Aircraft Short Range Long Range Pilot Country Air Service

Supermarine Spitfire MK. I A 17 B-B B Wing Commander Eric Clive Le Mesurier Great Britain Royal Air Force
Although it was only a front line fighter for Son of Major F. H. S. Le Mesurier,
eighteen months, the Spitfire Mk I earned one Formerly of The Border Regiment and
of the most enduring reputations of any aircraft. Edith Louise Le Mesurier of Weymouth.
Its sleek lines, graceful appearance and On 23 Dec 43 while performing an air test
impressive performance combined with its role an air bottle in rear fuselage exploded and
in the Battle of Britain to make it a British icon. part of tail fell off. The aircraft spun in at
Granholme Farm near Dyce aerodrome and
Le Mesurier was killed along with his air
crewman.

Supermarine Spitfire MK. II A 18 B-B B Flight Lieutenant Adolphe Vybral Great Britain Royal Air Force
The Spitfire Mk II differed from the late Adolphe escaped from his native
production Mk I in two ways. The aircraft itself Czechoslovakia and joined the French Air
used the Merlin XII engine, providing 1,150 hp, Force. During the Battle of France he was
an increase of 120 hp over the engines used in credited with downing seven aircraft
the Mk I. The second main difference is that whilst flying Curtiss Hawk 75 fighters. He
while the Mk I was built by Supermarine at again escaped, this time to England where
Southampton, the Mk II was produced in a new he joined No. 312 Sqn. which he would
giant factory at Castle Bromwich. later command.

Supermarine Spitfire MK. II A 18 B-B B Flying Officer Jan Falkowski Great Britain Royal Air Force

The Spitfire owes at least part of its fame to the In September 1939, while flying a PWS-26,
devoted loyalty of its pilots. The Spitfire was a Falkowski was jumped by several Bf 109s.
beautiful aircraft to fly. It combined agility, Using the plane's maneuverability he was
maneuverability and speed with a generally able to evade the attacks, till one of the
forgiving nature. Many pilots described flying a Germans crashed into the ground and the
Spitfire as like strapping on wings. The others, put off, left him alone. Later he would
Spitfire continued to be used into the 1950s both fly for The United Kingdom and fought in
as a front line fighter and in secondary roles the Battle of Britain. Shot down over Holland
on 9 March, 1945, managed to escape from
German POW transport.
 Aircraft Short Range Long Range
Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-3 B 17 A-C-C C Lieutenant Werner Mölders
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 designed by Willy
Messerschmitt in the early 1930s, was one of
the first true modern fighters of the era,
including such features as an all-metal
monocoque construction, a closed canopy, and
retractable landing gear. Having gone through
its baptism of fire in the Spanish Civil War, the
Bf 109 was still in service at the dawn of the jet
age at the end of World War II,
Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-3 B 17 A-C-C C Hauptmann Wilhelm Balthasar
Originally conceived as an interceptor, later
models were developed to fulfill multiple tasks,
serving as bomber escort, fighter bomber, day-
night all weather fighter, bomber destroyer,
ground attack aircraft, and as reconnaissance
aircraft. The Bf 109 was flown by the three top-
scoring German fighter aces of World War II,
who claimed 928 victories between them.
Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-4 B 18 A-C-C C Oberst Adolf Galland
The E-4 was a result of combat experience in
Western Europe during spring of 1940.
Modifications included increased steel armor
protection for the pilot and modified "square"
canopy with armored windscreen.
Pilot Country Air Service
Germany Luftwaffe
Mölders was the leading German fighter
ace in the Spanish Civil War. He became
the first pilot in aviation history to claim
100 aerial victories and was highly
decorated for his achievements. He was
instrumental in the development of new
fighter tactics which led to the finger-four
formation. In 1941 he died in the crash of
an airplane in which he was a passenger.
Germany Luftwaffe
Wilhelm Balthasar was commander of
Jagdgeschwader 2 and a winner of the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak
leaves. During his Luftwaffe career, he was
credited with 47 victories, including 7 in
the Spanish Civil War, and 13 aircraft on
the ground. He was killed in action in
1941.
Germany Luftwaffe
Adolf "Dolfo" Joseph Ferdinand Galland] was
a fighter pilot and commander of Germany's
fighter force from 1941 to 1945. He claimed
a total of 104 victories in 705 missions and
was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron
Cross with oak leaves, swords and diamonds,
one of only 27 recipients of the highest
German military decoration. His victory
claims were all against the Western Allies.
 Aircraft Short Range Long Range
Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat D 17 B-B A Major Robert Edward Galer
The Grumman F4F Wildcat was an American
carrier-based fighter aircraft that began service
with both the United States Navy and the
British Royal Navy (as the Martlet) in 1940.
Although first used in combat by the British in
Europe, the Wildcat was the only United States
Navy or Marine fighter in World War II
1941–42 in the Pacific Theater besides the
brief appearance of the F2A Buffalo.
Grummann F4F-3 Martlet III D 17 B-B A Lieutenant-Commander Alan F. Black
With a top speed of 318 mph (512 km/h), the
Wildcat was outperformed by the more nimble
331 mph (533 km/h) Mitsubishi Zero, but its
ruggedness and tactics such as the Thach Weave
resulted in an air combat kill-to-loss ratio of
5.9:1 in 1942 and 6.9:1 for the entire war.
Grummann F4F-3 Wildcat D 18 B-B-B A-B
"I would still assess the Wildcat as the
outstanding naval fighter of the early years of
World War II ... I can vouch as a matter of
personal experience, this Grumman fighter was
one of the finest shipboard aeroplanes ever
created."
—Eric M. Brown, British test pilot]
Pilot Country Air Service
United States Marine Corps
Robert Edward Galer was a naval aviator in
the United States Marine Corps who
received the Medal of Honor for heroism in
aerial combat during the Battle of
Guadalcanal in World War II. He went on
to command Marine Aircraft Group 12
during the Korean War and retired a few
years after in 1957.
Great Britain Royal Air Force
Black took up command of the reformed
805 squadron at Aboukir and embarked on
the HMS Illustrious for ops in the defense
of Crete.
Lieutenant Hamilton McWhorter III United States Navy
Lt. Hamilton "Mac" McWhorter III was the
first F6F Hellcat ace of the US Navy. By May
1945, he had shot down at least 12 Japanese
planes and escaped danger on several
occasions. In a book he wrote more than 50
years later, retired Cmdr. McWhorter
recounted his war experiences, including
battles over North Africa and the Pacific.
Commander McWhorter died of natural
causes April 12 at his home in El Cajon. He
was 87.
 Aircraft Short Range Long Range Pilot Country Air Service

Mitsubishi A6M2 Reisen C 16 A-C-C C Lieutenant Commander Tadashi Kaneko Japan Japanese Navy
The Mitsubishi A6M2 Type 0 was a long range Kaneko was born in Tokyo as the son of a
fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial lawyer. Kaneko began his piloting career
Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. by flying the bi-plane Nakajima A2N on
The A6M was usually referred to by the Allies the China battle front. He participated in
as the "Zero"—a name that was frequently the attack on Pearl Harbor (without
misapplied to other Japanese fighters, meeting any aerial opposition), the attack
on Salamaua and in Indian Ocean
operations. On 14 November 1942 while in
combat with enemy carrier fighters and
bombers, Kaneko was hit and crashed to
his death.

Mitsubishi A6M2 Reisen C 16 A-C-C C Sub-Lieutenant Saburō Sakai Japan Japanese Navy
When it was introduced early in World War II, Saburō Sakai was the Imperial Navy's
the Zero was the best carrier-based fighter in fourth-ranking ace and Japan's second
the world, combining excellent maneuverability leading fighter pilot to survive the war.
and very long range. In early combat operations, After the war, Sakai retired from the
the Zero gained a legendary reputation as a Navy. He became a Buddhist acolyte and
"dogfighter", gaining the outstanding kill ratio of vowed he would never again kill any living
12 to 1, thing, not even a mosquito. In 2000 Sakai
served briefly as a consultant for the
popular computer game Combat Flight
Simulator 2.

Mitsubishi A6M2 Reisen C 16 A-C-C C Lieutenant Saburo Shindo Japan Japanese Navy
Although the Mitsubishi A6M2 was outdated by On 13 September 1940, the Zeros scored
1944, it was never totally supplanted by the their first air-to-air victories when 13
newer Japanese aircraft types. During the final A6M2s led by Lieutenant Saburo Shindo
years of the War in the Pacific, the Zero was attacked 27 Soviet-built Polikarpov I-15s and
used in kamikaze operations. I-16s of the Chinese Nationalist Air Force,
shooting down all the fighters for no losses.
Shindo was one of the few Japanese pilots
who took part at Pearl Harbor to survive the
war.