The tumult and competition of World War II ignited innovation in military technology at an unprecedented pace. The development of new technologies and doctrines spurred innovation as the combatants battled for technical supremacy on and off the battlefield. The field of aviation was one of the most significantly affected by these developments, with aviation taking a massive leap from cloth-winged biplanes and lumbering heavy bombers at war’s beginning to sleek metal-clad jet-powered aircraft by war’s end. This exceptional progress in aviation technologies created some unique and unconventional designs for WWII aircraft.
1. The K-Class Blimp
Interestingly, one of the most unique aircraft of World War II was not an airplane, but instead an airship. The K-class blimps of the US Navy were integral to the Navy’s Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) operations and proved to be some of the most successful instruments for deterring and countering the German U-boat fleet. Despite their unglamorous and vulnerable appearance, these ships of the sky were proven combat machines that escorted untold tons of resources and personnel across the Atlantic. The K-class featured an extensive avionics and intelligence suite that allowed them to be the eyes and ears of the convoys and to direct strikes against detected U-boats.
While they were armed with depth bombs and a Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun for taking on U-boats, their primary purpose was to direct aircraft and vessels to destroy enemy submarines. In this role, they provided exceptional support due to their long endurance, and most significantly, their ability to move at the pace of the convoy and maintain the slow speeds needed for adequate reconnaissance. The ability to hover slightly ahead of the convoy using sensors and visual checks to detect U-boats meant that they could spot the enemy well before any other ship or fast-moving aircraft could. The airships were extremely effective and proved to be a thorn in the side of Axis U-boat commanders, as they could no longer easily carry out hit and run torpedo attacks once a convoy was being escorted by airships.
The K-class blimps proved to be incredibly successful and valuable in the fight against U-boats. They were so effective that once implemented in the convoys, out of the 89,000 ships protected throughout the war, only one vessel escorted by the airships was ever sunk. The tanker SS Persephone was off the coast of New Jersey when it fell victim to a torpedo from U-593 that impacted her starboard side, breaking her in half. While nine crew members were killed, 28 survivors were rescued by the Coast Guard with the help of a K-class blimp. The U-boat was detected and damaged during its escape.
With this illustrious track record, the K-class blimps appear as one of the most successful aircraft of WWII, having contributed significantly to the Allied war effort and their ultimate victory. Despite lacking the glamor and glitz of the high-performance fighters and bombers, the K-class suffered only one loss throughout the war when K-74 engaged U-134 on a patrol off the Florida coast. The airship crew spotted U-134 and commenced an attack on the U-boat with depth charges, which apparently damaged the boat, but the boat was still in action and the crew returned fire with their anti-aircraft guns. Despite the return fire, K-74 pressed the attack, firing their .50 caliber machine gun at the U-boat. In the exchange, the airship was badly damaged and was ultimately shot down.
The entire crew survived the crash and awaited rescue, but Aviation Machinist’s Mate Second Class Isadore Stessel was attacked by a shark and died minutes before the rescue forces from USS Dahlgren (DD-187) arrived on the scene. U-134 survived the attack but was sunk five weeks later by the British frigate HMS Rother (K-224) in the Bay of Biscay while on its way home for repairs. The impressive combat record of the K-class blimps speaks for itself, and it has earned its spot on this list and in the annals of history.
2. The Dornier-335 “Pfeil”
The Do-335 Pfeil or “Arrow” was a heavy fighter developed by the Germans during WWII. The aircraft was intended to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast and heavy fighter that could carry out various missions, from interception of enemy bombers, to groundstrike and air interdiction. The primary advantage that the 335 possessed over other designs was its incredible speed.
The design of the Pfeil was unique because it was one of the few aircraft to implement a push/pull propeller configuration. This meant that the aircraft had a propeller at the front like a traditional plane that would pull it through the sky, but it also had a propeller at the rear of the aircraft that would push the plane from behind. This doubled the efficiency of the aircraft while avoiding the additional aerodynamic drag associated with a traditional twin-engine aircraft, where both engines were at the front of the plane. This meant that the fuselage could be streamlined for speed, thus giving the plane its nickname “arrow.” The 335 also featured other innovations such as an ejection seat for the pilot as well as the use of a tricycle landing gear.
The Do-335 was introduced later in the war as the Germans were suffering losses in materiel and men, which had greatly limited the production capability of the embattled war industry, especially with the Allied force’s continued day and night bombing campaign. This meant that the 335 was fielded in limited numbers, with approximately 48 being completed by the end of the war with another 9 still in production. The plane lived up to its promise of high-speed attack capability, becoming the fastest piston-engined aircraft the Luftwaffe fielded during the entire war, reportedly reaching speeds of up to 474 mph in level flight.
The aircraft was armed accordingly for its strike-fighter mission set, with one 30mm cannon and two 15mm machine guns that were dual purpose for taking out enemy aircraft, in particular bombers, as well as ground targets in strafing attacks. The 335 also had an internal bomb bay that could store up to 500kg (1,100lbs) of bombs. Other variants of the aircraft were designed to carry different armament depending on mission requirements. The internal bay served as an additional means to reduce aerodynamic drag by keeping the bombs away from the exterior skin of the aircraft, thus maintaining its streamlined shape.
The late arrival of the Do-335 meant that it saw very little combat prior to the end of the war. The innovative design with its high speed, streamlined body, ejection seat, and tricycle landing gear provided aircraft designers with material further development after the war. Despite its lacking much wartime combat, the Do-335 remains one of the most unique and interesting aircraft designs of WWII.
3. The Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was a jet fighter that was developed to house one of the first turbojet engines produced by inventor and RAF officer Frank Whittle. The revolutionary turbojet represented a change in how aircraft could be powered in the future. While the Gloster Meteor was the first Allied jet aircraft to see action in WWII, the German defense industry was also creating similar engines independently and was the first to successfully field them in a series of aircraft such as the Me-262 fighter and Arado Ar-234 light bombers.
While a different approach to jet propulsion meant that the Me-262 surpassed the Gloster Meteor in its overall top speed, the British jet was still capable of high speeds and was only in the infancy of its development as an aircraft.
The Meteor was designed primarily as a fighter, but it could be employed in a limited strike role with bombs and rockets. The Meteor was armed with four Hispano 20mm cannons and could mount RP-3 rockets and up to 2,000 pounds of bombs. The Meteor’s primary role during the war was to counter the threat of the V1 flying bombs that were fired at London from German bases in Europe. The jets proved useful in this mission and were able to intercept and destroy many of these cruise missiles as they made their way towards the British capital. During the final months of the war, the Meteor served as an air defense platform over mainland Europe, although by this point the Nazi Luftwaffe had been completely decimated by the Allies.
While the Meteor’s service during WWII was short, it became one of the most successful first-generation jet aircraft and saw combat in many other conflicts including the Korean War, where it proved to be a reliable and stalwart example of early jet airpower. The Meteor had numerous variants and served with many air forces around the world, thereby solidifying its reputation as a combat-proven aircraft.
4. The Me-163 Komet
The Me-163 Komet is arguably one of the most intriguing and unique aircraft designs of WWII. This aircraft was powered not by a propeller, or a jet engine, but instead by a rocket engine. The Komet was the only operational combat aircraft in history to use this means of propulsion and is considered a feat of aeronautical engineering by pilots. The Komet was employed as a last-ditch attempt to hinder Allied bombing raids over Nazi Germany, but arrived much too late and in too few numbers to be of any real detriment to the Allied war effort. In addition to its small numbers, the aircraft also suffered from numerous technical faults that often resulted in the fiery death of its pilots, as its rocket motor was extremely unreliable and packed with fuel.
This compact aircraft was armed with two MK 108 30mm cannons that fired highly destructive rounds that could take down large targets such as heavy bombers with only a few shots. However, despite the raw power of the projectiles, the cannons suffered from an extremely slow rate of fire. This, in addition to the fast speed of the aircraft itself, meant that it was difficult for Luftwaffe pilots to hit the target while carrying out their attacks. Therefore, the initial missions of the Komets resulted in little real damage to Allied aircraft over Europe.
In total, the Komets accounted for only nine aircraft kills against Allied bombers. The short effective range and limited fuel of the aircraft also meant that once a pilot completed their attacking passes, there was little time to escape before running out of fuel and being forced to slowly glide away from the Allied fighter screens. This technical shortcoming meant that Allied forces would destroy 14 of these rare aircraft, which were already in extremely limited supply.
The Me-163 suffered from many technical issues that plagued the aircraft during its short operational life. The aircraft lacked landing gear and was instead launched from a trolley which would separate after the plane was in the air. It would then land on a centerline skid, which made landings a dangerous activity. The special rocket fuel mix that powered the aircraft was extremely volatile and could ignite and explode without warning, often killing or severely burning the pilot. Furthermore, the primarily wood construction of the aircraft contributed to the fire hazard.
Despite these drawbacks, the aircraft was extremely fast and was capable of reaching higher altitudes much quicker than any prop-driven aircraft. Like many of the Third Reich’s late war “wunderwaffe” (wonder weapons), the Komet represented the pushing of the boundaries of aviation technology. Although it was severely limited in its actual effectiveness, it was a technological marvel that exemplified the massive progress in aviation technology during WWII, and served as a foundation for the future of rocket aircraft development in the postwar era.
5. The Ryan FR Fireball
The Ryan FR-1 Fireball was one of the first aircraft that adapted jet engines for naval use. It was a plane that utilized a mixed propulsion system that was revolutionary for its time and is one of the only such aircraft to ever enter operational status. The plane was even more unique because it operated from aircraft carriers and proved that it was viable to use jets on carriers. The Fireball was powered by two systems, a conventional piston engine with a propeller in the front, and a turbojet in the rear.
The combination of these two propulsion systems gave the Fireball power and redundancy. It was also the first Navy aircraft that employed a jet engine. The Fireball was designed to serve as a fighter aircraft that could take the war to Japan. Its armament consisted of four .50 cal machine guns, rockets, and up to 2,000lbs of bombs.
The platform for the Fireball bore a close resemblance to other piston-powered naval aircraft of the time, but the tail section of the plane held the additional jet engine that was almost invisible to the average observer.
While the Fireball did enter operational service, it never saw combat. Pilots of the only Fireball squadron, VF-66, had just completed qualifications in landing the aircraft on carriers and were gearing up to ship to the Pacific when Japan surrendered in September 1945. Despite the lack of combat service, the Fireball still ranks among the most unique aircraft of WWII.
The Fireball did not bode well after the war. The aircraft, while unique, was soon superseded by pure jet fighters that were much more powerful and better suited for the jet age. The aircraft continued postwar operations aboard carriers including the escort carrier USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) until 1947, when the type was retired from service to make way for more advanced fighters, primarily the purely jet-powered FH phantom.
WWII produced some of the most unique and interesting designs in aviation history. Some of these designs sometimes were successful while others were simply not operationally viable at the time. We should appreciate and acknowledge these aircraft that paved the way for the development of modern aviation technology.
