustang. This aircraft was quite respectable. But the lighening….that airplane with a good pilot was a true forked tailed devil!
The Germans lost the battle of Britain because the British had radar and knew they were coming,, and with the element of surprise they were able to get the is fighters in the sky and literally wait for the Germans… Moreover the 109s only had about 25 to 20 minutes of flying time before they had to head back to the coast of France or they would run out of fuel and fall into the English channel..
This channel speak so clear . So , it's very good for practising English (listening skill) for one who is interested in history too. Keep doing and Thank you.
What? No Mosquito? No Hellcat? I don't know who this guy thinks he is! I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind in his Discord server. Reeeeeeee!!! https://discord.com/invite/qt68efP
I will humbly explain the P-38 it was developed in 1937 and first flown in Jan 1939, the only American airplane used as a modern fighter that was operational when America entered the war and at the end of the war. Used as a fighter because it was sold to the USAAC (US Army Air Corp) as a twin-engine interceptor, having high speed, high altitude and long range. The USAAC had very restrictive rules for a fighter plane, that would hold back its performance compared to British or Axis Aircraft of the time, so this is how Lockheed got around the rules. It was fast first military aircraft to top 640 kph (400 mph) at least in the States. It had to have twin engines for the power since only the Allison engines were available and with its large size it was not designed as a dog fighter and rolled too slow, but had very good turning ability. But when that was understood by a pilot it could be very effective especially with all armament in the nose including cannon and with no P-factor (counter rotating twin engine set) the effective shooting range was a very long 900m (1000 yards). It is considered America's first truly modern military aircraft. It was impeded in the development time it could have been improved by the USAAF (US Army Air Force). First when Britain wanted to buy a large quantity of the P-38 they got a stripped down very with no supercharger and no opposite rotating engines and propellers crippling the plane and making it pointless. I get why Brits think it was just a hyped bad airplane I would be pissed too after that shortsighted episode. What a stupid thing to do because if we had sold them some of the original Lockheed planes designed as Kelly Johnson intended, its short comings would have been found and improvements would have happened much quicker. The armament effectiveness of the B-17, was greatly due to careful British criticism, based on their hard won superior knowledge a bomber needed to fly effectively against the Luffwaffe. Boeing addressed all the issues to improve it in the B-17D and made it the great bomber it was. The P-51 was not the P-51 until the British, not the USAAF, thought of putting the superior Merlin engine in the P-51 so it is Anglo-American the truly Allied fighter. When the P-38 was found to have its dive compressibility problem , since is was America's first 400 mph airplane, the USAAF decided it was a structural problem "flutter" while Lockheed's P-38 designer Kelly Johnson who knew how structurally strong his design was correctly guessed it was a compressibility problem getting close enough to the speed of sound. It took Lockheed over a year (14 months!) to convince the USAAF to get it into the only transonic windtunnel in the country the NACA's near mach speed windtunnel where the problem could be analyzed properly and solved quickly. I really think the RAF working with Lockheed would have solved the problem much faster, avoided the 14 month delay getting a better power-plant in the P-38 much faster and making it much more effective earlier in the European theater. Then of course after Lockheed finally got time in the near supersonic wind tunnel, they designed compressibility "dive break" flap kits to eliminate this problem but put the first 200 in the new Douglas C-54 4 engine skymaster which unfortunately looked too much like the FW-200 condor at a distance. I think we did not inform the RAF because that one C-54 was shot down by mistake, why all eggs in one basket USAAF? The P-47 and P-51 developed later in the war had the benefit of the painful dive comprehensibility experience from the P-38 that came before it. It is ironic that if the US would have taken the lessons 1932 naval aviation war exercise by Admiral Harry E Yarnell, that proved Pearl Harbor was vulnerable to a naval aviation attack by aircraft carriers and we patrolled Hawaii at sea better to protect Pearl, had P-38 interceptors and trained pilots, they could have lessened the blow or even completely broken up Yamamoto's attack it would have been the best plane to do so. Also if the Luffwaffe had a ME-110 more like the P-38 as interceptor it would have been a much deadlier foe to Allied bombing, higher speed, longer range, armament very good at ripping apart large aircraft and could have started harrassing Allied bombers and breaking up formations well before they even got to Germany.
What about me 262
Talking out his butt!
Why wasn't the F6F Hellcat mentioned?
To not include the Hawker Hurricane alongside the Spitfire is remiss of you. The Hurricane served in more theatres, fronts and campaigns than any other aircraft in WW2. It also shot down more enemy aircraft than any other RAF aircraft during the conflict.
Your Wrong. The Grumman Hellcat was the best with the most Kills. And more Kills than the North American P51 Mustang. Additionally, with a radial air cooled engine it was better at ground attack and could take more engine damage and get the pilot home. The Mustang was water cooled and could be put out of action with a minor hit on the cooling system. Read more, learn more, and produce the truth.
Very superficial comparison on the more famous fighters of the war. Like reading Wikipedia on plane stats. In reality the details are much more nuanced and a greater appreciation of history is needed in which these aircraft were produced, maintained, their theatre of operations, and finally the tactics. In regards to the P38 it was removed from the European theatre due to a slow roll rate. Its engine controls were too cumbersome & slow to maintain maximum power/speed in a dog fight as compared to other water cooled engines let alone aircooled ones. Lockeed took years, until 1943?, to address the jamming aileron issue at diving speeds. Last issue is the cost of the aircraft, it was nearly twice the cost of a p51.
Too see a good technical comparisons of WW2 aircraft see "Greg's airplanes & automobiles" you tube channel.
ME 262 entered war too late. There is a difference between a fighter jet and a fighter plane. Period
very nice video!
Good choice. Most would select the Mustang.
Mosquito and Hellcat, for sure should be on this list. Take the Yak off.
p-38
I am partial to the corsair. The Japanese really feared these aircraft when they had to go up against them. The other air plane I like is the P51 mustang. This aircraft was quite respectable. But the lighening….that airplane with a good pilot was a true forked tailed devil!
why didnt u meantion the me-262
5:27 is it not the tempest by any chance?
The Germans lost the battle of Britain because the British had radar and knew they were coming,, and with the element of surprise they were able to get the is fighters in the sky and literally wait for the Germans… Moreover the 109s only had about 25 to 20 minutes of flying time before they had to head back to the coast of France or they would run out of fuel and fall into the English channel..
We were a joke in ww2 we shouldn’t even be in this video
Never even mentioned the ME262 which was capable of dominating any plane listed here in 1on 1 combat
It has to be the Mosquito, end off.
My favorite. I agree
I think the p38 was the best fighter of ww2
what about the p40
I'll stick to the ace maker hellcat
This channel speak so clear . So , it's very good for practising English (listening skill) for one who is interested in history too. Keep doing and Thank you.