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  • Fighting U-Boats in American Waters

    By January 1942, German submarines had moved into American coastal waters and posed a serious threat to U.S. and Allied shipping. During the first three months of 1942, German U-boats sank more than 100 ships off the east coast of North America, in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Caribbean Sea. Some

  • Fire Bomb Raids

    On Jan. 20, 1945, Maj. Gen. Curtis E. LeMay took command of the 21st Bomber Command. Earlier, experimental missions using incendiary bombs had been carried out against Japanese cities with inconclusive results; however, a high-altitude "fire bomb" raid on Feb. 3 against the city of Kobe proved

  • First Over the 'Hump:' The China National Aviation Corporation

    In early 1940, lone DC-3 passenger aircraft of the China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) cautiously probed over and around the highest mountains in the world seeking air routes between China and India ... and to the outside world. CNAC's great success in finding these vital air routes led to

  • First AAF Ace of WWII

    Lt. Boyd D. "Buzz" Wagner, commanding officer of the 17th Pursuit Squadron in the Philippines, was the first AAF ace of World War II. Flying against overwhelming odds, he was one of the handful of American fighter pilots who engaged vastly superior numbers of Japanese aircraft as the enemy overran

  • Flakvierling 38 20mm Antiaircraft Gun

    During World War II, Airmen and Soldiers performed ground-based air defense by using large-caliber field guns that fired projectiles at flying enemy aircraft. Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) or Flak if German, posed a particular threat to aircraft because their bullets exploded in the air. This meant

  • Flak 36 88mm Multipurpose Gun

    The versatile 88mm cannon was Germany’s main heavy antiaircraft—or “flak”—gun during World War II.  When an 88mm projectile exploded at altitude, it sent out jagged metal fragments that tore through nearby aircraft.  It also left a characteristic black cloud hanging in the sky.  The 88mm cannon’s

  • Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9

    The Fw 190, one of Germany's best fighter airplanes of World War II, made its first flight on June 1, 1939. It appeared in action over northwestern France in September 1941 and rapidly proved its superiority over the Mark V Spitfire, Britain's best fighter of that time.Most Fw 190s were the "A"

  • Fieseler Fi-156C-2 Storch

    Note: This aircraft is in restoration(Jan. 2024)Designed in 1935, the Storch was widely used during World War II by German military forces for reconnaissance, liaison and aeromedical transport. High-ranking officers also used Fi 156s as personal transports. Notable features of the Storch included

  • Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 Sandpiper

    The Fa 330 rotary wing kite, built in Germany during World War II, operated on the principle of the autogyro. It provided an elevated observation platform for one man while being towed behind a surfaced submarine. While aloft, the pilot kept in contact with the submarine by telephone. The Fa 330

  • Flight Training on the Eve of WWII

    During the Depression of the 1930s, the number of pilots the U.S. Army Air Corps trained decreased until in 1937 only 184 graduated from advanced pilot training. Facing resurgent German militarism and an aggressive Japanese military in 1939, the Air Corps planned to graduate 4,500 pilots in the