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[Inspector#2]

The BF 109 has been called the worst fighter due to its beginings as a racer and not having turn performance and limited operational time over British targets. It did manage to become the mainstay of axis airforces.

Dave

 

[Walter]

I don't have the stats, but you may be thinking of the Junkers JU 87 "Stuka." It was a very successful German fighter early in the war and on the eastern front, but was creamed in the Battle of Britain.

OTOH, a good case for worst fighter of the war could be made for the much less successful Brewster F2A "Buffalo" which was regularly beaten by the Mitsubishi A6M "Zero." The Zero was so superior to the Buffalo that the Japanese believed it to be invincible. Later Vought F4U "Corsair" and Grumman F6F "Hellcat" aircraft disproved that concept.

What WW II American and German aircraft looked so similar they were shot down by their own forces believing they were under attack?

 

[DivePartner1]

Good analysis but the question is far more sinister. The aircraft was flown in combat by several allied air forces and one axis air force.

 

[notabob]

Hmm... How about the Polikarpov I-16, which was used by the Soviet Union and possibly other East European countries, as well as Spain - one of the Axis powers.

-Roman.

 

[DivePartner1]

Walter once bubbled...
What WW II American and German aircraft looked so similar they were shot down by their own forces believing they were under attack?

Focke Wolfe 190 and P47? The size isn't close but they look somewhat alike.

 

[scuberd]

Walter once bubbled...
What WW II American and German aircraft looked so similar they were shot down by their own forces believing they were under attack?

I don't have the info here, but wasn't there a german bomber that looked like a C-47?

 

[Walter]

DivePartner1,

I don't have a clue.

I'm thinking about two fighters.

 

[DivePartner1]

The Brewster Buffalo was the most succesfull fighter in the Finnish air force.

It was sold to the Finland and Belgium as obsolete at the start of the war (before Finland became a German ally). The Belguim planes ended up with the English. The English liked the handling and performance but loathed the lack of armor. They added armor before shipping them off to Singapore and New Zealand.

The weight of the added armor added ruined the plane's speed and manueverability, making the English version a death trap against the Japanese Zero (hence the credit as the worst figher to the war.)

The Finns never added armor and loved the plane. One squadron achieving 460 kills against the Russians.

 

[Walter]

The Buffalo was probably the worst fighter of the war even without the added armor.

Finland was considered an Axis power, but they weren't really German allies, they were merely defending their country from attack. They accepted aid from Germany with much the same attitude Churchill accepted Stalin as an ally.

 

[DivePartner1]

Walter, you got it right anyway.