The Nakajima B5N prototype, designated B5N1 (in Allied reported name: Kate), was flown in January 1937. The first serial aircraft carried the designation Model 98 Model 11. The machines were tested in combat in China. In December 1939, another serial version entered the production marked as B5N2 Model 12. The aircraft was equipped with a Nakajima Sakae engine with a smaller frontal diameter and increased power. This improved plane’s performance. Initially, a hydraulic wing tip folding mechanism was used, but after a short time it was replaced with a manual one, which was more reliable.

The North American P-51 Mustang powered by the British-designed Rolls-Royce Merlin/Packard engine was, quite simply, the best long-range escort fighter of the World War Two era. Entering service in November 1943, it curtailed prohibitive losses suffered by the heavy bombers of the US Eighth Army Air Force which carried out the strategic daylight bombing campaign against the Third Reich.

First prototypes of German tank destroyer Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III) were built in 1937 and based on PzKpfw III Ausf. B tank. Vehicles were armed with short-barelled 75mm gun. From spring, 1942, StuG IIIs were equipped with StuK 40 75mm gun. Self propelled guns StuG III served in separated assault artillery units, and later in self propelled guns brigades. They were also used in support units of armoured divisions.

"Singing frigates", "Greyhounds of the Oceans" – each of this names contains a little bit of truth about large anti-submarine warfare ships Project 61. Since their emergence until now they are very popular with both: maritime specialists and shiplovers. It could not be otherwise, because they are exceptionally good looking vessels. They were first Soviet units of the new generation, projected and built separate from foregoing schemes. Their uniqueness was not only based on beautiful architecture, but also on some other assets. First of all they were first ships in the world propelled only by the power of gas turbines.Landmark project

The IN COMBAT series is aimed for those who would like to quickly learn about fascinating history of specific vehicle, plane or ship. Every tome consist of most important information about history, versions and service of one combat machine. Book has tens of pages in A4 format and consists of dozens of interesting photos, colour illustrations, technical drawings and maps. In every tome there is a free gift in form of masks or decals for modellers. Minimonographs IN COMBAT are the answer to many requests from our readers who asked us to make such series. Yakovlev Yak-3 is considered one of the best World War 2 fighters, invariably praised by those who flew it in combat for its remarkable performance. The Germans also treated it with respect, which is perhaps best illustrated by Generalleutnant Walter Schwabedissen’s remark: The Yak-3 was a tough nut to crack for our pilots. It outperformed our machines in speed, maneuverability and rate of climb.

Hitler’s drive to modernize his armed forces gained a new momentum with the arrival on stage of Col. Heinz Guderian – the future spiritus movens of German armored warfare doctrine. Behind the scenes German design teams were busy working on prototypes of vehicles that would soon become the tools of the future war – light Pz. Kpfw. I and II, heavy (in keeping with contemporary classification) Pz.Kpfw. IV and medium Pz.Kpfw. III armed with a 37 mm gun. In the early stages of fighting in France it became clear that the vehicle didn’t carry enough punch and in later marks of the tank the 37 mm main gun was superseded by a 50 mm weapon. The ultimate version of the Pz.Kpfw. III was armed with a short barrel 75 mm gun, the largest that the tank’s turret could accommodate.

The PzKpfw III (Panzerkampfwagen III) is a German medium tank designed by Daimler-Benz AG. The first tests of the vehicle took place in 1936. The construction of the PzKpfw III consisted of four main modules: the turret, the front of the hull, the rear of the hull with the engine compartment cover and the lower hull. The first version of PzKpfw III – Ausf. A – was produced in May 1937. Soon after, the Ausf. B and C versions also entered production. Ausf. D version was introduced in January 1938. Early PzKpfw III models were prototype vehicles and were not suitable for mass production on a large scale. They were powered by Maybach HL 108 TR petrol engines with 250 HP. They were armed with 37mm guns and three MG-34 machine guns (two in the turret and one in the hull).

This early production T-34/76 with F-34 gun was repainted Dunkelgrau RAL 7021 and used by Waffen-SS. An additional storage box was fitted to the left side of the hull. T-34/76 with L-11 gun captured and used by Wehrmacht. It remained in its original camouflage scheme of overall 4BO dark green.A STZ-built T-34/76 model 1941 with F-34 gun coded 4 of 21st Independent Tank Brigade, autumn 1941. It received a standard finish in 4BO dark green. A STZ-built T-34/76 model 1941 with F-34 gun. The tank was painted in 4BO dark green and sported a white propaganda inscription “Beat the fascists” on both sides of the turret.

Gloster Gladiator is a British fighter constructed at the Gloster Aircraft Company. The prototype was created in 1934. It was powered by a 645 HP Bristol Mercury VIS engine. Gloster Gladiator Mk I had a 8382 mm long fuselage, which consisted of four numbered sections. The first of these included the engine bed. The second front fuselage, the third – the rear fuselage, and the fourth – tail. The arrangement of instrumentation and equipment inside the truss was marked with letters or numbered from one to eight fuselage partitions corresponding to the distances between the frames. Clearly straight main panels with a span of 9845 mm were built around two Hawker steel girders. The upper and lower supports of the girders were made of rolled octagonal elements, and the wavy lining provided strong points for attaching four aerodynamically profiled transverse struts. Such wing structure was finished with light alloy ribs, stringers and steel and duralumin spreader bars.

Fairey Swordfish was a British biplane torpedo-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft designed to operate from aircraft carriers or as a reconnaissance seaplane operating from catapult launchers. The prototype was built in 1933 at the Fairey Aviation Co. Ltd. The aircraft had its first flight in 1933, too. It had an open cabin for a three-man crew and a fixed landing gear. It was powered by a Bristol Pegasus II M (640 hp) star engine. In 1934, Fairey Aviation released a second prototype that was equipped with a 690 hp Bristol Pegasus III M3 engine. The new type could also use floats. Series production began in 1935. Fairey Swordfish Mk. I was produced in both: bomber-torpedo-reconnaissance version with a wheeled landing gear and as a floatplane. The machine had a classic tail with a horizontal stabilizer. It also had folding wings. Truss structure fuselage was used, with front covered with metal sheets. In the middle there were three uncovered tandem crew cabins. Undercarriage had a tail wheel and arresting hook under the fuselage. The aircraft was equipped with a inflatable dinghy.

The birth of the Ninth Squadron (Novena Escuadrilla) of the Spanish Navy Fleet Air Arm (Flotilla de Aeronaves in short FLOAN) took place in 1987 with the receipt of the first three AV-8B aircraft from McDonnell Douglas factory in St. Louis on October 6 of that year. Deliveries continued for a total of 12 AV-8B Harrier IIs (numbered 01- 901 to 01-912) commonly known as “Day Attack” to differentiate them from later models Night Attack and AV-8B+ or “Radar” Aircraft. On January 29, 1996 the first AV-8B Plus 01-914 joined the squadron. Then continued deliveries up to 01-921, which makes a total of eight AV-8B+ that greatly enhanced the operational capabilities of the squadron. On 1 October 2000 the unit received TAV-8B 01-922, which is the only two-seater with the squadron and together with the simulator allows it to be totally autonomous in the adaptation to training new pilots just graduated from the U.S Naval Aviator pipeline. On July 30, 2003 were received from the now Boeing factory in Saint Louis the first two AV-8B to be remanufactured as AV-8B+ numbered 01-923 and 01-924. On 21 November the same year the last three planes in the remanufacturing programme, 01-925, 01-926 and 01-927 were ferried to Rota Naval Sation flown by Novena Escuadrilla pilots.

- Pz.Kpfw. 38H (f) (Hotchkiss H35 mod. 39) “Paderborn” – France, Summer 1940.- Bren 731 (e) (Scout Carrier) – 5. Flughafen-Betriebs-Kompanie, Luftwaffe II./KG55 airfield, Chartres, France 1940/41.

Despite the favored acquisitions abroad by the VVKJ conservatives, in the early 1932 an idea to develop a modern combat airplane was initiated by two young Serbian engineers, Ljubomir D. Ilić and Kosta I. Sivčev, who were at the time employed at the Air Force Command Technical Department. They worked in secret after hours at Ilić’s apartment and designed the first entirely Yugoslav made fighter airplane, the IK-L1, which first took off on 22 April 1935. The second prototype, IK-02, construction began ten months later and the airplane took off for the first time on 24 August 1936. The first 12 series airplanes construction followed in 1937 with the last airplane entering service in February 1939. At the time of the German attack, on 6 April 1941, VVKJ could rely on eight IK-2s, which served with distinction during the short and bloody April war.

In 1916, the command of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) urgently needed a fighter that could successfully oppose the new German fighter planes: Albatros D.III and Fokker D.VII. The Royal Aircraft Factory in Farnborough was ordered to design and build a fighter that would match the armament, performance and engine power of its adversaries. An important requirement was also the ease of piloting, so that new pilots could gain combat value as soon as possible. The order was dealt with by a construction team headed by two constructors: H.P. Folland and J. Kenworthy. In the summer of 1916, a prototype of a new biplane was ready. The plane had a truss construction with a rectangular fuselage (with a rounded top). It was powered by a 150 HP Hispano-Suiza HS-8 in-line 8-cylinder engine. The wings had a rectangular shape, and their chamber was stiffened with double steel wires, four struts and additional strands. Ailerons were mounted on each wing. The engine had metal cowling, while the rest of the airframe was covered with canvas. The aircraft was designated S.E.5 (Scout Experimental). The prototype took off in November 1916.

The battleship "Nagato" was the first dreadnought equipped with a main artillery with a caliber exceeding 400 mm. It was armed with eight 406 mm (16 in) guns. The keel of "Nagato" was laid in 1917 in the naval shipyard in Kure. The ship was launched in 1919 and incorporated into service on November 15, 1920. The sister unit was “Mutsu”. Before the war, "Nagato" underwent many modifications and repairs increasing combat value of the ship. With the outbreak of World War II, "Nagato" became the flagship of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. The attack on Pearl Harbor was ordered from battleship’s deck.

The "Smelyi" type destroyer, Project 30 bis (Skoryi class, according to NATO classification), was the first destroyer designed and built after World War two with new shipbuilding technologies available in the USSR. World War Two demonstrated that all early-built Soviet destroyers had serious flaws. Poor seaworthiness, hull fragility, lack of displacement reserves for modernization. The technical design and working drawings of the new EM were developed under the leadership of the main designer A.L. Fisher. On 28 January 1947, by order of the Council of Ministers of the USSR N3 149-75 "On the construction of destroyers of the 30K and 30 bis Projects", the technical design developed in TsKB-53 was approved. The construction of ships of this series was to take place at four shipyards: No. 190 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), No. 200 in Mikolayov, No. 199 in Komsomolsk-on-Amur and No. 402 in Molotov (now the town of Severodvinsk).