PauloBarnesi Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Whats the greatest plane this country has produced? Comet? Spitfire? Mosquito? Harrier? Lancaster? Hurricane? Camel? Tiger Moth? Lightning? Buccaneer? Vulcan? (Concorde doesn’t really count as it was a joint project) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumerican Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumerican Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Over 12,000 of those bad boys were built in Castle Brom . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CI Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Spitfire. No debate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brommy Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Spitfire. No debate Au contraire! Whilst I'm not old enough to remember, from what I've read and been told by older family members, the Hurricane was the better aircraft. The Spitfire was better looking and achieved many high profile successes but the Hurricane was the real hero of WWII. CI, if only you had typed a finishing full stop or typed 'Period', I might have been convinced that it was beyond debate. :winkold: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazdavies79 Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Spitfire for me. The so nearly, yet so far category goes to the ill fated de Havilland 106 Comet. Although it was a huge leap forward in aircraft design, with beautiful lines, it was an unmitigated failure due to too much cost cutting in production. NB I learnt all that from TV, I'm not an aircraft boffin, my information might be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloBarnesi Posted November 16, 2011 Author Share Posted November 16, 2011 The Hurricane wasn’t necessarily better; it was just available in larger numbers during the Battle of Britain and therefore arguably the real victor of that battle. No denying the Spitfire was a better looking aircraft. Anyway the Mosquito was a brilliant aircraft; the best in class by a country mile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted November 16, 2011 Moderator Share Posted November 16, 2011 Spitfire. No debate Au contraire! Whilst I'm not old enough to remember, from what I've read and been told by older family members, the Hurricane was the better aircraft. The Spitfire was better looking and achieved many high profile successes but the Hurricane was the real hero of WWII. CI, if only you had typed a finishing full stop or typed 'Period', I might have been convinced that it was beyond debate. :winkold: Both did their job, the Spitfire was slightly faster, had a faster rate of climb and a higher ceiling than the Hurricane, but where the Hurricane won out was the time on the ground, being a wooden framed, fabric covered aircraft meant it was quicker to turn around on the ground and easier to patch up than the all metal Spitfire. But they performed different roles by and large, the Hurricanes went after the bombers whilst the Spitfire went after the fighters at higher altitude, they complimented each other Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Lancaster Bomber Fairly sure it used to be unbeatable on top trumps as well ( super fortress poss used to beat it ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knoppy1987 Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 It is not the BAE 146 I can tell you that. Looks wise I am a big fan of the Vickers VC-10 with it's 4 RR Conways 301's but I'd have to say the Handley Page Victor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted November 16, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted November 16, 2011 Spitfire for me. The so nearly, yet so far category goes to the ill fated de Havilland 106 Comet. Although it was a huge leap forward in aircraft design, with beautiful lines, it was an unmitigated failure due to too much cost cutting in production. NB I learnt all that from TV, I'm not an aircraft boffin, my information might be wrong. Beautiful plane, to this day, and in many respects ahead of its time. Shame the square windows made it fall out of the sky. Left field suggestion, the Gloster Meteor. Our first jet, one of the first jets (sadly the stupidity of the top brass meant Whittles original idea for the jet was overlooked and meant the Germans got the first one flying IIRC), it didnt actually do that much operationally, shot down V1s for a while late in the war, but it was an important step for jet aviation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brommy Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Spitfire. No debate Au contraire! Whilst I'm not old enough to remember, from what I've read and been told by older family members, the Hurricane was the better aircraft. The Spitfire was better looking and achieved many high profile successes but the Hurricane was the real hero of WWII. CI, if only you had typed a finishing full stop or typed 'Period', I might have been convinced that it was beyond debate. :winkold: Both did their job, the Spitfire was slightly faster, had a faster rate of climb and a higher ceiling than the Hurricane, but where the Hurricane won out was the time on the ground, being a wooden framed, fabric covered aircraft meant it was quicker to turn around on the ground and easier to patch up than the all metal Spitfire. But they performed different roles by and large, the Hurricanes went after the bombers whilst the Spitfire went after the fighters at higher altitude, they complimented each other Well balanced bickster. As bombers did much more damage than fighters it is understandable why many feel that the Hurricane was an unsung hero whilst the Spitfire gained glory in dogfights which were seen as more glamorous. It seems there was a debate past the obvious Spitfire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jezza Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 So many - Lancaster, Short Stirling, Vulcan bombers to name a few. But it was the De Haviland Mosquito for me personally - no-one had a fighter/bomber quite like it: light, fast, manuoeverable (sp), with excellent firepower, and was quite underrated when compared to the fighters around at the time. In global terms, it was the Spitfire that caught the imagination, and was comfortably the best of British. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetrees Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 My nomination would be the Britten-Norman Islander, an aircraft that has provided a lifeline to so many remote communities throughout the world. Incredibly rugged and versatile and can land just about anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choffer Posted November 17, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted November 17, 2011 I know almost nothing about the subject but these two, I like: Fairy Swordfish II Or the seafire - basically a spitfire you can park in your garage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villadude Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 I assumed this was a thread about the Spitfire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloBarnesi Posted November 17, 2011 Author Share Posted November 17, 2011 In 1940 I could at least fly as far as Glasgow in most of my aircraft, but not now! It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I turn green and yellow with envy. The British, who can afford aluminium better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building, and they give it a speed which they have now increased yet again. What do you make of that? There is nothing the British do not have. They have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops. After the war is over I'm going to buy a British radio set - then at least I'll own something that has always worked. IMO the quote is fabricated as its from Wikipedia, but it made me chuckle. 633 Squadron Supposedly where George Lucas stole the idea for the Death Star Attack! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Two pages and not a single mention of the Lightning? The only Mach 2 fighter that's British through and through? For shame, people! My Dad got to go up in one when he was at Coltishall, said it's the closest he's ever come to shitting his pants in his adult life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshVilla Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houlston Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 If I could bend the rules slightly I'd go with Concorde, to think it first actually flew in the sixties and there is still nothing like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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