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B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was a four-engined heavy bomber plane used by the air forces of the United States and Britain during the Second World War (1939-45). The B-17 had unusually heavy defensive armament, 13 machine guns in total...
Definition
Dowding System
Britain's integrated air defence system in the Second World War (1939-45), known as the Dowding System after the air chief marshal of that name, included code-breakers, radar stations, observers, searchlights, barrage balloons, anti-aircraft...
Definition
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire was a single-seater fighter plane, one of the most important aircraft of the Second World War (1939-45). Employed by the Royal Air Force in such crucial encounters as the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940, the...
Definition
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane was a single-seat fighter plane, Britain's first monoplane, which fought in the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940. Slower but more numerous than the Supermarine Spitfire, the Hurricane was used by the Royal Air...
Definition
Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 was a medium two-engined bomber plane used by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) during the Second World War (1939-45). Heinkel He 111s contributed significantly to such campaigns as the Battle of France, the Battle of Britain...
Definition
Lancaster Bomber
The Avro 683 Lancaster bomber was a four-engine heavy bomber flown by the Royal Air Force and allies during the Second World War (1939-45). Lancasters were particularly used in nighttime bombing raids and could carry the heaviest bombs ever...
Definition
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, also known as the Me 109, was Germany's most important single-seater fighter plane throughout the Second World War (1939-45). Produced in greater numbers than any other German plane, the fighter was a match for the...
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German 88mm Anti-aircraft Gun
A 1943 photograph of an 88mm anti-aircraft gun used by Germany during the Second World War (1939-45). These guns were usually placed in batteries of six or eight guns.(German Federal Archives)
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Swordfish Planes & Ark Royal
A c. 1939 photograph of the British aircraft carrier Ark Royal and its Swordfish biplanes. (U.S. Navy photo NH 79167 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command)
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Junkers Ju 88 North Africa
A Junkers Ju 88 bomber photographed in North Africa during the Second World War (1939-45). (German Federal Archives)