WW2 British Military Aircraft
Prior to the American involvement in World War 2, British and Commonwealth air power stood alone against the teeth of the Axis war machine.
There are a total of 100 WW2 British Military Aircraft in the Military Factory. Entries are listed below in alphanumeric order. Flag images indicative of country of origin.
1937
The Airspeed Oxford was a critical component of the British and Commonwealth forces aerial training program during World War ...
1941
The Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle became one of those aircraft designs that evolved into a role not initially envisioned. The...
1936
The impressive Armstrong Whitworth Ensign AW.27 series was made originally designed to a 1934 British government requirement ...
1924
The Armstrong Whitworth Siskin (a siskin being a smallish yellow-tinged finch) was the primary air mount of many-a-Royal Air ...
1937
Continuing in the tradition of ugly yet robust and reliable heavy bombers, the British Armstrong Whitworth Whitley was the he...
1933
The Avro 621 Tutor was a primary component of RAF and RN pilot training in the interwar years. Developed from the World War 1...
1936
The Avro Anson was a militarized version of the commercial passenger transport Avro 652. The Anson itself was produced to ful...
1942
The Avro Lancaster went on to become the most important British heavy bomber or World War 2. Interestingly, its success was b...
1940
The Avro Manchester was a semi-successful attempt by the Avro firm to fulfill Air Ministry Specification P.13/36. The specifi...
1941
The Beechcraft C-45 was based on the Beech Aircraft Corporation's civilian-minded Model 18 "Twin Beech" series. First flight ...
1941
The Bell P-39 Airacobra is yet another in the long line aircraft studies stemming from World War 2 in the "what-might-have be...
1942
The Bell-produced P-59 Airacomet series is one of those aircraft that becomes more of a study in American jet pioneering than...
1943
At its core, the Bell P-63 Kingcobra proved a modest improvement over the relative failure that was the P-39 Airacobra. Thoug...
1934
The Blackburn Baffin was nothing more than a Pegasus-engined evolution of the Blackburn Ripon bomber of the mid-1920s. Both t...
1929
The Blackburn concern was founded in 1914 by aviation engineer Robert Blackburn as the "Blackburn Aeroplane & Motor Company" ...
1939
The Boeing Model 314 "Clipper" was a flying boat developed by Boeing Aircraft Company to fulfill a Pan American requirement f...
1937
Though the Consolidated B-24 Liberator was built in greater numbers, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is often regarded as the...
1943
B-29 Superfortress status is often associated with the atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ...
1937
The inter-war years saw a vast shift to more modern and potent aircraft platforms. The Boulton Paul Defiant followed as only ...
1937
The stubby F2A Buffalo series became the United States Navy's first operational aircraft of monoplane design. Despite this ho...
1939
Serving until the 1960s with the Royal Air Force, the Bristol Beaufighter (or simply "Beau") became a national hero through h...
1940
The Bristol Beaufort enjoyed a strong run between the war years of 1940-1943 as the primary British torpedo bomber in service...
1935
The Bristol Blenheim billed as a bomber though when it was officially installed into operational active service, the aircraft...
1939
The CAC Wirraway ("Challenge" in the Woiwurrung native tongue) became one of Australia's primary trainer aircraft from 1939 o...
1936
Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico ("CANT") was responsible for the excellent Italian floatplane design that was the CANT Z.506 ...
1941
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator became a major player for Allied forces during World War 2. Its exploits ranged the world ove...
1940
By the middle of the 1930's America was no longer blind to the real possibility that the war would sooner or later be waged a...
1936
Maritime aircraft play an understated role, especially in that of war time. Fly boats came to pass, first in peace-time devel...
1938
The Curtiss P-36 Hawk aircraft saw considerable operational service in the years leading up to, and during, World War 2. Its ...
1941
The P-40 Warhawk / Kittyhawk / Tomahawk series of aircraft was the further development of the P-36 Hawk platform (detailed el...
1943
The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was a rather unassuming dive bomber / reconnaissance aircraft serving throughout World War 2 begin...
1938
In 1932, the United States Navy contracted the Curtiss-Wright Corporation to produce a modern, two-seat fighter design for us...
1942
The Curtiss SO3C "Seamew" (Curtiss Model 82) was an oft-forgotten navy reconnaissance/scout/patrol floatplane produced in qua...
1931
The Tiger Moth series produced by the UK firm of de Havilland went on to become one of the more beloved trainers of all time,...
1942
Discussions of war-winning World War 2 aircraft regularly seem to leave out one of the most famous and successful of the conf...
1937
The Dornier Do 17 was a medium-class bomber fielded primarily by the German Luftwaffe in the years leading up to World War 2....
1941
The Douglas A-20 Havoc served Allied forces through most of World War 2, fighting for British, American and Soviet forces. Th...
1944
The Douglas A-26 Invader was a distinguished twin-engine light bomber whose origins were well-placed in the Second World War....
1940
The C-47 Skytrain was a product of the Douglas Aircraft Company and is regarded as the best transport of World War 2. Interes...
1934
Before the DC-3 became a marketing success for the Douglas Aircraft Company - produced in some 16,000 total examples - the co...
1938
The Douglas DBS Dauntless dive bomber was a key cog in the America Navy war effort throughout the Pacific during World War 2....
1943
The Fairey Firefly was a hugely successful, two-seat, carrierborne fighter aircraft serving with the Royal Fleet Air Arm thro...
1936
The Fairey Swordfish was one of the unsung heroes of the Second World War. With Britain seemingly fighting the world war all ...
1937
The seemingly fragile Fieseler Fi 156 Storch(or "Stork") does not seem to have a home in a global conflict as World War 2 was...
1938
The German Fw 200 Condor was initially a trans-Atlantic passenger and cargo (mail) aircraft developed by Focke-Wulf and legen...
1944
The Gloster Meteor became Britain's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. It reached operational status in the latt...
1935
Gloster Gauntlet origins lay in a Gloster design appearing in the late 1920's for the Royal Air Force and served throughout t...
1937
The Gloster Gladiator was a product of the Gloster Aircraft Company and a design of one Henry Phillip Folland. Achieving firs...
1940
The Grumman F4F Wildcat was the unsung hero of the Allied Pacific Theater campaign in the early years of World War 2. Often o...
1943
The F6F Hellcat was the successor to - and a logical evolution of - the capable F4F Wildcat series of carrier-borne aircraft ...
1937
While most every aircraft venture usually began with a military requirement or private venture undertaken by a manufacturer f...
1942
Destined never to win beauty contests, the Grumman TBF Avenger series of aircraft would go down as one of the most potent tor...
1940
While the Lancaster Heavy Bomber will always be more identifiable in terms of the British night bombing campaigns of World Wa...
1931
The Hawker Fury was the mainstay of Britain air defense throughout the 1930's until being replaced by the Gloster Gladiators....
1937
The Hawker Hurricane was indeed the true star of Britain's march against the Third Reich. Often overshadowed by the sleeker a...
1945
The Hawker Sea Fury was developed out Hawker's Typhoon and Tempest aircraft designs utilized by Britain during World War 2. T...
1941
The Hawker Sea Hurricane appeared in 1941 in an effort to protect British merchant ships from German naval attacks. Basically...
1944
The Hawker Tempest originally appeared as an improved Hawker Typhoon, the war-winning aircraft that effectively failed in its...
1939
The Hawker Tornado was born of the same initiative that brought forth the Hawker Typhoon of World War 2. The initiative itsel...
1941
The Hawker Typhoon (affectionate known as the "Tiffie") was initially intended as a dedicated interceptor and set to succeed ...
1939
By all accounts, the He 115 series of floatplane aircraft was regarded as the finest such aircraft in all of World War 2. She...
1933
The Heinkel 70 (Blitz) was originally born out of a need for a speedy aeroplane charged with "fast" mail delivery for the Deu...
1943
When the new Junkers Ju 288 - a design meant to replace the Junkers Ju 88 series of bombers - ran into developmental issues w...
1937
Before the Allies would gain air superiority over the skies of France and Germany, the Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive bomber woul...
1939
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning, nicknamed the "Fork-Tailed Devil" - Der Gabelschwanz Teufel - by the Germans, was the brainchild...
1941
The Martin B-26 Marauder overcame a rocky start to become one of the finest medium bombers of World War 2. The aircraft was d...
1941
The Martin-produced Baltimore was a light-to-medium class bomber whose design was based highly on the Martin "Maryland" A-22 ...
1940
The Martin-produced Maryland series was classified as a light bomber and saw action as a photographic reconnaissance plane th...
1941
The Martin PBM-3 / PBM-5 Mariner was a World War 2-era flying boat used in the maritime reconnaissance role. Martin designed ...
1934
The high performance, record-setting Messerschmitt Bf 108 "Taifun" ("Typhoon") was born as a racing aircraft under the protot...
1942
The A-36 Apache was a United States Army version of the successful North American P-51 Mustang piston-engine fighter. The ori...
1940
The North American B-25 Mitchell series of medium bombers went on to become one of the classic American aircraft designs to e...
1940
The North American P-51 Mustang proved an invaluable addition to the Allied cause in the latter half of World War 2. The syst...
1936
The T-6 Texan was and is a world famous single-engine aircraft primarily known for its use as a trainer. A product of the Nor...
1942
While much of the romance of World War 2 dogfighting often heads in the direction of the USAAF's North American P-51 Mustang ...
1936
The Saro London borrowed much from the British flying boat designs peppering the 1920s and, in many ways, her retirement was ...
1940
The gangly-looking Short Sterling formed the backbone of heavy bomber groups for the RAF from the Battle of Britain on throug...
1937
The Short Sunderland was the premiere flying boat of British military aviators during World War 2. Oft regarded as one of the...
1942
When the land-based Hawker Hurricane was successfully converted into the carrier-based "Sea Hurricane", thought was given to ...
1938
The Supermarine Spitfire the legendary British fighter aircraft developed prior to World War 2. The type earned its status as...
1937
The Supermarine Stranraer was the final evolution of the Supermarine Southampton which debuted in March of 1925. The original...
1938
The Vickers-produced Wellington medium-class bomber was a principle bomber of the Royal Air Force at the start of the Second ...
1942
The F4U Corsair series of aircraft was one of the finer fighter developments of the Second World War, primarily seeing combat...
1940
The OS2U Kingfisher was a product of the Vought aircraft firm, appearing initially as the VS.310 design to which the United S...
1941
The A-35 Vengeance was a dive bomber produced by the Vultee Aircraft Company and resulted in over a thousand examples being u...
1944
With its origins in the Westland Whirlwind, the Westland Welkin (meaning "Vault of Heaven") was a twin-engined fighter design...
1940
The Westland Whirlwind was a most capable design that might have seen even better service numbers were it not for the choice ...
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AIRCRAFT BY CONFLICT:
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MISCELLANEOUS:
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WORLD WAR 2:
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WORLD WAR 1:
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KOREAN WAR:
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VIETNAM WAR:
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COLD WAR:
• 1950s French Aircraft
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