WW2 multi role aircraft

[JB White]

Starting a separate thread from Ken's 'Lancaster' topic since it's starting to compare heavy bombers. The Ju88 was mentioned and I began to wonder about its Allied counterparts.
The three that come to mind are the Junkers Ju88, the De Haviland Mosquito, and the P38 Lightning. I think all were produced in similar or close to similar numbers and were used in a variety of ways. So...Hindsight being 20/20, during their service lives, which one was actually the most versatile and delivered the most bang for the buck?

[bruce]

Most versatile? Most bang for the buck? All three were extremely good. Bombing ... the 88 was probably best. For jumping and shooting down stuff ... the P-38 was outstanding. Bong used it to really make a mark. The Mosquito was so good the Germans copied it ... made a pretty good job of it. Glue was the issue. A fortunate British bombing missions messed that up. Had they ever got the stuff right, the resulting plane would have been something. Maybe even as good as the Mosquito. For night fighting ... they all left bruises on the opposition. With radar the 88 would have been better, but the Germans always lagged in radar. Good for the allies. For all out get up and go ... hard to put the P-38 anywhere except first place. Just a all round great airplane. Tremendous range and armament. JMHO. Sincerely. bruce.

[leftyo]

to me its the F4 corsair. good fighter, decent bomber, and ship capable.

[fjruple]

The one plane that was not listed is the B25 Mitchell. The plane was used by all of the US Armed Forces flying elements. Quite a number of our Allies also used the B-25. In a ground attack role in the Pacific, the plane was deadly. The solid nosed B-25J had no less than 12 forward firing AN-M2 Browning .50 machine guns not including the two M2s in the upper turret. The B-25 was used as torpedo plane, Medium altitude bomber, skip bomber, low altitude para-bombing, strafing ground troops and installations. The US Navy and US Marines used the B25 as a land based patrol bomber. Early models of the plane was also used in the famous Dolittle Raid on Japan. The plane was so good it lasted in the US inventory until the late 1950's.

[Ken The Kanuck]

Hi JB,

I think there will be many differing opinions on this topic and lots of room for discussion.

The Mossie has to be a serious contender I believe.

Regards

Ken

[JB White]

Hi JB,

I think there will be many differing opinions on this topic and lots of room for discussion.

The Mossie has to be a serious contender I believe.

Regards

Ken

That's the whole point Ken and it's why I put "The wooden wonder" into the mix. :)

[bruce]

Again, JMHO. In comparison, the P-38 had a lot more going for it than the 88, Mosquito or even the 25. It was extremely fast. It was extremely long ranged. It carried 20 mm cannons. It was armored. And from what I've read pilots could horse it around in manouvering to the point that the rivets loosens/pulled loose. The engines could have been better. Got to figure it'd have been even better w/ a pair of Merlin's. Will say ... for strafing, .50's were better. But the 20 mm was far more capable against heavy airplanes, ships, trains, etc. Four of them going at one time ... that's a lot of power down range.

[Sunray]

"...the B-25 Mitchell..." Yep. Aside from a basic medium bomber it was also used as an anti-shipping attack aircraft. Had 2 fixed forward firing .50's to aim the 75 mm howitzer. Mind you, the B-26 had the same kind of armament put on. One of driver even shot down a 109, I think it was, in aerial combat.
Everybody forgets that the JU-87 was a multi-roll aircraft too. It wasn't just an obsolete dive bomber. They slapped two 30 mm cannons on it and sent it out to break Russian tanks. The Germans turned the FW 190 into a ground attack aircraft. Just like the Brits did with both Spitfires and Hurricanes.
"...It carried 20 mm cannons..." The P-38 had one 20mm gun and 4 .50's. It lacked maneuverability but did work well as a night fighter and had long legs though.