List of aircraft of World War II

The List of aircraft of World War II includes all the aircraft used by those countries which were at war during World War II from the period between their joining the conflict and the conflict ending for them. Aircraft developed but not used operationally in the war are in the prototypes section at the end. Prototypes for aircraft that entered service under a different design number are ignored in favour of the service version. The date the aircraft entered service, or was first flown if the service date is unknown or it did not enter service follows the name, followed by the country of origin and major wartime users. Aircraft used for multiple roles are generally only listed under their primary role unless specialized versions were built for other roles. Aircraft used by neutral countries such as Spain, Switzerland and Sweden or countries which did no significant fighting such as most of those in South America (except Brazil), are not included.

Strategic and photo-reconnaissance aircraft were frequently specially modified variants of high performance aircraft, usually fighters or bombers.

Many aircraft in this category were pressed into service and some served in very small numbers. The country of origin (listed first) may not itself have used it in a military capacity, and the date represents its original entry into service, not when it was first used by a military organization.

Primary trainers are used for basic flight training. Advanced trainers were used for familiarization with the more complex systems and higher speeds of combat aircraft, and for air combat or aerobatic training. Multi-engined trainers were used to ready pilots for flying multi-engine bombers and transports, and to train navigators, bombardiers, gunners and flight engineers. Most nations used obsolete combat types for advanced training, although large scale training programs such as the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) required more aircraft than were available and aircraft were designed and built specifically to fulfill training roles. Intermediate trainers were used in several countries to reduce the attrition associated with the step up to advanced trainers but additional hours at the primary stage reduced the requirement.

Prototypes were aircraft that were intended to enter service but did not, either due to changing requirements, failing to meet requirements, other problems, or the end of the war. If the aircraft was deployed to regular squadrons or used in an operational capacity other than evaluation, it should be listed above under its appropriate type. Napkinwaffe - paper projects and aircraft that first flew after the war are not included.

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