(somber music)
- [Narrator] Fame,
according to the experts,
is the condition of
being much talked about.
The fighter aircraft in this
film were much talked about
during World War II,
and they've all found
their place in the annals
of aviation history as famous
fighters of the period.
(airplane buzzes)
Each suffered its shortcomings,
which imposed limitations
on the tactics employed by the pilots.
Each experienced both
successes and failures,
and each evoked strong
affection, or profound dislike,
in the pilots that flew them.
(airplane roars)
Some of those fighters truly
changed the course of history.
Others marked the end of
an era in fighter design,
whilst others signified new beginnings.
(airplane rumbles)
(airplane buzzes)
(airplane rumbles)
the following fighters from
many of the nations involved
were not all supremely successful,
yet they were all to find their own place
in the aviation world's hall of fame.
(airplanes buzz)
An important attribute of any
successful combat aircraft
is often said to be its
suitability for development.
(airplanes buzz)
A capacity for modification,
or adaptation to take larger
and more powerful
engines, heavier armament,
and other operational equipment,
as such becomes available,
without necessitating
an extensive redesign
of fundamental components and
consequent major retooling
may well be of incalculable value.
(airplanes buzz)
Germany's Messerschmitt
Bf 109 single-seat fighter
was an excellent example of
such development suitability.
In its final production
models, it differed radically
from its original prototype of 1935.
But the changes were introduced gradually,
and thus the flow of new
machines to the squadrons
was never stemmed.
(airplane rumbles)
It has been claimed that the
Bf 109 served as a prototype
for international fighter construction.
It has been referred to as the progenitor
of the high-powered single-seat
low-wing monoplane fighter.
(airplane rumbles)
In fact, it made its debut but
a few weeks before Britain's
Hawker Hurricane, and a mere
six months before its major
wartime antagonist, the
Supermarine Spitfire.
But it attained service
status considerably earlier
than either one of its contemporaries,
and it was subsequently
to claim the distinction
of being produced in larger
numbers than any other
combat aircraft of the Second World War.
(engine rumbles)
During its infancy, it
appeared to lack the hallmark
of the thoroughbred, but
success came with maturity,
for, despite several widely
publicized shortcomings,
the BF 109 was a highly
successful combat airplane.
(airplane rumbles)
It was conceived in the summer of 1934,
when the German Air Ministry
issued a requirement
for a single-seat
interceptor fighter monoplane
with which to replace the
obsolescent Heinkel He 51
and Arado Ar 68 biplanes
then serving the Luftwaffe's
fighter elements.
(airplane rumbles)
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was a standard
Luftwaffe single-seat
fighter for nearly a decade.
(airplane rumbles)
No exact figures are available
for the total number of
fighters of this type produced,
but it is believed that
more than 33,000 were built
between 1936 and the end
of the Second World War,
representing more than 60%
of all the single-engine
fighters produced by
Germany during that period.
Having fought on every front
upon which the Luftwaffe
was engaged, and having been
produced in greater numbers
than any other combat type,
the Messerschmitt Bf 109
probably ranked second only
to the Supermarine Spitfire
as one of the true immortals
of the Second World War.
No combat aircraft has
ever achieved perfection,
but at the time of its debut,
the Fw 190 probably came
as near to this elusive
goal as any fighter.
It was a brilliant design,
in which weight consciousness
and simplicity were keynotes,
although they had not been
allowed to affect structural strength.
But this beautifully proportioned fighter
was not merely a pilot's airplane.
It had been conceived with a careful eye
to the problems of both production
and maintenance in the field.
It was highly praised both by its pilots
and by their opponents,
and its appearance in
action gave the Luftwaffe
a decided, if temporary,
ascendancy over its adversaries.
Its ease of control and the
incredible aileron turns,
which it performed at speeds
that would've torn wings
from most of its contemporaries,
commanded immediate respect
from RAF fighter pilots,
and alarm at Britain's Air Ministry.
When, in June 1942, a Luftwaffe deserter
fortuitously presented the Allies
with his Fw 190A fighter intact,
the detailed examination
of this remarkable product
of the Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau
profoundly influenced
fighter thinking in Britain.
It directly resulted in the issue
of the specification F.2/43,
which was designated the Hawker Fury,
embodying numerous
features directly copied
from the Fw 190A.
What higher tribute could've
been paid to what was
undoubtedly the finest warplane
to which Germany gave birth?
In the autumn of 1937,
the Reich Luft Ministerium
placed an order with the
Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau
for the design and development
of a new single-seat fighter
to supplement the Messerschmitt Bf 109,
a second iron in the fire,
as RLM officials referred
to the order at the time.
The contract was placed with Focke-Wulf
primarily because this company
was not extensively committed
to the development of
other combat aircraft,
and possessed a highly
qualified design team,
headed by Kurt Tank.
Work on the Fw 190 progressed rapidly,
and within 10 months, the first prototype
was being readied for flight testing.
Essentially a low-wing monoplane
with a wide track undercarriage,
it possessed aesthetically
appealing contours,
in which the blending of
the bulky radial engine
was little short of a
masterpiece of ingenuity.
During the war years,
apart from prototypes,
13,367 Fw 190 fighters
and 16,634 Fw 190 fighter bombers
and close support aircraft were produced,
plus 67 Ta 152s.
The Fw 190 commenced its
career by wresting from the RAF
the slim margin of
superiority that it had gained
in fighter versus fighter combat.
And, in the ground attack
role, it subsequently proved
its ability to absorb
considerable punishment.
(airplane roars)
It is axiomatic that technical superiority
couldn't cancel out overwhelming
numerical superiority,
and the technical advances embodied by the
Messerschmitt Me 262 was such
that this one amazing aircraft
could, late in the war,
have regained for Germany
something of the ascendancy
in European skies enjoyed by the Luftwaffe
during the war's earliest stages.
Instead, the Me 262 became
the symbol of the vacillation
and irresolution with which German leaders
plagued their country's
aircraft manufacturing programs.
General Ernst Udet
considered the jet fighter
to be superfluous to the
Luftwaffe's requirements,
believing that Germany would win the war
with conventional aircraft
that she already had in production.
These sentiments were echoed
by Field Marshal Milch,
who openly questioned the
value of even continuing
experimental work.
Nevertheless, despite
the very cool attitude
towards the jet fighter evinced
by both the Air Ministry
and the Luftwaffe, the
Messerschmitt design team
retained their enthusiasm for the project.
A total of 568 Me 262s
had been produce by the
1st of January, 1945,
and a further 865 were manufactured
in the first four months of that year.
Nevertheless, hardly more than 100
participated in operations.
For those that did get into combat,
remarkable success was claimed.
The last operations with
the Me 262 were undertaken
by an elite fighting unit, JV 44,
led by General Galland.
On the 7th of April, 1945, this unit,
flying Me 262 A-1b fighters,
each carrying 24
five-centimeter R4M missiles,
engaged a formation of Boeing
Fortresses over Westphalia.
The missiles were launched
against the formation
outside the range of the defensive fire,
and within minutes, 25
Fortresses had been destroyed,
and the remainder of the
formation had jettisoned
its bombs and turned for home.
One single-seat fighter
first conceived in 1932,
the Polikarpov I-16, was
to gain the distinction
of becoming the first low-wing interceptor
with a fully retractable undercarriage
to enter service anywhere in the world.
Yet, paradoxically, the Soviet Union,
although the first major air
power to introduce fighters
of such advanced concept,
was the last to relinquish
the fighter biplane.
The I-16 was deserving of
considerably more credit
than it was later to receive in the West.
Despite some crudity of
construction and equipment,
by Western standards
appertaining at the time,
it was a rugged and extremely
maneuverable fighter,
appreciably faster than
any true contemporary,
easily maintained in the field,
and offering some armor
protection for its pilot,
at a time when such luxuries
were not generally considered
to be necessary.
Its designer never succeeded in overcoming
the poor takeoff and
landing characteristics
that had plagued it from its birth.
Yet, once its undercarriage was tucked up,
it handled pleasantly enough.
And there is no doubt that it
taught the Soviet air forces
and aircraft industry much
that was eventually used
to good effect in the later fighters.
The I-16 was the precursor of
a new style in fighter design,
a style favored until the
advent of the turbojet,
and as such, it possesses a unique place
in the history of fighter development.
(airplane drones)
Italy had two first-generation
fighters in the war,
the Fiat G.50 being one of them.
This aircraft was slower than
most of the fighters it faced
in combat, but in the hands
of experienced pilots,
gave a good show of itself.
Most early World War II
Italian fighter pilots
rejected the use of enclosed cockpits
in favor of the topless
canopy with side windows,
considering the use of the former to be
unsporting and unmanly.
Though smaller in size than
most of its contemporaries,
and despite its lack of power,
the Fiat G.50 was reckoned by most to be
a dream to fly and a joy to maneuver.
(airplane buzzes)
The development of the
Macchi Castoldi fighter,
the second of Italy's
first-generation fighters,
presents an interesting parallel
with that of the Supermarine Spitfire.
Neither of these fighters
was the logical outcome
of a line of fighting aircraft,
both designers drawing
heavily upon high-speed
design experience gained
with racing seaplanes.
(airplane roars)
The C.200 was an all-metal
cantilever low-wing monoplane
with a hydraulically
retractable undercarriage
and fully enclosed all-around
vision cockpit canopy.
Although lacking much of the
elegance of such fighters
as the Spitfire and the
Messerschmitt Bf 109,
with their liquid-cooled engines,
the MC.200 proved to possess
exceptional maneuverability
for a monoplane.
Stability was of a very high order,
and handing was finger-light
under all conditions.
Climb rate was good,
but one of the outstanding characteristics
of the Macchi Castoldi fighter
was its high dive rate.
In service with the Regia Aeronautica,
the MC.200 was named Saetta,
which could be translated
as both lighting and arrow,
the weapons of Jupiter.
But the fighter suffered a
number of teething problems,
the most serious being a
tendency to spin without warning
under certain circumstances.
This was eventually
rectified by modifications,
which delayed production deliveries,
and only 29 Saetta fighters
had entered service
by the 1st of November, 1939,
all but 12 of these being unserviceable.
The first Saetta fighters to see action
were 26 machines forming
part of the Sixth Group
based in Sicily.
These participated in
the air war over Malta,
where they encountered
the Hawker Hurricane
for the first time,
proving to be only slightly
slower than the British fighter.
The Saetta had, however, a
considerably better climb rate,
and could outdive and outturn
the Hurricane with ease.
(engine rumbles)
The MC.202 structure
was essentially similar
to that of the Saetta,
the vertical and horizontal
tail surfaces being identical,
as were also the wings,
the main difference being the
installation of fuel tanks
in each of the inboard wing sections,
these supplementing the fuselage tanks.
The glazed panels aft
of the pilot's headrest
featured by the prototype
were deleted on the production
model, as the extremely slim
aft fairing rendered these unnecessary.
And the anti-turnover structure
aft of the pilot's head
was supplanted by a
strengthened canopy frame.
(engine roars)
In service, the MC.202 was
dubbed Folgore, lightning,
and the first fighters of
this type reached Libya
on the 25th of November, 1941,
being operated by the 1st Stormo
and supplementing the Saettas,
which were now largely
transferred to the fighter bomber
and escort roles.
(airplanes roar)
Had it been possible to build
the Macchi Castoldi fighters
in really large numbers,
the air war over North
Africa and the Mediterranean
could well have followed
a different course.
(airplanes roar)
A USAAF pilot's comment
after flight testing
a captured Folgore may
be considered descriptive
of all the Macchi Castoldi fighters.
"Gee, that's a honey of an airplane."
(airplanes roar)
The Curtiss Hawk, which
was called the Mohawk
by the Royal Air Force,
was a low-wing cantilever
monoplane single-seat fighter.
The P-36, which were the
Hawk's designated type,
entered service with the
United States Army Air Corps'
20th Pursuit Group in April, 1938.
(airplane rumbles)
The Hawk replaced their
existing complement of aging
Boeing P-26 fighters.
However, from the day
they arrived on the field,
the new Curtiss fighters
began to encounter
an extensive series of teething problems.
Severe skin buckling in the vicinity
of the landing gear wells appeared,
dictating the necessity
to replace the skins
with increasingly thicker ones,
along with the addition
of reinforced webbing.
Engine exhaust difficulties
and some weaknesses
in the fuselage structure
were also encountered.
However, despite all of these problems,
both the American and British air forces
found this fighter to have excellent
handling characteristics,
especially in its
superior ability in a fast dive.
By the outbreak of war, however,
although the British
and Americans both used
variants of the Hawk, or Mohawk,
they were considered as
obsolescent machines,
and by 1941, they were gradually replaced
by the more efficient
fighters coming online.
(airplanes buzz)
(airplane roars)
The Curtiss P-40 was
undoubtedly one of the most
controversial fighters
to serve in quantity
during the Second World War.
It was praised and abused,
lauded and vilified.
But the fact remains that,
as the first American
single-seat fighter to be manufactured
on a mass production basis,
it bore much of the brunt
of the air warfare over
several battlefronts.
Its performance was
inferior to the performances
of the majority of its antagonists.
But this shortcoming was
partly compensated for
by its tractability and its sturdiness,
which enabled to withstand
a considerable amount
of punishment.
It was amenable to adaptation,
and it was available
when most sorely needed.
To understand the requirements
which gave birth to the P-40,
it is necessary to
appreciate the United States'
strategic thinking in the early '30s.
Between the two world wars,
fighter development in the USA
fell behind international standards,
principally because of the
United States Army Air Corps'
preoccupation with the long-range bomber,
which had prior claim on a
limited air appropriations.
At that time, there was a
very slim performance margin
between a bomber and a fighter.
And it was believed that
the defensive armament
of the larger aircraft would
prove more than a match
for the destructive
ability of the smaller.
When the requirements for
the P-40 were formulated,
no prospect of high altitude
enemy attack against the USA
was envisaged, so that coastal
defense and ground attack
were the main tasks indicated.
Low altitude flying qualities
and rugged construction
therefore received priority.
And, in fact, the P-40 was
subsequently to prove itself
an excellent ground attack weapon.
But, at the time of the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor,
this fighter was already
approaching obsolescence,
despite having been in production
for less than two years.
Nevertheless, between 1940 and 1944,
when acceptances were terminated,
a total of 13,738 P-40 fighters
were delivered to the USAAF,
the peak number in service
being 2,499 in April, 1944.
(airplanes buzz)
Sweetheart of Okinawa to the
United States Marine Corps,
whistling death to the
Japanese, and bent-winged bird
to the American ground
forces that sheltered
under the massive umbrella of ordnance,
which it delivered in the Pacific,
the Corsair was universally acknowledged
to be the finest naval fighter
of the Second World War.
(airplane rumbles)
Many people, and particularly
its pilots, went further
and claimed it to be the
best single-seat fighter
of any nation to emerge
from that conflict.
Despite its formidable quality, however,
and the fact that it
was expressly designed
for shipboard operations,
the Corsair spent most
of its wartime career
confined to land bases.
And it was not until the end
of 1944 that it made its first
operational sorties from
American carriers in the Pacific.
(airplanes roar)
But the same problems which kept it
from the United States Navy's
carrier decks for two years
after its introduction
to operational service
provided it with the opportunity
to prove its superiority.
Operating from airstrips on Guadalcanal
in the Solomon Islands,
the United States Marines
forged the Corsair into
an air supremacy weapon,
meeting the Japanese
navy's Zero Zen fighters
on more than equal terms the first time
in the Pacific conflict,
smashing them into the sea
and the jungle alike, and
helping turning the tide
of air combat permanently in
favor of the Allied forces.
(airplane rumbles)
A total of 1,912 F4Us
had been built by V-J Day,
which reduced contracts of
this version of the Corsair
from 3,149
to 2,356 machines.
But another 7 1/2 years were to elapse
before the last example
of this outstanding
chance-bought fighter was to roll off
the new Dallas production line.
(airplane rumbles)
The Corsair was to enjoy a
distinguished postwar career,
the highlight of which
was the Korean campaign,
its first line of service
stretching into the '60s.
(airplanes rumble)
During its long life,
the Corsair underwent
981 major modifications
and some 20,000 minor changes.
But the airframe remained
basically unaltered throughout,
and such were its qualities
that it was destined to gain
the distinction of being the
last airscrew-driven fighter
built in the United States,
having outlived all its contemporaries,
both land and carrier-based.
(airplanes roar)
When, in January 1943, the
USAAF's 56th Fighter Group
arrived in the United
Kingdom, with its massive
Republic P-47 Thunderbolts,
RAF fighter pilots banteringly suggested
that their American colleagues
will be able to take
evasive action when attacked
by undoing their harnesses and
dodging about the fuselages
of their huge mounts.
The Thunderbolt was certainly big.
In fact, it was the largest
and heaviest single-engine,
single-seat fighter ever built.
But sheer size was not
to prove detrimental
to the Thunderbolt's
subsequent operational career.
It was to undertake 546,000 combat sorties
between March, 1943 and August, 1945.
And only 0.7% of the fighters of this type
dispatched against the enemy
were to be lost in combat.
The story of the Thunderbolt
began in June, 1940, when,
realizing the deficiencies of
the USAAF fighter equipment,
new requirements were
formulated at a meeting at
Wright Field.
Among the companies consulted with regard
to the new fighter specification
was the young Republic
Aviation Corporation,
which possessed an invaluable background
of fighter design experience
inherited from its predecessor,
the Seversky Aircraft Corporation.
(airplanes buzz)
Republic's chief engineer,
Alexander Kartveli, had at the time
a new fighter on the drawing boards,
which had been designated XP-47.
(airplane buzzes)
Conforming with the official
policy prevailing at the time
of its conception, the
fighter was a relatively
lightweight machine,
designed around a 1,150-horsepower
Allison cooled V-12 engine,
and carrying an armament
of two 0.5-inch machine guns.
But the estimated performance
of the fighter project
fell far short of what was
now considered to be essential
in the USAAF's future fighter.
Kartveli therefore abandoned
the Allison engine fighter
and also scrapped the
semi-completed prototype of the P-44
in order to concentrate all
resources on the development
of a radically different fighter.
The first tasks of the Thunderbolt,
which began on the 8th of April, 1943,
were high-altitude escort
duties and fighter sweeps,
in which the new aircraft
acquitted itself despite
the inexperience of its pilots.
It was soon discovered
that the heavy Thunderbolt
could outdive any Luftwaffe
or, for that matter,
Allied fighter, providing
a decisive method
of breaking off combat when necessary.
But at low and medium
altitudes, it could not match
the rate of climb or
maneuverability of German fighters.
One shortcoming, which
was even more marked
in other Allied fighters, was
that of insufficient range
to permit deep penetration into Germany.
But means were already being
sought to add to the P-47B's
307 United States
gallons of internal fuel.
(airplanes rumble)
At the time of the
Thunderbolt's European debut,
radial-engine single-seat
fighters were a rarity,
the only other such fighter
operational in Europe
being the Fw 190A.
(airplane rumbles)
To prevent confusion
between the two fighters
of the opposing sides, the engine cowlings
of the Thunderbolts were painted white,
and white bands were
painted around the vertical
and horizontal tail services,
an appropriate comment
on recognition standards
appertaining at that time,
as it would seem impossible
to mistake the sleek and
beautifully contoured
German fighter for the portly Thunderbolt.
During 1944, the Thunderbolt
became operational
in all active theaters
of war, excepting Alaska,
and served with the free
French and Russian forces,
as well as with the USAAF and RAF.
The P-47D was primarily
employed on long-range
ground attack missions, bombing
and strafing communications,
air fields, bridges, and
troop concentrations.
(airplane roars)
The Gabelschwanz-Teufel,
the fork-tailed devil,
was a sobriquet not lightly
applied by the Luftwaffe
to the Lockheed P-38 Lightning,
which gave considerable cause to be known
to Japanese and Germans alike.
Although quantitively the
Lightning was produced
in smaller numbers than any other major
USAAF combat fighter, with
a total to August, 1945
of 9,923 delivered from factories,
it served on every battlefront
in a wide variety of roles
ranging from fighter bombing,
to casualty evacuation,
and smoke laying.
If slightly slower and less
maneuverable than the more
widely used Mustang and Thunderbolt,
the Lighting offered the advantage
of twin-engine operation,
with its additional safety factor added
to an excellent combat range.
The Lighting was particularly interesting
for the number and variety
of its innovations.
Apart from being Lockheed's first venture
into the military field,
the Lightning was the
first squadron fighter
equipped with turbo boom
configuration to be adopted by the USAAF,
and the first twin-engine
single-seat fighter used
by that air arm.
By the spring of 1944,
there were 13 P-38 groups
in overseas operational
service with the USAAF,
fighting on every battlefront.
In Europe, serving principally with the
Tactical Ninth Air Force,
the Lightnings operated on
long-range fighter escort
and ground attack duties.
While, in the Pacific,
their exceptional range
put them in the forefront of
the island hopping campaign.
The first bomber escort missions to Berlin
were mounted by Lightnings,
although they were outclassed
by the more maneuverable Fw 190s,
and later, Bf 109s.
In the Pacific, however,
Lightnings claimed more
Japanese aircraft than
did any other fighter.
And the leading American
fighter ace of World War II,
the late Major Richard Bong,
scored all 40 of his victories
while flying a P-38 in that theater.
He was closely followed by
another Lightning pilot, McGuire,
with 38 Japanese victories.
While, in Europe, Jenkins and White scored
16 and 22 victories, respectively,
with their Lightnings.
The Lightning's load-carrying capabilities
were put to some unusual uses
at a late stage in the war,
when cargo and personnel
pods were developed
for attachment to the bomb pylons.
Self-contained P-38 groups
in the Pacific carried spares
and ground crews in order
to utilize newly captured
air strips without having
to await the arrival
of supporting transport.
On other occasions, for swift
casualty air evacuation,
the Lightning became an air ambulance.
Modified drop tanks with
transparent noses were produced,
each carrying two stretchers.
Other unusual applications
included the use of some P-38s
as glider tugs, each having a maximum tow
of three laden gliders,
while one P-38 was
successfully flown with skis.
It was appropriate that the
Lightning should terminate
a distinguished combat career
by being the first USAAF
aircraft type to land
in Japan after V-J Day.
(airplane rumbles)
Unquestionably, the finest of
all American wartime fighters,
and ranking in merit with the
best of any other combatant,
the North American P-51
Mustang was an inspired design
evolved almost by accident.
It outperformed all other
USAAF types in speed,
range, and maneuverability.
And, although produced in
slightly smaller numbers
than the P-47 Thunderbolt,
it eventually re-equipped all but one
Eighth Air Force Thunderbolt Group.
The Mustang also established
itself as the principal
Allied strategic fighter.
Its reputation with the USAAF was made
in the last two years of the war,
the first combat group
arriving in the United Kingdom
in November, 1943, and after
the cessation of hostilities.
General Hap Arnold
admitted that it had been
the USAAF's own fault that
this excellent fighter
had not been employed
operationally very much earlier.
In fact, it was only by
chance that the Mustang
was accepted by the USAAF at all.
The Mustang owed its origin to the
British Air Purchasing
Commission, which, in April, 1940,
requested a substitute
for the Curtiss P-40,
which it considered unsuitable
for European combat conditions.
North American Aviation was
consulted by the commission
on the possibility of
manufacturing a fighter
meeting the requirements
that it had formulated.
But the commission stipulated that,
in view of the serious war situation,
a prototype must be
completed within 120 days.
By a near superhuman effort,
the first prototype fighter,
known by its manufacturer's
designation, NA-73,
was pushed out of the
assembly shed in 117 days.
However, the experiment which
was to bring the Mustang
to fruition as an all-around
fighter par excellence
was made by Rolls-Royce.
Major Thomas Hitchcock, then
United States military attache
in London, reported to
Washington in the autumn of 1942
that the P-51 was one of
the best, if not the best,
fighter airframes developed at that date,
and advised its development
as a high-altitude fighter
by cross-breeding it with
the Merlin 61 engine.
This opinion was endorsed
by such authorities as Eddie Rickenbacker
and Air Marshal Sir
Trafford Leigh-Mallory,
and four Mustangs were delivered
to Rolls-Royce for conversion.
High-altitude escort and combat
remained the Mustang's forte, however,
and it was superior in
speed and maneuverability
to all of Luftwaffe's
piston-engine fighters
above 20,000 feet.
Even under the stress of war,
it takes a considerable time
to apply the lessons of experience
to a completely new design.
But the rapid genealogical
processes through which
the Mustang passed were
phenomenal by any standard.
The Mustang created
records from the day of its
inspired conception, and
ended as probably the best
all-around single-seat
piston-engine fighter
to be employed by any of the combatants.
The synthesis of many
years' intimate experience
of fighter biplane design
translated into a modern formula,
a compromise between
tradition and requirements
born of a new era in air warfare.
Such was the Hawker Hurricane.
The first fighter monoplane
to join the Royal Air Force,
and the first combat
aircraft adopted by that arm
capable of exceeding 300 miles
per hour in level flight,
the Hurricane shouldered the lion's share
of Britain's defense during
the Battle of Britain,
and was largely responsible
for the successful outcome
of this conflict for the defending forces,
equipping more than 3/5 of
RAF fighter command squadrons.
The Hurricane also proved to possess
an outstanding propensity for adaptation,
and the multifarious
roles that it undertook
earned for it the distinction
of being the most versatile
of single-seat warplanes
to emerge from the Second World War.
Some aircraft manufacturers
excel in the diversity
of their products.
Others build success upon
the unwavering pursuit
of a single idea.
Both methods possess their advantages,
and both have led to the
production of good airplanes.
But no more outstanding example
of single-minded purpose
in an aircraft manufacturer can be found
than that provided by
Hawker Aircraft Limited.
This company, which evolved
from the Sopwith concern,
had spent its entire life in developing
single-engine warplanes.
As a result of this specialization,
the Hawker name was coupled
with many illustrious
aircraft types, but none
was to achieve more fame
than the Hurricane.
The early history of the Hurricane
is an interesting parallel
in many ways with that of the
Supermarine Spitfire,
with which it was to form
an immortal partnership.
But while the Spitfire was
an entirely new conception,
based on specialized experience,
the Hurricane was the logical outcome
of a long line of fighting aircraft.
Thus, although the two
airplanes met broadly
the same requirements,
they represented entirely
different approaches to the same problem.
The two approaches were reflected
to an interesting degree
in their respective appearances.
The Hurricane, workmanlike,
rugged, and sturdy,
the Spitfire, slender and ballerina-like.
One was the studied
application of experience,
the other a stroke of genius.
Following the outbreak of the war,
the Hurricane was quickly in action
with Numbers One and 73 Squadrons,
which were the first
to be posted to France
as part of the advanced
air striking force,
and a Hurricane registered
its first confirmed victory
of the Western front on
the 30th of October, 1939.
Until at least the end of 1940,
the Hurricane was numerically
the most important
British fighter in service.
When the Battle of Britain commenced,
the RAF order of battle included
30 squadrons of Hurricanes
and 19 squadrons of Spitfires.
It was the Hurricane,
therefore, that bore the brunt
of the fighting between
July and November, 1940.
The versatility of the
Hurricane is unlikely
ever to be surpassed by
any other combat aircraft.
No matter what role it was
called upon to undertake,
it fulfilled its task with distinction.
The Hurricane strongly
deserved the place it found
among the outstanding combat aircraft
in the history of aviation.
(airplanes buzz)
It is one of the paradoxes
of aircraft development
that some of the world's
greatest airplanes
have achieved their fame
doing jobs other than the one
for which they were originally designed.
No better example of this could
be found than the Mosquito,
which, conceived as a bomber,
became one of the war's
most potent fighters.
More than this, indeed,
it was probably the most
successfully versatile
of any twin-engine type
built between 1939 and 1945.
For, contrary to the old adage,
jack of all trades and master of none,
it excelled in all the widely varied roles
for which it was found to be amenable.
Its repertoire included
the duties of a low-level
and high-attack day and night bomber,
long-range photo reconnaissance,
mine layer, path finder,
high-speed military transport,
long-range day and night fighter,
and fighter bomber.
It served in Europe,
the Middle and Far East,
and on the Russian front.
In fact, the ubiquitous
Mosquito reigned supreme
among general-purpose types,
and of the grand total
of 7,781 Mosquitos built,
6,710 were delivered
during the war years.
The story of the Mosquito commenced
during the summer of 1938,
the year of the Munich crisis,
when the de Havilland
organization first gave thought
to the possibilities
of a high-speed bomber.
The essence of de
Havilland's bomber conception
was the reliance on speed rather
than armament for defense,
and it was this emphasis
on performance upon which
the Mosquito's success as a fighter
was subsequently to be built.
As a bomber, it was designed to outperform
existing fighters.
Therefore, as a fighter, it
was bound to be outstanding.
As production mounted,
bomber and fighter squadrons
were formed throughout
the winter of 1941, '42.
20 Mosquitos had been
delivered by the end of 1941,
the first 50 by March, 1942.
The basic fighter Mosquito introduced
into squadron service in
1942 was the NF Mark II,
equipped primarily as a night fighter,
and used for home defense
alongside the Bristol Beaufighter.
(airplane rumbles)
Its armament comprised
four 20-millimeter cannon
in the front fuselage belly,
and four 0.303-inch Browning machine guns
in the extreme nose.
(airplanes rumble)
On the night of the
28th, 29tth of May, 1942,
Mosquito NF IIs scored
their first probable.
And in the following three
years, Mosquito night fighters
racked up a score of
approximately 600 enemy aircraft
over the British Isles,
and also destroyed 600 flying
bombs in a two-month period.
(airplanes rumble)
They later operated in
a bomber support role,
their task being to defend
the main heavy bomber streams
over enemy territory.
No fewer than 27 different
versions of the Mosquito
went into service during the war years,
and some of the most spectacular
operations of the air war
stood to its credit.
(airplane rumbles)
The Mosquito carried phenomenal loads
over extremely long
distances, performing feats
at war proportions to the
specification originally envisaged
by its designers.
In short, the Mosquito was
an outstanding war plane
on every count.
The Supermarine Spitfire
was much more than just a
highly successful fighter.
It was the material
symbol of final victory
to the British people
in their darkest hour,
and it was probably the only
fighter of the Second World War
to achieve a truly legendary status.
Certainly, no other
fighter is more deserving
of its place among the famous.
In its 40 major variants, it
was built in greater numbers
than any other British airplane.
It flew operationally on every
front between 1939 and 1945,
and it was engaged in
every major air action
fought by the RAF in that time.
From 1938 onwards, the
Spitfire had been a subject
of an intensive development program,
one which was to remain
the major preoccupation
of the Supermarine design
team for several more years
and precluded the introduction
of any other Supermarine
combat aircraft during the war.
Development followed several
lines simultaneously.
One, to improve aerodynamic efficiency,
and thereby performance,
taking advantage of increases
in engine power offered by Rolls-Royce.
Secondly, to increase the armament.
Thirdly, to increase the fuel capacity.
And finally, to adapt the basic design
for alternative roles,
particularly those of
photographic reconnaissance
and shipboard fighter.
The first major developments
were engine changes.
In the normal course of
development, means were sought
to increase the altitude
performance of the Spitfire,
which was inferior to that of the Bf 109E.
(engine rumbles)
This called for two
principal modifications,
the introduction of a pressurized cabin,
and the use of an engine suitably
rated for higher altitude.
For an aircraft which originated as a pure
short-range interceptor,
the Spitfire proved
remarkably amenable to adaptation.
From the beginning to the end of the war,
it was in the forefront of the fighting.
Spitfires fought over
the beaches of Dunkirk,
and above the D-Day
landings four years later.
They supported the 14th Army in Burma.
They took part in the invasion of Greece.
And earlier, in 1943, they
repulsed Japanese attacks
on Darwin, Australia.
They flew in the Solomon
Islands, Borneo, and New Guinea.
In fact, the Spitfire operated everywhere
that the RAF was committed,
and was flown at one time or another
by nearly all of RAF's leading
wartime fighter pilots.
It was paid many tributes
by friend and foe alike.
But perhaps the greatest
tribute to the Spitfire
came from Germany's General Adolf Galland,
who was later to become the
Luftwaffe's general of fighters.
While on a visit to the
Luftwaffe fighter squadrons
based on the Channel
coast, Reich Marshal Goring
complained bitterly of the
losses being experienced
by Luftwaffe bomber formations
in attacks on England.
(airplane roars)
Goring said that the fighters
must give the bombers
closer protection.
He then asked Galland what
his fighter requirements were,
and Galland replied,
"I should like a Staffel of
Spitfires for my Gruppe."
More than 22,000 Spitfires,
including the navy's Seafires, were built.
(airplane rumbles)
The Spitfire's design epitomized
technical resourcefulness,
and no combat aircraft
has ever better served
the country of its birth.
(airplane rumbles)
The Supermarine Spitfire
was undoubtedly the only
truly immortal warplane
to emerge from the Second World War.
(airplane rumbles)
(airplanes roar)
By the end of the war in 1945,
the design of piston-engine fighters
had reached its pinnacle.
As a result, new designs were
coming off the drawing boards
making use of the new powerplants
which made the fighters
which fought the war seem
almost lethargic by comparison.
The world air powers
had entered the jet age.
The future in fighter design
now lay in the gas turbine engine.
The new breed of fighters and their pilots
were to fight a completely
new form of air warfare.
But even the most advanced
fighters remain a superbly
sophisticated concoction
of computerized metallurgy.
That is, until the pilot
presses the first button
or flips the first switch.
Accordingly, this was much the same
during the years of 1939 to 1945,
when fighter design came
on in leaps and bounds
in terms of speed, performance,
fire power, and invincibility.
The aircraft would've been
purposeless without the skills
of fighter pilots at the controls.
It must therefore be recognized that,
although many fighters
achieved legendary status
in the annals of military
aviation history,
that history is not only a
record of flying machines,
but predominantly a chronicle of both
men and their machines.
(airplanes roar)
(somber music)
