when world war 2 began in 1939, air forces had already replaced most
of their fabric skinned biplanes with all metal, stressed skin
monoplanes. aircraft played a far greater role in military operations
during world war 2 than ever before . the wide range of aircraft
duties , and the introduction of radar tracking and guidance systems,
put pressure on designers to improve aircraft performance . the main
areas of improvement were speed,range and engine power. bombers became
larger and more powerful-converting from two to four engines- in order
to carry a heavier bomb load: the US B-17 Flying fortress could carry
up to 6.2 tonnes of bombs over a distance of 3,200 km. some aircrafts
increased their range by using drop tanks.fighters needed speed and
manoeuvrability : the Hawker Tempest shown had a maximum speed of
700kph and was one of the few allied aircraft capable of catching the
German jet-powered V1″flying bomb”.
