Weapons in World War 2
Weapons in World War 2
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Planes in World War 2
Planes were really important during WW2 as they allowed armies to cover a lot of ground quickly and catch other armies off guard when starting attacks.
The three most influential planes were the Messerschmitt ME 262, Supermarine Spitfire and the North American P-51 Mustang.
The Supermarine Spitfire was an aircraft that could only fit one person in and it was also the Messerschmitt ME’s greatest rival. It was designed by Reginald Joseph Mitchell. Its first flight was on the 5th March 1936 and was introduced to use in war on 4th August 1938. This plane was used by the very successful 303 squadron. There were 20,351 made and in 1939 the British sold 12 of them to Estonia for £12,604. The top speed this aircraft was ever recorded at was 584 Km per hour. Although it was not as fast as the Messerschmitt, it was highly manoeuvrable because of it elliptical wings and many believe it made the biggest impact on the war. It was 9.12c meters long and its wingspan was 11 meters. The British Armies used these planes mostly in the RAF (Royal Air Force) however, they stopped using it in 1952.
Hans Guido Mutke was the first man to fly a Messerschmitt ME 262 on 18 July 1942. It was the first working jet powered fighter aircraft with a piston engine. It had a wingspan of 13m and it was 11 m long and 1,430 were made. One of the main factors of this plane was that its top speed was 870km per hour.
North American P-51 Mustang
The North American P-51 Mustang is an American 1 seated fighting aircraft which was also used as a bombing plane. Its first flight was 26th October 1940 and introduced to the RAF (Royal Air Force) in January 1942. More than 15,000 were sold and in 1945 they were $50,985. The military stopped using this aircraft in 1984. Its top speed was 703km per hour. Its wingspan is 11 meters long and it is 9.83 meters long.