The history of planes
The first plane ever built was made in the USA by the Wright brothers and their first flight was in the year 1903.During their research in the years 1900-1902 they made about 200 varients of the wings they were going to make.Their working aircraft was called the Wright Flyer and it also helped in research.
First use of combat
Planes were first used in the military during WW1 but mostly as reconnaissance.At first most generals were sceptical about the usage of aircraft but in 1914 they found out that cavarly were not good at detecting the enemy forces in the 20th century.One of the first ever squadrons were created by the British Armed Forces and were the only ones made up of fully working planes.The Germans made the air battleship called the Zeppelin but not many were built so it wasn't too useful.By the end of the war the Royal Air Force was made and it was the most advanced air force in the world.
Early World war 2
Before the war in 1939 Germany was constructing planes,mostly bombers in secret. The bomber that they first made was called the Junkers JU 88 which was a fast twin-engined bomber and it was called the Flying bomb by the Allies. The JU 88 was a standard bomber, a dive bomber(droping from a high alltitude and droping bombs and quickly getting back up),torpedo bomber(used torpedoes to destroy ships),night fighter(used during the night) and reconnaissance bomber(took pictures of main targets).The Germans also made the messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aircraft. The first real use was during the Battle of Britain in 1940,but they were outclassed by the British Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire.They were also used during operation Barbarossa in 1941.The pilots of the Bf 109s were said to be cearful when engaging the soviet Lavochkin LaGG-3 fighter aircraft, mainly because of the 20mm gun on it. Following the winter of 1941/42 the Germans crossed the Volga river and attacked Stalingrad. There the Germans used their Junkers JU 87 multi-role aircraft to help the infantry. The Soviets relied heavily on their new attack aircraft the Ilyushin IL-2 which could carry 500 kg of bombs with the addition of rockets to destroy the enemy's armored targets. During the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 the Japanese had the best fighter aircraft of WW2,the A6M1 Zero.
Mid war
During the year 1943 the Germans got a lot of victories on the Atlantic,they destroyed a lot of trading boats of the Allies.The Allies sent a lot of strategic bombers to destroy U-boat pens.It took a lot of hours to destroy one U-boat.Japan was still recovering from the Battle of Midway.It still built planes but they were in short on supplies.
Late war
In the years 1944 and 1945 the Americans bombed Germany with they're B-17 bomber.The rate of the aircraft surviving was low since Germany put up a very strong defense.The results of the bombing meant that Germany lost a lot of they're factories that they used to built weapons.In the year 1944 the British used theyre new fighter,the Tempest.The Luftwaffe was in a big disadvantage since the factories were destroyed and the US had the fastest planes during the year.Before D-day the 5 beaches (Omaha,Utah,Gold,Juno and Sword) were bombed by the Americans and the British,but a lot of Germans still survived.By April 1944 the entire Luftwaffe was destroyed.Meanwhile on the Pacific the Japanese used the tactic called kamikaze to destroy American ships.The Germans built and used the first jet fighter,teh ME 262.
The best aircraft of WW2
10.P-51 Mustang
The P-51 Mustang was an American fighter that was used mostly in Europe during the years 1944 and 1945.It was one of the reasons why the Luftwaffe was destroyed.It was one of the fastest planes of WW2.It could also reach the most altitude than any other aircraft which means it could go as high as bombers do and destroy them before they could drop the bombs.It is also the plane that got the most plane kills then any other plane of the war.
9.Focke-Wulf Fw-190
Intruduced in 1941 the Fw-190 shocked the RAF pilots and provented a lot of Allied bombers to reach in to the heart of Germany.The plane was highly respected by Allied pilots.The ace Otto Kittel scored 267 kills in this aircraft and is the 4th best pilot of the Luftwaffe.
8.Supermarine Spitfire
First used during the Battle of Britain,the Spitfire along with the Hurricane turned the tide and brought victory to Britain.With over 24 varients the Spitfire is the most popular plane of WW2.Thanks to its speed and turning time it forced the german bf109 to stay low and cover the bombers.The Spitfire was used in every WW2 theater earning the title as one of the best fighters during WW2.
7.Messerschmitt Bf-109
The Bf-109 had a huge impact in the start of the war since no aircraft could catch up to it and most countries still used biplanes.It was king of the sky before the Battle of Britain
6.Mitsubishi A6M Zero
The A6M was a japanese fighter plane of WW2.When it was introduced in to combat it was shock for the Americans when it attacked Pearl harbor in december of 1941.It was the best fighter in the Pacific theater for 2 years until the F6F Hellcat was introduced.It was also the best carrier based fighter.During its prime it was also said to be ''invincible'' until the new American fighters were introduced.It was also the most agile aircraft of the war.
5.Junkers 87 Stuka
The Stuka was a German dive bomber and ground attack aircraft.It was very accurate when it was dropping bombs and it was also a very good anti-tank aircraft.Hans Ulrich Rudel destroyed 500 russian tanks-that's five tank corps.The Stuka lost its invincibility when the Allies had air cover.
4.Ilyushim-2 Sturmovik
The Il-2 was a Soviet ground attack aircraft and it was the number one anti-tank aircraft of the war.It also holds the record for the most produced aircraft ever.The Germans called it ''Black Death''.After the war it was replaced with the Il-10.
3.Boieng B-17 Flying Fortress
The B-17 was an American bomber which turned the events of the second world war.It was mostly used to bomb German industrial targets.It could bring back to safety even if it only had one engine left.The crew of the bomber experienced horror because of enemy pilots and heavy anti-air power.More than 47 000 men lost their lives.
2.Vought F4U Corsair
The F4U was an American fighter mostly used in the Pacific theater and it outclassed most of the Japanese planes.It was meant to be used as a fighter but it was also pretty good ground attack aircraft but as a carrier based aircraft it was not as good.It secured victory at Iwo Jima and Okinawa and it continued to serve in the Korean war.
1.Messerschmitt 262
The Me 262 was a German rocket powered fighter that served during the final years of the war.It had a revolutionary design mostly because it had no propeler and it was very fast so no allied plane could fight it.It also marked the revolution in aircraft design.
My favorite aircraft: P-47 Thunderbolt
The P-47 was and American fighter plane which also excelled in ground attack operations and it was produced from 1941-1945.It's primary armament was eight browning .50 caliber machine guns and could carry five-inch rockets or a bomb load of a 1000kg.When fully loaded it weighed about eight tons making it one of the heaviest fighters of the war.It was powered by the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp.The Thunderbolt was effective as a short to medium range escort fighter in high-altitude air-to-air combat and ground attack in both the European and Pacific theaters.The P-47 was also used by France,Britain,Russia and in the Mexican and Brazilian squadrons.
The Greatest Air Battle Of WW2:The Battle Of Britain
The Battle of Britain was a military campaign during WW2 and was thought betwen the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the german air force,the Luftwaffe and was the first major air battle of WW2.The battle started on the 17th of June 1940 and was named operatin Sea Lion.It was planned by Hitler to invade the island of Great Britain.Before the battle the Germans comenced air raids and it also introduced the radar.The Germans used their Bf109's and Fw190's to conduct air battles.The battle started with German bombers above the isle's with the Brits using their new fighters the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane engaging the enemy's planes.The air force was built of many people from diffirent country's like Polish(303 squadron),Czech(310 squadron) and the Canadian 410th squadron.On the 31st of October the battle finished and Winston Churchill used his popular quote ''In all of history never before was more owed to so few''.