What is the best military aircraft of all time?

Include all aircraft from 1900's to present day, from any nation in the world, but please state your reasoning.

Answers:
there are two THE BEST su-37 russian plane it can do such amazing things in the air that all other jets just cant come even close but i have to agree that F-22 by using stealth mode is unbittable because you cant shoot down something you cant see but something invisible can do magic
Spitfire !!!Never has a nation owed so much to ONE Plane!
p 51
F-15 because it looks cool and is an air superiority fighter.
the Helo.this aircraft and just be sitting on a runway and take off in an upward manner, like a helicopter.it seems much easier than having to find a runway and get to a certain speed before taking off.much more safer if the pilot is on an aircraft carrier, less of a chance of him not being able to stop and crash into the water
Its gotta be the Harrier Jump Jet, the reason why is the actions of that plane are awesome, the pilots must be so proud to have flown them. We had one here in Weymouth doing a demo over the beach on Carnival day, it was fantastic. I first saw them when they were first being used by the services at the Leicester Air Show & was taken aback by them
the best are the ones that brought their crews home safe
I would have to agree with the P51 Mustang. It help clear the path for the B17s to do their job.
Has to be the stealth bomber its magic it can vanish how cool is that.I also have a lot of respect for the harrier jump jet ,an amazing aircraft.
F15 eagle. Way ahead of its time.
The B-2 flying wing, it's a versatile craft which played a major role in modern American offensives.
Spitfire. although it claims most of the credit for the battle of britain most RAF fighters that took part were Hurricanes
theres many to choose from but if i narrowed it down,it would have to be the flying fortress,it could take vast amounts of damage and still make back to its destination,it was cumbersome and slow,without pressurization for its crew to be a high level bomber,but it could deliver a decent payload over its target,and defend itself somewhat,with fighter cover from the Mustangs with a rolls royce(merlin engine) (another favorite)it was awesome and formidable to the enemy
It has to be the Nieuport. - WWI
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/10891.
This is a difficult question to answer because there are so many different military missions (and variations thereof) that the 'best' aircraft for one mission is totally inappropriate for another.

For one example - Military Airlift (MA):

You have Strategic MA, meaning the transportation of large amounts of materiel over long distances. Then you have to ask what criteria you use; most cargo carried, longest distance flown at load, most efficient, flexibility (size/condition of usable airstrips), etc. IMO, C-17.

You have Tactical MA, meaning delivery of materiel to the battlefield with all of the above criteria with the addition of things like ability to self-defend. IMO, CH-47 (Chinook helicopter), close second C-130 Hercules, third C-47 Dakota (military DC-3).

So, I can't give you an answer regarding 'the' best military aircraft of all time. I can give you best aircraft for various roles. Best:

Ground attack - A-10 Warthog
Tactical fighter - F-16 Falcon
Air superiority fighter - F-15 Eagle
Fleet defense fighter - F-14 Tomcat
Naval strike fighter - A-6 Intruder
Strategic bomber - B-52
Strategic airlift - C-17
Tactical airlift - CH-47
'Courier' - Fieseler 'Storch'

And on, and on, and on . . .
Spitfire and Vulcan Bomber both look and sound good and did thier respective jobs flawlessly.
The good old Spitfire, which played it's part in WWII, or the B52, which has been around for donkeys and is still serving.

I've also got to mention the 'Timber Terror, or the Mosquito. A bomber made from wood that was as agile as some fight planes.

And before I forget, the F15; Think of military aircraft, and this is probably the first to come to mind, and the B-2, which is just stunning.
The Jump Jet the Marines are still trying to develop. And they are keeping at it too!
it has to be the supermarine spitfire, there are many reasons why and here are a few, it entered service in the 1930's and was withdrawn from service by the raf in 1954, during its devlopment i carried out many different roles, it doubled its weight, increased its speed by over 100 mph, increased its service ceiling and took on and beat every contempory plane of its era. it played a major part in the battle of britain and was loved by all pilots that flew it, it is a livng piece of history, many people will disagree and say things like b17, p51 etc however if the spitfire and the hurricane hadnt performed so wonderfully those other planes might not have been developed as the whole scenario of WW 2 would have been different if england had been invaded the germasn would have been free to concentrate on developing the new planes they ad on the drawing board and the could have even bombed the usa with a nuclear weapon
it must be the f15 eagle
Harrier, it dont need runways, carries a huge bombload and does a good job as a naval interceptor and there is a two seat trainer version, and it was designed in England by the bloke as designed the Hurricane and used a Bristol engine, even the yanks now use and build it.
No one mentioned the F/A-22 Raptor? In test dogfight, a single Raptor "shot-down" 5 F-15Es.

Take that.
Hercules C-130
Entire Armies have been moved on them. Most supplies that kept troops going have been moved on it since the Korean war.
C130.the best all-round aircraft ever built.
spitfire defiantly it saved united kingdom WW2 and battle of Britain if it wasn't for that plane most British people wouldn't live in a place like this now!

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