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Aircraft of the US airforce

Grumman F4F Wildcat

This stubby but rugged little plane was the main fighter for the U.S. Navy during the hard-fought first year of the war. It saw action at the Coral Sea, Midway, and the Solomons Campaign. Despite claims that it was no match for the Zero, it more than held it's own, due to it's solid construction and the quality of the pilots that flew her.

Vought F4U Corsair

: Known as the most outstanding carrier-based fighter to be used operationally in WWII, the Corsair has become legendary. Known to the Japanese as "Whistling Death", the Corsair was famous for it's bent gull-wings and it's high kill ratios. The Corsair was the first U.S. fighter to exceed 400 m.p.h., and had much better performance than the F4F Wildcat, which was the current top-of-the-line Navy fighter when the Corsair was introduced.

Grumman F6F Hellcat

The Hellcat replaced the F4F Wildcat during the last three years of the war as the main fighter for the U.S. Navy. It was rugged, dependable, and had the performance to match or beat the Japanese fighters that it fought.

Curtiss P-36 Hawk

First known as the Curtiss Model 75, the Hawk was the predecessor to the Curtiss P-40. By the beginning of WWII the P-36 was already considered obsolete. Circumstances compelled limited use of P-36s in the opening stages of hostilities with Japan, but they were very soon relegated for use as a second-line aircraft in the training role.

Lockheed P-38 Lightning

The twin-boomed Lightning was a revolutionary design for a long range interceptor fighter. It served in all theaters of war, and was the main mount of many of America's top aces in the Pacific theater. Major Richard Bong scored his 40 kills flying P-38s in the Pacific. P-38s were also used in the famous mission that intercepted and shot down Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto over Bougainville. The P-38's high speed and large nose section (which was a good location for recon cameras)  made the plane a natural for photographic reconnaissance missions.

Republic P-43 Lancer

After Republic had finished the production run of the P-35A, it set about to develop a more advanced version of that aircraft. Two different projects resulted from this, the XP-41, and the P-43. Both had more powerful engines than the P-35A, and a redesigned airframe that was far more aerodynamic than it's predecessor. Testing of these prototypes resulted in a USAAC contract for 13 P-43s in March 1939.

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

Affectionately know as "the Jug", the P-47 was a heavy (7-ton) fighter for it's time. Designed as an interceptor, it found it's true role as a hard-hitting ground-attack aircraft. It's great structural strength and massive radial engine that could withstand damage better than that of other in-line engined fighters.

North American P-51 Mustang

The P-51 is considered to be one of greatest single seat fighters to be used in WWII. It's original design called for the use of a 1,100 hp Allison V-1710-39 engine, but this version proved to have limitations in combat operations at higher altitudes

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress

One of the most well-known bombers of all time, the B-17 Flying Fortress became famous in the long daylight bombing raids over Europe in WWII. While it lacked the range, bombload, and ceiling of it's contemporary the B-24, the B-17 became the more famous of the two due to the many tales of B-17s bringing their crews back home despite heavy damage. With up to thirteen machine guns, the B-17 seemed to be a genuine flying "fortress in the sky".

Consolidated B-24 Liberator

The B-24 Liberator was not only built in considerably greater numbers than the famous B-17, but it was the most extensively produced of all of the U.S. wartime aircraft. It served in all theaters of combat, delivering large bomb loads over long distances. It had easily recognizable oval-shape endplate fins and rudders, and unique 'roller shutter' doors which retracted within the fuselage when opened for attack, causing less drag than conventional bomb-bay doors which opened into the slipstream.

Boeing B-29 Superfortress

The B-29 Superfortress was used by the 20th Air Force in the Pacific to bomb the Japanese Home Islands. It was a very advanced bomber for it's day, with pressurized crew compartments and remote-controlled gun turrets. While envisioned as a high altitude daylight bomber, it's greatest successes were low-level nighttime raids dropping incendiary bombs on the combustible Japanese cities. The B-29 is most known for dropping the A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which ended the war.

Douglas A-20 Havoc

The Douglas A-20 Havoc light bomber was one of the most extensively built of the light bombers of WWII. It was used in a variety of roles, performing them well but without distinction. Initially configured with a standard bomber glass nose, some later versions had a solid nose containing multiple machine guns for use in low-level attacks.

Douglas AD-1 Skyraider

The Skyraider was designed to be a replacement for the current naval torpedo/dive bombers that were then in use. It was felt that one aircraft could be designed that would able to fill both of these roles and more, and that reducing the crew to a single pilot would result in weight savings and speed increases, both factors that would enable the aircraft to carry more ordinance more effectively.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain 

The C-47 was famous for it's dependability, versatility, and ability to carry loads far heavier than the official specs allowed. Famous campaigns involving the C-47 were "flying the Hump" (transport over the Himalyas), dropping paratroops behind enemy lines on D-Day, and the post-war Berlin airlift. The C-47 was so useful that it was used by the U.S. military in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, and many are still flying in different countries around the world today.

Douglas C-54 / R5D Skymaster

Like it's stable mate the C-47, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from the prototype of a civilian airliner (the DC-4). C-54s began service with the USAAC in 1942, carrying up to 26 passengers. (Later versions carried up to 49 passengers.) The U.S. Navy also acquired the type, under the designation R5D. The C-54/R5D was one of the most commonly used transports by the U.S. armed forces in World War II.

Lockheed C-69 Constellation

The Constellation was developed as a four engined civilian airliner, and in that role (after the war) it became the most elegant and certainly one of the most successful airliners ever produced by US industry. In 1943, however, when the prototype took it's maiden flight, the U.S. was at war and needed a fast military transport. Production of the new airliner was converted into the C-69 military version, which was produced until the war's end, when the civilian airliner was once again produced. 856 Constellations were built during the production run of the aircraft, though only 21 were built to USAAF specifications before the war's end (and not all of those entered service).

Waco CG-15A

An improved version of the CG-14A, the CG-15A still carried 15 troops, though at a higher speed.

Waco CG-13A

The Waco CG-13A assault glider could carry up to 42 troops or an equivalent weight of cargo. It was developed as a glider based on the CG-4A, but with double the capacity. Orders began in 1943, with 132 being made by Ford and Northwestern and delivered through 1945.

Boeing XPBB-1 Sea Ranger

The frequent appearance of German U-Boats close to U.S. coastal waters made the U.S. Navy aware that it needed a long-range maritime patrol aircraft. Because Boeing had considerable experience with flying boats (the most famous being the Boeing 314-A "Clipper" used by Pan Am Airways), the Navy approached Boeing about designing a suitable aircraft for it's purposes. In June 1940 a contract was awarded for a prototype XPBB-1, with the first flight taking place in July 1942.

Consolidated PBY Catalina

The most famous flying boat of WW II, the PBY Catalina was built in large numbers, and some are still in use today. While it was slow by contemporary standards, the PBY more than made up for it's lack of speed with its reliability and great range, as well as the fact that as a flying boat it could land on the water for rescue missions. It's long range made it an excellent reconnaissance aircraft over the world's oceans.