[leeG]

The most underrated plane was the one that just shot you down.

That and the P-40.

[Ara1]

The Beech SBJ Expeditor.

The Ki 84 Frank.

The Nakajima Ki 67 Peggy.

The Dornier Do 335.

The Avro Anson.

[Berkut76]

For bombers it's got to be Pe-2 dive bomber or Mosquito of the East if you prefer. Due to its sheer speed and maneuverability it was tough bird to kill for Luftwaffe even when flying escortless as was frequently the case in 1941 and 1942 or simply outrunning its Hurricane escorts.

As far as the fighters are concerned that's got to be P-39 because it was the bird that allowed the "Black Death" to do its job. Besides given Luftwaffe its first black eye in major air engagement over Kuban in 1943, this plane escorted IL-2 to and from their targets while taking part in ground attacks as well, and then it took on Luftwaffe fighters trying to pounce on damaged birds. Only one Soviet air regiment phased out it's P-39s during the war despite of arduous protests of pilots and crews.

It was the mount of Major Rechkalov, the second ranking Soviet ace of the war, who in just 122 combat missions shot down 56 Luftwaffe planes, 52 (19 over Kuban) of which were scored in P-39 from the early 1943 up to late Summaer of 1944.

So, those are my choices.

Regards,

Sergey

[Old Crow]

I nominate the C-47. Not very sexy, I know, but over 10,000 were built, it served in every theatre, was dependable and tough and flew and fought in Korea and Vietnam and many still fly and work today. I will show my Yankee bias and recall Eisenhower's observation about the 4 key pieces of Allied equipment in World War 2: "The bazooka, the jeep, the atom bomb, and the DC-3."

[Epapazian]

Originally Posted by Old Crow

I nominate the C-47. Not very sexy, I know, but over 10,000 were built, it served in every theatre, was dependable and tough and flew and fought in Korea and Vietnam and many still fly and work today. I will show my Yankee bias and recall Eisenhower's observation about the 4 key pieces of Allied equipment in World War 2: "The bazooka, the jeep, the atom bomb, and the DC-3."

Although the C-47 performed admirably during WW II and long afterward, I always felt that it got due credit throughout its active life with the U.S. military. In contrast, the Curtiss C-46 "Commando" always lived in the C-47's shadow, despite its excellent work in the Pacific theatre and especially in flying "The Hump" delivering supplies from India to China. As I recall, C-46s were even in use during the Vietnam War, so it had a long military career. Another transport plane that was much better known but often does not get the respect it deserves was Germany's JU-52. This 1930' design soldiered on throught the war and was still delivering air- dropped supplies to surrounded German garrisons in May 1945.

[mustangdriver]

I love the C-46.

[Aircrafty]

For me this is much harder to choose than the most overreated aircraft considering all the hoopla, movies and tv episodes concerning the B-17.

Initially I concidered the C-47 but if Ike named it then I guess it can't be to underrated

The Russian and Japanese aircraft are often overlooked as many Western based collectors still believe they had no original designs, which is a lot of crap of course.

Therefore I'm going to choose the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Hurricane) "Frank" which many experts consider the best fighter of WWII including the the often mentioned P-47 and P-51. Lucky for us it had some engine and production problems etc due to the late war blockade and bombing of Japan..

[SKUNKY]

I think the P-40 was overrated.

[jim]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

I think the P-40 was overrated.

[Ara1]

Originally Posted by Epapazian

the Curtiss C-46 "Commando"

Great choice.