The World’s Great Fighter Aircraft

248 Pages·1981·81.87 MB·English

by  William Green

HieWorld's
AIRCRAFT
Theinsidestoryof100classics intheevolutionoffighteraircraft

The World's
AIRCRAFT
The inside story of 100 classics in the evolution offighteraircraft
Compiled byWilliam Green and Gordon Swanborough
Publishedby
CRESCENT BOOKS
NewYork
A
Salamander Book Preface
Contents: © PilotPress Ltd. 1981 Since the first aircraft intended for aerial combat per se climbed into
Presentation: Salamander European skies almost seventy years ago and the term scout took on the
BooksLtd. 1981 connotation of fighter, the speeds attainable by such warplanes have
increased from less than 100 to more than 1,500 miles per hour; their
All rights reserved
FirstEnglisheditionpublishedbySalamanderBooksLtd. abilityto climb from sealevel has risenfrom lessthan1,000 to more than
Thisedition ispublishedby Crescent Books. 60,000 feet per minute; fuel capacities have grown from less than a
Distributedby Crown Publishers. Inc. dozen to several thousand gallons, and maximum take-off weights have
hgfedcba soared from fewer than 1,000 to as much as 100,000 pounds.The
purpose of this book is to portray this dramatic evolutionary process
Printedin Belgium. by means of detailed cutaway drawings illustrating the structures,
systems and equipment of the most important fighter aircraft to have
ISBN: 0-517-358255
achieved service since the birth of the genus.
Thisbookmaynotbe soldoutside the Such has been the prolificity of succeeding generations of fighter
United States ofAmerica andCanada. designers in their attempts to achieve an advance in the state of the art
that our selection of aircraft types to portray fighter evolution has been
Allcorrespondence concerning thisvolume perforce arbitrary. Some of the aircraft illustrated on the pages that
shouldbe addressedto SalamanderBooks Ltd.. follow may assuredly be described as classics in that they established
SalamanderHouse, 27 OldGloucesterStreet,
LondonWC1N 3AF, United Kingdom. new standards that others endeavoured to emulate; some were
outstandingly successful without being classics, and yet others,
perhaps as a result of short-sightedness on the part of their designers,
Credits ineptness on the part of those responsible for framing the requirements
forwhich theywere conceived, or inadequacies in the engines available
to power them or weaponry available to arm them, were somewhat less
Editor: Philip de Ste. Croix than successful. Each had its own significance, nationally or
DLeisnieganretrwso:rk: L©loPyildotCoPwremsasn-LtMda.rtinand BarrySavage internationally, however, and played its role in the development of the
Cutaway drawingsbyJohnWealand fighter category.
M.A. Badrocke Space considerations have, at times, dictated selection of but one
General arrangement drawingsby from a group of equally deserving warplanes to portray a particular
Diagrams: DAleannniHsolIl.iPnugnbneertyt©SalamanderBooksLtd. aspect of the evolutionary process. A case in point is provided by
Fllmset: ModernTextTypesettingLtd.. England. inclusion of the Reggiane Re 2001 to represent an entire generation of
Reproduction: Colorandmonochrome, Italian fighters when such as the Macchi C.205 and Fiat G.55 were
Bantam LithoLtd., England. equally efficacious. Thus, this book is a synopsis of the history of
Printed: In Belgium byHenriProost et Cie. fighter development rather than an attempt to chronicle the evolution of
the species in depth. An attempt has beenmade to place eachtype inits
The Compilers context—the aberrations from the mainstream of fighter evolution, such
as the rocket-driven Me 163, are few—and the aircraft appear in
William Green chronological sequence of their debut in prototype form, their
WilliamGreenenteredaviationjournalismearlyinWorld backgrounds and histories being briefly related and specifications being
WarII withtheAirTraining Corps Gazette (nowAir provided for comparison purposes.
Pictorial) and has gainedan internationalreputationfor The definition of fighter has undergone metamorphosis over the
hismanyworks of aviation reference, coveringboth
aeronauticalhistoryand the current aviation scene. years, a process that has accelerated in the past two decades. Whereas
Following RAF service, hewasEuropeancorrespondent a fighterwas once defined as an aircraft primarily designedto intercept
toUS,CanadianandSouthAfricanaeronauticaljournals and destroy other aircraft, such tasks as ground attack being purely
and British correspondentto several European fortuitous and very secondary to its primary air-air role, WWII saw
FFplluyybliiinncggaRRtieeovvniisee.ww,HIetnhtweenarnsEadtTiietoconrhainla.ilcIaDnlir1De9ic7rt1eocrhteowrhaetnodntGihtoebrRedAcoFname ecaxpaambpillietsyowfaassreectoainndeadr,ytrhoeleTytapkhionognprpreocveiddeinncge,analotuhtosutgahndaiinrg-air
Swanborough jointlycreatedthe monthlyAir example. This development became ever more pronounced in the
International now one ofEurope'sforemost aviation post-WWIIyears, withthe use ofthe termfighterbecoming increasingly
juonudrenralsjo,inatndautthheoyrshhaivpe.alsoproducedanumberofbooks generic until it embraced awide variety oflooselyrelated aircraft types,
varying tremendously in primary role, performance capability and size.
Gordon Swanborough The adoption of the wider definition of the fighter classification is
Gordon Swanborough has spent hisworking life as an reflected in this book bythe inclusion of such aircraft as the Harrierand
aviation journalist and author, withthe exception ofa F-lll, which cannot be considered as fighters in the traditional sense.
yOefafirc-elronwgitahpptohientBrmietnitshinAi1r9cr6a4ftasCoarSpaolraetsiPounb.liFcriotmy 1943 Today, a fighter may be categorised as multi-role, its mission spectrum
until 1963 he was a memberofthe editorial staffofthe ranging from air superiority and interception to deep penetration strike
weeklymagazine TheAeroplane, specializing formuch and counterair activities. Alternatively, it may be optimised for specific
ofthat time in airtransport affairs. In 1965 hebecame tasks such as ground attack, its air-air capability being confined
editorofFlyingReviewInternationa/, andin1971 joined to—what is in some cases a rather dubious—self-defence potential, and
forceswithWilliamGreentocreateAirInternational. As
ateam, these two authors are also responsibleforthe its likely use against other aircraft in the traditionai fighter sense is
production ofthe thrice-yearlyAirEnthusiast, devoted remote. All the aircraft appearing on the following pages are categorised
exclusivelyto aviation history, and the annual RAF as fighters, but the reader may well find himself asking "When is a
Yearbook aswellas a series ofauthoritativeworks on fighter a fighter?"
bothcurrentaircraftandvariousaspectsofaeronautical
history. WG and FGS
Contents
Introduction 6 North American P-51 Mustang 140
Morane-Saulnier Type N 34 De Havilland Mosquito 142
Sopwith Scout 36 Republic P-47 144
Nieuport 17 38 Messerschmitt Me 163 146
RAF S.E.5 40 Kawasaki Ki.61 Hien 148
Sopwith Camel 42 Fairey Firefly 150
Albatros D V 44 Lavochkin La-5 152
Spad 13 46 Messerschmitt Me 262 154
Fokker Dr 48 Northrop P-61 Black Widow 156
I
Fokker D VII 50 Grumman F6F Hellcat 158
Fairey Flycatcher 52 Yakovlev Yak-9 160
Bristol Bulldog 54 Gloster Meteor 162
Hawker Fury 56 Nakajima Ki.84 Hayate 164
Curtiss P-6E 58 Yakovlev Yak-3 166
P.Z.L. P.llc 60 De Havilland Vampire 168
Boeing P-26 62 Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star 170
Dewoitine D 500-510 64 Grumman F8F Bearcat 172
Fiat CR.32 66 Hawker Sea Fury 174
Curtiss Model 68 Hawk III 68 McDonnell FH-1 Phantom 176
Heinkel He 51 70 Republic F-84 Thunderjet 178
Avia B.534 72 Hawker Sea Hawk 180
Polikarpov 1-16 74 North American F-86 Sabre 182
Gloster Gladiator 76 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 184
Mitsubishi A5M 78 Avro-Canada CF-100 Canuck 186
Grumman F3F 80 Republic F-84F Thunderstreak 188
Curtiss Hawk 75A 82 Hawker Hunter 190
Messerschmitt Bf 109 84 Grumman F9F (F-9) Cougar 192
Morane-Saulnier M.S. 406 88 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 194
Seversky P-35 90 Dassault Mystere IV 196
Hawker Hurricane 92 North American F-100 Super Sabre 198
Fokker D XXI 94 Lockheed F-104 Starfighter 200
Supermarine Spitfire 96 Vought F-8 Crusader 202
Messerschmitt Bf 110 100 Sukhoi Su-7 204
Nakajima Ki.27 102 Republic F-105 Thunderchief 206
Junkers Ju 88 104 Saab 35 Draken 208
Bloch 152 106 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 210
Grumman F4F Wildcat 108 Dassault-Breguet Mirage III 212
Macchi C.200 Saetta 110 BAC Lightning 214
Fiat CR.42 Falco 112 McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II 216
Polikarpov 1-153 114 Northrop F-5 218
Curtiss P-40 116 British Aerospace Harrier 220
Dewoitine D 520 120 General Dynamics F-lll 222
Lockheed P-38 Lightning 122 Dassault-Breguet Mirage Fl 224
Nakajima Ki.43 124 Saab 37 Viggen 226
Mitsubishi A6M 126 Grumman F-14 Tomcat 228
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 128 McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle 230
Bristol Beaufighter 130 General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon 232
Hawker Typhoon 132 Panavia Tornado 234
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 134 Dassault-Breguet Mirage 2000 236
Vought F4U Corsair 136 McDonnell Douglas F-18 Hornet 238
Reggiane Re 2001 Falco II 138 Index 240
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