Antonov An-2 (Colt)
The Antonov An-2 is a multi-role light utility biplane initially produced under the Soviet flag. Despite its 1940's pedigree, the system has continued service and operations throughout the world and production itself has tota...

Beechcraft C-45 Expeditor
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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 ...

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...

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-...

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...

Cessna O-1 Bird Dog (L-19)
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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...

de Havilland DH.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...

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...

Douglas A-26 / B-26 Invader
The Douglas A-26 Invader was a distinguished twin-engine light bomber whose origins were well-placed in the Second World War. The system proved adept at day and night flying, attacking targets with a bevy of machine guns or d...

Douglas C-124 Globemaster II
With the close of World War 2 and the accompanying Berlin Airlift, the United States military saw a need to replace its aged C-74 "Globemaster I" systems with a newer and more capable platform. The C-124 was put forth as a pr...

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...

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 ...

Douglas F3D / F-10 Skyknight
The Douglas F3D series of aircraft holds several distinctions in the world of aviation history and in the circle of United States military aviation. To start off, the F3D became the world's first jet-powered carrier-based nig...

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...

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 ...

Gloster / Armstrong Whitworth Meteor
The Gloster Meteor became Britain's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. It reached operational status in the latter years of World War 2 and saw limited action in the conflict though it never faced off against any...

Grumman F7F Tigercat
The F7F Tigercat was another carrier-borne aircraft development in Grumman's long line of "cat" named fighters. The system was originally designed as a twin-engine fighter for use off of the decks of US Navy Midway-class airc...

Grumman F9F Panther
The Grumman F9F Panther series saw extensive combat in the Korean War for the United States Navy, accounting for over 78,000 combat sorties. The system was primarily utilized as a close-support strike aircraft but could hold ...

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...

Hawker Sea Fury / Fury
The Hawker Sea Fury was developed out Hawker's Typhoon and Tempest aircraft designs utilized by Britain during World War 2. Though not without their limitations, the Typhoon and Tempest platforms had substantial inherent bene...

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...

Lavochkin La-11 (Fang)
The Lavochkin La-11 was designed from the successful Lavochkin La-9 series of piston engine fighters with the difference being that the La-11 was to be a long-range bomber escort. The system was under development in the closi...

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...

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...

Lockheed F-94 Starfire
The F-94 (nicknamed "Starfire" in the "C" model only) was developed from the successful twin-seat Lockheed trainer aircraft known as the T-33 Shooting Star, which in itself was based on the single-seat P-80 / F-80 Shooting St...

Lockheed P2V Neptune
The P2V Neptune series of aircraft was one of the more successful post-war designs for America, with service that spanned decades for a handful of American-friendly countries. The system was designed by Lockheed Corporation f...

Lockheed P-80 / F-80 Shooting Star
The Lockheed P-80/F-80 Shooting Star is undoubtedly the world's most successful first generation jet-powered fighter. Appearing by the last few months of World War 2, the Shooting Star failed to undertake a single combat sort...

Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star
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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...

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (Fagot)
The MiG-15 (codenamed "Fagot" by the United Nations in reference to a "hastily bundled pile of sticks") became the Soviet Union's first true turbojet-powered fighter design of consequence and the first swept-wing aircraft of ...

North American B-45 Tornado
Development of the XB-45 began in 1944 and continued into 1945, representing the later years of the Second World War. With reports that Germany had already succeeded in development of production-quality jet bomber designs, th...

North American F-82 / P-82 Twin Mustang
The F-82 Twin Mustang was a purposely-designed aircraft charged with the purpose of providing the United States Air Force with a potent long-range fighter escort while allowing the pilot a much needed break with the addition ...

North American F-86 Sabre
The F-86 Sabre was the product of the North American Aviation Company based in the United States of America. The aircraft served a pivotal role in the Korean War by winning back air superiority for the NATO allies, going toe-...

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...

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...

Republic F-84 Thunderjet / Thunderstreak / Thunderflash
The Republic F-84 Thunderjet appeared as an American post-war design and played a pivotal role in the early years that was the Cold War. The nimble little system provided many an Allied nation with a nuclear-capable deterrent...

Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw
The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw was an excellent multipurpose transport helicopter that saw use in various roles on a global scale. The system proved to be a tremendous replacement for the US Army H-5 Dragonfly series and went on...

Vought F4U Corsair
The F4U Corsair series of aircraft was one of the finer fighter developments of the Second World War, primarily seeing combat in the Pacific Theater of War. The uniquely designed bent-wings and ever-improving powerplant assur...

Yakovlev Yak-9 (Frank)
In line with other classic wartime fighters of World War 2, the Yakovlev-produced Yak-9 was another excellent piston-engine addition to the family line. Initially conceived from a developmental version of the Yak-7 that featu...