Rhubarb: was the designation given to operations against ground targets during low level fighter and fighter bomber sweeps against Luftwaffe installations and aircraft on the ground as well as other targets of opportunity

The German Luftwaffe during WWII employed a special weighted scoring system for its pilots. Depending on the target attacked, the German pilots received a certain score for a successful action, also depending on the front they were fighting on. It proved to be an efficient tool for the High Command to set focus on specific targets, as success, decoration and promotion heavily depended on the aquired score.

Much has been written about Operation Market Garden, normally following the exploits of the paratroopers, or trying to pin blame on why it failed. However as well as the air operations there was also a sizeable ground force, led by the Guards Armoured Division

The USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on 18th of September, 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. One must surely then think - “Why does a force so important as this only receive recognition after the Second World War, where it proved it’s worth?”. The answer is fairly simple

Many post war commentators wrongly accuse and the inactivity of France and the United Kingdom during the invasion of Poland by German forces. But few people know that there was actually an offensive made by France in Germany which aimed to stop or slow down the Blitzkrieg over Polish territory

On September 12th 1934, Gloster’s new design, designated the SS.37, first took to the skies under the control of test pilot PEG SayerZZ

Before the beginning of WW2, Australian Tony Gaze had a serious interest in motorsport. The outbreak of war prevented him from pursuing his dream. Instead of driving fast cars, Gaze joined the RAF

On September 4rd, Göring Hitler announced a promise to annihilate English cities, the first major mission intending to do so starting September 7th in what he called "Operation Loge”. This mission is commonly known as “The Blitz"

Pyotr Nesterov is one of those extraordinary historical personalities who is more often than not a footnote, but the story of Nesterov is one of a truly brilliant and inspiring individual

The 1930s and 1940s saw the creation of many weird and wonderful aircraft designs that under normal circumstances, may never have seen the light of day. The idea of vertical flight and rotary wings was not new by this time, however it had not been successfully operated by any air force.

Whilst on paper, the 11th of November 1918 brought peace to Europe by formally declaring an end to ‘The Great War’, the greatest conflict in the history of mankind was yet to come, with aggression still smouldering over the horizon.

Saburo Sakai was born August 26th 1916 in the farming village of Nishiyoka in the Saga prefecture on Kyushu island, Japan. With 64 downed Allied aircraft, Sakai was a capable fighter ace that never lost a wingman in over 200 missions.

The weather worked for Great Britain by hampering the Luftwaffe from effective raids, but on the 24th their natural ally dissipated.  While the RAF kept pace with demands earlier, the greatly increased demands were more than they could handle...

All aircraft need regular maintenance; the practices in place in the modern day military aviation environment have many striking similarities to the procedures already implemented by the time of the Second World War. Even if undamaged by the enemy, aircraft parts are ‘life-exed’: depending on the aircraft and the individual parts, certain components will be replaced after flying a certain number of hours. In addition to this, aircraft have a scheduled maintenance package.

After enduring some 69 years of political and military influence and occupation under the Imperial Japanese auspices the People of Korea’s future was now on the 15 August 1945 or Juche 34, firmly in their hands, during the political upheavals of the following years the military of the now divided korea’s began the process of organising for an uncertain future.

On the morning of the 19th August 1942, a joint force of allied combatants supported by the Free French, the RAF and the Royal Navy began operations for an attack on the German occupied French port of Dieppe. Originally to be codenamed as Operation Rutter, Operation Jubilee as it was later known resulted in disastrous attempt at opening a second front to take German military pressure off the Soviets after the lightning attacks following Operation Barbarossa in June of 1941.

By August 1940 the first phase of the Battle of Britain was drawing to a close as the Luftwaffe’s attempts to draw the RAF out with small scale attacks had failed to succeed. The second phase began on August 13th when Luftflotten 2,3 and 5 began a series of massive air attacks aimed at RAF air bases and the vital network of radar installations which provided them with the critical early warning of impeding attack. The Luftwaffe had at this time some 1100 fighters and 1300 bombers; opposing this the RAF had a mere 675 fighters.

The strategic significance of the island of Malta could not be overstated: with war raging across North Africa, Malta gave the allies a vital base of operations for both air and maritime forces to strike at the supply convoys which kept axis forces in theatre alive. A series of convoys had kept a constant drip feed of personnel and supplies to the battered and besieged combatants of the valiant island as the defenders braved the might of both the Luftwaffe and the Italian Regia Aeronautica.