ADCs Available

The following ADC sets are available. Some are available directly online as PDF files that can be read with Adobe's Acrobat Reader. Acrobat Reader 4.0is available for free from several places. You can also request that I send them to you. Note: My ADCs are marked with my initials and the date they were last edited. They are NOT official, but were developed with a fair amount of analysis of aircraft and ADCs.

French roundel France's Armee de l'Air

The Armée de l'Air had been hamstrung in its attempts to modernize for a critical two years (1936-1938) when the French government's socialist defense minister nationalized its military aircraft industry. Basically, development was slowed to a crawl and production nearly stopped. The fine pilots were flying machines behind the modernization curve - or were flying too few of the fine modern aircraft available. Part of this disadvantage was made up by ordering a LOT of US-built aircraft - a boon to the US aircraft industry - but too few of these aircraft arrived in time to deploy before May 1940. (Many of those that did arrive performed well. Some survived to fly with the Vichy Air Force against US aircraft in November, 1942. Many other build contracts were reassigned to Britain.)

Then there were doctrinal problems about how the Armée de l'Air should be deployed. The army generals that controlled the French high command believed that the Armée de l'Air was too fragile to meet the dreaded Luftwaffe head on, and issued air unit commanders orders to keep their aircraft grounded or non-aggressive. The senior airmen who knew better did not have enough rank to argue back. And in May, 1940, the Germans struck like a thunderbolt...

At any rate, there three ADC sets are available as PDF files:

There is some information of French organization and air ordinance available among the Minor Air Forces information. Armée de l'Air Orders of Battleare available from Nowfel Leulliot.

RAF roundel Aircraft of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and the RAF

Fleet Air Arm

Because I was asked to produce them, here are two aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm built by Blackburn, plus a late war addition: They are available together in one PDF file (77 Kb).

RAF Fighters

Produced for my own edification (but aren't they all), this set of 6 RAF fighter ADCs includes:

 

RAF Bomber Command

In September, 1939, Britain had something the vaunted Luftwaffe did not - a strategic bomber command. Here are some of their toys:

Light and Medium Bombers:

Not every job calls for Heavy bombers. This set of 6 ADCs (139Kb) includes:

Heavy Bombers:

These are the bad boys of Bomber Command. They flew the night war against Germany as the 8th Air Force flew by day - and were vets when the first 8th AF planes landed in England. This set of 6 ADCs (143Kb) includes: Where's the Lancaster? JD published it in Air Power #53.

Ships of the Royal Navy

This section holds sets of SDCs for various projects involving the British Royal Navy.

British Far East Fleet: These are the ships of the British Far East Fleet (94 Kb) in 1941 and early 1942 used for the Force Z and Ceylon campaigns:


Polish checkerboard Polish Lotnictwo Wojskowe

You usually don't hear much about the Polish Air Force during World War II, except that they were obsolete and were knocked out of the skies by the Luftwaffe. All of which is true. But, did you know that the Poles: Unfortunately, what was a good air force in 1936 was obsolete by 1939. The technology changed that quickly. The Polish Air Force's parasol-wing PZL P-11 fighters were no match for hordes of Bf 109s and 110s. Yet, they took to the air - all 120 of them plus thirty-some older P-7s - to face more than 1000 modern Luftwaffe fighters (not to mention bombers and recon aircraft that could mostly outrun them!). And they did surprisingly well, considering...

By the way, for more information, see Robert Postowcz's excellent Polish Aviation History Pages (the September '39 campaign and more). Elevon also has a lengthy article about the PZL P-7/11/24 family. See also the minor nation air forces page entry for Poland.

The Polish aircraft are all in one PDF file (179 Kb), including:


Other Minor European Nation Aircraft

Assorted European European Fighters

Poland was not the only eastern european aircraft manufacturer. Up to its engulfment by Germany, Czechoslovakia had a robust aircraft industry. Yugoslavia tried its hand at indigenous fighter design, and the results were not bad. Rumania took stock of what it learned producing licensed versions of Polish aircraft and advanced after Poland was conquered. I provide the following four fighter ADCs in one PDF file (85Kb):

Finn SwastikaFinn Flown Fighters

Finland flew an interesting assortment of aircraft, including a few not covered elsewhere. This PDF file (88 Kb) contains:

LVA neutality marking Holland's Luchtvaartafadeling

Holland's LVA is another air force that was small, but well-equipped in 1938 - and a bit obsolete in 1940 when the Germans attacked. They also seem to have had some issues with maintenance. They expected their declared neutrality would keep them out of the war and out of need for a larger, more modern air force. The LVA fought hard for about five days before organized resistance ceased. Click for more information about the LVA in 1940.

The (european) Dutch aircraft included this PDF file (106 Kb):

After May, 1940, the Dutch East Indies continued to function with the Allies. It had a separate air force that included a variety of aircraft that went into action in December 1941. They were mostly wiped out by February, 1942. This was not completely due to the quality of the aircraft or pilots - their landing fields were taken!
Dutch roundel The Netherlands East Indies Air Force used:

Belgian roundelBelgian Aircraft

This set of ADCs has the Belgian aircraft available in May 1940 (167 kb) not accounted for elsewhere (Fiat Cr.42, Fairey Battle):

Italian Spears Italian Aircraft by John Carr

I was inspired into creating ADCs by the Italian aircraft designs of John Carr. His aircraft (those not published by JD) are now available for download:

Aussie roundel Australian Aircraft

For the most part, Australian air units (RAAF) flew in British or American aircraft. The British supplied most aircraft until the beginning of 1942, when American supplies began to arrive. The British did send Brewster F2A-2 Buffaloes to Australia (and New Zealand) in 1941. However, early in the Pacific war, as the Japanese ran through the southwest Pacific toward New Guinea and Australia, aircraft were thin on the ground; Australia developed aircraft using what was available. Later, as Australia developed a small aircraft industry, Australia did try its domestic hand at aircraft design. There is some information about the RAAF on the minor air force page.

This PDF file (76 Kb) contains the following ADCs:


red star Soviet Aircraft

Soviet aircraft in the 1930s through the WW2 period followed a design paradigm that valued simplicity of construction and robustness (for simplicity of maintenance) as well as performance. While design bureaus did not have to worry about turning a profit, the aircraft that were more efficient to produce and operate were those selected for use. Still, the Soviets produced some highly successful aircraft.

Soviet Fighters

I became curious about earlier Soviet aircraft after the Yak-9, Il-2, Pe-2, and La5FN appeared in Air Power #35, and more so after research in Finnish and Japanese aircraft and the aerial end of the Spanish Civil War turned up references to these aircraft. So, here we have:

A set of 5 ADCs (132 Kb) from early in the FW period including:

A second set of 5 ADCs (167 Kb) from 1941-43 (with the later Il-10) including:

Soviet Bombers

A set of Soviet medium and heavy bombers to supplement the Il-2 Sturmovik and Pe-2 that appeared in Air Power in one PDF file (300Kb):

Early Soviet Jets

I became curious about these aircraft when I began to run across information about early US jets. They are not as "impressive" as the US jets. This PDF file (92 Kb) contains early Soviet straight-wing jet fighters (pre-TSOH) to match the early US jets. Use them for a 1948 East vs. West campaign: The on-line Russian Air Museum has a lot of information about Soviet aircraft and equipment.

Swedish crowns Swedish Aircraft

Once WW2 began in Europe, and several aircraft deals died by non-delivery, Sweden decided it needed a domestic aircraft industry to supply its air arm to maintain its stance of armed neutrality in the face of mid-twentieth century combat. So, it began to develop one in time to replace its last batches of imported aircraft. This set of 6 ADCs are the first fruit of that industry:


Jets of World War II Vintage (pre-Air Superiority)

Allied Jets This PDF file (93 Kb) includes jets that were almost used during WWII by the both the Allies:
  • Lockheed P-80A Shooting Star- the USAAC's first operational jet fighter 
  • Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star- the more powerful final production version that fought in Korea
  • Ryan FR-1 Firebal1 - combined jet and prop carrier-based US naval fighter 
  • Meteor I - Gloster's 1st mark of the Meteor
  • Vampire I - de Havilland's 1st mark of the Vampire
Other Early US Jets This PDF file (96 Kb) contains other US straight-wing fighters (pre-TSOH) that you may fly if you dare:
  • Bell P-59A Airacomet: Never intended to be flown in combat, this was the US's first jet. Fly it at your own risk.
  • North American FJ-1 Fury: One of two early naval jet developed with an eye toward use against Japan in mid-1946. It was not needed, and was shortly replaced by more capable aircraft. North American built a more robust, slant-wing version called the Sabre.
  • MacDonnell FH-1 Phantom: Ever wonder why the F4 was called the Phantom II? This was the first pure jet to fly from a carrier.
German Jets This PDF file (108Kb) includes Luftwaffe jets not (yet) covered by JD Webster that flew (or almost flew) for Germany: 
  • Arado Ar234B - the world's first operational jet bomber most notably used to attack the Ludendorf Bridge at Remagen in March, 1945.
  • Arado Ar234C-3 - version of the Ar234 with 4 weaker BMW engines (for more overall power) and other improvements.
  • Horten Ho229 - a flying wing jet fighter that was a couple weeks from pre-production when its factory was overrun by Americans in April, 1945. 
  • Heinkel He280 - a rival for production to the Me262, the He280 was about a year ahead in development, was more maneuverable, but was held up waiting for an engine... 
German Dream Machines These aircraft were being developed as the Reich was falling, meaning that prototypes were being constructed (or had been flown) but there were still a few bugs to be worked out. This set of 3 ADCs (153 kb) are presented here as What If aircraft. 

(For instance, what if the Me262 had effectively delayed the 8th Air Force/Bomber Command Offensive and supplied good support on the Eastern and Western fronts sufficient to give the Reich another 6 months of life...)

  • Henschel Hs132 jet dive bomber - a jet version of the Stuka concept that would depend on speed for its defense. The pilot would lie prone to decrease the aircraft's cross section (target area) and to better withstand G forces. 
  • Focke Wulf Ta183 fighter - an advanced jet fighter that was preparing for flight test when its factory was over-fun by the Russians in April 1945. The prototype and its design documents was the basis of the MiG 15.
  • Messerschmitt P.1101 jet fighter - The P.1101 was a designed to research the effects of different wing angles. It's wing could be swung to different angles on the ground before take off. However, since it was also a working high-speed jet, planes were under way to mass-produce it as a jet fighter in multiple configurations. One prototype was taken to the US and was later rebuilt as the Bell X-5 and used for its original purpose. (not yet available) 
Early Soviet Jets This PDF file (92 Kb) contains early Soviet straight-wing jet fighters (pre-TSOH) to match the early US jets. Use them for a 1948 East vs. West campaign:
  • Mikoyan-Guerivich MiG-9: (I-301) The Soviet Union's first large-production jet fighter, an equivalent to the F-80. It was replaced by a slant-wing version in time for Korea called the MiG-15.
  • Mikoyan-Guerivich MiG-13: (I-250) a prop fighter with a jet booster. Originally devloped for a Nov-1945 military parade, the actual production versionwent to the Soviet Navy.
  • Yakovlev Yak-15: a mixing of reverse engineered German jet engines and body of the Yak-3.

Other than the PDF files listed here, click here to request files, leave comments, or complaints.