1. The P-51 Mustang
The Mustang plane certainly lived up to its name, coming into the war with a show of wild bravado and power the enemy couldn’t contain. A veteran model from both WWII and the Korean War, these nearly-indestructible fighters brought the fight to the Luftwaffe each and every time. The Mustangs could take down everything from the piston-engined fighters to the larger, twin-jet Messerschmitts.
While these aircraft had exceptional control, resourceful speed at all altitudes and a sustainable rate of climb, the Mustang’s greatest asset to set it apart from the rest was its long range functionality. This added feature made these essential bomber escorts, again letting the Spitfires take most of the action, but remaining available to return everyone to their military bases. However, when they were forced into battle, these notorious fighting machines were responsible for blasting ships, trains and rival enemy bases around Europe.
The P-51 Mustangs were major players in taking down the Luftwaffe during the Allied invasion of Sicily, showing the Axis defense they had quite the competitor on their hands.
Unfortunately, the Luftwaffe agreed, considering them highly resourceful as well. In fact, they managed to capture their own set of Mustangs that had been damaged during previously-botched Allied landings. After some quick repairs, the Luftwaffe used these for testing purposes to gain more insight into their functionality.
And even after the war, the P-51 Mustangs actually met with Messerschmitt models once more; only this time, they fought side by side. Israel was able to get their hands on a few select planes in each model, and utilized them during the Arab-Israeli conflict years after WWII.
Overall, there were many factors that went into the final Allied victory over the Axis Powers during WWII, not including a wide variety of more weapons and equipment that helped pave the way for success. But the help of the Hawker Hurricanes, the Supermarine Spitfires and the P-51 Mustang fighters certainly tipped the scales in the Allies favor, proving that airpower was a heavy-hitting defense strategy against the enemy.