Martin 130 China Clipper at Pearl Harbor

Martin M-130

August 8, 2017 PE Matt 0

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 at Pearl Harbour

Sikorsky S-42

August 4, 2017 PE Matt 0

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

March 22, 2017 PE Matt 0

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 […]

B-26 Marauder

Martin B-26 Marauder

March 18, 2017 PE Matt 0

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

March 14, 2017 PE Matt 6

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

February 26, 2017 PE Matt 0

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

February 15, 2017 PE Matt 0

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

January 31, 2017 PE Matt 1

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, […]

Westland Lysander

November 27, 2016 PE Matt 0

In 1934 the RAF began to search for a replacement for the Hawker Hector in the ‘army co-operation’ role – conducting reconnaissance and artillery spotting for the British Army. The Hector was inadequate in the […]

Curtiss-Wright CW-22 Falcon

October 25, 2016 PE Matt 0

The Curtiss-Wright CW-22 was an advanced trainer and sometime reconnaissance aircraft, developed from the company’s CW-19 and the CW-21 Demon designs. Unlike these aircraft, however, the CW-22 was a 2-seat machine. Designed as an advanced […]

1 2 3 4 7