[Captain Eddie]

Originally Posted by timbo

The only thing the 110 has been seen as (in my eyes) is "Achtung Spitfire" fodder. I would not say at all that it has been overrated by popular culture (ie kids commics, fiction,movies) I would say this was true also even when I was a kid.

Very true, but it was VERY overrated by the Luftwaffe high command, especially by "the FAT one", Goering!

[Epapazian]

Originally Posted by Captain Eddie

Very true, but it was VERY overrated by the Luftwaffe high command, especially by "the FAT one", Goering!

Agreed. Still, lots of countries put their faith in twin-engined long range fighters in the late 1930s. We had our P-38, France had its Potez 631, the Dutch developed the Fokker G-8, etc. It should be noted, however, that after the BF-110 failed as a day fighter it was put to excellent use as a night-fighter- an area the Germans had overlooked in their war planning. As I recall, BF-110s shot down more RAF bombers than any other German plane

[Aircrafty]

Interesting thread.

For me the most overrated aircraft of WWII will always be the B-17. Yes it could take more damage than some but the bomb load, especially to distant targets, was small. Yet it enjoyed a great deal of promotion, at the expense of superior designs.

It should also be noted that Lancasters and other bombers that operated at night were at the mercy of night fighters, for which there was little defence, and this is especially true when they were attacked by Me-110s and Ju-88s with upward firing cannons. In addition it's hard enough to land, or parachute from a damaged aircraft in the daylight, let alone attempting such things at night.

As for the Zero, its reputation was deservedly earned for its dog fighting ability. And there were few aircarft that could best it in tight turns etc. In fact American pilots were ordered not to take a Zero on in a dogfight duel, they were told to zoom down on the Zero from height, blast away and run for it. Zeros were light and agile making them very manueverable, but they were very vulnerable to these hit and run attacks because of their limited armor and lack of self sealing fuel tanks. It should also be noted that the quality of Japanese pilots dropped off in the later years of the war due to reduced numbers/training, whereas American pilots and their aircraft improved and were available in larger numbers.

[leeG]

Originally Posted by Aircrafty

Interesting thread.

As for the Zero, its reputation was deservedly earned for its dog fighting ability. And there were few aircarft that could best it in tight turns etc. In fact American pilots were ordered not to take a Zero on in a dogfight duel, they were told to zoom down on the Zero from height, blast away and run for it. Zeros were light and agile making them very manueverable, but they were very vulnerable to these hit and run attacks because of their limited armor and lack of self sealing fuel tanks. It should also be noted that the quality of Japanese pilots dropped off in the later years of the war due to reduced numbers/training, whereas American pilots and their aircraft improved and were available in larger numbers.

I agree, the Zero earned it's reputation. It is a beautiful, structurally and aerodynamically efficient long range escort fighter. A real shock to the Allies at the opening of the War. In its heyday, the Japanese were on the offensive so the Zero always enjoyed the advantage of both numbers and altitude which contributed greatly to its reputation.

But the glory days of the Zero were over when the Allies finally realized World War I style "dog-fighting" was obsolete. The "fly-by-shooting" tactics deprived the Japanese of the ability to enjoy or dictate favorable terms of combat. Thus the air battle shifted to a war of attrition, where the faster diving, heavily armed and armored P-40s and Wildcats gradually ground down the vulnerable Japanese "Dog-fighters." This set the stage for the Japanese defeat as they did not have either the industrial production or pilot training capacity to makeup their losses, let alone meet the challenge of new types soon to be thrown against them in ever increasing numbers.

[timbo]

Just bringing this back to the top again.

After thinking a bit more I would have to say that overrated probably has to go to the German wonder weapons (en-mass), inc the me-262.

They look great and on the surface do seem to have a great reputation, but really came into the war at such a time that they could do very little, and some of them probably killed more pilots than planes shot down (IE ME-163). They were unreliable and very vulnerable a certain times of their flight.

They also seem to have gained credit for setting Aviation down the jet age, but even if they didn't exist that would have happened anyway as others were working on the same.

[FormerViperDriver]

Originally Posted by Aircrafty

Interesting thread.

For me the most overrated aircraft of WWII will always be the B-17. Yes it could take more damage than some but the bomb load, especially to distant targets, was small. Yet it enjoyed a great deal of promotion, at the expense of superior designs.

It should also be noted that Lancasters and other bombers that operated at night were at the mercy of night fighters, for which there was little defence, and this is especially true when they were attacked by Me-110s and Ju-88s with upward firing cannons. In addition it's hard enough to land, or parachute from a damaged aircraft in the daylight, let alone attempting such things at night.

As for the Zero, its reputation was deservedly earned for its dog fighting ability. And there were few aircarft that could best it in tight turns etc. In fact American pilots were ordered not to take a Zero on in a dogfight duel, they were told to zoom down on the Zero from height, blast away and run for it. Zeros were light and agile making them very manueverable, but they were very vulnerable to these hit and run attacks because of their limited armor and lack of self sealing fuel tanks. It should also be noted that the quality of Japanese pilots dropped off in the later years of the war due to reduced numbers/training, whereas American pilots and their aircraft improved and were available in larger numbers.

So, OK, let me get this straight: the B-17 was overrated because some other planes were used in an inefficient way (at night, I guess, from what you write. I wouldn't necessarily agree with that assessment either)? Interesting logic. You also imply that German night fighters (and FlaK) were more deadly than their day equivalents, which is definitely not true. Yes, night gave them some advantages, but daytime had a lot more advantages back in those days (in fact, that's exactly why the RAF flew its bombers at night, not because they wanted to make it more of a fair fight, believe it or not).

Yet more interesting logic: the Zero deserves its reputation because it was a great dogfighter, even though it sucked in just about every other respect and got wiped out of the Pacific skies by less maneuverable American designs? So I guess being good at a single criterion justifies any reputation, regardless of actual results, no matter how over-hyped? Hmmm...

No, not convinced... (even if I'd agree the B-17 might be somewhat overrated, particularly on relation to the B-24. But I would rather say that the B-24 is underrated).

FVD

[MoMo]

What about the Lysander?



This turkey, also known as the flying carrot and Lizzie, gained a reputation for being a stealth intruder. It was assigned that role when it was discovered to be useless at anything else ( apart from serving valiantly as a target tug )

The sad truth is that they had to find a use for it as 180 were built immediately prior to the war, and they were building about 250 in Canada. It was a useless bugger, and the Brits could have saved a bundle of time and money buying an equivalent plane off the shelf from the USA.

A case of making a hero out of a lame duck because it had to be useful at something!

[SKUNKY]

...nice skirts....

[MoMo]

...nice skirts....

It's only a machine, Skunky, save it for Gort!

[TopHat]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

...nice skirts....

You've been peeking under MoMo's skirt again, haven't you?