February 2026 Articles

• Never mind that Curtiss-Wright convinced Uncle Sam to continue to buy obsolescent fighters after the need had passed. The P-40 was available in adequate numbers when the need was greatest, not only for the Army Air Forces but for most of our WW II Allies as well. Dating from the late 1930s, the P-40 evolved from the radial-engine P-36, and both types got airborne during the Sunday surprise at Pearl Harbor. In all its iterations, the P-40 served many masters, but it never had as much public appeal as with a mercenary air force sent to China and Burma in […]

  

  The ever-evolving fighter – Curtiss-Wright P-40

  Never mind that Curtiss-Wright convinced Uncle Sam to continue to buy obsolescent fighters after the need had passed. The P-40 was available in adequate numbers when the need was greatest, not only for the Army Air Forces but for most of our WW II Allies as well. Dating from the late 1930s, the P-40 evolved from the radial-engine P-36, and both types got airborne during the Sunday surprise at Pearl Harbor. In all its iterations, the P-40 served many masters, but it never had as much public appeal as with a mercenary air force sent to China and Burma in […]
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• In September 1939, while Europe was erupting for the second time in two generations, America slowly prepared for war. That month, the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama applied to the Civil Aeronautics Administration to participate in the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPT). Thereby, black males tentatively became eligible for government flight training—a revolutionary development in American aviation. In early 1940, CAA representatives arrived to supervise admissions tests. The Institute’s high academic standards were validated when every applicant passed the CPT entry test, reportedly an unmatched record in the South. That fall, the budding Tuskegee airmen were heartened when President Franklin Roosevelt […]

  

  Tuskegee Red Tails – The men, the machines, the missions

  In September 1939, while Europe was erupting for the second time in two generations, America slowly prepared for war. That month, the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama applied to the Civil Aeronautics Administration to participate in the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPT). Thereby, black males tentatively became eligible for government flight training—a revolutionary development in American aviation. In early 1940, CAA representatives arrived to supervise admissions tests. The Institute’s high academic standards were validated when every applicant passed the CPT entry test, reportedly an unmatched record in the South. That fall, the budding Tuskegee airmen were heartened when President Franklin Roosevelt […]
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• When the North American Aviation NA-62, officially dubbed B-25, first flew in August of 1940, it was less than a roaring success. The UK and France had just chosen the smaller Douglas DB-7 Boston (A-20 Havoc) attack bomber over the North American design. However, in the years leading up to the war, NAA couldn’t know that the airplane they urged the U.S. Army Air Corps to adopt would become a legend among the Allies and a curse to the Axis. Nor could they even begin to imagine the incredibly wide range of roles it would play on history’s aerial stage. […]

  

  Mitchells over the Mediterranean – Wavetop warfare: skip-bombing and big guns

  When the North American Aviation NA-62, officially dubbed B-25, first flew in August of 1940, it was less than a roaring success. The UK and France had just chosen the smaller Douglas DB-7 Boston (A-20 Havoc) attack bomber over the North American design. However, in the years leading up to the war, NAA couldn’t know that the airplane they urged the U.S. Army Air Corps to adopt would become a legend among the Allies and a curse to the Axis. Nor could they even begin to imagine the incredibly wide range of roles it would play on history’s aerial stage. […]
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• Perhaps the most distinctive WW II fighter, Lockheed’s P-38 Lightning combined innovative design with excellent performance. Designed by Hal Hibbard and Kelly Johnson, the P-38 featured a clean, twin-boom layout built around two supercharged Allison engines. It also featured a tricycle landing gear and nose-mounted armament of four .50-caliber machine guns and a 20mm cannon. First flown in January 1939, the prototype demonstrated exceptional speed, but it was soon destroyed in a landing accident. Nevertheless, its promise was obvious, and the Army Air Corps issued a contract. Following further development problems, the P-38 entered service with the D model—the first […]

  

  “Forked-Tail” Devil – Lockheed P-38 Lightning

  Perhaps the most distinctive WW II fighter, Lockheed’s P-38 Lightning combined innovative design with excellent performance. Designed by Hal Hibbard and Kelly Johnson, the P-38 featured a clean, twin-boom layout built around two supercharged Allison engines. It also featured a tricycle landing gear and nose-mounted armament of four .50-caliber machine guns and a 20mm cannon. First flown in January 1939, the prototype demonstrated exceptional speed, but it was soon destroyed in a landing accident. Nevertheless, its promise was obvious, and the Army Air Corps issued a contract. Following further development problems, the P-38 entered service with the D model—the first […]
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• The fall of Germany came at an unexpected rate with thousands of troops and facilities falling to the Allies in a matter of days. We seldom see those local surrenders from any but the Allies’ view. The surrender of JG.1 and the capture of its jet-powered He 162s, however, are documented. The development of the Volksjäger (People’s Fighter), the formation of an operational unit and its almost overnight capture and dissolution are presented here to give a better understanding of what the end of a war looks like to the vanquished. Reorganizing the chaos By the middle of 1944, the […]

  

  DESPERATE MEASURES – Volksjäger, the Luftwaffe’s last hope

  The fall of Germany came at an unexpected rate with thousands of troops and facilities falling to the Allies in a matter of days. We seldom see those local surrenders from any but the Allies’ view. The surrender of JG.1 and the capture of its jet-powered He 162s, however, are documented. The development of the Volksjäger (People’s Fighter), the formation of an operational unit and its almost overnight capture and dissolution are presented here to give a better understanding of what the end of a war looks like to the vanquished. Reorganizing the chaos By the middle of 1944, the […]
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• Seemingly already obsolescent when the first one landed on an aircraft carrier, the Swordfish, or “Stringbag” as it was affectionately known, was incredibly versatile and achieved some spectacular successes during the war, outlasting some of the aircraft intended to replace it and defying all expectations. Despite looking like an aircraft that should not have seen service during WW II, amazingly this ugly duckling biplane was responsible for sinking a greater tonnage of Axis shipping than any other Allied aircraft during the war. Swordfish design and development The Fairey Aviation Company’s design for the Swordfish began as a private venture to […]

  

  The Fairey Swordfish – Antiquated, yet devastatingly effective

  Seemingly already obsolescent when the first one landed on an aircraft carrier, the Swordfish, or “Stringbag” as it was affectionately known, was incredibly versatile and achieved some spectacular successes during the war, outlasting some of the aircraft intended to replace it and defying all expectations. Despite looking like an aircraft that should not have seen service during WW II, amazingly this ugly duckling biplane was responsible for sinking a greater tonnage of Axis shipping than any other Allied aircraft during the war. Swordfish design and development The Fairey Aviation Company’s design for the Swordfish began as a private venture to […]
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