My! A lot of posts to read and links to follow, with plenty of sidelines too. I'll get back to you when I've had a chance to do all your posts justice by reading them and considering them.
Purely an initial impression, I'm not quite sure why we're discussing WWII props and Gen 1, 2 and 3 jets. Gen 4 maybe. I would hope that today's Tornado GR4/4a and FOC JSF are not closely comparable - if they are, someone has pulled a real blinder. But even with the generation gap, it's hard to tell if if one can directly compare the Tornado's weapon load, range and TFR with either the Harrier or the JSF. But there are some interesting points.
Later...