LiveScience Image Gallery

World War II Aircraft -- Part 2

Colin Taylor

Messerschmitt Me 262

Though Messerschmitt began designing the Me 262 in 1939, it did not see air combat until July 1944. Initially designed as the first operational turbojet fighter, the Me 262A-1a Schwalbe (Swallow) had slightly swept wings to ensure a stable center of gravity. Its wings were thin to enhance high-speed performance, and slats extended from the front of the outer wings to improve low-speed handling. Hitler insisted in 1943 that the revolutionary aircraft serve as a bomber, leading to the 262A-2a Sturmvogel ( Storm bird ) variant. It carried 30 millimeter cannon and two 500-pound bombs and incorporated an extra fuel tank in the rear fuselage to increase its range. The Me 262’s max speed of 540 mph exceeded that of its rival, the Allied P-51D Mustang, by over 100 mph, but Allied fighters exploited the Me 262’s Achilles heel: takeoff and landing. The Me 262 s Jumo jet engines generated drastically lower thrust and acceleration at low speeds, leaving it vulnerable. Its engines also were prone to flameouts and burnouts and often set asphalt runways on fire, confining its use to airfields with concrete runways. This problem, and Germany s late-war shortage of fuel and pilots, meant most of the 1,400 Me 262s produced did not become operational.
Colin Taylor

Grumman F4F Wildcat

The Wildcat was the primary Navy and Marine carrier fighter during the first year and a half of World War II. Although the Japanese devastated most of America’s Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, the Navy’s fleet carriers were at sea, so nearly 250 Wildcats were available to fight the Japanese when America entered the war. The Grumman Wildcat was not as fast or maneuverable as the Mitsubishi Zero, but its armor endured shots that would have downed its thinly clad Japanese counterpart. The F4F also had a homing device that allowed pilots to detect their carriers in poor visibility if within a 30-mile radius. The F4F-4, which entered service in early 1942, was the most widely used Wildcat model. It had folding wings that allowed more planes to be crammed on an aircraft carrier. All Pacific Fleet carriers had F4F-4 Wildcats by June 1942, when the Battle of Midway was fought. By mid-1943, the Grumman F6F Hellcat had replaced the Wildcat as the primary U.S. Navy fighter, but the Wildcat continued to protect carriers and convoys from enemy aircraft, locate enemy submarines, and support amphibious operations. Grumman ultimately built nearly 8,000 Wildcats.
Soviet Air Force

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3

Designed as a high-altitude interceptor, this Soviet single-seat fighter is best known for defending Moscow from 1941 to 1943; only 200 of the 8,300 sorties directed against the Russian capital got through. But the MiG-3 could not replicate this success elsewhere. Forced to fly at low altitudes and assume a ground-attack role, the MiG-3 was vulnerable against the Luftwaffe’s Bf 109s and Fw 190s. After not meeting expectations, the MiG-3 became an attack bomber escort in the spring of 1942. The Soviets also used the MiG-3 for reconnaissance missions, tapping its ability to streak through enemy territory at high altitudes. Powered by a Mikulin AM-35A V-12 1350-hp engine, the MiG-3 achieved a top speed of almost 400 mph. However, poor handling and a lack of armament —only three machine guns— plagued the aircraft, so two 0.5-inch machine guns were installed under the wing fairings in 1942. Construction ended later in 1942 when production of the AM-35 engine ceased in favor of the new AM-38 for the Stormovik and new designs arose, like the radial-engine fighter La-5. About 3,000 MiG-3s were produced for the Red Army Air Force.
ww2incolor.com

Hawker Tempest

Hawker’s design for the Tempest improved the high-altitude performance of its predecessor, the Typhoon, by reducing the wing area, providing a flush surface, and incorporating a thinner elliptical wing. Because the re-designed wing reduced the fuel capacity, Hawker inserted a 76-gallon tank between the firewall and the oil tank. This The first Tempest sortie flew in April 1944. Two months later, Tempests successfully countered German V-1 flying bombs that tore towards London at 400 mph and around 2,000 feet. From June to August 1944, Tempest pilots shot down nearly half of the V-1s destroyed by the RAF. Like the Typhoon, the Tempest could fill the ground attack role, but it could also perform air-to-air combat missions. By the war’s end, eight British squadrons of Tempests accounted for nearly 250 downed enemy aircraft and the Tempest became the bane of German trains, barges, and road vehicles during the winter of 1944-1945.
United States Air Force

Douglas SBD Dauntless

The Dauntless was the US Navy’s main dive bomber from mid-1940 until the end of 1943, and nearly 6,000 were built during World War II. This two-seat taildragger was the first US Navy plane to sink an enemy ship (a Japanese sub I-70) in World War II, only three days after Pearl Harbor. It offered the lowest attrition rate of US carrier aircraft and helped turn the tide in Allied operations in the Pacific. The Dauntless played a crucial role in the Battle of Midway, accounting for four Japanese carriers in a single day. This aircraft also sunk Japanese shipping during the Guadalcanal campaign and sunk more enemy ships in the Pacific than any other Allied aircraft.
Mark Von Raesfeld

Aichi D3A

The Douglas Dauntless’ Japanese counterpart, the Aichi D3A Val, led the first wave of attacks on Pearl Harbor. During the following year, the D3A destroyed Allied shipping in the Pacific and Indian oceans under the protection of Zero fighters. But as Allied defensive capabilities and intelligence grew, the D3A s effectiveness waned. The emergence of a faster dive bomber, the Asahi D4Y, further demoted its status. By the end of the war, the D3A provided second-line duties and performed kamikaze attacks. This two-seat dive bomber had an elliptical wing, non-retractable landing gear, wings that folded for storage on a carrier, and no internal bomb storage.
United States Air Force

Curtiss C-46 Commando

Initially designed for commercial use as the CW-20, the C-46 became a military transport. It was mainly used by US Army Air Forces in World War II. The C-46 provided supplies from bases in India and Burma to troops in China. Entering service in July 1942, the Commando became the largest and heaviest twin-engine aircraft. Coupling huge cargo capacity with long-range capability, the Commando was ideal for Pacific operations. Its patented double-bubble fuselage design allowed the aircraft to withstand high-altitude pressure differentials. However, the Commando suffered from a high loss rate, largely because it was rushed into service. Common problems included a leaky hydraulic system and a fuel leak problem that sparked midair explosions, leading detractors to refer to the C-46 as the Curtiss Calamity or the Leaky Tiki. It also won the appellation Dumbo after the baby flying elephant from Disney’s 1941 animated movie. More than 3,000 were built and U.S. forces used C-46s through the Korean War.
Colin Taylor

Fairey Swordfish

Though biplanes were obsolete by the start of World War II, the Swordfish (affectionately known as the Stringbag because of all the wires in its biplane wing rigging) was used throughout the duration of the war in Europe. In 1936 it replaced the Fairey Seal as the new British torpedo bomber. Production shifted from Fairey to Blackburn Aircraft in early 1940; nearly 2,400 Swordfish would be built. At the start of the war, Swordfish primarily served as convoy escorts for the Royal Navy. But they later launched torpedo attacks, laid mines in German ports, and attacked submarines with depth charges or rockets. The third version, introduced in 1943, had radar that detected submarines 25 miles away. Fairey Swordfish successfully attacked the Italian fleet in Taranto harbor in November 1940; this raid altered the balance of naval power in the Mediterranean and was Japan s inspiration for the attack on Pearl Harbor. The following May, Swordfish crippled the German battleship Bismarck. This three-crew biplane’s low speed left it vulnerable to well-defended targets during its long and straight approach. The Swordfish had fixed landing gear that could be exchanged for floats, and foldable wings for carrier storage.
United Kingdom Government

Dornier Do 17

Development for this light bomber, the most famous of Dornier’s aircraft, began months after the Nazis gained power in 1933. It would earn its first stripes during the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939. The Dornier Do 17 and the Heinkel He 111 comprised the core of the Luftwaffe bombers that helped defeat the Polish and French during the first years of World War II. But this early success was short-lived as British fighters overpowered theGerman bombers during the Battle of Britain in the summer and fall of 1940. The Germans relegated the Dornier Do 17 to secondary missions and halted its production in mid-1940 as the Dornier Do 217 and Junkers Ju 88 arose as the next generation of German bombers. The Do 217 was dubbed the Flying Pencil because of its long, thin fuselage.
ww2incolor.com

Messerschmitt Bf 110

Messerschmitt initially designed the Bf 110 as a fighter to accompany bomber formations on long runs into enemy territory. It could cripple an Allied bomber in seconds, achieve a max speed of over 330 mph, and didn’t have the range limitations of the Bf 109E. Bf 110s defeated obsolete fighters during the Nazi invasion of Poland in September 1939 that initiated World War II. The following April, Bf 110s participated in Operation Weserübung, the German capture of Denmark and Norway, but the Bf 110 failed to meet Luftwaffe expectations due to its poor acceleration and maneuverability. The RAF’s more agile single-engine Hurricanes and Spitfires humbled Bf 110 bomber escorts during the Battle of Britain in the summer and autumn months of 1940, the Luftwaffe losing 120 Bf 110s in August 1940 alone. Afterwards, the Luftwaffe relocated many of its Bf 110s to the Russian and Mediterranean theaters, modifying the design to accommodate new roles as a fighter-bomber and night fighter. The Bf 110’s open nose, not found on single-engine fighters, provided space for a radar antenna and its cockpit was redesigned to house a third crewmember, a radar operator. The Bf 110 became the Luftwaffe’s best night fighter. Messerschmitt produced about 6,000 Bf 110s from 1936 to 1945.
Colin Taylor

North American B-25 Mitchell

Effective in both Pacific and European theaters, this twin-engine medium bomber provided America in April 1942 with one of its first victories. Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle led 16 B-25’s over Japan, bombing Tokyo and four other cities. They were the first American aircraft to bomb Japan’s mainland as well as the heaviest aircraft at the time to take off from a ship at sea. First used in February 1941 for coastal patrol, the medium altitude B-25 became notorious for strafing airfields and skip-bombing destroyers. North American manufactured nearly 10,000 Mitchells, the type continuing to fill transport, training, and reconnaissance roles until the early 1960s. The B-25 Mitchell is the only American military aircraft named after a specific person: General Billy Mitchell, regarded as the father of the United States Air Force.
Keith Rogers

Lockheed Hudson

A military version of the Lockheed Electra, the Hudson provided the backbone for RAF Coastal Command in the first half of World War II by patrolling the North Sea and the Bay of Biscay. In mid-1941, it played an essential role in countering German submarines. When the type became obsolete, its armor was removed so Hudsons could perform transport missions, including carrying Allied agents into and out of Nazi-occupied Europe. This reliable plane earned the nickname Old Boomerang because it always came back. The RAF’s initial order for 200 Hudsons was the first significant aircraft construction contract for Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. Nearly 3,000 Hudsons were produced from 1938 to 1943.
Colin Taylor

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

Based on the P-36 Hawk design, this fighter-bomber was the last aircraft in Curtiss Aircraft’s Hawk line. The P-40 first saw in action in June 1941 with the RAF in the Middle East and North Africa. It became a popular Allied aircraft and nearly 14,000 were produced from 1938 to 1944. Unable to compete at high altitudes with Luftwaffe fighters, the P-40 found success in North Africa, the Southwest Pacific, and China. It compensated for its mediocre performance with an extremely durable structure. Strengthened by a five-spar wing, some P-40s survived mid-air collisions. And with armor around its engine and cockpit, the P-40 could endure beatings, allowing Allied pilots to attack directly rather than outmaneuver Japanese fighters. The British named the early B and C models Tomahawks and later models Kittyhawks, but American forces called the later version the Warhawk, The British, copying markings on the Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 110, painted shark mouth logos on the noses of P-40s early in the war. The famous Flying Tigers American Volunteer Group in China later adapted this design.
ww2incolor.com

Douglas A-20 Havoc

Although the A-20 was designed to meet specifications provided by the United States Army Air Corps in 1938, France was Douglas’ first customer for this light bomber. But when France succumbed to German forces in June 1940, the RAF picked up the remaining tab, calling the aircraft the Boston. Designed with stationary ground targets in mind, the Havoc required an escort to fend off enemy aircraft. Douglas also produced an F-3 photo reconnaissance version and a P-70 night fighter equipped with airborne intercept radar and four 20-millimeter cannon in its belly. With the emergence of Northrop’s P-61 Black Widow night fighter, the Havoc, known for its durability, safety, and ease of flight, gradually transitioned into training roles. When production ended in 1944, Douglas had assembled nearly 7,100 A-20s; it was the most-produced attack bomber during World War II.
NASA

Grumman Avenger

The low-wing Grumman Avenger was well-suited for its role as the U.S. Navy’s carrier-based torpedo bomber. It offered long endurance, stable flight, a large weapons capacity, and a new wing-folding mechanism later incorporated into Grumman’s F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat. Though initially designed as a torpedo bomber to replace the TBD Devastator, the Avenger would drop many more bombs than torpedoes. Grumman produced the first 2,300 Avengers (called TBFs). But as Grumman phased out Avenger production to focus on the F6F Hellcat, five East-Coast General Motors plants, operating as the Eastern Aircraft Division, began in September 1942 to build an additional 7,500 Avengers (called TBMs). The Royal Navy s Fleet Air Arm requested 400 Avengers (it called the type the Tarpon ) to replace its existing torpedo bombers. Ex-President George Bush flew Grumman Avengers in the Pacific theater, American forces rescuing him from ditchings twice in 1944.
United States Air Force

Fieseler Fi 156 Storch (“Stork”)

Developed by the German acrobatic pilot Gerhard Fieseler, the Fieseler Storch was one of the first planes to successfully demonstrate short-takeoff-and-landing capabilities. It could take off in a mere 200 feet and land in a third of that distance. The Germans used this ability to good effect during their rescue of Benito Mussolini in September 1943 from the hotel in the Gran Sasso mountain range where he was being held. Offering windows all around for excellent observation, the Storch was valuable for reconnaissance missions. It also served as a flying ambulance or taxi. A fixed slat along the entire wing leading edge improved its lift and control at slow speeds. The Fieseler 156 could fly at speeds as low as 32 mph and maintained a cruising speed of about 85 mph. With its foldable wings, the Storch could be stored easily and moved by trailer. Its long shock absorbers could compress up to 18 inches, allowing landings on rough terrain. Because its gear hung down during flight, it resembled a long-legged bird, hence its name. Fieseler produced about 2,900 Fi 156s from 1937 to 1945. The life expectancy of a Storch was about 10 times that of a Bf 109 fighter. France and other nations produced versions during and after the war.
Japanese Government

Mitsubishi G4M

The Mitsubishi G4M was the primary heavy bomber for the Japanese Navy during World War II, with nearly 2,500 produced. It could carry either a single Type 91 torpedo or over a ton of bombs, and was armed with two cannon and four machine guns. With two Mitsubishi engines, each harnessing 1,850 horsepower, the land-based G4M achieved a ceiling of about 30,000 feet and a top speed of 270 mph. The G4M sacrificed armor to allow it to operate flights ranging upwards of 3,000 miles. The Japanese used G4Ms and torpedo-bombing runs to sink the British battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse in December 1941. These were the first two ships sunk solely by air attack during a war while at sea. Named Betty by the Allies, who assigned female names to Japanese bombers and reconnaissance planes, the G4M also earned the nickname One-Shot Lighter because its massive and poorly protected fuel tanks tended to burn when hit. This vulnerability was evident during battles at the Solomon Islands in August 1942. Near the war’s end, G4Ms commonly performed kamikaze missions.
United States Air Force

Piper Cub L-4 Grasshopper

Almost 6,000 of these military Piper J3 Cubs were produced to serve as light observation and liaison aircraft in World War II. Enlarged windows enhanced the field of view from the L-4 s cockpit, allowing enemy troops and artillery to be located and radioed to Allied ground forces. Bazookas were sometimes attached to Grasshoppers and their pilots were able to launch ground attacks on enemy tanks and artillery by pulling lanyards attached to the launchers. The L-4’s 65-horsepower engine gave it an inherently slow speed, allowing it to scan an area more effectively than a high-speed aircraft, though its torpid pace made it an easy target. But Germans learned quickly that after firing at these airborne spies, an unwanted salvo of enemy fire was just a radio call away. L-4s participated in World War II’s final dogfight, in which Grasshoppers forced German Fieseler 156s to land and surrender. The name Grasshopper collectively was given to the Navy’s NE-1 and the Army’s observer O-59 and liaison L-4 models because of their ability to fly into and out of small places. A fully loaded L-4 could take off in about 400 feet. This aircraft served in all theaters of World War II.
Mark Von Raesfeld

Lockheed P-38 Lightning

Lockheed designed this high-altitude fighter in response to America’s request for a plane that could climb to 20,000 feet in 6 minutes and attain a max airspeed of 360 mph at altitude. The first of 10,000 Lightnings left the factory in October 1941 and the type initially saw action in April 1942 as a photo-reconnaissance aircraft. The Lightning was the first fighter to eclipse 400 mph and the first U.S. fighter to make extensive use of stainless steel and flush-riveted aluminum panels. The focused firepower of the dual machine guns on the Lightning’s nose proved effective against lightly armored Japanese planes. Primarily deployed in the Pacific, it destroyed more Japanese aircraft than any other U.S. Army Air Force fighter. The most significant Lightning sortie during World War II occurred in April 1943, when a P-38 took out a Japanese G4M Betty transporting Japan’s Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. The P-38 was the only American fighter in active production from the time of Pearl Harbor to VJ Day.
United Kingdom Government

Handley Page Halifax

Initially proposed as a twin-engine medium bomber, the Halifax transitioned to a four-engine heavy bomber during the design phase, when engineers determined that two engines not meet performance requirements. This RAF bomber also towed gliders, patrolled sea lanes, transported troops and evacuated injured soldiers. The Halifax served throughout the war and more than 6,000 were built, but it did not achieve the same fame as its contemporary, the Avro Lancaster.

Click Image to Enlarge

Advertisement