Dec
31
2011
When World War II broke out in Europe in September 1939, the finest Allied fighter in service was the Supermarine Spitfire, but it was not regarded as fully operational, and demanded special servicing facilities at three or four nominated fighter bases. Yet within a year this aeroplane came to epitomize everything that was best in the RAF’s fight against the Luftwaffe. Indeed it left its early partner, the Hawker Hurricane, far behind in the race to forge a weapon capable of matching Germany’s great duo of fighters, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190. By 1941 RAF Fighter Command had adopted the Spitfire Mk VB, with its two 20mm cannon and four rifle-caliber machine-guns, as its standard equipment.
In 1941, when the Luftwaffe introduced the superb Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the Allies accelerated their fighter development. The Spitfire Mk IX was rushed into service, as was the Hawker Typhoon, the latter still with many engine and airframe problems yet unresolved. The US entry into the war at the end of 1941 did little to improve the fighter scene, neither the Bell P-39, Curtiss P-40 nor Republic P-43 being regarded as any match for the German fighters. In due course, however, the marriage of the superlative Rolls-Royce Merlin to the North American P-51 Mustang produced the war’s finest long-range singleseat fighter, entering service in late 1943. On the Eastern Front, Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union was accompanied by almost total destruction of the outdated indigenous equipment of the Red Air Force in 1941, a disastrous situation that was to some extent alleviated by the supply of Western aircraft to bolster Soviet resistance in the air. In an amazingly short time, however, having moved the aircraft industry far to the East, the Soviets managed to introduce a number of promising new fighters, the Yakovlev Yak-3 and Lavochkin a-5 among them.
The last two years of the war found the Allies almost entirely re-equipped with fighters whose development had been undertaken wholly during the war, thereby drawing on combat experience. The Hawker Tempest joined the Typhoon (which nevertheless proved an excellent ground-attack weapon), while Griffon-powered Spitfires formed a large proportion of Fighter Command’s air combat force. The USAAF was almost entirely equipped with the classic Lockheed P-38, P-47 and P-51 trio as well as late-series P-40s. In the Red Air Force the Lavochkin La-7 and Yakovlev Yak-9 were proving more than a match for the majority of Luftwaffe fighters, flown as they were by hastily trained young pilots, while in the Pacific the American and British fighters all but annihilated the air forces of Japan. In the field of jet fighters, where in airframes Germany unquestionably led the Allies, only the RAF managed to introduce very small numbers of early Gloster Meteors.
Dec
31
2011
The CR.42 Falco was an Italian fighter aircraft designed by Celestino Rosatelli and manufactured by Fiat for the Italian Reggia Aeronautica (Royal Air Force). It first flew and entered service in 1939. When Italy entered War World II in June 1940 there were already 330 CR.42 fighters in service. The Falco first saw combat action in the brief French campaign, and later 50 aircraft would accompany the Corpo Aero Italiano (Italian Air Corps) to bases in Belgium for attacks on southern England at the end of the Battle of Britain, suffering heavily to the guns of RAF Hurricanes. In the Western Desert CR.42 fighters were joined by the CR.42AS fighter-bomber version adapted to carry two 100-kg (220-lb) bombs, and these continued in service with the 5th, 15th and 50th assault Wings until November 1942.
The Fiat CR.42 Falco was a single-engine, single-seat biplane powered by a Fiat A74 R1C 38 radial piston engine, rendering 840 horsepower, and had a top speed of 443 km an hour (275mph). Developed from the CR.32, the Falco employed the same Warren truss system of interplane struts. It was armed with 12.7mm(.50) Breda-SAFAT machine-guns in nose yet some aircraft were fitted with two extra 12.7mm-caliber machine-guns under lower wing; in the bomber role, the CR.42 could carry up to two 100-kg bombs. A total of 1,781 CR.42 aircraft was built, some of them serving in Sweden and Hungary, but at the time of the Italian armistice in September 1943 only 64 remained serviceable.
Specifications
Type: fighter aircraft
Country of origin: Italy
Manufacturer: Fiat
Power plant: one 626-kW (840-hp) Fiat A74 R1C 38 radial piston engine
Maximum speed: 441 km/h (274 mph) at 6000 m
Range: 780 km (485 miles)
Ceiling: 10,000 m
Wing span: 9.70 m (31 ft 9.9 in)
Wing area 22.40 m2 (241.1sqft)
Length: 8.26 m (27 ft 1,2 in)
Height: 3.05 m (10 ft 0.1 in)
Crew: 1
Weapons: two 12.7mm machine guns; up to 200 kg of bombs
Dec
30
2011
The C.200 Saetta was a World War II Italian fighter aircraft designed by Mario Castoldi and developed by Macchi for the Reggia Aeronautica (the Italian Royal Air Force). It made its first flight in December 1937 and entered service in 1940. The Macchi C.200 Saetta saw its first combat action over Malta in 1940 and was subsequently deployed to North Africa, where it was heavily committed, and was fairly evenly matched with the early Hurricane Mk Is, weighed down by tropical air filters, but the attrition suffered by all Italian air force units, mainly through poor serviceability and air attacks on their airfields, quickly reduced the number of C.200 aircraft. Some 51 Saettas of the 22nd Group operated in the Odessa zone of the Eastern Front from August 1941 onwards, proving capable of matching the older Soviet fighters in the early stages of that campaign.
The Macchi C.200 was a single-engine, low-winged monoplane powered by a Fiat A 74 RC 38 radial piston engine that delivered 870 horsepower. This maneuverable Italian fighter could fly at the maximum speed of 505 km an hour (314mph) and had a range of 600 km. Armed with two 12.7mm(.50 in) Breda-SAFAT machine-guns in nose, plus provision for two 150-kg (331-lb) bombs, the C.200 was sometimes used in the attack/support role. A total of about 1,200 Saetta aircraft were produced by Macchi, Breda and SAI Ambrosini.
Specifications
Type: fighter aircraft
Country of origin: Italy
Manufacturers: Breda, Macchi, SAI Ambrosini
Power plant: one 649-kW (870-hp) Fiat A 74 RC 38 radial piston engine
Maximum speed: 505 km/h (314 mph) at 4500 m
Range: 600 km
Service ceiling: 9000 m of altitude
Wing span: 10.58 m (34 ft 8,5 in)
Length: 8.25 m (27 ft 0.8 in)
Crew: 1
Weapons: two 12.7mm-caliber (.50) machine guns mounted in nose; up to 300 kg of bombs
Dec
29
2011
The Barrett Model 82 is an American sniper rifle designed by Ronnie Barrett and adopted by the US Army as the M107. It was a .50-caliber recoil-operated rifle which revolutionized the field. The M82 was followed by the lighter, bolt-action, bullpup Model 90 and its upgraded version, the Model 95. The heavy .50-caliber round makes the Barret sniper rifle an effective anti-material weapon to a range of 5,900 ft (1,800 m). The Barrett M82 (M107) was used by the US Marines, US Special Forces, and US Navy Seals in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Specifications
Type: sniper rifle
Country of origin: USA
Manufacturer: Barret Firearms Manufacturing Inc.
Caliber: .50 in
Cartridge: 12.7x99mm NATO
Barrel length: 29 in (73.7 cm)
Muzzle velocity: 853 m/s (2,799 ft/s)
Effective range: 1,800/2,000 m (5,900/6,500 ft)
Weight: 22lb (10 kg) less optics
Magazine: ten-round detachable box magazine
Dec
29
2011
The A.W. 38 Whitley was a British heavy horizontal bomber used by the Royal Air Force during World War II. It was developed by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft from the A.W.23 bomber/transport. It made its first flight in March 1936 and entered service the following year. The first production batch consisted of 34 Whitley Mk I bombers powered by two 682-kW Armstrong Siddeley Tiger IX radial engines, and 46 Whitley Mk II bombers fitted with two Armstrong Siddeley Tiger VIII radial engines, delivering 920 horsepower each. In 1938, the A.W. 38 Whitley Mk IV, with 768-kW (1,030-hp) Rolls-Royce Merlin IV V-12 engines, was introduced with a total production of 40 aircraft. However, the main production variant was the Whitley Mk V, of which 1,476 were built before June 1943, when production was halted; it was powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin X V-12 piston engines, producing 1,125 horsepower. The the Whitley Mk V featured a 38-cm (15-in) longer fuselage and straight leading edges to the fins.
It was the Whitley Mk V which was given the bombing missions from March 1940 onwards. On May 11, 1940, immediately after the German attack in the West, Whitleys and Handley Page Hampdens dropped the first RAF bombs on the German mainland in an attack on railway targets near München Gladbach. The following month Whitleys were the first RAF bombers to attack targets in Italy, flying from the UK and refueling in the Channel Islands to attack Turin and Genoa. Whitleys flew their last raid with Bomber Command during an attack on Ostend on the night of April 29/30 1942. The Whitley saw good service during the early years but was relegated to limited nigh t operations by mid-war. It then passed on to coastal and glider-towing duties.
Specifications
Type: heavy bomber
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Manufacturer: Armstrong Whitworth
Power plant: two 854-kW (1,145-hp) Rolls-Royce Merlin X V-12 piston engines
Maximum speed: 370 km/h (230 mph) at 5000m
Range: 2415 km (1,500 miles)
Service ceiling: 8,000 m (26,000ft)
Wing span: 25.60 m (84 ft)
Wing area: 105.63 m2 (1,137.00 sq ft)
Length: 21.11 m (69 ft 3 in)
Crew: 5
Weapons: one 7.7 mm (0.303-m) machine gun in the nose turret and four 7.7mm (0,303-in) machine guns in the tail turret, plus a maximum bomb-load of 3175 kg (7,000 lb)
