Böcker av Mantelli - Brown - Kittel - Graf

This was an unpleasant surprise. The pilots of the RAF Spitfire had rejected the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain and now, in the summer of 1941, had to face to defend Europe. But they had not expected the appearance of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the new German fighters with radial engine, which could easily counter the inadequate Spitfire V. When the RAF finally managed to capture a specimen in 1942, it was realized that the ugly news had yet to arrive. The 190, in fact, turned out faster than any US or British fighter and, with a mighty armament, the agile German aircraft could destroy them with ease. Product, in more than 20,000 copies, fast, agile, fully armed, easy to build and to keep in efficiency, safe in handling and in use, extremely versatile, loved by its pilots and feared by opponents: this was the Focke-Wulf 190. The plane was one of the fruits of the genius of a famous aircraft designer, Kurt Tank, who managed to summarize in the happiest way all the "summa" of aerodynamic and structural knowledge of the time in such a classic design in architecture in general as innovator solutions, to the point that the last piston fighter products in the world, the Soviet La. 11 English "Sea Fury", explicitly reveal their descent from the German founder. Its small size and the high maneuverability were ideal for a fighter jet, as well as the high visibility ensured from the cockpit. It was remarkably robust and wide track to cart him to also operate on makeshift runways. It took two years before the allies were able to prepare aircraft can deal with the Focke-Wulf, which remained throughout the Second World War (in the various evolutions) a benchmark for the various Allied fighters.

The Lockheed P-38J Lightning aircraft was revolutionary, extremely innovative, thanks to double-girder fuselage, the two Allison V-engines with turbochargers within the tail beams and landing gear in tricycle.The Bell P-39 Airacobra was a single-engine fighter produced by the US to low-wing Bell Aircraft Corporation. It was the most controversial fighter aircraft used by the US during World War II. It was the first fighter in the world to have the engine installed in the middle of the fuselage, behind the pilot.The Bell P-63 Kingcobra was a single-engine low-wing fighter aircraft developed by the US Air Force Bell Aircraft Corporation in the early forties and used during World War II. Evolution of the previous P-39 Airacobra, launched in an attempt to correct the defects of that model, the United States Army Air Forces will never estimated suitable for combat, relegating him to the towing role for targets. As a result, nearly two-thirds of the production was assigned to the Soviet Union and about 300 units to units of Free France. The Curtiss P-40 was a single-seat single-engine monoplane US manufacturing in the first half of the forties was taken by the Allies as a fighter aircraft or fighter in many of the theaters in which you fought the Second World War. Produced by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company of Buffalo, New York, never was an aircraft with exceptional characteristics (mainly because of its engine, underpowered at high altitude); However, it was also made of a large number of specimens, and his great strength (coupled with its widespread availability since the early months of the entry into the war) made it one of the most important fighter for American aviation events in the first phase of World war II, between 1941 and the summer of 1943.

Fighter pure par excellence, shared with the Focke Wulf 190 the first line of the Luftwaffe throughout the second world war. Continuously updated and strengthened, he represented an irreplaceable element in the arsenal of the Luftwaffe, remaining in line from the Battle of Britain until the last day of the war. The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is the best-known German fighter of World War II. He served between 1937 and 1945 and confronted with an incredible series of increasingly fierce opponents, who were faced with continuous changes and improvements to past largely the limits of the original project; eventually he came to double the weight and triple the original power, whose inevitable overcooked autonomy was greatly reduced compared to the first series. It was an extremely versatile aircraft: its latest versions even included a high-altitude fighters with a pressurized cabin. It was produced after the war in Czechoslovakia and Spain, and a total of about 35,000 specimens they were built: one of the biggest productions of all time.

The Hawker Hurricane was the first modern British fighter before the outbreak of World War II. Until 1941 the Hurricane was the most widely used combat aircraft from the Royal Air Force and the one that bore the brunt of the first clashes with aircraft of the Luftwaffe in the skies of France and Britain. Almost 3,000 aircraft of this type were delivered to the USSR, for the law Rentals & Loans, but the Soviet pilots were generally very critical of the fighter Hawker, considered inferior, not only to the German fighters, but also its. First fighter monoplane of the RAF, the first aircraft equipped with eight machine guns, was the plane means available in greater numbers to counter the waves of attack by the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. Available in twenty-six departments in the early summer of 1940, to August, there were thirty-two against nineteen Spitfire. Piloted by aces like Douglas Bader that made him a legend, the Hawker Hurricane Mk I, although less than the Bf 109-E, however, he proved to be a horse race, and especially at high altitudes could be more maneuverable and thus, to this, more suitable bomber hunter."His majesty the Spitfire".This airplane is an air legend, a real brand, and his image is inextricably linked to the British victory in the Battle of Britain. It is one of the few, perhaps the only one, whose name evokes some images even in a profane things of historical aviation. Excellent defensive machine, heavily armed, very agile, climbing fast, but the lack of range and of sufficient load capacity has not helped in the war below. The Spitfire name was suggested by Sir Robert MacLean, director of Vickers-Armstrongs at the time, who called his daughter Ann "a little spitfire," a saying Elizabethan to indicate a person impetuous.

The Boeing B 29 Superfortress will be remembered as the apparatus to have made use of the atomic weapon in war action; in fact, airplanes of this type that dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to force Japan to surrender in August 1945. Apart from that, however, the Boeing B 29 was an excellent aircraft, with avant-garde features, including turrets with automatically maneuverable weapons at a distance and pressurized compartments for the crew. The American interest in a bomber capable of carrying a considerable offensive load over long distances and at high speeds dates back to the Boeing XB 15 of 1933. Although in the second half of that decade, the interest in such a weapon fades, Boeing continued to elaborate the design of similar projects, culminating in the 341 model, which was believed to be capable of carrying a cargo of 2,240 pounds (just over 1,000 kg) of bombs with a flight range of 7,000 miles (11,265 km) at a speed of over 400 miles / h (644 km / h). However, with the outbreak of World War II in Europe and the possibility of a forthcoming American involvement in it, the US Air Force Corps (USAC) again showed interest in any weapon that would put the United States in the possibility of bombing the enemy even at very great distances. So in February 1940, the request was made of the so-called "Hemisphere Defense Weapon" (weapon for the defense of the hemisphere), namely a bomber capable of transporting 2,000 pounds (907 km) of bombs over a distance of 5,333 miles (8,600 km) at a speed of 400 miles/h (644 km/h). The bomber should have also self-supporting tanks, good armored protection, heavy defensive armament and a chance to transport 16,000 pounds (7,250 kg) of offensive cargo.

Il Boeing B 29 Superfortress (super fortezza volante) sarà ricordato come l'apparecchio ad aver fatto uso dell'arma atomica in azione di guerra; furono, infatti, aerei di questo tipo che sganciarono le bombe atomiche su Hiroshima e Nagasaki per costringere il Giappone alla resa nell'agosto 1945.A parte ciò, comunque, il Boeing B 29 fu un aereo eccellente, con caratteristiche di avanguardia, comprese torrette con armi manovrabili automaticamente a distanza e compartimenti pressurizzati per l'equipaggio.L'interesse americano per un bombardiere capace di trasportare un notevole carico offensivo su lunghe distanze e ad alte velocità risale al Boeing XB 15 del 1933. Benché, nella seconda metà di quel decennio, l'interesse per una tale arma si affievolisce, la Boeing continuò a elaborare il disegno di progetti simili, culminati nel modello 341, che si credette capace di portare un carico di 2.240 libbre (poco più di 1.000 kg) di bombe con un autonomia di volo di 7.000 miglia (11.265 km) a una velocità di oltre 400 miglia/h (644 km/h).Tuttavia, con lo scoppio della seconda guerra mondiale in Europa e la possibilità di un prossimo coinvolgimento americano in essa, il Corpo Aeronautico dell'Esercito americano (USAAC) mostro nuovamente interesse per qualsiasi arma che mettesse gli Stati Uniti nella possibilità di bombardare il nemico anche a grandissime distanze.Perciò nel febbraio 1940, fu fatta la richiesta della cosiddetta "Hemisphere Defense Weapon" (arma per la difesa dell'emisfero), e cioè di un bombardiere capace di trasportare 2.000 libbre (907 km) di bombe su una distanza di 5.333 miglia (8.600 km) a una velocità di 400 miglia/h (644 km/h).Il bombardiere avrebbe dovuto avere anche serbatoi autostagnanti, una buona protezione blindata, un armamento difensivo pesante ed una possibilità di trasportare 16.000 libbre (7.250 kg) di carico offensivo.

Nuova edizione riveduta e aggiornata.Il de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito è stato un aereo militare britannico di grande versatilità durante la seconda guerra mondiale. Era soprannominato affettuosamente "Mossie" dai suoi equipaggi e aveva anche come altri nomignoli: "The Wooden Wonder" (la Meraviglia di legno) o "The Timber Terror" (il Terrore di legno), poiché la cellula era realizzata in legno laminato. Venne impiegato dalla Royal Air Force (RAF) e da molte altre forze aeree nel conflitto mondiale, sia nel teatro europeo che in quelli del Pacifico e del Mediterraneo, oltre che nel periodo postbellico.Inizialmente concepito come bombardiere veloce disarmato, il Mosquito fu adattato a molti altri ruoli durante la guerra, tra cui: bombardiere tattico diurno a bassa e media quota, bombardiere notturno da alta quota, indicatore di bersagli (Pathfinder), caccia diurno o notturno, cacciabombardiere, aereo d'attacco e ricognitore fotografico. Fu anche utilizzato dalla British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) come aereo da trasporto. Fu la base per un caccia pesante dal nome de Havilland Hornet.Nel corso del 1941, un autorevole esponente del mondo scientifico anglosassone ebbe pubblicamente a dichiarare che l'impiego del legno nelle costruzioni aeronautiche di un certo livello, era ormai da considerarsi superato. Quest'affermazione sarebbe stata meno categorica se lo scienziato si fosse trovato il 25 novembre 1940 sul campo inglese di Hatfield e avesse potuto ammirare un bellissimo bimotore tutto giallo, che seminava gli Spitfire e infilava un tonneau dopo l'altro con una delle due eliche in bandiera. Quel velivolo, infatti, era costruito interamente in legno e il suo livello era tale da farlo divenire di lì a poco, una delle armi più micidiali della RAF.

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was a four-engine heavy bomber to medium-high wing (wing adopted a type known as a winger Davis, narrow and elongated, which became a distinctive feature comes along with the double oval). The Liberator was one of the most important American bombers. He finished the war as the plane from the US war constructed in as many examples in history; It was built, in fact, more than 18,000 specimens. It was, along with the B-17 Flying Fortress, the flagship bomber of the United States Army Air Force.The North American B-25 Mitchell was a twin-engine medium bomber manufactured by North American and mainly used by the USAAF during the Second World War. The B-25 Mitchell North American formed together with Douglas A 20 Havoc and the Martin B-26 Marauder, the backbone of the business units supporting the USAAF during World War II. Mitchell, in particular, proved a versatile aircraft that it immediately attracted the popularity. Although he had no heavy offensive load, its armament with a piece of heavy artillery, good for both offensive and defensive purposes, it was particularly feared by German pilots, Italian and Japanese. The Martin B-26 Marauder was an American twin-engine bomber of World War II produced by the Glenn L. Martin Company. It was the first medium bomber used by the United States in the Pacific War at the beginning of 1942. He worked also on the Mediterranean and on the front in Western Europe. Immediately after its entry into service he earned the nickname of "Factory of widows" because of the high rate of accidents, especially on take off and landing. The Marauder had to be driven carefully respecting the speed limit set by the AFM, especially in the approach to the runway and when an engine was out of order. The high speed to maintain immediately before landing (150 mph - 241 km / h) intimidate the pilots, accustomed to much lower speeds, but if instinctively slowed down, the plane immediately stallava and crashed to the ground.

Il Grumman F4F Wildcat era un monomotore da caccia imbarcato ad ala media sviluppato dall'azienda aeronautica statunitense Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation nei tardi anni trenta; prodotto tra la fine del decennio ai primi anni quaranta fu il principale caccia, solitamente imbarcato sulle portaerei, della United States Navy durante il 1941 e il 1942, ovvero nel primo anno di partecipazione alla seconda guerra mondiale e successore, nonché discendente, dell'F3F, ultimo dei biplani da caccia dell'U.S. Navy e dell'intera aeronautica degli Stati Uniti d'America. Il Grumman F6F Hellcat venne sviluppato rapidamente come caccia standard della Marina statunitense nella seconda guerra mondiale, entrando in servizio nel 1943 e rimanendo il velivolo più importante dell'US Navy fino alla fine del conflitto. Fu il discendente diretto del F4F Wildcat di cui, secondo le previsioni, doveva costituire un valido rimpiazzo per le portaerei della Marina con lo scopo di meglio contrastare il passo ai caccia giapponesi.Secondo dati statistici raccolti dalla Difesa, il 75% degli aerei nemici abbattuti da apparecchi americani operanti dalle portaerei in tutti i teatri bellici è da accreditare all'Hellcat. Oltre ai 4.947 apparecchi giapponesi e tedeschi abbattuti da F6F operanti da portaerei, gli Hellcat che partivano da basi a terra distrussero 209 aerei avversari, portando il totale delle vittorie ottenute in ogni settore bellico mondiale a 5.156.Il Vought F4U Corsair fu senza dubbio il miglior caccia della seconda guerra mondiale con base su portaerei. Era estremamente potente e come caccia bombardiere fu così efficace contro i giapponesi che costoro lo soprannominarono la "morte sibilante". Come aereo d'appoggio tattico, faceva paura anche solo a "sentirlo" i suoi radiatori alari producevano un sibilo degno di uno Stuka, e i Giapponesi divennero presto molto rispettosi della loro presenza.

The De Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British military aircraft of great versatility during the Second World War.He was affectionately nicknamed "Mossie" by his crews and also had like other nicknames: "The Wooden Wonder" or "The Timber Terror", since the cell was made of laminated wood. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and by many other air forces in the world war, both in the European theater and in those of the Pacific and the Mediterranean, as well as in the post-war period.Initially conceived as a fast unarmed bomber, the Mosquito was adapted to many other roles during the war, including: low and medium altitude daytime bomber, high altitude night bomber, target marker (Pathfinder), day or night fighter, fighter-bomber, attack plane and photographic reconnaissance. It was also used by the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) as a transport aircraft.It was the basis for a heavy hunt named de Havilland Hornet.During 1941, an authoritative exponent of the Anglo-Saxon scientific world had publicly declared that the use of wood in aeronautical constructions of a certain level was now to be considered outdated.This statement would have been less categorical if the scientist had been on November 25, 1940 in the English camp of Hatfield and had been able to admire a beautiful all-yellow twin engine, which sowed the Spitfires and put a "tonneau" after another with one of the two propellers in the flag. That aircraft, in fact, was built entirely of wood and its level was such that it soon became one of the most deadly weapons of the RAF.

The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, nicknamed "Jug" was an American fighter comes with an extremely powerful engine, 2,000 hp or more, and it was fast, especially at high altitude. It was also heavily armed with eight 12.7 mm machine guns, and its strength allowed him to return to base even if badly damaged..The North American P-51 Mustang is considered among the best fighters of World War II. Produced starting from 1941, he was one of the most versatile American fighters of the Second World War; It was deployed both in the Pacific and on that European opposition to the planes of the Luftwaffe. It was mainly used as a fighter escort to the formations of bombers Boeing B-17, but also as a fighter bomber.

Abbiamo il più bel bombardiere del mondo.Così pubblicava il New York Times la mattina del 29 luglio 1935 dopo che il giorno precedente il Modello 299, progenitore di uno dei più famosi aerei di tutti i tempi, il Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, aveva effettuato il primo volo su Seattle con ai comandi il capo-collaudatore della Boeing, Leslie R. Tower. Il Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (Fortezza volante) era un aereo quadrimotore della classe dei bombardieri pesanti. Venne impiegato principalmente dalle Army Air Forces nelle campagne di bombardamento strategico contro bersagli tedeschi di tipo industriale, civile e militare. L'8a Air Force (Forza Aerea) di base in Inghilterra e la 15a Air Force di base in Italia si unirono al Bomber Command (comando bombardieri) della RAF nell'Operazione Pointblank, per assicurare la superiorità aerea sulle città, le fabbriche e i campi di battaglia nell'Europa occidentale. Questa operazione era un preparativo per lo sbarco in Normandia.