The Heinkel 100
THE HE 100 came into this world when it was evident that Ernst Heinkel's HE 112 fighter was not to be accepted by the Luftwaffe even though it had certain advantages over the ME 109. Willie Messerschmitt had very good connections with the Nazi Party since 1933, and Heinkel had no one except Ernst Udet who had championed the Heinkel fighter to no avail. I think Heinkel got a little ticked off when he was informed that the Luftwaffe had decided he was to build only bombers and Messerschmitt was to build the fighters. So he sat down with Siegfried Gunther and designed a ship that not only would capture the world speed record but would out-do the ME 109 on all counts. The design was to be simple and easy to mass-produce, so when it was ready to be built it had only 969 parts, opposed to the previous 2,885 parts the 112 had.
Dehavilland Mosquito
Nicknamed the termite's dream and the wooden wonder because of its plywood construction, the Mossie came into being during the dark days of 1939 and 1940. England was at war with Germany and needed a fast high-altitude bomber and reconnaissance aircraft capable of deep penetration. It was designed to be so fast that it wouldn't have to be armed. When it finally entered service, it was faster than any fighter either side could put up. It had a speed of 382 mph loaded. Still, it's a good thing that the designers had a little forethought to leave room under the flooring for four 20mm cannons. There were 7,781 Mossies built in England, Canada, and Australiain some 41 different models. It had a wingspan of 54 ft. and 2 in., weighed 19,670 lbs., and was powered with two 1,460-hp Rolls Royce Merlin engines. The construction included balsa which was sandwiched between plywood sheeting.
