Top 10: American fighter aircraft of all time

The skies of the 20th century were awash with the roars of fighter aircraft, and few, if any, nation produced as many impressive machines as the United States.

From the 1940s onwards, the US created some of the greatest fighter aircraft in the world. We will largely focus on the primary fighter mission of shooting down enemy aircraft, so some very impressive aircraft that you might expect, will not appear.

In choosing 10 we have looked at a combination of factors including all out-performance for its time, historical significance and longevity. All these machines proved formidable and are truly worthy contenders. Sadly, some great machines had to be omitted, let us know which you would have included in the comments section. Noble mentions must be made of the P-40 and F-16 which just missed inclusion, but are both remarkable aircraft.

10: Grumman F-14 Tomcat

Famous as for its role in the film of the same name, according to former a former US Navy TOPGUN instructor we spoke to, “The F-14 embodied the broadest capabilities of any airplane ever designed for and flown in combat. It was a tactical airplane with strategic capabilities.”

With its massively long-ranged Phoenix air-to-air missiles and radar, the F-14 had an unfair advantage over anything then flying. This was combined with an impressive range, decent manoeuvrability and arguably the best trained aircrew then flying. To enable benign landing and take-off handling with the conflicting needs of supersonic flight, it had variable geometry or ‘swing’ wings.

With over 150 kills claimed by Iranian Air Force F-14 Tomcat’s in the brutal Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, the F-14 Tomcat is probably the most successful fighter of the 1980s, even exceeding the F-15 Eagle. The F-14 was also vital for protecting the jewel in the crown of US foreign policy enforcement, the aircraft carrier force.

The F-14’s brilliance was always let down by its TF30 engines, but when updated in US service with the more powerful F110 engine the true potential of the F-14 Tomcat was unleashed. The Tomcat scores highly for longevity (it is still in Iranian service), potency and, let’s be honest, good looks. The US Navy retired it in 2006.

9: Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor

Way back in 1981, the new US president was a spritely 70-year-old called Ronald Reagan. Fervently anti-Communist, Reagan made the build up of the American military a priority.

The Soviet Union then had two new fighters, the MiG-29 and Su-27, both of which were a serious challenge to the main US fighters: F-14, F-15, F-16 and F-18. Even more alarming were the new air-defence systems being developed. Soviet surface-to-air missiles were becoming very effective and it appeared they would shred any conventional aircraft that came near.

Combining the then new technology of radar stealth, supercruise (the ability to get to and sustain supersonic speed without recourse to reheat) and integrated avionics seemed to offer the solution. Little expense was spared to create this new super-fighter; it was very expensive, even for a US military programme.

The result was a marvel that, since entering service in 2005, has utterly dominated every other potential fighter. It’s so good that even the newer generation of Chinese and Russian fighters are considered inferior to the Raptor by most observers. A phenomenal performer, though unproved in air-to-air combat, the F-22 remains the aircraft to beat.

8: McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II

After a rash of severely flawed naval fighters able to operate form aircraft carriers, the McDonnell company developed an absolute winner in the F-4 Phantom II. The degree of its success is easy to see, for despite taking its first flight as far back as 1958, it remains in frontline service (in Iran) in 2024. Not only that, well over 5000 Phantoms were built and served with not only all three major US military air arms, but 11 foreign operators.

Key to the F-4’s success was its great engine power, physical strength and high top speed. It was versatile and able to carry a large load of weapons. Compared to its peers it could carry far more air-to-air missiles and fly further, for example, it could carry eight missiles compared to Britain’s English Electric Lightning which carried two, and could still fly around three times further.

In the Vietnam War US Phantoms claimed to have destroyed around 147 aircraft (of a total of 195 North Vietnamese Air Force aircraft claimed destroyed in air-to-air combat), making it the most successful fighter of the war.

From the late 1960s onwards the F-4 was also racking up kills for the Israeli Air Force. In the particularly bloody Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, it again proved formidable, this time in Iranian hands. The F-4 Phantom II has proved adaptable, dependable and without doubt one of the greatest fighter aircraft in history.

7: North American F-86 Sabre

If pondering the greatest fighter aircraft in the world in 1949, there would really only be two serious candidates, the Soviet MiG-15 and the North American F-86 Sabre. These two fast, agile, swept-wing jet fighters were extremely close matches and would soon duke it out in the bloody skies of Korea.

The swept back wing was a 1940s innovation that enabled efficient flight at higher speeds. Pioneered by the German Messerschmitt Me 163 and Me 262 in the second world war, the swept wing would be the primary wing design of 1950s fighters. The F-86 built on North American’s huge success with the P-51 Mustang.

In Korea, America claims that F-86 pilots shot down 792 MiGs, with a victory-to-loss ratio of about 8:1. Though these claims are likely on the high side, there was still a large degree of US dominance. This was partly due to the brilliance of the F-86, but likely more to do with the excellence of the pilots, many of whom were experienced second world war veterans, as well as superior tactics.

The F-86 Sabre is the Western jet fighter produced in the greatest number, with a total close to 10,000. The type was pivotal to Western air power as well as setting the stage for the America’s long-running supremacy in the creation of formidable jet fighter aircraft. Its handling was delightful, with British test pilot Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown describing it as a ‘jet-powered Spitfire’. The chief designer of the F-86 was German-born Edgar Schmued, who also designed the P-51 Mustang.

6: F-15 Eagle

The Vietnam War revealed that the US Air Force was overly reliant on unreliable air-to-air missiles, a dependency that had seen the introduction of less manoeuvrable fighter aircraft. A new fighter was needed that as well as embracing the latest advances in radar and missiles also had a gun, excellent agility, and the ability to dominate in either turning fights or longer-range missile engagements.

Manufacturer McDonnell Douglas took the best qualities of their last generation fighter, the F-4 Phantom II - its great power, physical toughness and high performance - and added word-beating manoeuvrability, pilot friendliness and far better view from the cockpit. The result was a fighter that would dominate the skies for several decades and rack up an unprecedented victory-to-loss ratio in air-to-air combat, often cited as above 104 to zero. 

Huge and with a loaded weight of around 60,000 lb (27,000kg), the Eagle proved itself again and again. Though the initial variants were not the longest ranged and suffered radar teething problems, the design soon matured into a very successful Air Superiority fighter. Initially a purely air-to-air fighter, a multirole version capable of ground attack and other missions was developed in the form of the Strike Eagle series.

Advances in cockpit, sensor and weapons technology, as well as airframe materials and engine development, have been lavishly applied to latest variants of the F-15, making US examples among the very best equipped fighters, even today. Though the F-15 lacks the radar stealth (the ability to minimise how easy it is to detect an aircraft by radar) of more recent designs, it remains a viable weapon against almost any potential adversary. The Eagle is used by the air forces of the US, Israel, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea and Qatar.

5: Vought F4U Corsair

US Corsairs claimed the destruction of 2140 Japanese aircraft, while only losing 189 Corsairs in air-to-air combat. This ferocious victory-to-loss ratio of 11 to 1 marks the Corsair as one of the most formidable fighter aircraft in history. The Corsair was as manoeuvrable as the Mitsubishi A6M ‘Zero’, and faster, longer ranged and far more resilient to fire.

The Corsair’s distinctive ‘gull-wing’ was necessary to accommodate an undercarriage long enough to match the aircraft’s extremely large propeller. The Corsair was operated from aircraft carriers, but was not as docile or safe to operate from carriers as the Hellcat.

In the Korean War, a Corsair shot down a MiG-15 jet fighter, a rare achievement for a propellor-engined fighter. The Corsair had the longest production run of any US fighter, reaching a colossal 12,571 when production ceased at the end of 1952.

The Corsair was one of the finest piston-engined fighters. It enjoyed a long service life in the US, serving from late 1942 until 1953, and even soldiered on in Honduras until 1979.

4: Grumman F4F/FM Wildcat

Without a doubt, the Wildcat was the most significant Allied naval fighter of the first half of the second world war. What it lacked in absolute speed, the plucky Wildcat made up for in manoeuvrability, armament and relative ease of operations from aircraft carriers. Like all Grumman planes it was also as tough as old boots.

The engine used by most early variants of the Wildcat was the trusty Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp (it was also used by the C-47 Skytrain). The F4F-3 enjoyed a good range, reaching 845 miles (1360km) on internal fuel.

Armament comprised six 12.7mm (or 0.5-calibre) AN/M2 Browning heavy machine-guns, which was not only extremely destructive but far easier to support logistically than the mixed machine-gun and cannon armament of other fighters. Only requiring one ammunition type was a definite advantage, especially at sea.    

The Wildcat was essentially the US Navy’s only operational fighter from late 1941 until August 1943 and thus its significance cannot be overstated. The US claims it destroyed 1327 enemy aircraft for only 178 air-to-air losses, generating an impressive, claimed kill-to-loss ratio of 6.9 to 1.

3: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

That the massive P-47 Thunderbolt scored 3786 victories in World War II is impressive enough in its own right, but perhaps even more notable is how many P-47 pilots survived the war. The plane had a remarkable ability to soak up enemy fire and still return, and no other fighter could boast it enabled all its aces to survive.

The P-47 Thunderbolt was the most versatile fighter aircraft of the second world war. It was not “best in class” in any category, however, it was very good in just about every category. Fast, long-legged and well-armed, it was also the most survivable fighter of the entire war. In scale and concept, the P-47 was a design outlier, and was different from every other fighter of the war. Unlike the comparable British Hawker Typhoon, the P-47 had superb medium and high-altitude performance; it was also safe and reliable, something which cannot be said of the Typhoon.

Between its size, and complexity of the turbo-supercharging system, the P-47 was an expensive aircraft to produce; it cost over 50% more to build than the P-51. Despite this, the P-47 was (and likely will remain) the highest-produced fighter in US history. 

The aircraft could carry 3400 rounds of ammunition, 65% more than a P-51. This high quantity of ammunition resulted in an interesting evolutionary role for the aircraft as the war progressed, allowing the attack of targets of opportunity on the way home. Over 15,636 P-47s were produced making it the most significant US fighter of the war in terms of numbers.

2: North American P-51 Mustang

Perhaps 5784 Axis aircraft fell to the guns of the North American P-51 Mustang, making it the most successful American fighter aircraft of all time by this metric. Even more importantly, the P-51 had the range to escort bombers into Germany, defend them, and even attack targets of opportunity on the way back.

The Mustang was very fast and exceptionally long-ranged, with good manoeuvrability and armament. The Mustang’s brilliance was down to the combination of the best engine, the Rolls-Royce Merlin V12, with the most advanced aerodynamics and clever thinking about ease of manufacture; North American was owned by General Motors and GM knew more than perhaps any other company in the world at the time about efficient mass production. The three factors combined to create a weapon of huge significance to the progress of the war.

The P-51 originally designed and built for a British requirement, gave the US for perhaps the first time a serious contender for unofficial title of the best all-round fighter aircraft in the world. Its remarkable performance was down to an exceptionally low-drag design with every effort made to keep the aircraft as smooth surface as possible.

Over 15,000 of the superb Mustang were made serving in many places around the world. Of all US fighter aircraft it was probably the most important historically (with only the P-47 and Hellcat as possible other claimants). Astonishingly, the last P-51 to be retired from active service was in 1984, in service with the Dominican Republic. 

1: Grumman F6F Hellcat

Timing is everything, and few aircraft have had such perfect timing as the Hellcat, a tough carrier fighter first flown in 1942. Almost perfect form the get-go, it was created in astonishing numbers and was one of the very few aircraft that can be truly said to have turned the tide of war.

The Hellcat’s main fighter opponent was the Japanese Mitsubishi ‘Zero’, against which it was faster, better armed, and better armoured. The majority of Hellcats had six 0.5-calibre machine guns with 400 rounds per gun providing a balance of bullet mass with an impressive rate of fire.