When Britains brilliant aircraft designer Geoffrey de Havilland first proposed the Mosquito, the Air Ministry greeted the idea with skepticism. Powered by twin Merlin engines, the bomber would be constructed almost entirely of wood and handle like a fighter. Stripped of heavy defensive weapons and armor,
its advantage was its light weight and high speed, which would allow it to escape pursuing enemy aircraft. De Havillands critics were silenced when the prototype flew in November of 1940. The plane quickly proved itself one of the fastest and most versatile military aircraft in existence,...

Designed during WWII as a long-range fighter, the Hornet represented an evolution of the de Havilland Mosquito and was the fastest piston-powered fighter in Royal Air Force service. Like the Mosquito, the Hornet had a
fuselage built largely of balsa and plywood, but boasted laminar flow wings and
massive Rolls-Royce V12 engines with 12-foot diameter, four-bladed props. It could achieve a speed of 472 mph at 22,000 feet, had a range of 3,000 miles, and was intended to operate from bases on land and aircraft carriers. It was normally equipped to carry two 1,000 lb. bombs, eight rockets,...

The first monoplane fighter in the Royal Air Force, the Hurricane was designed by Sydney Camm in 1934 and first flew in 1935. A rugged, single-seat aircraft, the Hurricane was the first combat aircraft in the RAF capable of 300 mph in level flight. During the Battle of Britain, the Hurricane equipped more than three fifths of the RAF's fighter command, accounting for 32 squadrons as opposed to just 19 for the Spitfire. While Spits took on fighters, the Hurricanes assaulted enemy bombers, forcing the Luftwaffe to use the Bf109 to protect its Bf110 escort fighters. Between 8 August and 21...

The epitome of grace, beauty and design, the Supermarine Spitfire was one of the most deadly fighters of WWII. Manufactured in huge numbers - over 20,000 were built - the Spitfire was the only fighter airplane in production at the
beginning of WWII, that remained in production after the conflict. Many different variants were produced including the Seafire naval fighter. Nineteen Spitfire squadrons were available to the R.A.F. by the fall of 1940, when the Battle of Britain began in earnest. While the Hurricanes attacked German
bombers, Spitfire pilots were most often tasked with engaging...

Designed by Avro's Roy Chadwick to replace the Manchester, the Lancaster four-engine bomber became the RAF's main heavy bomber during WWII. The most successful night bomber of WWII, it flew over 150,000 sorties over occupied Europe and delivered over 600,000 long tons of bombs. The "Lanc's" large bomb bay meant that it could carry the largest bombs in RAF inventory including the 12,000 lb "blockbuster" type called the "Tallboy," the "Grand Slam" 22,000 lb bomb, and (after receiving modifications) the "bouncing bombs" for the attack on Germany's Ruhr dams in 1943. The Lancaster carried a crew...