I decided I'd write this because the Warthunder Wiki's state of upkeep seems dubious at best, and I see a lot of people in the general chat asking what country is "best". They are sometimes persuaded that Japan is superior to all other countries, which is simply not true. I will try to be fair to each country and each plane, but I am more familiar with some than others(Looking at you, American line.). All in all, Russia, Germany and the US are the best options, each featuring a good number of jets with reasonable high speeds with swept wings and good armaments for the most part, with America getting Sabres, Russia getting MiG-15s, and Germany getting one of each in addition to it's Me 262s. Britain is a bit shorthanded with the Meteors, but it should have the Hawker Hunter reasonably soon, so Britain may be a good choice for the future.

The United States tree is the one I am most familiar with, and the one I have the most time in. In general, they tend to be pretty predictable: Six .50 caliber M3 machine guns, reasonable maneuverability, and good speed...with some exceptions. Some people fine Machine Guns hard to use. They require precision and accuracy to be effective, in contrast to cannons, which can often kill with a glancing blow.

P-80: America's first jet used to be the F-80C, a surprisingly capable aircraft considering it was the first in the lineup. The P-80, while almost the same in appearance is not nearly as capable as it's sibling. Sporting outdated M2 machine guns and moving and turning slower than the F-80C, the P-80 generally lets pilots down. I often find the Bearcat a far better choice, it being almost as fast and far more maneuverability, as well as a superior armament.

F-80C Shooting Star: As mentioned above, this was once America's first jet. If you read the P-80 entry, there's not much to be said-it's faster, features newer M3 machine guns, turns better, and generally performs well. It's not the fastest jet on the battlefield, but a smart pilot can sometimes use that to their advantage, causing faster jets like MiG-15s and Sabres to overshoot them and come into targeting range. It's no Sabre, but it's also no P-80.

F-84: Just as things started looking up, it's one step forward, two steps back. Another straight-wing jet fighter, the F-84 is rather dissapointing. It is actually SLOWER than the F-80C, although it seems to keep energy slightly better while turning to me. In general it doesn't perform better than the F-80C, although it's still superior to the P-80 by a long shot. It is, however, capable of mounting both bombs and rockets. In addition it has a mix of nose-mounted and wing-mounted machine guns, one on each wing and four in the nose. In spite of this it is best played it like a slower, less agile Sabre.

F-86A-5 Sabre: After the long haul through the three inferior jets prior to this one, it feels all the more rewarding. The A-5 Sabre, although not as fast as its older brothers is a wonderful plane. It has good manueverability and speed. It keeps the classic American 6 MG loadout, all mounted in the nose of the plane. It also can climb vertically very well, getting up to around 10k feet pretty fast.

F-86F-25 and F-2 Sabres: The F-series sabre is nearly capable of supersonic speeds(sometimes even reaching them in a dive, even going as high as 800 MPH in the forgiving atmosphere of an Arcade mode match.). It is, just like the A-5, quite capable of turning, and doesn't lose to much energy while turning. It can climb vertically very well, Easily getting up to 12k feet with no difficulty. In all but one respect, the F-2 is identicle to the F-25. It differs in the Armament. 4x20 mm cannons. And yet these are unlike any 20 mm cannons you've used thus far. FMC T-160 cannons. They have an incredibly high rate of fire, and are ideal for diving on and one-shotting planes. Some people do prefer the MGs, but the Cannons are quite powerful, although they do suffer due to running out of ammo very fast due to their high rate of fire.

F9F-2 and F9F-5 Panthers: With a 4x20 mm cannon loadout, decent speed, and, in my opinion, a very nice appearance, the F9F is a nice jet, but not a perfect one. It is noticably slower than the A-5 Sabre, and far slower than the F-series Sabres. It is also less maneuverable than the sabres, and loses quite a bit of energy during a turn. the F9F-5 is like an older brother to the F9F-2, one that taunts it with, "Everything you can do, I can do better!", while sticking it's tongue out. However, the F9F-2 is slower than the F-80C and the F9F-5 is barely faster, one of the reasons I said it was surprisingly good earlier. Hopefully the F9F/F-9 Cougar is added, making for another Jet comparable to the sabre after the F9Fs that are currently in the game. The F9Fs do come with some good layouts, rockets for attacking oncoming enemies, or sometimes 6x500 lbs bombs for killing those pesky ground targets. Two thousand pound bombs are also available, suitable for knocking a chunk out of a base.

F9F-8 Cougar: With the addition of the F9F-8 to the naval fighter tree it gains a true end game jet to sit next to the Sabres in the lineup(E.G. F86A-5, F86F-25, F9F-2, F9F-5, F9F-8, B-57, F-80C is my usual loadout. Flies pretty fast, stats to be added soon.

B-57A: Added in 1.43, the B-57, a version of the English Canberra lisenced and built in America, the B-57 is a jet bomber. It carries a somewhat mediocre load of six thousand-pounders or nine five-hunder pound bombs, and has no defensive or offensive armament apart from those bombs. Its only defense is speed and agility, which are often not enough to save it in tier 5 matches...however, on its own it often ends up in mostly tier 4 matches, with propeller-driven planes nearly incapable of intercepting it if it is flown properly. While taking off from an airfield it can rip its own tail off if the pilot attempts to pull up too hard.

Altogether the Russian tree is actuallty very simple. All of the MiGs share the same armament, and there's only two other Jets that aren't MiGs, and they're both virtually identical, anyway. If you haven't test flown the MiG-9 yet, you may not realize what kind of a cannon this is. It is a BEAST of a cannon. The rate of fire and accuracy are far superior to the cannons at lower tiers(the P-37/P-63 and the Yaks' cannons, for example.). Also, while the Yak line of jets may look completely worthless, at some point in the future we should be getting the Yak-30, which should be a pretty nice plane. Until then, however, the Yak jet line is not worth pursuing.

Yak-15 and Yak-15P, and the Yak-17: While not too stellar against other jets, the Yak jets have a low battle rating, meaning if used without the other Russian jets they will fight prop planes. In most areas the Yaks perform fairly badly, but against prop planes they can be deadly. They actually turn quite well, and while not all that powerful, their armament is usable against other fighters.

Yak-30: After wading through the early Yak jet lines, the Yakolev jet line delivers with the Yak-30.
Nearly as speedy as a MiG-15 and slightly better than the La-15 overall(real stats to be added.) it sits next tothe MiGs and the La-15 in Russia's lineup quite nicely.

MiG-9 and MiG-9/L: The MiG 9s seem to be exactly the same, save for a pair of drop tanks on the MiG-9/L's wings, which do not seem to affect gameplay. While not very fast or particularly maneuverable, the MiG-9s try to make up for it by carrying a big stick, which is admirable, but not exactly a perfect solution. When firing, the cannons actually slow the plane down noticably, especially if traveling upward, in addition, the plane loses a lot of energy while turning, and tends to flop downward a bit in the turn if you don't pay attention. When using MiG-9 or 15 the 37 mm cannon has a slower rate of fire than the 23 mm cannons. MiG-9s are ideal for going up against bombers, which are large, slow, convenient targets for the MiG-9.

MiG-15 and MiG-15bis: The MiG 15 takes everything nice about the MiG-9(Which is really just the armament.), and makes it better. Higher speed, better handling, less engery lost during turns and, in my opinion, superior aesthetics. In most ways this plane is the equal of the Sabre, with most of the differences between the two coming down to opinion on which is superior. It is a slower, but with proper tactics, this often matters very little. The MiG-15bis is essentially the same, but slightly better in every way. The vertical climb with this jet is amazing compared to the rest, often when you see a MiG-15 practically go straight up other jets will lose speed and stall, often allowing the MiG 15 to come back around and down, taking advantage of a near-helpless opponent.

La-15/La-174: I really have little experience with the La-174, but as far as I know it's the same as the La-15 for the most part. Speedwise it sits a bit behind the MiG-15, about as fast as the F-80C. It's armament is decent, 3x23mm cannons. Loses more energy turning than the MiG-15, but is superior in just about all ways to the MiG-9, except that it lacks the 37 mm cannon. In general, it supplements the MiG-15s much like the F9Fs and the F-80C on the American side supplement the Sabres.

IL-28: Sporting a bomb load of 3000 kg and a top speed of 562 MPH, it doesn't look to be a vehicle superior to the B-57/Canberra at first glance, which is correct. While slightly slower, it carries a bit more bombs total than the B-57, and features an offensive and defensive armament consisting of 23 mm cannons, two mounted in the front and two on a turret in the back.

The indigenous German tier 5 planes feature mostly 30 mm cannons, with the exception of the He 162, which has 20 mms. This armament, combined with solid stats in the Me 262s and the Me 163 make for a good lineup combined with the MiG-15bis and Canadian Sabre.

Me 163 B: Not even gonna lie, I hate fighting these. High speed, acceleration, and turnrate(for a tier 5 plane, that is.) make this rocket-powered plane a force to be reckoned with, in spite of it's faults. First off, it is an extrememly small plane. This often makes it harder to hit. In addition, with it's high acceleration and speed, I've seen them outspeed Sabres and MiG-15s before they can gain the speed needed to outrun them in excess of 650mph althought very scatty. They have an amazing climb rate, and even with only two 30 mm cannons their armament can spell doom for anyone they fire at. Not all is flowers and rainbows for these rocket planes, however...a low amount of fuel makes for a short powered flight time, and they are very hard to land, often being destroyed in the process.

Me-262s: Speed-wise, on-paper they appear rather lackluster, however, they are not to be underestimated easilty chase your jets around and can give hassles to the fastest. At least one of the variants has Rocket boosters and moves far faster than one might imagine, and all but one have 4x30 mm cannons, a potent weapon setup to say the least. The other has a single 50 mm cannon. The 50 mm variant(Me 262 A-1/U4) can be hard to hit things with, but when it does hit it is devestating(As expected of a 50 mm cannon.). In general, underestimating these jets is a quick way to get blown up. Also, the Me 262 can carry a 48 small rockets. Bombers never stood a chance.

CL-13A Sabre Mk.5: For most things, see the F-86F-25 in the American list. It is slightly faster than the American F-86s, with slightly better or equal stats in general.

He 162 A-2: While one should NEVER underestimate a plane or it's pilot, the He 162 is rather lame. Two 20 mm cannons on a rather slow plane that can't turn very well due to its awkwardness, when in flight the canons feel like machine guns rather than cannons.

Ho 229: The Horten is an interesting case: Some people think it looks really cool(myself included), and others think it looks rather silly, but it certainly is unique as the only flying wing in the game. Th Horten is a mixed plane, which is nice: It isn't OP nor is it horrible, it's just a good, fun plane. It can be somewhat hard to use. It suffers from poor acceleration which leads to slow climbing, but gains speed relatively well in a dive and keeps it very well. The 30 mm cannons feel quite nice, but it is easy to notice them slowing down the Horten as they are fired. Slowing down to try and stay behind a target is a very bad idea, as you'll have trouble gaining whatever speed you have gained back. It basically performs well boom-and-zooming, and can be used well if you're careful with it. It's low battle rating helps, since it usually fights only prop planes if it is your only jet.

MiG-15bis: See the Russian entry.

Arado 234B-2: At the time fo my writing this, it is the only Jet-powered bomber in the game. The Arado has no turrets, it's only defence is speed. Against a high tier jet, however, it is quite slow. A Sabre or MiG-15 will have no trouble running it down, although due to it's agility hitting it can sometimes be moderately difficult as this plane can out turn like a Meteor Mk.3 against the faster competitors. It has a medium bomb load, and can knock out a base with 3 runs, which can be reasonably fast when reload speed is upgraded.

British Jets are fairly predictabe: All current jets in the lineup have the same 4x20 mm lineup, and all but one of them are all Meteors, the other being the Vampire. The ones currently in the game are somewhat slow compared to other Nations' aircraft, but boast more maneuverability than most jets.

Meteors:
Mk.3: Given a speed boost in 1.43, the Mk.3 Meteor is not at 510 MPH, breaking the 500 MPH marker. It still cannot keep up with Sabres or MiG-15s. Fortunately the Meteors get better. When playing this jet, you will get out paced easily but the turning can give you a bit of an advantage in dogfighting, useful against another jet who is tryng to help kill you! It also makes it harder for the faster jets to get to kill you on turns.

Sea Meteor Mk.3: A rather large jump in performance, it breaks 500 MPH, getting up to 575 MPH. The turning is similar to the earlier version but can catch up to bombers and other high fliers. This jet is a bit on the slow side, so you have to be careful of faster planes.

Mk.4s: The Mk.4 Meteors sit at 585 and 590 MPH, slightly faster than the previous one, however the short and long wings can make for a slower turn in these Meteors versus the earlier ones. Note that this is the first British jet capable of catching and out turning mid-range jets.

Mk.8:Top speed of 598. When played almost like a F-86F Sabre, the typical dive down at high speed, take your shots and rise as high as possible works reasonably well. The cannons deal quite a bit of damage on targets, often destroying fighters with a few decent shots. With the availability of 2x 1000lb bombs, it has the ability to hit a couple ground targets as well.

Vampire FB.5: At 530 MPH, it's not that fast of a Jet, but It looks awesome! My favorite British plane by far. The vampire does have the ability to counter the enemies ground targets with 2x 1000lb bombs usefull for finishing off a lancaster bombers run where the base is almost dead or a couple more ground kills are needed to finish the match. The turn rate is like the Mk.3 Meteor with enough damage off its fore weapons to destroy most targets.

Venom FB.4: Traveling at 640 MPH with the same 4x20mm cannon loadout of all the British Fighter Jets, the Venom steps in as the stronger brother of the Vampire. Generally performing well, the Venom excells at turning, and also has the distinction of being one of two jet fighters that can carry both bombs and rockets at the same time(the other being the F-84). It fles much like the Vampire, but is generally superior.

Hawker Hunter: Essentially the pinnacle of the British Jet line, it sits with the Sabre F-2, MiG-15bis, and MiG-17. Stats to be added.
Canberra B Mk. II: In general, this plane resembles the B-57...which it should, as the B-57 is a lisenced copy of this plane. They carry the same total bomb load, but the B-57 is slightly faster on paper, not sure about in practice.

In the future, the Hawker Hunter will be added, which should supplement the tree rather well.

Ki-200: For the most part see the Me-163, it generally preforms the same. It's small and hard to hit, fast and maneuverable, but suffers from the same problems. It seems to be slightly faster, which might be a side-effect of the fact that the Ki-200 was made by the Japanese without having exact plans, only flight manuals and other such documentation, meaning it was slightly different, or it could be Gaijin being a merciful to the Japanese, since they really don't have much.

Kitsuka: 498 MPH top speed, 1x30 mm cannon with 50 rounds. So, slow, kinda low on firepower. It turns fairly fast for a jet, which is nice. It's more at home fighting prop planes, and even then I dunno if I'd bet on it against a bearcat or Fw 190, but it could make a very nice bomber hunter. Unfortunately it falls a bit short compared to the R2Y2 KAI, which has three planes, all of which have superior armament and speed.

All three R2Y2s: In general the R2Y2 is somewhat reminiscent of the Me 262: A 4x30mm cannon loadout, similar speeds(Around 530 MPH, see speed listing for a comparison.), and a slight similarity in looks(2 engines mounted on the wings in the first version) make it obvious what these jet bombers really are: Fighters in disguise. However, it is a bomber, and it carries a single 800 kg bomb.

F-86F-30: See the American side's F-86F information. It's the same plane.

While speed is trumped in the end by tactics, armament, and pilot skill, it's still nice to keep track.
These numbers come from the tooltips in-game for the planes in question. It is worthy to note that many are taken at different heights.