The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word WARPLANE
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
W
A
R
P
L
A
N
E
More clues leading to the result WARPLANE
- Military aircraft’s path after twist
- Fighter perhaps shows such exceptional speed over track
- Corrupt way to meet fighter
- In Lancaster, for instance, minor road follows bend
- Bend track for flyer
- Mosquito maybe making one swerve a little way
- Aircraft route the Starship Enterprise might use?
- Unprepared, in retrospect, to design European fighting machine
- Turn off course over Channel for bomber, for example?
- Fighter having to turn from correct course over channel
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "fighting machine" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case fighting machine = warplane.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does WARPLANE mean?
WARPLANE noun- An aircraft designed for combat.