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Military Fighter Airplanes of the World

There are 121 dedicated Fighter Airplanes in the Military Factory.

AEG C.IV
The AEG C-series of fighter-bomber was a development of Allgemeine Elektritzitats Gesellschaft and was a principle aircraft available to Imperial Germany during the First World War. Seeing action on all fronts, the system was...

Imperial Germany
1916

Airco DH.2
Though not much to look at by today's fighter aircraft standards - let alone World War One-era aircraft standards, the Airco-produced DH.2 would prove to be a rugged and reliable platform. The DH.2 was the product of on Geoff...

United Kingdom
1916

Airco DH.5
With the view afforded the pilots of the DH.2, famed aircraft designer Geoffrey de Havilland set out to create a similar, yet more than capable in terms of performance, off-shoot in the form of the DH.5. The end result would ...

United Kingdom
1917

Albatros D.I
The Albatros series of aircraft is a good study in how aircraft design evolved throughout World War One. The "D" series saw no fewer than five in the D.I, D.II, D.III, D.V and ultimately the D.Va. Such was the newfound weapon...

Imperial Germany
1916

Albatros D.II
The Albatros D.II became a further development of the successful Albatros D.I series. The D.I was instrumental in winning back air superiority to the side of the Germans, with their powerful engines and dual-synchronized mach...

Imperial Germany
1916

Albatros D.III
Like most of the documented fighters in the First World War, the Albatros D series saw many minor, but fundamentally substantial, changes that require the aircraft to achieve new series designations. With the ever changing ti...

Imperial Germany
1917

Albatros D.V
The Albatros D.V series is often regarded as the best of th bunch in regards to the preceding D.I, D.II and the D.III models. By the latter years of 1917, the improved D.III was already showing signs that it had become outcla...

Imperial Germany
1917

Albatros D.Va
The Albatros D.Va was a further development in the “D” series and a continuation of the successful D.V series. As with all of the preceding Albatros D models, the D.Va featured only minor improvements in the hopes that the ai...

Imperial Germany
1917

Ansaldo A 1 Balilla (Hunter)
The Ansaldo A 1 Balilla ("Hunter") was the first aircraft fighter design of Italian origins. Italian forces consistently used French-designed aircraft in the early years of the war, leading the Ansaldo Italian firm to create ...

Italy
1918

Arado Ar 68
The Arado-production of the Ar 68 signaled a stepping stone for fighter design in the German Luftwaffe. With the air force branch still held in secret from the rest of the world, the Luftwaffe quietly set about building up th...

Nazi Germany
1934

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 Siskin
The origination of the Armstrong Whitworth Siskin series of aircraft can be traced back to a post-World War One aircraft design designated as the Siddeley Deasy S.R. Siskin. Initially composed mainly of wood (common for aircr...

United Kingdom
1924

Avia B.534
The Czechoslovakian Avia B.534 series of biplane was a highly regarded though often forgotten product of the European nation. Some reports make it the best aircraft of its category during its early run through the 1930s. Such...

Czechoslovakia
1934

Avions Fairey Fox
Avions Fairey was set up in Belgium as an offshoot of the Fairey Aviation Company of Britain. The production facility was initially created for the local production of the Fairey Firefly, to which the facilities were later us...

Belgium
1933

BAC / English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning was a unique design in almost every facet of its engineering. The system featured a twin-engine design, though the engines sat one on top of the other, increasing the aircrafts overall height an...

United Kingdom
1960

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

Bell P-39 Airacobra
The P-39 Airacobra was the product of the Bell Aircraft Corporation and went on to see more action in the hands of Soviet pilots via the Lend-Lease Act, to which no fewer than 5,000 were shipped and / or locally produced. The...

United States
1938

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

Boeing F4B
The Boeing-produced F4B series of aircraft was produced in large quantities for the United States Army and the United States Navy (as the P-12). The aircraft was of simple biplane design with open cockpit, a static undercarri...

United States
1929

Boeing P-26 Peashooter
The P-26 became the first all-metal fighter design for the United States. Appearing similar to the later "Gee Bee" series of racers, the P-26 replaced the P-12 to which the newer P-26 outclassed in nearly every way. The P-...

United States
1932

Boeing PW-9
The Boeing PW-9 series was based on the Model 15 aircraft. When evaluated by the US Army, the system was found to be quite the aircraft and ordered into a developmental stage with the XPW-9 series (a total of three were produ...

United States
1924

Breguet Bre.14
French aviation design triumphed with the arrival of the Breguet Bre.14 series (sometimes written as Breguet Br.XIV). The aircraft proved to be of the utmost reliability and lethality upon entering the war front in 1916 and w...

France
1917

Brewster F2A Buffalo
The stubby F2A Buffalo series became the United States Navy's first operational aircraft of monoplane design. Despite this honor, the system as a whole failed to live up to expectations set forth by technology and combat tact...

United States
1937

Bristol Bulldog II
The Bristol Bulldog series of biplane aircraft were developed in the interwar years leading up to World War Two, to which then they were replaced by Gloster Gauntlets. The Bulldog ushered in several technological revolutions ...

United Kingdom
1927

Bristol F.2B
The Bristol F.2B fighter series was eventually the undoing of German air superiority in the First World War. Designed by Captain Frank Barnwell, the system was purposely engineered around the offensive and defensive armaments...

United Kingdom
1916

Bristol Scout
The Bristol Scout is a good World War One aircraft study in the "what might have been" category. Born from the pedigree of a racing plane, the Bristol Scout was used in the beginning of the war as an unarmed flying scout, uti...

United Kingdom
1914

Curtiss F6C HAWK
The Curtiss F6C Hawk series of aircraft was in fact the US Navy/Marine model of the US Army's P-1 Hawk series. The US Navy found the P-1 attractive enough to begin fielding it as a carrier-based aircraft whilst the US Marines...

United States
1924

Curtiss P-36 Hawk / Mohawk
The P-36 Hawk aircraft produced by Curtiss was a widely accepted and operated weapon system. From its initial appearance once can see the influence that the P-36 had in the design of the P-40 Warhawk of "Flying Tigers" fame. ...

United States
1935

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 P-6 Hawk
Originally based on the existing P-1B series of aircraft, the P-6 Hawk series was a first-line pursuit aircraft for the United States in the early 1930s. The Hawk became the last of the fighter biplanes built in quantity for...

United States
1929

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 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

Dassault Mirage IIIV
The Mirage IIIV was designed to a NATO requirement for a supersonic VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) fighter aircraft. The Mirage IIIV was a further development of the successful Mirage III fighter series but featured a s...

France
1965

Dassault Mystere / Super Mystere
The Dassault-produced Mystere series of turbojet aircraft appeared just when the French nation was in the rebuilding stages following World War Two. The owner of Dassault, himself a captive of one of the many German concentra...

France
1955

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

Dewoitine D.500
The D.500 series, as a whole, was merely a stop-gap design for France - bridging a gap between two eras of aviation resulting from post-World War One design and preceeding World War, commonly known as the interwar years. The ...

France
1936

Dewoitine D.520
The Dewoitine D.520 was a single seat piston-engine fighter designed and built for the French Air Force. Developed from lessons learned in their ill-fated D.513 design, Dewoitine produced a fighter of sleek design and accepta...

France
1939

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

F5D Skylancer
...

United States

Fiat CR 32 Falco (Falcon)
Arguably the best biplane fighter of Italian design before the start of the Second World War. The plane was also built for export for Spain and Sweden air defence. The Fiat CR.32 saw air combat service with Spain in the S...

Italy
1938

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

Focke-Wulf Fw 187 Falke (Falcon)
Despite demonstrating some impressive performance statistics from underpowered engines, the Focke-Wulf product Fw 187 Falke (or "Falcon") never materialized into a production quantity models. Similar in design and reach to th...

Nazi Germany
1937

Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf (pronounce "fakka-wulf") Fw 190 single-seat fighter is held by some to be the best German piston fighter of the Second World War - and with good reason as the weapon system accounted for hundreds of Allied bom...

Nazi Germany
1939

Fokker D.VII
The Fokker Dr.VII is now regarded as the best German fighter of the First World War. This biplane design entered development and production towards the end of the war but aircrews still managed some very impressive kill-to-lo...

Imperial Germany
1918

Fokker Dr.I (Dreidecker)
The Fokker Dr.I Triplane series will forever be associated to the famed German ace Manfred Von Richthofen (aka "the Red Baron"). Richthofen prefered the triplane design over contemporary ones in the end of his career for the ...

Imperial Germany
1917

Fokker E (Eindecker)
As with most aircraft developed during the First World War, the Eindecker series enjoyed a relatively short amount of time in terms of helping to gain air superiority for the German cause. Aviation technology was an ever chan...

Imperial Germany
1915

Gloster Javelin
The Gloster Javelin was the first twin-engine delta-wing jet fighter design to take up service with any one air force. The system would also become the United Kingdoms first all-weather day or night fighter and the very final...

United Kingdom
1956

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

Hawker Fury (I & II)
The Hawker Fury was the mainstay of Britain air defense throughout the 1930's until being replaced by the Gloster Gladiators. The Fury's design was in all actuality, a stop-gap design while the Hawker Hurricane was being desi...

United Kingdom
1931

Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane was indeed the true star of Britain's march against the Third Reich. Often overshadowed by the sleeker and sexier Supermarine Spitfire, the Hurricane system evolved from the Hawker "Fury Monoplane" as it ...

United Kingdom
1937

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 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

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 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 P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning (often called the "Fork-Tailed Devil" from the German perspective) was the brainchild of aviation engineer Kelly Johnson. The name "Lightning" itself is believed to be derived from the designation ...

United States
1939

Lockheed XP-49
The XP-49 was a development of the Lockheed Corporation and a possible replacement for its successful line of P-38 Lightning aircraft. The XP-49 was to be a high-altitude performer with the capabilities of a well-designed fig...

United States
1942

Macchi MC.200 Saetta (Lightning)
The Macchi M.C.200 Saetta (or "Lightning") was the main production fighter in the Italian military when Italy entered the Second World War. Overall, a most basic of fighter designs, armed with 2 x 12.7mm machine guns and dece...

Italy
1938

McDonnell Douglas / Boeing F-15 Eagle
For a time, the F-15 Eagle series was the pinnacle of American air superiority incorporating technolgy and design that produced a highly manuervable and performanced enhanced multi-role fighter platform. The F-15 was designed...

United States
1974

McDonnell F-101 Voodoo
The F-101 Voodoo (affectionately known to its pilots as the "One-oh-One Wonder" for its performance capabilities) was a well respected weapons platform designed in the 1950's. The twin-engine, single or two-seat fighter was a...

United States
1957

McDonnell F2H Banshee
The twin-engine, single-seat F2H Banshee was based on the successes that the McDonnell company found with the F1H Phantom series of jet aircraft. Even appearing similar to the aforementioned craft, the F2H Banshee was in fact...

United States
1947

McDonnell F3H Demon
The F3H Demon series of aircraft produced by McDonnell Aircraft was a further development of the company's expertise with carrier-based turbojet-powered aircraft. Ever since the arrival of the Japanese "Zero" to the war front...

United States
1953

McDonnell XF-85 Goblin
The XF-85 Goblin was an attempt by the McDonnell bureau to realize the dream of a "parasite fighter" program that was actually feasible for use in a wartime environment. The basic theory revolving the parasite fighter was not...

United States
1948

McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo
World War 2 proved to American warplanners that the importance of escort fighters for their bombers could not be overstated. The value added by such systems as the P-51 Mustang, P-47 Thunderbolt and P-38 Lightning systems was...

United States
1948

McDonnell XP-67 Bat / Moonbat
The XP-67 was the first attempt by the McDonnell corporation to build a fighter for the United States Military. The same corporation would go on to built the superb F-4 Phantom II, F-15 Eagle and F-18 Hornet air superiority a...

United States
1943

Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was the quintessential fighter for the Third Reich throughout the Second World War. Clandestine German involvement in the Spanish Civil War allowed Bf 109 pilots to develop tactics and responses that ...

Nazi Germany
1935

Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstorer (Destroyer)
The twin-engine Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstorer (or "Destroyer" or even "Heavy Fighter" in some sources) was initially designed to meet a German specification for a "high-speed bomber and heavy fighter". The result was the les...

Nazi Germany
1939

Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet (Comet)
The Me 163 Komet was perhaps the most unique aircraft design of the Second World War. German scientists, always on the cutting edge of evolving war technology, developed a rocket-powered aircraft based on testing completed wi...

Nazi Germany
1944

Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (Swallow)
The Me 262 Schwalbe (or "Swallow") is a good case study in the "what if" category centering around poor production design and the bureaucracy inherent in a dictatorship like that of the Third Reich. With the unrealized capabi...

Nazi Germany
1944

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 / MiG-3
Despite being one of the fastest Soviet piston-engine designs in the early years of the war, the MiG-3 was dogged by less-than-stellar handling characteristics and was genuinely still outclassed by German counterparts in the ...

Soviet Union
1941

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (Fagot)
The MiG-15 was the successful result of captured German research into turbojet and swept wing fighter designs at the end of World War Two. Couple that with the fact that the Soviet Union produced an illegal copy of the succes...

Soviet Union
1947

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (Fresco) / Chengdu J-5
As impressive as the later versions of the MiG-15 fighter were (detailed elsewhere on this site), the MiG-17 "Fresco" was a vastly improved development based on lessons learned in the formers design. With the MiG-15 represent...

Soviet Union
1951

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (Farmer)
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 "Farmer" was an entirely new aircraft design though it shared many external similarities with the existing MiG-15 and MiG-17 models. Building upon lessons learned on those former designs, the MiG-1...

Soviet Union
1953

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (Fishbed)
In many ways, the MiG-21 stands as the pinnacle of the Mikoyan-Gurevich's development in terms of a frontline turbojet fighter. The system became a bridge that connected the post-World War Two jet designs with that of the hig...

Soviet Union
1956

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (Flogger)
Original models designed to replace the short-range yet successful MiG-21 Fishbed were accepted and reviewed by the Soviet military powers. One such version was actually an enlarged model of the base MiG-21 whilst the other w...

Soviet Union
1973

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-9 (Fargo)
The MiG-9 (NATO codename of "Fargo") was only the second attempt by the Soviet Union at designing and producing a viable jet-powered fighter platform. Design was undertaken by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Bureau and - though hardly a...

Soviet Union
1946

Nakajima Ki-27 (Nate / Abdul)
The Nakajima Ki-27 "Nate" (known early on as "Abdul") was a successful low-monoplane, all-metal with stressed skin fighter design employed by the Empire of Japan throughout the Second World War. Initially conceived of as a pr...

Imperial Japan
1937

Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Frank)
Out of the many fine fighters available to the Japanese Army in the closing months of World War 2, none were of greater import than the arrival of the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (meaning "gale" and known as "Frank" to the Allies. ...

Imperial Japan
1944

Nieuport 11 (Bebe)
The Nieuport (or "Bebe" translated to "Baby") was in some regards the first true Allied fighter of the First World War. Made of a militarized biplane design based on the famous "Bebe" racer aircraft, the Nieuport series as a ...

France
1915

Nieuport 17
The Nieuport 17series of aircraft was the weapon of choice for World War One aces such as Rene Fonck, Albert Ball and Billy Bishop. The XVII was directly developed from the existing and successful 11 "Bebe" platform and would...

France
1916

Nieuport 27
The Nieuport 27 was a derivative of the successful Nieuport 17 offering. Building upon the successes of it's predecessor, the Nieuport 27 was one in the long line of offshoots generated from the base design, though featuring ...

France
1917

Nieuport 28
The French-built Nieuport 28 fighter was the third of the successful trilogy of "Nieuport Fighting Scouts" that included the original Nieuport 11 and 17 models. The 28 model would become the aircraft of choice for aces such a...

France
1917

North American F-86 Sabre
The highly-regarded F-86 Sabre was North American Aviations first attempt at a jet fighter design. Already on the drawing board as early as 1944, everything changed when Allied forces uncovered research that the Germans were ...

United States
1949

North American P-51 / F-51 Mustang
In terms of Allied success against the Luftwaffe, the development of the P-51 Mustang could very well make it the single most important aircraft of the war. The single-engine aircraft would come to symbolize the classic Ameri...

United States
1940

Northrop F-89 Scorpion
The F-89 Scorpion offered up a solid ten years of service for the United States Air Force, charged with the defense of the upper North from Soviet bomber incursions during the Cold War. The F-89 was a large aircraft and desig...

United States
1949

Panavia Tornado ADV
The Panavia Tornado series of strike aircraft was developed through a consortium featuring the nations of Britain, Germany (West) and Italy. Each country would be responsible for the design and construction of a specialized p...

United Kingdom
1984

Pfalz D.III
The Pfalz D.III was an exceptional aircraft produced in large numbers by Bavaria for Bavarian forces and; later, Imperial German air forces. The D.III biplane was a agile fighter capable of high-speed diving attacks and excel...

Imperial Germany
1917

Polikarpov I-16
The Polikarpov I-16 fighter proved to be quite the little aggressor before and throughout the Second World War. Initially seeing combat in the Spanish Civil War, the system would go on to see more during the Soviet invasion o...

Soviet Union
1935

Republic F-105 Thunderchief
The F-105 Thunderchief is more widely remembered for its contributions to the Vietnam War for the United States Air Force but its appearance actually dates back to the late 1950's and 1960's. The system proved quite valuable ...

United States
1961

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
The P-47 Thunderbolt (commonly called the "Jug" or "Juggernaut" for its stout appearance) was another example of an American-produced classic warbird. The design of the P-47 held many challenges but the end-result would produ...