In addition to the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Focke Wulf Fw 190 belongs to the most important fighter aircraft of the Luftwaffe during World War Two. When the Fw 190 entered service in 1941, it could rightfully claim the title best fighter in the world. It performed far better than the best Allied fighter of the day, the Supermarine Spitfire Mk V. More than a year later, a new generation of Spitfires, the Mk IX, would match the Fw 190. After that time, this fighter was an even match for the best Allied fighters due to its excellent adaptability.
On his own initiative Fokker built a, for those days, very modern looking aircraft in 1936. The twin boom tail, the short fuselage and the two engines were characteristic. Though it was intended to be a fighter aircraft, the machine got the type casting of "fighter cruiser" in order to express the extra characteristics compared to a fighter. It was a true cruiser. Even when the aircraft had not yet made its maiden flight, it was the focus of the attention at the Paris Air Show of 1936 because of its appearance and heavy armament (two 23 mm Madsen guns and two 7.9 mm machine guns in the nose cone and a flexible 7.9 mm machine gun in the rear of the fuselage).
The British victory after the Battle of Britain is usually attributed to the legendary Supermarine Spitfire. Honesty compels to mention though that during this battle, the majority of the RAF squadrons hadn't been equipped with the Spitfire yet but with the Hawker Hurricane. This successful airplane, of which over 15,000 have been delivered between 1937 and 1944, saw action on almost all battlegrounds of WW2.