Boeing XB-15

December 27, 2023 PE Matt 0

By the mid-1930s the US Army Air Corps (USAAC) saw the need for a new type of long-range bomber. The procurement of the Boeing B-9 and the Martin B-10 and B-12 series had filled an […]

Vickers Wellington

Vickers Wellington

October 13, 2017 PE Matt 0

In 1932 the RAF issued a specification for a new twin-engine day bomber, which was to have greater performance than any existing aircraft. Vickers-Armstrong, Handley Page and Armstrong Whitworth were invited to submit proposals, all […]

Bristol Beaufort

Bristol Beaufort

September 3, 2017 PE Matt 0

The Bristol Beaufort origination from a 1935 request by the RAF for a twin-engine light reconnaissance and torpedo-bombing aircraft. Two competing designs, the Beaufort and the Blackburn Botha, were both ordered into production before a […]

Martin Maryland

August 29, 2017 PE Matt 0

In 1938 the US Army Air Corps issued the specifications for a new light bomber, and the subsequent design competition eventually produced 3 production bombers – the Douglas A-20, North American B-25, and the Martin […]

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 […]

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 Swordfish

June 11, 2016 PE Matt 0

A legendary aircraft of World War II, the Fairey Swordfish wrote itself into history by sinking three Italian battleships in an attack on Taranto and playing a significant role in the sinking of the German […]

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