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I don't look at the Blitz frontpage very often, but I just noticed the poll from a while back regarding the 'best European fighter'.

I have to say, although I am no aviation expert and of course it is all a matter of opinion, I was very surprised to see the poll results.

I thought that the Spitfire was acknowledged to be better than the FW190. Also, although I don't know much about it, is the P-51 really the best fighter? I'd be interested in hearing why (is it because it was just a more modern plane?)

Cheers
Justin

All choices of the poll could be subject to debate. The P51 wasn't around for the whole European campaign, but entered relatively late. The same can be said about the latest German designs such as the BF109K or the Kurt Tank Focke Wolf , that were as good as the P51; not to mention the ME262 that outclassed all contemporary airplanes.

It's arrival in great numbers made sure that the long range P51 had a big impact on the air battle though.

My choice would be for an airplane that served through the whole period 1940-1945; so the Spitfire and the MEBf109.

Nevertheless it was a nice poll.

When deciding the best...I select the winner by what equipment I would chose if I was fighting for my life. I exclude production numbers, battlefield odds, longevity and "favorites".

Best fighter = ME262

Best piston engine fighters:

1) P51 (vast majority of experts will concur)
2) FW190
3) Spitfire



...expanding to Armor...

Best tank = PzV Panther

Best of the rest:

1) PzVI Tiger
2) IS-2
3) T-34 M85