what is the best gun, best tank, best airplane, of world war 2?

Question

i think the best gun is the FG42, the best tank is the Tiger tank, and the best airplane is the Me262.

Answer 1

Hmm, dude, you like german weapons? Me too, but probably i guess the best gun would be the MP-40, best Light Tank: M5 General Stuart, best Med Tank: T-34 (it got a powerful 76.5mm cannon, i love it!), best Heavy Tank: The beast Pz.VI B King Tiger (yeah!), and the best airplane, sure are the Me.262's, they have strong quad 20mm cannons, when they are up the air, no Allied planes could stop them (Well, except forr the Tempests and the Mustangs) But they also have big weak points: Their jet engines made them vulnerable when facing Allied planes, because most of them used mounted gun on their wings, those guns' bullets could hit the engine. And they need special liquid fuel for their jet engine, and Special oil factories were built for them, unfortunately, they were always Allied bombers' targets, so let's give it up for Bf.109! P-51 Mustang is a long range fighter, mounted 50.Cal, very impressive! But Bf.109 served in WWII earlier than it, and German Ace Pilots flew that plane nearly all the time!!

Answer 2

There is a lot of debate on what is the best, and what categories you use to determine that ie: most effective, easiest to produce, easiest to maintain. I don't know much about guns so I will not comment on that but, as for tanks, I'd say that the Soviet T-34 was a far more effective tank than the German Tiger, since it was a lot easier to produce was more maneuverable, and was a more versatile, the German general von Runstedt called the T-34 the "best tank in the world" Although a Tiger tank had a slight edge over a T-34 one on one, they hardly ever fought one on one and since the T-34 was far easier to produce then the Tiger, the Soviets could afford to lose one or two T-34's to take a Tiger which the German's could not afford to lose. The T-34 was such an effective tank that there were still countries using it around the world right up untill 1996. There was also one thing that made the T-34 far more effective than the German Tiger, a wider track design which allowed it not to get stuck in snow, or mud, very useful in Russia.
As for aircraft, although the Me262 was the world's first jet fighter, the P-51 was a far more effective weapon, it was more maneuverable than the Me262, and its long range allowed it to escort allied bombers right into the heart of Germany. An inspiration to all aircraft that followed the Me262 was, too little too late. The P-51 however was used by some nations right up untill the 1980's, and helped end WW2. To quote Hermann Goering the head of the German Luffwaffe, "The day I saw Mustangs over Berlin, I knew the jig was up."
I think that your choices for best tank, and best aircraft were good ones from a technical point of view, but not from an opererational, field results type of view. To put it into perspective, you could drive a Jaguar into work every day or a Honda Civic. The Jaguar might be more fun to drive and go faster, but the Civic is hell of a lot cheaper to buy and repair,and will last you just as long, if not longer and is far more value for your buck, just as the T-34 and P-51 were far more effective that the Tiger and Me262.

Answer 3

You can't decide on the best gun unless you define the situation you use it in. The best pistol was the Luger, the best rifle was the Garand, the best submachine gun was either the German Shmeizer or the Thompson, depending on who you talk to. The best tank was the Panzer (the Tiger was too heavy for a lot of situations), the best fighter was the North American Mustang, and the best bomber was the B-17. It is strictly a matter of opinion as to what the best transport plane was; if you put it to a vote, the C-47 probably would win, except for the guys that flew the C-46. The Me262 was not the best plane because it was deficient in many ways, such as range and payload. It was also tough to fly - very unstable - and because of that, it was never used in any serious combat.

Answer 4

ok, first of all....i'm a HUGE WWII fanatic....my answer will be long, but worth the read....
i've read many of the other answers and am a bit impressed by the overall knowledge, but there are inconsistancies.
The Bearcat was the predecessor of the Hellcat? Think again. The F8F Bearcat was built AFTER the Hellcat. The Grumman F6F Hellcat achieved an unprecedented 19:1 kill ratio....against inexperienced Japanese pilots fresh out of flight school with little or no combat experience (Marianas Turkey Shoot). Cross that one out because if those pilots flew against Germans, they would have been shred to pieces easily against a TA-152 or a FW-190....The P-51 Mustang....NOPE....Believe it or not, the P-40 Tomahawk which was flown by the Americans at the beginning or the war actually flew better with a lower turn radius, better rate of roll, and better overall handling at lower altitudes. It also could take more damage. Ever heard of the Flying Tigers? That was the P-40 Tomahawk. The P-47 Thunderbolt had design problems. During combat when a pilot put the plane into a dive, the stick would freeze....ending up with a dead pilot. So whoever said the P-47 as the best, was off his rocker. The overall best fighter of WWII was the German Me-109. With multiple variations of multiple models, the 109 had the best overall balance of firepower, speed, mobility, handling, and dependability. This aircraft was responsible for more downed enemy aircraft than any other during the war. Also note that German pilots flew multiple missions, or sorties, every day... most pilots from other nations flew only one.
Tanks.....The T-34 had only fair armor. The only reason for them to be victorious was attacking with superior force, i.e. 8:1 or greater. Tiger....nope, but close.....the German Panther tank was a lot harder to hit because of superior speed and was the first tank to be able to hit targets accurately while still in motion. No other tank built during the war could do that.
Gun....the Browning .50 caliber machine gun has remained virtually unchanged since WWI. Dependable, hard-hitting, and superior range makes this weapon deadly even in the hands of a fresh recruit. I've used this weapon during my years in the U.S. Army especially during my deployment to Iraq.
Hope my answer helps you out.

Answer 5

hmmm....thats a tough one. i think the best sub machine gun was the German MP40. It was a great weapon. The German MG42 (some may know it as Hitler's Buzzsaw) was defineitely the best gun period, only because of its outragous rate of fire. (it fired bullets so fast it sounded like one countinous sound. there was no intervals between bullets) its lack of mobility was its only real fault.

The American Sherman was a good anti infantry tank, but didnt shine in tank to tank combat. i think the German Panzers were a great line of tanks (how exactly did we win this war again?) seeing as they were good on anti infantry and anti armor roles.

i strongly disagree with the Me262. the Me262 was the first operational jet fighter of the war, but that didnt make it great. they only got 150 allied kills at the cost of 100 Me262s. finally, the allies have the best in a catagory. The American P-38 Lighting and the F4U Corsair were all great aircraft. but the American P-51 Mustang is arguably the best WW2 era aircraft. but it was givin a run for its money from the American Hellcat, which scored an unbeatable 18 kills per downed plane. its successor, the Bearcat, entered the war too late to have an effect, but it was a major improvement on the Hellcat with a bigger engine and lighter frame. i wish that one got into service earlier, that would have struck fear into German and Japenese pilots. but i think the best ww2 plane is the American Hellcat

Answer 6

I beg to differ. I prefer the accuracy of the Kar98, it may have been a bolt action rifle but it was like the AK-47 of Yesteryears. However I will agree that the M1 Garand is a beautiful weapon and does some mighty damage in the right hands, it just weighs too much for my tastes. The MP-40 was the best SMG out there by far, the Thompson was good, but the clip was too small and wasn't accurate enough...

The best tank was the leopard tank, mobile, decent armor.
Or the Tiger...for obvious reasons, slow lumbering mass of death.

I myself prefer the P-40 Warhawk, agile, disgusting in a dogfight and could carry a sizable payload.

Answer 7

Best gun- M1 Garand. This was the only semi-automatic rifle that was basic issue for an Army in WWII. In any one area there were better weapons, but the Garand had the best overall balance of accuracy, speed, adaptability, and cost-effectiveness.

Tank- T-34. Like the Garand, this tank was not the best in any one area but was the best overall. It had a main gun that was capable of taking out most other tanks, good armor, good mobility, decent reliability, and was easy to produce in large numbers. Many American tanks were easier to make but also easier to destroy; many German tanks were much stronger but also required more time and resources to make and more maintenance in the field.

Best plane- I don't know as much about aircraft, but I would have to go with the Bf-109. It served the Germans well, and had the most kills in WWII.

Answer 8

best gun lets say the MG .50 HB
plain certainly the Me 262
for best tank the Panther: very good mobility, good amour and the famous 75mm gun

bay the way the Patton tank didn't enter late in the war like a member said it was the the Persing tank

Answer 9

The best rifle carried by infantry during WWII was the M1 Garand.

The best medium tank of WWII was the T-34/85 tank. If the Pzkw VI Tiger had been more reliable and easier to produce, I might go with it.

The best fighter was the F-4U Corsair. Check this link, which amply supports my choice:

http://home.att.net/~historyzone/F4U-4.html

Answer 10

Best gun for me would have to be the M2 series of 12.7mm heavy Machine guns (the famous 0.50cals). It fired very powerful bullets for its type, fired at high rates, was very reliable and saw widespread service on both land units (the infantry could carry them, and they were fitted to almost all the combat vehicles from jeeps to half-tracks to tanks), sea units (light armament for capital ships, cruisers and destroyers until 1942, served with PT-boats and other light ships throughout the war and beyond), and air units (the 0.50cal was the standard armament for nearly all aircraft until the end of the war).

Best tank overall would have to be the T-34 (because it had good firepower and good armour and good reliability and mobility and sheer numbers), Best tank in terms of kill-performances (numbers of kills attributed to individual units)...the Panzer VI Ausf.E Tiger I (especially in the hands of certain Tiger aces such as Micheal Wittmann)

The best airplane (you did not specify which type) for me is:
Bomber: B-29 Superfortress...because it delivered the heaviest firepower for a bomber in that war (of course the atom bombs) and had excellent defensive firepower and range.
Fighter: P-51 Mustang...excellent range, excellent speed and maneuverability, good firepower and was well-liked by its pilots