We’ve all seen our fair share of deadly military aircraft throughout multiple wars. In this video, AmazingViz shows us the most feared and deadly aircraft during its service. Here are the most notable aircraft in every conflict:
World War I
1. Fokker E.I Eindekker – The Royal Flying Corps lost 120 planes during the 2nd half of 1915 due to the “Fokker Scourge,” a period when the Fokkers dominated the sky in mid-1915.
2. Sopwith Camel – This biplane fighter became known as one of the best fighters of its time by downing almost 1,300 enemy planes.
World War II
3. Mitsubishi A6M Zero – The Zero quickly gained a fearsome reputation in the Pacific due to its excellent firepower and maneuverability.
4. Supermarine Spitfire – Spitfires turned the tides in the Battle of Britain and gained notoriety for having the highest victory-to-loss ratio among British aircraft.
5. Messerschmitt Bf 109 – These fighters were flown by the three top-scoring German aces of WWII.
6. DeHavilland Mosquito – The Wooden Wonder was an incredibly effective multirole fighter able to achieve a max speed of 415 mph.
7. Avro Lancaster – The Lancaster is considered to be one of the best night bombers of the war and Britain’s best heavy bomber.
8. P-51 Mustang – Its superb flying characteristics enabled the Allies to achieve air supremacy in WWII.
9. B-29 Superfortress – The Superfortress dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945.
10. Messerschmitt Me 262 – It was the first operational jet-powered fighter in the world, claiming a total of 542 Allied aircraft shot down.
Korean War
11. F-86 Sabre – F-86 pilots sported a victory ratio of 10:1 against MiGs by only losing 78 Sabres after downing 792 MiGs.
Vietnam War
12. B-52 Stratofortress – In just 11 days, B-52s dropped a total of 15,237 tons of bombs on Hanoi, Haiphong, and other targets during the Christmas Bombings.
13. F-4 Phantom – These fighter-bombers were America’s primary air superiority fighter of the war.
Cold War
14. MiG-25 Foxbat – As of 2018, the Foxbat remains the fastest manned serially-produced aircraft in operational use.
15. F-15 Eagle – It is among the most successful modern fighters, with over 100 aerial victories and no losses in aerial combat.
16. A-10 Warthog – Best known for its fearsome GAU-8 Avenger on the nose and its excellent maneuverability at low air speeds and altitudes.
17. F-117 Nighthawk – They were the first operational aircraft designed around stealth technology, only revealed to the public five years after it entered service.
18. AH-64 Apache – The Apache’s status as a premier attack helicopter has remained largely unchallenged for nearly three decades.
Iraq War
19. B-2 Spirit – Each B-2 can carry up to 80 individually targeted GPS-guided bombs.
20. F-22 Raptor – With the ability to carry most weapons and supercruise at Mach 1.82, the F-22 Raptor remains the world’s most sophisticated aerial superiority fighter.
Special Mentions:
21. F-16 Fighting Falcon
22. F-4U Corsair
23. F-111 Aardvark
24. MiG-35
25. Ju-87 Stuka