The I-15, I-16 and I-153 fighters were the world's first mass-produced fighters. A total of 17,000 Polikarpov fighters had been manufactured by the time their series production was terminated in 1941. Aircraft of the first series successfully operated in Spain with the Republicans during the civil war (1936-39), in Chinese hands against the Japanese (1937-38), and then with the Soviet Red Air Force again against the Japanese in Mongolia during the Nomonhan Incident (1939). Russian-flown fighter also saw action against the Finns in 1939-40 during the Winter War.
By the time the...
The I-15, I-16 and I-153 fighters were the world's first mass-produced fighters. A total of 17,000 Polikarpov fighters had been manufactured by the...
The P-51 Mustang and P-47 Thunderbolt were the finest American fighters of World War 2, and both saw service with the Royal Air Force in substantial numbers. The RAF began flying the Mustang in 1944, using it to fly bomber escort missions, and deploying to support the ground campaigns in Italy and the Balkans. It was also flown by a number of Polish units in the RAF. The P-47 Thunderbolt was the best fighter available in CBI theater, where it was flown by a number of aces against the Japanese, mainly in a ground support role. Although these two fighter types are most associated with the...
The P-51 Mustang and P-47 Thunderbolt were the finest American fighters of World War 2, and both saw service with the Royal Air Force in substantial n...
The CR.32 Falco was a handsome and highly maneuverable bi-plane fighter. During General Franco's fight with the Republicans for the control of Spain from 1936 - 39, no fewer than 477 CR.32s were involved, with an astounding 709 confirmed aerial victories, and an additional 320 kills claimed, against just 62 losses. As these statistics reveal, the CR.32 was the unrivaled master of the skies over Spain. By the war's end, the five leading aces of the conflict were all Spanish CR.32 pilots. Their exploits, and those of the other leading CR.32 aces, are examined for the first time in English in...
The CR.32 Falco was a handsome and highly maneuverable bi-plane fighter. During General Franco's fight with the Republicans for the control of Spain f...
The 357th Fighter Group produced 42 aces, more than any other group within the USAAF. It was also the first group in the Eighth Air Force to be equipped with the P-51. Thanks to this fighter and the talented pilots assigned to the group (men such as Bud Anderson, Kit Carson, John England and Chuck Yeager) the 357th achieved a faster rate of aerial victories than any other Eighth Air Force group during the final year of the war. It also claimed the highest number of aerial kills - 56 - in a single mission.
The group was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations (the unit equivalent of...
The 357th Fighter Group produced 42 aces, more than any other group within the USAAF. It was also the first group in the Eighth Air Force to be equ...
Though understandably overshadowed by their army colleagues, naval aviators played a significant role in World War 1, including some noteworthy contributions of fighter aviation. At a time when the Royal Flying Corps was struggling to match the 'Fokker Scourge' of 1915-16, the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was first to use Sopwith's excellent line of scouts, such as the Pup, Triplane and Camel. Some RNAS pilots such as Raymond Collishaw, Robert A Little and Roderick Stanley Dallas rated among the most successful in the British Commonwealth. Their ranks also included David Ingalls, the only...
Though understandably overshadowed by their army colleagues, naval aviators played a significant role in World War 1, including some noteworthy contri...
The 100th title of Osprey's celebrated Aircraft of the Aces series covers a subject sure to be of interest to historians of World War II. The Ki-44 'Tojo' was a fast-climbing, heavily armed point-defence interceptor that was used successfully in slashing hit-and-run tactics that caught Allied pilots by surprise. In the air defense role 'Tojos' pioneered the deployment of a unique 40 mm cannon, the firing system which had no cartridges but instead had the propelling charge contained in the base of the projectile. The Ki-44 was to be used by the JAAF in larger numbers in China than anywhere...
The 100th title of Osprey's celebrated Aircraft of the Aces series covers a subject sure to be of interest to historians of World War II. The Ki-44 'T...
The first P-38s became operational with the 1st Fighter Group in April 1941, and the initial combat deployments were made in Alaska, the Southwest Pacific and North Africa during the latter part of 1942. Photographic reconnaissance versions of the P-38 were in action even sooner when F-4 (P-38E) models were rushed to frontline units a few months after Pearl Harbor. Often using modified field measures to equip aircraft and train pilots in this demanding fighter, early pilots wrote a remarkable record of accomplishments that displayed a high degree of courage and innovation. Every theatre in...
The first P-38s became operational with the 1st Fighter Group in April 1941, and the initial combat deployments were made in Alaska, the Southwest Pac...
French World War II fighter design was cut short by the fall of France, but the MS.406 also saw service in Vichy French colonies and Finland.
The MS.406 was an important aircraft not only because it was built in larger numbers than any other French fighter of the period, but also because it was the first modern fighter in the Armee de l'Air inventory. Although comparable to the British Hurricane and early models of the German Bf 109, it was outclassed when flown against the more powerful, and faster, Bf 109E. With little or no protection (no armour or self-sealing tanks), the MS.406...
French World War II fighter design was cut short by the fall of France, but the MS.406 also saw service in Vichy French colonies and Finland.
American pilots flew P-40 Warhawk, P-47 Thunderbolt, and P-51 Mustang fighters over Noth Africa, Sicily, and Italy in the World War II Mediterranean Theater of Operations as part of the 325th Fighter Group.
The 325th FG was activated under General Order number 50 on 30 July 1942 and set up training operations at Theodore F Greene Field in Providence, Rhode Island. By mid-December 1942 the group was considered ready for combat and the alert for overseas duty arrived on 2 January 1943. The pilots and their P-40s departed on the carrier USS Ranger on 8 January and flew their aircraft...
American pilots flew P-40 Warhawk, P-47 Thunderbolt, and P-51 Mustang fighters over Noth Africa, Sicily, and Italy in the World War II Mediterranea...
After Pearl Harbor, the US Navy's VF-9 carrier fighter group formed, seeing action in North Africa, The Marshalls, Kwajelein, Truk, the Marianas Turkey Shoot and on to Tokyo and Okinawa.
VF-9 was activated in March 1942 as part of Carrier Air Group (CAG) 9, one of the many air groups the US Navy was hurriedly forming in the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Equipped with Grumman F4F Wildcats, VF-9 first saw combat during the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942, where the squadron engaged Vichy French fighters over Morocco. Returning to the United States,...
After Pearl Harbor, the US Navy's VF-9 carrier fighter group formed, seeing action in North Africa, The Marshalls, Kwajelein, Truk, the Marianas Tu...
