by Richard Dunn | Jan 21, 2025 | Allied Forces
The superlatives about the Grumman Hellcat abound. The F6F was credited with over 5,000 victories in air combat. It was said to dominate the Japanese navy’s Zero fighter a key opponent. Some of its claims for success are amazing. The Hellcat “arrived in the Pacific...
by Richard Dunn | Dec 18, 2024 | Allied Forces
Next up in the How Great series is the P-38. “P-38 Lightning Might Have Been the Best Fighter of World War II” and “P-38 Lightning WWII’s twin engine wonder” or even “Unsung Hero of WW II” read headlines of articles on my computer homepage. Whatever deficiencies might...
by Richard Dunn | Nov 27, 2024 | Allied Forces
Survived the Hankow raid 8/24/43 The B-24 Liberator in China played a pivotal role in shaping the air campaigns of World War II, particularly during the summer of 1943. As one of the most versatile and far-reaching bombers in the Allied arsenal, the B-24 conducted...
by Richard Dunn | Oct 22, 2024 | Allied Forces
Continuing the story of the Spitfire in the Asia-Pacific, this article reviews the Spitfire in combat with Japanese army Type 1 fighters over India and Burma in late 1943 and early 1944. During most of 1943 the Royal Air Force contested air superiority along the India...
by Richard Dunn | Oct 15, 2024 | Allied Forces, Japanese
The homepage on my computer cycles various items of interest across the screen. These may be news or current events (fashion and celebrity gossip among them) but also include some historical subjects, even aviation history. Among the latter are sometimes profiles or...
by Richard Dunn | Aug 2, 2024 | Allied Forces
On the first of August 1943, PT-109 was rammed and cut in two by a Japanese destroyer. The story from the American perspective is well known because the skipper of PT-109 was future President of the U.S. John Fitzgerald Kennedy. The following excerpt from South...