The evolving nature of naval warfare gave more and more prominence to the carrier, and the control of island airfields were of paramount concern to the greater strategic concerns of the Pacific theatre. The air war over the Pacific, therefore,...

The Ki45 Toryu (Dragon slayer, Allied reporting name Nick) was a twin-engine heavy fighter patterned after the Me110 and its contemporaries, becoming one of the most important of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force’s warplanes. Initially deployed in bomber escort...

The P-38 Lightning’s comparatively long range proved invaluable in the Pacific Theatre and for escort duties in deep penetration raids over occupied Europe, enjoying considerable success as a ground attack strike fighter. The twin-engined fighter enjoyed its most extensive deployment...

The Bell P-39 Airacobra was one of the principal fighters in service with US Army Air Forces upon the nation's entry into World War Two. It was also used throughout the war by (most prominently) the Soviet Air Force, the...

The D3A ‘Val’ was a dive bomber and the B5N ‘Kate’ was a torpedo bomber. Coordinated strikes from these two aircraft redefined the future of naval aviation and sounded the death knell of the battleship. The Aichi Dive bombers would...

At the time of Japan’s entry into World War Two, the land-based Ki-43 Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon) was the amongst the most advanced aircraft available to the nation, and was also the most important in numerical terms, with 5900 aircraft produced....

At the Battle of Midway the US Navy relied on two aircraft: the SBD-3 Dauntless dive bomber and TBD-1 Devastator torpedo bomber. At Midway, Dauntless aircraft crippled all four of the Japanese carriers. The importance of the Douglas SBD Dauntless’...

The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a rugged US Navy fighter. It performed extremely well in combat and accounted for 75% of the US Navy’s recorded aerial victories in the Pacific theatre. This astounding figure totals Japanese 5156 aircraft destroyed for...

The sleek J2M Raiden (Thunderbolt) was designed as a bomber interceptor. It proved a dangerous opponent, but it struggled to reach the high-flying B29 Super Fortresses that were its intended prey. After a year correcting serious engine problems, the sleek...

The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a fast, modern fighter, but had no armour for the pilot. When the Zero was in the hands of aggressive and well-trained pilots this weakness was rarely apparent. Fast and manoeuvrable, and with an extremely...

The Kawanishi N1K-2 ‘Shiden Kai’ (“Violet Lightning”) was an Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force (IJNAF) land-based fighter. Known by the Allied forces as “George”, the N1K-2 was considered to be one of the finest land-based fighters flown by the Japanese....

When the US Navy and Marine Corps entered the Second World War, they had only one effective fighter aircraft available to them: the F4F Wildcat. Fortunately, the Wildcat proved more than equal to the task of holding the line. The...

The Vought F4U Corsair was designed to be a carrier-based fighter but flying from rough island airfields in tropical conditions was no impediment. Battles over Guadalcanal proved their superiority over their Japanese opponents. The F4U flew over 60,000 operational sorties...

William F Fiedler has the distinction of being the only American flyer to achieve Ace status exclusively while flying the P39 Airacobra. Fiedler enlisted in the Army on 31st December 1941 and became an Aviation Cadet. On completing his training...

Richard Ira Bong was the United States’ top scoring and most highly decorated Ace of the Second World War. He joined the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program in May 1941 and a year later was training on the new...

Kashiide was an experienced combat pilot at the outbreak of the Second World War having fought Soviet pilots at the Battle of Khalkhin Gol in 1939. He went on to win fame as one of the few pilots able to...