What single aircraft of WWII do you think influenced the future of air power?
Myself, I find that the B-29 Superfortress most greatly influenced the future. It defined the need for larger, faster, larger payload, longer range bombers with both coventional and nuclear capabilities, which in turn would produce a far greater deterrent against enemies.
IMHO I would have to say the german concept aircraft, even though they were never built(some were in prototype stage) once we got those plans our aircraft technology increased enormously.
Hard question that! I would say that the Mosquito is the most influential aircraft of the period as it defined the concept of multi role capability that seems required of the majority of todays military aircraft. However if you mean from a purely history point of view, the coin must be flicked between the Spitfire and the Hurricane!
I have to agree that German research projects have to be up there, but it was the engine in the Gloster Whittle that was to be the forerunner of the jet engines we now take for granted, and which made most propeller driven warplanes obsolete overnight
I would have to say the ME-262. Although other countries were working on their own jet aircraft, it was the first. As far as be influential everyone one I’ve spoken to that had the chance to encounter it during the war, pilots from both German and Allied sides and tank crewmen and ground troops all had pretty much the same reaction to it. “What the H*** was that !!” Just thinking in my life there hasn’t been many things that I can think of that influenced that many people in the same way.
I must agree on the issue of the German aircraft programs being up there at the top or very near it. The V1 and V2 led to Ballistic missile submarines via the Loon and Regulus and cruise missiles as far as the V1. One of the things of the V2 program led to was putting a man on the moon and space stations. But then again, each aircraft led to a more superior aircraft whether it was Axis or Allies. Those with the best toys win. Great topic as it causes us all to think and especially remember our past.
Regards,
Richard
Here’s another vote for the B-29. The Cold War really started when the Soviets announced their copy of the B-29. At that point, the U.S. and Soviet Union each had a plane that could drop atomic bombs (also owned by each country) on each other and/or nearly the rest of the world. Granted, the longest and scariest flights would have been one-way, but that hardly made people in New York (for instance) feel better. (Hey, they dropped an A-bomb on New York City, but couldn’t fly home! Nya Nya [(-D])
This set the tone for the early days of the Cold War that, in many ways, still haunts us today.
Regards,
I have to agree with RSaddlemire about each aircraft, or development of a particular system influenced something else along the way. My interpretation of the question is this: A B-29 carried the bombs that in one way or another forced the total ending of the second world war, so unless the author had a particular thing in mind when he asked the question, end of discussion!
gbritnell
I would have to agree with the advances in Greman jet and rocket engines.
Thay made all the enginering plans and mistakes so that the allied powers got a huge leg up on the rest of the world in jets and space.
For my money, I’m in with you that feel that the germans led the way. The case for the B29 isn’t really to do so much with the aircraft, rather than the wepon it delivered. The Me 262 for example really pushed the envelope of the state of the art in aircraft design and construction.
just my humble opinion, though
How about just about every aircraft that was flown just before during and just after the war. In 1935 every Air Force in the world was flying 200mph biplanes, along comes the Luftwaffe with the BF109 and the RAF with the Hurricane, now we are at 300 mph+. Now we are in 1942 F4U’s Spitfires,P-47’s,P-38’s,109’s 190’s they are all flying at 400mph. Now its 1945 the Me262 and Meteor are flying, no props and 500+ mph. SO you tell me 10 years 350mph and still climbing. The war was the most terrible thing of the 20th century but at the same time technology of the time took a huge leap forward because of that war. JOHN
Now that we’ve heard from the kraut supporters, does anyone have any fresh perspective on this topic?
Excuse me, but I thought that you asked for people’s opinions. And using a derogatory slur at the citizens of a particular nation is reprehensible. Had you wanted others to reaffirm your choice, perhaps the question could have been worded differently.
German technology in WW II was remarkable in its influence on the “state of the art.” Jet aircraft, rocket-propelled aircraft, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, “smart” weapons, SAMs, and a host of other modern technologies are rooted in the advances that Germany made during the war years. To admire their hard work & contributions to technology does not make one a “kraut supporter.”
That said, in my opinion, the most influential aircraft of WW II is the Me 262.
Well, you might not believe me when I put the Vickers Wellington up for a vote, but I’m serious about it.
It was something of a pioneering bird, I think one of the first steps into the multi task warbird thinking. Most aircraft before her were fairly specialized while she was quite adaptable for her time.
The most influential thing about her though is that she was pivotal in buying Britain time to perfect such legendary beasts as the Spitfire and Lancaster. She was the only true bomber that Britain had at the outbreak of hostilities that could even remotely be considered modern at the time and America hadn’t officially entered the European Theatre of the war when the Wellingtons had to make their first bombing runs over Germany.
She bought time, and influenced optimism in Britain that it was worth their while to put up a fight, that they actually had enough time on their side to develop better aircraft.
Underated as she might be, I’d hate to think what the opening year of the war would have been like without her. Would we even know what a Spitfire or Lancaster was without the time that the Wellington bought for them to be developed?
yf23 did ask for a “single aircraft”, not a country’s research program. Having said that, I would agree with a few others here that the Me-262 influenced a lot of future aircraft. Swept wings, twin engines, tricycle gear, multiple variations of a common airframe, etc. It was truly a plane ahead of its time. A second runner-up would be the unbuilt Ta-183. It was the basis (wing-wise, anyway) for the MiG-15, the F-86, and an Argentinian plane that I can’t recall the name of right now. Kurt Tank immigrated (escaped, maybe?) to Argentina after the war, and helped them start a jet air force, based on his Ta-183 design.
Pixilater and upnorth I salute you both for you comments. I agree with you both and I hope that the comment made by yf23 was not worded correctly. A question submitted in the forum should not be a bone of contention but a request for others thoughts and ideas. Otherwise why ask the question to begin with? Each answer and idea is presented by the individual as either how they feel or information regarding the question. There have been some great responses to this question and I hope to be able to see some more.
Regards,
Richard
I would also go with the ME262.
As for the “kraut supporter.” comment, I would like to mention that the boards has members from all over the globe including germans(methink) which I think might take offense at the use of words and language.
I would have to agree with the Me-262 as well… it was a definite sign of things to come. I would agree that the B-29 was influential but maybe not the a/c as much as the weapon that it carried (ie. nuclear payload). As for German engineering in WW2, the Bf 109 if I’m not mistaken was a fuel injected engine while the allied aircraft were all still carbureated… fuel injection makes it possible to fly upside down almost indefinately, a carbed engine’s gravity fed fuel supply will soon run out turning it into an instant glider. The Benz’s fuel injector had almost as many parts as the Merlin engines. The Luftwaffe birds also had a feature that made it possible to put the throttle at 100% to dog fight, all functions being taken care of automatically… the allied craft needed constant and precise control of the throttle during manuvers. I think this is a testament to the kind of craftsmanship the German engineers were capable of… and as for the unfortunate comment that was made… let’s not forget that the Saturn V rocket that landed our US astronauts on the moon was created by the V-2 inventor… I am embarassed that his name escapes me now…
OK, I have been told that it was Wernher von Braun, and a big thanks goes out to Stinger for getting my back on that one and coming up with the name for me.[^]
Gotta be the B-29 because it proved the whole concept of long-range STRATEGIC heavy bombers that Douhet and Mitchell had been talking about from the beginning of the rise of airpower. General LeMay built the entire strategic air command around the theories he so coldly employed in the firebombing of Japan. In fact, the whole theory of modern airpower (Warden et al) is based on a strategic approach to knock out an enemy’s centers of gravity, which is what the B-29 was employed to do.
The German jets, while an impressive technical achievement were being paralleled on the allied side - they just didn’t get fielded in time to actually be employed. The allies were going the right direction, and the ME-262 advances would have been developed eventually. No - I really think it has to be the B-29; no other aircraft changed the face of war in quite the same way.