Special Sub-Topic: Biplanes of World War II Click Here To Play: Biplanes of World War II

Which of these biplane aircraft was used by the RAF well into 1942?

Gloster Gladiator. The Gloster Gamecock was a 1920's fighter that had been phased out of service by the beginning of the war. The Breuget BR.19 was a French developed fighter/recon aircraft that served extensively in the Spanish Civil War. The Fokker D.VII was a World War I fighter. The Gladiator was used extensively as the premier carrier fighter in the Royal Navy up until the arrival of the Fairey Barracuda.

This biplane was the last in frontline service in the Italian Air Force as well as a ground attack machine in the Luftwaffe.

Fiat Cr. 42 Falco. The Fiat CR. 42 was quite possibly the last frontline biplane fighter in history. The aircraft was incredibly maneuverable and possessed a reasonable top speed but with only two .50 caliber machineguns it was woefully underarmed.

The HS-123 biplane attack aircraft served in frontline attack squadrons until 1944, why did it go out of service with the Luftaffe?

The Luftwaffe ran out of them. The HS-123 was like a biplane Stuka. It was reliable, could carry a useful load, and above all it could absorb a huge amount of punishment. The plane proved its worth in the Spanish Civil War.

The Finns operated lots of captured Soviet aircraft including 22 biplanes taken from the Russians. These were very advanced for their time and were made by Polikarpov. What was their designation in the Red Air Force?

I-153. The I-153 was actually better fighter than the revolutionary I-16 monoplane since it had a faster top speed and the manueverability of a biplane. However, its very stout fuselage made handling a little difficult for inexperienced pilots (of which the Red Air Force had many).

What was the immediate successor to the famous Fairey Swordfish?

Fairey Albacore. Oddly enough, the Fairey Albacore was considered to be worse than the Swordfish it was designed to replace. In acutality, it was faster, could carry more, was better armed, and had an enclosed cockpit. In my belief the Swordfish was thought a better airplane because it never encountered fighter opposition. When it did in during the German Channel Dash of 1943 the Swordfish crews suffered 100% casualties losing all 12 aircraft to German pilots who said the only problems they had shooting them down was that their 109's and 190's could barely fly slowly enough!