Amiot 354
The Amiot 354 bomber and reconnaissance platform was a quite capable aircraft when war broke out over France. The system had its origins based on the unarmed fast transport mail carrier to which some further development would...

Arado Ar 195
The Arado Ar 195 was prototype design intended for operations from Germany's first aircraft carrier known as the Graf Zeppelin. The aircraft was developed to a requirement for a carrier-based torpedo bomber, to which some thr...

Arado Ar 196
The Arado Ar 196 was the principle floatplane of the German Luftwaffe throughout World War 2. The aircraft was showcased in quantity on nearly every front that Germany was threatened - or was threatening - and fared well agai...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 "...

Arado Ar E.500
The E.500 was a proposed heavy fighter design put forth by Arado Flugzeugwerke of Germany. The system was designed as early as 1936 and featured a crew of four consisting of a pilot, co-pilot, dorsal turret gunner and ventral...

Arado Ar E.530
The idea of twin fuselage aircraft was always in the minds of military aircraft engineers throughout the Second World War. Conceivably, these systems would offer up double the performance and capabilities of their single fuse...

Arado Ar E.555
Arado proposed this E.555 flying wing concept towards the end of 1943 as a high-speed long-range bomber. The flying wing concept had eluded aircraft engineers for decades but it was seen as a potentionally stable design allow...

Arado Ar E.560
The Arado E.560 series of developmental high-speed jet bombers saw a large evolution on paper. Design of the platform centered around the closing days of the Second World War and showed the extent to which the Germans were pl...

Arado Ar E.561
The Arado Ar E.561 was on the drawing boards as early as 1937. Classified as a heavy fighter, the type would have lived and died via its combination of firepower and performance. World War 2 brought about the need for purpose...

Arado Ar E.580
Once the Volksjager competition came around in 1944, Arado Flugzeugwerke went back to a 1943 design it had had and touched it up some, producing the E.580 design model. This aircraft was to be a single-seat, single-engine jet...

Arado Ar E.581.4
The Arado Ar E.581.4 was conceived of as a single-seat jet fighter utilizing a delta-wing shape. The system was not a "true" flying wing design in that it made use of twin vertical tail surfaces at the trailing edges. The sys...

Arado Ar E.654 (Kampfzerstorer / Skorpion)
The Arado Ar E.654 was proposed as a heavy fighter / destroyer platform designed from another Arado product - the Ar 240. Though the Ar 240 model eventually saw operational service with the Luftwaffe (albeit in limited numbe...

Arado Ar Projekt I
The Arado "Projekt I" was intended to be a two-man jet-powered night fighter. The aircraft featured a slender yet short fuselage with a delta-wing design extending from the cockpit down to the base of the empennage. The crew ...

Arado Ar Projekt II
The Arado Ar Projekt II was a proposed jet-powered fighter of considerable size. It carried a basic classification of nightfighter / all-weather fighter and appeared in paper form towards the end of the European Campaign. The...

Arado Ar TEW 16/43-13
The Arado Ar TEW 16/43-13 was a design concept envisioned as a rocket-propelled interceptor for the German Luftwaffe. The design was put forth by Wilhelm van Nes as one of three possible developments that also included a twin...

Arado Ar TEW 16/43-15
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Arado Ar TEW 16/43-19
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Arado Ar TEW 16/43-23
The single-seat, jet-powered Arado Ar TEW 16/43-23 design was penciled sometime in 1943. Categorized as a fighter, the type might have been an impressive addition to the ranks of the Luftwaffe where jet-powered aircraft were ...

Armstrong Whitworth AW.27 Ensign
The impressive Armstrong Whitworth Ensign AW.27 series was made originally designed to a 1934 British government requirement for an air mail service transport to spearhead an improved method of correspondence to all points of...

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 ...

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...

Blohm & Voss Bv 222 Wiking (Viking)
The Blohm & Voss Bv 222 Wiking (translated to "Viking") was a large German floatplane design of the Second World War. The system was fielded in limited numbers and served the primary role of transport aircraft with some recon...

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...

Consolidated B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator became a major player for Allied forces during World War 2. Its exploits ranged the world over - as did her users- and she saw action in a variety of roles in all major theaters. Designed to ov...

Dornier Do 17
The Dornier Do 17 (sometimes referred to as "the Pencil" due to its fundamental shape) was a respect medium bomber class utilized by the German Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain and throughout the Second World War. Initia...

Dornier Do 18
Though a serviceable flying boat with a successful pedigree, the Dornier Do 18 was highly outclassed and outdated at the start of World War 2 and was subsequently used in limited numbers, relegated mostly to air and sea rescu...

Dornier Do 215
The Dornier Do 215 was originally intended for export, beginning life as a redesignated version of the Dornier Do 17 light/medium bomber. Three prototypes were initially produced from the Do 17K - the V1, V2 and V3 - each wit...

Dornier Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a multi-faceted performer for the German Luftwaffe that ended up fulfilling various roles from bomber to reconnaissance aircraft, aerial test bed to torpedo bomber. The twin-engine 4-man aircraft appear...

Dornier Do 24
The Dornier Do 24 was a capable flying both serving in limited numbers both Allied and Axis powers in World War 2. The system was classified as a flying boat, capable of operations on both land and sea, and was the product of...

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 as early as 1937, the Do 335 utilized a concept in which one engin...

Fiat CR.32
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 Spani...

Fiat CR.42 Falco (Falcon)
Despite its by-gone era appearance, the Fiat CR.42 Falco (meaning "Falcon") played a crucial role in the early war years for Italy, serving as the primary fighter for the Italian air force (Regia Aeronautica. The system was f...

Fiat G.50 Freccia (Arrow)
The Fiat G.50 Freccia (meaning "Arrow") series provided the Italian Air Force with a then-modern monoplane fighter featuring a retractable undercarriage, all-metal construction and an enclosed cockpit. During this period in a...

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...

Fieseler Fi 156 Storch (Stork)
The seemingly fragile Fieseler Fi 156 Storch(or "Stork") does not seem to have a home in a global conflict as World War 2 was yet the little machine became a spectacular multi-purpose airframe to which the Third Reich put to ...

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...

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 ...

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Wurger (Shrike)
The Focke-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 bomber and fighter losses thr...

Focke-Wulf Fw 200 (Condor)
The German Fw 200 Condor was initially a trans-Atlantic passenger and cargo (mail) aircraft developed by Focke-Wulf and legendary designer Kurt Tank in 1936. Early prototypes were fitted with the Pratt & Whitney Hornet radial...

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...

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...

Focke-Wulf Ta 183 Huckebein
By this time in the war, Germany had already made a stout commitment to the production of fighter designs over bombers. Seeing it that she would be fighting a defensive war for some time to come, models such as the Messerschm...

Fokker D.XXI
Designed by Anthony Fokker in 1935, the Fokker D.XXI first flew on March 27th, 1936. The system was originally intended to fill the ranks of the Netherlands East Indies Army Air Service but the arrival of World War 2 eventual...

Gloster Gladiator
The Gloster Gladiator was a product of the Gloster Aircraft Company and a design of one Henry Phillip Folland. Achieving first flight on September 12th, 1934, the system was officially introduced into Royal Air Force service ...

Heinkel He 111
Though the base He 111 was arguably the most important bomber of the Third Reich during the Second World War, the idea of bombers winning the war was lost on German warplanners - in particular Adolph Hitler - whom envisioned ...

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 enough transport cap...

Heinkel He 115
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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...

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...

Heinkel He 178
The Heinkel-produced He 178 has the distinct honor of becoming the world's first aircraft to fly solely with a turbojet engine. The aircraft was already in the design stage in 1936, eventually hitting the skies before the war...

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...

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...

Henschel Hs 123
The Henschel-produced Hs 123 aircraft became the last operational biplane for the German Luftwaffe during World War two. Born from a German requirement for a dive-bomber aircraft as early as 1933, several Henschel Hs 123 test...

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...

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...

Horten Ho IX / Horten Ho 229
The Horten Ho IX (or "Horten Ho 229" - sometimes wrongly designated the "Gotha Go 229") maintains a certain level of celebrity status in the world of military aviation, essentially becoming the first production-worthy form of...

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...

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 ...

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...

Junkers Ju 87 (Stuka)
Before the Allies would gain air superiority over the skies of France and Germany, the Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive bomber would reign supreme. The system, for a time, became the terror of both civilian and soldier alike, as th...

Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 represented one of the better and more successful bomber designs attributed to the German Luftwaffe. The system performed on a variety of levels, achieving success with most every role and saw production rea...

Macchi C.202 Folgore (Thunderbolt)
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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...

Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifun (Typhoon)
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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 ...

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...

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...

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...

Messerschmitt Me 264 Amerika (America)
The Messerschmitt Me 264 was intended as a long-range aircraft and reconnaissance platform that was to supply the German Luftwaffe with a bomber capable of hitting targets within America as well as support Kriegsmarine U-boat...

Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant (Giant)
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Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse (Hornet)
The Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse ("Hornet") was, in effect, a further development of the unstable Me 210 system. Though improved to some extent by the Hungarians in the Me 210C model, the Me 410 was fitted with a new designa...

Messerschmitt Me P.1101
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Morane-Saulnier M.S.406
The Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 was a single engine, piston-powered, single-seat fighter appearing just before the outbreak of hostilities between France and Germany. Though a solid design by 1930's standards, the system did not ...

North American P-51 / F-51 Mustang
The North American P-51 Mustang proved an invaluable addition to the Allied cause in the latter half of World War 2. The system was designed and flown in a matter of months and made such an impact that it could clearly be con...

Polikarpov I-15 Chaika
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Potez 630 / 631
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Reggiane Re.2000 Sagittaro (Archer)
The Reggiane 2000 series of aircraft was very reminiscent of American interwar designs appearing between 1930 and 1940. The Reggiane maintained a stout profile centered around a large engine, rounded edge wings and traditiona...

Republic P-47 / F-47 Thunderbolt
While much of the romance of World War 2 dogfighting often heads in the direction of the USAAF's North American P-51 Mustang or the Vought F4U Corsair, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (affectionately nicknamed "the Jug" by her ...