Brief overview of the Soviet Union’s role in World War 2 In the year 1923 the Soviet air force came properly into existence. While the Soviet Union had air squadrons before this, and while each squadron would remain under the authority of its local ground commander, all air units began reporting to … Read more
World War II was undeniably the most noteworthy military event of the last century. It was fought on all fronts, but the most prominent role was played by the aircraft used by various countries. It was the era that saw fast-paced innovation in aviation technology. It also produced some of the best … Read more
For hundreds of generations past, skeptics such as Lord Kelvin infamously declared that heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible. However, the aviation industry has long since soared from when it first took off in 1903, when brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright first demonstrated an airplane capable of powered flight. The aviation industry, encompassing … Read more
When the first sample of the TB-3, a low wing, four engine heavy bombers made its maiden flight in the morning of December 22nd 1930, it became the most advanced piece of machinery ever to grace the skies. The USSR’s Red Air Force was so impressed with the aircraft’s handling ability and … Read more
The North American P-51 Mustang is a legendary plane, as much as the Spitfire or the Bf-109. No other combat aircraft of the war could go as far and fly as high as the Mustang. No wonder it was used to escort bombers over Germany and clear the skies of Luftwaffe airplanes. … Read more
The Mitsubishi J2M Raiden or Thunderbolt was designed like no other fighter before it. It emphasized speed, climb and raw firepower. The J2M was designed specifically to bring down huge and heavily armoured American strategic bombers. In 1939 the Japanese Navy put together specs for a high altitude interceptor. The most important of the navy’s specifications … Read more
Fitted with small wing structures and a fuselage just big enough to house the powerful Daimler Benz-601 ARJ engine, the Messerschmitt 209 was a pure speed machine. From its conception back in 1935, the 209 was design mainly for one thing: speed. Designed as a replacement for the venereal Bf-109, the 209 … Read more
The Me 262 was literally years ahead of fighters of other nations. That’s what the Allied engineers concluded after the war, when Me 264 units captured in Germany were brought back in their home countries. Studying the airframe and engines of this one-of-a-kind aircraft, the American, Russian and British experts developed more … Read more
The Kawanishi H8K was conceived as a replacement for the Japanese Navy venerable and obsolete H6K maritime reconnaissance and bombing platform. The H6K was the only standardized flying boat in operations when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941. But it would be only a matter of time before a new, more … Read more
The Ju 88 certainly was the most versatile aircraft of the Luftwaffe. Apart from the British Mosquito, no other airplane in history has been subject to so many versions and purposes. Though it made its maiden flight in 1936, it entered service in 1939, and it wasn’t shipped to the front lines … Read more
IAR-80 was the most famous Romanian fighter aircraft during the World War II. The Romanian IAR-80 fighter aircraft project was initiated in 1937, as a private venture, at the aircraft factory in Brasov IAR (Industria Aeronautica Romana). The first prototype was manufactured in spring 1938 and performed the maiden flight in 1939. … Read more
Sort of a “super” Typhoon, the Hawker Tempest had unbelievable technical qualities for a World War 2 airplane. Starting in 1944, it became what was probably the best British propeller fighter aircraft of the war. Thanks to its capacities, the Tempest was responsible for the loss of twenty German Me 262 (the … Read more
The Go 229 jet aircraft was the first operational flying wing airplane equipped with jet engines. In the history of aviation, it deserves a special place, along with the Me 262 and the Me 163. But the Go 229 is certainly the one that looked the more out-of-this-world. The German started researching … Read more
The Boulton Paul’s Defiant Mark II has the distinction of being the Royal Air Force (RAF) first four gun fighter. When the Defiant entered front line service in 1937, it was a very different fighting machine. A complete departure from the early 1930s fighter designs. First, all four of its heavy machine … Read more