Arado Ar 240
The Arado Ar 240 was designed to an RLM 1938 response to replace the twin engine, two seat Messerschmitt BF 110 Zerstorer heavy fighter, being made obsolete by the changing face of war. The Arado firm and the Messerschmitt fi...

Arado Ar 68
The Arado-production of the Ar 68 signaled a stepping stone for fighter design in the German Luftwaffe. With the air force branch still held in secret from the rest of the world, the Luftwaffe quietly set about building up th...

Arado Ar E.381
The Ar E.381-series of prototypes was submitted in 1944 for review by the German Air Ministry. Whilst a plethora of companies (including Messerschmitt and Sombold) were competing to fulfill the role of what was to be dubbed "...

Arado Ar E.500
The E.500 was a proposed heavy fighter design put forth by Arado Flugzeugwerke of Germany. The system was designed as early as 1936 and featured a crew of four consisting of a pilot, co-pilot, dorsal turret gunner and ventral...

Arado Ar E.561
The Arado Ar E.561 was on the drawing boards as early as 1937. Classified as a heavy fighter, the type would have lived and died via its combination of firepower and performance. World War 2 brought about the need for purpose...

Arado Ar E.580
Once the Volksjager competition came around in 1944, Arado Flugzeugwerke went back to a 1943 design it had had and touched it up some, producing the E.580 design model. This aircraft was to be a single-seat, single-engine jet...

Arado Ar E.581.4
The Arado Ar E.581.4 was conceived of as a single-seat jet fighter utilizing a delta-wing shape. The system was not a "true" flying wing design in that it made use of twin vertical tail surfaces at the trailing edges. The sys...

Arado Ar E.654 (Kampfzerstorer / Skorpion)
The Arado Ar E.654 was proposed as a heavy fighter / destroyer platform designed from another Arado product - the Ar 240. Though the Ar 240 model eventually saw operational service with the Luftwaffe (albeit in limited numbe...

Arado Ar Projekt I
The Arado "Projekt I" was intended to be a two-man jet-powered night fighter. The aircraft featured a slender yet short fuselage with a delta-wing design extending from the cockpit down to the base of the empennage. The crew ...

Arado Ar Projekt II
The Arado Ar Projekt II was a proposed jet-powered fighter of considerable size. It carried a basic classification of nightfighter / all-weather fighter and appeared in paper form towards the end of the European Campaign. The...

Arado Ar TEW 16/43-15
The Arado Ar TEW 16/43-15 concept was born out of an in-house research project studying the possibilities of jet-powered fighter aircraft. The design appeared as early as March of 1943 and became yet another example of the fo...

Arado Ar TEW 16/43-19
With development of the advanced twin-engine, jet-powered Ar 234 "Blitz" bomber coming along, the Arado firm turned its attention to a more advanced jet aircraft with a multi-role capability in mind. The TEW 16/43-19 would ha...

Arado Ar TEW 16/43-23
The single-seat, jet-powered Arado Ar TEW 16/43-23 design was penciled sometime in 1943. Categorized as a fighter, the type might have been an impressive addition to the ranks of the Luftwaffe where jet-powered aircraft were ...

Armstrong Whitworth Siskin
The Armstrong Whitworth Siskin (a siskin being a smallish yellow-tinged finch) was the primary air mount of many-a-Royal Air Force pilot in her heyday. She represented one of the earliest aircraft designs for the British in t...

Avia B.534
The Czechoslovakian Avia B.534 series of biplane was a highly regarded though often forgotten product of the European nation. Some reports make it the best aircraft of its category during its early run through the 1930s. Such...

Bell P-39 Airacobra
The Bell P-39 Airacobra is yet another in the long line of aircraft studies stemming from World War 2 in the "what-might-have been" category. The system had all the looks of a top performer, armament that could go head to hea...

Bell P-59 Airacomet
The Bell-produced P-59 Airacomet series is one of those aircraft that becomes more of a study in American jet pioneering than anything else. The aircraft itself was a very average to below average performer, even when compare...

Bell P-63 Kingcobra
At its core, the Bell P-63 Kingcobra proved a modest improvement over the relative failure that was the P-39 Airacobra. Though the P-39 developed into a useable platform, she never lived up to the original specifications than...

Bell XFL Airabonita
The XFL "Airabonita" was a Bell Aircraft Company product developed in parallel with the P-39 Airacobra, a land-based USAAF design that eventually achieved operational status. In essence, the Airabonita was a "navalized" versi...

Boeing P-26 Peashooter
The P-26 became the first all-metal fighter design for the United States. Appearing similar to the later "Gee Bee" series of racers, the P-26 replaced the P-12 to which the newer P-26 outclassed in nearly every way. The P-...

Boulton Paul Defiant
The inter-war years saw a vast shift to more modern and potent aircraft platforms. The Boulton Paul Defiant followed as only the RAF's third such monoplane aircraft and, amazingly enough, the Defiant also became the RAF's fir...

Brewster F2A Buffalo
The stubby F2A Buffalo series became the United States Navy's first operational aircraft of monoplane design. Despite this honor, the system as a whole failed to live up to expectations set forth by technology and combat tact...

Bristol Beaufighter
Serving until the 1960s with the Royal Air Force, the Bristol Beaufighter (or simply "Beau") became a national hero through her service in the Battle of Britain, World War Two and beyond. The Beaufighter became the world's fi...

Commonwealth (CAC) Boomerang
The Commonwealth Boomerang (also known as the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation - or "CAC" - Boomerang) was of completely Australian indigenous design. Based on the CAC Wirraway, which in turn was spawned from the American NA...

Curtiss A-12 (Shrike)
The A-12 was an inter-war product of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company first appearing in 1933. The type became the first quantitative monoplane aircraft in service with the United States Army Air Corps upon its incepti...

Curtiss P-36 Hawk / Mohawk
The P-36 Hawk aircraft produced by Curtiss was a widely accepted and operated weapon system. From its initial appearance once can see the influence that the P-36 had in the design of the P-40 Warhawk of "Flying Tigers" fame. ...

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk / Kittyhawk / Tomahawk
The P-40 Warhawk / Kittyhawk / Tomahawk series of aircraft was the further development of the P-36 Hawk platform (detailed elsewhere on this site). The Warhawk would become synonymous with the American Volunteer Group fightin...

Curtiss P-6 Hawk
Originally based on the existing P-1B series of aircraft, the P-6 Hawk series was a first-line pursuit aircraft for the United States in the early 1930s. The Hawk became the last of the fighter biplanes built in quantity for...

Curtiss XP-46
The smallish XP-46 was to be the answer for the deficiencies encountered in the P-40 Warhawk platform. Unfortunately for Curtiss, the XP-46 would be doomed by underperformance and sluggish capabilities - essentially dooming t...

Curtiss-Wright XP-55 Ascender
The XP-55 Ascender was an unorthodox attempt by the Curtiss-Wright company that produced just three prototype models. Answering a United States Army Air Corps call for unconventional aircraft designs, the XP-55 fit the bill w...

de Havilland D.H.98 Mosquito
Few can find much fault in the de Havilland design of its Mosquito series of nightfighters featured so prominently in the Battle of Britain and throughout the entire World War Two campaigns across Europe. The twin-engine nigh...

Dewoitine D.500
The D.500 series, as a whole, was merely a stop-gap design for France - bridging a gap between two eras of aviation resulting from post-World War One design and preceeding World War, commonly known as the interwar years. The ...

Dewoitine D.520
The Dewoitine D.520 was a single seat piston-engine fighter designed and built for the French Air Force. Developed from lessons learned in their ill-fated D.513 design, Dewoitine produced a fighter of sleek design and accepta...

Dornier Do 215
The Dornier Do 215 was originally intended for export, beginning life as a redesignated version of the Dornier Do 17 light/medium bomber. Three prototypes were initially produced from the Do 17K - the V1, V2 and V3 - each wit...

Dornier Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a multi-faceted performer for the German Luftwaffe that ended up fulfilling various roles from bomber to reconnaissance aircraft, aerial test bed to torpedo bomber. The twin-engine 4-man aircraft appear...

Dornier Do 335 Pfeil (Arrow)
The Dornier Do 335 Pfeil (or "Arrow") was one of the more unique prop-driven designs of the Second World War. Designed and patented by Doctor Claudius Dornier as early as 1937, the Do 335 utilized a concept in which one engin...

Douglas A-20 Havoc / Boston
The Douglas A-20 Havoc served Allied forces through most of World War 2, fighting for British, American and Soviet forces. The type saw extensive use, proving itself a war-winner capable of withstanding a great deal of punish...

Fairey Firefly
The Fairey Firefly was a hugely successful, two-seat, carrierborne fighter aircraft serving with the Royal Fleet Air Arm through the latter half of the Second World War, eventually seeing service up until the mid-1950's. The ...

Fiat CR.32
Arguably the best biplane fighter of Italian design before the start of the Second World War. The plane was also built for export for Spain and Sweden air defence. The Fiat CR.32 saw air combat service with Spain in the Spani...

Fiat CR.42 Falco (Falcon)
Despite its by-gone era appearance, the Fiat CR.42 Falco (meaning "Falcon") played a crucial role in the early war years for Italy, serving as the primary fighter for the Italian air force (Regia Aeronautica. The system was f...

Fiat G.50 Freccia (Arrow)
The Fiat G.50 Freccia (meaning "Arrow") series provided the Italian Air Force with a then-modern monoplane fighter featuring a retractable undercarriage, all-metal construction and an enclosed cockpit. During this period in a...

Fisher XP-75 / P-75 Eagle
General Motors became a major player in the American manufacturing realm when World War 2 arrived for the United States. With its automotive plants adept at mass-production, it was only fitting that the US military look to su...

Focke-Wulf Fw 187 Falke (Falcon)
Despite demonstrating some impressive performance statistics from underpowered engines, the Focke-Wulf product Fw 187 Falke (or "Falcon") never materialized into a production quantity models. Similar in design and reach to th...

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Wurger (Shrike)
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 single-seat fighter is held by some to be the best German piston fighter of the Second World War - and with good reason as the weapon system accounted for hundreds of Allied bomber and fighter losses thr...

Focke-Wulf Ta 152 Leistungsdaten
The Focke-Wulf Ta 152 aircraft design was intended for use as a high-altitude interceptor for the German Luftwaffe and appeared in the later years of the war. Now managing a defensive type campaign, German warplanners were lo...

Focke-Wulf Ta 154 Moskito (Mosquito)
The Ta 154 Moskito ("Mosquito") was another product of the Focke-Wulf aircraft design firm operating for the Third Reich. The design was classified as a night fighter and appeared most promising until a series of delays and l...

Focke-Wulf Ta 183 Huckebein
By this time in the war, Germany had already made a stout commitment to the production of fighter designs over bombers. Seeing it that she would be fighting a defensive war for some time to come, models such as the Messerschm...

Fokker D.XXI
Designed by Anthony Fokker in 1935, the Fokker D.XXI first flew on March 27th, 1936. The system was originally intended to fill the ranks of the Netherlands East Indies Army Air Service but the arrival of World War 2 eventual...

Gloster / Armstrong Whitworth Meteor
The Gloster Meteor became Britain's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. It reached operational status in the latter years of World War 2 and saw limited action in the conflict though it never faced off against any...

Gloster Gauntlet
Gloster Gauntlet origins lay in a Gloster design appearing in the late 1920's for the Royal Air Force and served throughout the 1930's with several local and foreign-based air groups. The aircraft was designed as a fighter an...

Gloster Gladiator
The Gloster Gladiator was a product of the Gloster Aircraft Company and a design of one Henry Phillip Folland. Achieving first flight on September 12th, 1934, the system was officially introduced into Royal Air Force service ...

Grumman F4F Wildcat
The Grumman F4F Wildcat was the unsung hero of the Allied Pacific Theater campaign in the early years of World War 2. Often overshadowed by the upcoming Grumman F6F Hellcats and Vought F4U Corsair hotrods, the stubby Wildcat ...

Grumman F6F Hellcat
The F6F Hellcat was the successor to - and a logical evolution of – the capable F4F Wildcat series of carrier-borne aircraft fielded by the United States Navy in the Pacific Theater of World War 2. In the conflict, the Hellca...

Grumman F8F Bearcat
In many ways, the Grumman F8F Bearcat was the pinnacle of United States piston-engine fighter design. The aircraft arrived within the waning months of World War 2, missing combat action in all theaters altogether, but still m...

Grumman XP-50 Skyrocket
Firmly entrenched as an aircraft supplier to the United States Navy, the Grumman aircraft company set about to supply an equally lucrative deal with the US Army to produce a hybrid high-speed pursuit fighter and light bomber ...

Hawker Fury (I & II)
The Hawker Fury was the mainstay of Britain air defense throughout the 1930's until being replaced by the Gloster Gladiators. The Fury's design was in all actuality, a stop-gap design while the Hawker Hurricane was being desi...

Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane was indeed the true star of Britain's march against the Third Reich. Often overshadowed by the sleeker and sexier Supermarine Spitfire, the Hurricane system evolved from the Hawker "Fury Monoplane" as it ...

Hawker Sea Fury / Fury
The Hawker Sea Fury was developed out Hawker's Typhoon and Tempest aircraft designs utilized by Britain during World War 2. Though not without their limitations, the Typhoon and Tempest platforms had substantial inherent bene...

Hawker Sea Hurricane
The Hawker Sea Hurricane appeared in 1941 in an effort to protect British merchant ships from German naval attacks. Basically modified versions of the successful Hawker land-based Hurricane fighters, Sea Hurricanes were at fi...

Hawker Tempest
The Hawker Tempest originally appeared as an improved Hawker Typhoon, the war-winning aircraft that effectively failed in its intended role as an interceptor but went on to star as a low-level fighter-bomber. The Tempest bega...

Hawker Typhoon
The Hawker Typhoon (affectionate known as the "Tiffie") was initially intended as a dedicated interceptor and set to succeed the 1930's-era Hawker Hurricane and was first drawn up in 1937. The system was designed to a British...

Heinkel He 112
The Heinkel He 112 was the only serious threat (next to the Messerschmitt Bf 109) to becoming Germany's first modern monoplane design in operational service. The aircraft exhibited potential right from the start but was ultim...

Heinkel He 162 Volksjager (Peoples Fighter)
The He 162 Volksjager (the "People's Fighter") was developed as a quick solution to stem the tide of the major Allied advances witnessed by German forces in the latter years of the war. The plan was to produce these inexpensi...

Heinkel He 219 Uhu (Eagle-Owl)
The advanced Heinkel He 219 "Uhu" (meaning "Eagle-Owl") was an impressive dedicated night-fighter platform serving the interests of the Third Reich - albeit in limited numbers - during World War 2. Though a capable aircraft a...

Heinkel He 280
Though never produced in any operational format, the Heinkel He 280 series was the world's first turbojet fighter aircraft designed from the start as a fighter. German scientists were on the cutting edge of turbojet developme...

Heinkel He 51
The He 51 was a product of the German Heinkel firm and a design of the Gunter twins, Walter and Siegfried. The Gunters became part of the Heinkel firm in 1931 and made the He 49 their first product with the company. The He 49...

Horten Ho IX / Horten Ho 229
The Horten Ho IX (or "Horten Ho 229" - sometimes wrongly designated the "Gotha Go 229") maintains a certain level of celebrity status in the world of military aviation, essentially becoming the first production-worthy form of...

IAR 80 / IAR 81
When first unveiled in 1938, the Romanian-produced I.A.R. 80 (IAR = Industria Aeronautica Romana) piston engine, single-seat fighter was a promising performer even when compared to her contemporaries. The aircraft served with...

Kawanishi N1K-J Shiden (George)
Despite some early setbacks in design, the Kawanishi N1K1-J "Shiden" (or "violet lightning" - codenamed "George" by the Allies), was an exemplary fighter that was capable of going head-to-head with even the fabled American F6...

Kawasaki Ki-100
Despite being produced in severely limited numbers (thanks in large part to the Allied bombing campaigns in the Pacific), the Kawasaki Ki-100 is often regarded as one of the best Japanese production fighters available in the ...

Kawasaki Ki-45 KAIc Toryu (Nick)
Despite serving in limited numbers, fielded with no search-finding radar and appearing as the only Imperial Japanese Army night-fighter of the Second World War, the Kawasaki-brand Ki-45 KAIc night-fighter platform proved a su...

Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu (Nick)
By 1937, interest in a twin-engine fighter had peaked for the Imperial Japanese Army so much so that a requirement was put forth for the nation's first. Kawasaki entered into the fray successfully and presented the Ki-45 seri...

Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (Tony)
The Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (meaning "Swallow" and codenamed "Tony" by the Allies) was another of the oft-forgotten yet impressive Japanese-brand fighter designs of the Second World War, joining the equally impressive Kawanishi N...

Kyushu J7W Shinden (Magnificent Lightning)
The unorthodox Kyushu J7W Shinden ("Magnificent Lightning") was a "wonder-weapon" of the Empire of Japan in the closing months of World War 2. It utilized a "canard configuration" and was intended as a high-speed, high-agil...

Lavochkin La-5
Design of the Lavochkin La-5 series of low-to-medium altitude fighters was spurred on by a need for equipment capable of matching or exceeding anything the German Luftwaffe was fielding. Initially caught by surprise by the Ge...

Lavochkin LaGG-3
The LaGG-3 piston-engine pursuit fighter (the LaGG in the designation coming from "Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov") was one of the earlier successes of modern aircraft design for the Soviet Union in World War 2. Basically an impr...

Lockheed P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning (often called the "Fork-Tailed Devil" from the German perspective) was the brainchild of aviation engineer Kelly Johnson. The name "Lightning" itself is believed to be derived from the designation ...

Lockheed XP-49
The XP-49 was a development of the Lockheed Corporation and a possible replacement for its successful line of P-38 Lightning aircraft. The XP-49 was to be a high-altitude performer with the capabilities of a well-designed fig...

Lockheed XP-58 Chain Lightning
The XP-58 "Chain Lightning" was initially envisioned as a larger version of the successful Lockheed P-38 Lightning twin-boom design capable of downing hordes of enemy bomber formations in single burst shots. The fear covering...

Macchi C.202 Folgore (Thunderbolt)
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Macchi MC.200 Saetta (Lightning)
The Macchi M.C.200 Saetta (or "Lightning") was the main production fighter in the Italian military when Italy entered the Second World War. Overall, a most basic of fighter designs, armed with 2 x 12.7mm machine guns and dece...

McDonnell XP-67 Bat / Moonbat
The XP-67 was the first attempt by the McDonnell corporation to build a fighter for the United States Military. The same corporation would go on to built the superb F-4 Phantom II, F-15 Eagle and F-18 Hornet air superiority a...

Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was the quintessential fighter for the Third Reich throughout the Second World War. Clandestine German involvement in the Spanish Civil War allowed Bf 109 pilots to develop tactics and responses that ...

Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstorer (Destroyer)
The twin-engine Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstorer (or "Destroyer" or even "Heavy Fighter" in some sources) was initially designed to meet a German specification for a "high-speed bomber and heavy fighter". The result was the les...

Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet (Comet)
The Me 163 Komet was perhaps the most unique aircraft design of the Second World War. German scientists, always on the cutting edge of evolving war technology, developed a rocket-powered aircraft based on testing completed wi...

Messerschmitt Me 209-II
The Messerschmitt Me 209-II was a proposed successor to the far-reaching Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter. The Bf 109 was the standard German Luftwaffe fighter of World War 2 and developed quite a reputation during the conflict, ...

Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (Swallow)
The Me 262 Schwalbe (or "Swallow") is a good case study in the "what if" category centering around poor production design and the bureaucracy inherent in a dictatorship like that of the Third Reich. With the unrealized capabi...

Messerschmitt Me 328
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Messerschmitt Me P.1101
The Messerschmitt Me P.1101 was a swept-wing, single-seat, single-engine jet-powered fighter aircraft under development for the German Luftwaffe in the closing years of World War 2. The aircraft was the first such design to f...

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 / MiG-3
Despite being one of the fastest Soviet piston-engine designs in the early years of the war, the MiG-3 was dogged by less-than-stellar handling characteristics and was genuinely still outclassed by German counterparts in the ...

Mitsubishi A5M (Claude)
The Mitsubishi A5M (code-named "Claude" by the Allies) became the world's first shipborne monoplane fighter aircraft when it was inducted into service with the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1937. The system served in some capacit...

Mitsubishi A6M Reisen (Zeke / Zero)
With a design history beginning as early as 1937, the A6M series (commonly referred to as the "Zero" or by the Allied codename of "Zeke") became the first carrierborne fighter aircraft to supercede all other land-based counte...

Mitsubishi Ki-109
The Mitsubishi Ki-109 was a specialized derivative of the Mitsubishi Ki-67 heavy bomber. The Ki-109 was designed specifically to deal with the growing threat posed by the high-attitude American Boeing B-29 Superfortress over ...

Mitsubishi Ki-46-III (Dinah)
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Morane-Saulnier M.S.406
The Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 was a single engine, piston-powered, single-seat fighter appearing just before the outbreak of hostilities between France and Germany. Though a solid design by 1930's standards, the system did not ...

Nakajima J1N1-S
The Nakajima J1N1-S series was a dedicated nightfighting aircraft based on the J1N1 Gekko ("moonlight") reconnaissance aircraft platform also of the Nakajima brand. The system found success for a time, particularly against th...

Nakajima Ki-27 (Nate / Abdul)
The Nakajima Ki-27 "Nate" (known early on as "Abdul") was a successful low-monoplane, all-metal with stressed skin fighter design employed by the Empire of Japan throughout the Second World War. Initially conceived of as a pr...

Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa (Oscar)
The Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa (meaning "Peregrine Falcon" and codenamed "Oscar" by the Allies) was a mass-produced fighter for the Imperial Japanese Army in World War 2. Next to the Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" types, the Oscar was th...

Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki (Tojo)
The Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki (meaning "Demon Queller" and codenamed "Tojo" by the Allies) was a single engine monoplane interceptor appearing in production throughout the war years. The system was designed with performance in min...

Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Frank)
Out of the many fine fighters available to the Japanese Army in the closing months of World War 2, none were of greater import than the arrival of the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (meaning "gale" and known as "Frank" to the Allies. ...

North American P-51 / F-51 Mustang
The North American P-51 Mustang proved an invaluable addition to the Allied cause in the latter half of World War 2. The system was designed and flown in a matter of months and made such an impact that it could clearly be con...

Northrop P-61 / F-61 Black Widow
The Northrop P-61 Black Widow became the United States' first aircraft specifically designed from the outset as a platform dedicated to the fine art of night-fighting. Enabled by its complex through highly-effective nose-moun...

Northrop XP-56 Black Bullet
The XP-56 "Black Bullet" was designed by the Northrop company to an Army Air Corps proposal known as the R-40C. The XP-56 stood out as yet another radical design and focused on the flying wing concept while incorporating push...

Northrop XP-79
The XP-79 was another of Northrop's flying wing attempts with the initial project being conceived as a rocket-propelled model. The design was dominated by the large horizontal wing surface area with twin vertical tail surface...

Petlyakov Pe-3
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Polikarpov I-15 Chaika
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Polikarpov I-16
The Polikarpov I-16 fighter proved to be quite the little aggressor before and throughout the Second World War. Initially seeing combat in the Spanish Civil War, the system would go on to see more during the Soviet invasion o...

Potez 630 / 631
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PZL P.11
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Reggiane Re.2000 Sagittaro (Archer)
The Reggiane 2000 series of aircraft was very reminiscent of American interwar designs appearing between 1930 and 1940. The Reggiane maintained a stout profile centered around a large engine, rounded edge wings and traditiona...

Republic P-47 / F-47 Thunderbolt
While much of the romance of World War 2 dogfighting often heads in the direction of the USAAF's North American P-51 Mustang or the Vought F4U Corsair, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (affectionately nicknamed "the Jug" by her ...

Republic XP-72 Super Thunderbolt
The XP-72 Wasp Major Thunderbolt was intended to be an "ultimate" design of the highly successful P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber as produced by Republic. The XP-72 was to incorporate the successful P-47 airframe and mate it ...

Saab J 21
The Saab 21 series of fighter aircraft was of a most unique design - in more ways then one. The system was drawn up to a 1941 response for an indigenous fighter aircraft intended to replace the outdated airframes Sweden was c...

Seversky P-35
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Sukhoi Su-1 / Su-3
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Supermarine Seafire
With the successful conversions of Hawker Hurricanes to carrier-operation roles, it was decided to take the successful land-based Supermarine Spitfires and attempt the same modifications. The resulting design was the Supermar...

Supermarine Spitfire
The legendary Spitfire earned fame through its exploits in the Battle of Britain, often overshadowing the equally successful - yet somewhat utilitarian - Hawker Hurricanes. The Spitfire's image as a sleek and sexy fighter wit...

Vought F4U Corsair
The F4U Corsair series of aircraft was one of the finer fighter developments of the Second World War, primarily seeing combat in the Pacific Theater of War. The uniquely designed bent-wings and ever-improving powerplant assur...

Vultee XP-54 Swoose Goose
The Vultee XP-54 was one of the more distinct aircraft creations designed during World War 2. Produced through the essentially "empty canvas / blank check" approach by an Army Air Corps initiative (the specification was known...

Vultee XP-81
The Consolidated Vultee XP-81 was a proposed long-range, high-altitude fighter design that was to be the answer for bomber escorting in Europe but, more importantly, throughout the island hopping campaign of the Pacific. The ...

Westland Welkin
With its origins in the Westland Whirlwind, the Westland Welkin (meaning "Vault of Heaven") was a twin-engined fighter designed as a high-altitude interceptor to defend against another possible Luftwaffe bombing campaign agai...

Westland Whirlwind
The Westland Whirlwind was a most capable design that might have seen even better service numbers were it not for the choice of engines. Originally slated to utilize the Rolls-Royce brand Merlin engines, the Whirlwind platfor...

Yakovlev Yak-1 (Krasavyets)
Often overshadowed by its contemporaries in the West (to include the Supermarine Spitfire, North American P-51 Mustang, Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Focke-Wulf Fw 190) the early production Yakovlev fighter aircraft were some ...

Yakovlev Yak-3
The Yakovlev Yak-3 was a further development of the Yak-1 series of fighters (detailed elsewhere on this site) and was well renowned for possessing an impressive rate of climb and unmatched maneuverability. The system appeare...

Yakovlev Yak-9 (Frank)
In line with other classic wartime fighters of World War 2, the Yakovlev-produced Yak-9 was another excellent piston-engine addition to the family line. Initially conceived from a developmental version of the Yak-7 that featu...