After World War Two, the new Communist Yugoslavian Air Force Command began a long process of restoring the destroyed aviation industry. The first attempts were made in the late 1940s, when several new and experimental designs were built, including the Ikarus 214. While most of these would remain prototypes or be built in small numbers, they would serve as a base for future developments and the experience gained would be used in the following years.
Writing Contest June 1st, 2021 Introducing Plane Encyclopedia’s $100 article writing competition. Think you have what it takes to contribute to our growing community of historical aircraft content? Try your hand at writing an article on a historical aircraft, using our site’s format. All writers are welcome, including first timers, amateurs, and experienced writers. If … Continue reading News
The XOSE-1 was an observation float plane built by the Edo float company during World War II and was intended to be a possible replacement for the OS2U Kingfisher. Before being built, the type seemed promising and ten prototypes were ordered. Although development was slow, the aircraft would finally fly after the war had ended. Testing showed the design was riddled with flaws and, with the end of the war making the observation floatplane obsolete and unnecessary, the XOSE-1 program was cancelled.
With the development of new designs for the Italian Air Force, the need for a more advanced reconnaissance aircraft became apparent. Italians mostly used older biplanes for this role, which was far from a perfect solution, and thus a new design was needed. For this reason, one Re.2000 would be rebuilt and tested as a reconnaissance aircraft. Despite an initial order for serial production, only a few prototypes were ever built.
The EG (also known as the Yak-M-11-FR-1, Sh or Yak-EG) was a prototype helicopter designed in 1946 by the Yakovlev OKB. The EG was designed with a coaxial rotor configuration and had an ambitious performance estimation. Through manufacturer testing, it was revealed that the EG had very undesirable handling characteristics and excessive vibrations when the helicopter reached around 20 mph (30 km/h). These flaws caused the cancellation of the EG project and the completed prototype was converted to an aerosani in 1955 and donated to a farm in the Kazakh SSR. The Kamov OKB would later go on to develop the coaxial rotor configuration further.
Nazi Germany (1936) Shipborne and coastal reconnaissance aircraft – 98~118 Built In the mid-thirties, the German Ministry of Aviation (Reichsluftfahrtministerium – RLM) tasked the Heinkel company with developing a replacement for the He 60 shipborne and reconnaissance aircraft. While Heinkel fulfilled the request by building the He 114, its overall performance was deemed insufficient for … Continue reading Heinkel He 114
South Africa (1990) Combat Support Helicopter – 12 Built The Rooivalk (Red Kestrel) Combat Support Helicopter (CSH) is considered by many as one of the most advanced weapon systems produced by the South African defense industry. It was designed and developed for the hot, humid, and dusty Southern African battlespace based on the lessons learned … Continue reading Denel Rooivalk
Aviation saw many major developments during the Second World War, but none were so important as centimetric radar, jet engines, and the atomic bomb. In the civilian world, the first two would give rise to easier navigation, and greater range and speed. Passengers and cargo could be delivered faster and safer, and later much more … Continue reading The Jet Age
The Chance Vought F4U Corsair was a naval, carrier-based fighter plane used by primarily by the US Navy and Marines during WWII and the Korean Conflict. Notably it was the last piston engined fighter to be involved in combat. It was also the longest produced piston engined fighter plane.
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