Mitsubishi B5M Type 97-2 “Mabel”
In 1935 the Japanese Navy issued a request for a new torpedo bomber to replace the inadequate Yokosuka B3Y and B4Y models then available. Mitsubishi put forward a design for a conventional monoplane with fixed […]
Articles by PE Matt
British and Dutch Borneo
The island of Borneo was divided between the Dutch, who controlled most of the central and south of the island, and the British who controlled the northern coastal regions of Sarawak, Brunei and British North […]
Nakajima C3N Type 97
In 1935 the Japanese Navy issued their 10-Shi requirements for two new carrier based aircraft, a torpedo bomber and a reconnaissance plane. The torpedo bomber design created by Nakajima became the famous B5N, but the […]
Fairey Albacore
Often described as a failed successor to the famous Swordfish torpedo bomber, the Fairey Albacore was an advanced biplane naval bomber that was ordered as a replacement for its older sibling. Seeking a replacement for […]
The Loss of Northern Malaya
With the Japanese having established a firm foothold on the northern part of the Malayan Peninsula, their troops moved rapidly to capture key British facilities. More army sentai began to fly into the airfields close […]
Short Singapore
The Short Singapore was a flying boat that was originally designed as a twin-engine aircraft in the mid-1920s which was not ordered by the RAF, with the sole Singapore Mk I being used for survey […]
The Fight for the Philippines
The attack on Clark Field, with which the Japanese had opened their offensive on the Philippines, had decimated the American Far East Air force (FEAF). Half of the FEAF’s vaunted B-17 Flying Fortress bombers had […]
Consolidated B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was one of the most widely used aircraft of World War II and was the most produced heavy bomber in history, with over 18,000 rolling off the assembly lines. The original […]
The Defeat of Force Z
As the situation in the Far East deteriorated during the second half of 1941, the British government looked at ways to reinforce their colonies in the Pacific. One of the jewels of the British Empire […]
Curtiss-Wright CW-21 Demon
The Curtiss-Wright CW-21 was privately designed by the company in order to fulfil a perceived need for lightweight, fast-climbing interceptors on the international market. The USAAF had no need for aircraft of this type, so […]