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Ohka (Cherry Blossom) Suicide Plane
As American forces advanced nearer and nearer the Japanese mainland, the Imperial Japanese armed forces became increasingly desperate to prevent Japan’s defeat. The Ohka was developed in a last-ditch effort to destroy the American fleet. -
Period: to
Weapons
WWI Weapons -
US, British and Russian bombers
In October 1938 a re-armament programme was initiated. which provided for a large expansion of the Royal Air Force, so that it could not only continue to defend Great Britain, but also carry offensive operations into Germany should the need arise. Strategic bombing of citys was only authorised on 15 May 1940. -
British, US, Russian and French Tanks
The British and French tanks were are among some of the least successful of the WW2 period. Some of them (such as the British Valentine, Matilda and Churchill) were eventually turned into good fighting machines, but - working in a rush and without a proper development base from which to work up their designs - many British tank designers produced tanks that were no match for their counterparts in the German Panzer units. -
itish, US, Russian and French WW2 Artillery
Field artillery underwent a considerable change in the 1919-39 period, as a result of experience gained in 1914-1918. Prior to 1914, the ruling factor in field gun design was the pulling power of a six-horse team. If the finest gun in the world was too heavy for six horses to move, it would not be adopted. -
US and British ships
During the 1920s and 1930s naval construction was limited by a series of international treaties restricting the number, size and armament of new warships. These were abandoned as WW2 loomed, and by 1940 new construction programmes were under way, with different results for different navies. -
US, British and Russian Warplanes
During the inter-war years the British Government tried to maintain an Air Force with a merely defensive capacity of fighter planes. On 10 May 1940, 416 of Britain's total number of 1,873 first-line aircraft were stationed in France, but on 20 May it was decided to bring them back to England. -
Submarines
The x-class was a series of submarines built by the Royal Navy during the Second World War. These tiny submarines only displaced 30 tonnes of water when submerged, were 15.55 metres (51ft) long, and carried a crew of 4 (commander, navigator, engineer and diver). -
Anti-tank dogs
Deployed by the Soviet Union during the Second World War, they were originally deployed in an attempt to halt the German advance during 1941. The dogs were kept hungry, and food was placed under tanks in order to teach them to look under vehicles for food. -
Project Habakkuk
Project Habbakuk was the name of an ingenious project thought up by Geoffrey Pyke. He envisaged that by taking a large iceberg of ice floe, levelling off the top, and hollowing out the inside, it could be used as a landing platform for aircraft. -
Bachem BA349 Natter Fighter
Designed near the end of the war, this strange-looking interceptor required no run-way for take-off. Instead, the aircraft was launched up a vertical 8 meter (25ft) rail attached to a small tower.
