- 2,436
- Atlanta
- atomicjellyfish
I give you this as proof of its sub-zero-ness.
Also, have 16 of them.
Also, have 16 of them.
GTP Alternative Cool Wall: 1938-1948 Supermarine Spitfire
- Thread starter Roger the Horse
- 47 comments
- 3,625 views
- 5,551
- Controls set for heart of sun
- GTP_RogerTheHors
If I remember correctly the Spitfire is still the fastest propeller aircraft ever made. Am I correct?
- 8,100
- Guelph, Ontario
Fastest in service is the TU-95 civilian variant.
The fastest piston engined aircraft would be one of the reno air racer planes, probably a Bearcat.
- 7,602
- Exorcet
- OE Exorcet
If you're not making the distinction between turboprops and pistons, then no. The Tu-95 is faster.
For piston engined aircraft, I'm not sure, whether we're including post war racers or only records during the war/production.
EDIT: As soon as I clicked post I saw the "new posts have been added message", I knew I was doomed.
- 15,994
- United Kingdom
- haitch40
- Xbox?
No. Really no. It wasn't even the fastest prop plane in WW2.
- 9,295
- Duisburg
A modified Griffon-powered Spitfire (a Mk. 22 or Mk. 24, I think) supposedly holds the record as the fastest piston-powered aircraft in a dive, if I'm not mistaken. The F8F is faster in level flight, though, and I'd assume that a modified air racer like the Rare Bear could take the dive speed record from the Spit if someone actually tried.
- 841
- King's Lynn, Norfolk
That is right, over 600mph. Very nearly wrecked the aircraft on the fastest dive. The speed during the dive bent the wings into a swept-back position and ripped the propeller off. The tail heavy plane then climbed sharply, out of control, and the pilot blacked out due to the G force. He found himself at 40,000ft when he regained consciousness, then glided the damaged plane safely down to Earth.
I think the fastest WW2 piston engined plane is a Dornier.
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- 2,007
- Los Angeles
- GTP_DrivingPark
- Finetales
I really can't fathom how this could possibly be anything but Sub-Zero.
- 9,295
- Duisburg
Nice, thanks for clearing that up 👍
The Do 335 Pfeil (474 mp/h [763 km/h]). Some production models were finished but I don't think it was actually operational during WW2, so I don't know whether that counts. I think there are some American X-planes that might be up there in terms of speed, as well. Then again, the F8F never saw combat in WW2, either...
Well, I decided to do some research while writing this post, so it seems like the fastest aircraft that saw combat in WW2 was a highly modified version of the P-47, the YP-47M, build to intercept the German V-1 missiles. That thing supposedly did some 473 mp/h (762 km/h) but was utterly unrealiable. Then there's the Spitfire Mk. 21 at 455 mp/h (733 km/h) and the F4U-4 at 417 mp/h (671 km/h). I have no clue how accurate those figures are, though. The speed of the Mk. 21 seems especially dubious, as that would be some 10 mp/h faster than the Mk. 24, from what I've found.
- 841
- King's Lynn, Norfolk
I've just had a look at it, what a strange plane
The Supermarine Spiteful F Mk 16 (Spitfire based fighter), powered by a 2,420hp Griffon engine, had a claimed top speed of 494mph/795kph. But again not sure if it actually served in WW2, there were some produced before the end of the war though. Not easy to find a clear speed figure for a lot of the fastest fighters. All are put in the shade by jet fighters, especially the German prototypes.
