Without a doubt Hub was both catalyst and driving force behind the 56th Fighter Group. Forming lone wolfs into a cohesive unit challenged his leadership skills. Hub’s philosophy, forged in the boxing ring as a youth and refined by the military, molded the Wolfpack into a successful fighter group. They heeded his advice to “use your wits, size up the opposition, keep hitting him what it hurts … and always keep the initiative.”
-- National Aviation Hall of Fame |
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Air Power |
Brief History: The Fw 190 is widely regarded as Germany's best fighter aircraft of World War II. Its appearance in the skies over France in early 1941 was a rude shock to the Allies, as it was clearly superior to any other plane. For nearly a year, until the debut of the Spitfire IX, the Fw 190 was the unmatched champion of the air war.
As the war progressed, the Fw 190 was developed into many variants as a pure fighter, a ground-attack fighter/bomber, and as a close-support aircraft. No fewer than 40 different versions were produced, with different combinations of engines, armament, wings, systems, and roles.
First flown on 1 June 1939, the Fw 190 served for the duration of the war, largely replacing several other aircraft types in the process, including the Junker Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber. Allied bombers dreaded the sight of these potent aircraft, as did the fighters who provided cover for them. Arguably, the Fw 190's greatest impact on the Allied war effort was to spur ever-greater advances in technology and aircraft design to counter its threat.
Nicknames: Butcher Bird; Dora; Kangaroo (Fw 190 V18/U1 variant)
Specifications: (Fw 190D-9):
Engine: One 1,776-hp Junkers Jumo 213A-1 inverted V-12 piston engine
Weights: Empty 7,694 lbs., Max Takeoff 10,670 lbs.
Crew: One
Wing Span: 34ft. 5.5in.
Length: 33ft. 5.5in.
Height: 11ft. 0in.
Maximum Speed: 426 mph
Ceiling: 39,370 ft.
Range: 519 miles
Number Built: 20,051
Number Still Airworthy: None, but several are under active restoration to flight status.
Armament:
Two 13-mm (0.51-inch) MG 131 machine guns
Two 20-mm MG 151
One 1,102-pound SC500 bomb
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History: In the mid-1930s, the Luftwaffe began to modernize its fighter aircraft fleet. A competition for new designs was held, resulting in at least four competitors. Two designs were selected for further development, one being Willy Messerschmitt's Bf 109, a single-seat derivation of his previously-successful Bf 108 design. The first -109 prototype, powered by a 695-hp Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine, first flew on 28 May 1935. The second prototype was fitted with the engine for which it had been designed, the 610-hp Junkers Jumo 210A. Pre-production prototypes had various combinations of armament and engines.
The first production model, the Bf 109B-1, was delivered in early 1937 to the JG132 'Richtofen' squadron, Germany's top fighter unit. The new fighters quickly established a good combat reputation in the Spanish Civil War later that year. The next production variant, the Bf 109C-1, appeared in the fall of 1937, and utilized a more powerful 700-hp Jumo 210Ga engine. Demand for the airplane was so great that it was built under license by no fewer than four other companies, including Arado, Erla, Focke-Wolf and Feiseler.
By the time World War II began in 1939, the Luftwaffe had more than 1,000 Bf 109s in service, and it was to play a major role in all further fighter operations. Allied bombing gradually slowed German aircraft production, but -109s were also built by WNF in Austria, and in Hungary. During and after the war, Messerschmitt exported thousands of Bf-109s to Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Japan, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, the USSR and Yugoslavia. In addition, Spain's Hispano company produced the Bf 109 under license beginning in 1945, calling it the HA-1109. Their HA-1110 and HA-1112 variants were two-seater and modified single seaters, respectively. Several engines were fitted, including the 1300-hp Hispano-Suiza HS-12Z-89 and the 1400-hp Rolls-Royce Merlin 500-45.
Yet another source of Bf 109 production was in Czechoslovakia, where the Avia company supplied S-99 and S-199 variants, many of which remained in service until 1957.
Total production is estimated at 35,000, making it one of the most numerous aircraft types of the war.
Nicknames: Augsburg Eagle; Buchon "Pounter Pigeon" (HA-1112); Mezec "Mule" (Avia S-199); Anton (A-Model); Bertha (B-Model); Clara (C-Model); Dora (D-Model); Emil (E-Model); Fritz (F-Model); Gustav (G-Model); Beule/Bump (Bf-109G-1 Trop); Toni (T-Model).
Specifications: (Bf-109G-6):
Engine: 1800-hp Daimler-Benz DB-605 inverted V-12 piston engine
Crew: One
Weights: Empty 5,893 lbs., Max Takeoff 6,945 lbs.
Wing Span: 32ft. 6.5in.
Length: 29ft. 7in.
Height: 11ft. 2in.
Maximum Speed at 23,000 ft: 385mph
Ceiling: 38,500 ft
Range: 450 miles
Number Built: ~35,000
Number Still Airworthy: ~9 (approximately two-thirds are HA-112s.)
Armament:
Two 13mm (0.51-inch) MG131 machine guns
Three 20mm MG151 cannon
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Air Power |
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt originated from the drawing board of Alexander Kartveli of the Seversky Aircraft Corporation (later renamed Republic Aviation). The Thunderbolt is consistently rated as one of the three outstanding USAAF fighters of World War II-- rated right up there along with the North American P-51 Mustang and the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. The P-47 was built in larger numbers than any other American fighter, 15,683 examples rolling off the assembly line before production finally ended.
This multi-role fighter, affectionately know as the JUG, was the largest, heaviest, most destructive, single engine aircraft used during World War II. The P-47 excelled in close ground support and aerial combat.
At one time during the heady days of 1944, there were no less than 31 front-line fighter groups flying Thunderbolts. Thunderbolts fought on all fronts in World War 2, including Alaska. Approximately two-thirds of all Thunderbolts built actually reached operational units overseas. In two and a half years of combat, from March 1943 to August 1945, these Thunderbolts flew over half a million combat missions, destroying over 12,000 enemy aircraft both in the air and on the ground, as against a total of 5222 Thunderbolts lost, only 824 of them in the heat of combat. This corresponded to 54 percent of the Thunderbolts which went overseas being eventually lost either to enemy action or to accidents, which was a fairly typical attrition rate for a wartime fighter. Losses of Thunderbolts on operational missions were 0.7 percent of those dispatched, an exceptionally low figure.
Throughout WW II, the P-47 served in nearly every active war theater as well as for the forces of numerous Allied nations.
By the end of the war, the Thunderbolt had established an overall ratio of air-to-air combat victories to losses of 4.6 to 1. Thunderbolts dropped 132,482 tons of bombs, fired 59,567 rockets, and expended 135 million belts of machine gun ammunition.
SPECIFICIATIONS:
Contractor: Republic Aviation Corp
Primary Function: Pursuit (fighter)
Crew: One
Unit Cost: $85,000 -- P-47D
Wing Span: 40 feet - 9 inches
Length: 36 feet - 2 inches
Gross Weight: Over 20,000 lbs
POWER PLANT: Pratt & Whitney R2800, Turbo-Supercharged, 18 cylinder air cooled radial engine rate at over 2,000 horsepower.
Performance
Speed: 433 mph (697 km/h)
Ceiling: 42,000 ft -- P-47D
Range: 1,725 miles (2,776 km)
ARMAMENT:
Eight Browning .50 caliber wing mounted machine guns
Over 2,000 lbs of other ordinance such as bombs, rockets and napalm.
DESIGNER: Alexander Kartveli
FIRST FLIGHT: May 6th, 1941
TOTAL BUILT: 15,683
WORLD WAR II COMBAT RECORD:
Enemy Vehicles Destroyed: 160,000
Enemy Aircraft Destroyed: 11,874
Enemy Trains Destroyed: 9,000
All photos Copyright of Warbird Alley and the Warbird Resource Group
