When the Third Reich invaded Russia on June 22, 1941, they brought with them more than 3 million soldiers in a matter of hours. The Germans were expecting an easy victory against the Untermensch— the Russian people they believed were inferior. However, what the Germans faced was a ferocious army not just of strong men [...]
Take yourself back to the early days of aviation. Just how far back you go is really up to you. Mankind's been fascinated with flight for centuries before we ever got into the air by means of a plane. You can start in 1903, as we are so inclined to do, when the Wright Brothers [...]
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 [...]
The U.S. was experiencing a shortage of pilots during World War II. In efforts to find a way to fill that gap, women were trained to fly military aircraft. This group of women is known as The Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs. The Development of WASP In 1942, trained pilots were off fighting for [...]
Some people do little. But this Doolittle did a lot. James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle was born on December 14, 1896, in Alameda, California. However, he spent much of his childhood in Nome, Alaska, where his father was a gold prospector and carpenter. While living in Alaska, Jimmy learned how to fight and pilot a [...]
The Aichi D3A was a carrier dive bomber primarily used in WWII that played a role in almost every Imperial Japanese Navy mission. The D3A replaced the D1A biplane in the mid-1930s as a faster plane that was able to handle the same tasks. Aichi, Nakajima, and Mitsubishi submitted designs to the Japanese Navy for the [...]
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 [...]
Not every fighter pilot was considered an ace during World War I, let alone the ace of aces. But for Eddie Rickenbacker, that’s precisely what he was. An Early Life (With a Purpose) Edward Vernon Rickenbacker was born on October 8, 1890 in Columbus, Ohio. His parents were German-speaking Swiss immigrants and he was the [...]
We are incredibly lucky to presently live in a world with advanced medical technology. It wasn’t all that long ago, really, when commonplace surgeries today would have been nothing more than a pipe dream. World War II changed the world in many ways. During this time, aircraft advanced, weapons advanced, and numerous technologies advanced—because they [...]
The MiG-21 is flown by over 50 nations and is the most produced supersonic jet fighter. 11,600 MiG-21s were built since entering service in part because its simple design made it easy to manufacture. This plane originates from the Soviet Union and its development began back in the 1950s with a mission to replace the [...]
