• Brewster Buffalo B-339E

• Supermarine Spitfire
• Hawker Hurricane
• Blackburn B-25 Roc
• Blackburn B-24 Skua
• Boulton Paul Defiant
• Bristol Beaufighter(Type 156)
• Curtiss P-36(Mohawk)
• Curtiss P-40(Tomahawk)
• Fairey Firefly
• Hawker Tempest

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Facing a shortage in combat aircraft in January 1940, the British government established the British Purchasing Commission to acquire U.S. aircraft that would help supplement domestic production. Among the U.S. fighter aircraft that caught the Commission's attention was the Brewster. The remaining 32 B-339 aircraft ordered by the French, suspended at the fall of France, were passed on to the United Kingdom. Appraisal by Royal Air Force acceptance personnel criticised it on numerous points including lack of armament and pilot armour, poor high-altitude performance, engine overheating, maintenance issues, and cockpit controls, while it was praised for its handling, roomy cockpit, and visibility. With a top speed of about 323 mph at 21,000 feet, but with fuel starvation issues over 15,000 feet, it was considered unfit for duty in western Europe. Still desperately in need of fighter aircraft in the Pacific and Asia for British and Commonwealth air forces, the UK ordered an additional 170 planes under the type specification B-339E.

The B-339E, or Brewster Mk I as it was designated in British service, was initially intended to be fitted with an export-approved Wright R-1820-G-105 Cyclone engine with a 1,000 hp (peak takeoff) engine. The Brewster aircraft delivered to British and Commonwealth air forces were significantly altered from the B-339 type sold to the Belgium and French forces in accordance with their purchase order. The Brewster factory removed the Navy life raft container and arrestor hook, while adding many new items of equipment, including a British Mk III reflector gun sight, a gun camera, a larger fixed pneumatic-tire tail wheel, fire extinguisher, engine shutters, a larger battery, and reinforced armor plating and armored glass behind the canopy windshield.

The aircraft were sent to Royal Australian Air Force, RAF and Royal New Zealand Air Force fighter squadrons in Singapore, Malaya and Burma, shortly before the outbreak of war with Japan.

The Brewster Model B-339E, as modified and supplied to Great Britain was distinctly inferior in performance to the F2A-2 (Model B-339) from the original order. It had a less powerful (1,000 hp) engine compared to the F2A-2's 1,200 hp Cyclone, yet was substantially heavier due to all of the additional modifications (some 900 pounds). The semi-retractable tail wheel had been exchanged for a larger fixed model, which was also less bamic. Top speed was reduced from 323 mph to 313 mph at combat altitudes, manoeuvrability was severely impaired (the aircraft was unable to perform loops), and initial rate of climb was reduced to 2,300 feet per minute. The Wright Cyclone 1890-G-105 engine designated for use in the Brewster Mk I was in short supply; many aircraft were fitted with secondhand Wright engines sourced from Douglas DC-3 airliners and rebuilt to G105 or G102A specifications by Wright. In service, some effort was made by at least one Brewster squadron to improve the plane's sluggish performance; a few aircraft were lightened by some 1000 pounds by removing armor plate, armored windshields, radios, gun camera, and all other unnecessary equipment, and by replacing all .50-inch machine guns with two .303-inch cowling guns. The fuselage tanks were filled with a minimum of fuel, and run on high-octane aviation petrol where available.

General characteristics

• Crew: One, pilot
• Length: 26 ft (7.9 m)
• Wingspan: 35 ft (10.7 m)
• Height: 11 ft 11 in (3.63 m)
• Wing area: 208.9 ft² (19.408 m²)
• Empty weight: 3,785 lb (1,717 kg)
• Loaded weight: 5,040 lb (2,286 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Wright R-1820-34 Cyclone 9, 940 hp ()

Performance

• Maximum speed: 301 mph at 17,000 ft (484 km/h at 5,200 m)
• Cruise speed: 258 mph (415 km/h)
• Range: 1,000 miles (1,600 km)
• Service ceiling 33,000 ft (10,100 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,600 ft/min (789 m/min)

Armament

• 1 x 0.30 cal Browning AN machine gun and 1 x 0.50 cal Browning M2 machine gun in the fuselage, with additional 2 x 0.50 cal M2 wing-mounted machine guns for combat operations
• In Finnish service: 4 x 0.50 in (12.7 mm) Browning M2 machine guns

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The Supermarine Spitfire was a British single-seat fighter aircraft, used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries during the Second World War, and into the 1950s. It was produced in greater numbers than any other Allied design. The Spitfire was the only Allied fighter in production at the outbreak of the Second World War that was still in production at the end of the war.

The Spitfire was designed by R. J. Mitchell who was chief designer at Supermarine Aviation Works, a subsidiary of Vickers-Armstrongs. He continued to refine the design until his death from cancer in 1937, whereupon his colleague Joseph Smith became chief designer.^[4] Its elliptical wing had a thin cross-section, allowing a higher top speed than the Hawker Hurricane and many other contemporary designs.

The distinctive silhouette imparted by the wing planform helped the Spitfire to achieve legendary status during the Battle of Britain. There was, and still is, a public perception that it was the RAF fighter of the Battle, in spite of the fact that the more numerous Hurricane shouldered a great deal of the burden against the potent Luftwaffe. Much loved by its pilots, the Spitfire saw service throughout the whole of the Second World War, in most theatres of war, in several roles and in many different variants. The Spitfire was to continue to serve as a front line fighter and in secondary roles for several air forces well into the 1950s.

The Spitfire will always be compared to its main adversary, the Messerschmitt Bf 109: both were among the finest fighters of their day and followed similar design philosophies of marrying a small, streamlined airframe to a powerful liquid-cooled V12 engine.

In February 1936 the Vickers-Armstrongs director, Sir Robert MacLean, guaranteed production of 5 aircraft a week, beginning 15 months after an order is placed. On 3 June 1936, the Air Ministry placed an order for 310 aircraft, for a price of £1,395,000. Full-scale production of the Spitfire began at Supermarine's facility in Woolston, Southampton, but it quickly became clear that the order could not be completed in the 15 months promised. Supermarine was a small company, already busy building the Walrus and Stranraer, and its parent company, Vickers, was busy building the Wellington. The initial solution was to subcontract the work out. The first production Spitfire rolled off the assembly line in mid-1938, and was flown on 15 May 1938, almost 24 months after the initial order. The final cost of the first 310 aircraft, after delays and increased programme costs, came to ₤1,870,242 or ₤1,533 more per aircraft than originally estimated.

The operational history of the Spitfire with the RAF started with the first Mk Is, which entered service with 19 Squadron at RAF Duxford on 4 August 1938. The last flight of a Spitfire in RAF service, which took place on 9 June 1957, was by a PR 19, PS583, from RAF Woodvale of the Temperature and Humidity Flight. This was also the last known flight of a piston-engined fighter in the RAF.

The Spitfire achieved legendary status during the Battle of Britain but continued to play increasingly diverse roles throughout World War II and beyond, often in air forces other than the RAF. The Spitfire became the first high-speed photo-reconnaissance aircraft to be operated by the RAF. Sometimes unarmed, they flew at high, medium and low altitudes, often ranging far into enemy territory to closely observe the Axis powers and provide an almost continual flow of valuable intelligence information throughout the war. In 1941 and 1942 PRU Spitfires provided the first photographs of the Freya and Würzburg radar systems and, in 1943, helped confirm that the Germans were building the V1 and V2 Vergeltungswaffe ("vengeance weapons") by photographing Peenemünde, on the Baltic Sea coast of Germany.

In the Mediterranean the Spitfire blunted the heavy attacks on Malta by the Regia Aeronautica and Luftwaffe and, from early 1943, helped pave the way for the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy. Over the Northern Territory of Australia RAAF Spitfires helped defend the port city of Darwin against air attack by the Japanese Naval Air Force.

Speed and altitude records

Beginning in late 1943, high-speed diving trials were undertaken at Farnborough to investigate the handling characteristics of aircraft travelling at speeds near the sound barrier (i.e. the onset of compressibility effects). Because it had the highest limiting Mach number of any aircraft at that time, a Spitfire XI was chosen to take part in these trials. Due to the high altitudes necessary for these dives, a fully feathering Rotol propeller was fitted to prevent overspeeding. It was during these trials that EN409, flown by Squadron Leader J. R. Tobin, reached 606 mph (975 km/h, Mach 0.891) in a 45 degree dive. In April 1944 the same aircraft suffered engine failure in another dive while being flown by Squadron Leader A. F. Martindale, when the propeller and reduction gear broke off. Martindale successfully glided the Spitfire 20 miles (32 km) back to the airfield and landed safely.

General characteristics

• Crew: one pilot
• Length: 29 ft 11 in (9.12 m)
• Wingspan: 36 ft 10 in (11.23 m)
• Height: 11 ft 5 in (3.86 m)
• Wing area: 242.1 ft² (22.48 m²)
• Airfoil: NACA 2200
• Empty weight: 5,090 lb (2,309 kg)
• Loaded weight: 6,622 lb (3,000 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 6,770 lb (3,071 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Merlin 45 supercharged V12 engine, 1,470 hp at 9,250 ft (1,096 kW at 2,820 m)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 378 mph, (330 knots, 605 km/h)
• Combat radius: 410 nmi (470 mi, 760 km)
• Ferry range: 991 nmi (1,140 mi, 1,840 km)
• Service ceiling 35,000 ft (11,300 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,665 ft/min (13.5 m/s)
• Wing loading: 24.56 lb/ft² (119.91 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.22 hp/lb (360 W/kg)

Armament
 

• Guns: Mk I, Mk II, Mk VA
   
  • 8x 0.303 inch (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns, 350 rounds per gun

Later versions (VB on)

• 2× 20 mm (0.787 in) Hispano Mk II cannon, 60 (later 120 (Mk VC)) shells per gun
• 4× 0.303 inch (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns, 350 rounds per gun
• Bombs:
   
  • 2× 250 lb (110 kg) bombs

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The Hawker Hurricane was a British single-seat fighter aircraft designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. Some production of the Hurricane was carried out in Canada by the Canada Car and Foundry Co Ltd.

The 1930s design evolved through several versions and adaptations, resulting in a series of aircraft which acted as interceptor-fighters, fighter-bombers (also called "Hurribombers"), and ground support aircraft. Further versions known as the Sea Hurricane had modifications which enabled operation from ships. Some were converted as catapult-launched convoy escorts, known as "Hurricats". Together with the Spitfire, the Hurricane was significant in enabling the Royal Air Force (RAF) to win the Battle of Britain of 1940, accounting for the majority of the RAF's air victories. About 14,000 Hurricanes were built by the end of 1944 (including about 1,200 converted to Sea Hurricanes, and about 1,400 built in Canada), and served in all the major theatres of the Second World War.

The Hurricane was ordered into production in June 1936, mainly due to its relatively simple construction and ease of manufacture. As war was looking increasingly likely, and time was of the essence in providing the RAF with an effective fighter aircraft, it was unclear if the more advanced Spitfire would be able to enter production smoothly, while the Hurricane used well-understood manufacturing techniques. This was true for service squadrons as well, who were experienced in working on and repairing aircraft whose construction employed the same principles as the Hurricane, and the simplicity of its design enabled the improvisation of some remarkable repairs in Squadron workshops.

The maiden flight of the first production aircraft, powered by a Merlin II engine, took place on 12 October 1937. The first four aircraft to enter service with the RAF joined 111 Squadron at RAF Northolt the following December. By the outbreak of the Second World War, nearly 500 Hurricanes had been produced, and had equipped 18 squadrons.

During 1940, Lord Beaverbrook, who was the Minister of Aircraft Production, established an organisation in which a number of manufacturers were seconded to repair and overhaul battle damaged Hurricanes. The "Civilian Repair Organisation". also overhauled battle-weary aircraft, which were later sent to training units or to other air forces; one of the factories involved was the Austin Aero Company's Cofton Hackett plant, which also built 300 Hurricanes. Another was David Rosenfield Ltd, based at Barton aerodrome near Manchester.

In all, some 14,000 Hurricanes and Sea Hurricanes were produced. The majority of Hurricanes were built by Hawker (which produced them until 1944), with Hawker's sister company, the Gloster Aircraft Company, making (2,750) most of the rest. As described, the Austin Aero Ltd built 300. Canada Car and Foundry in Fort William, Ontario, Canada, (where the Chief Engineer, Elsie MacGill, became known as the "Queen of the Hurricanes") was responsible for production of 1,400 Hurricanes, known as the Mk X.

In 1939, production of 100 Hurricanes was initiated in Yugoslavia by Zmaj and Rogozarski. Of these, 20 were built by Zmaj by April 1941. One of these was fitted with a DB 601 and test flown in 1941.

A contract for 80 Hurricanes was placed with Fairey's Belgian subsidiary Avions Fairey SA for the Belgian Air Force in 1938. Three were built and two flown by the time of the Blitzkrieg in May 1940.

General characteristics

• Crew: One
• Length: 32 ft 3 in (9.84 m)
• Wingspan: 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m)
• Height: 13 ft 1½ in (4.0 m)
• Wing area: 257.5 ft² (23.92 m²)
• Empty weight: 5,745 lb (2,605 kg)
• Loaded weight: 7,670 lb (3,480 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 8,710 lb (3,950 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Merlin XX liquid-cooled V-12, 1,185 hp (883 kW) at 21,000 ft (6,400 m)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 340 mph (547 km/h) at 21,000 ft (6,400 m)
• Range: 600 mi (965 km)
• Service ceiling 36,000 ft (10,970 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,780 ft/min (14.1 m/s)
• Wing loading: 29.8 lb/ft² (121.9 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 6.47 lb/hp (3.94 kg/kW)

Armament

• Guns: 4× 20 mm Hispano Mk II cannon
• Bombs: 2× 250 lb or 500 lb bombs

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The Blackburn B-25 Roc was a British Second World War-era Fleet Air Arm fighter aircraft designed by Blackburn Aircraft Ltd. It took its name from the mythical bird of the tales of the Arabian Nights, the Roc.

The Roc was originally to have been fitted with floats, and four float plane prototypes were built. The first crashed but modifications made the remaining three flyable, although the concept was not pursued. First flying on 23 December 1938,^[1] the Roc's service life was brief, as the aircraft's design was quickly rendered obsolete.

The Roc was a "fighter" development of the Blackburn Skua dive bomber using the same turret fighter concept as the Boulton Paul Defiant in that its sole armament was four 0.303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns in a powered dorsal turret. The reduced firepower (compared to land based fighters such as the Hawker Hurricane) was offset by the ability to direct it in any direction. In practice the weight of the turret made the Roc even slower than the already slow – for fighter purposes – Skua, and the Roc eventually found its niche as a dive bomber.

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The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based aircraft operated by the British Fleet Air Arm which combined the functions of dive-bomber and fighter. It was designed in the mid-1930s and saw service in the early part of the Second World War. It took its name from the seabird.

Built to Air Ministry specification O.27/34, it was of all-metal (duralumin) construction, with a retractable undercarriage and enclosed cockpit. It was the Fleet Air Arms first service monoplane and was a radical departure for a service that was primarily equipped with open cockpit biplanes such as the Fairey Swordfish.

Performance for the fighter role was compromised by the aircraft's bulk and lack of power, resulting in a relatively low speed; the contemporary marks of Messerschmitt Bf 109^[2] made 290 mph at sea level over the Skua's 225 mph. However the aircraft's armament of four fixed 0.303 inch Browning machine guns in the wing and a single rearward-firing Vickers K machine gun was effective for the time. For the dive-bombing role, a single 250 or 500-lb bomb was carried on a special swinging crutch under the fuselage which enabled the bomb to clear the propeller arc on release. Four 40-lb bombs or eight 20-lb Cooper bombs could also be carried in racks under each wing. It had large Zap-type air brakes / flaps which helped both in dive bombing and landing on aircraft carriers at sea.

Skuas are credited with the first confirmed "kill" by British aircraft during the Second World War: a Dornier Do 18 flying boat was downed over the North Sea on 26 September 1939 by three Skuas of 803 Naval Air Squadron, flying from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. On 10 April 1940 16 Skuas of 800 and 803 NAS led by Lt. Cdr. William Lucy, flying from RNAS Hatston in Orkney Islands sank the German cruiser Königsberg in Bergen harbour during the German invasion of Norway. This was the first major warship ever to be sunk by dive bombing, indeed the first major warship ever sunk in war by air attack. Lucy later also became a fighter ace flying Skua. However, these two mostly Skua squadrons suffered heavy losses during an attempt to bomb the battlecruiser Scharnhorst at Trondheim on 13 June 1940; of fifteen aircraft on the raid, eight were shot down and the crews killed or taken prisoner. Among the latter were both squadron commanders, Cpt. R. T. Partridge (RM) and Lt. Cdr. John Casson (RN).

Though it fared reasonably well against Axis bombers over Norway and in the Mediterranean, the Skua suffered heavy losses when confronted with modern fighters - particularly the Bf 109 - and they were withdrawn from front-line service in 1941. The aircraft was largely replaced by another two-seater, the Fairey Fulmar, which doubled the Skua's forward armament and also had a speed advantage of some 50 mph. A number of aircraft were converted to target tugs following withdrawal from frontline service. Others were in fact completed as target tugs from the factory and used by the RAF and Fleet Air Arm in this role ('Fleet Requirements'). They were also used as advanced trainers for the Fleet Air Arm. The last Skua in service was struck off charge in March 1945.

The Blackburn Roc was a very similar aircraft developed as a "turret fighter" with all its armament in a dorsal turret. The Roc was expected to serve alongside the Skua. Rocs were attached to Skua squadrons to protect the fleet anchorage at Scapa Flow in early 1940, briefly from HMS Glorious and Ark Royal during the Norwegian campaign and also over the English Channel during Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk.

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 35 ft 7 in (10.8 m)
• Wingspan: 46 ft 2 in (14.1 m)
• Height: 14 ft 2 in (4.3 m)
• Wing area: 312 ft² (29.0 m²)
• Empty weight: 5,490 lb (2,490 kg)
• Loaded weight: 8,228 lb (3,730 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Bristol Perseus XII radial engine, 905 hp (675 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 225 mph (195 knots, 360 km/h) at 6,500 ft (2,000 m)
• Range: 800 mi (700 nm, 1,300 km)
• Service ceiling 20,200 ft (6,150 m)
• Wing loading: 26.4 lb/ft² (128 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.11 hp/lb (180 W/kg)

Armament

• Guns:
   
  • 4× 0.303 in (7.7 mm) forward-firing Browning machine guns
  • 1× 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis or Vickers K gun on flexible mount in rear cockpit
• Bombs: 1× 500 lb (230 kg) semi-armour piercing bomb or 1× 250lb (115 kg) semi-armour piercing/ General Purpose bomb and 4× 40 lb bombs or 8× 20 lb bombs

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The Boulton Paul Defiant was a British fighter aircraft and bomber interceptor used early in the Second World War. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter " and served with the Royal Air Force (RAF). Contemporary with the Royal Navy's Blackburn Roc, the concept of a turret fighter was somewhat similar to the World War I-era Bristol Fighter. In practice, the Defiant was found to be vulnerable to the Luftwaffe's more agile, single-seat Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters; crucially, the Defiant did not have any forward-firing guns. It was later used successfully in the night fighter role, before it was phased out of combat service in favour of the Bristol Beaufighter and de Havilland Mosquito. The Defiant finally found use in gunnery training, target towing, ECM and air sea rescue. Among RAF pilots it had the irreverent nickname "Daffy."

The Defiant emerged at a time when the RAF anticipated having to defend Great Britain against unescorted enemy bombers. Advances in aircraft design during the 1920s and 1930s resulted in a generation of multi-engined bombers that were faster than the single-engined biplane fighters then in service. The RAF believed that its own turret-armed bombers, such as the Vickers Wellington, would be able to penetrate enemy airspace and defend itself without fighter escort and that the German Luftwaffe would do the same. A turret-armed fighter would be able to engage enemy bombers from angles that would defeat the bomber gunners. Thus, the Defiant was armed with a powered dorsal turret, equipped with four 0.303 inch (7.7 mm) Browning guns. In theory, the Defiant would approach an enemy bomber from below or beside and destroy it with a concentrated burst of fire.

In December 1939, No. 264 Squadron at RAF Manston was the first to be equipped with the Defiant Mk I. The first operational sortie came on 12 May 1940 during the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk. The Defiant was initially successful against enemy aircraft. Its high-water mark was on 29 May 1940, when No. 264 Sqn claimed 65 kills, mostly Ju 87 Stukas and Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engined heavy fighters.

Initially, Luftwaffe fighters suffered losses when "bouncing" flights of Defiants from the rear, apparently mistaking them for Hurricane fighters. The German pilots were unaware of the Defiant's rear-firing armament and encountered concentrated defensive fire. However with a change in Luftwaffe tactics, opposing fighters were able to out-manoeuvre the Defiant and attack it from below or dead ahead, where the turret offered no defence. Defiant losses quickly mounted, particularly among the gunners, who were often unable to leave stricken aircraft. The additional weight of the turret and the second crewman plus the aerodynamic drag, gave the Defiant lower performance than conventional fighter aircraft.^[4] On 13 May, a flight of six Defiants was attacked by Bf 109Es; five of the Defiants were shot down from a frontal attack.

According to the book The Turret Fighters by aviation historian Alec Brew, 264 Sqn. developed effective countermeasures against single-seat aircraft such as the Bf 109. By flying in an ever-descending "Lufberry" circle, Defiant crews sacrificed the advantage of height but eliminated the possibility of attack from underneath, while giving 360° of defensive fire. This tactic was used successfully by 264 Sqn. but when the Defiants of 141 Sqn. were committed to combat a few months later during the Battle of Britain, 141 Sqn. chose to ignore their advice, with devastating consequences. On 19 July 1940, six out of nine Defiants of 141 Sqn. were shot down and the remaining three only survived due to the intervention of Hurricanes of 111 Sqn. Although 264 Sqn. claimed an astonishing 48 kills in eight days over Dunkirk (recent research suggests no more than 12 to 15 enemy aircraft were actually destroyed; the turret's wide angle of fire meant that several Defiants could engage the same target at one time), the cost was high at 14 Defiants lost.

General characteristics

• Crew: 2: pilot, gunner
• Length: 35 ft 4 in (10.77 m)
• Wingspan: 39 ft 4 in (11.99 m)
• Height: 12 ft 2 in (3.71 m)
• Wing area: 250 ft² (23 m²)
• Empty weight: 6,078 lb (2,755 kg)
• Loaded weight: 8,318 lb (3,773 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Merlin III liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,030 hp (780 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 304 mph (264 knots, 489 km/h)
• Range: 465 mi (404 nm, 748 km)
• Service ceiling 30,350 ft (9,250 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,900 ft/min (9.65 m/s)
• Power/mass: 0.124 hp/lb (204 W/kg)

Armament

• Guns: 4 × 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns in hydraulically-powered dorsal turret (600 rounds per gun, 2,400 rounds total)

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The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design. The name Beaufighter is a portmanteau of "Beaufort" and "fighter".

Unlike the Beaufort, the Beaufighter had a long career and served in almost all theatres of war in the Second World War, first as a night fighter, then as a fighter bomber and eventually replacing the Beaufort as a torpedo bomber. A unique variant was built in Australia by the Department of Aircraft Production (DAP) and was known in Australia as the DAP Beaufighter.

By fighter standards, the Beaufighter Mk.I was rather heavy and slow. It had an all-up weight of 16,000 lb (7,000 kg) and a maximum speed of only 335 mph (540 km/h) at 16,800 ft (5,000 m). Nevertheless this was all that was available at the time, as the otherwise excellent Westland Whirlwind had already been cancelled due to production problems with its Rolls-Royce Peregrine engines.

The Beaufighter found itself coming off the production line at almost exactly the same time as the first British Airborne Intercept (AI) radar sets. With the four 20 mm cannons mounted in the lower fuselage, the nose could accommodate the radar antennas, and the general roominess of the fuselage enabled the AI equipment to be fitted easily. Even loaded down to an even heavier 20,000 lb (9 t), the plane was still fast enough to catch German bombers. By early 1941, it was an effective counter to Luftwaffe night raids. The various early models of the Beaufighter soon commenced service overseas, where its rugged build and reliability soon made the aircraft popular with its crews.

A night-fighter Mk VIF was supplied to squadrons in March 1942, equipped with AI Mark VIII radar. As the faster de Havilland Mosquito took over in the night fighter role in mid to late 1942, the heavier Beaufighters made sterling contributions in other areas, such as anti-shipping, ground attack and long-range interdiction in every major theatre of operations.

In the Mediterranean, the USAAF's 414th, 415th, 416th and 417th Night Fighter Squadrons received 100 Beaufighters in the summer of 1943, achieving their first victory in July 1943. Through the summer the squadrons conducted both daytime convoy escort and ground-attack operations, but primarily flew defensive interception missions at night. Although the Northrop P-61 Black Widow fighter began to arrive in December 1944, USAAF Beaufighters continued to fly night operations in Italy and France until late in the war.

By the autumn of 1943 the Mosquito was available in enough numbers to replace the Beaufighter as the primary night fighter of the RAF. By the end of the war some 70 pilots serving with RAF units had become aces while flying Beaufighters.

General characteristics

• Crew: 2: pilot, observer
• Length: 41 ft 4 in (12.6 m)
• Wingspan: 57 ft 10 in (17.65 m)
• Height: 15 ft 10 in (4.84 m)
• Wing area: 503 ft² (46,73 m²)
• Empty weight: 15,592 lb (7,072 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 25,400 lb (11,521 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Bristol Hercules 14-cylinder radial engines, 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 320 mph (280 knots, 515 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,050 m)
• Range: 1,750 mi (1,520 nm, 2,816 km)
• Service ceiling 19,000 ft (5,795 m) without torpedo
• Rate of climb: 1,600 ft/min (8.2 m/s) without torpedo

Armament

• 4× Hispano 20 mm cannon (60 rounds per cannon, 240 rounds total) in nose
• Fighter Command only
  • 4× .303 in (7.7 mm) machine gun (outer starboard wing)
  • 2× .303 in machine gun (outer port wing)
  • 8× RP-3 "60lb" rockets or 2× 1000 lb bombs
• Coastal Command only
  • 1× manually-operated Vickers GO or .303 Browning for observer
  • 1× 18 in (457 mm) torpedo

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The Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as Curtiss Hawk Model 75, was a U.S.-built fighter aircraft of the 1930s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first fighters of the new generation – sleek monoplanes with extensive use of metal in construction and powerful piston engines. Obsolete at the onset of World War II and best known as the predecessor of the Curtiss P-40, the P-36 saw only limited combat with the United States Army Air Forces but was extensively used by the French Air Force and also by British Commonwealth and Chinese air units. Several dozen also fought in the Finnish Air Force against the Soviet Red Air Force. With around 1,000 aircraft built, the P-36 was a major commercial success for Curtiss. This article also covers the YP-37 and the XP-42 prototypes based on the P-36.

The Royal Air Force also displayed interest in the aircraft. Comparison of a borrowed French Hawk 75A-2 with a Supermarine Spitfire Mk I revealed that the Hawk had several advantages over the early variant of the iconic British fighter. The Hawk was found to have lighter controls than the Spitfire at speeds over 300 mph (480 km/h), especially in diving attacks, and was easier to maneuver in a dogfight (thanks to the less sensitive elevator) and better all-around visibility. The Hawk was also easier to control on takeoff and landing. Not surprisingly, the Spitfire's superior acceleration and top speed ultimately gave it the advantage of being able to engage and leave combat at will.

Although Britain decided not to purchase the aircraft, they soon came in possession of 229 Hawks comprised of diverted shipments to occupied France and aircraft flown by escaping French pilots. The aircraft received the designations Mohawk I through IV, mirroring French Hawk 75A-1 through A-4, and were fitted with 0.303-cal. Vickers K machine guns and conventional throttles (forward to increase power).

Although they were considered obsolete, a number saw service with the RAF and Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) in India and Burma. In April 1941, the British government of India ordered 48 Cyclone-powered Mohawk IVz (Hawk 75A) for the RIAF, to be built by Hindustan Aircraft. The first such machine completed was test flown on 31 July 1942. However, only four additional aircraft were completed before the project was abandoned. The Indian-built machines were used by RAF/RIAF units. Similarly, Chinese license production of the Hawk 75A-5 was moved to India, and these machines were also absorbed into RAF as Mohawk IVs. The only British Commonwealth units to see combat in Mohawks were No. 5 Squadron RAF, No. 146 Squadron RAF and No. 155 Squadron RAF. The type was retired by the RAF/RIAF in 1944.

General characteristics

• Crew: One
• Length: 28 ft 6 in (8.7 m)
• Wingspan: 37 ft 1 in (11.3 m)
• Height: 9 ft 2 in (2.8 m)
• Wing area: 235.6 ft² (21.9 m²)
• Empty weight: 4,665 lb (2,116 kg)
• Loaded weight: 5,867 lb (2,661 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: lb (kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-1830-13 Twin Wasp air-cooled radial piston engine, 1,050 hp (783 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 322 mph (518 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 260 mph (420 km/h)
• Range: 650 mi (1,046 km)
• Service ceiling 32,340 ft (9,860 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,500 ft/min (13 m/s)
• Wing loading: 25 lb/ft² (122 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.18 hp/lb (0.29 kW/kg)

Armament

• 1 × 0.30 in machine gun
• 1 × 0.50 in machine gun

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The Curtiss P-40 was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. It was used by the air forces of 28 nations, including those of most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in front line service until the end of the war. By November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built.

The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36; this reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service.

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

The P-40's lack of a two-stage supercharger made it inferior to Luftwaffe fighters in high-altitude combat and it was rarely used in operations in Northwest Europe. Between 1941 and 1944, however, the P-40 played a critical role with Allied air forces in three major theaters: North Africa, the Southwest Pacific and China. It also had a significant role in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Alaska and Italy. The P-40's high altitude performance was not as critical in those theaters, where it served as an air supremacy fighter, bomber escort and fighter bomber.

P-40s first saw combat with the British Commonwealth squadrons of the Desert Air Force (DAF) in the Middle East and North African campaigns, during June 1941. The Royal Air Force's No. 112 Squadron was among the first to operate Tomahawks, in North Africa, and the unit was the first to feature the "shark mouth" logo, copying similar markings on some Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engine fighters. The logo was most famously used on P-40s by the Flying Tigers in China.

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 31.67 ft (9.66 m)
• Wingspan: 37.33 ft (11.38 m)
• Height: 12.33 ft (3.76 m)
• Wing area: 235.94 ft² (21.92 m²)
• Empty weight: 6,350 lb (2,880 kg)
• Loaded weight: 8,280 lb (3,760 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 8,810 lb (4,000 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Allison V-1710-39 liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,150 hp (858 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 360 mph (310 knots, 580 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 270 mph (235 knots, 435 km/h)
• Range: 650 mi (560 nm, 1,100 km)
• Service ceiling 29,000 ft (8,800 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,100 ft/min (11 m/s)
• Wing loading: 35.1 lb/ft² (171.5 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.14 hp/lb (230 W/kg)

Armament

• Guns: 4× .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, 150~200 rounds per gun,2 .30cal LMG
• Bombs: 250 lb (113 kg) to 1,000 Ib (453 kg), a total of 1,500 lb (680 kg) on three hardpoints (one under the fuselage and two underwing)

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The Fairey Firefly was a British World War II carrier-borne fighter aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm. It was superior in performance and firepower to its predecessor, the Fairey Fulmar, but did not enter operational service until towards the end of the war. It remained a mainstay of the FAA until the mid-1950s.

The Firefly was designed by H.E. Chaplin at Fairey Aviation in 1940; in June 1940, the Admiralty ordered 200 aircraft to meet Specification N.5/40. The prototype of the Mk I Firefly flew on 22 December 1941.^[1] Although it was two tons heavier than the Fulmar (due largely to its armament of two 20 mm cannon in each wing), the Firefly was 40 mph (64 km/h) faster due to improved aerodynamics and a more powerful engine, the 1,730 hp (1,290 kW) Rolls-Royce Griffon IIB.

The Firefly is a low-wing cantilever monoplane with oval-section metal semi-monocoque fuselage and conventional tail unit with forward placed tailplane. Powered by a Rolls-Royce Griffon liquid-cooled piston engine with a three-blade airscrew. The Firefly had retractable main landing gear and tail wheel, with the hydraulic operated main landing gear retracting inwards into the underside of the wing centre-section. The aircraft also had a retractable deck arrester-hook under the rear fuselage. The Pilot's cockpit was over the leading edge of the wing and the observer/radio-operator/navigator aft of the wing trailing edge. Both crew had separate jettisonable canopies. The all metal wing could be folded manually, with the wings along the sides of the fuselage. When in the flying position the wings were hydraulically locked.

The primary variant of the aircraft used during the Second World War was the Mk I, which was used in all theatres of operation. In March 1943, the first Firefly Mk Is were delivered but they did not enter operational service until July 1944 when they equipped No. 1770 Squadron aboard HMS Indefatigable. The first operations were in Europe where Fireflies made armed reconnaissance flights and anti-shipping strikes along the Norwegian coast. Fireflies also provided air cover during strikes on the German battleship Tirpitz in 1944.

Throughout its operational career, the Firefly took on increasingly more demanding roles from fighter to anti-submarine warfare stationed mainly with the British Pacific Fleet in the Far East and Pacific theatres. Fireflies carried out attacks on oil refineries and airfields and gained renown when they became the first British-designed and -built aircraft to overfly Tokyo.

After the Second World War, the Firefly remained in service in the UK, which also supplied the aircraft to Canada, Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands and Thailand. The Royal Canadian Navy employed 65 Fireflies of the Mk AS 5 type onboard its own aircraft carriers between 1946 and 1954. It also had some Mk I Fireflies, and sold several of these to Ethiopia in the early 1950s. British and Australian Fireflies carried out anti-shipping patrols and ground strikes off various aircraft carriers in the Korean War as well as serving in the ground-attack role in the Malaya. The Firefly's FAA frontline career ended with the introduction of the Fairey Gannet.

General characteristics

• Crew: Two (pilot & observer)
• Length: 37 ft 7 in (11.46 m)
• Wingspan: 44 ft 6 in (13.56 m)
• Height: 13 ft 7 in (4.14 m)
• Wing area: 330 ft² (31m²)
• Empty weight: 9,460 lb (4,254 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 14,020 lb (6,359 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Griffon IIB liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,730 hp (1,290 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 316 mph at 14,000 ft (509 km/h at 4,300 m)
• Range: 1,070 miles (1,722 km) with auxiliary tanks
• Service ceiling 28,000 ft (8,530 m)
• Rate of climb: ft/min (m/s)
• Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)

Armament

• 4 × 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannons
• 2 × 1,000 lb (450 kg) bomb or 8 × 60 lb (27 kg) rockets

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The Hawker Tempest was a British fighter aircraft primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, and one of the most powerful fighter aircraft used in the war.

During development of the Typhoon the design team, under the leadership of Sydney Camm, were already thinking of ways in which the aircraft could be improved. This process resulted in the Hawker P. 1012 (or Typhoon II).

Although the Typhoon was basically a good design Camm and his design team were disappointed with the wing which proved to be too thick in its cross section; this created problems with the airflow and inhibited the performance of the aircraft, especially at higher altitudes. In March 1940 a few engineers had been assigned to investigate the new low drag laminar flow wing that NACA in the USA had developed and which had been used in the new North American Aviation designed P-51 Mustang. The new laminar flow wing adopted for the Tempest series had a maximum Thickness to chord ratio, of 14.5 % at the root tapering to 10% at the tip. By comparison the Typhoon's wing, using a NACA 23-series wing section, was substantially thicker - 19.5% (root) to 12% (tip). The maximum thickness of the Tempest wing was set further back at 37.5% of the chord versus 30% for the Typhoon's wing.

The wingspan was originally greater than that of the Typhoon at 43 ft (13.1 m), but the wingtips were later "clipped" and the wing became shorter; 41 ft (12.5 m) versus 41 ft, 7 in (12.7 m). The wing planform was changed to an elliptical shape to accommodate the 800 rounds of ammunition for the four Hispano 20 mm cannon, which were moved back further into the wing. The new elliptical wing had greater area than the Typhoon's.

The thinner wing also displaced fuel tanks that had been fitted into the leading edge of the Typhoon's wing. This greatly reduced fuel capacity but Hawker engineers added a new 21 inch (53 cm) bay ahead of the cockpit accommodating a 76 gallon fuel tank, giving a maximum of 360 gallons and an operational radius of 500 miles, almost double that of the Spitfire IX. Another important feature of the new wing for the Tempest I was Camm's proposal that radiators for the new Napier Sabre IV engine were to be fitted into the leading edge of the wing inboard of the undercarriage. This eliminated the distinctive "chin" radiator associated with the Typhoon and improved aerodynamics.

A further improvement of the Tempest wing over that of the Typhoon was the exceptional, flush riveted surface finish, essential on a high performance laminar flow airfoil. Fortunately for the pilots the new wing and airfoil, and the four bladed propeller unit, eliminated the high frequency vibrations that had plagued the Typhoon.

The redesigned main undercarriage legs were longer and set further apart (16 feet) to improve stability at the high landing speed of 110 mph (180 km/h) and to allow tip-clearance for a new four-blade propeller of 14 feet diameter. They were also designed to shorten as they retracted.^[4] The main wheels also needed new thin tyres in order to fit within the wing. Finally, the retractable tailwheel was fully enclosed by small doors.

Camm and the Hawker design team placed a high priority on making their aircraft easily accessible to both air and ground crews; to this end the forward fuselage and cockpit areas of the earlier Hurricane and the Tempest and Typhoon families were covered by large removable panels providing access to as many components as possible, including flight controls and engine accessories. Both upper wingroots incorporated panels of non-slip coating. For the pilot a retractable foot stirrup under the starboard root trailing edge was linked to a pair of handholds which were covered by spring loaded flaps. Through a system of linkages, when the canopy was open the stirrup was lowered and the flaps opened, providing easy access to the cockpit. As the canopy was closed the stirrup was raised into the fuselage and the flaps snapped shut.

The new design was finalised by October 1941 and the Air Ministry issued specification F.10/41 that had been written to fit the aircraft. A contract for two initial prototypes was issued the next month. The aircraft was originally named the "Typhoon Mark II" but was renamed "Tempest" in January 1942 when more prototypes with various experimental configurations were ordered. The problems experienced with delivery of engines led the Air Ministry to ask for six prototypes with different engines so that if a delay hit one engine an alternative would be available. This gave the Mk I (aircraft HM599) with a Sabre IV, two Mk IIs (LA602 and LA607) with the Centaurus IV, MK III (LA610) with a Griffon IIB, Mk IV (LA614) with a Griffon 61 and the Mk V (HM595) with the Sabre II.

The first Tempest prototype, the Mark V, flew on 2 September 1942. This aircraft retained the Typhoon's framed canopy, automobile-style door, the Sabre II engine, and "chin" radiator. It was quickly fitted with a bubble canopy like the later Typhoons and a modified tailfin that almost doubled the vertical tail surface area. The horizontal tailplanes and elevators were also increased in span and chord (these were also fitted to late production Typhoons.)

Test pilots found the Tempest a great improvement over the Typhoon in performance, although it was "pretty tricky to fly". The Air Ministry had already ordered 400 Tempests in August but production of the new Sabre IV engine ran into protracted problems and delays. The second prototype, the "Tempest Mark I" with the Sabre IV did not fly until 24 February 1943.

This prototype also had at first the older Typhoon cockpit and vertical tailplane. Elimination of the "chin" radiator did much to improve performance and the Tempest Mark I was the fastest aircraft Hawker had built to that time, attaining a speed of 466 mph (750 km/h).

Continual problems with the Sabre IV meant that only one Mark I (HM599) was built; consequently Hawker went into production with the Sabre II engined "Tempest V". The first rolled off the production line on 21 June 1943. The first Tempest Vs delivered had the long-barrelled Mark II 20 mm Hispano cannon. Later production aircraft used the short-barrelled Mark V Hispano cannon, eliminating the protruding barrels - though these had not been as prominent as on the Typhoon.

The ultimate offshoot of the Typhoon and Tempest family was the Fury/Sea Fury.

General characteristics

• Crew: One
• Length: 33 ft 8 in (10.26 m)
• Wingspan: 41 ft 0 in (12.49 m)
• Height: 16 ft 1 in (4.90 m (tail down))
• Wing area: 302 ft² (28 m²)
• Empty weight: 9,250 lb (4,195 kg)
• Loaded weight: 11,400 lb (5,176 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 13,640 lb (6,190 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Napier Sabre IIA or IIB or IIC liquid-cooled H-24 sleeve-valve engine:, 2,180 hp (1,625 kW) Sabre IIA at + 9 lb/in2 boost at 7,000 ft (2,133 m), 4000 rpm ^[24]
• Propellers: Four-bladed Rotol or de Havilland propeller

Performance

• Maximum speed: 432 mph (695 km/h) Sabre IIA at 18,400 ft (5,608 m)
  , Sabre IIB 435 mph at 19,000 ft (700 km/h at 5,791 m)
• Range: 740 mi (1,190 km)
  1,530 mi (2,462 km) with 90 gallon drop tanks
• Service ceiling 36,500 ft (11,125 m)
• Rate of climb: 4,700 ft/min (23.9 m/s)
• Wing loading: 37.75 lb/ft² (184.86 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.21 hp/lb (0.31 kW/kg)

Armament

• 4× 20 mm Mark II Hispano cannons, 200 rounds per gun
• 2× 500 lb or 1,000 lb (227 kg or 454 kg) bombs
• 8× 3 in (75 mm) RP-3 rockets (post-Second World War)
• Provision for 2 x 45 gallon or 2 x 90 gallon drop tanks.

Type A - 1915-1942

Type A1 - 1937-1942

Type A2 - 1940-1942

Type B - 1940-1944

Type B1 - 1939-1942

Type C - 1942-1947

Type C1 - 1942-1945

SEAC - 1942-1946