During World War One air combat evolved rapidly to
the point at which it was tactically beneficial to
control the skies over the battlefield. The side
that had control of the air could gain information
about the other side's dispositions and intentions
and accurately strike at enemy resources well
behind the front line causing havoc with support and
supply lines. To control the air a breed of high
performance aircraft evolved that would seek to deny
the enemy control of the air, allowing their own
bombers and reconnaissance aircraft the freedom to
pursue their own objectives. These early aircraft
were usually known as Scouts or Pursuit aircraft.
They were predominantly biplanes, made from
wooden frames covered with fabric with a single
piston engine and a crew of one in an open cockpit.
In the time between
World War One and the Outbreak of World War Two these aircraft
became known as Fighters and the designs started to take advantage
of new technologies and ideas. By the start of World War Two fighter
aircraft were typically monoplanes made of a stressed monocoque
metal skin with one wing. With some exceptions, they still had a
single piston engine and a crew of one, but the pilot was in an
enclosed cockpit and they flew faster and higher and for longer. By
the time the War ended the Jet engine was being introduced that took
the performance of these new aircraft to new heights, but their
mission was still basically the same - engage and destroy enemy
aircraft and achieve air superiority.
France
Bloch MB.151 / 152 Dewoitine D.520
Morane-Saulnier M.S.406
Germany
Dornier Do 335
Focke-Wulf Fw 190
Heinkel He 112 Heinkel He 162 Heinkel He 219
Junkers Ju 88 Messerschmitt Bf 109 Messerschmitt Bf 110
Messerschmitt Me 163 Messerschmitt Me 262
Hungary
MÁVAG Héja
Italy Fiat CR.42 Fiat G.50 Fiat G.55 Macchi MC.200 Macchi
MC.202 Macchi MC.205 Reggiane Re.2000 Reggiane Re.2001 Reggiane
Re.2005
Japan
Kawanishi N1K-J Kawasaki Ki-45 Kawasaki Ki-61 Kawasaki
Ki-100
Mitsubishi A6M Zero Nakajima Ki-27 Nakajima Ki-43
Nakajima Ki-44 Nakajima Ki-84
United Kingdom
Bristol Beaufighter Bristol Blenheim Boulton Paul Defiant
Blackburn Roc de Havilland Mosquito de Havilland Vampire
Fairey Firefly Fairey Fox Gloster Gladiator Gloster
Meteor
Hawker Hurricane Hawker Typhoon Hawker Tempest
Supermarine Spitfire
United States Bell P-39 Airacobra Bell P-63 Kingcobra
Boeing P-12 Boeing P-26 Peashooter Brewster Buffalo
Curtiss Hawk 75 Curtiss P-40
Curtiss-Wright CW-21
Grumman/General Motors F4F/FM Wildcat Grumman F6F Hellcat
Lockheed P-38 Lightning Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star
North American P-51 Mustang North American P-64 Northrop
P-61 Black Widow
Republic P-43 Lancer Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
Ryan FR Fireball
Seversky P-35
Vought F4U Corsair Vultee P-66 Vanguard
The B534 was a
single-engine biplane fighter with fixed landing gear and a
license-built Hispano-Suiza V12 liquid cooled engine. The first B534
prototype flew in late May 1933. The first order was placed by the
Czechoslovakian Air Force in mid-1934 and the first deliveries began
at the end of 1935. By 1938 a total of around 450 had been
delivered.
The
Slovak air force acquired about 80 or so B534’s when Germany annexed the
Czech portion of Czechoslovakia. They were first used in action against Hungary
during 1939. Two squadrons of B534’s took part in the German invasion of
Poland in September 1939 and supported the German offensive in the
Ukraine during 1941.
The Dewoitine D520 was
probably the best fighter used by the French Air Force when World War
Two started. It entered service in April/May 1940 shortly before Germany
invaded the Low Countries. The D520 was almost as fast as the
Messerschmitt bf109 and more manoeuvrable but there were too few to make
much difference. By the time the French capitulated in June 1940 only
351 had been delivered.
Many aircraft were flown to Algeria when the Armistice was signed and
served with the Vichy government.
The Curtiss P40
Warhawk first flew in 1938. It was developed from the earlier P36.
The main difference being the engine. The P36 used a Pratt & Whitney
14 cylinder air-cooled radial engine and the P40 used an Allison
liquid-cooled supercharged V12 engine. It was also known as the
Tomahawk and Kittyhawk by Britain and its Commonwealth.
The P40 was deployed mainly in the Middle
and Far East where it served in Fighter, Ground attack and Fighter
bomber roles. The most famous unit that used the aircraft were the
"Flying Tigers", the 1st American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air
Force, distinguishable by the shark like teeth painted onto the front
fuselage.
The P40 was well protected with armour behind the pilot and around the
engine and cockpit. The airframe was very strong to, capable of
sustaining a large amount of punishment. High altitude performance was
low but at medium to low altitudes the P40 was much more impressive.
The Macchi MC.205
Veltro was a single seat fighter built by Macchi Aeronautica and
operated by the Italian Air Force in World War Two. The design
incorporated the German Daimler-Benz DB605 engine. The Veltro
(Greyhound) was an effective fighter, fast and manoeuvrable, but was
introduced late in the war and in insufficient numbers to create
much of impact.
The C.205 was a development of the Macchi
C.202 Folgore. To improve performance a version of the Daimler Benz DB605 built
under licence by Fiat was used instead of the DB601 used in the C.202.
The prototype Veltro C.205V first flew during April 1942. The first
Veltro was armed with a 20mm cannon firing through the propeller hub and
four machine guns mounted in the wings. An initial order for 250
aircraft was placed with the first examples coming off the production
line in September and entering service the following February.
Production was slow due to a complicated design and only 177 had been
delivered by September 1943. American attacks on the Macchi and Fiat
factories in April 1944 halted production.
After the war some aircraft served with the
Egyptian Air Force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Crew:
1
Length:
8.85 m (29 ft 0 in)
Wingspan:
10.58 m (34 ft 9 in)
Height:
3.05 m (10 ft 0 in)
Weight:
Empty 2,581 kg (5,690 lb)
Loaded 3,408 kg (7,513 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Fiat RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone
liquid-cooled supercharged inverted V12 engine, 1,475 hp (1,100 kW)
- (licence built DB605)
Maximum speed:
640 km/h (400 mph)
Range:
950 km (590 miles)
Service ceiling:
11,500 m (37,730 ft)
Armament
2 × 12.7 mm (.5 in)
Breda mg's, 400 rounds/gun in the nose
2 × 20 mm MG 151
cannon, 250 rounds/gun in the wings
Despite having a
serial number of 3 the Yak 3 was introduced during 1944, after the
Yak 9. It was regarded by some as the most outstanding fighter of
the war and was certainly superior to the Messerschmitt bf109 at low
level.
It was
a composite frame made mainly of plywood and metal. It was light,
fast, manoeuvrable and, probably most importantly, rugged and easy
to maintain.
Deliveries to front line units began the
middle of 1944. The Yak 3's made an immediate impact gaining an upper
hand against Luftwaffe fighters. So much so that Luftwaffe pilots were
officially instructed not to engage the Yak 3 in dogfights below 5,000m.
