Aircraft
Bombed Up Fw 190Â inTunisia
Many fighter versions of the Fw 190 but the earliest examples to be tested with bomb-carrying equipment appear to have been two from a second batch of preproduction aircraft – WNr. 0022, coded SB+IB, and WNr. 0023, coded SB+IC. They flew test flights with either a 500kg bomb or 300 litre drop tank fitted beneath their fuselages up to June…
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Focke Wulf Fw 190D-9Â Dora
Arguably, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 evolved into wartime Germany’s most effective fighter, offering the Luftwaffe the benefit of manoeuvrability combined with stability as a formidable gun platform and the flexibility to perform as an air superiority fighter, a heavily armed and armoured interceptor and as an ordnance-carrying ground attack aircraft.…
Motobomba FFF
The Motabomba, or more properly the Motobomba FFF (Freri Fiore Filpa), was a torpedo used by Italian forces during World War II. The designation FFF was derived from the last names the three men involved with its original design: Lieutenant-Colonel Prospero Freri, Captain-Disegnatore Filpa, and Colonel Amedeo Fiore. The FFF…
Post-war Spitfire XIV
The final Spitfire variant, the Mk 24, was similar to the Mk 22 except that it had an increased fuel capacity over its predecessors, with two fuel tanks of 33 gal (150 l) each installed in the rear fuselage. There were also zero-point fittings for rocket projectiles under the wings.…
Bulgarian PZL 43AÂ Tchaika
In early 1936 Bulgaria placed an order for 12 P.23s, with the additional requirement of a more powerful engine and an additional forward-firing machine gun. The fuselage was thus redesigned to accept the Gnome-Rhone 14N-01 engine, and the plane was given the designation PZL 43A Tchaika (sea gull in Bulgarian).…
Guided Bombs in Korea
The VB-3 Razon (for range and azimuth) was a standard 1,000-pound general purpose bomb fitted with flight control surfaces. Development of the Razon began in 1942, but it did not see use during World War II. The ASM-A-1 Tarzon, also known as VB-13, was a guided bomb developed by the…
Ilya Muromets – 1914 Giant
The massive Ilya Muromets was the world’s first four-engine bomber-and a good one at that. In three years it dropped 2,200 tons of bombs on German positions, losing only one plane in combat. In 1913 the Russo-Baltic Wagon Works constructed the world’s first four-engine aircraft under the direction of Igor…