World War Two Gallery

Interrogation of Aircrews; W.A.A.F. Help In This Work, c1943. Creator: Cecil Beaton

Interrogation of Aircrews; W.A.A.F. Help In This Work, c1943. The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs, was the female auxiliary of the British Royal Air Force during World War II. Its members did not serve as aircrew, but although they did not participate in active combat, they were exposed to the same dangers as any on the home front working at military installations. Among their duties were: crewing of barrage balloons, catering, meteorology, radar, aircraft maintenance, transport, communications duties including wireless telephonic and telegraphic operation. At its peak strength, in 1943, the number of WAAFs (members of the force) exceeded 180,000, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week. From "Wings On Her Shoulders", by Katharine Bentley Beauman, Late Fight Officer W.A.A.F. [Hutchinson & Co Ltd, London, New York, Melbourne, c1943]

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Junkers Jumo 207 D-V2 In-line 6 Diesel Engine, ca. World War II. Creator: Junkers

Dr. Hugo Junkers started development of his Diesel aircraft engines in a small factory at Dessau, Germany in 1911. His early engines functioned on the two-stroke cycle principle with piston-controlled parts, as did his later Junkers Jumo Diesels. Among the advantages of later, refined Diesel aircraft engines were lower specific fuel consumption (for long-range applications), lower exhaust gas temperature (for exhaust-driven supercharger installations), and reduced fire hazard as compared to conventional reciprocating aircraft engines. The Jumo 207 was a Jumo 205 with a turbo-supercharger. A Diesel operating on a two-stroke cycle, it incorporated six cylinders and 12 opposed pistons (i.e. 2 per cylinder) in an in-line, liquid-cooled configuration. The Jumo 207 could maintain its sea-level rated power to approximately 7,900 m (26,000 ft.). The Jumo 207 A and B powered the Junkers Ju 86 P and R reconnaissance/bomber aircraft that had an absolute ceiling of approximately 15,000 m (49,000 ft.)

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Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1a Schwalbe (Swallow), 1940s. Creator: Messerschmitt A.G

Twin engine, single seat, low wing, jet fighter. Nicknamed Schwalbe (Swallow), the Messerschmitt Me 262 surpassed the performance of every other World War II fighter. Faster than the North American P-51 Mustang by 190 kilometers (120 miles) per hour, the Schwalbe restored to the faltering German Luftwaffe a short-lived qualitative superiority that it had enjoyed earlier in the war. The Me 262 appeared in only relatively small numbers in the closing year of World War II. Messerschmitt factories produced 1,443 Me 262s, but only about 300 saw combat. The others were destroyed in training accidents or by Allied bombing attacks. The almost absolute Allied dominance of the air, and the development of fighter sweep tactics that offset the Me 262's performance advantage, ensured that the revolutionary fighter did not affect Allied air operations. Only nine Me 262s survive in museums around the world. This one served with the famous Jagdgeschwader (Fighter Wing) 7. According to the tally on the fuselage, the Schwalbe's pilot, Heinz Arnold, scored 42 victories over Soviet piston-engine fighters and 7 over American bombers and fighters

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