Boeing XB-15
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 […]
bomber
Vickers Wellington
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
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
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
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 […]
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 Swordfish
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 […]
Java and The First Heavy Bomber Campaign
The 19th Bomb Group had withdrawn to Australia following the disastrous early days of the war in the Philippines, and there it began to regroup. American commanders were keen to get the vaunted B-17s – […]