Before World War 2 took place in Europe, the most dominant arsenal that a country could ever have was a mighty battleship guarding at their sea borders. However, this previous norm shifted when Nazi Germany, without a single battleship, introduced different battle tactics that proved to be effective against other countries. At the dawn of World War 2, Hitler shocked the world with his blinding speed battle schemes and superior air dominance that no man had seen before.
World War 2 started in 1939, and it ended in 1945. This global event involved many countries, with Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States as significant war players. The war enormously contributed to the development of military technologies, especially in airplane fighters and bombers, which forever changed the manner of conducting war.
Many countries involved in the war contributed to the massive production of fighter and bomber planes, including the iconic Italian world war 2 airplanes. These are the famous warplanes in World War 2 that played an essential role in gaining air supremacy or technological development.
Messerschmitt Bf109 (Germany)
At the dawn of World War 2, the German Air Force, known as Luftwaffe, primarily used the Messerschmitt Bf109 airplanes to raid and conquer European countries. It was the best aircraft fighter plane of that time to successfully start and complete a blitzkrieg attack on a particular country. France, Netherlands, and Belgium were the first countries to taste the fury of the Messerschmitt.
From 1939 until the following year, Nazi Germany proved to the world that they could dominate the skies and the world using these Bf109s that no other arsenal at that time could match. This was true until the Battle of Britain took place in 1940.
Supermarine Spitfire (United Kingdom)
The Royal Air Force or the RAF have long developed a warplane they called Spitfire. These warplanes were already built before World War 2 and proved superior against Luftwaffe’s Messerschmitts during the Battle of Britain. Spitfires are the British champion warplanes and are considered the most famous and best fighter plane throughout the war.
RAF further developed their Spitfire and built the latest versions to match the new warplanes of Germany and the Axis forces. The last version of the Spitfire plane built during the World War 2 is the Supermarine Spitfire IX.
Focke Wulf 190 (Germany)
After the defeat of the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain in 1940, Nazi Germany developed a counter weapon against the United Kingdom’s Spitfire planes. This counter weapon is called the Focke Wulf 190. It is specifically designed to outperform and counter the British Spitfire in the battle of air dominance.
Focke Wulf 190 warplanes are used as fighters, fighter-bombers, torpedo bombers, and ground attack interceptors. Its wide range of capabilities in the skies made the Luftwaffe regain its air dominance until the Super Allied Forces came in tremendously large numbers.
P-51 Mustang (United States)
When World War 2 started in 1939, the United States did not participate in the war. They consistently rejected invitations to join the Allied Forces to end the war in Europe. This was true until the Japanese Air Force raided and bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The vital US military and naval base set in Pearl Harbor were damaged, including the casualties and deaths of US soldiers. This event provoked the United States to join the Allied Forces in Europe and fight back against the Japanese Imperial Army.
During that time, the main warplane of the United States was the P-51 Mustang that was initially flown by British pilots following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. And in 1942, P-51 was primarily used as a fighting plane and escorting bombers until they reached their destination. It can get a maximum speed of more than four hundred miles an hour and was mounted with long-range machine guns capable of escorting Allied air forces and protecting vulnerable bomber formations.
Boeing B-29 Superfortress (United States)
When World War 2 was already at its peak, the United States was forming a plan to end the entire war. They built a warplane that could fly in higher altitudes than any ordinary fighter plane could reach at that time. This is to slow the detection rate from enemy transmissions and warplanes while the US warplane is positioning to the site for a massive bombing attack. This US warplane is called the Boeing B-29 Superfortress.
This famous US bomber plane is the same warplane used to drop the atomic bomb in Japan that finally ended World War 2. The B-29 Superfortress that dropped the atomic bomb in Hiroshima is called Enola Gay, while the one that dropped the bomb in Nagasaki is called Bockscar.