Bell P-39 Airacobra
The Bell P-39 Airacobra is yet another in the long line of aircraft studies stemming from World War 2 in the "what-might-have been" category. The system had all the looks of a top performer, armament that could go head to hea...

Bell P-63 Kingcobra
At its core, the Bell P-63 Kingcobra proved a modest improvement over the relative failure that was the P-39 Airacobra. Though the P-39 developed into a useable platform, she never lived up to the original specifications than...

Beriev Be-2 / MBR-2
The Beriev Be-2 was one of the few floatplanes of note fighting for the Soviet Union throughout World War Two as very little in the way fo attention to the type was given. The floatplane was utilitarian by nature with pedestr...

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...

Consolidated PBY Catalina
Maritime aircraft play an understated role, especially in that of war time. Fly boats came to pass, first in peace-time development as early as 1901, and ultimately in the First World War. Their development, with experience g...

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...

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...

Douglas A-20 Havoc / Boston
The Douglas A-20 Havoc served Allied forces through most of World War 2, fighting for British, American and Soviet forces. The type saw extensive use, proving itself a war-winner capable of withstanding a great deal of punish...

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...

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...

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 ...

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 ...

Ilyushin IL-4
In many ways the Ilyushin-brand IL-4 was a "forgotten" bomber of the Second World War - at least in the West - though it formed the majority of Soviet bomber wings and was produced in excess of 5,000 examples. The system perf...

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...

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...

Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifun (Typhoon)
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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 ...

North American B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell series of medium bombers went on to become one of the classic American aircraft designs to emerge during World War Two. Designed as early as 1939, the series was built to specifications as req...

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...

North American T-6 Texan
The T-6 Texan was and is a world famous single-engine aircraft primarily known for its use as a trainer. A product of the North American Aviation Company, the T-6 Texan appeared during the years spanning World War 2, survived...

Petlyakov Pe-2
The Petlyakov Pe-2 began arriving in small numbers on the East Front in the summer of 1941. The system owed its pedigree from the developmental Petlyakov-designed VI-100 high-altitude interceptor that featured a pressurized c...

Petlyakov Pe-3
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Polikarpov I-15 Chaika
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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...

PZL P.11
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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 ...

Seversky P-35
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Sukhoi Su-1 / Su-3
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Sukhoi Su-2
The Sukhoi Su-2 was the first aircraft design of Pavel Sukhoi and became a two-seat light bomber fielded by the Soviet Air Force in World War 2. Though a relatively modern design at the time of its inception, the Su-2 was qui...

Supermarine Spitfire
The legendary Spitfire earned fame through its exploits in the Battle of Britain, often shadowing the equally successful Hawker Hurricanes. The Spitfire's image of a sleek and fast fighter with firepower to boot captured the ...

Supermarine Walrus
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Tupolev SB-2
The Tupolev SB-2 (the "SB" in the designation standing for "skorostnoi bombardirovschik" meaning "fast bomber") was a light-to-medium class bomber in service with Soviet forces in the Second World War. At the time the system ...

Vultee BT-13 Valiant
The BT-13 Valiant was a stellar trainer aircraft used for basic flight training and for blind instrument training throughout World War 2. The rear cockpit was equipped with a curtain that could be moved forward to cover the s...

Yakovlev Yak-1 (Krasavyets)
Often overshadowed by its contemporaries in the West (to include the Supermarine Spitfire, North American P-51 Mustang, Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Focke-Wulf Fw 190) the early production Yakovlev fighter aircraft were some ...

Yakovlev Yak-3
The Yakovlev Yak-3 was a further development of the Yak-1 series of fighters (detailed elsewhere on this site) and was well renowned for possessing an impressive rate of climb and unmatched maneuverability. The system appeare...

Yakovlev Yak-9 (Frank)
In line with other classic wartime fighters of World War Two, the Yakovlev-produced Yak-9 is no exception. Initially conceived from a developmental version of the Yak-7 that featured a combined construction of wood and metal,...