Much has been said about Germany’s technologically superior fighter and bomber designs, but the political turmoil in which the Luftwaffe had been embroiled since the war’s early years eventually caught up to bring down Hitler’s quest for world domination. It is true that Germany’s rapid conquest since Poland’s invasion was unprecedented, but the following years saw […] More
The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch was a German liaison aircraft which is probably more known for its laid-back reputation as a STOL performer than for the daring rescue of the Italian Dictator from a snowy mountain peak. The Storch was equipped with a 237-hp engine that produced a maximum speed of 93 miles per hour – specifications […] More
In 1944, The Luftwaffe flexed its menacing presence on the Eastern Front. Then the Soviet Forces – fronted by the Ilyushin Il-2 – launched massive aerial offensives that shattered their stronghold both on the ground and on the air. The German air force was fronted by sterling aircrafts such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the […] More
The Bell P-39 Airacobra had a disappointing fighting career for the US Air Force and the Royal Air force. Thanks to the Lend-Lease Act, it gained a new lease on life to become one of the Russian Air Force’s lethal weapons. It was so bad that in fact, Great Britain banned its importation into its […] More
These badass women pilots flew almost 30,000 missions in 4 years and ruthlessly bombed the German invaders to become the Soviet Union Air Force’s most decorated female unit. The idea of an all-woman squadron was conceived by Marina Raskova – the first female pilot of the Soviet, for which she had earned her moniker the […] More
The B-24 was THE heavy bomber of the Pacific Theater. Borne out of General Arnold’s ambitious vision for a four-engine bomber with a 3,000-mile range and a maximum altitude of 35,000 feet, the Air Corps came up with a beast that eventually earned the distinction as the most-produced four-engine aircraft in history, totaling 18,188. The Liberator […] More
The Douglas SBD Dauntless embodied the grit and tactical mastery that defined the Battle of Midway. The Battle of Midway in June 1942 was one of the greatest victories of the Allied Forces. It effectively kept the Japanese Imperial Army from pursuing their invasion of the Pacific and placed them on the defensive for the […] More
This Underappreciated Fighter was a Bomber, Support Aircraft, Reconnaissance Plane, and Night Fighter All Rolled Into One Deadly Machine. The Focke Wulf W-190 – together with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 – are inarguably the two German Warbirds that made the Luftwaffe Fighter Force a menacing presence in the skies during the war. The untested war […] More
Also called the Beam Defense Position, we take a look at the aerial tactic that prevented the Japanese from “making any attack without seeing the nose of the American planes pointed at them.” Who thought that matchsticks would play a huge role in devising a tactic to neutralize the A6M Zero’s unprecedented speed and maneuverability? Well, […] More
Upon its introduction in 1935, the TBD Devastator was widely considered the first modern torpedo bomber in the world. Then came the Avenger. It was a huge departure from the traditional bomber design because it was the first monoplane with hydraulic folding wings, and it was the US Navy’s first all-metal aircraft. But the Devastator’s […] More
Major-General Orde Wingate was a brilliant British officer who assembled a ragtag brigade of British and Burmese guerillas that gave Japanese forces pain in the ass. His grand plan was to establish strongholds behind enemy lines. In order to achieve this, he came up with an unconventional way to transport his troops and supplies by […] More
In 1942, the Americans gave the Japanese a ”Mini Pearl Harbor” of their own. The 1942 Lae-Salamua Raid is not as celebrated as the Battles of Midway, Guadalcanal, and Coral Sea, but it was the Pacific conflict that set the stage for the three. The American assault on these small towns of New Guinea was a […] More
