* Utilized Pratt & Whitney R-2800-18W Double Wasp 18 cylinder two row radial engine of 2100 hp.
* Large engine necessitated the largest prop, 13 ft. 2 in., of any contemporary fighter.
* Large prop necessitated famous gull wing to keep landing gear from being overly long.
* Distinctive engine noise and high kill ratio quickly earned the F4U the nickname 'Whistling Death' from the Japanese.
* Flown by leading Marine Corp ace, with 28 kills, Colonel Gregory 'Pappy' Boyington.
P-51 Mustang
* Built by North American with British Purchasing Commission specifications of requirement of inline engine, eight guns and superior performance to the Curtiss P-40.
* Versatile aircraft was utilized in the Europe, the Far East and the Pacific theatres in fighter, ground attack and bomber escort roles.
* Utilizing drop tanks the Mustang could fly round trip between the United Kingdom and Berlin.
* Famous Army Air Corp pilot Colonel Charles 'Chuck' Yeager shot down five enemy fighters in his Mustang, 'Glamorous Glennis'.
* A modified Mustang flown by Bill 'Tiger' Destefani has recently dominated the Reno Air Races and has been clocked at over 500 mph on the course.
B-17 Flying Fortress
* Built by Boeing in Seattle, Washington; the company that during our peaceful 1990's builds the B-737, B-747, B-757, B-767 and B-777.
* With a gross weight of 55,000 lbs. the bomber was powered by four 1,200 hp Wright R-1820-97 Cyclone nine cylinder radial engines with 11 ft 7 in props.
* Heavily armored with up to thirteen 0.50 inch Browning machine-guns with two each in the forward dorsal, ventral and rear turrets and one each in the nose, beam and rear dorsal positions and up to 12,500 lbs. bombs.
* Despite heavy armament fighter escorts during daylight bombing raids were necessary to prevent heavy losses.
* B-17 Flying Fortress was the aircraft in the movie 'The Memphis Belle'.
B-25 Mitchell
* Built by North American utilizing specifications by the US Army for a twin engine, medium range bomber.
* With a gross weight of 33,500 lbs. the bomber was powered by two 1,850 hp Wright R-2600-29 Cyclone fourteen cylinder radial engines with 12 ft 6 in props.
* Utilized by the United States, Britain and other allie forces and surprisingly, Russia.
* Armament included up to thirteen Colt-Browning machine guns and 4,000 lbs. of bombs.
* In the famous 'Doolittle Raid' sixteen B-25 Mitchell bombers launched off the carrier USS Hornet to become the first aircraft to strike the Japanese mainland thus boosting American morale by proving the Japanese were reachable and not invincible.
