Don’t give me a P-38
With props that counter-rotate
They’ll loop, roll, and spin
But they’ll soon auger in
Don’t give me a P-38!
Just kidding. It has the CF in spades.
I would like to point out that your SAABs have Volvo engines in them…
(Which really makes those “Born From Jets” ads really funny)
Coolest fighter? Three from WWII leap to mind
The late model Spitfires with the bigger engine and longer nose. Damn pretty aircraft.
The P-38 Lighting.
And the coolest fighter of all time (drum roll please)
This one. Pure sex with wings and a propeller.
Two of em come to mind.
The afore mentioned Harrier has always been my favorite
Also I love the A-11 “Warthog” Tankbuster.
The F-104 is a supersonic interceptor so if you’re including that in the fighter catetory then you have to include theYF-12A(OK it got canceled, but how cool a plane is that). I’ve spent many a day looking at it at the AF Museum nearby. For some odd reason they like to stick the SR-71 drone (D-21) next to it.
And if you remember seeing the F-104 lawn dart on TV I remember seeing a pair of them at Sun & Fun. They sounded like a moose in heat starting up. mmmmmm-baaaoooooooort-woooooosh. But if you’re watching reruns of I dream of Jeanie on Hulu you should look up episode entitled My Wild-Eyed Master. It has your F-104’s plus another famous jet (about 12 minutes into it). I would also kill for the car he’s driving. I must be getting old when I lust after that more than Barbara Eden.
I think the Mustang holds it’s own. Side by side picture.
If you mean two minutes in, inside the hangar, those are Northrop T-38As (very sexy planes, with a CF of around 7.5), with a T-33 in the far background. If you do mean 12 minutes in, then that’s a Bell X-1E on the pedestal outside of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards.
Just before the hanger scene you’ll see the F-104’s taxiing. And yes, that’s the Bell X-1E. There was a lot of real time history in this program.
I only saw three jets in the taxiing shot: the taxiing F-104, an airplane taking off in the far background, and another aircraft in front of which the F-104 taxis. If that’s the ‘other famous jet’, it’s a dual-cockpit version of the F-104.
I was referring to the Bell X1 that you got.
And that wins the thread.
There is no fighter aircraft ever built, ever, that was cooler than the F-14. And with a Jolly Roger on the tail? That’s just so cool it makes my nuts swell up. The only way a fighter plane could be cooler is if it turned into a ninja.
Of course, the Vought F5U Flying Flapjack was an orphan, but it could have been stunning.
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/24/the-flying-flapjack/
Another article
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/f5u.htm
Detailed performance specs
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/f5u-specs.htm
Since most of my favorites have been mentioned already, let me stretch the category a bit by including the de Havilland Mosquito.
I’ve seen photos of the F5U of course; but I can’t hear ‘Flying Flapjack’ without thinking of this. (And yes, I had one. 
)
The P-38 has always been my favorite, but it’s a lot of people’s favorite. How about some love for the Grumman F7F Tigercat, the 4200 horsepower Navy badass of the early Cold War? The Wikipedia article says there are three flightworthy examples remaining, and I’ve seen two of them in formation at the Chino air show.
I loved that one when I was a kid! I had the Monogram (I think) model of it. Definitely 
I think there was one at Chino when I was there in 2006. They had one at the Paine Field General Aviation Day a few weeks ago, but they didn’t fly it.
Chino had some other planes flying with a high CF. One was a Camel with an original engine – without a throttle. They also flew a Fairey Firefly, which gets some coolness points for looking like a Spitfire station wagon. But I really enjoyed the Douglas Skyraider. My dad, who flew in one during Korea, said ‘They have the instantaneous firepower of a light cruiser.’ I like it because dad was Combat Aircrew in one, and because it’s such a big, hulking machine.
Piston era, gotta go with many of the other posters: P-38 Lighting all the way, baby. Runner-up: P-51D Mustang.
Jet era, my personal fave is one that hasn’t come up yet: Mirage 2000. Runner-up: F-4 Phantom II. Big, brutal and stangely beautiful for something that looks so uncoordinated. Also, I love how it seems to get through the air by brute force alone.
I’m another vote for the F-86. While most of its contemporaries were clunky looking (F-84 and F-94, e.g.), the F-86 was an looker from the get go. Pure metallic sex appeal. Not surprisingly, I also think that the B-47 is the coolest bomber ever.
Oh, and for piston-power, I think the F5F is super-cool. Why else would the Blackhawks use them? Hawkaaaah!
I was gonna say the Tigercat, but since it’s taken I’m gonna go with a German entry: the Dornier 335. Blows all other prop planes out of the air, speed-wise. 478 mph.
Right off the bat , I must say that shot of the tomcat with the vf-84 has got to be one of the sweetest aviation photographs, I used to have the patch with the tomcat(cat) wearing a six shooter, saying anytime baby.
Now on to business
For sheer badass , it would have to be the F-105 thunderchief. An understated veteran of the cold war, originally designed to be a medium bomber.Stepped up to the plate in Vietnam and aquitted the Republic designers by doing yeoman duty as a fighter.
While the later model WW2 aircraft already mentioned have their patrons and critics, I am partial to the P-40 warhawk, along with its naval bretheren , the F4F wildcat, held the line until the newer generation fighters came on stream.
For what should have been a fighter, I give you the B-58. Along with ten megatons of canned sunshine , the Hustler also carried multiple air to air missiles for the penetration role.
Declan