Wings of the Second World War: Bombers and Fighters Beyond the Famous Names

The He 111 was the most numerous bomber in the German air force by the outbreak of the war, and 6,508 were built between the mid-1930s and 1944. It flew as a strategic bomber in the Battle of Britain, as a torpedo bomber over the Atlantic and Arctic, and as a medium bomber on several fronts, before losing air superiority pushed it toward transport duties.

The Ju 88 was conceived as a fast bomber meant to outrun fighters, then proved so adaptable that it was built as a dive bomber, night fighter, torpedo bomber, reconnaissance aircraft and heavy fighter. More than 15,000 were produced, a figure among bombers exceeded only by the B-24 Liberator.

The Liberator was built in greater numbers than any other American military aircraft of the war. Its long wing gave it more range than the B-17 it shared the bombing campaign with, which allowed the low-level raids on the Romanian oil refineries at Ploiesti in 1943.

The Mosquito was built mainly of wood, sparing scarce aircraft-grade aluminum, and its speed let a crew of two fly unarmed as a bomber in many roles. It was adapted into bombers, a night fighter, an intruder, a maritime strike aircraft and a photo-reconnaissance platform, and it made the precision raid on Amiens prison.

The Yak-9 reached Soviet fighter regiments in October 1942 and was a capable match for the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and Messerschmitt Bf 109. It helped the Soviet Union regain air superiority at the Battle of Kursk in 1943, and 16,769 were built by 1948.

The P-40 was a quick modification of the earlier P-36 and lacked a two-stage supercharger, so it performed poorly at high altitude. It stayed rugged and effective at the lower altitudes where much fighting in North Africa, the Southwest Pacific and China took place, and 13,738 were built.

The Dauntless used perforated dive brakes to descend steeply and accurately onto a target, and crews nicknamed it Slow But Deadly. It is remembered for the decisive bombing attacks on the Japanese carrier force at the Battle of Midway in June 1942.

The Avenger had folding wings for carrier storage and a bomb bay that could hold one aerial torpedo or a 2,000 pound bomb. It was the most widely used torpedo bomber of the war, took part in sinking the battleships Yamato and Musashi, and was credited with roughly thirty submarine kills.

The Corsair's inverted gull wing kept the propeller clear of the ground, and carrier landing difficulties meant early aircraft served with Marine squadrons from land bases. American pilots claimed a kill ratio of roughly eleven to one against Japanese aircraft, in both air combat and ground attack.