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World War II had some of the most deadly weapons ever, including airplanes, tanks, machine guns, and even missiles. Usage of these weapons accounted for the deaths of nearly 50 million people, most being civilians. The Germans had some of the most technologically advanced weapons, and if used properly, the outcome of the war could have been very different. The Allies also had a strong set of weaponry. Many weapons first saw combat during World War II and other weapons, such as the airplane, was only slightly used in World War I. There were over 500,000 aircraft used during World War II, most belonging to the USAAF and the rest of the Allies. One of the favored Allied plane was Lockheed’s P-38 Lightning, also known as the Fork-Tailed Devil. The P-38 was originally designed to be a fighter aircraft. Instead, it became known as one of, if not the most versatile aircraft in World War II. The P-38 was used by most aces which just goes to show you how favored this aircraft was. The P-38 however became noted for technical problems. Later, the NA-73, better known as the P-51 was created. It first saw action on May 10, 1942. The P-51 had a revolutionary wing design that allowed for greater speed. The P-51 also had a great range of up to 2,600 miles. The first models of the P-51 used an Allison V-1710 engine, which did not have a supercharger causing the engine to run less cleanly and efficiently, resulting in a loss of power. The P-51B used a Rolls-Royce Engine that was equipped with a supercharger. Early in the war, the main aircraft for the BAF was the Spitfire. It was equipped with eight machine guns and was faster, as well as more maneuverable that its initial opponents. Forty different variations of the Spitfire were produced during the war. The German aircraft of the time was the Focke-Wulf 190, better known as the FW-190. The Fw-190 first enter service in 1941 using a B.M.W. engine. The FW-190 was equipped with up to eight 20mm cannons. The FW-190 was a great air-to-air combat fighter due to its great maneuverability and top speed of 408 mph. The Fw-190 became the standard fighter-bomber for the Germans because it was capable of carrying 4000 pounds of bombs. Another noted aircraft used by the Germans was the ME 109. The ME 109 had reasonable speed, but a bad turn radius. The best feature of the ME 109 however was that its engine did not stall under negative g-force. The most technologically advanced aircraft during the war was the ME 262. The ME 262 was the world’s first operational turbojet. The ME 262 was equipped with four 30mm cannons.
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