fighters. (For examples of carrier fighter aircraft, see
carriers, 2; for fighter-bombers when employed as dive-bombers, see
bombers, 2.)
1. Design and development
The crucial elements necessary for a successful fighter design were speed, manoeuvrability, ceiling (see Table 1), range (see Table 2), and armament. These aspects were all interlinked, and improving one could usually only be achieved to the detriment of another. Only technical developments such as the introduction of the monoplane; external fuel, or drop, tanks; the jet engine; and rockets (see
rocket weapons) enabled designers to build fighters that could keep pace with the strategic and tactical demands of the war to outfight their opponents (speed and manoeuvrability), destroy enemy bombers (ceiling and armament), escort their own bombers for greater distances (range and armament), and act as effective ‘aerial artillery’ to support their side's land forces (armament and manoeuvrability).
By 1939 it was apparent that biplane fighters had reached the limits of their design potential. All the nations about to become involved in the Second World War had by then examples of the new generation of fighters, either in service, or about to enter production. These were single-engined, low-winged monoplanes, usually with enclosed cockpits, retracting undercarriages, and a fixed forward firing armament. Germany and the USSR had their Messerschmitt 109 and I16 Rata respectively—both types were used in the
Spanish Civil War on opposing sides—while the UK had introduced the Hurricane and Spitfire. Monoplane fighters were also in service in France and Italy, although Italy persevered with biplanes longer than most nations. The USA had the Curtiss P36 Hawk fighter, later developed into the useful P40 Tomahawk and Warhawk series. Japan also had radial engined all-metal fighters though two of its existing major types had fixed undercarriages. However, about to enter service was the Japanese Navy's A6M Zero which had remarkable manoeuvrability, exceptional range, and a retractable undercarriage.
Between the wars British fighters had been designed as bomber interceptors; they carried enough fuel in internal tanks for this role, and had (for 1939–40) a heavy armament of 8 x .303 in. (9 mm.) machine guns, then considered adequate to deal with unarmoured bombers. Other nations, notably France, Germany, Japan, and the USSR used mixed cannon and machine-gun armament, while the USA preferred the 0.5 in. (12.7 mm.) heavy machine-gun. During the
battle of Britain the Luftwaffe fitted armour into its aircraft; the Royal Air Force responded by fitting cannon in its Hurricanes and Spitfires, and these became operational late in 1940.
Some nations also developed twin-engined fighters, usually two-seater aircraft, and many of these later became successful night fighters as they were sufficiently large to accommodate the necessary
radar equipment with its operator. The first twin-engined fighter to see operational service was Germany's Messerschmitt 110. It was somewhat slower and less manoeuvrable than the nimble Hurricanes and Spitfires which opposed it in 1940, but later in the war it proved to be a successful night fighter, as did a fighter development of the German Ju88 bomber. The British developed the twin-engined Beaufighter and Mosquito—both of which also became successful night fighters—and the USA produced the twin-engined single-seater P38 Lightning. Only the USA produced a purpose-built night fighter, the P61 Black Widow. This was heavier than many medium bombers, and for a large twin-engined fighter had remarkable manoeuvrability.
As the war progressed, the quest for higher speed, and above all, greater operating radius became apparent. The original aircraft types of each nation were improved; engine power output was increased. All the combatant nations introduced newer designs which incorporated where possible the lessons of the earlier war years. New engines were used in some cases; for example, the British developed the Rolls-Royce Merlin into the Griffon, which was installed in later Spitfires.
Second generation fighters then appeared, such as the RAF's Typhoon, later further refined as the Tempest. In Germany, the Focke-Wulf 190, with its powerful BMW801 radial engine, became operational in 1941, and was used in several roles. To counter high-flying bombers, the RAF introduced high-altitude versions of the Spitfire, and a specially adapted example in the Middle East claimed a victory at 14,630 m. (48,000 ft.).
The US Army Air Forces introduced in April and December 1943 respectively the P47 Thunderbolt and the Merlin-engined P51B Mustang which, in late 1943 and mid-1944, extended the radius of fighter operations, and relieved pressure on the beleaguered US bomber formations in daylight raids over Europe during the
strategic air offensives. The later longer-ranged P51D Mustang—an excellent aircraft incorporating a laminar flow wing section (see Figure 1), an all-round-vision blister canopy, and an armament of 6 x 0.5 in. (12.7 mm.) machine guns—flew against and defeated the defending German fighter forces over their own bases. The P51D fitted with external underwing fuel, or drop, tanks had an operating radius of 965 km. (600 mi.) and could reach Poland and Czechoslovakia from bases in England. If bombs or rockets were fitted instead of external fuel tanks, it was very effective at strafing ground targets, and as a dive-bomber it was far better than the vaunted German Junkers 87 Stuka. By the cessation of hostilities in the
Pacific war it was regularly flying operations from
Iwo Jima to the home islands of Japan, a distance of some 1,045 km. (650 mi.).
The Japanese manufactured a number of outstanding fighters, some of which were on a par with anything the western powers produced, but by 1944 their pilots were so poorly trained they were unable to handle them properly. The Japanese Army Air Force, which was much influenced by the aerial clashes in Manchukuo in the 1930s (see
Japanese–Soviet campaigns), developed short-range tactical aircraft for cold-weather operations. They were therefore unsuited, as indeed were their pilots, for combat in the Pacific war and they mostly operated in the
Burma campaign and in China (see
China incident). Though the Third Air Army did take part in the
Malayan and
Philippines campaigns, and other Japanese Army Air Force formations took part in the
New Guinea campaign, it was the Japanese Navy's air arm which bore the brunt of the fighting in the Pacific.
Numerically, one of the most important Japanese Army Air Force fighters was the Hayabusa of which three models ( 1941, 1942, 1944) were built. All three models were armed with two 12.7 mm. (0.5 in.) machine guns; the Hayabusa III had a top speed of 560 km/h (348 mph) at 6,000 m. (19,685 ft.). However, this aircraft was, like its Japanese Navy contemporary the Zero, very lightly constructed, making it extremely vulnerable to the heavier armament of opposing Allied fighters; and, by comparison with Allied fighters, it was seriously undergunned.
Faster but less successful, because they frequently developed mechanical trouble, were the two models ( 1943, 1944) of the Hien; the Hien I, armed with two 12.7 mm. machine guns and two 20 mm. (0.8 in.) cannon, had a top speed of 650 km/h (405 mph).
Of the second generation fighters the Japanese Army pinned their hopes on the Hayate to turn the tide against US air power. This high-altitude interceptor fighter was developed in April 1944 as ‘the ultimate fighter for the Great East Asia War’. The Model V ( 1945), which had an air-cooled engine, a top speed of 590 km/h (366 mph) at 6,400 m. (21,000 ft.), and an armament of two 20 mm. cannon and two 12.7 mm. machine guns, was specifically designed and developed for intercepting the US B29 bombers which raided Japan from Saipan. They were capable of climbing to 11,500 m. (37,730 ft.) while the Ki-102Ko, of which only 25 were built, could reach 13,000 m. (42,650 ft.).
The Japanese Navy's A6M Zero—by far its most successful fighter of which there were a whole succession of models—first came into service in 1940 and was operated from land bases as well as from
carriers. It was of exceedingly lightweight construction and therefore had excellent manoeuvrability. During the first six months of the Pacific war, its remarkable operating radius of 965 km. (600 mi.) came as an unpleasant surprise to the Allied air forces. Of the early Allied fighters only the F4F Wildcat could oppose it on anything like equal terms.
The Japanese Naval Air Force also introduced entirely new fighters, in addition to improving its Zero fighter. The best of these was the Shiden, a landplane development of a
float-plane fighter (a type used only by the Japanese). Introduced late in 1944, the Shiden of all Japanese fighters most nearly approached the western concept of a late war fighter. It was used by the Japanese in the closing months of the war mainly to intercept US B29 bomber raids during the strategic air offensive against Japan.
Both the Japanese Army and Navy had a number of promising aircraft designs (fighters, bombers, and attack aircraft) at the end of the war. Because of production difficulties caused by shortage of materials and air raids, many of these were in prototype form or had only been built in small numbers. There was also a shortage of skilled technicians in the Japanese aircraft industry because many aero-engineers had been conscripted into the army.
The first use of fighter-bombers—which were simply fighters converted to carrying bombs—occurred in 1940 when German Messerschmitt 109s bombed airfields and other objectives in South-East England. The Focke-Wulf 190 was also successfully used in fighter-bomber operations against targets in southern England, and on the Eastern and Italian fronts.
On the Allied side, Hurricanes, Spitfires, P40 Warhawks, Typhoons, P51 Mustangs, P47 Thunderbolts, F6F Hellcats, and F4U Corsairs were all successfully used as fighter-bombers. In the case of the Typhoon, effective use was also made of rockets, especially against German tanks in the
Normandy campaign, and P47 Thunderbolts were highly effective in a dive-bomber role in support of the US Army in 1944–5.
However, by the time the war in Europe ended in May 1945, the day of the single seat, piston-engined fighter had almost run its course; all the air forces had advanced designs or extremely fast refinements of existing designs which either saw limited service in the closing months of the war, or entered service soon thereafter. Some promising designs appeared only as prototypes and were not built in quantity.
The trend in new fighter aircraft was the jet fighter; both the RAF and the Luftwaffe had examples in squadron service, in the Meteor and Me262 respectively. Both these became operational in 1944; both were low-wing twin jet monoplanes. The US Army's Shooting Star jet fighter was just too late to see wartime squadron service. The Germans also made operational the radical Me163, a tailless all-wing design with a liquid-fuelled rocket motor used in short bursts to get above Allied bomber formations. In level flight under power it was extremely fast (950 km/h or 590 mph), but its fuel only lasted about twelve minutes and it was then flown as a
glider.
Piston engines of the Second World War were of two types, air-cooled radial engines and liquid-cooled in-line engines. The cylinders in radial engines were arranged in one or more rows round the crankshaft like the points of a star, and these engines were cooled by the air flowing over the cylinders and crankcase as the aircraft flew through the air. In in-line engines the cylinders were in rows parallel to the crankshaft, and these engines were invariably cooled by a water-glycol mixture and a radiator. Most in-line engines were of a ‘V’ configuration, for example, the Rolls-Royce Merlin was of a V-12 layout.
Piston engines, like aircraft, were subject to continuous development. The incomparable British Rolls-Royce Merlin fitted in Hurricanes and Spitfires during the battle of Britain was rated at 1,030 hp; by 1942 the Merlin Mark 66 fitted in the Spitfire 9 developed 1,720 hp. A refinement, the Rolls-Royce Griffon, which equipped late Spitfire variants, developed over 2,000 hp. Versions of the Merlin equipped many Allied aircraft types, including the American P51D Mustang. Merlins for the Mustang were built in the USA by the Packard Motor Company, and, apart from the Mustang, went into Canadian-built Lancasters and Mosquitos.
The American forte was the air-cooled radial engine; the Pratt and Whitney R-2800 18-cylinder (in two rows) engine fitted in P47 Thunderbolts and P61 Black Widows was rated at over 2,200 hp. The same engine powered the F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair naval fighters.
The Germans produced two outstanding engines, the inverted V-12 Daimler Benz 601–603–605 series, and the powerful BMW 801 fourteen-cylinder two-row radial. The DB601 of 1940 fitted in the Me109E developed 1,100 hp; the late war DB605 produced about 1,500 hp when fitted in the ME 109G. The BMW 801 powered the Focke-Wulf 190, producing about 1,700 hp.
Japanese aero-engines tended to be somewhat less powerful than their Allied counterparts, but with the lighter construction of many of their aircraft, this was not deemed by the Japanese to be a disadvantage. However, by 1944 they had produced the powerful Homare engine, which powered the Shiden fighter. Producing 1,990 hp, the Homare was lighter and of a smaller diameter than any other major wartime radial engine, but it was handicapped by unreliability and production difficulties caused by B29 air raids on factories producing it.
E. A. Munday
2. Tactics
As in the
First World War, fighter tactics depended on an aircraft's speed, armament, manoeuvrability, rate of climb, and turning ability, and on a pilot's quick reactions and his use of sun and cloud. Surprise remained the trump card. As one US pilot remarked, ‘The guy you don't see will kill you’: four out of five fighters shot down during the war never saw their assailant.
The major advance between the wars was the introduction of radio telephony (see
radio communications) into most major air forces. This enabled ground control stations—which in the UK possessed an early form of radar—to direct fighters on to their targets early, allowed flight leaders to organize their pilots quickly for an attack while airborne, and warned pilots when enemy aircraft were above and behind them. In the RAF codewords were introduced (see
BANDIT and
BOGEY) to aid brevity of speech and eliminate ambiguity, and fighter squadrons were given identity call signs to minimize confusion.
In September 1939 RAF Fighter Command's tactical training was based on the theory that the air threat to the UK would be hordes of German bombers, flying in close formation and not escorted by fighters since these could not reach the UK's shores from airfields in Germany; apparently those who assessed the threat did not take into account the possibility that nearer airfields might become available.
dogfights, it was held, were a thing of the past and rigid air fighting tactics were introduced which, by a series of complicated and time-wasting manoeuvres, aimed at bringing the greatest number of guns to bear against the bombers. The RAF's fighting unit was the tight vic, or V-formation, of three fighters, and squadron training was based on six types of formation attacks against unescorted bombers. These set-piece attacks were useless in air combat. Tactically the German Fighter Arm was well ahead of the RAF's Fighter Command because their young fighter pilots, such as Mölders and
Galland, had, since 1936, gained valuable tactical experience in the Spanish Civil War and had devised the perfect fighter formation, known as the
Rotte. This was based on just two aircraft, which flew some 180 m. (200 yd.) apart. The main responsibility of the number two, or wingman, was to guard his leader from an attack from his quarter, or from behind, while the leader navigated his small force and also covered his wingman. The
Schwarme, two pairs of aircraft, was a development of the
Rotte, and when in 1941 the RAF eventually copied the Luftwaffe and adopted this pattern, it was called the ‘finger-four’ because the relative positions of the fighters was similar to a plan view of the finger tips. The Luftwaffe adopted it and it is still used today. For some reason the
Western Desert Air Force did not employ it until the summer of 1942.
Despite the lessons of the brief air fighting which preceded the
fall of France in June 1940 the British began the battle of Britain using the wretched three-plane vics. Tactically, however, the Luftwaffe failed to take advantage of the RAF's radar gap at low level or to destroy its tall radar masts—ideal targets for their Stuka dive-bombers—and as the fighting intensified able leaders such as Malan, Bader, and Broadhurst adopted looser and more manoeuvrable formations. This meant that RAF fighters began to meet the angular German Me109 fighters on better terms when they began escorting the bomber formations. Different tactics were also then adopted against the bombers themselves. One was for the fighters, flying line abreast, to approach the bombers head-on. This minimized the time in which the fighter escort could intervene and often broke up the bomber formation. Another was the Big Wing proposed by Bader. He argued that a large formation attacking simultaneously was more effective than the same number of aircraft arriving separately, and that it was better for morale. The three-squadron (later five) Duxford Wing was formed but the theory was never particularly successful because of the time it took to form up. After the battle of Britain, Fighter Command tried to retain the initiative by luring the Luftwaffe to battle over France (see
circuses and
rhubarbs), but this was unsuccessful, too.
The Soviet Air Forces also retained tight vics of three at the start of the
German–Soviet war in June 1941 (see also
BARBAROSSA), but some squadrons soon copied the German
Schwarme and began to fly eight fighters in two loose sections of four. They did not have radar to help find German formations. Few fighters carried radio-telephones and the leader had to control his pilots by visual signals. They lacked gunnery training and opened fire too far from their targets. When separated from their companions they seemed to lack confidence and initiative; they fought better together. Here and there an aggressive Soviet fighter pilot was encountered and a number took the sometimes suicidal course of ramming (the Soviet Air Forces recorded 270
tarans, or rams, during the course of the war). But the rank and file seemed reluctant to engage German bombers closely and broke off their attack too soon. They failed to stop the Stukas. When attacked by German fighters they went into the defensive circling manoeuvre learned in the Spanish Civil War, and they tried to escape at low level. But by 1944 the steadily improving qualities of Soviet fighter pilots and their equipment, and their crushing numerical superiority, had gained them command of the air over the whole front.
Early in the Pacific war the Japanese also flew the traditional three-fighter formation, known to them as a
Shotai, and flew them in vics, in echelons, or in a loose, staggered trail; and, as was common practice elsewhere, they weaved in the air to check behind them.
Chennault's Flying Tigers (see
American Volunteer Group) used the ‘section and stinger’ formation against the Japanese whose vics could be more easily lured into combat against a two-aircraft section, and they were then ‘bounced’ by the ‘stinger’ hiding above. By the end of 1943, however, and flying a new generation of fighters such as the Shoki (codenamed TOJO by the Americans), the Japanese Army Air Force had adopted the ‘finger-four’.
Fighters, Table 3: Major land-based fighter/fighter-bomber types
Type | Span | Length | All-up weighta | Power plant | Armament(cannon/machine guns) | Bombs and rocket weapons (max)b | Optimum performance | Radiusc | Crew | Year of entry into squadron service |
|---|
a Maximum weight permissable for take-off |
b Bombs and rockets could not be carried together |
c Maximum radius attainable using droptanks, in which case no underwing weapons could be carried, Figure shown is distance from which an aircraft could return to base after a short combat at extreme range. |
Source: Contributor. |
France | |
Dewoitine | 10.3 m | 8.8 m | 2,786 kg | 1 × Hispano-Suiza | 1 × 20 mm | – | 530 kph @ 5,791 m | 499 km | 1 | 1940 |
D520 | (33 ft 5 in) | (28 ft 8 in) | (6,129 1b) | 910 hp | (0.78 in) | | (329 mph/19,000 ft) | (310 mi) | | |
| | | | | 4 mg | | | | | |
Morane- | 10.7 m | 8.2 m | 2,727 kg | 1 × Hispano-Suiza | 1 × 20 mm | – | 486 kph @ 4,877 m | 402 km | 1 | 1939 |
Saulnier | (34 ft 9 in) | (26 ft 11 in) | (6,000 lb) | 860 hp | 2 mg | | (302 mph/16,000 ft) | (250 mi) | | |
MS 406 | |
Germany | |
Focke-Wulf 190 | 10.6 m | 8.9 m | 4,432 kg | 1 × BMW 801 | 4 × 20 mm | 450 kg | 656 kph @ 6,400 m | 402 km | 1 | 1941 |
A-8 | (34 ft 5 in) | (29 ft) | (9,750 1b) | 2,100 hp | 2 mg | (990 lb) | (408 mph/21,000 ft) | | | |
Focke-Wulf 190 | 10.6 m | 10.3 m | 4,850 kg | 1 × Junkers Jumo | 2 × 20 mm | 400 kg | 685 kph @ 6,400 m. | 4,8 km | 1 | 1943 |
D-9 | | (33 ft 5 m) | (10,670 lb) | 231A 1,770 hp | 2 mg | (880 lb) | (426 mph/21,000 ft) | (260 mi) | | |
Junkers S8 C-6 | 25.3 m | 14.5 m | 11,875 kg | 2 × Junkers Jumo | 3 × 20 mm | – | 500 kph @ 6,096 m | 1,609 km | 3 | 1940 |
(night fighter) | (65 ft 10 in) | (47 ft 1 in) | (26,125 lb) | 211J 1,410 hp | 3 mg forward | | (311 mph/20,000 ft) | (1,000 mi) | | |
| | | | | firing, 1 mg | | | | | |
| | | | | rearward firing; | | | | | |
| | | | | 2 × 20 mm | | | | | |
| | | | | upward (optional) | | | | | |
Messerschmitt | 9.9 m | 8.7 m. | 2,510 kg | 1 × Daimler-Benz | 2 × 20 mm | 250 kg | 566 kph @ 3,750 m | 322 km | 1 | 1939 |
109E | (32 ft 4 in) | (28 ft 4 in) | (5,523 lb) | DB601 1,100 hp | 2 mg | (550 lb) | (354 mph/12,300 ft) | (200 mi) | | |
Messerschmitt | 10 m | 8.9 m. | 2,752 kg | 1 × Daimler-Benz | 1 × 20 mm | 250 kg | 628 kph @ 6,706 m | 354 km | 1 | 1941 |
109F | (32 ft 6 in) | | (6,054 lb) | DB601 1,300 hp | 2 mg | | (390 mph/22,000 ft) | (220 mi) | | |
Messerschmitt | 10 m | 9.1 m | 3,159 kg | 1 × Daimler-Benz | 2 × 20 mm | 455 kg | 623 kph @ 7,010 m | 483 km | 1 | 1942 |
109G | | (29 ft. 8 in) | (6,950 lb) | DB605 1,475 hp | 2 mg | | (387 mph/23,000 ft) | (300 mi) | | |
Messerschmitt | 16.2 m | 12.2 m | 6,955 kg | 2 × Daimler-Benz | 2 × 20 mm | 1,000 kg | 563 kph @ 7,010 m | 850 km | 2 | 1939 |
110 C-5 | (53 ft 4 in) | (39 ft 8 in) | (15,300 lb) | DB601 1,100 hp | 4 mg 1 mg (rear) | (2,200 lb) or | (350 mph/23,000 ft) | (528 mi) | | |
| | | | | | 4 air-to-air | | | | |
| | | | | | rockets | | | | |
Messerschmitt | 9.4 m | 5.7 m | 4,318 kg | 1 × Walter rocket | 2 × 30 mm | – | 949 kph @ 6,096 m | limited | 1 | 1944 |
163B | (30 ft 7 in) | (18 ft 8 in) | (9,500 lb) | motor, thrust | (1.17 in) | | (590 mph/20,000 ft) | | | |
| | | | 1,705 kg. (3,750 lb) | 24 × R4M rockets | | | | | |
Messerschmitt | 12.6 m | 10.7 m | 6,409 kg | 2 × Junkers 004 | 4 × 30 mm | – | 869 kph @ 6,096 m | 526 km | 1 | 1944 |
262A | (41 ft) | (34 ft 9 in) | (14,100 lb) | jet, thrust 900 kg | | | (540 mph/20,000 ft) | (420 mi) | | |
| | | | (1,980 lb) | | | | | | |
Italy | |
Fiat CR 42 | 9.8 m | 8.4 m | 2,410 kg | 1 × Fiat A74 | 2 mg | 2 × 100 kg | 428 kph @ 3,962 m | 507 km | 1 | 1940 |
| (31 ft 10 in) | (27 ft 3 in) | (5,302 lb) | 840 hp | | (220 lb) bombs | (266 mph/13,000 ft) | (315 mi) | | |
Fiat G50(bis) | 11.1 m | 8.3 m | 2,527 kg | 1 × Fiat A74 | 2 × 12.7 mm mg | – | 469 kph @ 4,316 m | 496 km | 1 | 1938 |
(Major | (36 ft 1 in) | | (5,560 lbs) | 840 kp | 0.5 in | | (291 mph/14,160 ft) | (308 mi) | | (early version |
production | | | | | | | | | | saw |
variant) | | | | | | | | | | service in |
| | | | | | | | | | Spain) |
Macchi C200 | 10.7 m | 8.3 m | 2,598 kg | 1 × Fiat A74 870 hp | 2 mg | 273 kg | 502 kph @ 4,480 m | 434 km | 1 | 1939 |
| | (26 ft 11 in) | (5,715 lb) | | | (600 lb) | (312 mph/14,700 ft) | (270 mi) | | |
Macchi C202 | 10.7 m | 8.9 m | 3,016 kg | 1 × Mercedes-Benz | 4 mg | 273 kg | 595 kph @ 5,029 m | 386 km | 1 | 1941 |
| | (29 ft 1 in) | (6,636 lb) | DB601 (built under | all 12.7 mm | | (370 mph/16,500 ft) | (240 mi) | | |
| | | | licence by Alfa- | (0.5 in) | | | | | |
| | | | Romeo) | | | | | | |
Reggiane | 11.1 m | 8.2 m | 3,287 kg | 1 × Alfa-Romeo | 2 × 12.7 mg | up to 2 × 160 kg | 539 kph @ 4,316 m | 528 kms | 1 | 1942 |
Re 2001 | | | (7,231 lb) | 1,175 hp | 2 × 7.7 mg | (353 lb) | (335 mph/14,160 ft) | (328 mi) | | |
(Caproni) | | | | | | bombs | | | | |
Japan: Navy Land-based Fighters. *See entry on codenames |
Japan (navy) | 12.1 m | 9.4 m | 4,109 kg | 1 × Homare 21 | 4 × 20 mm | 500 kg | 594 kph @ 3,000 m | 1,166 km | 1 | 1944 |
Kawanishi | (39 ft 4 in) | (30 ft 8 in) | (9,039 lb) | 1,990 hp | 2 mg | (1,100 lb) | (369 mph/9,840 ft) | (725 mi) | | |
NIK2-J Shiden | | | | | | | | | | |
*(‘George’) | | | | | | | | | | |
Mitsubishi J2 | 10.9 m | 10 m | 3,955 kg | 1 × Kasei 23A | 4 × 20 mm | 114 kg | 597 kph @ 5,791 m | 523 km | 1 | 1944 |
M2 Raiden | (35 ft 5 in) | (32 ft 8 in) | (8,700 lb) | 1,820 hp | | | (371 mph/19,000 ft) | (325 mi) | | |
(‘Jack’) | | | | | | | | | | |
Japan: Army Fighters | |
Nakajima | 10.9 m | 9 m | 2,670 kg | 1 × Nakajima | 2 × 12.7 mm mg | 500 kg | 515 kph @ 5,944 m | 805 km | 1 | 1941 |
KI-43 Hayabusa | (35 ft 5 in) | (29 ft 3 in) | (5,874 lb) | HA 115 | | (1,100 lb) | (320 mph/19,500 ft) | (500 mi) | | |
(‘Oscar’) | | | | 1,130 hp | | | | | | |
Nakajima | 11.3 m | 10 m | 4,179 kg | 1 × Nakajima HA45 | 2 × 20 mm | 455 kg | 624 kph @ 5,944 m | 1,448 km | 1 | 1944 |
KI-84 Hayate | (36 ft 10 in) | (32 ft 7 in) | (9,194 lb) | 1,900 hp | 2 mg | | (388 mph/19,500 ft) | (900 mi) | | |
(‘Frank’) | | | | | | | | | | |
Kawasaki | 12.1 m | 9 m | 3,477 kg | 1 × Kawasaki HA40 | 2 × 20 mm | 455 kg | 560 kmh @ 4,999 m | 885 km | 1 | 1943 |
K161 Hien | (39 ft 4 in) | (29 ft 4 in) | (7,650 lb) | 1,175 hp | 2 mg | | (348 mph/16,400 ft) | (550 mi) | | |
(‘Tony’) | | | | | | | | | | |
Poland | |
PZL 11C | 10.8 m | 7.6 m | 1,800 kg | 1 × PZL (built) | 4 mg | 2 × 12.3 kg | 389 kph @ 5,486 m | 402 km | 1 | 1934 |
| (35 ft 2 in) | (24 ft 9 in) | (3,960 lb) | Bristol Mercury 645 hp | | | (27 lb) bombs | (242 mph/18,000 ft) | | |
UK | |
Beaufighter | 17.8 m | 12.7 m | 9,455 kg | 2 × Hercules | 4 × 20 mm | (later versions) | 520 kph @ 4,572 m | 1,207 km | 2 | 1940 |
MK1 (night | (57 ft 10 in) | (41 ft 4 in) | (20,800 lb) | 1,590 hp | 6 × (7.8 mm) | 227 kg (500 lb) | (323 mph/15,000 ft) | (750 mi) | | |
fighter) | | | | | (0.303 in)mg | | | | | |
| | | | | or 8 rockets | | | | | |
Mosquito 2 | 16.7 m | 12.6 m | 8,636 kg | 2 × Merlin 23 | 4 × 20 mm | (some versions) | 655 kph @ 8,534 m | 1,287 km | 2 | 1942 |
| (54 ft 2 in) | (40 ft 11 in) | (19,000 lb) | 1,635 hp | 4 x .303 in mg | 455 kg | (407 mph/28,000 ft) | (800 mi) | | |
| | | | | | or 8 rockets | | | | |
Gladiator 1 | 9.9 m | 8.4 m | 2,159 kg | 1 × Mercury | 4 × .303 in mm mg | – | 407 kph @ 4,420 m | 322 km | 1 | 1936 |
| (32 ft 1 in) | (27 ft 5 in) | (4,750 lb) | 840 hp | | | (253 mph/14,500 ft) | (200 mi) | | |
Meteor 3 | 13.2 m | 12.7 m | 6,045 kg | 2 × Derwent jets, | 4 × 20 mm | – | 788 kph @ 9,144 m | 483 km | 1 | 1944 |
| (43 ft) | (41 ft 3 in) | (13,300 lb) | thrust 909 kg | | | (490 mph/30,000 ft) | | | |
| | | | (2,000 lb) | | | | | |
Hurricane 1* | 12.3 m | 9.8 m | 3,000 kg | 1 × Merlin Mk3 | 8 × .303 in mg | (later versions) | 521 kph @ 4,877 m | 322 km | 1 | 1937 |
| (40 ft) | (31 ft 11 in) | (6,600 lb) | 1,030 hp | | 455 kg | (324 mph/16,000 ft) | | | |
Typhoon 1 | 12.8 m | 9.8 m | 5,182 kg | 1 × Sabre Mk2 | 4 × 20 mm | 909 kg | 652 kph @ 5,486 m | 483 km | 1 | 1941 |
| (41 ft 7 in) | | (11,400 lb) | 2,180 hp | | or 8 rockets | (405 mph/18,000 ft) | | | |
Tempest 5 | 12.6 m | 10.4 m | 6,136 kg | 1 × Sabre Mk2 | 4 × 20 mm | – | 700 kph @ 5,182 m | 965 km | 1 | 1944 |
| | (33 ft 8 in) | (13,500 lb) | 2,200 hp | | | (435 mph/17,000 ft) | | | |
Spitfire 1* | 11.3 m | 9.2 m | 2,629 kg | 1 × Merlin Mk3 | 8 × 303 in mm mg | – | 587 kph @ 5,791 m | 402 km | 1 | 1938 |
| | (29 ft 11 in) | (5,784 ib) | 1,030 hp | | | (365 mph/19,000 ft) | | | |
Spitfire 5 | 11.3 m | 9.2 m | 3,084 kg | 1 × Merlin 45 | 2 × 20 mm | 227 kg | 602 kph @ 3,962 m | 402 km | 1 | 1941 |
| | | (6,785 lb) | 1,470 hp | 4 × .303 in mg | | (374 mph/13,000 ft) | | | |
Spitfire 9 | 11.3 m | 9.6 m | 3,409 kg | 1 × Merlin 61 | 2 × 20 mm | 455 kg | 669 kph @ 8,230 m | 724 km | 1 | 1942 |
| | (31 ft 4 in) | (7,500 lb) | 1,720 hp | 2 × .5 m | | (416 mph/27,000 ft) | (450 mi) | | |
| | | | | (12.8 mm) mg | | | | | |
Spitfire 12 | 9.9 m | 9.8 m | 3,364 kg | 1 × Griffon 3 | 2 × 20 mm | 1 × 227 kg bomb | 632 kph @ 5,486 m | 402 km | 1 | 1943 |
| (32 ft 1 in) | | (7,400 lb) | 1,735 hp | 4 × .303 in mg | | (393 mph/18,000 ft) | | | |
Spitfire 14 | 11.3 m | 10 m | 3,864 kg | 1 × Griffon 65 | 2 × 20 mm | 455 kg | 721 kph @ 7,925 m | 644 km | 1 | 1944 |
*took part in the battle of Britain | | | | (8,500 lb) | 2,050 hp | 2 x .5 in mg | | (448 mph/26,000 ft) |
USA | |
Bell P39D | 10.5 m | 9.3 m | 3,727 kg | 1 × Allison V-1710 | 1 × 37 mm | 227 kg | 579 kph @ 4,572 m | 805 km | 1 | 1941 |
Airacobra | (34 ft) | (30 ft 2 in) | (8,200 lb) | 1,150 hp | (1.44 in) 6 mg | | (360 mph/15,000 ft) | | | |
Curtiss P36C | 11.5 m | 8.8 m | 2,732 kg | 1 × Pratt & Whitney | 1 × .5 in | – | 500 kph @ 3,048 m | 362 km | 1 | 1938 |
Hawk | (37 ft 4 in) | (28 ft 6 in) | (6,010 lb) | R1830 Twin Wasp | (12.8 mm) mg | | (311 mph/10,000 ft) | (225 mi) | | |
| | | | 1,200 hp | 3 × 3 in (7.7 mm) mg | | | | | |
Curtiss P40C | 11.5 m | 9.8 m | 3,663 kg | 1 × Allison V-1710 | 2 × .5 in mg | – | 555 kph @ 4,572 m | 740 km | 1 | 1940 |
Tomahawk | | (31 ft 9 in) | (8,058 lb) | 1,150 hp | 4 × .3 in mg | – | (345 mph/15,000 ft) | (460 mi) | | |
Curtiss P40N | 11.5 m | 10.2 m | 5,182 kg | 1 × Allison V-1710 | 6 mg | 682 kg | 552 kph @ 4,572 m | 805 km | 1 | 1944 |
Warhawk | | (33 ft 4 in) | (11,400 lb) | 1,200 hp | | (1,500 lb) | (343 mph/15,000 ft) | | | |
Lockheed P38J | 16 m | 11.6 m | 9,818 kg | 2 × Allison V-1710 | 1 × 20 mm | 727 kg (1,600 lb) | 666 kph @ 7,620 m | 1,818 km | 1 | 1941 |
Lightning | (52 ft) | (37 ft 10 in) | (21,600 lb) | 1,425 hp | 4 mg | or 10 rockets | (414 mph/25,000 ft) | (1,130 mi) | | |
Lockheed P80A | 11.9 m | 10.6 m | 6,364 kg | 1 × General | 6 mg | 909 kg | 882 kph @ 3,048 m | 1,062 km | 1 | 1945 |
Shooting Star | (38 ft 11 in) | (34 ft 6 in) | (14,000 lb) | Electric J33 jet, | | or 10 rockets | (548 mph/10,000 ft) | (660 mi) | | |
| | | | thrust 1,750 kg | | | | | | |
| | | | (3,850 lb) | | | | | | |
North American | 11.4 m | 9.9 m | 4,818 kg | 1 × Allison V-1710 | 4 mg | 455 kg | 579 kph @ 3,050 m | 805 km | 1 | 1942 |
P51AA Mustang | (37 ft) | (32 ft 3 in) | (10,600 lb) | 1,200 hp | | | (360 mph/10,000 ft) | | | |
North American | 11.4 m | 9.9 m | 5,091 kg | 1 × Packard-Merlin | 4 mg | 455 kg | 708 kph @ 9,144 m | 1,126 km | 1 | 1943 |
P51B Mustang | | | (11,200 lb) | V-1650 1,620 hp | | or 6 rockets | (440 mph/30,000 ft) | (700 mi) | | |
North American | 11.4 m | 9.9 m | 5,500 kg | 1 × Packard-Merlin | 6 mg | 909 kg | 700 kph @ 7,620 m | 1,287 km | 1 | 1944 |
P51D Mustang | | | (12,100 lb) | V-1650 1,695 hp | | or 6 rockets | (435 mph/25,000 ft) | | | |
Northrop P61 | 20.3 m | 15 m | 17,277 kg | 2 × Pratt & Whitney | 4 × 20 mm | 1,820 kg | 589 kph @ 6,096 m | 1,529 km | 3, or | 1944 |
Black Widow | (66 ft) | (48 ft 11 in) | (38,000 lb) | R-2800 2,250 hp | 4 mg (when | (4,000 lb) | (366 mph/20,000 ft) | (950 mi) | 2 | when |
(night fighter) | | | | | turret fitted) | | | | | turret not |
| | | | | | | | | | fitted |
Republic P47D | 12.5 m | 11.1 m | 7,955 kg | 1 × Pratt & Whitney | 8 mg | 682 kg | 685 kph @ 9,144 m | 1,126 km | 1 | 1944 |
Thunderbolt | (40 ft 9 in) | (36 ft 2 in) | (17,500 ft) | R-2800 2,535 hp | | or 10 rockets | (426 mph/30,000 ft) | | | |
Republic P47N | 13.1 m | 11.1 m | 9,409 kg | 1 × Pratt & Whitney | 8 mg | 682 kg | 740 kph @ 9,144 m | 1,287 km | 1 | 1945 |
Thunderbolt | (42 ft 7 in) | | (20,700 lb) | R-2800 2,800 hp | | or 10 rockets | (460 mph/30,000 ft) | | | |
USA: navy | |
Vought F4U-4 | 12.6 m | 10.4 m | 6,668 kg | 1 × Pratt & Whitney | 6 mg | 909 kg | 718 kph @ 7,986 m | 1,207 km | 1 | 1942 |
Corsair | (41.5 ft) | | (14,670 lb) | R-2800 2,450 hp | | or 8 rockets | (446 mph/26,200 ft) | | | |
F6F Hellcat | 13.4 m | 10.2 m | 6,991 kg | 1 × Pratt & Whitney | 6mg | 907 kg (2,000 lb) | 611 kph @ 7,132 m | 1,520 km | 1 | 1943 |
| (43 ft 10 in) | (33 ft 7 in) | (15,413 lb) | R-2800-10W | | or 6 rockets | (380 mph/23,400 ft) | (945 mi) | | |
| | | | 2,000 hp | | | | | | |
USSR | |
Lavochkin LA-7 | 9.9 m | 8.6 m | 3,407 kg | Shvetsov M-82 | 3 × 20 mm | 2 × 50 kg (110 lb) | 644 kph @ 4,998 m | 483 km | 1 | 1943 |
| (32 ft 2 in) | (27 ft 11 in) | (7,495 lb) | 1,775 hp | | bombs or 6 rockets | (400 mph/16,400 ft) | | | |
Polikarpov I-16 | 9 m | 6.2 m | 2,055 kg | Shvetsov M-62 | 2 × 20 mm | 6 rockets | 525 kph (326 mph) @ | 354 km | 1 | 1935 |
Rata (type 24) | (29 ft 6 in) | (20 ft 1 in) | (4,520 lb) | 1,000 hp | 2 mg | | sea level | | | |
Yakolev YAK-9U | 10.1 m | 8.8 m | 3,175 kg | 1 × Klimov M107-A | 1 × 20 mm | 2 × 100 kg | 667 kph @ 4,998 m | 925 km | 1 | 1945 |
| (32 ft 10 in) | | (6,985 lb) | 1,650 hp | cannon, + | (220 ib) | (415 mph/16,400 ft) | (575 mi) | | |
| | | | | 2 × 12.7 mm mg | bombs | | at a speed | | |
| | | | | | | | of 390 kph | | |
| | | | | | | | (242 mph) | | |
Yakolev YAK-9D | 12.3 m | 8.6 m | 3,206 kg | 1 × Klimov M105 | 1 × 20 mm | – | 584 kph @ 4,998 m | 708 km | | 1943 |
| | | (7,055 lb) | 1,260 hp | 1 × 12.7 mm mg | – | (363 mph @ 16,400 ft) | (440 mi) | | |
The Japanese Navy's Zero fighter had an infinitely superior performance to its early opponent, the US Wildcat, and US pilots, who had already adopted the ‘finger-four’, had to rely on teamwork to survive. During the
Guadalcanal campaign a US Navy pilot, Lt-Cdr John Thach, flew two pairs of fighters abreast, the pairs being separated by about 365 m. (400 yd.). Each pair looked out for the other. When an attack was made on one pair the other pair broke towards them to engage, and the pair being attacked broke towards the pair protecting them (see Figure 2). This scissors effect, or Thach Weave as it came to be called, meant the attacking Zero was faced with a head-on attack or was forced to break off his own attack in a straight line which gave the inferior Wildcats a chance to shoot it down.
As the Americans gained the ascendancy in the air war, Japanese fighter pilots staged fake dogfights to lure Allied aircraft to break formation, or performed aerobatics to distract the attention of Allied pilots while an attack was put in from another direction. Towards the end of the war when American superiority became overwhelming the Japanese formed
Taitari (ramming) units as the only means of countering US B29 superfortresses engaged in the strategic air offensive against their country.
In Europe the Luftwaffe introduced new fighter tactics to counter the USAAF's daylight raids and those mounted by RAF Bomber Command at night (see also
Wilde Sau and
Zahme Sau). Against the RAF they included the
von unten hinten (from under and behind) and the
schraüge Musik (slanting jazz music) which were used after an initial contact with a bomber had been made by radar. In the first the fighter approached from beneath and behind; in the second a fighter, specially armed with upward-firing cannon mounted in the roof of its cockpit, was used. In both the fighters were able to rake unseen the bomber's vulnerable belly, a form of attack which caused heavy Allied casualties during the
Nuremberg raid of March 1944.
By trying to prove the soundness of their long-held doctrine of using heavily armed but unescorted bombers, the Americans suffered some appalling losses during 1943. But once this doctrine had been abandoned and the long-range Mustang fighter was operational the Luftwaffe were faced with insuperable problems. Their more formidable twin-engined fighters could destroy the US bombers but were no match for the more manoeuvrable American fighters; while the lighter German fighters, capable of dogfighting the US escorts, lacked the fire-power to destroy the bombers. One answer was the heavily armed, and heavily armoured, version of the Focke-Wulfe 190 fighter, nicknamed the
Sturmbock (battering ram). These engaged the US bombers from behind at close range and rammed them as a last resort. They were used in a
Gruppe of three
Staffeln of twelve aircraft each, escorted by more than sixty specially adapted, lighter fighters. These
Gefechtsverbände (battle formations) inflicted some severe losses, but American numerical superiority eventually won the day and by January 1945 they had practically ceased to operate. By then the German jet fighter, the Me262, was operational and its speed (870 km/h or 540 mph) made it all but immune to attack. It attacked in the old tight vic, or
Kette, by diving at top speed through the fighter screen and continued under the bomber formation before climbing back up to attack it from behind. Allied fighter pilots had no adequate tactic against the Me262 except to ‘bounce’ it, catch it taking off or landing, or involve it in a dogfight where its poor rate of turn made it vulnerable. But the Germans had too few of them and they became operational far too late to have any effect on the war in the air.
Johnnie Johnson
Bibliography
Green, W. , Famous Fighters of the Second World War, Vols. 1 and 2 (London, 1957).
—— Warplanes of the Second World War: Fighters, Vols. 1–4 (London, 1961).
Johnson, J. E. , Full Circle (London, 1964).
Robertson, B. , Spitfire—The Story of a Famous Fighter (Letchworth, Herts, 1960).
