The 5 Worst Planes In WW2

With so many planes introduced during the Second World War, it’s no secret that some of them were… lacking in several areas. After all, they can’t all be the best! So here are the five worst planes of World War Two:

5. Breda Ba.88 Lince

This is an Italian fighter that was made for a ground attack role by the Italian Air Force. The all-metal, two-engined, two-crew monoplane with a high-mounted wing was first introduced in service in 1939.

It was extremely underpowered and wasn’t agile in any way and only got away with it early on since they weren’t dealing with enemy fighter opposition. 

Later on, these planes were stripped of useful equipment and served as decoys for attacking enemy planes. 

4. Blackburn B.26 Botha

Right from the get-go, this plane was plagued with serious stability issues. A four-seat reconnaissance and torpedo bomber, it first flew in 1938.

The plane’s biggest issue was they were underpowered- they were too heavy for the engines they were using. It was later decided to only use them for reconnaissance roles because of poor performance. 

3. Messerschmitt Me 210

This is a German heavy fighter and ground attacker. When it first flew, it was immediately deemed unsafe by test pilots.

The stability was so bad when it turned and it liked to oscillate even when flying straight. It also had a violent stall that was almost impossible to get out of. 

2. Curtis SO3C Seamew

First entering service in 1942, this plane has always been plagued by issues. Two major ones were that it was unstable in flight and it also had engine problems.

The plane performed terribly even after modifications and had very bad maintenance records to the point that the US Navy pulled them from frontline duties in 1944. 

1. Saunders-Roe A.36 Lerwick

This plane was meant to be used by the RAF for coastal command but it was really bad that only 21 were built. Out of that 21, 11 were lost. 10 of those were just accidents and 1 for an unknown reason. 

Despite loads of adjustments to fix these issues, it still had a nasty stall and poor maneuverability even for a plane its size.