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Airplanes from 1940 to 1949

There are 155 airplanes from 1940 to 1949 in the Military Factory.

Aichi B7A Ryusei (Grace)
The Aichi-produced B7A Ryusei (translated to "Shooting Star" and nicknamed "Grace" by the Allies) was a limited-production torpedo bomber in service with the Empire of Japan during the latter years of World War Two. Unfortuna...

Imperial Japan
1944

Aichi D3A (Val)
The D3A series of aircraft (dubbed "Val" by the Allied forces) were thought to be all but extinct when the war in the Pacific began between the Empire of Japan and the Allies - principally the United States of America. The ru...

Imperial Japan
1940

Aichi E13A (Jake)
Based on number alone, the Aichi production E13A series of floatplanes (dubbed "Jake" by the Allies) was the most important such aircraft type for the Japanese Navy during the Second World War. The system was fielded in quant...

Imperial Japan
1941

Aichi E16A Zuiun (Paul)
The E16A Zuiun (translated into "Auspicious Cloud" and codenamed "Paul" by the Allies) was a dedicated reconnaissance floatplane and part-time dive-bomber for the Empire of Japan in World War Two. The system was an excellent ...

Imperial Japan
1944

Aichi M6A Seiran
This oft-forgotten Aichi design was classified as an attack floatplane that was designed to be carried aboard the Japanese Navy I-400 class submarines. The aircraft was held in water-tight containers until implemented into fl...

Imperial Japan
1945

Amiot 354
The Amiot 354 bomber and reconnaissance platform was a quite capable aircraft when war broke out over France. The system had it's origins based on the unarmed transport mail plane to which further development would produce th...

France
1940

Arado Ar 232 Tausendfussler (Millipede)
The Arado aircraft firm produced one of the more identifiable transport aircraft of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War in the form of the Ar 232. Known unofficially as the "millipede" (or "Tausendfussler") thanks to th...

Nazi Germany
1941

Arado Ar 234 Blitz (Lightning)
The Arado Ar 234 "Blitz" (or "Lightning") was part of the German success with turbojet development in the latter years of World War Two. The system was the world's first purpose-built jet bomber to ever enter service, and did...

Nazi Germany
1944

Arado Ar 240
The Arado Ar 240 was designed to an RLM 1938 response to replace the twin engine, two seat Messerschmitt BF 110 Zerstorer heavy fighter, being made obsolete by the changing face of war. The Arado firm and the Messerschmitt fi...

Nazi Germany
1940

Arado Ar E.340
The Arado-produced Ar E.340 was designed to a German requirement for a twin-engined bomber to replace the aging Junkers Ju 88 and Dornier Do 217's currently in service. The design offered up the potential for multirole capabi...

Nazi Germany
1943

Arado Ar E.381
The Ar E.381-series of prototypes was submitted in 1944 for review by the German Air Ministry. Whilst a plethora of companies (including Messerschmitt and Sombold) were competing to fulfill the role of what was to be dubbed "...

Nazi Germany
1944

Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle
The Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle became one of those aircraft designs that evolved into a role not initially envisioned. The system came from an earlier Bristol-designed reconnaissance aircraft that went to nowhere and was d...

United Kingdom
1941

Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is regarded by many as the best bomber of either side in the Second World War. The system proved quite capable from the outset and was put into production the same year that the prototype had flown. From th...

United Kingdom
1941

Bachem Ba 349 Natter (Viper)
The Bachem Ba 349 Natter (or "Viper") was another of the ingenious - if desperate - German designs in the ultimate defense of Germany against Allied bombers. The Natter design put to use the ever-developing study of rocketry ...

Nazi Germany
1945

Beech AT-10 Wichita
...

United States
1940

Bell P-59 Airacomet
The Bell-produced P-59 Airacomet series is one of those aircraft that becomes more of a study in American jet pioneering than anything else. The aircraft itself was a very average to below average performer, even when compare...

United States
1942

Bell P-63 Kingcobra
The P-63 Kingcobra was developed by the Bell Aircraft Corporation as the ultimate successor to the P-39 Airacobra. Despite the two systems sharing many of the same visual design features, the P-63 Kingcobra is generally regar...

United States
1943

Bell X-1
The Bell X-1 was an advanced technology demonstrator that became the first aircraft in the history of aviation to break the speed of sound. Specifically designed to be airdropped from a B-29 Superfortress, the X-1 would then ...

United States
1947

Blohm & Voss Bv 138
The Blohm and Voss Bv 138 was a German floatplane that saw quantitative production in the Second World War. Initially conceived of as early as 1936, the system would enter service by 1940 and play the most pivotal role of mar...

Nazi Germany
1940

Blohm & Voss Bv 238
The mammoth Blohm & Voss Bv 238 was the next evolution in the Blohm & Voss flying boat series for Germany during World War Two. The system was built as the largest aircraft ever produced by any of the Axis powers and was to p...

Nazi Germany
1944

Boeing B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress status is often relegated to the aircraft that dropped the atomic bombs (“Fat Man” and “Little Boy”) on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end the war in the Pacific for the Allies. The fact that there were in fact ...

United States
1943

Boeing B-47 Stratojet
The swept-wing B-47 produced by Boeing was a milestone in bomber design in many ways. The system pioneered the traditional bomber layout found on many of todays systems and offered up capabilities unheard of before then. As a...

United States
1947

Boeing B-50 Superfortress
Though looking every bit the identical twin of the World War Two-era B-29 Superfortress (also produced by Boeing), the B-50 incorporated enough new elements to deem it an all new aircraft - retaining just 25 percent of the B-...

United States
1947

Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter
A post-war design, Boeing developed the C-97 as the Model 367 - a military transport based on the success of the design of the B-29 Superfortress. The Model 777 Stratocruiser was the civilian transport version of the Model...

United States
1944

Boeing L-15
...

United States
1947

Boeing-Stearman PT-17 Kaydet
When The Boeing Company acquired the Stearman company in 1939, it also acquired the design and production rights to the promising Model 75 series, which itself was flow as the X-70 as early as 1933. The two-seat biplane would...

United States
1941

Bristol Beaufort
The Bristol Beaufort enjoyed a strong run between the war years of 1940-1943 as the primary British torpedo bomber in service. Designed as the successor to the aged biplane Vildebeest design by Vickers, the Beaufort saw succe...

United Kingdom
1940

C-45 Expeditor
...

United States
1941

Caproni-Campini N1 (CC.2)
With the introduction of the N1 (may also be known as the CC.2), Italy became only the second nation in the world to achieve jet-powered flight (Germany being the first), though the development of this particular aircraft did...

Italy
1940

Chance Vought F7U Cutlass
The Chance Vought F7U Cutlass was an interesting aircraft in many ways. For one, the aircraft was the direct result of American research into the jet designs and technologies of the Arado company - the German aircraft firm th...

United States
1949

Consolidated B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator design was generated from the successful airframe of an existing flying boat model (explaining the enlarged fuselage and high-mount wing assembly). The B-24 actually provided better performance...

United States
1941

Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer
The Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer was a further development of the United States Navy's PB4Y-1 anti-submarine warfare aircraft which, itself, was a further variant based on the successful Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber ai...

United States
1943

Convair B-36 Peacemaker
If developed a few years sooner and the B-36 could have very well taken part in the Second World War. The initial designed was put forth from a United States Army Air Corps requirement for a large intercontinental bomber capa...

United States
1947

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk / Kittyhawk / Tomahawk
The P-40 Warhawk / Kittyhawk / Tomahawk series of aircraft was the further development of the P-36 Hawk platform (detailed elsewhere on this site). The Warhawk would become synonymous with the American Volunteer Group fightin...

United States
1941

Curtiss XP-46
The smallish XP-46 was to be the answer for the deficiencies encountered in the P-40 Warhawk platform. Unfortunately for Curtiss, the XP-46 would be doomed by underperformance and sluggish capabilities - essentially dooming t...

United States
1941

Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando
The United States Air Force utilized the C-46 Commando series as their primary transport workhorse in the Pacific Theater of War during the Second World War. The system was initiated to replace the Douglas series of DC-3 tran...

United States
1942

Curtiss-Wright XP-55 Ascender
The XP-55 Ascender was an unorthodox attempt by the Curtiss-Wright company that produced just three prototype models. Answering a United States Army Air Corps call for unconventional aircraft designs, the XP-55 fit the bill w...

United States
1943

Curtiss-Wright XP-87 / XF-87 Nighthawk
The XF-87 was a failed proposal attempted by the Curtiss-Wright aircraft design bureau to meet an Air Force requirement for the world's first dedicated radar interceptor aircraft crewed by two personnel and operating under je...

United States
1948

de Havilland D.H.100 Vampire
The de Havilland-produced jet fighter holds two key distinctions in the history of aviation. Firstly, the system was the first jet-powered aircraft to successfully land on a movie aircraft carrier (the Sea Vampire) and second...

United Kingdom
1946

de Havilland D.H.103 Hornet / Sea Hornet
From the outset, the de Havilland D.H.103 "Hornet" was designed to a British requirement of a twin-engine, long-range fighter-bomber capable of operations in the Far East. With the specification having been drawn up by 1943, ...

United Kingdom
1946

de Havilland D.H.98 Mosquito
Few can find much fault in the de Havilland design of its Mosquito series of nightfighters featured so prominently in the Battle of Britain and throughout the entire World War Two campaigns across Europe. The twin-engine nigh...

United Kingdom
1942

Dornier Do 335 Pfeil (Arrow)
The Dornier Do 335 Pfeil (or "Arrow") was one of the more unique prop-driven designs of the Second World War. Designed and patented by Doctor Claudius Dornier himself as early as 1937, the Do 335 utilized a concept of mountin...

Nazi Germany
1945

Douglas A-1 Skyraider
The mammoth Skyraider series would have been a major player in the Second World War if it were designed and produced a few years earlier than it had. Regardless, the system would prove itself quite a capable close-support air...

United States
1946

Douglas A-20 Havoc / Boston
The A-20 Havoc series of aircraft was designed by the Douglas Aircraft Corporation in the United States and stemmed from the DB-7 sttack bomber series appearing with the first Model 7A's by 1938. Initially, the system was int...

United States
1941

Douglas A-24
The Douglas A-24 dive bomber fit the requirement of the United States Army for a capable dive bomber-type aircraft. After witnessing successes of this type by Germany throughout its European offensives, the US Army convinced ...

United States
1941

Douglas A-26 Invader
The original design of the Douglas-produced A-26 Invader was conceived of in three forms - night fighter, bomber and attack aircraft. The attack aircraft design was selected for production with the United States Army Airforce...

United States
1944

Douglas B-26K Counter Invader / A-26A Nimrod
The B-26K Counter Invader was based on a highly modified World War Two-era A-26 Invader aircraft. What set the Counter Invader apart from it's predecessor was that the Counter Invader was featured without any turret systems, ...

United States
1948

Douglas C-47 Skytrain / Dakota
The C-47 Skytrain was a product of the Douglas Aircraft Company and is regarded as the best transport of World War 2. Interestingly enough, the Skytrain was first born as a civilian passenger airliner in the DC-3 model and be...

United States
1940

Douglas C-54 Skymaster (DC-4)
Derived from the commercial DC-4 airliner, the C-54 Skymaster was a workhorse transport aircraft for both the United States Army and the United States Navy branches of service. Planned as a technologically superior successor ...

United States
1942

English Electric / Martin B-57 Canberra
The British-produced Canberra was originally conceived of as a high-altitude, high-level nuclear-capable medium bomber. The fuselage features would be dominated by a large rounded-wing structure housing two turbojet engines. ...

United Kingdom
1949

Fairchild AC-119 Shadow / Stinger
The AC-119 series was a modified "G" model of the successful C-119 "Flying Boxcar" transport aircraft. The AC-119's would see service throughout the Vietnam War fulfilling a dual-role capability based on model type. "Shado...

United States
1945

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar
Fairchild Corporation produced a winner in the post-war world with the introduction of the C-119 "Flying Boxcar". The Boxcar was derived from the C-82 "Packet" transport - looking ever more like the identical to the final C-1...

United States
1947

Fairey Firefly
The Fairey Firefly was a hugely successful, two-seat, carrierborne fighter aircraft serving with the Royal Fleet Air Arm through the latter half of the Second World War, eventually seeing service up until the mid-1950's. The ...

United Kingdom
1943

Fieseler Fi 103R (Reichenberg)
The Fiseler Fi 103R was, in essence, the piloted form of the successful V-1 rocket that terrorized London citizens throughout the Second World War. The piloted system was to be a type of suicide missile that the pilot could a...

Nazi Germany
1944

Fisher XP-75 / P-75 Eagle
The Fisher XP-75 Eagle was a novel attempt to fulfill the role of fast-climbing interceptor for the United States Army. The system was designed with speed of production in mind and thusly was comprised of elements found on ot...

United States
1943

Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu (Owl)
The Focke-Wulf brand Fw 189 Uhu (translated to "Owl") was of the most peculiar aircraft design for the German Luftwaffe in the Second World War, but by no means made less lethal by it's appearance. The system accounted for a ...

Nazi Germany
1940

Focke-Wulf Ta 152 (Leistungsdaten)
The Focke-Wulf Ta 152 aircraft design was intended for use as a high-altitude interceptor for the German Luftwaffe and appeared in the later years of the war. Now managing a defensive type campaign, German warplanners were lo...

Nazi Germany
1945

Focke-Wulf Ta 154 Moskito (Mosquito)
The Ta 154 Moskito ("Mosquito") was another product of the Focke-Wulf aircraft design firm operating for the Third Reich. The design was classified as a night fighter and appeared most promising until a series of delays and l...

Nazi Germany
1944

Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first jet-powered aircraft to enter operational service for any air force in history. Though the Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe was also under development at the same time, the Meteor actually beat t...

United Kingdom
1944

Grumman F4F Wildcat
The Grumman-produced F4F Wildcat series of aircraft was initially proposed to the United States Navy as a biplane-only design, which would explain the visual appearance of the stout fuselage (originally designed to carry two ...

United States
1940

Grumman F6F Hellcat
The F6F Hellcat continued the feline-inspired naming convention for the Grumman series. Build upon the successes of the F4F design, the superceded all expectations and became the star of the air war in the Pacific Theater. Su...

United States
1943

Grumman F7F Tigercat
The powerful F7F Tigercat continued the cat-named series of fighters by the Grumman company. The F7F was developed during the Second World War but would be cleared for service to late to take part in that conflict, opening th...

United States
1944

Grumman F8F Bearcat
The F8F Bearcat arrive too late in the Second World War to be used but nevertheless enjoyed a long stay aboard many an aircraft carrier across the globe. The F8F Bearcat was designed to meet the United States Navy specificati...

United States
1945

Grumman HU-16 Albatross
The Grumman HU-16 Albatross platform made appearances all across the globe with United States military forces, rescuing downed US airmen in need. The system was an amphibious platform, allowing for operation from land and / o...

United States
1949

Grumman TBF Avenger
The TBF Avenger became a classic warfighter thanks to its resilience in the ongoing battle over the Pacific in the Second World War. Able to deliver payloads of torpedoes, drop bombs and rockets, the system was also capable (...

United States
1941

Handley Page Halifax
While the Lancaster Heavy Bomber will always be more identifiable in terms of the British night bombing campaigns of World War Two, the Handley Page Halifax series of bombers should be remembered as being just as equally impo...

United Kingdom
1940

Hawker Sea Hurricane
The Hawker Sea Hurricane appeared in 1941 in an effort to protect British merchant ships from German naval attacks. Basically modified versions of the successful Hawker land-based Hurricane fighters, Sea Hurricanes were at fi...

United Kingdom
1941

Hawker Tempest
The Hawker Tempest series was an attempt to improve upon the deficiencies in performance that resulted in the Hawker Typhoon design. The aircraft featured some visual similarities to its predecessor but was designed with a lo...

United Kingdom
1944

Hawker Typhoon
The uniquely designed Hawker Typhoon never lived up to expectations as a top-of-the-line interceptor it was intended to be. A host of powerplant, production and structural problems nearly doomed the weapon system to be withdr...

United Kingdom
1941

Heinkel He 111 Z (Zwilling)
The He 111 Z (or "Zwilling") was an interesting, albeit bizarre, joining of two He 111 medium bombers (detailed elsewhere on this site). In an attempt to bring together existing designs to produce a large transport capable of...

Nazi Germany
1942

Heinkel He 162 Volksjager (Peoples Fighter)
The He 162 Volksjager (the "People's Fighter") was developed as a quick solution to stem the tide of the major Allied advances witnessed by German forces in the latter years of the war. The plan was to produce these inexpensi...

Nazi Germany
1945

Heinkel He 177 Greif (Griffin)
The Heinkel He 177 Greif (or "Griffin") was a bomber produced in limited numbers for the German Luftwaffe. By any standard, the aircraft should have made more of an impact on the war for Germany's sake but structural flaws an...

Nazi Germany
1942

Heinkel He 219 Uhu (Eagle-Owl)
The Heinkel He 219 Uhu (meaning "Eagle-Owl") was designed in response to a German need for a dedicated nightfighter type to thwart the advances being made the British nighttime bombing raids on German interests. The He 219 wa...

Nazi Germany
1943

Heinkel He 280
Though never produced in any operational format, the Heinkel He 280 series was the world's first turbojet fighter aircraft designed from the start as a fighter. German scientists were on the cutting edge of turbojet developme...

Nazi Germany
1941

Henschel Hs 129
The Henschel Hs 129 fighter-bomber was built to a 1937 German specification for a twin-engine close-support aircraft with considerable armor protection for pilot and crew and the ability to field twin 20mm cannons at least. T...

Nazi Germany
1942

Henschel Hs 132
The Henschel Hs 132 was another of the ambitious German jet-powered designs under development in the closing years of the Second World War. Developed in response to the mounting losses inherent with the plodding - yet still d...

Nazi Germany
1945

Horton Ho IX (Gotha Go 229)
The Gotha 229 was a unique project undertaken by German engineers through and up to the end of the Second World War. The system, should it have reached operational status, would have been the first combat-ready flying wing of...

Nazi Germany
1945

Hughes H-4 Hercules
The famed Hercules aircraft produced and flown only one time by Howard Hughes himself. It was commonly known as the 'Spruce Goose' and termed a failure in the eyes of most but not Mr. Hughes. The idea behind the craft was to ...

United States
1945

Hughes XF-11
Though only achieving prototype form, the XF-11 was one of the darling designs of famed American aviator Howard Hughes. Looking very much like an oversized Lockheed P-38, the twin-boom XF-11 was designed to fulfill a United S...

United States
1946

Ilyushin IL-10
The Ilyushin IL-10 was a follow-up design to the classic IL-2 "Shturmovik", an armored ground attack aircraft that won the air war for the Soviets in the East Front of World War 2. Visually similar to its predecessor, the new...

Soviet Union
1944

Ilyushin IL-2 Sturmovik
The Il-2 Sturmovik (or "Shturmovik") was designed as a low-level close-support aircraft capable of defeating enemy armor and other ground targets. Hardly the fighter, the system was exclusively engineered to take an enormous ...

Soviet Union
1941

Ilyushin IL-28 (Beagle)
The Ilyushin IL-28 (codenamed "Beagle" by NATO) holds many distinctions in the annals of aviation history - some combat related and others more political. The IL-28 became the first jet-powered bomber in service with the Sovi...

Soviet Union
1949

Junkers Ju 188 Racher (Avenger)
When the new Junkers Ju 288 - a design meant to replace the Junkers Ju 88 series of bombers - ran into developmental issues with its engines, Junkers set about producing an in-between utilizing the Ju 88's airframe. The Ju 88...

Nazi Germany
1943

Junkers Ju 287
The Junkers Ju 287 was arguably the most unique design of all of the German jet-powered projects in development during and up until the end of World War Two. The system was designed as a high-speed heavy bomber which strayed ...

Nazi Germany
1944

Junkers Ju 390 (New York Bomber)
The Junkers Ju 390 long range heavy bomber aircraft design was intended to be able to strike at locations along the east coast of the United States of America. The Ju 390 itself was a further development of the Junkers Ju 290...

Nazi Germany
1943

Kawanishi N1K-J Shiden (George)
Despite some early setbacks in design, the Kawanishi N1K1-J "Shiden" (or "violet lightning" - codenamed "George" by the Allies), was an exemplary fighter that was capable of going head-to-head with even the fabled American F6...

Imperial Japan
1943

Kawasaki Ki-100
Despite being produced in severely limited numbers (thanks in large part to the Allied bombing campaigns in the Pacific), the Kawasaki Ki-100 is often regarded as one of the best Japanese production fighters available in the ...

Imperial Japan
1945

Kawasaki Ki-45 KAIc Toryu (Nick)
Despite serving in limited numbers, fielded with no search-finding radar and appearing as the only Imperial Japanese Army night-fighter of the Second World War, the Kawasaki-brand Ki-45 KAIc night-fighter platform proved a su...

Imperial Japan
1944

Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu (Nick)
By 1937, interest in a twin-engine fighter had peaked for the Imperial Japanese Army so much so that a requirement was put forth for the nation's first. Kawasaki entered into the fray successfully and presented the Ki-45 seri...

Imperial Japan
1942

Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (Tony)
The Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (meaning "swallow" and codenamed "Tony" by the Allies) was another of the oft-forgotten yet impressive Japanese-brand fighter designs of the Second World War, joining the equally impressive Kawanishi N...

Imperial Japan
1943

Lavochkin La-5
Design of the Lavochkin La-5 series of low-to-medium altitude fighters was spurred on by a need for equipment capable of matching or exceeding anything the German Luftwaffe was fielding. Initially caught by surprise by the Ge...

Soviet Union
1940

Lavochkin La-9 (Fritz)
The Lavochkin La-9 series (codename “Fritz” by NATO) was a direct development of the Lavochkin La-126 prototype. In essence, the La-9 represented the La-7 but with all-metal construction as opposed to wood used in the with mo...

Soviet Union
1946

Lavochkin LaGG-3
The LaGG-3 piston-engine pursuit fighter (the LaGG in the designation coming from "Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov") was one of the earlier successes of modern aircraft design for the Soviet Union in World War 2. Basically an impr...

Soviet Union
1940

Lockheed C-69 Constellation
The Lockheed Constellation series of aircraft was a successful design that initially began as a militarized transport, appearing in limited numbers towards the end of World War two, that gained more fame in the civilian trans...

United States
1945

Lockheed F-80 / P-80 Shooting Star
The Shooting Star was a Lockheed creation initially started as early as 1941. As with other jet designs of this type, many early models suffered from the lack of capable powerplants and thus the Shooting Star program was shel...

United States
1945

Lockheed P2V Neptune
The P2V