If the question is ‘best plane vs. plane in a dogfight’ you will get one answer, and if it is ‘best plane overall in effectiveness for its particular combat role’ maybe another.
Top 5 American aces of WWII did not fly a P-51
Three flew P-38’s, one flew a corsair (F4U) and one flew a P-47.
Each of these fighters had its strengths and weaknesses. The P-47 had probably the best firepower of any fighter with 8 50 cal machine guns. D models and after were just as maneverable as a P-51 and it was the fastest non-jet aircraft in a straight dive. Its main limitation was a rather limited range of operation.
F4U was the fastest piston fighter in a level flight with adequate range and good but not great armament (4 or 6 50 cals depending on the model). it was extremely manuverable, even more so than the P-51 and P-47 and was one of the few planes to best a Zero in a turning fight.
The P-38 is one that is an enigma when talking about great fighters as it had some severe limitations but it still has enough strengths to warrant serious consideration. Starting with its strengths; its firepower was impressive with the most produced model having 4 50’ cals and one 20 mm cannon mounted in the nose, unlike the wings as in most fighter aircraft of the period. Mounting the armament in the nose gave the pilot the ability to reliably shoot at longer distances as they did not have to factor into a convergence zone that more conventionally armed planes do. It also had a superior range compared to all other fighters except the zero (which it is about equal with) and the P-51. Its weaknesses were; lacking a supercharged engine in all but the latest versions which meant that it could not fight at higher altitudes in the European theater also partly as a result it was the most unmaneverable of these aircraft.
The P-51 was the most rounded aircraft, having no real faults and having that exceptional range. The P-51’s relative lack off success in kills must be balanced with the knowledge that the P-51’s did most of the bomber escort and could not pursue attacking aircraft too vigorously when performing these missions.
You really have to break the war down to one or two year increments.
The Zero kicked ass to begin with.
The Me109 likewise kicked ass in the beginning.
Later the F6F entered the war an it equalled or bettered the Zero.
Then the F4U and the P-51 increased the lead greatly.
The F8F lasted well into the Vietnam war, albeit as ground support by that time.
and, the P-47 was well loved and trusted by those who flew it.
But my choice for the best airplane in WW2. The C-47 (the DC3) It carried everything everywhere and was ultra reliable. But you asked for fighter, so I choose the Thunderbolt, P-47 with its 8 .50 cal machine guns.
Fiat G.55. For the very scientific reason that it was the coolest-looking :D.
There isn’t any objective basis for this statement. The Hawker Tempest (which also scored victories against the Me-262) was an immensely powerful fighter that matched the Mustang’s performance in every respect; how was the Mustang better “by far”?
P-47, hands down, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t know that it did much better than other planes did. I certainly wouldn’t claim it influenced the war’s outcome one way or another. There’s just something about a design that screams “fuck you pussies and fuck what it looks like, we’ll just nail as many huge guns as we can on the biggest engine we can lay our hands on and see where that goes” that appeals to me from a design standpoint.
It goes without saying that I’m a huge A-10 fanboy.
Given that the USAAF lost more men than the Marines, and that mostly bomber aircrew, I would pick the P-51 for flying escort later in the war and saving lives.
You’ll likely enjoy this history of the P-47 then. I forgot how impressive it actually was and I might even be re-considering my choice… I remember reading the account of Robert Johnson’s encounter with a FW-190 over the English Channel when I was a kid.
I suppose if I had to put my ass in the seat it would probably be in a Jug.
I love the A-10 as well…
It isn’t objective…as you can see in this thread. I base this on several threads and a bunch of top 10 fighters programs and surveys, which almost across the board have the P-51 in the top spot. Stuff like this, and this and this as well as shows on the History Channel and Military Channe. Is it objective? Not at all…if you do a search on top 10 fighters of all time, or top 10 fighters of world war II or something similar, you will find, occasionally, other planes in the top spot (like the Supermarine Spitfire Mks 24 mentioned up thread …sometimes other planes are mentioned), but by and large in these types of lists and surveys the P-51 gets the greatest number of top spots (or, if it’s not number one in some lists it’s number 2).
And it was a real tank as far as taking damage. But some of the German FW190 and Me109s had better armaments.
I read some place, maybe Johnson’s book, that a lot of P-47 pilots would go get their pictures taken with a P-51 then go back to their P-47 knowing they had a lot better chance of living through their rotation by flying the Jug.
Not to mention that if you stand next to a Jug, you look like a hobbit.
Has to be Joe Louis.
Oh! Prop fighter. Sorry, nm.
Heck no, Jack Johnson.
I read an article some time ago when I lurked on Warbird-phile forums that made a convincing case that Japanese poor fuel quality and sloppy manufacturing tolerances resulted in most of their aircraft under-performing to their design spec. An ideal specimen of the Zero (based on later Allied tests of captured aircraft) performed significantly better than most.
It was maybe the same or different article that made the case for the Ki-84, given an ideal production unit with good fuel, would easily outperform the P-51 or F4U.
I’ll google a bit and see what comes up. Vague hearsay I know, but hell, this is the interwebs.
The P-40. But then again my dad being CBI ---------------- 
One plane that entered service too late to earn much of a wartime reputation was the F8F Bearcat, the successor to the F4F Wildcat and the F6F Hellcat. Optimized as an interceptor that could be launched from escort carriers, it could climb like a skyrocket; in 1946 it set a time-to-climb record that no jet would beat until 10 years later.
I’ll say P-51 also, but that’s mainly because it’s the only WW II fighter I’ve ever flown in, and it was being flown by a WW II ace who extolled its virtues to me before and after the flight.
What a ride it was . . .
Total sneak brag. Jerk. Totes jealous.