WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Short Sunderland

The Short Sunderland

The Short Sunderland - Britain
By Salem

The Short Sunderland was one of the Royal Air Force's biggest seaplane.
It was often called the "Flying Porcupine".
The Short Sunderland was used for long distance transport, search and rescue and patrolling for U-boats.
It was even used for reconnaissance work.
Even tough the Short Sunderland was big, it wasn't the most manouverable and was no match for the deadly Messerschmitts.

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Vickers Type 264 Valentia

The Vickers Type 264 Valentia

The Vickers Type 264 Valentia
Britian
By Salem

The Vickers Type 264 Valentia biplane first flew in 1935 as a replacement for the Vickers Victoria.
The Valentia was the mainstay of the Middle Eastern transport force.
It was characterized by it's tail-wheel rather than a tail-skid which made it ideal for landing on rough airstrips.

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Bristol Beaufighter

The Bristol Beaufighter

The Bristol Beaufighter
Britain
By Salem

One of the aircraft that helped the Allies war effort was the Bristol Beaufighter.
This twin seated fighter was also used as a torpedo bomber, an attack aircraft and a night fighter.
The Bristol Beaufighter was well armed and when attacking the Japanese in Burma, it got the nickname "Whispering Death".

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The de Havilland Mosquito

The de Havilland Mosquito

The de Havilland Mosquito
Britain
By Salem

The de Havilland Mosquito was one of the true greats of air warfare.
The Mk. VI fighter bomber version was the most widely used of the de Havilland Mosquitos and was capable of carrying a pair of highly explosive bombs under-wing.
The de Havilland Mosquito was even converted for reconnaissance duties.
It also helped to defend London during the V1 Doodlebug attacks.

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Supermarine Walrus

The Supermarine Walrus

The Supermarine Walrus

Britian

By Salem

The Supermarine Walrus was an amphibious reconnaissance aircraft which had a single engine, a fully retractable main undercarriage, completely enclosed crew accommodation and had all-metal fuselage.  It had bi-plane wings and was an excellent sea-air rescue plane.

At first it had been a spotter plane and had bombed the Italian positions in East Africa.

The Supermarine Walrus was later used as a rescue plane and a dive bomber.

It had even been "looped" by an enthusiastic pilot.

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Bristol Blenheim Bomber

The Bristol Blenheim Bomber

The Bristol Blenheim Bomber

- Britain

By Salem

The Bristol Blenheim Bomber made headlines when it entered service with the R.A.F. in 1937.  Although it was a bomber, it was nearly 65km/per hour faster than contemporary fighters.

It served with all commands of the R.A.F.  

In the early months of WWII, it had served as one of the mainstays of the R.A.F. attacking German forces.

During the German raids over London, the Bristol Blenheim Bombers were used as a radar equipped fighter.

Later in the war it was becoming out-dated and was retired in 1944.

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Supermarine Spitfire

The Supermarine Spitfire

The Supermarine Spitfire - Britian

By Salem

The Supermarine Spitfire was probably the most famous aircraft ever built.

It's design was inspired by the Supermarine S.6B racing seaplane which won the Schneider Trophy for Britain in 1931.

The Supermarine Spitfire was designed by R.J. Mitchell.

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Typhoon

Typhoons 

The Typhoon - Britian
By Salem

The Typhoon became the foremost ground attack force of the Royal Air Force.  It was modified to carry heavier and heavier weapon loads, starting with two 112kg bombs and later carrying two 450kg bombs.
During sweeps across the English Channel, before D-Day, Typhoons destroyed around 150 railway locomotives a month.  However in 1944, in an air battle over Falaise in France, in one attack they destroyed at least 137 tanks.

WWII Aircraft of the Day - The Tiger Moth

Tiger Moth Flypast at "War Birds Over Wanaka" New Zealand

Salem is studying about the aircraft used in World War II and we thought it would make a great addition to this blog as we are making this a big study about all aspects of life during this time.
Salem, being a typical boy, just loves studying all the aircraft and other military weapons and vehicles from this period of history.
First up is the Tiger Moth.....

The Tiger Moth - Britain
By Salem

The Tiger Moth

The Tiger Moth was one of the most famous trainer planes ever.  Built mainly of wood and covered almost entirely in tough fabric, it first flew in 1931.
In the years before WWII it was used by flying schools around Britain.
The Tiger Moth's secret was it's low cost and reliability and in WWII it had found itself being used for anti-aircraft training.
After the war, the RAF declared them obsolete and they mostly ended up on the civilian market.