Jan
28
2012
The Lehky Kulomet ZB vz.26 and vz.30 were Czech light machine guns used by the Waffen-SS and other German units during World War II. The vz.26 was a gas-operated weapon with a long gas piston under the barrel and fed from an adjustable gas vent about half-way down the finned barrel. Gas pushed the piston to the rear as a simple arrangement of a hinged breech block on a ramp formed the locking and firing basis. Ammunition was fed downwards from a simple box magazine. Barrel cooling was assisted by the use of prominent circular fins or flanges all along the barrel but a simple and rapid barrel change method was incorporated. The overall design of the vz.26 emphasized the virtues of easy stripping, maintenance and use in action. This Czech machine gun was also fitted with a folding bipod and a handle to carry around.
The Lehky Kulomet vz.26 was followed in production by a slightly improved model, the Lehky Kulomet ZB vz.30, but to the layman the two models were identical, the vz.30 differing only in the way it was manufactured and in some of the internal details. Like the vz.26, the vz.30 was also an export success, being sold to such countries as Spain, Yugoslavia, Romania, and even China. Both machine guns were excellent weapons: reliable, sturdy, and accurate, and they were used as infantry support. When Czechoslovakia was annexed by Germany in 1939, the Nazi government took over the machine guns production, and when World War II broke out, Waffen-SS units used both the vz.26 and the vz.30. The Germans knew this gun as the MG 30(t) and used it widely, on every theater of operation.
Specifications for the vz.26
Type: light machine gun
Country of origin: Czechoslovakia
Manufacturer: Lehky Kulomet
Caliber: 7.92 mm (0.31 in)
Rate of fire, cyclic: 500 rpm
Muzzle velocity: 762 m (2,500 ft) per second
Effective range: 900 m (910 yards)
Barrel length: 67.2 cm (26.46 in)
Weight: 10.04 kg (22.13 lb)
Feed: 30-round box magazine
Jan
28
2012
The Kawasaki Ki-100 was Japanese single-engine fighter aircraft used in World War II. It was developed by Kawasaki from the Ki-61, entering service in 1945 and seeing combat action in the last three months of the war. By the end of May, 1945, 272 Ki-61 airframes were converted to the new configuration, which entered service as the Army Type 5 Fighter Model 1A, which was identified by the company as the Kawasaki Ki-100-1a. But only a total of 99 fighter aircraft of version Ki-100-1b were manufactured before production was brought to an end by the intense Allied air raids.
The Kawasaki Ki-100 was a single-seat, low-winged monoplane, powered by a Mitsubishi Ha-112-1114-cylinder radial piston engine, delivering 1,500 hp. The Ki-100-Ib introduced a cut-down rear fuselage over the original Ki-61 shape, which improved pilot vision. Its weapons consisted of two fuselage-mounted 12.7mm(.50) Ho-103(Type 1) machine-guns and two wing-mounted 20mm Ho-5 cannons, plus two 250-kg (551 lb) bombs. Although it was considered a reliable and maneuverable fighter, it could match the faster and sturdier American fighters, such as the Air Force P-51 Mustang or the Navy F4U Corsair.
Specifications
Type: fighter aircraft
Country of origin: Japan
Manufacturer: Kawasaki
Power plant: one 1,500hp, Mitsubishi Ha-112-1114-cylinder radial piston engine
Maximum speed: 590 km/h (367 mph) at 10000 m
Range: 2000 km ( 1,243 miles)
Ceiling: 10670 m (35,007 ft)
Weapons: two 20mm guns in wings; two 12.7mm machine guns in fuselage
Wing span: 12,00 m (39 ft 4.4 in)
Wing area 20.00 m2 (215.3 sq ft)
length 8.80 m (28 ft 10.5 in)
Crew: 1
Jan
27
2012
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 was a World War II Soviet fighter which entered service in May 1941. By the time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, there were about only 100 MiG-3s in service from a total of 3,422 produced during the war. Although it had been designed for a high-altitude role, combats on the Eastern Front took place below 6000 m (19,685 ft), where the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 had a clear performance advantage over the MiG-3. As a result, attrition was high and many Russian fighter aircraft were shot down by German pilots who would become aces.
The MiG-3 was a single-seat, low-winged monoplane developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich. It had a sliding cockpit canopy and retractable landing gear and was powered by a Mikulin AM-35 A V-12 piston engine that produced 1,350 hp. The MiG-3 was armed with one 12.7mm(.50) Beresin BS and two 7.62mm (.30) ShKAS nose-mounted machine-guns (later increased by two 12.7mm (.50) underwing guns), plus provision for six 8.2-cm (3.23-in) underwing rockets or two 100-kg (220-lb) bombs.
Specifications
Type: fighter aircraft
Country of origin: Soviet Union (Russia)
Manufacturer: Mikoyan-Gurevich
Power plante: one 1,350hp, Mikulin AM-35 A V-12 piston engine
Maximum speed: 640 km/h (398 mph) at 7000 m
Range: 1250 km (777 miles)
Service ceiling: 12000 m (39,370 ft)
Weapons: one 12.7mm (.50) machine gun; two 7.62mm machine guns; plus up to two 100 kg bombs
Wing span: 10.30 m (33 ft 9.5 in)
Wing area: 17.44 m2 (187.7 sq ft)
Length: 8.15 m (26 ft 9 in)
Crew: 1
Jan
26
2012
The Potez 631 was a French night fighter aircraft used by the Armée de l’Air during World War II. It was developed from the Potez 63 by Nord Aviation for the night fighting role. Thus, this French low-winged monoplane was one of a family of design variations of the Potez 63 which had originated in a requirement issued in 1934 for a two multi-purpose aircraft. The French Potez 631 night-fighter corresponded in many respects to the RAF’s Bristol Blenheim, being very similar in size and performance as well as being conceived as a variation of a light bomber. At the beginning, relatively little importance was placed on the Potez 631 night fighter, and it was not until June 1938 that production orders totaling 207 were confirmed. This French heavy fighter was armed with two fixed forward-firing 20mm guns under fuselage and one hand-held 7.5mm (0.295-in) machine gun in dorsal position; in the ground-attack role, it could carry up to two 150 kg bombs.
When the German attack opened in the West the various Potez 631 units were in constant action both by day and night, although lack of radar prevented much success during the hours of darkness. In the first 11 days of the campaign Aéronavale’s Flotille F 1C shot down 12 German aircraft for the loss of eight, but the Armée de l’Air night fighter units were ordered to assume day ground-attack duties, losing heavily to enemy flak. Moreover, losses were exceptionally heavy to Allied guns and fighters as a result of the Potez 631′s superficial similarity to the German Messerschmitt Bf 110; it has been estimated that as many as 30 of the French aircraft were shot down in error. In all, Potez 631 night fighters destroyed a total of 29 German aircraft in the Battle of France, but for a loss of 93 of their own number. Of the remainder about 110 were in the Free French Zone (Vichy France) at the time of the armistice, but their number dwindled quickly because of a chronic lack of spares.
Specifications
Type: night fighter
Country of origin: France
Manufacturer: Nord Aviation
Power plant: two 700-hp (522-kW) Gnome-Rhône 14 air-cooled radial piston engines
Maximum speed: 442 km/h (275 mph)
Range: 1220 km (758 miles)
Ceiling: 8800 m (28,870 ft)
Weapons: two 20mm cannons; one 7,7mm machine gun
Wing span: 16,00 m (52 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 32.70 m2 (351.98sq ft)
Length: 11.07 m (36 ft 4 in)
Crew: 2
Jan
26
2012
The Heinkel He 219 Uhu was a German two-engined night fighter aircraft used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. Developed by Heinkel, the He 219 entered service in 1943. In order to adapt this heavy fighter to the night fighting role, the Uhu was fitted with an VHF-band intercept radar. Although only 280 He 219s were built, it became, together with the Messerschmitt Bf 110 and Junkers Ju 88, the backbone of the night fighter defense against the Allied bombers. The Heinkel He 219A first saw combat action in June 1943, shooting down more than 15 allied bombers. This middle-winged, two-seat monoplane was powered by two Daimler-Benz DB 603E liquid-cooled inverted V12 engine, delivering 1,800 hp each.
Specifications
Type: night fighter
Country of origin: Germany
Manufacturer: Heinkel
Power plant: two 1,800 hp, Daimler-Benz DB 603E liquid-cooled inverted V12 engine
Maximum speed: 620 km/h (385mph)
Range: 1,540 km (960 mi)
Ceiling: 9,300 m (30,500 ft)
Weapons: four 20 mm MG 151 cannons under fuselage
Wingspan: 18.5 m (60 ft 8 in)
Wing area: 44.4 m2 (478 ft2)
Length: 15.5 m (51 ft 0 in)
Crew: 2
Weapons | Thor | 
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