World War II Military Aircraft

Organized by type, World War II Military Aircraft includes more than 50 of the best- known aircraft to fly for all nations from 1939 to 1945, from classic fighters such as the Messerschmitt 109, Supermarine Spitfire and North American P-51 Mustang, through the great bombers of the era, including the Avro Lancaster, Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Heinkel He 111H, to the aircraft that fought across the vastness of the Pacific Theatre, such as the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Grumman F4F Wildcat and Douglas SBD Dauntless torpedo bomber.

World War II Military Aircraft also features 12 large-scale gatefolds of key types, including the multirole German Junkers Ju-88 fighter-bomber, the British rocket-armed Hawker Typhoon, which proved essential in winning the battle for Normandy, and the Soviet Yak fighter, the first in one of the longest-running aircraft production programs in history. Each entry includes a dozen annotations detailing aspects of the type’s technology, from powerplant and armament to crew compartment and aerodynamic elements.