P51 D Mustang

Arguably the best fighter of the war. The North American Mustang had mediocre performance when fitted with the original Alison engine, but when fitted with the 12 cylinder, liquid cooled, Rolls Royce Merlin engine, the Mustang excelled. Very fast, maneuverable, heavily armed the Mustang could best anything the Axis powers could throw at it. It was the first allied fighter to be able to escort heavy bombers all the way from their bases in England to Germany and back, thus reducing bomber losses significantly. Along with the later marks of Spitfires, the FW190 & the Zero, the Mustang is one of the classic fighters of WWII. The only slight drawback is the fact that it was armed with six .50cal machine guns, the addition of cannon would have been the ultimate refinement. The Mustang could also carry drop tanks, bombs & rockets. In the right circumstances it could tangle with an ME262 and some of these German jets fell victim to the P51 It was used in Korea for a while & one actually shot down a Russian piloted Mig15 jet fighter!!