de Havilland Mosquito. Click Here for a page on this superb aircraft

Supermarine Spitfire. Click Here to visit my History of the Spitfire Page

Hawker Hurricane. The "LD2" Version earned fame in the Western Desert as "The Tin Opener" or tank buster when fitted with 50mm cannon.

The Battle of Britain was fought from 10 July to 31 October 1940. When it started Fighter Command had 27 Squadrons of Hurricanes and 19 Squadrons of Spitfires.  It was the Hurricane that bore the brunt of the fighting.  During this period 565 Hurricanes were lost and 352 Spitfires.  During the Battle, 19 Squadron were issued with 6 cannon firing Spitfires, designated Mk1b's as opposed to the machine gun version, the Mk1a.  The cannons hitting power was great, but jamming was a problem, giving little success.  Further cannon firing Spitfires were issued to 92 Squadron then it was accepted that the best combination was an aircraft with two cannon and four machine guns.  The performances of the Spitfire Mk1 and the Me 109E were very similar.  The Spitfire could outperform the 109E with a better turning radius at any height and was slightly faster below 15,000 feet.  The 109E was better in the climb and slightly faster over 20,000 feet.  This was due to the fuel injection of the 109E Daimler Benz DB601A engine.

Known to its crews as "Wimpey" the Wellington was the workhorse of Bomber Command during the early days of the war. Designed by Barnes Wallace, perhaps better known for designing the "bouncing bombs" used in the Dambuster's mission, the Wellington featured a geodesic construction of interlocking triangles. Although slow, lacking in agility, and capable of only a moderate bomb load, it was able to absorb tremendous damage and still bring its crews home. One of the great forgotten aircraft of WW2, it served throughout the war and into the 1950’s.

The premier British heavy bomber of the war, the Lancaster was a redesign of the failed twin engine Manchester design. With a few airframe modifications and the change to four Rolls-Royce "Merlin" engines, the Lancaster became a truly great aircraft. In addition to the many night area bombing missions conducted by the RAF, Lancaster's were used for many special missions, including the "Dam Busters" raid (the first precision bombing attack of the war), the bombing of the battleship Tirpitz, and the delivery of the 20,000 lb "Grand Slam" bombs. After the war the airframe was again redesigned to accept four contra-rotating turboprop engines, and, as the "Shackleton", served until well into the 1960's.

Few aeroplanes ever deserved such acclaim as the legendary ‘Stringbag’. Delivered to the Fleet Air Arm in 1936, outdated by 1939, the Swordfish remained operational until the end of the war, thereby gaining the distinction of being the last biplane to see active service. Powered by a 750 hp Pegasus radial engine and capable of little more than 130 mph, it achieved remarkable success during a decade of service. In November 1940, a night raid by Swordfish, armed with bombs and torpedoes, virtually destroyed the Italian battle fleet lying in Taranto harbour. Then in May 1941 the German battleship Bismarck was sunk in the Atlantic, having first been disabled by Swordfish from HMS Victorious and Ark Royal. Later, after Ark Royal herself had been sunk one of her squadrons flying from Manston in Kent, attacked the Battle cruisers Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen as they made their famous ‘Channel Dash’ in bad weather on 12^th February, 1942. All six Swordfish were lost and 13 of the 18 aircrew perished. For this action Lieutenant Commander Eugene Esmonde was posthumously awarded the Fleet Air Arm’s first Victoria Cross of the Second World War. WS326 was built in 1943 at Sherburn-in Elmet in Yorkshire by Blackburns and is therefore really a ‘Blackfish’. She saw active service flying on North Atlantic convoy duties with ‘L’ Flight of 836 Squadron on board the MAC ship ‘Rapana’. After the war she flew from the naval air stations at Culham (Oxford) and Worthy Down (Winchester) before going to Fairy Aviation as G-AJVH. In 1960 she came back to the Navy and was painted for a starring role in the film ‘Sink the Bismarck’. She now wears her wartime 836 Squadron colours.

A mainstay medium bomber, the He-111 served in Spain before WW2. Although improvements were continuously made to the airframe throughout the war, the 111 was always highly vulnerable to allied fighter attack. After the Battle of Britain it saw more effective use on the Eastern Front, where the Luftwaffe maintained air superiority for some time. As with the bF-109, the He-111 was built in Spain until well after WW2.

One of the most distinctive aircraft of the war, the Stuka was devastating during its early deployment as a dive bomber, serving as mobile artillery for the German blitzkrieg tactics. It also was bloodied in the Spanish Civil War, and there and in the opening German successes of WW2 the wail of its wind powered siren had almost as powerful an effect as its accurate bombing ability. Though hard hit in the Battle of Britain where, unless heavily protected by fighters, it was at the mercy of British fighters, still the Ju-87 served through the war, simply because no other aircraft was successfully developed to replace it. Its biggest effect was in the invasion of Poland, where it devastated the towns and cities. It had, however, no opposition in the air to contend with.

An excellent medium bomber design, the Ju-88 served in more roles than perhaps any other plane in German service. It was put to use as a high-altitude bomber, reconnaissance aircraft, dive bomber, radar equipped night-fighter, ground attack aircraft - even as a flying bomb (guided to its target by a Fw-190 fighter mounted on top). Initially its speed provided a degree of defence not available to other comparable bombers, such as the Dornier Do-17 and Heinkel He-111. As with all German bombers of the war, it was not fast enough to avoid the best Allied fighters, too poorly armed to fight them off, and not capable of carrying a large enough bomb load to be effective in a strategic bombing mission. Still, in the early phases of the war, the 88 was a formidable weapon, and its many incarnations made it a continual threat.

Originally designed as a commercial airliner, the FW-200 was the only true long-range bomber available to the Luftwaffe. The airframe was not designed for the rigors of combat and it suffered a high rate of structural failure, especially on landing. But in the role of maritime patrol, the Condor proved very effective, able to locate and shadow allied convoys, and to both vector U-boats to the attack, or to attack on its own with a modest bomb load. Until Allies took aircraft with them, on escort carriers, then the Condor was chased from the skies.

The Bf 110 was a heavy twin-engine fighter, designed for fighter-bomber, bomber-interceptor, and escort fighter missions. Its use as escort fighter during the Battle of Britain was disastrous, because the Bf 110 was too vulnerable in a dogfight with single-engine fighters. Hence the Bf 110 acquired a poor reputation. But it had a good record as interceptor, fighter-bomber and especially as night-fighter. 6100 built.

The bf110-G Night Fighter variant

Yes, its an Me109, captured in France in 1940 and shipped to the UK

First tested in combat during the Spanish Civil War, the 109 outclassed all competition until it met with the Spitfire. Fast, agile, and in later versions powerfully armed, the 109 remained in service throughout the war. Slightly slower than the Spitfire, it had better climb and could turn faster at high speed. In addition, the fuel-injected BMW in-line engine allowed it to perform well in inverted flight and under negative g-loading - conditions under which the carburetted engine of the Spitfire and Hurricane tended to fail. Built under contract in Spain after the war (and ironically powered by the same Rolls-Royce Merlin engine that powered the Spitfire), 109's actually remained in military service into the 1960's.

One of the most versatile and enduring flying boats, the amphibious PBY served in many roles in WW2. Provided to Britain under lend-lease, Catalina's provided valuable service in maritime reconnaissance. They served the same role for the US in both Atlantic and Pacific operations, as well as anti-submarine patrol and even anti-shipping bombing missions. Many remained in service after the war as fire fighting water-bombers. The distinctive "parasol" wing was fabric covered. It was a Catalina flown by the RAF that relocated the Bismarck after she had shaken off her pursuers.

B-15 XB. An older design than the one that led to the B-17 it actually flew two years later, and was at the time the largest aircraft built in the U.S. It was under-powered and only one example was built. There was an attempt to redesign it with more powerful engines as the B-20, but the project was cancelled. The original B-15 was converted to cargo use and was scrapped at the end of the war.

The most famous bomber of the war, the B-17 was conceived on the premise that a bomber with many defensive gun positions could hold attacking fighters at bay, destroy precise targets and thereby cripple an enemy's war production. In practice this proved disastrously untrue. Even when grouped in tight box formations where the guns of many aircraft could defend one another, bomber losses remained terribly high until long-range fighter escorts became available, and precision bombing never achieved the expected results. Still, the B-17 was a rugged, reliable plane, and was actually responsible for destroying more German fighters than any other type of aircraft.

Though less famous than the B-17, the B-24 was actually more numerous and more versatile. It was used for high level precision bombing, low level attack, maritime and anti-submarine patrol, and even transport duties. It was also faster and carried a heavier bomb load than the B-17. Although perhaps best known for the disastrous Ploesti raid, a bungled and costly low altitude attack on important Rumanian oil refineries, the B-24 gave good service throughout the war in both Europe and the Pacific.

The P-40 Kittyhawk or Warhawk (US) was an attempt to upgrade the P-36 "Hawk", and although it was obsolete at the beginning of the war it nevertheless served throughout. Its most famous use was by the American Volunteer Group - the "Flying Tigers", and their shark mouth paint scheme will always be associated with the plane. It was also used extensively by Britain and was the first fighter assigned to the Tuskeegee Airmen. Although its overall performance was not equal to its opponents, the P-40 excelled at diving hit-and-run attacks, and was tough and reliable. The P-40N had a top speed of 360 mph and was armed with 6 .50 cal machine guns.

One of the most unusual and distinctive fighters ever built. The P-38 Lightning went through an extended development as various problems were encountered. To enhance high altitude performance it was fitted with turbo-superchargers. However, these superchargers were issued by the government and never matched the design spec. In addition, on earlier models both the radiator and cockpit heating was inadequate. So at high altitude the engine got too hot and the pilot too cold. Finally, the P-38 was the first fighter fast enough to encounter compressibility problems as it approached mach 1. Hence, in Europe the P-38 was best used in low altitude and ground attack roles. In the Pacific, where the climate was warmer and combat usually limited to low altitude, it was one of the great fighter successes of the war. The P-38J model finally solved both the engine performance and compressibility problems. The J model had a top speed of 400 mph, and was armed with 4 .50 cal. machine guns and 1 20mm cannon and could carry 1500 lbs. of bombs.

The venerable Buffalo is the only aircraft to be used by both Axis and Allied forces during the war. Built by the Brewster company, whose previous expertise was in building railway coaches, the Buffalo had been the USAAF first line fighter in the mid to late 30's. Obsolete even before the beginning of hostilities the Buffalo nevertheless saw action, and even some success, with British forces in Hong Kong, Burma and Malaya, with the US in the defence of the Philippines and Midway and by Finnish forces fighting Russia. Brewster went on to produce Corsairs under license from Chance-Vought.

B-25D-NC Mitchell II (AC# 41-29784). This model was capable of 295 mph with her two Wright Cyclone R-2600 engines, had a normal range of 2000 miles and a crew of five. Bomb load ranged from 2400 to 3200 pounds and the "D" carried five machine guns (some other models carried up to 15 machine guns and some "C" and "G" versions carried a tank buster .75 cannon). By the end of World War II approximately 10,000 B-25's had been manufactured with many being transferred to allied forces.   First available to the Army Air Corps in 1939 and named in honour of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, 676 B-25's were used by the Navy (designated "PBJ Mitchell") beginning in early 1943. Navy versions (pictured above) of the fast, manoeuvrable bomber usually carried radar and depth charges in addition to bombs for anti-submarine warfare. The most memorable connection between the B-25 and the Navy was the Halsey-Doolittle Raid. On April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25's (B-25B) lifted off the deck of the aircraft carrier USS HORNET (CV-8) to attack Tokyo and other Japanese cities. Damage was minimal, but it did provide an early war emotional lift for American morale in addition to impacting enemy strategy.

For the first 20 months of World War II, the Wildcat was the only carrier fighter to oppose the enemy in meaningful numbers. Lacking the speed, manoeuvrability and climb attributes of the Japanese Zero fighter, Wildcat pilots developed tactics to fully utilize their plane's rugged construction, diving speed and heavy armament of four .50 calibre machine guns in the F4F-3's and later FM's, and six guns in the F4F-4's. Research after World War II revealed the Wildcat recorded a 6.9-1 ratio over all enemy aircraft and it had a slight edge over the Zero. Grumman produced the F4F-3's (and F4F-3A's), F4F-4's (folding wings, more armour protection, and four .50 guns) and experimental types while General Motors Eastern Aircraft Division produced nearly 4,500 FM-1's and FM-2's of the 6,037 total. Modified FM's proved to be especially suitable for U.S. Navy escort carriers while both Grumman and General Motors Wildcats found favour and utilization by the British. The fastest Wildcat was capable of speeds up to 332 MPH: maximum range was 900 miles (closer to 700 throughout 1942 and early 1943).

Among the first aircraft to be displayed onboard YORKTOWN (1976) was a TBM Avenger. On 4 June, 1942, six TBF Avengers flew into the Battle of Midway, the first occasion the torpedo bomber was used operationally. Five were lost on that mission, but by the end of World War II, the Avenger proved to be highly successful. Avengers delivered fatal torpedo blows to both Japanese super-battleships (YAMATO and MUSASHI) and the Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier HIYO, in addition to many other enemy ships. With a 2000 pound internal bomb-bay capacity, the TBF/TBM was an effective bomber against land installations and submarines. Developed by the Bethpage, New York, Grumman Aircraft Corporation (TBF designation), wartime expansion required another manufacturer, General Motors, Eastern Aircraft Division (TBM) headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey. Grumman and General Motors produced a total of 9,836 Avengers with some planes serving operationally into 1954. Originally accommodating a pilot, radar operator and gunner, Avengers were capable of a top speed near 270 mph and had a range of approximately 1200 miles. Some versions had up to two forward-firing .50 machine guns, while most carried one dorsal .50 calibre and one ventral .30 calibre machine gun. A large airplane (about 10,500 pounds empty and nearly 18,000 fully loaded), the Avenger was sluggish on the controls, yet an excellent ordnance platform. The engine for the TBM-3E was one 1900 hp Wright R-2600-20.