Warbird Information Exchange

I always though that turret on the Avenger made it sort of ungainly looking. To me the older Devastator has better lines. Which aircraft, according to type, do you like more than others?

For instance, I like the Marauder better than the Mitchell. No real reason, I just like the lines better.
B17 or B24? Etc...

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"I knew the jig was up when I saw the P-51D-20-NA Mustang blue-nosed bastards from Bodney, and by the way the blue was more of a royal blue than an indigo and the inner landing gear interiors were NOT green, over Berlin."

I think the Devastator has a more romantic look to it.

Ill pose this one Corsair or Hellcat?
I'm kinda bias, but the Corsair was just a sexy airplane

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Andrew King
Air Museum Director with no Museum to Direct
Open to Suggestions

105 over the Phantom. 135 over darn near everything, especially the DC-10 and that new twin engine thingy that's going to take its place.

I prefer the looks of the P-40 over that of the P-51. There is just something about that P-40 nose with the sharks mouth on it that brings a smile to my face.

I don't think the A-26 gets enough credit from the aesthetic standpoint. It is one sharp looking aircraft.

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Avenger and Hellcat, like many Grummans, have that utilitarian, no non-sense look, much like a jeep. Corsairs and Devestators are a bit more elegant, one doing it's job much better than the other!
Jerry

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

Good reason the Avenger was called the "Turkey".

It picked up that nickname because of the way it looked on final with everything including the glovebox hung out in the breeze and all that wing,sort of like a wild Turkey flaring and ready to touch down.

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P-51A and P40C if I liked V12s, but I really like the P-47 and F6F

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Yeah, but the B-26 Marauder has it hands down all over everyone else. Simply put, the best looking American plane of the war (IMHO).

Even though (or perhaps because) the B-17 is the "glamor girl," I've preferred the B-24. Sure, it's an ungainly slab-sided beast, but I've always thought it had a more businesslike appearance..presenting an attitude of "I don't care about appearances, I'm just here to drop bombs."

Oh, and ditto on the Marauder.

SN

B-26, not B-25.
B-17, not B-24.
Corsair, not Hellcat.
P-39, not P-40.
P-38, not ... uh ... anything.
Maryanne, not Ginger.
Bailey, not Jennifer.
Eartha Kitt, not Julie Newmar.
Cathy Bach, not Jessica Simpson.

August

Devestator hands down. It was an elegant aircraft that was just too old by the time it went to war.

B-17 over B-24.

F-15 REPORTER over any fighter/recon bird of WW2. That thing just looked fast sitting on the ground!

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It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

The Devastator "clean" is a nice looking plane, but I always thought it looked ungainly as soon as you strapped a torpedo to it. The Avenger, with its internal bomb bay has a much cleaner look.

I think a lot of the pre-war American types were certainly very attractive, to me, the one plane that most exemplifies the beauty of the pre-war design is the B-23. Likewise, I think the plane that best exempifies the beauty of design based on wartime experience is the F7F. Most Grummans have a "business first" look to them. The Tigercat is definitely all business, but it has a beauty that the other Grumman prop designs seem to lack.

Once Grumman got into building jets, they seemed to have really gotten the aesthetics down. The F9F (Panther and Cougar) F-11 and F-14 are all simply beautiful designs.

In terms of jets, I'd take the A-4 over the A-6 and A-7.

P-61 Black Widow > everything else.

I would also take the Devastator over the Avenger for looks. Yeah, it's a little primitive looking but it has nice clean lines and I like the way the canopy sits on the airframe. They also looked good in any paint scheme they wore operationally.

As far as attack aircraft go though, nothing beats a fully-loaded Skyraider. Nose-high stance, looks great in any scheme, nice lines and looks even better with ordnance slung under the wings.

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Matt