I guess that depends on if you watched Saturday Matinees on TV as a kid with lots of P51 Mustangs, or sat in Cinimas and got Pathe news shorts. Mustangs, with teeth of course, are the iconic WW2 planes to me, while not my favorite.
Interesting reading ..
http://www.darwinspitfires.com/index.php?page=spitfire-vc-versus-the-zero
Spitfires < Zero < Hellcat.
Hellcat for the win!
Then I noticed this, guess what, the guy's not British or American, lol!...
Filip Vidinovski, Science Editor at Ars Lamina Publishing (2015-present)
Answered Sep 19 2017 · Author has 556 answers and 565.2k answer views
Originally Answered: What was the best fighter plane in World War 2?
There are several criteria by which one can judge which one was "the best".
Plain score: Bf109. Probably THE WWII fighter. This iconic aircraft shot down more enemy aircraft than any other. All German aces with 100+ kills flew one. Although a pre-war design, remained relevant throughout the whole war. Late versions, such as "Kurfurst", with their fantastic power-to-weight ratio, could easily out-climb (which typically translates to "kill") any opponent.
Dogfighting: A6M Zero. Getting into a turning fight with a "Zero" meant almost certain death. Pilots flying much more powerful, faster and advanced fighters were forced into developing special tactics to defeat them.
Best performace at low altitudes: The Tempest. Untouchable at tree-top level, this super-fast fighter, coupled with right tactics, attacked with more-or-less impunity.
Best performance at low and medium altitudes: a draw between N1K and La-7. Both claimed by many to be the best fighter of the war, both with very good reasons.
Best performance at high altitudes: a draw between P-47 and Ta-152. Exploiting massively powerful 2000+ hp state-of-the-art engines, both were nimble and "at home" flying at altitudes at which most other fighters would struggle to merely maintain level flight. Both were among the fastest fighters in the war.
General usefulness: P-38 Lightning. Manufactured and used in all theaters throughout the whole war. That's how good it was. Perhaps the most versatile fighter of them all. There was no role in which you couldn’t use the Lighting. Equally "at home" dog fighting single engine nimble fighters in broad daylight and energy-fighting the best opponents in the stratosphere. Lightning -fast at all altitudes, with long range, excellent climb rate (best among Western fighters) and capable of lifting the same bomb load as a typical heavy, four engine bomber. Always in demand, they were even assembled outdoors when orders surpassed factory capacities and weather permitted.
The "big picture", actual impact on the course of war: P-51. No contest here. This fighter defeated the mighty Luftwaffe. Having incredibly long range coupled with excellent flying characteristics (especially when flying fast), fancy modern efficient wings and outstanding visibility from the cockpit, it presented an insoluble problem for the defenders of the Third Reich. The "game over" fighter. That's why many rightly claim the Mustang was the best WWII fighter.
But, if I had to reluctantly and mindlessly choose ONE, based on no particularly defined criteria, it will probably be the Dora, FW190D. It had a deadly combination of speed, roll-rate, ruggedness and powerful weaponry. Between 10,000 and 20,000 feet it was better than almost anything else in the skies. It was always a dead-serious opponent. If engaged by one between 3 and 6 kilometers of altitude, the best (and, most of the times, only) chance for survival is an immediate attempt to run away.
Honorable mention goes to MiG-3. Let down by less-than-perfect engine. If fitted with the planned AM38 engine, it would easily compete and win against the very best fighters of the war. Unfortunately, Stalin said "no" and ordered all of the precious AM38 engines to be used in Il-2 ground attack aircraft, itself produced in vast numbers.
And his first reply was from a Brit, and guess what... bahaha!
.... I might be biased (being a Brit and an ardent fan of the plane) but, for my money, the best all-round fighter plane of WW II was the Vickers Supermarine Spitfire.
What a surprise ...