WW2 Planes
This page is dedicated to some of my WW2 planes - from air fighters to supply and personal transport, bombers, reconnaissance planes, multi-purpose planes, night fighter, ground attack planes and more. This includes the biplanes to monoplanes, twin-boom engine planes and other types. I'll share it by order of creation.
Lockheed P-38 Lightning
The famous American twin-boom engine developed by Clarence 'Kelly' Johnson - the same who developed Lockheed Electra, P-80 / F-80 Shooting Star, F-104 Starfighter and SR-71 Blackbird during the Cold War. By far the P-38 became one of the planes with a unique appearance of all planes built prior and during WW2, even nowadays it is one of the attractions for all aircraft lovers and some pilots that flew the P-38 in the Pacific Theater, the European and Mediterranean Theater. It would be named Atalanta by the Americans as part of the tradition of naming their planes with celestial and mythological names, but it was soon named as Lightning by the British who tested the plane. Curious fact about the P-38: when the French and the British ordered some units to equip their air force, they specified a single rotative engine instead of two different rotative engines and removal of the turbochargers - limiting the P-38's flight performance. When France fell to the Germans, the British retained the French shipment order of new P-38s, but soon canceled due to some accidents involved by the limitations and the high-speed compressibility issues when the aircraft reached higher speed during the dives. The air mass created by the drag made the horizontal flight controls (elevator) inoperative - forcing the pilot to choose between bailing out or trying to recover the controls. Some resulted in the death of the pilot and the loss of the aircraft. Kelly Johnson solved the issue with dive flaps for the newer models. The P-38 performed well as air fighter and interception during the early days of WW2, but it proved to be doubtful when it comes to bomber escort in the European Theater - especially the bombing raids over Italy, Germany and Romania. As a recon fighter, it was responsible for photo reconnaissance over Normandy before D-Day. But it was on the Pacific Theater the P-38 proved to be superior thanks to its higher range and armaments, making it the perfect air fighter to take down Japanese planes and bombers - with one mission in specific the Operation Vengeance where 16 Lightnings (18 originally but two of the Lightnings dropped the mission due to mechanical problems) intercepted two Mitsubishi G4M 'Betty' bombers, with one carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto - the architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor; and another carrying Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki. The mission resulted in a great blow on the Japanese morale and boosted the morale of the Americans to advance further during the War on the Pacific.Messerschmitt Bf 109
The German Messerschmitt 109 (often called Bf 109 or Me 109) is one of the most produced air fighters that fought countless battles prior and during WW2. The Bf 109 made its story as one of the first all-metal made aircraft in human history. Developed by Willy Messerschmitt as part of the German rearmament plan while in secrecy due to the limitations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, it counted with features that were new to that time - like the automatic slats, retractable landing gear, closed cockpit, monoplane configuration, the usage of aluminum instead of wood, fabric, nails and wire. The Bf 109 faced tough odds before its introduction to the Luftwaffe because of the rivalry between Messerschmitt and Erhard Milch - supervisor of the Luftwaffe whose friend of his died in a plane crash which blamed Messerschmitt for his incompetence. During the competition that involved Heinkel, Arado and Focke-Wulf for a new fighter, Milch was forced to allow Messerschmitt to enter with his prototype. The prototype - based on Willy's successful plane the Bf 108 Taifun (typhoon in German) used for tourist flights won the competition after the replacement of the original Rolls-Royce Kestrel by a Junkers Jumo 210 V-12 inverted engine - defeating the Heinkel He 112 after some issues with the new engine. The Bf 109 saw action in the Spanish Civil War as part of the Condor Legion - created by volunteers to support Francisco Franco's Fascist Regime. The German air fighter replaced the old Heinkel He 51 biplanes that equipped the Spanish National Forces and proved to be superior to the Soviet planes like the Polikarpov I-15 and I-16 that equipped the Spanish Republicans supported by the Soviets - providing important experience to the pilots. After the invasion of Poland, the Bf 109 saw action in Norway, Netherlands, Belgium and France - making it the best German fighter of WW2. Only in the Battle of Britain it faced the British Spitfire and Hurricane (although the British supplied the French with Hurricanes during the Battle of France), where these fighters were put to test. The Bf 109 was faster and well armed with its cannons, but it had a limited range in comparison to the Spitfire and Hurricane. In contrast, the Spitfire was nimble while the Hurricane was well-armored. Daimler-Benz engines relied on fuel injection, making the Bf 109 well suited for a dive while Rolls-Royce Merlin engines relied on a carburetor that caused the engine to choke for valve flooding when performing Negative G maneuver. To avoid the fuel starvation provoked by this maneuver, the Spitfire pilots had to roll the plane when diving until proper solutions for the Merlin engines would be made. After the Battle of Britain, the Bf 109 regained its vantage during the Mediterranean, North Africa and Eastern Front during Operation Barbarossa - the German invasion of the Soviet Union. More than one million of Bf 109s were built, remaining in service until the end of the war, tasked with defending Germany from Allied bombardment and the Soviet Army.North American P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang - the famous American long-range fighter and interceptor that brought victory to the Allies during WW2. North American Aviation president James Howard "Dutch" Kindelberger proposed the Mustang was an alternative to Sir Henry Self - chief of the British business in the United States; as the British ordered more P-40 Warhawks. The new aircraft was equipped with an Allison V-1710 engine - the same that equipped the P-38 Lightning, P-40 Warhawk and P-39 Airacobra; and it was armed with 4 Browning M2 machine guns mounted on the wings and (if I'm not mistaken) 2 machine guns on the lower section of the nose. The flight performance didn't meet the expectations for British pilots and engineers, until they installed a Rolls-Royce Merlin in place of the Allison engine. The results proved promising and the RAF started to equip some squadrons with P-51 - nicknamed Mustang. The Americans saw interest in the Merlin-powered Mustang that started to produce their license version of the engine in the US. The pinnacle of the aircraft was the P-51D-15 model, equipped with a Packard V-1650 Merlin engine and 6 Browning M2 machine guns mounted on the wings, two hard points for the external fuel tanks, bombs or rocket launchers. The P-51 proved to be superior to any German Luftwaffe fighters that confronted the Americans when the fighter escorted the B-17 Flying Fortress to Germany during the day bombing raids. The Luftwaffe Minister Hermann Göring quoted "When I saw Mustangs over Berlin, I knew the jig (war) was up." After WW2, the P-51 (now renamed as F-51) became the backbone of almost all NATO air forces. During the Korean War, it proved to be superior to almost all Soviet planes until the arrival of the MiG-15 - Soviet's first operational jet fighter.Supermarine Spitfire
The famous Spitfire, developed by Reginald J. Mitchell - a young British aviator designer that won two Schneider Cups over the Italians; and that made history in England. As Churchill would later say after the Battle of Britain to all RAF pilots: "Never in the field of human conflict, was so much owed. By some many to so few." In low numbers in comparison to the Hawker Hurricane, the Spitfire helped the British to survive the darkest time during WW2. The Spitfire was a product of the British specifications for a new fighter - named as Type 300, showing innovative features like the closed cockpit, the retractable landing gear, all metal-made structure, an elliptical wing format and monoplane configuration. All these features came after the corrections made by Mitchell after his Type 224 didn't meet the specifications from that time. The plane would be armed with 2 Vickers machine guns mounted on the wings, but it was replaced by 4 Browning machine guns for each wing. Some units received Hispano-Suiza cannons instead of the Brownings, which later versions of the Spitfire would arrive with the combined guns. With the arrival of the Focke-Wulf FW 190 in 1942, some British air fighters had its wing tip removed for better flight performance, others with a more powerful engine - specially the Mark IX.Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
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Messerschmitt Me 262
Messerschmitt Me 262 is the first operational jet-aircraft for the German Luftwaffe. Prior to its development, the first jet-aircraft to make its first flight was the Heinkel 178, then the Heinkel company started developing the Heinkel He 280 to be a jet fighter. However, Messerschmitt AG developed a simple and cheap jet in competition to the He 280. Due to the delays of the BMW 003 turbojet engines, the first flight was performed on 18 April 1941 with Junkers Jumo 210 piston-engine. On 18 July 1942, the third prototype flew for the first time with jet engines. The aircraft proved to be the fastest of all piston-engine aircraft, but its development as a fighter suffered serious delays by Adolf Hitler as he wanted the Me 262 to be a bomber. Despite the debates about his interference on the Me 262, when the Arado company brought the Ar 234 jet bomber to the World and thanks to a considerable requests by Adolf Galland, the fighter version was finally authorized to be produced at maximal priority only in 1944, but in small numbers thanks to the Allied bombardment raids over Germany. Despite their incredible speed, jet engines were new to novice pilots and were easy to overheat and not work well with sudden changes in speed. In aerial combat with Allied fighters like the P-51 Mustang, Hawker Tempest and Lavochkin La-7, the Me 262 were only vulnerable when they made turns - where they took more time thanks to its incredible speed; and when they were landing or taking off from their airbases. With the end of the war, the remaining Me 262 became the basis for the development of the Soviet MiG-9 and MiG-15, the American F-86 Sabre, the British Hawker Hunter (though the British developed their first jets like Gloster Meteor and De Havilland DH.100 Vampire) and others modern jets.Focke-Wulf FW 190
Focke-Wulf FW 190 Würger (Butcherbird or Shrike in German) is a single-seat air fighter with a radial engine that became the backbone of the Luftwaffe. It complemented (or replaced by some sources) the Bf 109 due to its firepower, speed and maneuverability that caused a big shock among the Allied pilots. Most of the aircraft (with the exception of most of the American Naval aircraft and Japanese fighters) counted with in-line engine, but Kurt Tank (father of the FW 190) choose the radial engines from the BMW to defy the regulations of the in-line engines like the DB 605 and DB 607, plus, the radial engines had more HP (horse power) over in-line engines and could work better even with some of the pistons being damaged. The downside was the greater drag and low visibility that forced Tank to redesign his aircraft. When the Focke-Wulf entered battle, it caused a terrible shock in British pilots by its speed and firepower. However, the Spitfire had the advantage of flying at higher altitudes (11,100 m / 36,500 ft), making the FW 190 unable to reach the same altitude as its adversaries (10,350 m / 33,960 ft). After the Anton series, Focke-Wulf developed the D series - known as Dora and with the D9 (nicknamed as 'Long-Nose Dora') as the main aircraft of the series - powered by a Junkers Jumo 213 inverted-piston V-12 in-line engine; and the famous high-altitude interceptor TA 152 (TA from Tank initial letters).Heinkel He 111
Heinkel He 111 - one of the first medium bombers built in Germany that made history prior and during WW2, known for its elliptical wings, greenhouse canopy and gondola underneath its fuselage. Prior to the Second Great War and under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany could only produce civil aircraft, with Heinkel and Dornier producing its aircraft for mail and passenger transport. However, with the Nazi rising to power in Germany, these aircraft were converted to bombers. The He 111 became part of the German bomber arsenal along the Do 17, the infamous Ju 87 Stuka and Ju 88 - with this one being developed purely as bomber for the Schnellbomber program; and it saw action in the Spanish Civil War, then the Invasion of Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, France and Britain - where it was heavily defeated by British fighters. After that, Heinkel continued producing its bombers for the Eastern Front until it was finally retired when the war was over. The Spanish Air Force continued using the He 111 as CASA 2.111 - the Spanish licensed built version of the He 111. The major differences between the original German bomber and the Spanish bomber was the engine housing - with the original aircraft using Junkers Jumo engines or Daimler Benz engines, while the license-built planes counted with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines.
Ilyushin IL-2 Sturmovik
Soviet Ilyushin IL-2. Often known as the Sturmovik, it is one of the famous Soviet planes that caused havoc among the German convoys and tank columns, thanks to its incredible toughness and vast load of armaments. When the Soviets realized their Polikarpov fighters were outdated and they stood behind the other nations, Stalin ordered his engineers and aircraft designers to develop a new aircraft for the Red Army, capable of having a payload in bombs or rockets and powerful weaponry - capable of destroying ground targets. Sergey Ilyushin developed a new aircraft built entirely in metal (I don't know it counted with steel or aluminum because of its reinforced structure) and this aircraft had a slow production due to the German army arriving at the doors of the Soviet Union and the factories started to move from one corner to another, resuming their production - with few IL-2 coming out from the factories and a considerable number of other planes like MiG-3, Yak planes, LaGG-3 and La-5. Due to that situation, Stalin ordered the factories to mass produce the IL-2 as fast as they could and in great numbers or they would face dire consequences. Soviet pilots had little to no flight knowledge to fly the new aircraft and some fell by accident rather than by the enemy. But it proved to be a capable ground attack fighter as the Soviets developed new tactics to engage enemy fighters, tanks, vehicles and encampments, causing great damage to the Germans and their allies (Italians, Hungarians, Romanians, Spanish and others). Erich Hartmann - top famous WW2 ace - fought the IL-2 Sturmovik and described them as vulnerable if hit on its belly and nearly invulnerable if hit on the upper section of the aircraft.
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
Macchi C.202 Folgore
Macchi C.202 Folgore (thunder / thunderbolt in Italian) is one of the most important Italian planes built during WW2. It was an evolution of Mario Castoldi's planes he designed for the Macchi company - precisely the radial engine powered Macchi C.200 Saetta (lightning). When Italy joined the Axis, they lacked advanced planes like the Germans with their Messerschmitt Bf 109, the British with their Spitfire and Hurricane, the Americans with their P-40 Warhawks, P-38 Lightning, P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51 Mustang. The only planes they could rely on were biplanes like the Fiat C.R.32, C.R.42 and other wooden / silk made planes based on WW1 models. However, they developed monoplanes made in aluminum / steel like the Fiat G.50 Freccia (Arrow), Reggiane Re.2000 Falco I and Macchi C.200 Saetta. Still, these planes were powered with radial engines - making them less powerful to match up their current competitors. After they bought the license of the Daimler-Benz DB 601 from the Germans, the Italian engine company Alfa Romeo built the R.A.1000 R.C.41-I Monsone. With this new engine, Mario Castoldi and his team of engineers of Macchi developed the Macchi C.202 Folgore from the original Macchi C.200 Saetta - with a series of considerable changes. Quite agile and nimble compared to the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 of E and F series, the Supermarine Spitfire Mk V, the Hawker Hurricane, the P-38 Lightning, the P-47 Thunderbolt and P-40 Warhawk of early series; but it was less armed due to its Breda-SAFAT machine guns (a pair of 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT on the nose and a pair of 7.7 mm Breda-SAFAT on the wings), with few units armed with gunpods of powerful caliber MGs, but decreasing its agile abilities. Due to the lack of capabilities of upgrading the C.202 with better weapons, a new version of the aircraft was built - under the register code Macchi C.205 Veltro (Greyhound) / Orione (Orion as C.205N). Both planes served the Italian Regia Aeronautica, the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (only the C.205 Veltro / Orione) and the German Luftwaffe.Junkers Ju 87 Stuka
Junkers Ju 87 Stuka is the famous German dive bomber developed in secrecy after WW1 when Germany was limited to produce any warfare technology due to the Treaty of Versailles. However, with the arrival of the Nazis to power, the Stuka gained full liberty to be built and in great numbers. The name Stuka was an abbreviation for Sturzkampfflugzeug (diving combat airplane from German to English). Its design counts with a fixed undercarriage on the wings, a reinforced metal structure in order to resist the effects from the air and other elements, a two-seat cockpit - one for the pilot and one for the rear gunner and an automatic dive control systems that could take the aircraft out of a dive when the pilot would be unconscious due to the G-force applied to him during the dive. It had an inverted gull / cracked wings in order to improve the pilot's visibility. Its armament consisted of a pair of 7.92 mm MG 17s and a 7.92 mm MG 15 for the rear gunner, along a vast variety of bombs - one 250 kg (550 lb) bomb beneath the fuselage and four 50 kg (110 lb) under-wing. But the Stuka's dreadful armament was a pair of sirens mounted on its wing carriage that played a terrifying sound during the dive, causing panic in battalions of soldiers and civilians as the Stuka dived to drop its bombs. These sirens were dubbed the Jericho Trumpets. It saw action in the Spanish Civil War among the Bf 109, He 111, Ju 52 and Do 17 in the Condor Legion to support Francisco Franco regime against the Spanish Socialist Republic, then the Invasion of Poland, Netherlands, Belgium and France. In Britain, the Stuka faced heavy losses when confronted by British fighters, forcing the Germans to withdraw the Stuka from the front-lines. It was used again in the Eastern Front during Operation Barbarossa - the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union; along in the Mediterranean and North Africa, Italy and Europe after D-Day. During the Eastern Front, a new version of Stuka was developed - under designation G-1 Kanonenvogel. It was retrofitted with a pair of Bordkanone BK 3,7 gun pods under the wings - making the Stuka the perfect tank hunter of the German Luftwaffe. However, with the arrival of Focke-Wulf FW 190, the Stuka was slowly being withdrawn from service until its production ceased in December 1944.Mitsubishi A6M Zero
Mitsubishi A6M Type 0 - also known as 'Zero' is the famous Japanese naval aircraft - designed by Jiro Horikoshi and his team at Mitsubishi, and that made history in WW2 as one of the most agile planes that caused a big shock among Allied pilots. In 1937, Japan initiated the Second Sino-Japanese War by invading China and one of the planes they launched in that conflict were the Mitsubishi A5M - superior to the old biplanes, P-26 Peashooter and Polikarpov I-15 and I-16 used by the Chinese pilots. However, the Imperial Japanese Navy requested an eventual replacement for the A5M, challenging both Nakajima and Mitsubishi to build a new plane that could be a carrier-based plane, faster, agile, well armed and could have a great extension to patrol around the Pacific. Nakajima pulled out from the challenge as its engineers found these specifications unachievable, but Mitsubishi prevailed. Chief engineer Jiro Horikoshi developed a new plane based on the A5M - also one of his creations; and knew the plane needed to be faster and more agile. To do that, he used a new aluminum alloy - the "extra super duralumin" (ESD - 7075 aluminum alloy - AA7075), which was lighter, stronger and more ductile than other alloys like the 24S alloy used at the time, but was prone to corrosive attack. And to make it lighter as possible to achieve the specifications, no armor plating was provided to the plane nor to its vital points like the cockpit, the engine or flight actuators. Even self-sealing fuel tanks weren't provided to the plane - which was common in almost all planes from that time to have a self-sealing fuel tank, and one shot in the engine is enough to turn the plane into a fireball. The new plane became known as Mitsubishi A6M Type 0 (A for carrier-based plane, 6 for the 6th aircraft of the series, M for Mitsubishi and 0 for the last digit of the Imperial Year of 2600 (equivalent of 1940) from when the Zero entered in service), however it was known by Zero by Allied code name from their engagement reports. Aside from the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Zero became a fierce adversary to the Allies when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The main planes the United States counted were the Grumman F3F, Brewster F2A Buffalo and the P-39 Airacobra but they introduced their P-40 Warhawk and F4F Wildcat - tough, faster and well armed compared to the Zero, but they couldn't match their acrobatic skills and agility to counterattack this new Japanese air fighter. For that, the Allied nations developed new tactics to counter the A6M Zero's strong points, like Boom-and-Zoom, high bursts from their armaments and the Thach Weave maneuver - a tactic that consists two planes (F4F Wildcat for example) in which one becomes the bait and one to chase the adversary. In 1942, when American soldiers found an intact Zero in Dutch Harbor after being downed by anti-ground armaments, they started probing it for its strengths and weaknesses, until they discovered it counted with three. The first weak point is the lack of armor plating and self-sealing fuel tanks; the second: the engine suffered from the same issues as the early Rolls-Royce Merlin engines that equipped the Spitfire and Hurricane. The Sakae engines used a float carburetor, when they performed Zero-G maneuvers made the float valve to open and flood the engines. This issue was never addressed throughout the war; and the third: its ailerons were so light that they stiffened during high speed, making it less maneuverable. With these in mind and the arrival of American planes like the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, North American P-51D Mustang, Grumman F6F Hellcat and Vought F4U Corsair; and British planes like the Spitfire Mk IX, Hawker Tempest, Sea Fury and Seafire, made the A6M obsolete after 1943. With Japan being bombarded day and night and its industrial capacity being crippled, they saw no other choice but to keep the production of the A6M and relegate all airframes and available planes to kamikaze suicidal attacks by filling their planes with explosives and launching ramming attacks over enemy targets like carriers, destroyers, bases and dreadnoughts. Until 1945, over 10,000 of all variants were produced.
Macchi C.205 Veltro
The Italian Macchi C.205 Veltro (Greyhound) is an evolution of the Macchi C.202 Folgore (Thunderbolt), but with some redesigns on its oil refrigerator (the barrel-shaped-like components under the plane's nose), tail landing gear is retractable and can house a pair of 20 mm Mauser cannons on its wings in place the 7.7 mm Breda-SAFAT MGs. Its engines were the licensed version of the German Daimler-Benz DB 605 - the FIAT RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone of V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston engine configuration and capable of providing 1,100 kW or 1,500 hp. The C.205 entered in service in 1943, proving to be a fierce adversary for the Allied planes like the Spitfire, P-40 Warhawk, P-47 Thunderbolt, P-38 Lightning and the early versions of the P-51 Mustang. These Italian planes saw action in the Mediterranean theater along the Defense of Rome until Italy's Armistice on September 8, 1943. After that event, some C.205 flew missions for the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, the German Luftwaffe and the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force (a group of Italian pilots that helped the Allies in their fight against the Germans and the Italian Social Republic - a puppet state created by Hitler after Mussolini's rescue and Northern Italy continued to fight for the Axis). After WW2, some Macchi C.205 Veltro were delivered to other countries like Croatia (4 units) and Egypt - where once again saw aerial combat in the 1948 Arab Israeli War (1948–49) - facing once again the Supermarine Spitfire - operated by British and Israeli pilots.
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is by far one of the most important planes built in the United States that served several Allied countries during WW2. Alexander Nikolaievich Prokofiev de Seversky - a former Russian airman prior and during WWI, emigrated to the United States in 1918 when the Bolshevik Revolution started. Instead of returning to his homeland (which after that event became the Soviet Union), Seversky chose to remain in the United States where he raised his own company: Seversky Aircraft Company. One of his first aircraft was the Seversky P-35A and Republic P-43 Lancer - which the name Republic replaced Seversky by the board after Alexander was replaced by William Wallace Kellett in 1939. From that time, Alexander Kartvelishvili - a Georgian engineer that was invited to work at Seversky / Republic Aviation, designed from the P-43 Lancer a new plane that would be the strongest in armor plating, well armed and would carry a vast payload in bombs and extra armaments. The first prototype (XP-47A) was powered by an Allison V-1710 in-line engine, but it proved to be inferior. The next prototype (XP-47B) received a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp two-row 18-cylinder radial engine producing 2,000 hp (1,500 kW), making it a bit faster and capable of reaching high altitude for its performance. The result was the P-47 Thunderbolt. Nicknamed as 'Jug' due to its nose, the Thunderbolt was a resilient plane, armed with four pairs of .50 caliber Browning machine guns and it could carry about three 2,500 lb bombs or a pair of three rocket launcher tubes for ground attack operations. In addition, its cockpit could also provide comfort to the pilot and a proper spacing and air-conditioned conditions - perfect for a pilot to call it a 'luxurious flying palace'. Despite its size, it could perform ground attack missions well. The Americans thought of using the P-47s as escort planes to protect the B-17 that proceeded to Germany from enemy planes, however, even with drop tanks the air fighter didn't have the necessary range to follow the bombers to Germany. During the Italian Campaign, the P-47 served in the Brazilian Air Force - with one in particular the 1st Grupo de Aviação de Caça - popular known for the Senta a Pua emblem (consisting an angry ostrich carrying a pistol / revolver, a shield and a cap). It also served in the Royal Air Force, the Soviet Air Force, the Chinese/Taiwanese Air Force during the Chinese Civil War and the Mexican Air Force during the Pacific Theater - precisely the Philippines. Few P-47s fell to the Germans and some were used for flight evaluations - the Zirkus Rosarius program. After WW2, the P-47 Thunderbolt remained in service until 1950 when it was retired by the USAAF while in other countries the P-47 served the Peruvian Air Force until 1966. The Brazilian Air Force retired their P-47s on November 26, 1957, after some serious accidents, the lack of spare parts and with the arrival of the Gloster Meteor to equip the Brazilian Air Force. Some planes remain in museums under good conditions. There was one in particular that a group of enthusiasts tried to bring it back to its flight conditions - they restored it at their best, but before the plane could lift off, they received an order to maintain the P-47 on the ground - canceling any event that could involve historical planes flying to the skies.Avro Lancaster
Avro Lancaster is a British four-engine heavy bomber built during WW2. It was developed from the twin-engine Avro Manchester after the original twin-engine bomber proved to be troublesome by its Rolls-Royce Vulture engines. The Lancaster was equipped with four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines (the same that equipped the Spitfire, Hurricane, Mosquito, P-51B and P-51C Mustang and other British planes and some American planes), proving to be effective. The major action was the night bombing missions over Germany - which they were responsible for the destruction of Dresden, Hamburg, Köln and other German cities with incendiary bombs; and strategic targets like the dam busting missions with the famous Bouncing Bombs and concrete buildings, aqueducts and bridges with the Grand Slam - the non-Nuclear bomb developed during WW2. The Lancaster was the basis for the Avro York and Avro Lincoln - the last one equipped with Rolls-Royce Griffon engines.
Messerschmitt Bf 110
Hawker Hurricane
One of the famous British aircraft that fought in WW2. Despite being overshadowed by the Spitfire, the Hawker Hurricane helped the RAF to resist the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain and it was superior in numbers compared to the agile Spitfire. Prior to WW2, Hawker Aviation had built several biplanes like the Hawker Nimrod, Hawker Fury, Hawker Demon and several models. When the High Command requested a new aircraft, Hawker aircraft designer Sydney Camm developed an all-metal monoplane aircraft based on the original Fury design. It was powered by a Rolls-Royce Goshawk engine, then replaced by the powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. The Hurricane became the main workhorse during the initial days of WW2 to the Battle of France where some units were sent to help the French army to fend off German troops. With France falling to the Germans, Hurricanes helped British, Belgium and French soldiers located in Dunkirk to evacuate to England, until the Battle of Britain where it suited well against bombers and heavy fighters like the Messerschmitt Bf 110. Even though it is not agile like the Spitfire, the Hurricane proved to be a tough adversary to the Bf 109 thanks to its sturdy armor plating and eight Browning machine guns. After that battle, the Hurricanes continued serving as fighter interceptor, night fighter and fighter-bomber during the Balkans, the Mediterranean and the North African Campaign - where it faced the new Italian Macchi C.202 Folgore - far agile to the Hurricane and Spitfire. Even being replaced by the P-40 Warhawk, the Hurricane served as a ground attack plane to cripple German supplies to Rommel's Afrika Korps. In the Eastern Front, the Hurricane was the first British plane to supply Soviet pilots through the Lend-Lease program. Despite few pilots enjoying it while others found it troublesome, the engineers replaced the original Hispano cannons from the Mk V models and the original Browning machine guns by Berezin machine guns or ShVAK cannons. In the Pacific Theater, the Hurricane served the Commonwealth nations to confront the nimble Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero and the Nakajima Ki-43. By the end of production in July 1944, around 14,487 Hurricanes were built for the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Lavochkin La-5
The Lavochkin La-5 is a Soviet single-radial-engine air fighter designed by Semyon Lavochkin in the Soviet Union during WW2. The La-5 was an evolution from the LaGG-1 and LaGG-3. The La stands for Lavochkin (Semyon Alekseyevich Lavochkin), the middle G stands for Gorbunov (Vladimir P. Gorbunov) and the last G stands for Gudkov (Mikhail I. Gudkov) - the three designers of the LaGG-1 and LaGG-3; with the numbers 1 and 3 being the series models built at NPO Lavochkin. During WW2, the LaGG-1 was a light but underpowered plane that could compete with other Soviet planes and stand up to German planes equally and the LaGG-3 had a powerful Klimov M-105 V-12 in-line engine, but problems related to the engine and weapons configuration made Lavochkin to fall in disgrace - forced to build Yakovlev Yak-1 and Yak-7. During the winter in 1941-1942, being funded only by Gorbunov, Semyon Lavochkin designed a new model in a small hut beside a makeshift airfield. The new model had the Klimov in-line engine replaced by a Shvetsov ASh-82 radial engine and the nose from a Sukhoi Su-2 bomber was installed on the prototype. These new changes resulted in the LaG-5 (Gudkov was no longer part of the programme). By July, it was called La-5 (Gorbunov's initials were often missed, despite he was involved in the plane's development). The new fighter proved to be superior to the Yakovlev Yak-1 and Yak-7 during flight tests - receiving full production, including the conversion of incomplete LaGG-3 airframes into La-5 planes. Production based on the prototype began almost immediately in factories in Moscow and the Yaroslav region. Changes to the main production model included slats to improve all-round performance. The La-5 was armed with two 20 mm ShVAK heavy cannons but later variants like the La-5FN had two 20 mm Berezin B-20 cannons installed in the cowling in place of the heavier two 20 mm ShVAK. In combat, it was inferior to the best German fighters at higher altitudes, but equal at lower altitudes; it was suitable for air combat over the Eastern Front which typically took place at altitudes under 5,000 m (16,404 ft). Despite these characteristics and being one of the best Soviet air fighters, the Lavochkin La-5 had the issue of having several levers for the engine controls (throttle, mixture, propeller pitch, cowl flaps, and supercharger gearbox). Unlike most planes - taking the Focke-Wulf FW 190 for example: in order to change the BMW 801's performance, the pilot could only adjust it by pulling a lever, then the engine computer would adjust it automatically. The La-5 pilot would have had to adjust the engine's performance by pulling several levers - forcing the pilot to lose critical response time during dogfight. The most serious La-5 defects were the engine's thermal isolation, lack of cockpit ventilation, and a canopy that was impossible to open at speeds over 350 km/h. Furthermore, poor engine compartment insulation allowed exhaust gas to enter the cockpit; in response, pilots frequently ignored orders by flying with open canopies. Different models of the La-5 resulted in the La-5F - improving the pilot's exterior visibility with a cut down rear fuselage; and the definitive La-5FN with a fuel-injected engine, a different engine air intake, and was further lightened. About 9,920 units were built throughout the war. The last model (the La-5FN) was the basis for the Lavochkin La-7 - equal to almost all German fighters, with few pilots capable of downing the advanced Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter.
Vought F4U Corsair
The F4U Corsair is one of the planes built by Chance Vought that saw service in World War 2 to the Korean War. In 1938, specifications were made by the US Navy Bureau for a new air fighter, both single and twin-engine fighter. The aircraft would have a stalling speed not higher than 70 miles per hour (110 km/h), a range of 1,000 miles (1,600 km) and carry four guns or three with increased ammunition. Vought built a mock-up for the first prototype, with the aircraft built in 1939. It received a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 18-cylinder radial engine - capable of providing 1,805 hp (the same engine installed on the Grumman F6F Hellcat and Republic P-47 Thunderbolt). The first flight of the XF4U-1 was made on 29 May 1940, with Lyman A. Bullard, Jr. at the controls. The maiden flight proceeded normally until a hurried landing was made when the elevator trim tabs failed because of flutter. The prototype had to receive two more machine guns after the reports of the war on Europe and some changes were made for the aircraft, like the canopy being displaced a bit further from the engine cowling and lengthening the fuselage to increase fuel capacity. Some issues with the landing gears were reported, especially when the plane had to land on carriers. While the engineers studied these issues, the Corsair's main competitor - the Grumman F6F Hellcat was being proposed in order to standardize the Navy and Marine Corps' main air fighter. Despite the F6F being slower but heavily armored compared to the F4U, it was easier to fly and land. However, some Marine pilots enjoyed flying the F4U Corsair and some had to be deployed from land bases until the landing issues were fixed in 1944. During its operational service, the F4U proved to be a devastating air fighter in the Pacific Theater against Japanese fighters, mainly the A6M Zero, Ki-43, Ki-84, J2M and N1K-J. One of the known American squadrons that flew the Corsair during the war was Fighter Squadron 61 (VF-61), also known as the Jolly Rogers and performed several missions from land bases that defeated most of the Japanese planes, including Kamikaze interception missions. As the demand increased for more Corsairs, Goodyear and Brewster were tasked to build more units to assist the Vought company. Goodyear Corsairs were designated as FG and Brewster Corsairs as F3A. Aside from the United States Marine Corps, the British Fleet Air Arm (one of the branches within the Royal Navy) and the Royal New Zealand Air Force operated the Corsair during the war in the Pacific. One aircraft was captured by the Germans after a British attack on the Battleship Tirpitz, but difficulties to interrogate the pilot were met in order to discover how to unfold the Corsair's wings; and two were captured by the Japanese, with one being used to repair another for study. After World War 2, the F4U Corsair remained in service in the US during the Korean War, facing mostly Soviet Yak-9s. When the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 arrived, the Corsairs were outmatched until being relegated to ground attack and night attack missions. 12,571 F4Us were built until 1953, making it one of the planes with a longer lifetime of production. It was retired in 1953 in US service. France, El Salvador, Honduras and Argentina operated the aircraft from the 50s to the 70s, with Honduras deactivating its last Corsair in 1979 after the Football War fought with El Salvador.
Fiat G.55 Centauro
The Fiat G.55 Centauro (centaur in Italian) is one of the most important Italian planes built during WW2, if not, one of the best planes according to some historians. The G.55 had its origins in the Fiat G.50 Freccia (arrow in Italian) - developed by Giuseppe Gabrielli as most of the Italian factories were developing all-metal monoplane air fighters powered by in-line engines to surpass the radial engines like the G.50, the Reggiane Re.2000 and the Macchi C.200 Saetta (lightning in Italian). Highlighting the license-version of the German Daimler-Benz DB 601 and the DB 605 being produced in Italy, Fiat developed what would become the G.55 in 1942. The first prototype flew on 30 April 1942, piloted by commander Valentino Cus, immediately showing its good performance and flight characteristics. During the flight test and dogfight simulations in Guidonia, the G.55 faced the Macchi C.205V Veltro and the Reggiane Re.2005 Sagittario (Sagittarius) - both powered by the Fiat RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone; making the Centauro the 2nd best Italian fighter. The C.205 was good at low and medium altitudes, fast and with good diving characteristics but its performance dropped considerably over 8,000 m (26,250 ft), particularly in handling. The Re.2005 was the fastest at high altitudes and best in dogfights, but suffered from a vibration which turned out to be a balance problem - which was corrected, yet it was the most technically advanced, intricate, and therefore time-consuming of the three to produce, which made it unattractive at that stage of the war. The G.55 was chosen for mass production, along with the C.205. It was armed with one 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon with 200 rounds of ammunition, installed in the forward fuselage and firing between the cylinder banks, exiting through the propeller hub. Other armaments were four 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns - two in the upper engine cowling, two in the lower cowling/wing roots (300 rpg) in the Serie 0, but replaced by two 20 mm (0.79 in) MG 151/20s wing-mounted (200 rpg) and two 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns mounted in the upper engine cowling for the Serie I. During the Italian Campaign in 1943, the G.55 proved to be a fierce adversary to Allied fighters like the Spitfire Mk V and Mk IX, P-47 Thunderbolt, P-38 Lightning and the P-51D Mustang; and a dangerous foe for the bombers that caused havoc the Italian industrial capacity. However, due to limited numbers, few G.55s were produced for the Regia Aeronautica, with production resuming in the Northern Region for the new Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana. The Germans saw interest in the Centauro. After a dogfight simulation between an Italian Fiat G.55 with a German Bf 109 G-4 and a Focke-Wulf A-5, Hermann Göring - the Luftwaffe Minister; and some German officers expressed interest in producing the Italian plane in Germany and with a more powerful Daimler-Benz DB 603 engine - receiving the designation G.56, with only two prototypes being built and tested with the Bf 109G, Bf 109K and the FW 190A - showing the Italian fighter being the best of all. However, Kurt Tank - creator of the FW 190 and who tested the G.55 in Rechlin, stated the plane would require about 9,000 man-hours - an estimated number if the production could be optimized as the early models would require 15,000 man-hours; while the well-practiced German factories were able to assemble a Bf 109 in only 5,000 man-hours. This led to the abandonment of G.55 and G.56 development in Germany. The DB 603 were instead to be used in Tank's own Ta-152C. After WW2, production of the G.55 was restarted in 1946 with two models: the G.55A (the single-seat fighter) and the G.55B (two-seat fighter for training new pilots). However, as the stock of DB 605 engines were running short, the engineers had to redesign the aircraft to receive the British Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. The new aircraft was designated Fiat G.59 and was also configured to G.59A for single-seat fighter and G.59B for two-seat fighter for training. The G.55 and G.59 had in total 349 units built (274 in wartime and 75 postwar). Some units were sold to Argentina, Syria and Egypt - with the last two countries operating the G.55 and G.59 in their air forces and saw combat in the Arab-Israeli War in 1948 against Israeli Spitfires and Avia S-199s.
Nakajima Ki-43 'Hayabusa'
The Nakajima Ki-43 'Hayabusa' (peregrine falcon) or Oscar by the Allied codename for Japanese planes is one of the most agile Japanese fighters that flew for the Imperial Army Air Force. In December 1937, specifications for a successor to the popular fixed-gear Ki-27 'Nate' were placed for Nakajima. The specification called for a top speed of 500 km/h (310 mph), a climb rate of 5,000 m (16,000 ft) in five minutes and a range of 800 km (500 mi). Maneuverability was to be at least as good as that of the Ki-27. When the first prototype flew in early January 1939, it was received with disappointment. Japanese test pilots complained that it was less maneuverable than the Ki-27 and not much faster. In order to solve these problems, Nakajima produced a series of progressively modified prototypes through 1939 and 1940. These changes involved a major weight saving program, a slimmer fuselage with the tail surfaces moved further aft and a new canopy. Crucially, the 11th prototype introduced the unique differential "butterfly" maneuvering Fowler flaps, which dramatically improved performance in tight turns. The 13th prototype combined all these changes, and tests of this aircraft resulted in an instruction for Nakajima to place the Ki-43 into production. The first units were built in November 1939, gaining the respect among the pilots. In addition to outstanding maneuverability, the Ki-43-I had an impressive rate of climb due to its lightweight. Power was provided by the Nakajima Ha-25 engine turning a two-bladed, two-position variable-pitch metal propeller. Newer variants included a third blade for the Ki-43. Top speed was 495 km/h (308 mph) at 4,000 m (13,000 ft). Armament consisted in two 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Type 89 machine guns, one 12.7 mm (0.50 in) Ho-103 machine gun and one 7.7 mm (0.303 in) gun, or two 12.7 mm (0.50 in) Ho-103 guns; the aircraft was given various sub-designations to reflect these differences. Like the Zero, the Ki-43 initially enjoyed air superiority in the skies of Malaya, Netherlands East Indies, Burma and New Guinea, surpassing most of the Allied fighters like the Curtiss P-36 Hawk, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Brewster Buffalo, Hawker Hurricane and Curtiss-Wright CW-21 in Asia and the Pacific during the first months of the war. As the war progressed, however, the fighter suffered from the same weaknesses as the slower, fixed-gear Ki-27 "Nate" and the more advanced naval A6M Zero; light armor and less-than-effective self-sealing fuel tanks, which caused high casualties in combat. Its armament of two machine guns also proved inadequate against the more heavily armored Allied aircraft. As newer Allied aircraft were introduced, such as the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, Lockheed P-38 Lightning, North American P-51 Mustang, Vought F4U Corsair, Grumman F6F Hellcat, Yakovlev Yak-9, Yakovlev Yak-3U and late-model Supermarine Spitfire/Seafire, the Japanese were forced into a defensive war and most aircraft were flown by inexperienced pilots. However, even near the end, the Oscar's excellent maneuverability could still gain advantage over rash Allied pilots. Like most Japanese planes, the Ki-43 was relegated to kamikaze missions. The Nakajima Ki-43 was the basis for the Ki-84 Hayate (Gale). Around 5,919 units were built during WW2.
Gloster Meteor
The British Gloster Meteor is the first operational jet fighter produced in WW2 to the initial days of the Cold War. The development of the turbojet-powered Gloster Meteor was a collaboration between the Gloster Aircraft Company and Frank Whittle's firm, Power Jets Ltd. Whittle formed Power Jets Ltd in March 1936 to develop his ideas of jet propulsion, Whittle himself serving as the company's chief engineer. For several years, attracting financial backers and aviation firms prepared to take on Whittle's radical ideas was difficult; in 1931, Armstrong-Siddeley had evaluated and rejected Whittle's proposal, finding it to be technically sound but at the limits of engineering capability. Securing funding was a persistently worrying issue throughout the early development of the engine. The first Whittle prototype jet engine, the Power Jets WU, began running trials in early 1937; shortly afterwards, both Sir Henry Tizard, chairman of the Aeronautical Research Committee, and the Air Ministry gave the project their support. In August 1940, Carter presented Gloster's initial proposals for a twin-engined jet fighter with a tricycle undercarriage. On 7 February 1941, Gloster received an order for twelve prototypes (later reduced to eight) under Specification F9/40. It would be initially named Thunderbolt, however, to avoid confusion with the American Republic P-47 Thunderbolt which had been issued with the same name to the RAF in 1944, the aircraft's name was subsequently changed to Meteor. During WW2, No. 616 Squadron RAF was the first to receive operational Meteors: a total of 14 aircraft were initially delivered. The conversion to the Meteor was initially a matter of great secrecy. Following a conversion course at Farnborough attended by the squadron's six leading pilots, the first aircraft was delivered to Culmhead on 12 July 1944. The squadron and its seven Meteors moved on 21 July 1944 to RAF Manston on the east Kent coast and, within a week, 32 pilots had been converted to the type. The Meteor was initially used to counter the V-1 flying bomb threat. 616 Squadron Meteors saw action for the first time on 27 July 1944, when three aircraft were active over Kent. These were the first operational jet combat missions for the Meteor and for the Royal Air Force. After some problems, especially with jamming guns, the first two V1 "kills" were made on August 4th. By war's end, Meteors had accounted for 14 flying bombs. After the end of the V-1 threat, and the introduction of the ballistic V-2 rocket, the RAF was forbidden to fly the Meteor on combat missions over German-held territory for fear of an aircraft being shot down and salvaged by the Germans. Although many pilots hoped to confront the Messerschmitt Me 262, no aerial combat was engaged between the two jet fighters. By the end of the war, the Meteors had destroyed 46 German aircraft during ground attacks. After WW2, the Meteors maintained the vanguard as jet fighters along the De Havilland Vampire until the arrival of modern jet fighters like the North American F-86 Sabre and the MiG 15. In the Korean War, Meteors flown by the Australian Air Force faced Soviet MiG 15s, despite the losses for British planes and pilots. With the introduction of the Supermarine Swift, Hawker Hunter and Gloster Javelin, the Meteor was retired from the RAF in the 1950s with several units being sold to other nations like Argentina, Israel, Australia, Egypt, Syria, France and Brazil. The Meteors were the first jet fighters to equip the Brazilian Air Force, with 60 new Meteor F.8s and 10 T.7 trainers being shipped in October 1952. As the economic conditions were fragile after the war, the only commodity available was 15,000 tons of raw cotton. Brazil operated the Meteors until 1970 where the new jet planes were acquired from the Americans, French and Italians.
Boeing B-29 Superfortress
The Boeing B-29 is the famous heavy bomber developed and built by Boeing Company during WW2 at the closing of the conflict. While the B-17 was developed to be the main strategic bomber, Boeing began developing a new pressurized aircraft that could carry more bombs than its predecessor and could reach an altitude that no aircraft could intercept it, funding its development as a private company venture in response to the Air Corps' lack of necessary funds to aid in the development of the B-29. Aside from Boeing, Consolidated presented its prototype - which would be designated as the B-32 Dominator as a backup in case the B-29 would backfire. In 1939, two prototypes - the XB-29 - were built by Boeing for testing, with one of them experiencing an engine fire and crash, killing the pilot test, the crewmen and the workers. Yet the program continued with few modifications before receiving full production in 1943. The B-29 - nicknamed as the 'Superfortress' was by far the most expensive plane ever built during WW2, requiring several companies and plants to build its parts and components for assembly. Entirely built in metal and counted with the advanced control-remote turrets, a greenhouse-type cabin and a tubular section for the crewmen to crawl into the cabin as the plane's middle section was used to store a large payload in bombs. Being a pressurized aircraft, the crewmen could operate without suffering from weather conditions that forced the crew to wear oxygen masks, jackets and gloves to protect them from the frostbites. The bomber was powered by four Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone - the most powerful radial engine the United States could produce, however problems with its engines in the early models forced the bombers to drop altitude or to abort bombing missions in order to receive repairs. This issue would be solved with the installation of the more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major engines after WW2. The B-29 was extensively used in the Pacific Theater as most of the bombers could perform bombing attacks over Japan at higher altitudes, making the American bombers untouchable for Japanese fighters and anti-air guns, despite few units being lost due to mechanical issues and enemy fire. The most known operation carried out by the B-29 was the atomic bombardment over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945; and Nagasaki on August 9, 1945 - forcing Japan to surrender in 1945. These were designated as Silverplate - modified versions of the B-29 that had their remote guns removed and their bomb bay retrofitted to carry the Mark I and Mark III atomic bombs. After WW2, the B-29 became the main strategic bomber during the Cold War until production ended in 1946. In the Korean War (1950 - 1953), the B-29 continued its role as bomber, but the arrival of the Soviet MiG 15 inflicted high casualties among the bombers and pilots. After the introduction of the gigantic Convair B-36, the B-29 was redesignated as a medium bomber and was relegated to auxiliary roles such as air-sea rescue, electronic intelligence gathering, air-to-air refueling, and weather reconnaissance until retiring in 1960. A total of 3,970 B-29s were built. Interesting fact about the B-29: Four planes that carried out the bombing attacks on Japan were forced to land in the Soviet Union for repair. However, Stalin saw a great interest in the B-29 since the Soviets couldn't receive any heavy bomber like the B-17 or B-24 as part of the Lend-Lease program and the B-29 was out of the question. Still, he ordered his engineers at the Tupolev plant to design a heavy bomber based on the B-29, with few units being reverse engineered, copying the components according to the International Metric System to match or approach the values used by the Imperial Metric System - used in the United States and few other countries. The new plane received the designation Tupolev Tu-4, serving the Soviet Union Air Force in 1947 to the mid-1960s until its replacement by the jet bomber Tupolev Tu-16.
Kawasaki Ki-61 'Hien'
The Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (Flying Swallow) is a Japanese World War 2 fighter aircraft. It was used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service, designated as the "Army Type 3 Fighter". It was the only Japanese air fighter powered by an inverted liquid-cooled V-12 piston engine to enter service in the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (with the Yokosuka D4Y one of the naval dive bombers and the Aichi M6A the naval attack floatplane being powered by the Aichi Atsuta AE1P 32 - the license-built version of the DB 601A engine). Allied intelligence initially believed Ki-61s were Messerschmitt Bf 109s and later Italian Macchi C.202, which led to the Allied reporting name of "Tony". As diplomatic relations between Germany and Japan grew, some Messerschmitt Bf 109 and its engine - the Daimler-Benz DB 601; were shipped to Japan by U-Boots in 1941. Since the majority of planes were powered by radial engines, the Japanese saw interest in the in-line engines and ordered the license-production for their aircraft. Kawasaki responded to a specification by the Imperial Japanese Army for a new interceptor powered by this type of engine. The first aircraft designed by Takeo Doi and his deputy Shin Owada of Kawasaki Aircraft Industries was the Ki-60, emerging in March 1941. During the trials, the Ki-60 presented a considerable number of flaws, making it less desirable for the Imperial Army as the new Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki was developed and later adopted by the Army. After three prototypes of the Ki-60, Takeo Doi and Shin Owada paid attention to the flaws, designing the Ki-61 as a lighter and armed general-purpose fighter, intended to be used mainly in an offensive, air superiority role at low to medium altitudes. Its main power plant was the Kawasaki Ha-40, a license-built version of the German DB 605 engine. The first flight occurred in December 1941. It was armed with two 12.7 mm Ho-103 machine guns in the nose and two 7.7 mm Type 89 machine guns in the wings. In response to some skepticism from the Army officers, a dogfight was simulated by Kawasaki between two Ki-61 prototypes and the Nakajima Ki-43-I, a pre-production Nakajima Ki-44-I, a defector-flown Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov LaGG-3, a Messerschmitt Bf 109E-7, and a captured Curtiss P-40E Warhawk. The Ki-61 proved the fastest of all the aircraft and was inferior only to the Ki-43 in maneuverability. During its operational service, the Ki-61 was seen during the Doolittle Raid (April 18, 1942) when the USAAF Capt. C. Ross Greening misidentified as a Bf 109. The plane had been code-named "Mike", but later received its code name "Tony" as it looked like an Italian Macchi C.202 aircraft. The first Hien were integrated into the 23rd Chutai, and entered combat for the first time in early 1943, during the New Guinea campaign. The first Sentai (Air Group/Wing) fully equipped with the Hien was the 68th in Wewak, New Guinea, followed by the 78th Sentai stationed at Rabaul. During this time, the Ki-61 was showing its engine problems and the lack of spare parts to maintain its lifespan. Even so, Allied pilots saw the Ki-61 a troubling adversary compared to other Japanese fighters, with the P-38 Lightning being the closest option of the time to confront that Japanese air fighter. Unlike the Zero and the Ki-43 that lacked a self-sealing fuel tank that could burst into flames when hit, the Ki-61 did integrate it. The Ki-61 was used to intercept American B-29 Superfortresses when Japan entered a defensive stance, with the 244th Sentai being responsible for downing 73 B-29 bombers plus 92 damaged through ramming tactics. Kawasaki designed its successor, the Kawasaki Ki-100. It would be powered by a more powerful engine, the Kawasaki Ha-140 of 1,500 hp. However the main engine factory was destroyed during a bombing raid, forcing the engineers to redesign the aircraft with a Mitsubishi Ha-112-II radial engine. The Ki-61 had 3,078 units built during WW2 until Japan's surrender in 1945.
IAR 80
The IAR 80 is the Romanian main air fighter produced in WW2. In 1930, before the development of the IAR 80, Romania was producing the Polish PZL P.11 by license after several competitions lost in favor for the Polish fighters. However the Industria Aeronautică Română (IAR) studied to apply the best features from the PZL P.11 to their aircraft designs, removing the gull inverted wings to adopt a low-wing design while keeping the main engine: the French Gnome-Rhode 14K Mistral Major. The results were the new IAR 80, with the first prototype built in 1937 and having its flight test in April 1939. The IAR 80 was agile, quite maneuverable and nimble compared to modern fighters of its time, despite the Bf 109 of the E series having the advantage of speed and dive attack. The Romanian air fighter was armed with two 7.92 mm (0.312 in) FN-Browning machine guns mounted in the inner portion of the wing - all exported from Belgium, but the exports were frozen after Germany conquering Belgium during the initial days of WW2; only to be resumed when Romania joined the Axis after the arrival of Ion Antonescu's fascist regime to power. As the war progressed, the Romanians realized the IAR 80 and its engine were at its limits - requesting the Germans for better engines and planes like the BMW 801 and Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers, with a majority of the requests refused due to the crescent need for planes and spare parts to the Eastern Front in 1941. At least one prototype was built with a Junkers Jumo 211 but tests presented excessive vibrations, making the prototype unstable. In response to the lack of a dive bomber, the IAR designed the IAR 81 with arms to attach a 50 kg bomb and some units received the 20 mm Mauser MG 151/20 autocannons to take down modern planes. The Romanian aircraft remained the best fighter capable of facing Soviet obsolete planes like Polikarpov I-15, I-16, MiG-3, LaGG-3 and Yakovlev Yak-1 to some extent. With the Americans launching bombardment campaigns at Romanian's refineries and oil depots in 1943, most of the pilots withdrew from the Eastern Front for home defense. The initial waves that attacked Ploiești and other cities consisted of Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the USAAF. The American campaign was costly as most of the bombers were destroyed by anti-air defenses and fighters (mostly by German Bf 109, Bf 110 and Romanian IAR 80). In 1944, the next attacks consisted of Lockheed P-38 Lightnings fighter-bombers escorted by other P-38s over Ploiești - also resulted in the lost of a considerable number of P-38 Lightnings as the IAR 80 and the IAR 81 took the American fighters by surprise thanks to its agility at low altitudes. This led to a major change in the American bombardment campaign over Romania. As the war raged on, Romanian pilots and aces started to diminish quickly and the IAR 80 was replaced by the German Bf 109G-6 for home defense duties, until a coup d'etat led by Michael I of Romania (with the help of partisans and the Red Army - who invaded Romania as Germany was forced to assume defensive stance) disposed of Antonescu's dictatorship regime in 23 August 1944. The remaining IAR 80 planes remained in service until 1949 where they were relegated as training planes - designated as IAR 80DC; as the Soviet La-9s and Il-10s were put into service in the new Romanian Air Force. In late 1952, the training planes were replaced by Yak-11s and Yak-18s.
Hawker Tempest
The Hawker Tempest is one of the finest British planes developed by Hawker Aircraft Limited. It was a development from the Hawker Typhoon, designed by Sydney Camm - the same that developed Hawker Hurricane. After the Battle of Britain, it was clear they needed an eventual replacement for the Hurricane as an interceptor plane like the Spitfire. Then in March 1938, the company presented a new plane with the same designs from the Hurricane, but powered by a Napier Sabre H-24-cylinder piston engine and carrying two pairs of 20 mm Hispano Mk II cannons. However the Typhoon presented a series of issues involving its design and aerodynamic performance. Due to this, a series of models were developed from the Typhoon. One of these models was the Typhoon II, later known as the Tempest. The new aircraft presented a series of changes to its predecessor, like the laminar wings, a new tear-drop bubble canopy and engine setting - highlighting the Mk II using the Bristol Centaurus Mk V radial piston engine and the Mk V using the Napier Sabre Mk IIA, IIB or IIC inline piston engine. Both the Typhoon and the Tempest were the fastest planes the RAF could deploy to face the German Focke-Wulf FW 190 at low altitude until the majority of Typhoons were replaced by Tempests. With the crescent V-1 attacks, the Tempests became one of the choices along the Spitfire Mk IX and Mk XIV and the De Havilland Mosquitoes. When British planes approached the V-1s, the main tactic to take them down without firing it was using the wingtip to disable its gyroscope and toppling the rocket into an out-of-control dive, destroying it in sequence. With the arrival of the Me 262 jet fighters and the Ar 234 jet bombers, British pilots also adopted the tactic of following these planes to German airbases and destroying it before taking off or landing. German jet pilots stated the Hawker Tempest was the Me 262 most dangerous adversary, especially at low altitude where they are fast and highly maneuverable. Pierre Clostermann, famous Brazilian-born French pilot in RAF that operated the Hawker Tempest, had encountered the German piston-engine planes, jet planes during sorties over Germany and a single Dornier Do 335 Pfeil (arrow in German) - a twin-engined heavy fighter with an unusual engine setting, consisting one engine at the nose and one at the tail, making it one of the fastest piston-engine aircraft built in Germany during WW2. A total of 1,702 Tempests were built until its retirement in 1953.
Yakovlev Yak-1
The Yakovlev Yak-1 is one of the most produced Soviet aircraft during WW2, followed by its variant, the Yak-9. Before the Great Patriotic War (World War 2), Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev was a young aircraft engineer, best known for his air gliders and light sport aircraft in the Soviet Union. In 1939, he designed the Yak-2 light bomber - the fastest Soviet aircraft built. The aircraft impressed Josef Stalin and ordered Yakovlev to design a new fighter for the VVS (Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily - the Soviet Air Force) to replace the obsolete Polikarpov I-15 and I-16. The specifications for the new aircraft would be powered by a Klimov M-106 V-12 liquid-cooled engine - capable of reaching top speed of 620 km/h at 6,000 m , combat range of 600 km, a climb to 10,000 meters of under 11 minutes and armed with two 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns and one 12.7 mm Berezin BS heavy machine gun. Yakovlev promised Stalin that his aircraft would be ready in early 1940. Designs were rushed that the first prototype - known as I-26; would be constructed with cheap materials like wood, plywood, fabric, steel tubes and duralumin. The prototype weighed above 300 kg, a little heavier than planned, so Yakovlev had to remove some equipment, essentially the radio equipment. The I-26-1 took flight on January 13 of 1940, impressing the test pilot and most Soviet officers, including Stalin. It was powered by a Klimov M-105P engine as the promised M-106 suffered delays to be delivered and had to receive one 20 mm (0.787 in) ShVAK cannon in the "vee" of the engine block. During the flight test, the I-26 - later receiving the designation Yak-1; presented some issues like oil spilling on the windshield, the landing gear getting stuck or loose and other engineering problems, failing in the Government test, much like its competitors the I-200 (later the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3) and the I-301 (future Lavochkin LaGG-3). Improvements were added to the I-26-3, which gave the aircraft mass production in 1940. When the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, 425 Yak-1s had been built although few units managed to reach the frontlines. In comparison to other Soviet planes, the Yak-1 was easy to fly and had a good performance, making it a bit more reliable than the MiG-3 as it suffered from poor performance at low altitude to medium; and the LaGG-3 due to engineering difficulties during its development; but superior to the I-16. However when confronted by the Messerschmitt Bf 109 (especially the F variants), the Yak-1 could rely on maneuverability at low altitude as the German fighter had good armament and was faster. Thanks to its cheap construction, the Yak-1 was the most common among Soviet planes despite the majority of the pilots having little experience in combat. In the autumn of 1942, the Yak-1B appeared, with the bubble type canopy, increased armor, the more powerful M-105P engine and a single 12.7 mm UBS machine gun instead of the two ShKAS machine guns. The Yak-1 was appreciated by Soviet pilots due to its flight characteristics. Some aces included Mikhail Baranov with 24 victories, Katya Budanova with 5 and Lydia Litvyak, between 5 and 12 victories, plus two shared. The French Normandie-Niemen squadron flew the Yak-1M in March 1943. Production ended in 1944 with around 8,700 units built. The Yak-1 was the base for its successors: the Yak-7, the Yak-9 and the Yak-3. Were the Yaks considered as one type, around 37,000 units built would constitute the most produced fighter in history (Yak-1: 8,700 units, Yak-7: 6,399 units,Yak-9: 16,769 units, Yak-3: 4,848 units), surpassing the German Bf 109 with 34,248 units built and the Soviet Ilyushin IL-2 with 36,183.
Horten Ho 229
The Horten Ho 229, often known as the Horten H.IX or Gotha Go 229, is a German prototype fighter / bomber initially designed by Reimar and Walter Horten to be built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik. Developed at a late stage of the Second World War, it was the first flying wing to be powered by jet engines. After the First World War, Germany was limited to build planes only for civilian purposes like mail deliveries and passenger transport. In the early 30s, the Horten Brothers started their business with their gliders consisting of a flying wing design. The flying wing layout removed the need for a tail and associated control surfaces and theoretically offered the lowest possible weight, using wings that were relatively short and sturdy, and without the added drag of the fuselage. Their flying gliders became an attraction in Germany, although military authorities did not see any interest in their projects nor requiring their services. In 1943, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring issued a request for design proposals to produce a bomber that was capable of carrying a 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb) load over 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) at 1,000 kilometers per hour (620 mph); the so-called “3×1000 project”. Conventional German bombers were capable of reaching Allied targets across Great Britain, but were suffering devastating losses from Allied fighters in the process. At the time, there were no conventional means for aircraft designers to meet these goals. The new Junkers Jumo 004B turbojets could provide the required speed, but had excessive fuel consumption. To answer that, the Horten brothers concluded that the low-drag flying wing design could meet all of the goals: by reducing the drag, cruise power could be lowered to the point where the range requirement could be met. They put forward their private project, the H.IX, as the basis for the bomber. Göring quickly approved the Horten proposal, but ordered the addition of two 30 mm cannons, as he felt the aircraft would also be useful as a fighter due to its estimated top speed being significantly higher than that of any Allied aircraft. German officials assigned the designation Ho 229 to the aircraft. Göring was reportedly impressed with the design and personally intervened to ensure that three prototypes were ordered at a cost of 500,000 Reichsmarks. The H.IX was of mixed construction; the center pod made of welded steel tubing while the wings were made of several plywood panels glued together with a mixture of charcoal and sawdust; and the spars were made of pine. The external structure was covered by a fireproof paint. The prototype would receive a pair of BMW 003 turbojet engines, but delays forced the adoption of the Junkers Jumo 004 and an order for 100 units, but was subsequently curtailed to only 20 aircraft. The V1 flew for the first time on 1st of March 1944. Flight results were very favorable, but there was an accident when the pilot attempted to land without first retracting an instrument-carrying pole extending from the aircraft. Then the V2 was made, having its maiden flight on 2 February 1945 with Leutnant Erwin Ziller as the test pilot. Unfortunately, after one of the engines caught fire, Ziller died from his injuries on February 18 1945 during another test flight with the V2. As the Americans approached Germany during the final stages of the war, the third prototype of the Ho 229 was built and put into development before being captured by the U.S. Third Army in April 1945 and shipped to the United States for evaluation. Walther and Reimar Horten were taken into custody and interrogated for any information surrounding the Ho 229. After WW2, Reimar emigrated to Argentina where he built gliders, including an experimental supersonic delta-wing aircraft to transport oranges from producers to Buenos Aires: the FMA I.Ae 38 Naranjero; until he passed away in 1994. Walther remained in Germany and became an officer in the post-war German Air Force, passing away in 1998. The Ho 229 V3 parts (the airframe, landing gear, the central pod with the engines and the wings) remain in exhibition at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM). Interesting fact about the Ho 229: Although it is surrounded by myths about being the precursor of the stealth technology used by the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk and the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, a team of engineers from Northrop Grumman in partnership with National Geographic built a full-size non-flying reproduction of the V3, primarily made out of wood and used the same British radar devices from 1940 to 1945 for evaluation. Simulations showed a hypothetical Ho 229, with the radar characteristics of the mockup, which had neither metal frame nor engines, approaching the English coast from France flying at 885 km/h (550 mph) at 15–30 m (49–98 ft) above the water would have been visible to CH radar at a distance of 80% that of a Bf 109.
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 is one of the German medium bombers designed for the Luftwaffe during WW2, capable of performing different missions beyond its original role - from bomber to dive bomber, torpedo bomber, recon-aircraft, heavy fighter, night fighter and ground-attack aircraft. The development of the Ju 88 started in June 1936 as part of a series of requirements formulated by the RLM for an unarmed, three-seat, high-speed bomber with a payload of 800–1,000 kg (1,800–2,200 lb). The team was formed by Ernst Zindel, Wilhelm Heinrich Evers and Alfred Gassner at the Junkers. The first prototype flight maiden occurred on December 21, 1936, reaching a speed of 580 km/h (360 mph). This achievement led Hermann Göring, head of the Luftwaffe, to an enthusiastic feeling - finally seeing the Ju 88 the perfect platform for the Schnellbomber (fast-bomber) program. In 1937, the aircraft underwent a program of reworks to take the role of dive bombers - proposed by Ernst Udet. For example: the fuselage had to be elongated, the dive flaps were installed and a review was made on the wings and flight controls. Despite these changes, the plane suffered delays to be deployed in combat - only entering service in 1939. The bomber variants were equipped with two 7.92 mm MG 81J at the rear of the fuselage, one in the forward section of the canopy, one in the ventral gondola and one in the lower section of the fuselage. The heavy fighter variants had its nose glazing replaced with a smoothly curved all-metal nose to receive several machine guns or cannons. The ground-attack variants had a 75 mm PaK 40 cannon installed on the gondola - similar to the Henschel Hs 129 and Messerschmitt Me 410 planes. During the initial days of WW2, the Ju 88 saw action in Norway and France where in the last country proved a valuable plane for the Luftwaffe, destroying enemy planes while grounded, railroads and ground targets. On 17 June 1940, the Ju 88 sank the British RMS Lancastria that transported British and French personnel off Saint-Nazaire, taking the lives of some 5,800 Allied personnel. During the Battle of Britain, the Junkers Ju 88 suffered its highest losses due to a series of misguided tactics from the German High Command, accidents and the lack of proper support from the fighters to fend off the RAF planes. This made the Ju 88 to withdraw from combat and join the upcoming main force of bombers to invade the Soviet Union. On the Eastern Front, the Balkans, the Mediterranean and the North African theater, the Junkers Ju 88 were responsible for taking down enemy grounded aircraft, tank and vehicle convoys, bases and ships. As the war escalated in favor of the Allies, some Ju 88 had to be designated as heavy fighters and night fighters to defend Germany from day and night bombers to supplement the need for more heavy fighters like the Bf 110 and Me 410. From 1941 to 1943, a newer version of the Ju 88 was built - under the designation Ju 188. Aside from Germany, Axis countries like Italy, Romania, Hungary and Finland also operated the Ju 88 while France, Great Britain and the Soviet Union used some captured units for evaluation.
Grumman F6F Hellcat
The Grumman F6F Hellcat is the American carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War 2. It was developed from the F4F Wildcat to counter the advantages from the Japanese A6M Zero and Ki-43 Hayabusa. Before and during that conflict, Grumman was developing a new fighter to succeed the F4F Wildcat in terms of firepower, armor, speed and range. The new plane received the new Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone two-row, 14-cylinder radial engine of 1,700 hp (1,300 kW), the same that powered the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, Grumman TBF Avenger and Vought F4U Corsair; six .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns and hard points for bombs, torpedoes or rocket tubes. Although it looked similar to its predecessor, the F6F used a different landing gear system that retracts to the wings instead to the fuselage like the F4F Wildcat - similar to the Curtiss P-36 Hawk, P-40 Warhawk and the Junkers Ju 88. The Hellcat first saw action against the Japanese on September 1st, 1943, when fighters off USS Independence shot down a Kawanishi H8K "Emily" flying boat. Soon after, on 23 and 24 November, Hellcats engaged Japanese aircraft over Tarawa, shooting down 30 Mitsubishi Zeros while losing one F6F. Like the P-47 Thunderbolt and the F4F Wildcat, the Hellcat was designed for ease of manufacture and ability to withstand significant damage. The American naval fighter became the backbone of the US Naval Air Force with a higher kill ratio in the Pacific Theater compared to other planes. The British Royal Navy would also use the F6F through the Lend-Lease program in the Pacific Theater. After WW2, the F6F was replaced by the Grumman F8F Bearcat - developed from the F6F in that conflict but seeing action only in the Cold War; and jets like the F9F Panther. The remaining F6F were used as drone planes to attack Korean bridges during the Korean War and some piloted Hellcats were the first planes by the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels official flight demonstration team at its formation in 1946. The French Navy (Aéronavale) was equipped with F6F-5 Hellcats and used them in combat in Indochina. The last country to operate the Hellcat was Uruguay until the early 1960s.
I plan to bring more content related to this page. Until I have the renders of the other planes, it will take a considerable time - which by the moment might be complicated due to my studies and job. Still, I hope you like this page, the images and the brief info about the planes I made.
See you next time.
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