Holzbrau-Kissing Enzian (Gentian Violet)
Work on the Enzian Surface-to-Air Missile began at Messerschmitt AG in 1943. Designed by Dr Herman Wurster, the missile layout owed much to the aerodynamic principles of …
Period: WWII
Henschel HS293
Development of the Henschel 293 began in May 1940; the research led by Professor Dr Herbert A Wagner. The HS293 was designed as a glider bomb based …
Fieseler Fi 103 (V1)
The V1 (Vergeltungswaffe or Vengeance Weapon 1) was devised as a flying bomb as early as 1935, but because of design problems, progress was slow and little …
German Army V2 (Assembly 4)
Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 Germany was forbidden to manufacture heavy artillery. This ban forced the German Army to consider the use …
Blohm und Voss BV246 Hagelkorn (Hailstone) – Glide Bomb Missile
This ‘glide bomb’ was developed to improve the bombing accuracy of the Luftwaffe, who required a stabilised glide bomb with a Radio Command Link, (RCL) that could …
Boulton Paul Defiant Mk 1
The Defiant was a two-seat turret fighter, operated with mixed fortunes during the Battle of Britain period but finding its niche as a night fighter in the 1940-42 …
Messerschmitt BF109G-2/Trop
The Bf 109, designed by Willi Messerschmitt, is a legend alongside the British Spitfire, American P51 Mustang and the Japanese Zero. First flown in 1935, the Bf109 …
Corgi Folding Motorcycle
This specialist vehicle was designed to be air-dropped in a canister for use by parachutists. There is no individual history recorded for this vehicle; It was purchased from …
Crossley Ptn 1940
Designed in 1940, especially for the RAF, this vehicle provided large quantities of foam designed to clear a path through a fire to rescue casualties from crashed …
Engine – Bristol Hercules 763
This sleeve-valve as its name implies has the inlet and exhaust valves in the form of a sleeve working between the piston and cylinder wall and driven …
Engine – Daimler Benz DB610
The DB610 engine is made by joining two DB605 engines; these are coupled together by means of a clutch and gearbox to drive a single four bladed …
Bristol Blenheim IV
As the Allied Ground and Air Forces faced defeat in May 1940 the RAF had to use its light bomber force in desperate daylight raids against German …
Fairchild F-24 Argus
The four-seat Fairchild F24, sporting and training aeroplane, made its first flight in 1932. The design attracted attention from the civilian American market and improved models soon …
Hawker Typhoon 1B
Originally designed as a twelve-gun fighter, the Typhoon was intended to be the successor to the Hurricane. It suffered many development problems both with the airframe and …
Consolidated B-24L Liberator
Although often overshadowed by the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24 Liberator was built in greater numbers than any other US military aircraft and served with distinction in …