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...

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...

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...

Grumman TBF Avenger
The TBF Avenger became a classic warfighter thanks to its resilience in the ongoing battle over the Pacific in the Second World War. Able to deliver payloads of torpedoes, drop bombs and rockets, the system was also capable (...

Heinkel He 111 Z (Zwilling)
The He 111 Z (or "Zwilling") was an interesting, albeit bizarre, joining of two He 111 medium bombers (detailed elsewhere on this site). In an attempt to bring together existing designs to produce a large enough transport cap...

Heinkel He 177 Greif (Griffin)
The Heinkel He 177 Greif (or "Griffin") was a bomber produced in limited numbers for the German Luftwaffe. By any standard, the aircraft should have made more of an impact on the war for Germany's sake but structural flaws an...

Henschel Hs 129
The Henschel Hs 129 fighter-bomber was built to a 1937 German specification for a twin-engine close-support aircraft with considerable armor protection for pilot and crew and the ability to field twin 20mm cannons at least. T...

Kawanishi H8K (Emily)
The Empire of Japan seemed to be producing its best aircraft designs of the war towards the end of the conflict. The Kawanishi H8K (codenamed "Emily" by the Allies) was such an example. Bred to take the reigns of the similar ...

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...

Kyushu K11W Shiragiku (White Chrysanthemum)
Oft-forgotten, but no less important to the Japanese war effort of World War 2, was the Kyushu K11W Shiragiku ("White Chrysanthemum") advanced bomber crew trainer. The aircraft served as part of the Imperial Japanese Navy and...

Lockheed PV-1 Ventura / PV-2 Harpoon
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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...

Messerschmitt Me 264 Amerika (America)
The Messerschmitt Me 264 was intended as a long-range aircraft and reconnaissance platform that was to supply the German Luftwaffe with a bomber capable of hitting targets within America as well as support Kriegsmarine U-boat...

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 J2M Raiden (Jack)
The J2M Raiden (meaning "Thunderbolt" and codenamed "Jack" by the Allies) was primarily used as a local defense fighter by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The system was designed to combat the growing threat of the high-flying Bo...

Nakajima B6N Tenzan (Jill)
The Nakajima B6N Tenzan (translating to "heavenly mountain") series was a capable torpedo bomber fielded by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the Second World War. The system performed capably and would stay in operational ...

North American A-36 Apache (Invader)
The A-36 Apache was a United States Army version of the successful North American P-51 Mustang piston-engine fighter. The original Mustang itself was developed to a British specification but the Mustang went on to see its glo...

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...

Yokosuka D4Y Suisei (Judy)
The Yokosuka D4Y Suisei (translating to "Comet" and nicknamed "Judy" by the Allies) was a capable dive bomber serving the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second World War. The system saw some reliability issues in early pre...