Coolest WW 2 plane (split from F-35 thread)

[FAL]

And to think they did all this without GPS and the gadgets they have today.

Indeed. How young pilots ever completed a strafing run without simultaneously texting?

 

[OldSolduer]

Indeed. How young pilots ever completed a strafing run without simultaneously texting?

Not meant to derail but how about the Vikings etc who navigated without the benefit Of modern navigation equipment ?

 

[RedFive]

I'm seeing lots of love for the ground pounders, and so I submit for your viewing pleasure;

The Henschel Hs 129.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I'm seeing lots of love for the ground pounders, and so I submit for your viewing pleasure;

The Henschel Hs 129.

Must have had something to do with Goering 'compensating' for something...  ;D

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

I was always a fan of the Typhoon, the Lightning and the Corsair.

 

[Pat in Halifax]

Okay, just because no one else said it-Some say the first 'beautiful' warplane:

 

[Edward Campbell]

ff topic: Not WWII

There are (were) only a few ugly aircraft (I think the modern F117 stealth fighter is one of them.

Ugly F117


A couple of beauties were:

Sopwith Camel ~ maybe it is beautiful because of its lethality, maybe for its grace in the air

SR71 Blackbird which is beautiful in its own right

 

[observor 69]

You made me do it 

 

[Griffon]

It was never made, it it was definitely way before its time...

The Horten Ho 229

 

[OldSolduer]

It was never made, it it was definitely way before its time...

The Horten Ho 229

But did it hear a Who?

 

[Griffon]

No...it was listening, but took too long.  Fortunately, the Allies swept through the land and shut it down before it heard a Who.

 

[Nfld Sapper]

ff topic: Not WWII

There are (were) only a few ugly aircraft (I think the modern F117 stealth fighter is one of them.

Here are some others:

AD Scout (1915), an anti-Zeppelin fighter

Curtiss-Goupil Duck (1917), an early experimental

Canadian Vickers Velos (1927), a photoreconnaissance plane

Handley Page H.P.50 Heyford (1930), an "express bomber"

Westland-Hill Pterodactyl Mark V (1932), a tailless flying wing

Kalinin K-7 (1933), a Soviet bomber

Sud-Est SE 100 (1939), a French fighter

General Aircraft Fleet Shadower (1940), a scout plane

Delanne Duo-Mono (1941), a French fighter

McDonnell XF-85 Goblin (1948), a "parasite fighter"

Breguet 763 Deux-Ponts (1949), a French airliner

Bennett PL-11 Airtruck (1960), a crop-duster

Boeing X-32B (2001), a delta-wing fighter

 

[YZT580]

Hey, the goblin was a great idea.  Every long range bomber was supposed to carry one to fend off the opposition airborne threats. 

 

[Nfld Sapper]

Hey, the goblin was a great idea.  Every long range bomber was supposed to carry one to fend off the opposition airborne threats.

The McDonnell XF-85 Goblin was an American prototype fighter aircraft conceived during World War II by McDonnell Aircraft. It was intended to be deployed from the bomb bay of the giant Convair B-36 bomber as a parasite fighter. The XF-85's intended role was to defend bombers from hostile interceptors, a need demonstrated during World War II. Two prototypes were constructed before the program was terminated.

 

[a_majoor]

The McDonnell XF-85 Goblin was an American prototype fighter aircraft conceived during World War II by McDonnell Aircraft. It was intended to be deployed from the bomb bay of the giant Convair B-36 bomber as a parasite fighter. The XF-85's intended role was to defend bombers from hostile interceptors, a need demonstrated during World War II. Two prototypes were constructed before the program was terminated.

The US Navy pioneered the idea in the 1930's with aircraft deploying from the airships AKRON & MACON, but since airships fly relatively slowly, pilots could fly up to the airship and hook onto the "trapeze".

Perhaps fortunately for the pilots, the turbulence under the bombers (B-50's and B-36's) was too great for the parasite fighter to hook up, and the few times it was tried ended with the pilots ditching the "Goblins" onto the dry lake bed at Edwards AFB.

 

[Rifleman62]

Very rare cockpit view of a Mosquito.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM2ZQj6YjiA

Published on Jul 27, 2013

Video taken from the worlds only flying Mosquito of the CWH Lancaster led formation at the 2013 Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum Airshow. Includes Spitfire, Hurricane and B25 Mitchell

Rare colour film of the Mosquito.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-UUTo3wHds

Filmed by Mosquito navigator Mr. Brian Harris DFC in Aug 1944 at 627 Squadron.

The TV program" Battle Stations".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLdVIKyx7RE

 

[OldSolduer]

Very cool Rifleman!

It's amazing it first flew in December 1940 and was in operational service less that one year later.

 

[mtlee]

For me, the coolest plane of WWII will always be the Spitfire Mk IX. I know it's cliché, but the Spitfire kindled my interest in aviation, and to this day I have a small Airfix model of one that sits on my desk at home.

The other WWII aircraft I have a great admiration for is the Lancaster bomber. I had the opportunity to sit in one as a young buck, and I still get goosebumps every time I get to see one in person.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

For I have always had a love affair with Flying boats

 

[vonGarvin]

For I have always had a love affair with Flying boats

I like them too: