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[Knochenlutscher]

Yeah, I'm sad too, so much of my beloved Il-2 1946 items on the list.
I'll go stand and cry in the corner, silently.

Dunno if I can ever fly a LaGG-3 again, now that some told me it's Scheiße.
Gone drinking too. It hurts me so bad 

[Wing Walker]

...fortunately Bill Yenne wrote a book called "The World's Worst Aircraft"

I would have to disagree with the P-39 on there.  I'm creating a historical mission right now of the P-39's first combat action base on Boyd "Buzz" Wagners reports.  I actually first encountered the new A6M3's that they reported as having a larger cowling than normal...

They also reported they nearly matched the A6M3's in performance accept for turning, they would be out running it by a meager 10-20mph.  Also their 30 cal guns worked fine for the weak construction of the Zero.

Also, the bad stall characteristics of the P-39 actually made better pilots who had to pay attention to their flying more than if they were trained in other a/c.

I know the Buffalo has its reputation as the worst BUUUT there was a sparring completion at first to decide the a/c to be used by the Flying Tigers....

The Brewster actually out performed the P-40 and got the "kill" in I believe a vertical loop coming in behind the P-40... if i remember right.

One could cite anything manufactured by Blackburn throughout their long history as far as British aircraft are concerned. How did this company get so many contracts,

A lot of their aircraft seemed based on old tech and were not very good.  The Spit and Hurri were not very advanced, just well designed.

Explains why they used so many of America's designs.

[BalDaddy]

I would have to disagree with the P-39 on there. 
[/quote]
Depends on the Theatre of conflict. It was successful in other than the European scenario, and liked by it's pilots I believe.
Same could be said of a number of aircraft, such as the P38 & 40

[Wing Walker]

Depends on the Theatre of conflict.

True, but I think it was used everywhere? 

The British had the P-400, but didn't like them so rejected them, and we used those P-400's in the Pacific along side other variants.  I'm not sure if it ever saw combat with the Brits?

The Russians used it a lot against the Germans, but they generally flew low so the lack of performance at hight alt didn't bother them, and they like big guns.

We used it primarily in the Pacific against Zeros a lot, it worked, but wasn't the best.

So all in all I would think it's a below average fighter, but not the "worst"...


I mean, if you got dumped into a WW2 air battle, which would you prefer?

The P-39D-2 or the Bolton-Paul Defiant or the Farey Battle?   

[Dimlee]

True, but I think it was used everywhere? 

The British had the P-400, but didn't like them so rejected them, and we used those P-400's in the Pacific along side other variants.  I'm not sure if it ever saw combat with the Brits?

The Russians used it a lot against the Germans, but they generally flew low so the lack of performance at hight alt didn't bother them, and they like big guns.

We used it primarily in the Pacific against Zeros a lot, it worked, but wasn't the best.

So all in all I would think it's a below average fighter, but not the "worst"...


I mean, if you got dumped into a WW2 air battle, which would you prefer?

The P-39D-2 or the Bolton-Paul Defiant or the Farey Battle?

About P-39 in VVS.
It was "low" compared to ETO. On the Eastern Front, P-39s were used the most effectively at higher altitudes than Yaks and La-5s. At least until the end of 1944/1945.
And yes, it was very much liked by Soviet pilots and was a real "ace-maker" in 1943-1944.

[Dimlee]

I'll stretch the definition of the "worst" and offer this one: Il-2. Yes, the great and famous Shturmovik IL-2 by Ilyushin.
Not because it was too bad in the performance, armament and other characteristics. (Mediocre but acceptable for the Soviet standards).
But because due to the circumstances, due to political intrigues and connections used by Ilyushin (as the influential "apparatchik"), this aircraft was given a top priority and resources that could be used more effectively for other and better aircraft in the same category.

[UberDemon]

True, but I think it was used everywhere? 

The British had the P-400, but didn't like them so rejected them, and we used those P-400's in the Pacific along side other variants.  I'm not sure if it ever saw combat with the Brits?

The Russians used it a lot against the Germans, but they generally flew low so the lack of performance at hight alt didn't bother them, and they like big guns.

We used it primarily in the Pacific against Zeros a lot, it worked, but wasn't the best.

So all in all I would think it's a below average fighter, but not the "worst"...


I mean, if you got dumped into a WW2 air battle, which would you prefer?

The P-39D-2 or the Bolton-Paul Defiant or the Farey Battle?

About P-39 in VVS.
It was "low" compared to ETO. On the Eastern Front, P-39s were used the most effectively at higher altitudes than Yaks and La-5s. At least until the end of 1944/1945.
And yes, it was very much liked by Soviet pilots and was a real "ace-maker" in 1943-1944.

As I have read, apparently the P-39s were liked also because they had reliable radio equipment.

Dmitriy Loza's book "Attack of the Airacobras - Soviet Aces - American P-39s & The Air War Against Germany" put a lot of Western misconceptions to rest concerning the P-39s in Soviet use during WW2.  The translator and editor James F. Gebhardt did a great job.  Loza was a retired Soviet Army Colonel that commanded a Sherman equipped tank battalion in WW2, while Gebhardt a US Army veteran of Vietnam, was stationed in Germany and instructed in teh US Command and General Staff College.

[Dimlee]

P-39...
Yes, better (than usual VVS) radios, reliability of most equipment and airframe (except issues with a tail in earlier models), survivability, comfortable cockpit. Spin characteristics were unusual so it was dangerous for a low-skilled pilot.
Alexander Pokryshkin was of such high status at the end of the war that he could fly anything. But he kept his P-39 and rejected La-7.