he Heinkel He.111 was a fast medium bomber, developed by the Luftwaffe in the ‘30s and constantly upgraded during the war. It was the primary German bomber in the early years of the war. The He.111 was used in a variety of roles: it was used as a strategic bomber during the Battle of Britain,…
The Focke-Wulf FW-190 Würger (Shrike) was a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. The FW-190 D (nicknamed the Dora) was intended to improve on the high-altitude performance of the A-series enough to make it useful against the American heavy bombers. However,…
The Boeing B-17 “Flying Fortress” is a four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). The B-17 was primarily employed in the daylight precision strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial and military targets. The B-17G is generally considered the definitive B-17 design, incorporating…
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin engined medium bomber. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, and saw service across four decades. It first gained fame for its use in the 18 April 1942 Tokyo Raid, in which 16 B-25Bs led by Lieutenant Colonel…
The Bristol Beaufighter was a British long-range heavy fighter derivative of the Bristol’s earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design. The Beaufighter had a long career and served in almost all theatres of war in the Second World War, first as a night fighter, then as a fighter bomber and eventually replacing the Beaufort as a torpedo…
The Gloster Gladiator Mk.I was a British-built biplane fighter, used by the RAF and the Royal Navy (as the Sea Gladiator variant). It fought against stronger foes during the early days of the WW2, but it acquitted itself reasonably well in combat. The Gladiator saw action in almost all theatres during the WW2 with a…
The Reggiane Re.2001 Falco II was an Italian fighter aircraft. With its flexible design, it proved to be able to undertake a number of roles, from convoy escort to night fighter. Thanks to its maneuverability, it could dogfight with more powerful opponents like the British Supermarine Spitfire. Designed to be used with the popular air…
The Messerschmitt Bf.110 was a twin-engine heavy fighter in the service of the Luftwaffe during World War II and served with success in the early campaigns, the Polish, Norwegian and Battle of France. Later in the war, it was developed into a formidable night fighter, becoming the major night-fighting aircraft of the Luftwaffe. Great Aces…
The Avro Lancaster B Mk.III was modified for special mission against the German dams during World War II. Twenty-three aircraft of this type were built to carry the “Upkeep” bouncing bomb for the dam busting raids. The bomb bay doors were removed and struts to carry the bomb were fitted in their place, with a…
The Bristol Beaufighter was a British long-range heavy fighter derivative of the Bristol’s earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design. The Beaufighter had a long career and served in almost all theatres of war in the Second World War, first as a night fighter, then as a fighter bomber and eventually replacing the Beaufort as a torpedo…
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin engined medium bomber. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, and saw service across four decades. It first gained fame for its use in the 18 April 1942 Tokyo Raid, in which 16 B-25Bs led by Lieutenant Colonel…
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II. The P-51s were used by the USAAF’s Eighth Air Force to escort bombers in raids over Germany. The RAF’s 2 TAF and the USAAF’s Ninth Air Force used them as fighter-bombers, roles in which the Mustang…
The Nakajima Ki-84 “Hayate” was a single-seat fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force during World War II. Nicknamed “Frank” by the Allies, the Ki-84 had excellent performance and high maneuverability, and was considered to be the best Japanese fighter to see large scale operations during World War II. It was able to…
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engine World War II heavy bomber, designed and built by Avro for the Royal Air Force (RAF). It first saw active service with RAF Bomber Command in 1942 and, as the strategic bombing offensive over Europe gathered momentum, it became the main heavy bomber used by the RAF. The…
The Bristol Beaufighter was a British long-range heavy fighter derivative of the Bristol’s earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design. The Beaufighter had a long career and served in almost all theatres of war in the Second World War, first as a night fighter, then as a fighter bomber and eventually replacing the Beaufort as a torpedo…
The Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (“flying swallow”) was a Japanese World War II fighter aircraft. Over 2.500 Ki-61s were produced, first seeing action around New Guinea in 1943, and continuing to fly combat missions throughout the war. From 1944, Ki-61 were also employed effectively in aerial ramming attacks against B-29 Superfortresses. Designed to be used with…