Planes of World War II

After the Wright Brothers made the first controlled and sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft on December 17, 1903, rapid innovations during the early 20th century greatly improved airplanes’ capabilities and allowed them to be used in World War II.

The first military plane was built by the Wright Brothers and sold to the United States army in 1909. Initially, these airplanes were only used for reconnaissance, but engineers quickly adapted them to bombers and fighters outfitted with machine guns.

Military aircraft played a major role during World War II. Countries used airplanes to bomb their enemies, and dogfights were very common. All of the major powers seeked to manufacture more planes and design better and more powerful ones.

Many of the planes used in World War II were made by companies still around today, including Boeing, Kawasaki, Lockheed Martin, Mitsubishi, and the predecessors of Airbus and BAE Systems. Below are some of the most famous World War II aircraft.

German Messerschmitt Bf 109: a single-seat fighter aircraft that was the backbone of the Luftwaffe’s fighter force. It was designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser in 1935 and was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine.

German Focke Wulf 190: a single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft that was widely used by the Germans. The twin-row BMW 801 radial engine allowed it to be used as a day fighter, fighter-bomber, and ground-attack aircraft.

British Supermarine Spitfire: a single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft by R. J. Mitchell.

US North American P-51 Mustang: a long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber. It was designed by North American Aviation in 1940 and was outfitted with machine guns. While able to attack ground targets, P-51’s were mostly used to escort bombers.

US Boeing B-29 Superfortress: a four-engine, propeller-driven, long-range, high-altitude heavy bomber. It was one of the largest aircraft used in World War II and was the single most expensive weapons project in World War II at $3 billion, exceeding the $1.9 billion cost of the Manhattan Project. B-29’s were infamously used to drop the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_of_World_War_II

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_warfare_of_World_War_II

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-662-6659-37%2C_Flugzeug_Messerschmitt_Me_109.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Fw_190A-3_JG_2_in_Britain_1942.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Ray_Flying_Legends_2005-1.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/375th_Fighter_Squadron_North_American_P-51D-5-NA_Mustang_44-13926.jpg/1920px-375th_Fighter_Squadron_North_American_P-51D-5-NA_Mustang_44-13926.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/B-29_in_flight.jpg/1920px-B-29_in_flight.jpg