With the courage and skill of fighter aces like Johnnie Johnson, Sailor Malan, and Bobby Tuck, the Supermarine Spitfire helped change the course of the war in favor of the Allies and struck terror into the hearts of the Axis enemies.
The Hawker Hurricane swooped to dispatch over two-thirds of all enemy aircraft destroyed in the Battle of Britain. The Hurricane was outnumbered but never outclassed, designed to hit the enemy hard and absorb tremendous punishment.
At the onset of World War Two, the Luftwaffe possessed more than 3,500 front-line aircraft, over one-third of which were single engine fighters. For the next six years the Messerschmitt Bf 109 became the flagship of the German Air Force.
No combat aircraft ever achieved perfection, but at the time of its debut, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 probably came as close to this elusive goal as any other fighter. This aircraft was undoubtedly the finest warplane ever produced by Germany.