Top 11+ of the Best ‘Tank-busting’ Aircraft of World War 2
Tanks wrought massive carnage in the Second World War, and stopping these tracked monsters from the air was a tough task.
It demanded flying low, avoiding or surviving getting shot, and having a big enough weapon to destroy or disable a well-protected, often moving, target. Not all aircraft were suited to the demanding anti-tank mission; when the He-177 heavy bomber was tasked by Luftwaffe commander-in-chief Hermann Göring personally to halt a large Soviet tank offensive, the results were disastrous for the Germans. The He-177 force was too lumbering for the mission and was cut to pieces. Here are the 11 best tank-busting aircraft of World War 2 that did much better:
11: Bücker Bü 181 Bestmann
In the desperate last-ditch defence of Germany, almost every available aircraft type was dragged into the fight. The rather innocuous-looking Bü 181 training aircraft had already been used as a liaison aircraft and a glider tow, and now it was to enter the more dangerous role of tank-buster.
Armament was to be four Panzerfaust. The Panzerfaust was a recoilless launcher tube with a single bulbous high-explosive anti-tank warhead extending forward from the muzzle. Unlike the baseline infantry version, the aircraft version was wired to be fired remotely by the pilot.
11: Bü 181 Bestmann
The converted tank-killing aircraft were known as the Bü 181C-3 Panzerjäger (‘tank hunter’), fitted with four wing-mounted Panzerfaust 100 mounted in pairs, two on each wing. Bomb-armed Bücker Bü 181s were used for harassment attacks. The assignment to such tank-busting missions in the Bü 181 must have been an alarming prospect to pilots.
Considering the low-speed top speed of the Bücker Bü 181 of 122mph (197km/h), its relative fragility, the extremely short range of its Panzerfaust and the mass of Allied forces, it is unsurprising that the 181 pilots endured heavy losses. However, they did succeed in destroying some Allied armour.
10: L-4 Grasshopper
The humble Piper Cub is a simple light aircraft loved by civilians and built in great numbers. It was not designed for warfare, yet in a quirk of fate, it ended up book-marking the US war and even taking on tanks directly with ‘Bazookas’!
Moments before the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Marcus F. Poston, a student pilot, was on a solo flight in a Piper Cub J-3 above Oahu, the third-largest of the Hawaiian islands. In an epic example of bad luck, Poston met the surprise attack of Japanese aircraft head-on, resulting in the modest J-3 becoming the first American aeroplane to be shot down in World War II.
The L-4 Grasshopper was a military version used for reconnaissance, liaison and spotting. As a spotting aircraft, it must take some credit for the armour destroyed by artillery (similarly, the Stinson L-5 Sentinel must take some credit for tank destruction by P-47s and other US tactical aircraft when used in the Horsefly Forward Air Control role).
In 1944, USAAF Major Charles Carpenter was assigned an L-4 in France. Learning of other L-4 pilots installing ‘bazookas’ on their aircraft, Carpenter did the same with impressive results. Carpenter told a correspondent that the "word must be getting around to watch out for Cubs with bazookas on them. Every time I show up now, they shoot with everything they have. They never used to bother Cubs. Bazookas must be bothering them a bit." Carpenter took six tanks out before the war ended.
9: Junker Ju 88
With Soviet tank production factories creating armour at a startling rate, Germany was forced to consider every conceivable measure of anti-tank warfare. Every combat aircraft type was assessed for suitability for the anti-armour role, which meant fitting heavy armour to withstand low-level ground fire and adding bigger guns.
The twin-engined Junkers Ju 88, which first flew in 1936, was the most versatile of the Luftwaffe’s aircraft, serving in various roles, including bomber, heavy fighter, night fighter, torpedo bomber and reconnaissance. It was even adapted into an explosive-packed drone. With a glut of available Ju 88s airframes, it was considered convenient if they could be drafted into the anti-tank role.
Many gun types were tried with the Ju 88, including the huge 75mm PAK 40, capable of penetrating thirteen centimetres of tank armour at one kilometre. However, even the smaller 30mm Mk 101 was highly effective and could destroy a tank if attacked in its relatively vulnerable rear.
The Ju 88 P variant was developed for the anti-armour role with a single Bordkanone series 75 mm, 50 mm (1.97 in), or twin 37 mm (1.46 in) calibre cannon in a ventral gun pod position. Produced in small numbers, the large, somewhat lumbering Ju 88S, were not a success.
8: Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was designed by the aircraft design genius Kurt Tank and was one of the finest fighters of the war. It entered service in 1941 and was, for a while, the best fighter in the world. It also served with distinction in the fighter-bomber role.
A thoroughly modern design, the Fw 190 was a radial-engined fighter that boasted spectacular speed, roll rates and a strong armament, pushing aside the Messerschmitt Bf 109 as the premier Luftwaffe fighter (though the Bf 109 would remain in service until the end of the war).
When the Eastern Front campaign was failing, the Luftwaffe desperately needed high-performance ground attack aircraft less vulnerable to enemy fighters and groundfire than the large and slow Stuka. Various heavier armaments (including huge guns and rockets) were fitted to the Fw 190, in an attempt to create just such a machine.
The Fw 190 F-8 had a modified injector on the compressor for improved performance at lower altitudes (for short times). For better communication with ground forces, it had the FuG 16 ZS radio unit. It had 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon in the wing roots and two 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns above the engine.
7: Hawker Hurricane
To take on tanks requires serious firepower, and with this (and other ground attack roles in mind) a Hawker Hurricane was tested with a wing-mounted 40mm cannon in 1941. The Rolls-Royce 40mm cannon was tried but dismissed for a lack of reliability and smaller ammunition capacity in its drum magazine, and the Vickers S was selected instead.
The Hurricane Mk.IID, armed with 40mm cannons, went to fight tanks in the desert as part of the No.6 Squadron of the Royal Air Force, earning the nickname ‘The Can Openers’ for their ability to destroy armoured vehicles. Hurricanes armed with the hefty Vickers S gun claimed 47 tanks plus 198 other enemy vehicles.
The Hawker Hurricane Mk. IID, with its water-cooled engine, was not ideal for the low-level ground attack role, and suffered heavy losses, largely from enemy anti-aircraft fire. The improved Mk. IV, operational from 1943 - had beefed up armour around the fuel tanks, engine and cockpit areas.
In June 1943, Hurricanes of No 137 Squadron started flying Hurricanes with the option of a 40mm cannon or unguided rockets, initially known as Unrotating Projectiles (UP) and later Rocket Projectiles (RP). The rockets were more effective, but the unit was initially banned from using this ‘secret’ weapon over occupied land.
6: Yakovlev Yak-9
Though given different designations, the wartime Yak fighter family is the same series, substantially more so than the Spitfire family can claim. Around 8700 Yak-1s were made, 6399 Yak-7s, and 4848 Yaks for a tremendous total of around 36,716, making it the most numerous fighter type in history.
The Soviet Union’s fixation with tactical air power meant no fighters could completely escape the ground attack, Close Air Support or Ground Attack missions. With its 37mm cannon and excellent low-level performance, it is often thought that the Bell P-39 was a prime Soviet anti-tank aircraft, but it was primarily tasked with the low-level fighter role.
The Yak-9 performed more anti-tank missions, in particular, the Yak-9T variant with a 37mm cannon, in this case the Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 (also fitted to the Ilyushin Il-2 and Lavochkin LaGG-3). This formidable cannon could penetrate up to 40 mm (1.6 in) of tank armour from 500 metres (1,600 ft).
The Yak-9T carried 30 rounds of 37mm ammunition, which fired through the propeller hub. A total of 2748 Yak-9Ts were produced. Attempts to up-gun the Yak-9 further to carry a 45mm gun, as the Yak-9K, proved too much for the tiny fighter.
5: Hawker Typhoon
Testing revealed Britain’s Hawker’s Typhoon’s performance was rather disappointing above 15,000 feet, making it a poor choice in its intended role as fighter. The Typhoon may have failed as a fighter, but it found its place as a rugged, low-level fighter bomber. The Typhoon was perhaps the fastest of all piston-engine aircraft of the war at sea level, capable of an astonishing 375mph.
This low-level performance was an excellent quality for a ground attack aircraft, but it had a built-in vulnerability; it had a water-cooled engine with a large radiator beneath the nose, a bad prospect considering the anti-aircraft and infantry guns it would face. To make it a Close Air Support aircraft suitable for the invasion, 780Ibs (355 kg) of armour was added.
Twenty squadrons of the 2nd Tactical Air Force fought with the Typhoon, supporting British and Canadian forces in the brutal invasion of Northwest Europe. In addition to brilliant tank-busting, Typhoons were the main Defence Suppression aircraft tasked with destroying German radar stations before D-Day.
In the early days of the fight for Europe, Typhoons roamed the skies with the terrific armament of unguided rockets, and four 20-mm cannon. Though there is some debate on the direct effectiveness of rockets on German armour, what is, without doubt, is that the fear of this weapon caused many German tank crews to get out and run rather than face a rain of rockets.
4: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a colossal radial-engined fighter bomber used by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF). Fast, long-ranged and well-armed, it was a tough and versatile machine. It was the principal US fighter bomber of the war and came to fame in the ground attack role with the Twelfth Air Force.
Standard armament was six .50 calibre guns, and it could also carry bombs and rockets. Rocket options included M8 4.5 in (115 mm) rockets or 5-inch (130 mm) High Velocity Aircraft Rockets (HVARs). In addition to carrying potent weapons, the hefty P-47 could withstand furious groundfire and return home.
One mission by the 314th Fighter Squadron, on March 16 1945, saw the destruction (or disabling) of ten tanks by a force of eight P-47s. This action took place in Forstheim, in Alsace. The P-47s attacked with 500Ib (227kg) General Purpose and 260Ib (118kg) Fragmentation bombs before setting up a ‘racetrack’ pattern to perform strafing passes with guns.
From D-Day until VE Day, Thunderbolts wrought tremendous destruction on Axis forces; USAAF aircraft claimed to have destroyed 6000 armoured vehicles and 68,000 trucks. During Operation Cobra, an offensive by the First United States Army seven weeks after the D-Day landings, P-47 Thunderbolts of the 405th Fighter group decimated a column with 122 tanks (also destroying 259 other vehicles).
3: Junkers Ju 87 Stuka
Any documentary on the German Blitzkrieg warfare of the early part of the Second World War will show footage of a Junkers Ju 87 dive-bombing; indeed, the aircraft is emblematic of the Blitzkrieg. As the war progressed, its role shifted to tank-busting.
In early June 1940, Stukas attacked a formation of 20-30 French tanks in woods close to Roye, France. The Ju 87s dive-bombing attacks destroyed some tanks and left the rest of the force scattered and disengaged, allowing the invading German ground forces to advance.
3: Ju 87 Stuka
Heavier firepower was required for the anti-armour role, in the form of the two 37-mm Flak 18 cannon carried underwing by the Ju 87G. With this bulky weapon and its increased drag came some loss of performance; the G was slower and less manoeuvrable than lighter Stukas. Though effective, the Ju 87 endured very heavy losses on the Eastern Front, with a kill-loss ratio sometimes reaching parity or worse.
Stuka pilot Hans-Ulrich Rudel (1916-1982) is likely the most effective anti-tank pilot of all time and is credited with destroying 519 tanks.
2: Ilyushin Il-2 ‘Shturmovik’
“Our Red Army now needs Il-2 aircraft like the air it breathes, like the bread it eats.” These were the words Stalin used to express his dissatisfaction with an aircraft factory behind on production rates. This might just tell you something about how vital the Shturmovik (meaning ‘stormer’ or ‘assaulter’ and used to describe “ground attack” aircraft) was on the Eastern Front.
Forget your A-10s, forget your Harriers, when an aircraft is so good at its role that it defines the nature of an air theatre, you know it’s formidable. The Ilyushin Il-2 keeps popping up in our articles, and for good reason. As well as being the aircraft created in the most significant number, it is also one of the most significant warplanes ever made in terms of what it achieved.
2: Ilyushin Il-2
This was the original tank-killer. The aircraft that devastated German mechanised columns, that frustrated Luftwaffe aces, that scared Wehrmacht troops so much they dubbed it “The Flying Tank.” German pilots would report emptying their entire ammunition loads into Il-2s, only to watch them carry on flying. Anti-Aircraft gun crews could get direct hits, yet the Shturmovik often flew on.
While Soviet reports of combat destruction were, without a doubt, exaggerated, the impact that the Il-2 had on harrying and disrupting the German war machine was vital to the Red Army’s success and progress on the front. The Il-2 may not have been the best aircraft for tankbusting in all respects, but it was there when it was most needed and fought in large numbers.
1: Henschel Hs 129
The Henschel Hs 129 is unique in this list in being purpose-designed for the Schlachtflieger (Close Air Support) mission, which included anti-armour; in this and several other respects, it was the A-10 of its time. In the 1960s, the USAF experience in Vietnam led to a desire for greater armour protection for ground attack aircraft; in the 1930s, the Spanish Civil War experience had the same effect on the Luftwaffe.
The requirement was issued in 1937, and soon, two contractors were down-selected, Focke-Wulf and Henschel. The new aircraft was required to have an armoured ‘bathtub’ and carry 20-mm cannon. Focke-Wulf proposed a converted existing design, and Henschel a new one. Henschel won the contest, and the machine flew in 1939.
