Dick Bong The Life And Legacy Of Americas Greatest Combat Ace During World War Ii Charles River Editors by Charles River Editors B0C9YXYBJV instant download after payment.

Before long, relatively powerful, heavily armed aircraft buzzed through the skies over battle-stained Europe, tearing each other apart with furious gusts of machine gun fire and sending many of the vaunted dirigibles plunging, burning, to the ground. The new era of fighting aircraft arrived in dramatic fashion, raising successful pilots to celebrity or heroic status, and laying the groundwork for the tremendous potential of airpower to achieve its next logical expansion in World War II and beyond.

By the time World War II arrived, the fighter airplane appeared as a much different beast than the purpose-built aircraft-hunting machines of 1917 and 1918. Though propellers still provided motive force, greatly increased engine power allowed these aircraft to slice through the sky at speeds of 200 miles per hour (mph), 300 mph, or even in excess of 400 mph when flying flat-out. Service ceilings jumped to 25,000 feet, 30,000 feet, or higher, altitudes unthinkable to World War I’s aviators. Engineering and research and development began working scientifically to shave time off the climb rate and address a host of other problems and possibilities.

The huge spaces of the Pacific also called for different aircraft design than the relatively confined areas of Europe. The distinctive twin-boom P-38 Lightning came into its own in the war between America and Japan, with its impressive range and heavy firepower. In the warm tropical