RE: which country had the best fighter planes of WWII
The Sea Fury/Fury started life as the "Tempest Light Fighter". Hawker was trying to increase the range of the Tempest by reducing weight. They shortened the span of the wing center section and made a few other minor refinements, such as redesigning the fin and raising the height of the cockpt for better forward visibility. Thus was born the Fury and its navalized variant, the Sea Fury. The Tempest V saw action the last year of the war. The Tempest II had the Centaurus in it and was ready for the invasion of Japan.
I read Ron Pottinger's "A View from the Office" last summer. An excellent read if you like the Typhoon and Tempest V. I believe it is his book that repeated the British wartime saying:
When we shoot, the Germans duck.
When the Germans shoot, we duck.
When the Americans shoot, we all duck.