Sd.Kfz.222

Angular in appearance and functional in its role as a light reconnaissance armoured car, the Sd.Kfz.222 equipped wehrmacht units from the beginning of the secon world war and saw action on almost every front until 1945. Armed with a 2cm high-velocity anti-tank gun and a MG34 machine gun, the Sd.Kfz.222 featured four-wheel drive, selective steering (2 or 4 wheels) and a rear-mounted horch 3.5 lit engine. Armour thickness varied between 6.5 and 8.5mm and in service the anti-grenade netting was fitted over the exposed turret top. A crew of three was carried. Two similar vehicles were the earlier Sd.Kfz.221 wich had a two-man crew and a smaller turret and the Sd.Kfz.223 radio car with a large rectangular folding antenna. Production of the series ended in 1942.

P51D Mustang

The Mustang is one of the world´s best known airplanes and was without doubt the best fighter plane of world war II. It was built in record time in 1943 for the european campaign and was well suited to fight the BF-109s and FW-190s of the german luftwaffe. It was subsequently used against the japanese forces in the Pacific theater. Very maneouvrable and of noteworthly range it also proved to be an effective ground attack fighter, even though the inline liquid-cooled engine was vulnerable against enemy light arms. During the Korean war, despite the new jet fighters, it was extensivel used for troop support missions. In some instances it also used to interrupt enemy supply lines. It effectively fought North Korean and Chinese MIG-15 jets.

Hawker Hurricane Mk IIC

In december 1937, the first production examples of the Hawker Hurricane I were delivered to No. 111 Squadron at RAF Northolt. At the start of the Battle of Britain in 1940 RAF Fighter Command had 30 operational squadrons of the Mk.Is.
Hurricanes were mainly concentrated on the destruction of the German Heinkel He 111 and Dornier Do 17 bombers. These were the aircraft that would cause the most damage if allowed to get through and destroy the RAF´s fighter airfields and Britain´s vital radar installations.
The first Mk IIC, armed with four 20mm cannons was delivered to operational squadrons from April 1941. A large number of this version were tropicalised and sent to the North African, Middle East, India and Burma theatres. The model shown here belongs to 336(Greek)Squadron, Desert Air Force, RAF, stationed in Egypt 1944.

A6M5c Zero Fighter type 52c

The Zero Fighter was the imperial Japanese navy´s first singel seated and single-engined shipboard fighter with the retractable undercarriage. It was the most produced types of all japanese combat aircraft of world war II. Designed to the 1937 specifications, the Zuisei-powered prototype flew in the spring of 1939, but the most more successfull sakae-powered prototype was adopted as the Zero type 11, and two squadrons with 15 aircrafts were sent to China in July 1940 for trials under operation conditions. More than 400 had been delivered by the time the type 21 and type 32 appeared at Pearl Harbor. After the battle of Midway the Allies slowly gained the ascendancy, and the Zero found itself outclassed by the F4U Corsair and F6F Hellcat. Mitsubishi urgently tried to devise improved versions and type 52 was build in quantities far greater than any other Japanese combat aircraft. To satisfy front line demands for increased fire power and pilot protection, most of the changes were made in these areas under the designation type 52c. Especially, armament was increased to an additional 13mm machine gun mounted in each wing just outboard the 20mm cannon and underwing bomb rack for 30kg bomb. In late of war, hundred of Zeros of many sub-types and young pilots were converted for reckless suicide attacks; Kamikaze.

Fairey Swordfish Mk.I

Flown for the first time in 1934 the appearance of a large and noisy biplane created more than average interest. By some nostalgic means it was a breath of air from a far earlier and more gracious age. It was designed to operate from land, aircraft carriers or as a floatplane. The plane was slow but highly manoeuvrable.
In 1940 came the most famous action of the Swordfish, the attack on the Italian fleet at anchor in Taranto harbour. It was made by 21 Swordfish on the night of 11 November, launched in two waves. By dropping torpedoes and bombs three battleships were damaged severely, a cruiser and two destroyers had been hit and two auxiliary vessels had been sunk.
In 1941 15 Swordfish torpedo aircraft attacked and crippled the German battleship Bismarck which was finally sunk by naval gunfire and torpedoes.
Later versions had strengthened wings and capable of carrying rocket armament which were effective in anti-submarines duties together with radar. With a crew of two or three, the Swordfish had a maximum speed of 224 km/h at 1450 m. and was armed with one forward-firing Vickers `K` gun and one Lewis or Vickers `K` gun aft.

Junkers Ju 88 A-4

Developed in 1936 as a medium bomber, the Ju 88 production reached a total of 15000 units. the German Luftwaffe used it as a bomber, reconnaissance plain, night fighter and destroyer. The famous multi-porpose aircraft was powered by two Junkers Jumo 211 J engines of 1420 PS (1050 kW). Both the A-4 bomber, as well as the D-1 long-range reconnaissance plain, were characterized by many successful operations.

P-47D Thunderbolt "Razor-back"

The P-47D was a workhorse of the U.S. Army Air Force during the last half of WW II, saw action in both the European and Pacific theaters of the war. The aircraft was utilized not only as an escort to U.S. bombers but its bomb load capacity made it outstanding in the ground attack role. Nearly 12602 `D´ models were built, which is the largest total of one sub-type of any fighter in history.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E

Classed as one of the outstanding aircraft of the second world war the Messerschmitt Bf 109 was the luftwaffes standard day fighter from 1938 until 1945. The type first saw combat during the spanish civil war in 1937 and two years later formed the spearhead of the luftwaffe´s fighter units in their blitzkrieg across Europe. In september 1940, the battle of Britain saw the Bf 109 pitted against the RAF´s Spitfires and for the first time germany´s much-vaunted fighter met its equal in combat. The type was later used in the high-speed fighter-bomber role operating from France against selected targets in southern England. The E version also opetated in the Mediterranean, North Afirca and Russia. More than 33000 Bf 109s of all variants were produced, a number greater than any other wartime aircraft.