FIAT CR 42 falco512 viewsThe last of the biplane fighters, the Falco flew for the first time on 23 May 1938. It served on most fronts, first as a fighter, and quickly changed to ground support due to the inability of the aircraft to tackle modern allied aircraft. The Fiat CR42 was considered the most agile biplane fighter of WWII, and was certainly a hard target to hit, for the more modern but less maneuverable monoplanes. The Falco was lightly armed, as most of the fighters of it's time were, with 2 12.7mm Breda-SAFAT and still now holds the record of the fastest biplane (439 km/h) in WWII. At the time of El Alamein it was used as ground attack plane. The Falco finished its carreer as a night fighter defending Northern Italy.It was very nice to fly and very manouvrable, with a good pilot could even face the first series Hurricanes.
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macchi-m5494 views
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SavoiaMarchettiS-56B494 views
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g55-02486 views
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Hurricane MKI485 views The new Mk.I included a deHaviland or Rotol constant-speed metal propeller, ejector exhaust stacks for added thrust, metal-covered wings, armour and other changes. At the start of the war the RAF had taken on about 500 of this later design, and it formed the backbone of the fighter squadrons during the Battle of France and into the Battle of Britain.
Although it may have been an older design, the Hurricane was still a worthy fighter on its own and a reasonable match for the Messerschmitt Bf 109 it faced. In the photo The first production Hurricane Mk.I at [[Brooklands]], November 1937.
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fiat g56483 views
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FIAT CR 32482 viewsEasily recognizable by its annular radiator and its closely cooled engine ,The C.R.32 "Freccia"(Arrow), was an excellent biplane fighter, being robust and fast. The C.R.32 was a single seat biplane fighter.The armament consisted of two 7.7mm Breda Safat machine guns (upgraded at 2 12.7 on later version) mounted on the side of the cooling radiator. Designed by Italian engineer Celestino Rosatelli, after first flew (in 1933),was built above in 1300 planes (including Spanish licensed production). In 1940, 300 planes were still in 1st line service.
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Heinkel He 115479 viewsThe He 115, constructed as a twin engine plane was very effective in it's role as mine-layer and torpedo-bomber (first flight in 1936).
In 1940 the He 115B saw service as a mine-layer, carrying a single magnetic mine of 920 kg. Airplanes of Küstenfliegergruppe 106 und 406 flew on a regularly basis mining missions at the east and south coast of Great Britain. At the end of 1940 the He 115 C appeared with heavy armament; a subversion had improved skids for landings on ice and iced snow. The C-4 was a version specialised for torpedo-attacks, which was used several times against the north-cape convoys.
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Dornier 335478 viewsAs the Second World War in Europe drew to a close, a powerful new twin- engined fighter was preparing to enter service with the Luftwaffe. This amazing machine was the piston-engined Dornier Do 335. Fitted with Daimler-Benz DB603A-2 engines delivering 1750 hp at take-off, the first example, Do 335 V1 (CP+UA), flew for the first time on 26 October 1943 from Mengen, Wurttemburg, with Flugkapitan Hans Dieterle at the controls. When the US Army overran the Oberpfaffenhofen factory in late April 1945, only 11 Do 335A-1 single seat fighter-bombers and two Do 335A-12 conversion trainers had been completed. A further nine A-1's, four A-4's and two A- 12's were in final assembly, and components and assemblies for nearly 70 more had been completed. Heinkel at Vienna had been unable to build any Do 335A-6 night fighters.
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Heinkel He 70477 viewsThe Heinkel He 70 was an aircraft designed as a fast mailplane, inspired by the Lockheed Orion. Its streamlining inspired many other designs. Although useful, it had a relatively brief commercial career, before it was replaced by types which could carry more passengers. As a combat aircraft it was a not a great success, because it rapidly became outdated.
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Heinkel He 100477 viewsDisappointed by the loss of the Luftwaffe's fighter orders to BFW and it's Bf 109 and the failure of the He 112, Heinkel set out to build a lighter and faster fighter that was also cheaper and easier to build. Even though the He 100 broke several world speed records, the RLM was solidly supportive of the Bf 109 and failed to order the He 100 into production. Six prototypes were eventually sold to the Soviet Union and three He 100D-0 went to Japan. The three He 100D-0's being armed with two MG 17 and a 20mm MG/FF. The remaining 12 He 100D-1 fighters were used to form a Heinkel-Rostock factory defense unit
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Heinkel He 72475 viewsThe Kadett was introduced in the Luftwaffe in 1933, when the latter was not yet official. It remained one of the most wideley used German primary trainers until 1944. Although it lacked power, it was a pleasant plane to fly and quite comparable to the British Tiger Moth.
Almost all Kadett were He 72B, of which the prodcution took place from 1934 until 1936. After that, only models with a limited number of examples remained in production (He 72BW, He 72B-3). A single example was tested by the Japanese Navy as the "KXHe1"
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