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  • Pratt & Whitney R-985

    The R-985 air-cooled engine was first used by the Army Air Corps in 1932. At that time, it was rated at 300 horsepower. Over the next ten years, further refinements were made, and during World War II some variants produced up to 450 horsepower. The R-985 powered thousands of military aircraft of

  • Junkers Jumo 004 Turbojet

    The Jumo 004 powered the world's first operational jet fighter, the Messerschmitt Me 262. The engine's development began in 1937, but large-scale production did not begin until late 1944. By the time Germany surrendered in May 1945, more than 5,000 engines had been produced.The Jumo 004 was first

  • Walter HWK 509B-1 Rocket

    This liquid-fueled rocket engine is an advanced version of the engine that powered the German Me 163B Komet. It is equipped with an extra combustion chamber to extend the aircraft's range and endurance. The main engine and auxiliary chamber were used together for takeoff and climb. To conserve fuel,

  • Walter HWK 509A Rocket

    The HWK 509A rocket engine was developed was developed to power the German Me 163 Komet fighter-interceptor, one of the most unique distinctive aircraft of World War II. The motor used two fuels -- hydrazine hydrate in methanol, plus concentrated hydrogen peroxide -- that ignited violently when

  • Yokosuka MXY7-K1 Ohka

    Late in World War II, the Dai-ichi Kaigun Koku Gijitsusho (1st Naval Air Technical Arsenal) at Yokosuka, Japan, designed the MXY7-K1 to teach less experienced pilots to fly the Model 11 "Ohka" (Cherry Blossom) kamikaze suicide rocket bomb. The Ohka was carried to the target under a G4M "Betty"

  • Ryan PT-22 Recruit

    Primary trainers represented the first of three stages of military flight training -- primary, basic and advanced. Prior to 1939, the Air Corps relied entirely on biplanes as primary trainers, but in 1940 it ordered a small number of Ryan civilian trainers and designated them as PT-16s. They were so

  • Stearman PT-13D Kaydet

    The United States and several Allied nations used the Kaydet as a standard primary trainer from the late 1930s to the end of World War II. Originally designed in 1933 by Lloyd Stearman for the civilian market, it received the designation PT-13 Kaydet when the U.S. Army Air Corps adopted it in 1936.

  • Vultee BT-13B Valiant

    The Valiant was the basic trainer most widely used by the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. It represented the second of the three stages of pilot training -- primary, basic and advanced. Compared with the primary trainers in use at the time, it was considerably more complex. The BT-13 not

  • Beech AT-11 Kansan

    The AT-11 was the standard U.S. Army Air Forces World War II bombing trainer; about 90 percent of the more than 45,000 USAAF bombardiers trained in AT-11s. Like the C-45 transport and the AT-7 navigation trainer, the Kansan was a military version of the Beechcraft Model 18 commercial transport.

  • Beech AT-10 Wichita

    The AT-10 Wichita had superior performance among advanced twin-engine trainers during WWII. Over half of the US Army Air Forces pilots received transitional training from single- to multi-engine aircraft in the Wichita. This aircraft is painted to represent an aircraft based at Freeman Army Airfield