Best WWII fighter plane
Fifteen fighters that fought for control of the skies in the Second World War. Speed, firepower, range and impact all count.
Tier list by PairTier · 15 items
- Supermarine Spitfire — British fighter with elliptical wings, icon of the Battle of Britain and developed throughout the war.
- Hawker Hurricane — Rugged British fighter that scored the majority of RAF victories in the Battle of Britain.
- Messerschmitt Bf 109 — Germany's standard fighter and the most-produced fighter aircraft in history.
- Focke-Wulf Fw 190 — German radial-engined fighter that outclassed the Spitfire V when it appeared in 1941.
- North American P-51 Mustang — American fighter whose Merlin engine and long range made it the great bomber escort over Germany.
- Republic P-47 Thunderbolt — Heavy, rugged American fighter used for escort and ground attack; the most-produced US fighter of the war.
- Lockheed P-38 Lightning — Twin-boom American fighter, flown by top US ace Richard Bong in the Pacific.
- Vought F4U Corsair — American naval fighter with inverted gull wings, feared in the Pacific.
- Grumman F6F Hellcat — US Navy carrier fighter credited with more aerial victories than any other American naval aircraft.
- Mitsubishi A6M Zero — Japanese carrier fighter whose agility and long range dominated the early Pacific war.
- Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate — Fast, well-armed Japanese Army fighter, considered among Japan's best of the late war.
- Yakovlev Yak-3 — Light and highly agile Soviet fighter, superb at low altitude.
- Lavochkin La-7 — Soviet radial-engined fighter flown by Ivan Kozhedub, the top-scoring Allied ace.
- Hawker Tempest — Powerful British fighter, fast at low level and effective against V-1 flying bombs.
- Messerschmitt Me 262 — German jet, the world's first operational jet-powered fighter, entering service in 1944.