World War II Fighters - An Illustrated Data Guide

Christopher Chant

Tiger Books International

1997

77 páginas

2h 34m

ISBN-9: 855018594

At the beginning of World War II, the fighter was essentially a short-range warplane optimised for the defence of national airspace: aircraft typical of this concept were the Hawker Hurricane, Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Supermarine Spitfire. As the war progressed, the fighter was transformed into a longer-range warplane offering multi-role capability: drop tanks provided the additional range, and na increasing weight and diversity of external load offered the additional capability in the escort and ground-attack roles. Mosto f the early aircraft could be adapted to the changing requirements, but other such as the classic American fighters, most notably the Grumman F6F Hellcat, North American P-51 Mustang, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and Vought F4U were designed with these features. The introduction of considerably more powerful engines boosted performance to a significant degree, and then the advent of the turbojet allowed the creation of new breed of fighter epitomised by the Gloster Meteor and, most spetacularly of all, the Messerschmitt Me 262. The Italians, Japanese and Soviets failed to match the most radical of these developments, but all produced fighters that were admirably suited to the tactical demands made of them.