On another note, much of the downfall of Japanese air superiority was due to military brass NOT wanting to upgrade the Zero (stupid stupid stupid). Whereas the Brits kept upgrading the Spitfire (to like Mark XVII or something), Japanese brass deemed it unnecessary to upgrade the Zero. Retarded. Engineers suggested putting a 2000HP Kinsei engine into the Zero, which would've been like a 50% increase in power... but the higher ups said no, saying that'd make the Zero "too powerful."
So while F6Fs were starting to dominate around 1943-44, Japanese brass kept putting closing their eyes to the reality that the Zero was no longer dominant. They only started putting bigger engines in the Zero right before the war ended (A6M8 Zero), but by then it was too late. The downfall of the Zero was in large part due to the arrogance of the brass thinking the Zero didn't need to be changed.
As for best interceptor of the war, I think that badge goes to the Ta-152, the final evolution of the FW-190. They were used as protectors of Me-262s when the 262s were taking off (the Me-262 was very vulnerable at take-off). Allied pilots would turn tail and run when seeing these planes hovering over an airfield. If you want automotive parallels, consider this: the Ta-152 was one of the first airplanes to use nitrous oxide boost. NAAAAWS! Haha. Interesting to think it had ties back to planes in the 40s.
