Of all the twin engined aircraft of WW2 the DH Mosquito is a pretty hard act to follow. She was astonishing.

A B-32 Dominator - none seen since the War.

The P-51 Mustang, C model onwards.



The sexiest lookin' piston engined fighter ever made.

Originally Posted by senojekips

The P-51 Mustang, C model onwards.

The sexiest lookin' piston engined fighter ever made.

Was always more partial to the Hawker Sea Fury myself but the Mustang C (and on) models were definitely good looking aircraft

Originally Posted by KevinTheCynic

Was always more partial to the Hawker Sea Fury myself but the Mustang C (and on) models were definitely good looking aircraft

As good an aircraft as they may have been, I don't see the style in the sea Fury, that I see in the shape and general proportions of the P-51.

My other choice for looks, would be the Chance Vought F4U Corsair.



To me, both of these aircraft suggest rugged power, combined with a certain amount of well balanced style, that marks them as classical war birds.

The ME-262, the Germans were innovative and they still are

Focke-Wulf 190-D9

Originally Posted by Ghostrider

The ME-262, the Germans were innovative and they still are

If my memory is correct, the problem with the ME 262 was it's engines. They had a nasty habit of catching fire on start up, they also had a service life of 25 hours before a major overhaul when compared to 100 hours for the Whittle engine.

The 262 engines were far too ahead of their time, the materials were not available.

I have often wondered which aircraft would have come out on top in a dog fight, the 262 or the Meteor assuming pilots of similar capabilities.

What is annoying, if the Air Ministry had listened to Frank Whittle the RAF might have fought the Battle of Britain with Meteors alongside Spitfires and Hurricanes. A so called "expert" at the Ministry told Whittle that his engine would never work.

Originally Posted by BritinAfrica

If my memory is correct, the problem with the ME 262 was it's engines. They had a nasty habit of catching fire on start up, they also had a service life of 25 hours before a major overhaul when compared to 100 hours for the Whittle engine.

The 262 engines were far too ahead of their time, the materials were not available.

I have often wondered which aircraft would have come out on top in a dog fight, the 262 or the Meteor assuming pilots of similar capabilities.

What is annoying, if the Air Ministry had listened to Frank Whittle the RAF might have fought the Battle of Britain with Meteors alongside Spitfires and Hurricanes. A so called "expert" at the Ministry told Whittle that his engine would never work.

Yes, all true.
The 262s engines were crude by todays standards and even by the standards of 1945.
They ran on diesel or a coal derived substitute.
They were unable to sustain long periods of full power because they would melt due to the lack of the right metals, and as you said, they had a short life for the same reason.
They were slow to spool up and Allied pilots learnt this and used to lie in wait at their airfields to bounce them during take off or landing
To protect them the Luftwaffe formed special squadrons, of piston powered fighters, that would take off prior to takeoff or landind, to protect the 262s from Allied fighters.
Considering that by this time the Luftwaffe was so short of fuel that they were using ground crew to push fighters to take off position to save on fuel, this was stretching their resources to the max.

Originally Posted by Trooper1854

Focke-Wulf 190-D9

I definitely like the long-nose FW190s, have you seen the high altitude interceptor variant designed by Kurt Tank (designated the Ta152)? Apparently the Nazi leadership were so impressed they allowed it to be called the Focke Wulf Tank after the designer.
(The wings are a bit too long to look good in my opinion.)