Best Fighter For It's Time

"Charles Talleyrand" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
My question is this: Which fighter had the clearest advantage over it's
the other fighters of it's time frame?

For example, the Fokker Eindekker would clearly lose to an F-14. However,
the
Eindekker had a large advantage over other fighters when it was
introduced.
An F-14, though a fine plane, did not have so clear cut an advantage over
it's contemporaries.

Planes clearly NOT on the list

Albatros (not clearly better than a Spad)
Spitfire (was about as good as a Me-109)
F-14 (not clearly better than an F-15)

Planes ON the list

Fokker Eindekker
Me-262
F-4 (clearly better than the Mig-21 and the Mirage (maybe))


Ahem, err, the F-14 was not "clearly better" than the F-15?

Not only is the plane more maneuvreable at lower speeds (bellow 450kts) and
speeds over Mach 1, or in posessiong of a far superior weapons system, but
it had - until the AIM-120 was introduced on the F-15C MSIP-II Eagles - also
a distinct superiority in medium-range, and it remains superior to anything
world-wide in long-range arena.

Besides, the total combat score for the F-14 is also (at least) two times
better than that of the F-15.

Tom Cooper
Co-Author:
Iran-Iraq; War in the Air, 1980-1988
http://www.schifferbooks.com/militar...764316699.html

Iranian F-4 Phantom II Units in Combat
http://www.osprey-publishing.co.uk/t...hp/title=S6585