The Mossie: light, fast and economicalDuring its first trials it proved to be faster than the Spitfire even though it was a much larger aircraft. The speed was not only the result of the lack of exterior drag, but it also had a lighter wooden frame, plywood skin and was propelled by two Rolls Royce Merlin engines.
The Mosquito reached 408 mph in level flight, which was faster than the operational version of the Spitfire at the time, whose top speed was 370 mph. After this demonstration flight, the airplane almost failed its acceptance for the Royal Air Force.
The sleek, Merlin-powered design, together with lightness and lack of any defensive armament or armour, allowed the Mosquito to travel at speeds in excess of 400 miles per hour to escape from enemy fighters. During much of the war the Mosquito was the fastest aircraft in the sky on either side.
Was the Messerschmitt Me 262 the fastest plane in WW2? Yes, the Messerschmitt Me 262 was the fastest plane of World War II. It was the first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft, and its top speed was around 850 km/h (530 mph) depending on the variant.
So whilst there is overlap in roles, not unsurprisingly the p38 was a better fighter and the mosquito was a better strike bomber. Overall I give the win to the mosquito because it was better in the strike bomber role (ie the best of ww2) than the p38 was as a heavy fighter (ie mediocre).
So, no, not the fastest prop plane of WW2. But still very fast to the very end. It was the fastest warplane in the sky when it first flew in 1941. The unarmed bomber used speed as its defence, and was effectively immune from interception until the advent of the Me 262.
The plane had a wingspan of 36 feet 10 inches (11.2 metres), was 29 feet 11 inches (9.1 metres) long, and reached a maximum speed of 360 miles (580 km) per hour and a ceiling of 34,000 feet (10,400 metres).
Junkers Ju87 Widely known as the “Stuka”, the Ju87 was one of the most feared aircraft during World War Two. It had a fearsome siren which terrified those who heard it. Lockheed Hudson Useful aeroplane. The wooden lifeboat was designed to be dropped by Hudsons to rescue airmen who had ditched.
The Mosquito also proved a remarkably versatile aircraft in other roles. It was a great success as a night fighter and intruder, as well as an anti-shipping strike aircraft. Both the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force used Mosquitos for photographic reconnaissance duties.
Even Reichsmarshall and Luftwaffe chief Hermann Göring was taken with the “Wooden Wonder.” He famously stated, “It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I turn green and yellow with envy. The British …
During its trials on 16 January 1941, W4050 outpaced a Spitfire at 6,000 ft (1,800 m). The original estimates were that as the Mosquito prototype had twice the surface area and over twice the weight of the Spitfire Mk. II, but also with twice its power, the Mosquito would end up being 20 mph (30 km/h) faster.
The Bf 109 was arguably the best fighter in the world in 1940. It was faster than the Spitfire at high altitude, could dive more rapidly and carried a more effective armament of two cannon and two machine guns.
The Spitfire has always been regarded as the more responsive of the two. This did, however, have the disadvantage of being unstable when firing the eight machine guns, resulting in difficulty keeping the fire on target compared with the Hurricane that was more stable under the recoil of the same guns.
The Mosquito had a maximum speed in excess of 400 miles (640 km) per hour and a range of more than 1,500 miles (2,415 km) with a 4,000-pound (1,816-kg) bomb load.
So, the spitfire was slightly faster and had a better turn radius but the 109 could climb a lot faster and it could be thrown into steep dives thanks to its fuel-injected engine.
The Spitfires wing was both low drag AND low wing loading. This gave it better maneuverability and better climb and high altitude performance, as well as more speed.
Everyone always trumpets how until the Spitfire lX came into production the Fw 190 rained supreme. But the truth is the German 190 pilots were not fazed by the Spitfire lX when it arrived in numbers. If a Spitfire got behind a 190 the Germans would simply dive away at speed.
The Spitfire's steady pace of development meant that it always remained a formidable adversary to any opponent. Even the world's first jet fighter, the Me262, was first shot down by a Spitfire.
To date, the closest a prop-driven aircraft has come to breaking the sound barrier was in 1944, when a Spitfire in a dive reached Mach 0.92—much controversy surrounds this and other claims, so take it with a grain of salt.
During the programme, Squadron Leader J R Tobin took a Mark XI Spitfire into a 45-degree dive; the plane reached a top speed of 606mph (975km/h), or Mach 0.89 (Mach 1 being the technical term for the speed of sound).
I would consider the Junkers Ju 287 as one of the most weirdest aircraft from WWII. Its forward-swept wings and fundamental design just make it look insanely awkward.
Of the more than 7,000 Mosquitoes built, only a handful remain, and only three known airworthy examples survive, two in the United States, and one in Canada. The discovery of these priceless drawings has galvanized the members of The People's Mosquito, who hope to see the aircraft once again flying over Britain.
Among the pilots killed were two Staffelkapitane and the campaign's then-leading FW-190 four-engine bomber ace, Oberfeldwebel Hans Laun of 1. JG 1, who was shot down near Arnhem, Netherlands. The Focke-Wulf FW-190 was widely believed to be the best fighter aircraft of World War II.
