Short S.23 Empire
In 1935 Imperial Airways, the British- government-backed service for air travel to the Empire, issued a requirement for a medium range flying boat capable of carrying up to 24 passengers, plus airmail and freight, at […]
Aircraft
Martin M-130
1931, Pan Am president Juan Trippe requested proposals for a passenger aircraft capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean to Europe, a distance of around 2,000 miles from Newfoundland to Ireland. This was just 4 years […]
Sikorsky S-42
In 1931 Pan Am president Juan Trippe solicited designs from six different companies for an aircraft to fly long distance, transoceanic passenger and airmail routes. Of the six companies, only Martin with their ambitious M-130 […]
Curtiss SBC Helldiver
The Curtiss SBC was derived from the prototype XF12C fighter, which was a monoplane with a high mounted parasol wing. This design proved to be extremely flawed when the mission of the XF12C was changed […]
Martin B-26 Marauder
Designed as part of the same competition that produced the North American B-25 Mitchell, the Martin B-26 Marauder was quite an advanced aircraft for the time. Envisaged as a high speed bomber, the B-26 promised […]
Bell P-39 Airacobra
The Bell P-39 was designed in 1937 in response to a USAAC requirement for a new fighter that could match the performance of European models that were then in development – particularly the Supermarine Spitfire […]
North American B-25 Mitchell
In 1937, the US Army Air Corps began to look for a new twin-engine attack bomber to replace the single-engine types it had on hand. The USAAC solicited for several designs, three of which ended […]
Westland Wapiti
In the mid-1920s the standard ‘general purpose’ aircraft in the RAF was the DH-9A, which had its roots in the World War I era DH-4. Interwar budget cuts meant that it was not until 1926 […]
Fairey Fulmar
The Fairey Fulmar represents the philosophy of the Fleet Air Arm just prior to World War II, that navigational science was not advanced enough to allow for the creation of a single-seat naval fighter. Therefore, […]
Kawanishi H8K Type 2 “Emily”
As soon as the Kawanishi H6K entered service, the Imperial Japanese Navy began the search for an improved flying boat to eventually supplant the Type 96. The 13-Shi specifications called for a new flying boat […]