Dewoitine D.510
The Dewoitine D.510 fighter was an improvement on the original D.500, which was introduced to replace biplane designs then in service with the French Armée de l’Air. The D.500/510 was similar to aircraft like the […]
Articles by PE Matt
Mitsubishi Ki-21 Type 97 “Sally”
The Mitsubishi Ki-21 was a heavy bomber of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War. It was originally designed to meet a 1936 requirement of the IJA for a replacement for the Ki-1 and […]
The Invasion of Canton
Although the Japanese had successfully eliminated most Chinese air opposition in Southern China during the autumn of 1937, shipments of new aircraft from foreign partners continued to arrive in the area. American, British, German and […]
Lt Kunihiro Iwaka’s E8N Type 95 floatplane
[Not a valid template] On February 24th, 1938, floatplanes from the seaplane tenders Notoro and Kinugasa Maru attacked Nanhsiung, in Kwangtung (Guangdong) Province, China. One the the E8Ns, piloted by Lt Kunihiro Iwaka, was severally […]
IJAAF Unit Structure
The basic unit of the IJAAF unit structure was the chutai, which translates as “squadron” and is roughly similar to the German staffel. Chutai consisted of perhaps 9 aircraft, and could be specified as dokuritu […]
Ki-27s and Ki-10s In Action
Ki-27s and Ki-10s (posing as Chinese aircraft) appear in dogfighting scenes from the September 1940 film Moyura Ōzora, or in English “The Burning Sky”. This film shows some of the excellent formation flying and combat manoeuvring […]
Gloster Gladiator
The Gloster Gladiator was privately developed by the company to meet an RAF specification for a 250mph fighter. It was derived from the Gloster Gauntlet biplane which preceded the Gladiator as the RAF’s frontline fighter. […]
Central China
In March 1938, with the Japanese having consolidated their hold on Shanghai and Nanking, the advance into Central China slowed down. No plan existed for further operations, as the Japanese had expected the Chinese to […]
Nakajima Ki-27 Type 97 “Nate”
The Nakajima Ki-27 was a follow up to the unsuccessful Ki-11 monoplane, which lost out to the biplane Kawasaki Ki-10 in a competition to design a new fighter for the Japanese Army. The Ki-27 was […]
The Soviet Volunteer Group In Action
In November 1937, with Shanghai secured, the Japanese turned their attention on Nanking. The old capital was devoid of any worthwhile defences so the Chinese decided not to fight for the city as they had […]