Home : World War II : Vast Global Military Conflict :Allied War Planes
Perhaps more than any other vehicle of war the fighter aircraft possesses an individual character, a character that is recognisable both in its appearance and in the fashion with which it is flown and fought. The fighter pilot of the Second World War - particularly in the Royal Air Force - was selected to a large extent for his individuality and quick mental and physical reactions. Perhaps this added up to produce an extrovert with an air of flamboyance. Whatever it was, it was clearly identified in the manner in which the fight was fought. The fighter pilot was, after all, the cavalryman of the air. Britain undoubtedly excelled in the production of superlative fighters; after all, her world responsibilities between the Wars had been of a defensive nature - defending her trade routes in the environment of embryo aggression. At home, after 15 years of pacifism and prevarication by successive governments, the danger of German resurrection under the Nazis was recognised in time to give free rein to the British aircraft industry. Because there were such men as R. J. Mitchell, Sydney Camm and Barnes Wallis, the genius was not lacking to provide the nation with the weapons that survival demanded.
Because Britain was obliged to play a defensive role at the outbreak of war in 1939 - a posture she maintained for two long years - it was her fighters that won the admiration of the world, above all her incomparable Spitfire. It was this agony of survival that lent urgency to fighter design and gave Britain a two year lead, a lead that was not seriously challenged by America until 1947. It was however by standards set by the Spitfire that almost every other fighter was measured. The Mustang must be recognised as America's best fighter of the Second World War and, as a long-range escort fighter, unsurpassed. Notwithstanding this, it only emerged from mediocrity through conversion to that greatest aero-engine of all time, the Rolls-Royce Merlin. Another American fighter supplied to the R.A.F. was the Bell Airacobra, a fighter which was received with mixed feelings by several other air forces but one that was an unqualified failure in Britain. Fighter aircraft are not, nor have they ever been developed overnight and, although to the perceptive the German threat had existed since 1933, the speed with which events moved in 1938 and 1939 inevitably found the Royal Air Force still flying many out-moded fighters. The Gladiator biplane was a relic of a 1930 requirement and, as policy dictated the husbanding of all available Hurricanes and Spitfires for home defence, these old fighters were called on to fulfil numerous commitments during those first two years of the War - often in the face of the best the enemy could throw against them. After the demise of the Gladiator its manufacturers dropped from the public eye to develop in great secrecy an aeroplane that was to fight in only limited action during the War. The Meteor jet fighter was the first such Allied aircraft and the only one to see combat; its long-term value lay in the service it was to render as Fighter Command's principal equipment for 10 years. The last words must be for the men who flew these fighters, for their's were the hands that transformed the genius of the designers into the winning of victory in the air.
ANSONThis versatile twin-engine transport was used by the British as a flying classroom, personnel carrier, and general reconnaissance vehicle. In the latter role, it was credited with locating and destroying a number of German submarines and reconnaissance planes. After it was withdrawn from combat service early in World War II, the plane was used extensively to train bombardiers and navigators. The Anson found particular favor with the RAF because it was built principally of plywood and fabric; thus, production required a minimum of strategic material and less skilled labor than most World War II aircraft. Earlier models of the Anson were built by A. V. Roe beginning in 1933; later versions were constructed in Canada by Federal Aircraft, Ltd.; and some were also built in Australia.BEAUFIGHTERA versatile multi-purpose aircraft built by Bristol, the Bcaufighter was designed to replace the under-armed Blenheim and give the RAF a night pursuit with greater range and firepower than the Boulton-Paul Defiant. It used the wings, tail, and accessories of the Blenheim but a new fuselage. Initially, the plane sought out night intruders over the English Channel. Later it was employed in the Mediterranean and Pacific to intercept and destroy shallowdraft shipping or, in fact, any vessel up to heavy destroyer size. A two-place version of the Beaufighter equipped with torpedoes was called the Torbeau. A total of 5,562 was built.BLENHEIMThis aircraft was built by Bristol as a medium-range bomber but also was used successfully as an RAF longrange night fighter. Copies of the plane took part in the first two missions of World War 11. In September, 1939, it flew a photo-reconnaissance mission over Kiel, and the following day dropped bombs on the German fleet. It was used as a fighter and bomber in France and Norway. For North African and Middle East operations, a tropicalized version was fitted with engine sand-filters and flown on close support missions. Blenheims built in Canada were equipped with American engines and called Bolingbroke.HALIFAXThe first Halifax four-engine bombers were built by Handlcy-Page in 1940 to give the RAF aircraft capable of carrying heavy bomb loads. The specialty of the Halifax in World War ll was area bombardment, and these night missions against key targets in Germany helped to switch the aerial initiative from the Germans to the Allies. As new models were produced, the earlier ones were turned over to the Coastal Command for submarine patrol and mine-laying. Later models had a more streamlined fuselage, streamlined plastic nose, and rectangular-shaped twin tails.
HURRICANEProbably Britain's most versatile fighter, the Hawker Hurricane made its mark early in World War II, during the Battle of Britain, when it was credited with destroying more German aircraft than all other aircraft combined. Later it engaged in combat on practically all Allied fronts. As the first foreign fighter sent to Russia, it was used in both the Stalingrad and Leningrad battles. Although the Hurricane was basically a fighter, it was also used as a ground-support vehicle and low-level light bomber. One version, the Sea Hurricane, was equipped with folding wings for carrier operations. Another, dubbed the "Can Opener," was fitted with two 40-mm. Vickers light antitank guns.LANCASTERThe giant Lancaster, with a 102-foot wing span, was built by A. V. Roe primarily to deliver heavy bomb loads to German targets and to the limits of safety, all else was sacrificed to achieve this objective. The plane had two decks: the upper was a crew compartment and the lower, a bomb bay which could carry up to 14,000 pounds, although the average bomb load was about half that figure. Its first World War II mission was a daylight raid against the submarine-engine plant at Augsburg, but its long suit was night bombing of key targets such as Berlin, Hamburg, and the Ruhr. According to crew reports, the plane was easy to fly in spite of its size and weight.MOSCA I-16This fighter, designed by Polikarpov, was Russia's first low-wing monoplane. Early models of the Mosca, sometimes called Rrrrrr, resembled the Gee Bee racer of the thirties. The planes first appeared in 1935 and were used by the Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War, remaining in service well into World War II. The original models developed 750 mph, whereas the more advanced models of World War II had larger power plants and could attain greater operational speeds. During the latter part of the war, the plane, known as the UT-4, was used as an advanced and transitional trainer.MOSQUITOThe twin-engine Mosquito was built by De Havilland to satisfy a requirement for a multi-purpose plane that could be made anywhere in the British Empire from non-strategic materials by semi-skilled labor. It was first used in a raid on Oslo in September, 1942. Following that, variations were used as fighters, bombers, photo-reconnaissance craft, strafers, and trainers. The plane, built entirely of wood, had a molded plywood fuselage covering a balsa core, and wings made of wooden spars and plywood rlbs covered by a rigid outer skin. Because of its versatility, the Mosquito was treated with respect by Luftwaffe pilots.SPITFIREManufacturered by Vickers-Armstrong, the Spitfire was one of the few planes produced before World War II which retained its reputation as a first-line fighter throughout the war. With the Hurricane, it saved the British Isles during the Battle of Britain. Noted for its speed, this plane won many aeronautical records for the British. The Mark-V model, the backbone of the RAF's middle- and high-altitude attacks in Africa and the Middle East, served also in Australia, and teamed with the U.S. B-26, participated in many raids over France, the Low Countries and Northwest Germany. The plane changed little through the war years in external appearance, but the introduction of new power plants and refinements modified the plane admirably to serve in a variety of combat missions. In six years of war, its power increased 100 per cent. The British built 21,767 Spitfires during World War II.STIRLINGThe Stirling was one of the first four-engine bombers employed by the British in World War It. The Short Brothers adapted the bomber from the basic flying-boat designs for which they were famous to make an aircraft capable of carrying a heavy bomb load. Because of the wealth of data available, the Stirling moved speedily from design to operation. The Stirling was used against key targets in France, Italy, Germany, and Czechoslovakia, particularly the Skoda works in Pilsen. For a time, this was the RAF's best weight carrier. However, because of its slow speed, limited ceiling, and amount of armament, it ultimatelv took a back seatSTORMOVIK IL-2This plane entered service on the Eastern front in the spring of 1942. It was designed by Iliuchin to give the Russians a heavily armored plane capable of destroying ground vehicles in low-level attacks. Because the entire engine cowling was made of armor plate and other normally vulnerable parts were similarly protected, the plane was almost impervious to machine-gun fire and had the lowest loss-ratio of any plane on the Eastern front. The extra protection, however, reduced the Stormovik's maneuverability and cut its service ceiling so it required fighter protection. The two-place IL-3 and IL-4 were built from the same airframe.SUNDERLANDBecause of its armament, Luftwaffe pilots called the Short Brothers' Sunderland the "Flying Porcupine." This plane was the backbone of the RAF Coastal Command. Basically, it was used for anti-submarine patrol missions over Atlantic convoy routes, but also participated in numerous search missions for downed airmen and survivors of sunken vessels. The Sunderland evolved directly from the Empire flying boat which pioneered trans-Atlantic passenger routes. In fact, the G model of the flying boat was altered for military use right off the assembly line. The plane was first flown in 1937.TYPHOONBuilt by Hawker, the Typhoon initially was used to protect British convoys in the English Channel from German fighter-bombers based in France and the Low Lands. It was equipped with twelve .303-mm. machine guns. Later, when the Typhoon flew as a fighter-bomber in diversionary missions with B-17 Flying Fortresses, four 20-mm. cannons were mounted for offensive employment. Typhoons also operated in bi-level flights, with those at the lower altitudes carrying bombs and joining their fighter protection to fight off enemy opposition once the bombs were discharged. Train-"busting" was a profitable sport for the Typhoon because, with its four cannons, it could destroy a locomotive with ease.WELLINGTONThis Vickers-Armstrong-built twin-cnginc aircraft was the RAF's principal heavy bomber during the early days of World War ll. Its bomb load was low; thus the Wellington was most effective when used against specific targets rather than in area bombing. Because of its unique duralchannel construction which decentralized stress, it was able to take a great deal of punishment and was easily repaired. Whenever any of its framing members were broken, they could be drilled out, replaced, and covered with doped fabric. The RAF also used the Wellington for anti-submarine patrol and mine-laying.WHITLEYManufacturered by Armstrong-Whitworth, the Whitley was the first British bomber of World War II and saw combat service with the RAF in Italy as early as 1940. Production ceased in 1942, but planes already in the RAF inventory were used for bombardment missions until 1943, when they were replaced with more advanced planes. The Coastal Command, however, flew some Whitleys on mine-laving and reconnaissance missions throughout World War 11; others were converted into transports for the RAF and British airways and were used to carry passengcrs and freight, to drop paratroops, and to tow gliders.YAKThe YAK-I, also designated the 1-26, was designed by Alexander Yakovlev in 1939. This fighter had a welded steel fuselage covered with plywood and fabric and plywood and metal wings. Of typically simple Russian design, it had a low cantilever wing and was light and very maneuverable. As a fighter-bomber, the YAK-1 carried six 56-pound rocket bombs beneath its wings. Although it was replaced in combat units by the YAK-9 as World War It progressed, it continued in use as a two-place trainer under the designation YAK-7.YORKManufacturered by A. V. Roe, this plane was actually a redesign of the Lancaster bomber, but the changes in it were so extreme that it was, for practical purposes, a new plane - the result of attempts to develop a pure transport instead of using obsolete bombers for this purpose - and was England's first new transport built after World War II began. On short flights the York could carry up to 50 passengers. The first models were delivered to the RAF in 1942 and production continued until April, 1948. A total of 253 was built.
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