The Curtiss A-8 was a low-wing monoplane ground-attack aircraft built by the United States company Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, designed in response to a 1929 United States Army Air Corps requirement for an attack aircraft to replace the A-3 Falcon. The Model 59 "Shrike" was designated XA-8.

The XA-8 won a competition against the General Aviation/Fokker XA-7, after which 13 service test aircraft were ordered (five as YA-8s and eight as Y1A-8s). After the completion of testing, 11 of these aircraft were redesignated A-8.

The A-8 was the first Curtiss machine of all-metal low-wing monoplane configuration with advanced features such as automatic leading edge slats and trailing-edge flaps.

Four forward-firing .30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns were mounted in the wheel fairings, and an additional weapon of the same calibre was fitted in the observer's cockpit for rear defense. The standard bomb load was four 100 lb (45 kg) bombs.

One YA-8 was fitted with a radial engine and designated YA-10, while another was used for testing of the Curtiss V-1570 Conqueror engine as the Y1A-8A. This aircraft was redesignated A-8 upon the completion of testing.

46 aircraft were ordered as A-8Bs, however the order was changed to the Model 60 A-12s before production began.

The A-8 created a sensation in US aviation circles when it went into service with the 3rd Attack Group at Fort Crockett, Texas in April 1932. All other standard aircraft were of biplane configuration, and the first monoplane fighter (the Boeing P-26A) did not become operational until eight months later.

Variants

XA-8
Model 59, one prototype, (30-387), length 32 ft 6 in (9.91 m), wingspan 44 ft (13 m), gross weight 5,413 lb (2,455 kg) Curtiss V-1570-23 direct drive engine

YA-8
Model 59A, service test aircraft, 5 built, (32-344 to 32-348), gross weight 5,706 lb (2,588 kg), one was reworked as the YA-10 prototype with the 625 hp (466 kW) Pratt & Whitney Hornet radial engine
Y1A-8
service test aircraft, 8 built, (32-349 to 32-356) gross weight 5,710 lb (2,590 kg)
A-8
12 redesignated YA-8 and Y1A-8 aircraft
Y1A-8A
last Y1A-8 with Curtiss V-1570-57 geared engine, length 3 ft 7 in (1.09 m), gross weight 6,287 lb (2,852 kg)
A-8A
redesignated Y1A-8A aircraft
A-8B
cancelled, replaced by A-12 Shrike

The Curtiss O-52 Owl was an observation aircraft used by the United States Army Air Corps before and during World War II. They were used for anti-submarine searches in Americas and by lend-lease also used on the Eastern Front in Europe by the Soviets.

Developed in 1939, the Curtiss O-52 was the last "heavy" observation aircraft developed for the US Army Air Corps. The concept of the two-seat observation aircraft, classed as the "O" series aircraft, dated to World War I, and in 1940, the Army Air Corps ordered 203 Curtiss O-52s for observation duties.

Curtis designed it the Curtiss Model 85, and it was powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial engine.

Upon delivery, the aircraft was used in military maneuvers with the USAAC, but following America's entry into World War II, the USAAF determined that the aircraft did not possess sufficient performance for "modern" combat operations in overseas areas. As a result, the O-52 was relegated to courier duties within the U.S. and short-range submarine patrol over the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

O-52 were used by the 2nd Reconnaissance Squadron, which flew them out of Puerto Rico and Trinidad, to search for Nazi U Boats.

The O-52 was the last "O" type aircraft procured in quantity for the Air Corps. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the "O" designation was discontinued and the "L" series for liaison-type aircraft was adopted instead.

In November 1942, the USSR ordered 30 O-52 Owls through the Lend-Lease program. Twenty-six were shipped, with only 19 delivered as a number were lost on the North Arctic Route. Of these only ten were accepted into service. They were used operationally for artillery fire spotting and general photographic and observation platforms in north and central areas on the Russian Front during spring–summer 1943. One O-52 was shot down by Luftwaffe fighters. In the report on military tests, the Soviet pilots recognized that the American machine was superior to the outdated Polikarpov R-5, and Polikarpov R-Z spotters used at the front. The aircraft was generally disliked in Soviet use although some were still flying into the 1950s.

The Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as the Curtiss Hawk Model 75, is an American-designed and built fighter aircraft of the 1930s and 40s. A contemporary of both the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first of a new generation of combat aircraft—a sleek monoplane design making extensive use of metal in its construction and powered by a powerful radial engine.

Perhaps best known as the predecessor of the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, the P-36 saw little combat with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was nevertheless the fighter used most extensively and successfully by the French Armee de l'air during the Battle of France. The P-36 was also ordered by the governments of the Netherlands and Norway, but did not arrive in time to see action before both were occupied by Nazi Germany. The type was also manufactured under license in China, for the Republic of China Air Force, as well as in British India, for the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF).

Axis and co-belligerent air forces also made significant use of captured P-36s. Following the fall of France and Norway in 1940, several dozen P-36s were seized by Germany and transferred to Finland; these aircraft saw extensive action with the Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force) against the Soviet Air Forces. The P-36 was also used by Vichy French air forces in several minor conflicts; in one of these, the Franco-Thai War of 1940–41, P-36s were used by both sides.

From mid-1940, some P-36s en route for France and the Netherlands were diverted to Allied air forces in other parts of the world. The Hawks ordered by the Netherlands were diverted to the Dutch East Indies and later saw action against Japanese forces. French orders were taken up by British Commonwealth air forces, and saw combat with both the South African Air Force (SAAF) against Italian forces in East Africa, and with the RAF over Burma. Within the Commonwealth, the type was usually referred to as the Curtiss Mohawk.

With around 1,000 aircraft built by Curtiss itself, the P-36 was a major commercial success for the company. It also became the basis not only of the P-40, but two other, unsuccessful prototypes: the P-37 and the XP-42. The P-37 replaced the radial engine with an  Allison V-1710 inline, and moved the cockpit back in line with the wing trailing edge. 

For details of development,design, operational history and variants, click here.

P-37 variant with inline engine.

P-40 Warhawk was the name the United States Army Air Corps gave the plane, and after June 1941, the USAAF adopted the name for all models, making it the official name in the U.S. for all P-40s. The British Commonwealth and Soviet air forces used the name Tomahawk for models equivalent to the original P-40, P-40B, and P-40C, while the name Kittyhawk for models equivalent to the P-40D and all later variants.

It was the third most-produced American fighter of World War II, after the P-51 and P-47; by November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built, all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation's main production facilities at Buffalo, New York.

For an extensive history of the P-40, its development and the countries with which it served, plus details of the variants, click here.

Specifications below are for the P-40E Kittyhawk variant.

The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, also known as the A-25 Shrike, is a dive bomber developed by Curtiss-Wright during World War II. As a carrier-based bomber with the United States Navy (USN), in Pacific theaters, it supplemented and replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless. A few survivors are extant.

Initially poor handling characteristics and late modifications caused lengthy delays to production and deployment, to the extent that it was investigated by the Truman Committee, which turned in a scathing report. This contributed to the decline of Curtiss as a company. Neither pilots nor aircraft carrier skippers seemed to like it. Nevertheless, the type was faster than the Dauntless, and by the end of the Pacific War, the Helldiver had become the main dive bomber and attack aircraft on USN carriers.

By the time a land-based variant, known as the A-25 Shrike became available, in late 1943, the Western Allied air forces had abandoned dedicated dive-bombers. A majority of A-25s delivered to the US Army Air Forces were transferred to the US Marine Corps, which used the type only in one side campaign and non-combat roles. The British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force also cancelled substantial orders, retaining only a few aircraft for research purposes.

Nicknames for the aircraft included "Big-Tailed Beast" or just "Beast", "Two-Cee", and "Son-of-a-Bitch 2nd Class"; the latter nickname was derived from the name SB2C and the Shrike's reputation for having difficult handling characteristics.

Australian service

 
At an early stage of World War II, the Australian government noted that the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) lacked dedicated dive bombers and ordered 150 Curtiss Shrikes. These aircraft were paid for by the US Government as Lend Lease aid.

By November 1943, when the first shipment of 10 Shrikes arrived in Australia, the RAAF had decided that dive bombing was an outmoded tactic. Vultee Vengeance dive bombers, which were already in service with the RAAF, were being replaced by light bombers. As a result, the order for the remaining 140 Shrikes was cancelled.

While the 10 aircraft received were taken on strength, with the RAAF serial prefix A69, only one of these Shrikes officially took to the air in RAAF service. A69-4 was assigned to No. 1 Air Performance Unit, for performance testing, between December 1943 and April 1944. The RAAF and US Fifth Air Force already operated a joint pool of aircraft types common to both services in the South West Pacific theatre and, by mid-January 1944, the other nine Shrikes had been transferred to USAAF units. A69-4 was also transferred to the USAAF in December 1944.

For more information on development and design, operational history and the 24 variants, click here.

A69-4, the only Curtiss Shrike to enter RAAF service.

The Curtiss SOC Seagull was an American single-engined scout observation seaplane, designed by Alexander Solla of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation for the United States Navy. The aircraft served on battleships and cruisers in a seaplane configuration, being launched by catapult and recovered from a sea landing. The wings folded back against the fuselage for storage aboard ship. When based ashore or on carriers the single float was replaced by fixed wheeled landing gear.

Curtiss delivered 258 SOC aircraft, in versions SOC-1 through SOC-4, beginning in 1935. The SOC-3 design was the basis of the Naval Aircraft Factory SON-1 variant, of which the NAF delivered 64 aircraft from 1940.

The aircraft served as an important observation craft during WW2 for the U.S. Navy, although the Vought OS2U Kingfisher served in greater numbers.

The SOC was ordered for production by the United States Navy in 1933 and first entered service in 1935. The first order was for 135 SOC-1 models, which was followed by 40 SOC-2 models for landing operations and 83 SOC-3s. A variant of the SOC-3 was built by the Naval Aircraft Factory and was known as the SON-1.

The first ship the SOC was assigned to was the light cruiser USS Marblehead in November 1935; by the end of the decade, the SOC had replaced its predecessor throughout the fleet. Production came to an end in 1938. By 1941, most battleships had transitioned to the Vought OS2U Kingfisher and cruisers were expected to replace their aging SOCs with the third generation SO3C Seamew. The SO3C, however, suffered from a weak engine and plans to adopt it as a replacement were scrapped. The SOC, despite belonging to an earlier generation, went on to execute its missions of gunfire observation and limited range scouting missions.

For more details of operational history, and the seven variants, click here. Specification below are for the SOC-1 floatplane variant.

The Curtiss-Wright AT-9 Jeep is an American twin-engined advanced trainer aircraft used by the United States during World War II to bridge the gap between single-engined trainers and twin-engined combat aircraft. The AT-9 had a low-wing cantilever monoplane configuration, retractable landing gear and was powered by two Lycoming R-680-9 radial engines.

Curtiss-Wright anticipated the requirement for this type of "high-performance" aircraft and designed the Curtiss-Wright CW-25, a twin-engined trainer, which possessed the takeoff and landing characteristics of a light bomber. Using the same basic design as the larger Cessna AT-17 Bobcat, the new CW-25 was designed to simulate the demands of multi-engined operations. The design featured a small layout, grouping two Lycoming R-680-9 radial engines forward and using a retractable tailwheel landing gear to achieve the performance necessary to meet the requirements of an advanced trainer. The single CW-25 prototype acquired for evaluation had a welded steel-tube fuselage structure with the wings, fuselage and tail unit fabric-covered.

The first prototype Model 25 flew in 1941 and the production version entered service as the AT-9 in 1942. Named the "Fledgling" by Curtiss-Wright, it commonly became known as the "Jeep" in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). The prototype CW-25 had a fabric-covered steel tube fuselage and fabric-covered wings and tail units, but production AT-9s were of stressed metal skin construction.

The AT-9 was purposely designed to be less stable and proved to be difficult to fly or land, which made it particularly suitable for teaching new pilots to cope with the demanding flight characteristics of a new generation of high-performance, multi-engined aircraft such as the Martin B-26 Marauder and Lockheed P-38 Lightning.

A total of 491 AT-9s were built before production ended and a new production run of 300 of the generally similar AT-9A commenced.

Because of its difficult flying characteristics, the AT-9 was not offered for sale to civilians after the war, although many non-flying examples were given to ground schools for training purposes.

Variants
CW-25
Prototype with fabric covered fuselage and tail surfaces
AT-9
Production aircraft with stressed-skin covering and two Lycoming R-680-9 radial engines, 491 built.
AT-9A
AT-9 with Lycoming R-680-11 radial engines and revised hydraulic system, 300 built before production ended in February 1943.

Number built    792 (including prototype and AT-9A variant)

The Curtiss-Wright CW-19 was a civil utility aircraft designed in the United States in the mid-1930s and built in small quantities in a number of variants including the CW-23 military trainer prototype.

Originally conceived as the Curtiss-Robertson CR-2 Coupe shortly before the Curtiss-Wright merger and the dropping of the Curtiss-Robertson brand, it was an all-metal, low-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional configuration with fixed tailwheel undercarriage and side-by-side seating for two. A prominent feature on all versions other than the original CR-2 prototypes was the large "trouser"-style wheel spats. While the design was never perfected for the civil market it was originally intended for, a militarized version was soon developed that replaced the side-by-side cabin with tandem seating and added provision for guns and bombs.

Twenty-six CW-19s of all types were produced. The first was a single CW-19L built in 1935, known as either "Coupe" or "Sparrow" in documents. It would be purchased by the US Government and assigned the registration number NS-69. The second aircraft built was a CW-19W, which featured a much more powerful 145 hp Warner Super Scarab in place of the Lambert engine. It was decided that this aircraft was not well-suited for private civil aviation, and was also discontinued after one prototype.

The military-grade CW-19R saw a significant revision to the cockpit and canopy, removing the old "Coupe" design and replacing it with a tandem-seat sliding glass canopy. Powerplant options varied between the Wright R-760E2 and Wright R-975E3. A variety of armament options were also available, including a synchronized fuselage-mounted machine gun firing through the propeller arc, two gun pods mounted outboard of the landing gear, a flexible mount for the second aviator to use as a defensive turret, bombs, and an auxiliary fuel tank. Twenty two examples would be produced and would be the only version to be sold, with the majority going to South and Central American countries.

The CW-A19R was an unarmed version of the CW-19R intended for the USAAC but without any success. It would also be offered on the civil market as the ATC A-629. A total of two CW-A19R would be completed—one company demonstrator for Curtiss-Wright and one sold to a private owner. A third was not completed and rebuilt as a CW-22.

A CW-B19R was planned and advertised, based upon the CW-A19R but with a four or five-seat civilian cabin, but it was not built.

Variants
CR-2 - Curtiss-Robertson prototype with strut-braced wing and unfaired undercarriage (two built)
Model 19L - prototype with cantilever wing, spatted undercarriage and Lambert R-266 engine (one built)
Model 19W - prototype with Warner Super Scarab engine (one built)
Model 19Q - Lycoming R-680-B2 Seaplane design (none built)
Model 19R Fighter - militarized version with tandem seating, weapons mountings, and Wright J-6-7 engine (23 built)
Model 19R Long Range Trainer - Extra center mounted 35 gallon aux tank pod. One fixed forward gun, one rear manned gun.
Model 19R Light Bomber - Two .30 cal guns with two A-3 bomb racks. (563 lb)
Model 19R Photo Reconnaissance - Two bottom mounted camera ports.
Model 19R Attack (special) - single seat with wing mounted guns (none built)
Model 19R Advanced Trainer - Pratt & Whitney R-760-E2 or R-975-E3 engine choices.
Model 19R Seaplane - proposed 1936 variant of the 19Q (none built)
Model A19R - military trainer offered to USAAC (three built, one later converted to CW-22)[1]
Model B19R - projected civil version of Model A19R (none built)
Model C19R - Amphibian standard trainer R-975-E3 (none built)
Model C19R - Amphibian advanced trainer (none built)
Model C19R - Amphibian fighter - One forward gun, one manned gun (none built)
Model C19R - Amphibian photographic aircraft - Fairchild KB-3 camera mount
Model C19Z - Standard Amphibian or Seaplane trainer - Pratt & Whitney Wasp SC-G
CW-23 - advanced military trainer with Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine and retractable undercarriage (one built)

The Curtiss-Wright Model 21 (also known as the Curtiss-Wright Model 21 Demonstrator, the Curtiss-Wright CW-21 Interceptor, the Curtiss-Wright CW-21 Demon) was an American fighter-interceptor developed by the St. Louis Airplane Division of Curtiss-Wright Corporation during the 1930s.

In 1938, George A. Page, head of the Saint Louis Airplane Division of Curtiss-Wright, decided to develop a fighter aircraft based on Carl W. Scott's two seater Model 19. Page's concept was a lightweight fighter interceptor with as high a rate of climb as possible in order to allow bomber formations to be attacked with minimal warning. If faced with fighter opposition, it was intended not to dogfight, but to use its superior climb rate to escape. While this was a direct contradiction to the United States Army Air Corps′ requirements for fighters (which stressed low-level performance), this did not concern Page, since the new fighter was intended for export.

Detailed design of the new fighter, the Model 21, or CW-21, was carried out by a team led by chief engineer Willis Wells. It was a single-seat, all-metal cantilever low-wing monoplane with retractable tailwheel landing gear, where the mainwheels retracted rearwards into fairings under the wing. The fuselage was a semi-monocoque structure that tapered sharply behind the pilot's cockpit. It was powered by a 1,000 hp (750 kW) Wright R-1820-G5 nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engine. It was designed to carry various combinations of two .30 in (7.62 mm) or .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, mounted in the nose and synchronized to fire through the propeller, while no armor or fuel tank protection was fitted in order to save weight and hence improve performance.

The prototype first flew on 22 September 1938, carrying the civil experimental registration NX19431. Although the CW-21 was not commissioned by the U.S. military, it was test flown at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. The Army Air Corps immediately rejected the aircraft, with one officer commenting that it took a genius to land it.

Variants

Model 21
Interceptor. One prototype built in 1938 (c/n 21-1 / NX19431). Three production units and a total of 27 sets of components shipped to the Republic of China to be assembled by CAMCO. Easily identifiable by the Seversky P-35 type of main undercarriage fairings; 31 built (unknown number assembled and flown).
Model 21A
Interceptor. Proposed design to use the Allison V-1710; not built.
Model 21B         (Specifications below)
Interceptor. A total of 24 built for the Netherlands East Indies, easily identifiable by the inward retracting main landing gear, that eliminated the need for the undercarriage fairings notable on the Model 21.

For details of operational history, click here.

The Dassault M.D.450 Ouragan (French: Hurricane) is a French fighter-bomber developed and produced by Dassault Aviation. It has its origins in a private venture by Dassault to produce an all-French aircraft which would make use of jet propulsion, which subsequently would receive orders from the French Air Force.

The Ouragan holds the distinction of being the first jet-powered French-designed combat aircraft to enter production, and thus played a key role in the resurgence of the French aviation industry following the Second World War. The Ouragan was operated by France, India, Israel and El Salvador. While in Israeli service, the type participated in both the Suez Crisis and the Six-Day War.

The Dassault Ouragan was an early jet-powered fighter aircraft. It employed a straightforward basic layout, with a single divided air intake in the nose that carried air around either side of the cockpit to the engine, which was located directly behind the pilot. The Ouragan was powered by a single Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet engine, produced under license by Hispano-Suiza. Early aircraft were equipped with Martin-Baker Mk.1 ejection seats, however the majority of production aircraft were outfitted with SNCASO E.86 ejection seats instead. Some of the more advanced aerodynamic features of the Ouragan included its swept tailplane and its thin wing, which was tapered along the leading edge.

For more details of origin, development, production, operators, etc., click here.

Variants

MD 450A Ouragan
First 50 production aircraft, Nene 102 engine.
MD 450B Ouragan
Hispano-Suiza-built Nene 104B engine, revised two-section nose landing gear doors as the original four-section design was prone to damage when the cannon were fired.
MD 450R Ouragan
Reconnaissance variant, only one built.
MD 450-30L Ouragan

One preproduction prototype fitted with a SNECMA Atar 101B engine, air intakes on the sides of the fuselage, and two 30 mm (1.181 in) DEFA cannon. First flown on 21 January 1952 it was used to gain experience before the first flight of the Dassault 453.
Dassault Barougan
Four production aircraft modified for rough-field operation with the two-wheel main landing gear with low-pressure tires retracting into a fairing added under the wing roots, and a brake parachute.

The Caribou (designated by the United States military as the CV-2 and later C-7 Caribou) was first flown in 1958 and although mainly retired from military operations, is still in use in small numbers as a rugged "bush aircraft".

The de Havilland Canada company's third STOL design was a big step up in size compared to its earlier DHC Beaver and DHC Otter, and was the first DHC design powered by two engines. The Caribou, however, was similar in concept in that it was designed as a rugged STOL utility aircraft. The Caribou was primarily a military tactical transport that in commercial service found itself a small niche in cargo hauling. The United States Army ordered 173 in 1959 and took delivery in 1961 under the designation AC-1, which was changed to CV-2 Caribou in 1962.

To read more about the Caribou, click here.

The Moth Minor was designed as a low-wing monoplane to replace the biplane Moth series, and was intended to give similar performance with less power, and without the need for rigging of the biplane's tensioners and struts. Its predecessor was the DH.81 Swallow Moth monoplane of 1931, of which only one was built. The wooden prototype of the DH.94 was first flown by Geoffrey de Havilland on 22 June 1937 at Hatfield Aerodrome. Production started and nearly 100 examples had been built by the outbreak of the Second World War. With a selling price of only £575 the Moth Minor was popular with flying clubs keen to acquire modern monoplanes. The Moth Minor was fitted with a speed brake which could be etened below the fuselage. Nine aircraft were specially built with hinged coupe tops instead of the normally open cockpit.

As the factory at Hatfield was needed for the war effort, the drawings, jigs, components and unfinished aircraft were shipped to the de Havilland factory at Bankstown, Sydney. As a result, 42 Moth Minors were constructed in Australia, all of which ended up serving with the RAAF due to high demand for training aircraft. Taken on charge between January 1940 and November 1942, the aircraft were found to not be satisfactory for RAAF training because they were not fitted with brakes in both cockpits, but flew in various Empire Air Training Schools until replaced by locally-built Tiger Moths. At the end of World War II, the aircraft were sold off to private owners and aero clubs.

Civil aircraft operated in the United Kingdom were commandeered for use by the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm, and one example was used by the United States Army Air Corps. A large number of civil aircraft from the UK were sent to Australia, where they and a handful of locally built Australian civil aircraft were commandeered by the Royal Australian Air Force. Moth Minors also served with the RNZAF.

The aircraft featured in the photograph above spent many years suspended from the ceiling if an auto museum on the Gold Coast before being restored to flying conditiion and  now enjoys a new lease on life as one of the oldest airworthy ex-RAAF aircraft in Australia.  It is located at the Benalla Aviation Museum and is displaye at airshows.

Variants
DH.94 Moth Minor : Two-seat touring and training aircraft.
Moth Minor Coupe : Two-seat touring and training aircraft, with a built-up rear fuselage and hinged cabin top.

Moth Minor Speed Brake

Moth Minor Coupe

The de Havilland DH.93 Don was a 1930s British multi-role three-seat training aircraft built by de Havilland Aircraft.

The Don was designed to meet Air Ministry Specification T.6/36 for a multi-role trainer and was a single-engined monoplane of wooden stressed-skin construction. The DH.93 Don was intended to be a trainer for pilots and radio operators, and as a gunnery trainer, the gunnery requirement involved the mounting of a dorsal gun turret. Student pilot and instructor sat side by side up front, while accommodation for a trainee WT (radio) operator and the turret gunner was behind in the cabin.

The prototype with test marks E-3 (later military serial number L2387) first flew on 18 June 1937 and was transferred to RAF Martlesham Heath for official evaluation. In the course of the trials, more equipment was added which increased the weight, and as a result, in an attempt to reduce weight, the dorsal turret was removed. The aircraft was also modified with small auxiliary fins fitted beneath the tailplane.

Despite the changes incorporated from the fifth aircraft, the type was deemed not suitable for training and the original order for 250 aircraft was reduced to only 50 aircraft, 20 of which were delivered as engineless airframes for ground training. The remaining aircraft served as communications and liaison aircraft, serving with No. 24 Sqn and numerous RAF Station Flights throughout the UK until early 1939, but all were grounded for use as instructional airframes in March 1939.

The de Havilland DH.103 Hornet, developed by de Havilland, was a fighter aircraft driven by two piston engines. It further exploited the wooden construction techniques that had been pioneered by the de Havilland Mosquito. Development of the Hornet had started during the Second World War as a private venture. The aircraft was to conduct long range fighter operations in the Pacific Theatre against the Empire of Japan but the war ended before the Hornet reached operational squadron status.

The Hornet entered service with RAF Fighter Command where it equipped several day fighter units and was commonly stationed in the British mainland. It saw combat in the Far East, being used as a strike fighter as part of the British military action taken during the Malayan Emergency. A naval carrier-capable version, the Sea Hornet, had been envisaged early on and was procured by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy.

In the autumn of 1941, de Havilland found that it had the spare design capacity to work on a new project. At this point, the Mosquito had entered full-rate production and preliminary work on a jet-propelled fighter aircraft, which became the Vampire, was waiting for the production of prototype engines. The company promptly recognised a need for a high-speed, unarmed, night bomber powered by a pair of large Napier Sabre piston engines and a design for such an aircraft was first proposed under the designation D.H. 101 in October 1941. A design team led by R. E. Bishop with C. T. Wilkins assisting, was assembled with the aim of developing the D.H. 101, which was initially pursued as a private venture.

.

The Sabre engine was suffering from availability problems at that point and the DH. 101 was soon replaced by a lower-powered design, with the internal designation D.H. 102. This proposal was intended to be powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Griffon or Rolls-Royce Merlin engines but either engine would have meant that the aircraft would be somewhat slower and less attractive than the Mosquito.

By November 1942, de Havilland had elected to shelve the night bomber project and concentrate on producing a long-range fighter, the D.H. 103, that would make the maximum possible use of the Merlin engine. The D.H. 103 resembled a small Mosquito, with a single seat; it was intended to take on other single-seat fighter aircraft, particularly those operated by Japan, while still being capable of conducting very long range missions to be of use in the Pacific Theatre. The long range requirement led to the fuselage being highly streamlined. An independently developed version of the Merlin engine which possessed a low frontal area was selected for use on the D.H. 103.

The Royal Australian Air Force used one Sea Hornet F.20 for evaluation and tropical trials.

For more information on the development, design, operational history and variants, click here.

DH 103 Hornet

Sea Hornet  (Note the radar "thimble" on the nose of the aircraft in the bottom photo)

Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or "Mossie". In 1941, it was one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world.The crew of two, pilot and navigator, sat side by side. A single passenger could ride in the aircraft's bomb bay when necessary.

The de Havilland DH 98 Mosquito was perhaps the greatest all-round combat aircraft of World War II. The "Mossie" was originally designed as a fast, unarmed, light bomber. However, when flying tests commenced on 25 November 1940, this "wooden wonder" became the world's fastest operational aircraft, with a top speed of almost 400 mph. It also out-manoeuvred most fighters, and could carry out upward rolls from ground level with one engine feathered. With such an outstanding potential, the Mosquito was developed to carry out practically every offensive task.

Altogether, 7,781 Mosquitoes were built and 27 different versions were produced as fighter-bombers, photo-reconnaissance, low- and high-level day and night bombers, mine-layers, pathfinders and long-range day and night fighters. Mosquitoes also served with the Royal Navy (Sea Mosquito), Royal Canadian Air Force, United States Army Air Force, and RAAF Nos 456 and 464 Squadrons, which operated RAF-serialled fighter and bomber versions.

In 1942, the Australian de Havilland factory at Bankstown commenced production of a fighter-bomber Mosquito, the DHA 98 FB Mk 40. Initial delays were caused by the unavailability of Canadian birchwood, and Australian coachwood had to be substituted. The first Australian Mosquito was delivered on 23 July 1943, and accepted by the RAAF on 5 March 1944. The FB Mk 40 was equivalent to the RAF FB Mk VI (the RAF retained Roman numerals until 1948) and, although 212 were built at Bankstown (A52-1/212), only 209 served with the RAAF because A52-12, 18 and 24 crashed before acceptance. Six of the FB Mk 40s were converted for photo-reconnaissance as PR Mk 40s, and they retained their original serials: A52-2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 26. These aircraft operated so effectively that a further 28 FB Mk 40s were converted to PR Mk 41s and renumbered A52-300/327 (ex A52-90, 192/211, 41, 45, 49, 62, 64, 83, 36 respectively).

For more information on the development, operational history and variants, click here, and its service in the RAAF click here.

It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by a single jet engine.

The de Havilland Vampire was a jet-powered twin-boom aircraft, typically employed in the fighter and fighter bomber roles. Aviation author Francis K Mason referred to it as being "the last unsophisticated single-engine front line aircraft to serve with Britain's Fighter Command"; the Vampire was a relatively straightforward aircraft, employing only manually operated flight controls, no radar, a simple airframe, and, aside from the propulsion system, made use of mostly conventional practices and technologies. The distinctive twin-boom tail configuration of the Vampire was one of the only non-traditional airframe features when compared to its contemporaries.

The layout of the DH.100 used a single jet engine installed in an egg-shaped fuselage which was primarily composed of plywood for the forward section and aluminium throughout the aft section. It was furnished with conventional mid-mounted straight wings; air brakes were installed on the wings to slow the aircraft, better enabling it to manoeuvre into a firing position behind slower aircraft, a feature that had also been incorporated in the Meteor. Armament comprised four 20mm Hispano Mk V cannon located underneath the nose; from the onset of the design phase, even when the aircraft was officially intended to serve only as an experimental aircraft, the provision for the cannon armament had been included.

3,268 Vampires were built in 15 versions, including twin-seat night fighters, trainers and carrier-based aircraft designated Sea Vampire. The Vampire was used by 31 air forces. Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the U.S. were the only major Western powers not to use the aircraft.

Vampires in the RAAF

During 1946, government approval was given for the purchase of an initial 50 Vampire fighter aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The first three machines of this batch were British-built aircraft, an F1, F2 and FB.5, and were given serial numbers A78-1 to A78-3. The second aircraft, the F2 (A78-2), was significant in that it was powered by the more powerful Rolls-Royce Nene jet engine, rather than the standard Goblin unit.

All of the 80 F.30 fighters and FB.31 fighter-bomber Vampires that were subsequently built by de Havilland Australia were powered by Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) versions of the Nene engine manufactured under licence at their facility in Melbourne. The Nene required a greater intake cross-section than the Goblin, and the initial solution was to mount auxiliary intakes on top of the fuselage behind the canopy. Unfortunately these intakes led to elevator blanking on formation of shock waves, and three aircraft and pilots were lost in unrecoverable dives. All of the Nene-engined aircraft were later modified to move the auxiliary intakes beneath the fuselage, thus entirely avoiding the problem.

For much more information on the Vampire and all its variants, click here.

Specifications below are for the F.30 single-seat interceptor fighter version for the RAAF.

The Rolls Royce Merlin was the beating heart of any number of WWII military aircraft - and would you believe that it powered the Cromwell Cruiser tank? This link is to a lecture given by one of the developers of teh Merlin engine to de Haviland technical people in late 1945. I post it here in order to preserve it.

http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/merlin-lovesey.pdf

The Rolls Royce Merlin fitted in a Spitfire

Just some of the aircraft powered by Rolls Royce Merlin engines.

Avro Lancaster

Hawker Hurricane

Supermarine Spitfire

CAC CA-18 Mustang

The Dewoitine D.520 was a French fighter aircraft that entered service in early 1940, shortly after the beginning of the Second World War.

The D.520 was designed in response to a 1936 requirement from the French Air Force for a fast, modern fighter with a good climbing speed and an armament centred on a 20 mm cannon. At the time the most powerful V-12 liquid-cooled engine available in France was the Hispano-Suiza 12Y, which was less powerful, but lighter than contemporary engines such as the Rolls-Royce Merlin and Daimler-Benz DB 601. Other fighters were designed to meet the specifications but none of them entered service, or entered service in small numbers, too late to play a significant role during the Battle of France.

Unlike the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, which was at that time the most numerous fighter in the French Air Force, the Dewoitine D.520 came close to being a match for the latest German types, such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109. It was slower than the Bf 109E but superior in manoeuvrability. Because of production delays, only a small number were available for combat against the Luftwaffe. The D.520 proved to be relatively capable as a dogfighter against the Luftwaffe's inventory, but lacked sufficient numbers to make a difference.

Following the armistice of 1940, the D.520 continued to be used, being operated by both the Free French Air Force and the Vichy French Air Force. The type was also returned to production during 1942, although it was manufactured at a lower rate than it had been during 1940. Additional examples were operated by the Luftwaffe, Regia Aeronautica, and the Bulgarian Air Force. The D.520 saw combat service in North Africa, Bulgaria, and the Eastern Front, as well as use in France and Germany for training and defence purposes. During the type's later life, it was used as a trainer aircraft. On 3 September 1953, the last D.520s were finally withdrawn from service.

For details of development, design, operational history and 15 variants, click here.

The Dornier Do 17, is a twin-engined light bomber produced by Dornier Flugzeugwerke for the German Luftwaffe during World War II. Designed in the early 1930s as a Schnellbomber ("fast bomber") intended to be fast enough to outrun opposing aircraft, the lightly built craft had a twin tail and "shoulder wing". Sometimes referred to as the Fliegender Bleistift ("flying pencil"), it was popular among its crews due to its handling, especially at low altitude, which made the Do 17 harder to hit than other German bombers.

The Do 17 made its combat debut in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War, operating in the Condor Legion in various roles. Along with the Heinkel He 111 it was the main bomber type of the German air arm in 1939–1940. The Dornier was used throughout the early war, and saw action in significant numbers in every major campaign theatre as a front line aircraft until the end of 1941, when its effectiveness and usage was curtailed as its bomb load and range were limited.

Production of the Dornier ended in mid-1940, in favour of the newer and more powerful Junkers Ju 88. The successor of the Do 17 was the much more powerful Dornier Do 217, which started to appear in strength in 1942. Some remaining Do 17s continued in various Luftwaffe roles until the end of the war, as a glider tug, research, and trainer aircraft. A considerable number were sent to other Axis nations, with few surviving the war. The last was scrapped in Finland.Number built: 2,139.

The forward fuselage had a conventional stepped cockpit, with a fully glazed nose. Early variants were labelled the "flying pencil" owing to its sleek and continuous "stick-like" lines. As a result of the lessons learned in the Spanish Civil War, the cockpit roof was raised and the lower, or bottom half, of the crew compartment was a typical under-nose gondola or "Bodenlafette" (abbreviated Bola): this inverted-casemate design ventral defensive armament position was a common feature of most German medium bombers. The Bola was extended back to the leading edge of the wings where the lower-rear gunners position and upper-rear gunner position were level with each other. As with contemporary German bombers, the crew were concentrated in a single compartment. The cockpit layout consisted of the pilot seat and front gunner in the forward part of the cockpit. The pilot sat on the left side, close up to the Plexiglas windshield. One of the gunners sat on the right seat, which was set further back to provide room for the 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 15 machine gun to be traversed in use. The Do 17 usually carried a crew of four: the pilot, a bombardier and two gunners. The bomb-aimer also manned the MG 15 in the nose glazing and Bola-housed rear lower position. The two gunners operated the forward-firing MG 15 installed in the front windshield, the two MGs located in the side windows (one each side) and the rearward firing weapon. The cockpit offered a bright and panoramic view at high altitude. The standard ammunition load was 3,300 rounds of 7.92 mm ammunition in 44 double-drum magazines.

For more extensive details of the development, design and variants, click here.

The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by the German Luftwaffe during World War II as a more powerful development of the Dornier Do 17, known as the Fliegender Bleistift (German: "flying pencil"). Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomber but not meant to be capable of the longer-range missions envisioned for the larger Heinkel He 177, the Do 217's design was refined during 1939 and production began in late 1940. It entered service in early 1941 and by the beginning of 1942 was available in significant numbers.

The Dornier Do 217 had a much larger bomb load capacity and had much greater range than the Do 17. In later variants, dive bombing and maritime strike capabilities using glide bombs were experimented with considerable success being achieved. Early Do 217 variants were more powerful than the contemporary Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 88, having a greater speed, range and bomb load. Owing to this it was called a heavy bomber rather than a medium bomber. The Do 217 served on all fronts in all roles. On the Eastern Front and Western Front it operated as a strategic bomber, torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. It also performed tactical operations, either direct ground assault or anti-shipping strikes during the Battle of the Atlantic and Battle of Normandy. The Do 217 was also converted to become a night fighter and saw considerable action in the Defence of the Reich campaign until late in the war.

The type also served in anti-shipping units in the Mediterranean, attacking Allied convoys and naval units during the Battle of the Mediterranean. In 1943, the Do 217 was the first aircraft to deploy precision-guided munition in combat, when Fritz X radio-guided bombs sank the Italian battleship Roma in the Mediterranean. After the end of the war, at least one Dornier Do 217 continued in military operational service with the Swiss Air Force until 1946.

A total of 1925 units were built.

For extensive details on the development and design of the 28 variants, click here. Specifications of the Do 217 M-1 variant appear below.

The Dornier Do 335 Pfeil ("Arrow") was a heavy fighter built by Dornier for Germany during World War II. The two-seater trainer version was called Ameisenbär ("anteater"). The Pfeil's performance was predicted to be better than other twin-engine designs due to its unique push-pull configuration and the lower aerodynamic drag of the in-line alignment of the two engines. It was Nazi Germany's fastest piston-engined aircraft of World War II. The Luftwaffe was desperate to get the design into operational use, but delays in engine deliveries meant that only a handful were delivered before the war ended.

The origins of the Do 335 trace back to World War I when Claude Dornier designed a number of flying boats featuring remotely driven propellers and later, due to problems with the drive shafts, tandem engines. Tandem engines were used on most of the multi-engine Dornier flying boats that followed, including the highly successful Do J Wal and the gigantic Do X. The remote propeller drive, intended to eliminate parasitic drag from the engine entirely, was tried in the innovative but unsuccessful Do 14, and elongated, tubular drive shafts as later used in the Do 335 saw use in the rear engines of the four-engined, twinned tandem-layout Do 26 flying boat.

There are many advantages to this design over the more traditional system of placing one engine on each wing, the most important being power from two engines with the frontal area (and thus drag) of a single-engine design, allowing for higher performance. It also keeps the weight of the twin powerplants near, or on, the aircraft centerline, increasing the roll rate compared to a traditional twin. In addition, a single engine failure does not lead to asymmetric thrust, and in normal flight there is no net torque, so the plane is easy to handle. The four-surface set of cruciform tail surfaces in the Do 335's rear fuselage design included a ventral vertical fin–rudder assembly that projected downwards from the extreme rear of the fuselage, to protect the rear propeller from an accidental ground strike on takeoff. The presence of the rear pusher propeller also mandated the provision for an ejection seat for safe escape from a damaged aircraft, and designing the rear propeller and dorsal fin mounts to use explosive bolts to jettison them before an ejection was attempted – as well as twin canopy jettison levers, one per side located to either side of the forward cockpit interior just below the sills of the five-panel windscreen's sides, to jettison the canopy from atop the cockpit before ejection.

At least 16 prototype Do 335s were known to have flown (V1–V12, W.Nr 230001-230012 and Muster-series prototypes M13–M17, W.Nr 230013-230017) on a number of DB603 engine subtypes including the DB 603A, A-2, G-0, E and E-1. The first preproduction Do 335 (A-0s) starting with W.Nr 240101, Stammkennzeichen VG+PG, were delivered in July 1944. Approximately 22 preproduction aircraft were thought to have been completed and flown before the end of the war, including approximately 11 A-0s converted to A-11s for training purposes. One such aircraft was transferred to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, and later, after a rear-engine fire burnt through the elevator controls during a flight, crashed onto a local school.

For more details of the development and design, and extensive list of variants, click here.

Two Seat Trainer variant

The Skyraider had a remarkably long and successful career; it became a piston-powered, propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, and was nicknamed "Spad", after the French World War I fighter.

It was operated by the United States Navy (USN), the United States Marine Corps (USMC), and the United States Air Force (USAF), and also saw service with the British Royal Navy, the French Air Force, the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF), and others. It remained in U.S. service until the early 1970s.

The low-wing monoplane design started with a Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone radial engine which was later upgraded several times. Its distinctive feature was large straight wings with seven hard points apiece. The Skyraider possessed excellent low-speed maneuverability and carried a large amount of ordnance over a considerable combat radius. Further, it had a long loiter time for its size, compared to much heavier subsonic or supersonic jets. The aircraft was optimized for the ground-attack mission and was armored against ground fire in key locations, unlike faster fighters adapted to carry bombs, such as the Vought F4U Corsair or North American P-51 Mustang, which were retired by U.S. forces before the 1960s.

Number built    3,180

For more details of the design and development, operational history and 39 variants, click here.

The Bolo was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company, based on its DC-2, and was developed to replace the Martin B-10.

By 1940, it was considered to be underpowered, to have inadequate defensive armament, and to carry too small a bomb load. Many were destroyed during the attacks on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines in December 1941.

In 1942, the surviving B-18s were relegated to antisubmarine, transport duty, and training. A B-18 was one of the first American aircraft to sink a German U-boat, U-654 on 22 August 1942 in the Caribbean.

In 1934, the United States Army Air Corps put out a request for a bomber with double the bomb load and range of the Martin B-10, which was just entering service as the Army's standard bomber. In the evaluation at Wright Field the following year, Douglas showed its DB-1. It competed with the Boeing Model 299 (later developed into the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress) and Martin 146.

While the Boeing design was clearly superior, the crash of the B-17 prototype (caused by taking off with the controls still locked) removed it from consideration. During the depths of the Great Depression, the lower price of the DB-1 ($58,500 vs. $99,620 for the Model 299) also counted in its favor. The Douglas design was ordered into immediate production in January 1936 as the B-18.

The DB-1 design was essentially that of the DC-2, with several modifications. The wingspan was 4.5 ft (1.4 m) greater. The fuselage was deeper, to better accommodate bombs and the six-member crew; the wings were fixed in the middle of the cross-section rather than to the bottom due to the deeper fuselage. Added armament included nose, dorsal, and ventral gun turrets.

Preston Tucker's firm received a contract to supply a remote controlled gun turret for the aircraft.

For information on the operational history and variants, click here.

Specifications below are for the B-18A model.

Douglas proposed a number of modifications designed to improve the performance of the B-18. Initially considered a redesign, the XB-22 featured 1,600 hp Wright R-2600-1 Twin Cyclone radial engines. The complete B-18 redesign was considered promising enough by the USAAC to alter the original contract to produce the last 38 B-18As ordered under Contract AC9977 as the B-23] The design incorporated a larger wingspan with a wing design very similar to that of the DC-3, a fully retractable undercarriage, and improved defensive armament. The B-23 was the first operational American bomber equipped with a glazed tail gun position. The tail gun was a .50 calibre (12.7 mm) machine gun, which was fired from the prone position by a gunner using a telescopic sight.

The first B-23 flew on July 27, 1939 with the production series of 38 B-23s manufactured between July 1939 and September 1940. 

For the operational history of the B-23 and details of the three variants, click here.