Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe484 viewsThe Me 262A-1a "Schwalbe" ("Swallow") was the first production model of the Me 262. It was produced with four Mk 108 30mm cannon mounted in the nose, in its role as an interceptor, a role that it performed with great promise. it came into the battle far too late, when the Allied air forces had reached formidable capacity; secondly, its engines were a constant source of trouble, frequently failing after no more than 12 hours; the Me 262A-2a "Sturmvogel" ("Stormbird") was reconfigured to carry two 550lb bombs, still retaining the four cannon. A further refinement, Me 262A-2a/U1 had two of the cannon removed to provide space for a bomb-aiming device, and Me 262A-2/U2 carried a prone bombardier in the nose section. Thus, for much of the aircraft's brief combat life, it was used against the wrong type of targets, with even less effect than if it had been used as an interceptor.
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Heinkel He 115484 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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Avro Manchester473 viewsThe Avro Manchester had a relatively brief service career, from November 1940 to June 1942, largely because of problems associated by the unreliability and eventual lack of power shown by the Rolls-Royce Vulture I engines with which it was fitted. The bomber could, however, maintain height on one engine, and in one case an aircraft flew 600 miles from Berlin to its base in England after having had an engine knocked out by gunfire in addition to other extensive damage. In addition to a 10,350 pound bomb load in cavernous bomb-bay nearly half the length of the fuselage, the armament consisted of eight .303-inch machine-guns: two in the nose, two in a dorsal turret, and four in a turret in the tail.
Though unsuccessful the Avro Manchester design demonstrated sufficient promise to warrant further modification.
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Fieseler Fi 156 Storch460 viewsThe Storch was first flown in 1936. The fabric-covered Storch observation monoplane served the German Forces throughout World War Two wherever the Germans saw combat. With ten times the life expectancy of the Bf 109 fighter, the Storch ("Stork") proved to be a rugged Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) airplane that gained the respect of all its pilots. Over 2,900 Fi 156s were produced. Today, more than 30 Fi 156s and their brethren have survived in Europe and North America, and about 20 are still capable of flying today.
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Focke-Wulf 187460 viewsThis plane was excellent when it appeared, but ignored in favor of the Bf110. The pilots in Norway were enthusiastic about its potential and demanded quantity production, but instead they were ordered to give the planes back to Focke-Wulf because they were only in inofficial use. Some Fw187 were also used in the aerial shooting school in Vaerlose, Denmark.
In the facility defense role, they shot down several aircraft. Remarkable was the great maneuvrability; the Rechlin test pilot Heinrich Beauvais was of the opinion that it circled comparable to the Bf109 and rolled only slightly slower than the Bf109, while spped and range were superior. But the disastrous (but good-looking) Me210 and Me410 design was preferred by the air ministry
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DOUGLAS A-1E SKYRAIDER459 viewsThe history of the Skyraider began during WW II when Douglas submitted a design to the U.S. Navy for the XBT2D-1 as a replacement for the famous SBD dive-bomber. The result was a new airplane designated as the "AD" which made its first flight on March 18, 1945. For the next 12 years there was constant improvement in the airplane up through the AD-7, and 3,180 Skyraiders were delivered to the Navy, many of which were used during the Korean War. In 1963, the U.S. Air Force began a program to modify the AD-5 Skyraider for service in Vietnam and redesignated it the A-1E. Because of its ability to carry large bomb loads, absorb heavy ground fire, and fly for long periods at low altitude, the A-1E was particularly suited for close-support missions.
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Fl282-1451 views
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focke wulf 189451 viewsThe Focke Wulf 189 was a reconnaissance aircraft which served with the Luftwaffe (German Airforce) during World War II. Only 846 were built.
The 189 was used mainly on the Eastern Front and was known both as ‘The Flying Eye’, due to the superb all-round vision afforded by its distinctively glazed fuselage, and as the Uhu (Owl). The 189C was an attempt by Focke Wulf to build a ground attack version of it's successful recon plane.
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fl185446 views
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Focke-Wulf Fw 44445 viewsThe Focke-Wulf Fw 44 was a two-seater biplane known as the Stieglitz (Goldfinch).
It was produced by Focke-Wulf for pilot training and aerobatics. The Luftwaffe used the Fw 44C - the final version - almost universally as a trainer during World War II.
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Messerschmitt Me 163B-1433 viewsAlthough the aircraft's two MK 108 30mm cannons were capable of downing a four-engine bomber with only three or four hits, the Komet's high speed, coupled with the cannons' slow rate of fire and short range made effective gunnery nearly impossible against the slow moving bombers. As a result, Me 163 pilots recorded a total of only nine kills. Although capable of reaching its service ceiling of 12,100 m (39,690 ft) in just under three-and-a-half minutes, the Me 163 carried only enough fuel for eight minutes of powered flight. An improved variant of the aircraft with a greater endurance and a tricycle landing gear, designated the Me 163 C, was also produced in small numbers before the war's end, but was not flown operationally.
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Avro Lincoln424 viewsHeavy bomber developed from the Lancaster, and initially known as the Lancaster B Mk.IV. The Lincoln, bigger and with a longer range, was developed for a British campaign in the far East, but was never used in this role because of the end of WWII. It compared unfavourably with more modern designs like the B-29, but was kept in service until 1963 and saw in combat over Kenya and Malaya. One was shot down on its way to Berlin in 1957.
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