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AUSTRALIA |
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UNITED KINGDOM |
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The General Aircraft GAL.48 Hotspur was a military glider designed and built by the British company General Aircraft Ltd during the Second World War. When the British airborne establishment was formed in 1940 by the order of the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, it was decided that gliders would be used to transport airborne troops into battle. General Aircraft Ltd were given a contract by the Ministry of Aircraft Production in June 1940 to design and produce an initial glider for use by the airborne establishment which resulted in the Hotspur. |
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UNITED KINGDOM |
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General Aircraft Limited were chosen in January 1941 to develop this glider, which they designated the GAL. 49 'Hamilcar' and was designed to transport a single light tank or two Universal Carriers. A number of problems, which included vacilliation by the War Office on the number of gliders that it wanted and poor management by GAL, led to delays in the production of the Hamilcar, and the first production glider was only assembled in mid-1943. These problems were only partially solved, and production of the glider continued to be slow, hampered by difficulties in finding suitable locations to store and construct the Hamilcars once their parts were produced. A total of 344 Hamilcars had been built when production ended in 1946. | 11 |
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FRANCE |
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UNITED KINGDOM |
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U.S.A |
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U.S.A |
The Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force. Designed as a lightweight, daytime fighter, it evolved into a successful multirole aircraft. The F-16's versatility is a paramount reason it has proven a success on the export market, having been selected to serve in the air forces of 25 nations. The F-16 is the largest Western jet fighter program with over 4,400 aircraft built since production was approved in 1976.Though no longer being purchased by the U.S. Air Force, advanced versions are still being built for export customers. In 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to the Lockheed Corporation which in turn became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta. |
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The Gloster Gladiator (or Gloster SS.37) was a British-built biplane fighter, used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Navy (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. It was the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft and was rendered obsolete by newer monoplane designs even as it was being introduced. Though often pitted against more formidable foes during the early days of the Second World War, it acquitted itself reasonably well in combat. |
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With production beginning in 1937, The Grumman F3F-2 and its variant F3F-3 were the last biplane fighters to enter service with the US Navy and US Marine Corps. Maximum speed was 256 MPH and service ceiling was 32,400 feet. Armament consisted of one .50 caliber and one .30 caliber machine gun mounted in the nose, firing through the propeller arc. The F3F-2 could also carry two 110-pound bombs on underwing racks. |
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UNITED STATES |
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The Grumman F4F Wildcat was an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that began service with both the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy in 1940. Although first used in combat by the British in Europe, the Wildcat was the only United States Navy or Marine fighter in World War II 1941–42 in the Pacific Theater besides the brief appearance of the F2A Buffalo. With a top speed of 318 mph (512 km/h), the Wildcat was outperformed by the more nimble 331 mph (533 km/h) Mitsubishi Zero, but its ruggedness and tactics such as the Thach Weave resulted in a air combat kill-to-loss ratio of 5.9:1 in 1942 and 6.9:1 for the entire war.The Wildcat would be replaced in Grumman production by the faster F6F Hellcat which could outperform the Zero on its own terms. However, the FM Wildcat continued to be built by General Motors throughout the remainder of the war to serve on escort carriers, where larger and heavier fighters could not be used |
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UNITED STATES |
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The
Grumman F6F Hellcat was a
carrier-based
fighter aircraft developed to replace the
earlier
F4F Wildcat in
United States Navy service. Although the
F6F bore a family resemblance to the Wildcat, it was a completely new design
powered by a 2,000 hp
Pratt & Whitney R-2800. Some tagged it as
the "Wildcat's big brother"The Hellcat and the Vought
F4U Corsair were the primary USN fighters
during the second half of
World War II. |
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U.S.A |
Grumman's first torpedo bomber was the heaviest single-engine aircraft of World War II, and it was the first design to feature a new wing-folding mechanism created by Grumman, intended to maximize storage space on an aircraft carrier; There were three crew members: pilot, turret gunner and radioman/bombardier/ventral gunner. One .30 caliber machine gun was mounted in the nose, a .50 caliber (12.7 mm) gun was mounted right next to the turret gunner's head in a rear-facing electrically powered turret, and a single .30 caliber hand-fired machine gun mounted ventrally (under the tail), which was used to defend against enemy fighters attacking from below and to the rear. This gun was fired by the radioman/bombardier while standing up and bending over in the belly of the tail section, though he usually sat on a folding bench facing forward to operate the radio and to sight in bombing runs. Later models of the TBF/TBM dispensed with the nose-mounted gun for one .50 caliber gun in each wing per pilots' requests for better forward firepower and increased strafing ability. There was only one set of controls on the aircraft, and no access to the pilot's position from the rest of the aircraft. The radio equipment was massive, especially by today's standards, and filled the whole glass canopy to the rear of the pilot. The radios were accessible for repair through a "tunnel" along the right hand side. Any Avengers that are still flying today usually have an additional rear-mounted seat in place of the radios, which increases crew to four. |
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U.S.A |
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The Grumman XF5F Skyrocket was a
prototype of a twin-engine shipboard fighter interceptor to which Grumman
Aircraft Engineering Corporation applied the model number G-34. The U.S.
Navy ordered one prototype airplane on 30 June 1938 with the designation
XF5F-1. The aircraft possessed a unique appearance in that the forward part
of the fuselage did not extend forward of the wing. Provisions were included
in the prototype for two 23 mm (.91 in) Madsen cannons. |
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U.S.A |
The Grumman X-29 was an experimental aircraft that explored a number of new technologies; the most immediately obvious being the forward-swept wings and canard control surface. The inherent aerodynamic instability of this arrangement required the use of computerized fly-by-wire control. Composite materials made the wing twist while bending, reducing the required rigidity and weight. The X-29 first flew in 1984 and two X-29s were flight tested over the next decade. |
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GERMANY |
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