In the early 1940s, Italian fighter aviation had a serious problem on its hands. Its main fighters, the Fiat G.50 and the Macchi C.200, had good maneuverability but were clearly inferior to the newest aircraft in speed, climb rate, and altitude performance. Some of the issues were alleviated by the modernization to “Serie 2” and using licensed copies of the German DB 601 engine. But those were only temporary measures that still didn’t improve them enough to engage targets at high altitudes — altitudes now occupied by strategic bombers. Besides, the Italian fighters were mostly armed with machine guns, and that was another point for improvement.
What War Thunder aircraft is worthy of the title “the best piston-engine fighter”? The competition is so tight! We have the American Mustang and Bearcat, the German Messerschmitt and Ta, the Soviet Yak and La, the Japanese Shiden and Hayate, the Italian Reggiane and Fiat, and finally, the British Tempest and... Its colleague the Spitfire, which seems to be a tad ahead of all the other contenders for the throne of the Prop King! So why don’t we take a ride in the legendary Griffon Mk.24?
In the uniform line of the Israeli Magach tanks, there’s one model that clearly sticks out. Its design features blocks of unguided rockets welded on top of its turret, resembling pretty silly ears or horns. However, while it does look a bit silly, it’s much more exciting to play. Please welcome: the Magach Hydra!
Every year on the first Sunday in June, Canada celebrates Armed Forces Day. At the start of the First World War, the Canadian Armed forces had just 3,500 men, but by the end of the war with conscription announced, they expanded to 400,000. 24,000 of these took part in battles in Europe. The conscription for the Second World War was even larger, with more than a million Canadians serving and of these, 42,000 died in combat. Currently, the Canadian Armed Forces have just over 90,000 personnel.
When it first saw the light of day, the Jagdtiger tank destroyer was truly a sight to behold. Combining a monstrous cannon and fantastic armor, it was an Ally tanker’s worst nightmare. But no matter how impressive this level of firepower looked, it couldn’t save Germany from defeat.
The Il-2 became the most produced aircraft in the history of aviation and played a major role in World War 2. And while its creators picked the right concept of a slow but well-armored strike aircraft, the design required numerous incremental upgrades. Many of them were urgent and had to be completed in the very first years and even months of production.
The Lockheed brothers, early aviation engineers, developed an interest in flight shortly before the First World War. Allan Lockheed believed that airplanes would soon become the fastest and safest mode of transportation in the world. But within a few decades, the world was already bracing for another global conflict — World War II. Automakers shifted gears to making tanks and armored vehicles, while aviation pioneers began competing to build the most capable military aircraft, the new driving force of 20th-century warfare. Among those caught up in this rapid arms race was Lockheed, though by that time the company was no longer run by its founders. The challenging times compelled the company to enter the defense industry.
At the height of the First World War, the world witnessed the first ever combat tanks. The armored giants made for breaching enemy fortifications were sowing fear, but at the same time, they were incredibly clumsy. It would take their creators a lot of time to find the perfect shapes and optimal design solutions. In the meantime, creative processes would sometimes give birth to truly peculiar machines, like giants with diamond-shaped tracks, self-propelled armed boxes, and others.
Many tank designers have spent a long time trying to combine the best traits of heavy and medium tanks in a single machine. During the Second World War, this idea became extra valuable in the Soviet Union. Vehicles based on the heavy KV showed dubious results, so the Kharkiv design bureau made the decision to try and rework the medium T-34 one more time.
Creatively different and boldly designed, French wheeled tanks are usually more fondly remembered than their tracked counterparts. This comes as no surprise, given the mixed performance of WW2-era French tracked tanks. Not to mention that after the war, French engineers opted for a completely new direction.