February 2020 Articles

• A P-47D Thunderbolt pilot had many ways to die: flak; German fighters; engine failure at low altitude; premature detonation of his own bombs; hitting trees or power lines while strafing; and terrible weather—weather that led to midair collisions, takeoff and landing accidents on icy airfields, pilot disorientation and fatal spins, and collisions with hillsides disguised […]

  

  Point Blank – Jugs Over the Battle of the Bulge

  A P-47D Thunderbolt pilot had many ways to die: flak; German fighters; engine failure at low altitude; premature detonation of his own bombs; hitting trees or power lines while strafing; and terrible weather—weather that led to midair collisions, takeoff and landing accidents on icy airfields, pilot disorientation and fatal spins, and collisions with hillsides disguised […]
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• Anyone who grew up in the 1920s and 1930s learned very quickly that “Made in Japan” meant cheap price and poor quality. Almost everything bought in the five-and-dime stores had that tag. It seemed impossible to purchase anything imported from Japan that would not wear out or break after a very short useful life. That […]

  

  Zero: Myth, Mystery, and Fact

  Anyone who grew up in the 1920s and 1930s learned very quickly that “Made in Japan” meant cheap price and poor quality. Almost everything bought in the five-and-dime stores had that tag. It seemed impossible to purchase anything imported from Japan that would not wear out or break after a very short useful life. That […]
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• The Battle of Britain is most often portrayed from the cockpit of a Hurricane or Spitfire. But RAF fighters existed for one reason: to shoot down enemy bombers. Seven decades later, the Luftwaffe’s Kampfgruppen (bomber wings) still are taken for granted as “spear carriers” rather than star performers that drove the aerial opera. The Luftwaffe […]

  

  German Bombers

  The Battle of Britain is most often portrayed from the cockpit of a Hurricane or Spitfire. But RAF fighters existed for one reason: to shoot down enemy bombers. Seven decades later, the Luftwaffe’s Kampfgruppen (bomber wings) still are taken for granted as “spear carriers” rather than star performers that drove the aerial opera. The Luftwaffe […]
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• Squadron Leader Ralph Sorley is widely unappreciated for his contribution to the Spitfire’s armament. The original specification listed four .303-caliber guns, which, considering the nature of combat, would have been woefully inadequate. But Sorley, who had flown with the Royal Navy in WW I, was the right man in the right place at the right […]

  

  Spitfire Guns

  Squadron Leader Ralph Sorley is widely unappreciated for his contribution to the Spitfire’s armament. The original specification listed four .303-caliber guns, which, considering the nature of combat, would have been woefully inadequate. But Sorley, who had flown with the Royal Navy in WW I, was the right man in the right place at the right […]
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• The Battle of the Bulge was the final German offensive campaign on the Western Front in World War II. Hitler’s orders were to split the Allied Forces and halt Allied use of the Belgian port of Antwerp, and so the action was slated for the densely forested Ardennes region of Belgium.

  

  Night Fighters in the Battle of the Bulge

  The Battle of the Bulge was the final German offensive campaign on the Western Front in World War II. Hitler’s orders were to split the Allied Forces and halt Allied use of the Belgian port of Antwerp, and so the action was slated for the densely forested Ardennes region of Belgium.

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• In November of 1942, Koga’s Zero had been extensively repaired. A Hamilton Standard propeller exactly like the Zero’s was fitted because the Zero prop was a copy of a Hamilton Standard. Koga’s Zero 21 had the Sakae 12 engine of 940hp. Then, flight-comparison tests were flown between the Zero and the current American fighters. The […]

  

  One on One: U.S. Fighters vs. Zero

  In November of 1942, Koga’s Zero had been extensively repaired. A Hamilton Standard propeller exactly like the Zero’s was fitted because the Zero prop was a copy of a Hamilton Standard. Koga’s Zero 21 had the Sakae 12 engine of 940hp. Then, flight-comparison tests were flown between the Zero and the current American fighters. The […]
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