The British Hawker Hurricane was one of the most important fighters for the Royal Air Force early on in WWII. It, along with the Supermarine Spitfire, earned victory laurels during both the Battle of Britain and the defense of Malta. While the Spitfire was the more popular of the two, the Hurricane served in all [...]
Designed as a successor to the Grumman F4F Wildcat, the F6F Hellcat became America’s dominant fighter during the second half of the Pacific War. The highly successful Grumman F4F Wildcat had its first flight in September 1937 and began its service with the US Navy and British Royal Navy in December 1940. As early as [...]
The World's First Operational Jet Fighter While the design for the Messerschmitt Me 262 began pre-World War II, it didn't reach operational status with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944. Even then, only small numbers of Me 262s actually appeared in combat. Design and Development Several years before the onset of WWII, Germans saw the potential for [...]
The Martin B-26 Marauder was introduced in 1941 for use during the course of World War II. The twin-engined medium bomber served first in the Pacific Theater in 1942 and was later used in the Mediterranean Theater as well as Western Europe. The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) issued Circular Proposal 39-640 on March 11, 1939, [...]
In a world of fabric-and-wood, be metal. Hugo Junkers (1859-1935)©MP/Leemage The Junkers F.13 was one of the most advanced aircraft of its time. Developed in Germany at the end of WWI, this advanced cantilever-wing monoplane was the first ever all-metal transport aircraft. It was also Junker's first commercial aircraft--not too shabby considering they would go [...]
