early 1940s

Messerschmitt Me 262 Development & Politics by Dan Sharp There are many myths surrounding the development of the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. Its unparalleled performance is beyond doubt; easily able to outpace its opponents and possessing the firepower to shred them in seconds. Yet...

A year before Pearl Harbour the USN commissioned a study into a 'tweaked' version of USS Wasp (CV-7) under the designation CVX, the principle changes were using only two aircraft elevators and the fitting of more powerful engines to give 32knots planned speed. Given what happened to USS Wasp the...

Packard begin producing Merlin engines in 1940 as a preparation to supplying european nations. As a paper exercise they decide to fit the engine to an M4 type tank. Lower hull and more power earlier, what would the result be and could it be ready with a better armour and gun for D-Day?

http://aviationarchives.blogspot.com/2022/04/mcdonnell-aircraft-model-28.html Note - the McDonnell Model List says TG-100 engine which is wrong - that was a turboprop.

In order to avoid clogging the IJN air service thread, I'd open an Army-specific thread for discussion about their alternatives in choice of flying hardware, logistics (as far as they can address it), production, etc. The Pacific war unfolds as it did hisorically, ie. the war with West starts as...

I didn't see any topics featuring or referencing this interesting airship (including the compelling figures involved in its development and construction), but I came across a some newsreel footage of it worthy of posting and created this topic for reference and as a potentially clearinghouse for...

Similar to the post-BoB RAF: what might've Luftwafe/RLM do after Autumn of 1940 in order to improve their standing, both in short-term (next 12 months) and long-term (a few next years). I've also included 'Axis' term here - mostly European Axis countries' air forces/services - since they can be...

With decades worth of hindsight, what might be the best steps for French AF and industry to make in the 1935 to 1940-41 time frame, in order to put up a better fight against Luftwaffe? Organizational changes, logistics, choice of what to make (whether the historical types, or whatever you think...

Time frame should cover gearing-up to the Pacific war and the war itself. What should've they specified differently for industry to make vs. what was made historically, in order to put up a better fight against the 'West', or mostly against the USN/USMC/USAAF? Not to make a host of designs that...

Since the end of the First World War, bold attempts were made in the Soviet Union in the field of rockets and various types of weapons, although timid, but existing and somewhat significant for the hard period that the Union was going through at that time, sometimes typically handcrafted and...

Does anyone know Bohler 47mm L70? In WW2,Bohler 47mm L32 M1935 was famous,but according to some articles,47mm L32 couldn't be used well against tanks in the war,so Bohler designed L55,even...L70 I failed to find its data.

A design by Vladimir Gartvig, drawing by Vladimir Meshcherin. Images OSGA-25 1-4 from Russisches Design - Tradition und Experiment 1920-1990 by Alexander Lavrentiev and Yuri Nasarow, Ernst & Sohn 1995. Images OSGA-25 5-7 found here: https://gashetka.tumblr.com/ View...

Im unsure of number designation on this design proposal from Supermarine 1942 with the Sabre engine. Spitfire No 2? . Lovely lines on the plane, and couldnt keep fingers away to build another RC model. Some changes in insignia/markings, to easier see in air though, and still awaiting for the...

Designed in April 1942 after a contract was designed for designs of the machinery from the Mogador class, Project 148-A was also similar in dimensions, though with a deeper draft. The design had a profile extremely similar to Mogador, but with much enhanced AA, as well as dual purpose 120mm...

Grigorii Ivanovich Bakshayev was interested in the concept of variable geometry aircraft, where the size and/or shape of wings are altered according to the stage of flight, or desired characteristics. There are many methods of achieving this but one of the simplest is the telescopic wing, where...

From the third volume of the US Navy's 'Springstyle' plan books is one of the designs the US Navy looked at during the design process that led to the Midway Class Carriers. The design work was actually completed after the 'Scheme B' design which will be the feature of a future post. This one...

The Royal Navy's second 16" armed battleships history was a long and bumpy road of large number of designs and the inability on the Admiralty's side to actually start and continue it's work on them or choose a design to produce. First I present the 1938 designs: Design 14A-38 This is the first...

Japanese Wikipedia entry on Akizuki class DD stated that IJN started in 1936 to study dedicated AA vessels following the example of Dido class. They contemplated anything from a 1000 ton torpedo boat armed with a single 10 cm or 12.7 cm AA gun to a quite large cruiser equipped with 12 double...

Good Day All - Found this general arrangement of McDonnell Aircraft's Model 18-H Tandem Engine Fighter in a collection I am scanning.

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/aaminis/impero-the-italian-shinano-t8793-s10.html?sid=572ce2b9d8cf48ac6bb861326d0848d8 https://stefsap.wordpress.com/2015/11/05/rn-impero-battleship-to-aircraft-carrier-conversion-study-1200-model/...