Oh gee what will I pick, well I would hate to disappoint.
Actually my favorites are all fighters (can't shake my training). WWII marked the pinnacle of air to air combat which was soon after rendered less interesting by speed, weapons and standoff missiles.
1) The Spitfire line: No other airframe of WWII started and remained at the top of air superiority for the entire war with simple weapon and engine upgrades. The Me109 tried but became cumbersome in its later variants and no match for the later series Spitfires. Essentially they were were always the fighter to beat from the Mk I (the BoB star), Mk V (perhaps the best handling Spitfire), Mk IX (and its finished version ironically called the Mk VIII - the best combination of power and finesse) through the Mk XIX (raw power with nearly the same maneuverability as the Mk I). It was also the most beautiful fighter ever made.
I have a hard time just picking one of these models but if I did it would be the Mk VIII (or it premature brother the Mk IX). However, if I wanted the best odds in a WWII dogfight near the end of the war I would pick the Mk XIV.
2) P-51C / Mustang III with Malcolm Hood: Of course Mustang fanciers have been known to say that
a Mustang can do what a Spitfire can do, only it can do it over Berlin. Actually that is a misquote of an USAAF ace in reply to an RAF's notation that the Mustang could not turn with a Spitfire that went
No but it can do it over Berlin No question the Mustang was and still is an amazing fighter, even had a chance to fly a two seat version once. The C model was the best balanced and despite the wonderful visibility of the full glass canopy of the D model, was a much better dogfighter and preferred by its pilots. So I you can't find a Spitfire, a Mustang will do nicely.
3) I would place the FW-190A next. when it first came out it was nearly unbeatable and single handedly force an acceleration of the Spitfire program to replace the Mk V that it outclassed in all but turning ability. That is why the Mk IX (essentially a Mk V with a Mk VIII engine) was produced at all and ironically became the most produced Spitfire. The Mk VIII improvements were nice but it turns out that all the Mk V needed to beat the FWs was a larger engine.
The later FWs were also impressive but never quite the relative aerial competitor for its time as the A model.
After 3rd place there are many worthy candidates including the Hurricane Mk I, the Tempest Mk II, the P-38, the Me 109E, the F6F Hellcat and the F4U Corsair.
