Kawanishi E7K “Alf” (1933) Imperial Japanese Navy, 533 built IJN main cruiser reconnaissance floatplane in 1941 In 1932, the Imperial Japanese Navy requested Kawanishi Aircraft to replace its previous E5K (1931) as part of the 7-Shi requirement. The new design was designated E7K1, powered by a 462 kW (620 hp) Hiro Type 91 W-12 inline … Read more
Tupolev TB-1 P (1930) 1931-34: 66 converted. The Tupolev Saga For that introductory matter into Soviet naval air power, it is important to stress the importance of Andrei Tupolev, not only for the development of bombers, to put in parrallel to Boeing, but in aviation in general. His models, taking the best innovations of its … Read more
Grumman F8F Bearcat (1944) Carrier-based Fighter The last Grumman classic Piston engine Fighter Development and design The F8F was conceived to be capable of operating from aircraft carriers of all sizes and to be used primarily as an intercept fighter, a task that required excellent maneuverability, good low-altitude performance and high rate of climb. In … Read more
Carrier Borne Fighter, Imperial Japanese Navy Imperial Japanese Navy, 10,939 built The legendary Japanese fighter Just named colloquially “zero” and still popularly known as such today, the A6M, or “Mitsubishi Navy Type 0 carrier fighter” (零式艦上戦闘機) hence the number used as nickname, was the brainchild of superstar aviation designer Jiro Horikoshi. A superb dogfighter, combined … Read more
RNAS/FAA 1937-40: 192 built. A first modern Royal navy Dive Bomber The Blackburn Skua was the first monoplane of the Fleet Air Arm and thus represented a leap forward. It was also a combined fighter/dive bomber due to the small squadrons aboard British Aircraft Carriers. Unlike the Roc was also a combined fighter-Bomber, she saw … Read more
USN WW2 carrier-borne fighter Single seat naval fighter (1942-48) The legendary 16:1 navy butcher bird The Grumman Hellcat would be forever associated with the second phase of the Pacific war. It replaced the hard-pressed F4F Wildcat on board all USN fleet carriers (the F4F would continue operating on escort carriers until 1945), and between the … Read more
1930-52: Up to 1200 built. An amazingly long success story The Shavrov SH-2, affectionately called “Shavrushka”, shares with the Polikarpov U-2 and Antonov An-2 the title of longest serving biplane in aviation history. But she was the only one being tailored as a seaplane, abeit amphibious. He production numbers never reached the scale of the … Read more
Carrier Bornes Torpedo Bomber RNAS/FAA 1930-35: 92 built. The early 1930 Blackburn Torpedo Bomber The Blackburn T.5 Ripon was a carrier-based torpedo bomber and reconnaissance biplane, a basis for the Japanese license-produced Mitsubishi B2M and for the bomber Blackburn Baffin. Designed as a successor to the Dart it flew for the first time on 17 … Read more
Imperial Japanese Navy, 1,149 built The Main IJN Carrier Torpedo Bomber in 1939-42 The Nakajima B5N was completely unknown by US Intel before 1941, and vastly underrated (like most Japanese aviation, seen as mediocre western copies). Little was known that this model, albeit of the same generation, vastly outperformed the Douglas TBD Devastator, its rival … Read more
Consolidated TBY Sea Wolf (1941) USN Torpedo Bomber (1941-44), 181 built. When good enough beats better The Consolidated TBY Sea Wolf was a USN carrier-borne torpedo aircraft, contender and contemporary to the Grumman TBF Avenger, but which development dragged on to such a point, it never saw battle, with a small number delivered and ultimately … Read more
