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The 504th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) was a B-29 Superfortress group that took part in the bombing campaign against Japan and the mining campaign that helped to cut Japan off from the remnants of her empire.
The 505th Bombardment Group, USAAF, was a B-29 unit that took part in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan and the mining campaign that cut off the Japanese Home Islands.
USS Atlanta (CL-104) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that saw action in the last months of the Second World War, winning two battle stars.
USS Dayton (CL-105) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that entered just in time to take part in the final fighting in the Pacific in 1945, and that served in the Mediterranean after the war before going into the reserve in 1949.
USS Wilkes-Barre (CL-103) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that saw combat in the Pacific during 1945, taking part in the raids on the Japanese home islands and the fighting at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. She won four battle stars for her actions in the Pacific.
The Cleveland Class Light Cruisers were the most numerous class of cruisers ever built, with 52 ordered, 29 completed as cruisers and 9 as light aircraft carriers, with 22 of the cruisers seeing service during the Second World War.
USS Amsterdam (CL-101) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that reached the Pacific Fleet just in time to take part in the last carrier strikes against the Japanese Home Islands, but that entered the reserve soon after the end of the war and remained there until she was scrapped.
The Morane-Saulnier M.S.408 was a single-seat version of the M.S.430 training aircraft that was evaluated by the Armee de l'Air, but that wasn't accepted for service.
The Morane-Saulnier M.S.430 was a two-seat training aircraft based on the M.S.405 single-seat fighter.
The Morane-Saulnier M.S.433 was a design for a two-seat training aircraft that would have been based on the M.S.430 and powered by a Gnome-Rhône 7Kfs radial engine.
The Morane-Saulnier M.S.435 P.2 was a two-man advanced trainer based on the M.S.405 single seat fighter that was ordered into production in 1939 but that wasn't delivered before the fall of France.
The Focke-Wulf Fw 300 was originally a design for a long range civil airliner, but it was adapted for possible use as a long range reconnaissance aircraft and guided weapons carrier.
The Focke-Wulf Ta 400 was a design for a six-engined long range bomber capable of reaching the United States from Continental Europe. A wind tunnel model was produced, but the design never reached the prototype stage.
The Focke-Wulf Ta 183 was a design for an advanced single-seat jet fighter that was under development towards the end of the Second World War.
The Focke-Wulf Ta 283 was a design for a twin-engined ramjet powered fighter aircraft that was under development during 1945 but that was never completed.
The 393rd Bombardment Group was a training unit that was based in the US from its formation in 1943 until it was inactivated in 1944.
The 399th Bombardment Group, USAAF, was a training unit that was based in the United States from its formation in 1943 until it was disbanded in 1944.
The 457th Bombardment Group was a B-17 group that took part in the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign from February 1944 until April 1945.
USS Astoria (CL-90) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that fought in the Pacific from December 1944 to the end of the war, fighting off the Philippines, Okinawa and supporting attacks on the Japanese Home Islands.
USS Oklahoma City (CL-91) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that saw three months of active service in the pacific during the Second World War and that went on to be converted into a guided missile cruiser and serve in that role for nearly twenty years.
USS Duluth (CL-87) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that joined the Pacific fleet in the spring of 1945 but was damaged in a typhoon and only entered combat in the last few weeks of the Second World War.
USS Miami (CL-89) was a Cleveland class light carrier that fought in the Pacific from June 1944 until April 1945 when she was recalled for a refit.
USS Vicksburg (CL-86) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that was used as a training ship during 1944 before joining the Pacific Fleet in 1945 in time to take part in the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and the attacks on the Japanese Home Islands.
USS Houston (CL-81) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that entered combat in June 1944 during the invasion of the Marianas. She had a short combat career which ended when she was hit by a torpedo on 14 October 1944.
USS Huntington (CL-77) was laid down as a Cleveland class light cruiser but was completed as an Independence class aircraft carrier.
USS Dayton (CL-78) was laid down as a Cleveland class light cruiser, but was completed as an Independence class aircraft carrier.
USS Wilmington (CL-79) was laid down as a Cleveland class light cruiser, but was completed as an Independence class light carrier.
USS Fargo (CL-85) was laid down as a Cleveland class light cruiser but completed as an Independence class light carrier.
USS Topeka (CL-67) was built as a Cleveland class light cruiser (CL-67) and in that guise fought at Okinawa and took part in the attacks on the Japanese Home Islands during 1945. She was later rebuilt as a guided-missile cruiser (CLG-8) and had another ten years of active service in that role during the 1960s.
USS Biloxi (CL-80) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that served in the Pacific from the start of 1944 to the end of the war, supporting the fast carrier task force and taking part in the invasions of Saipan, the Philippines, the Palaus and Okinawa and the battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf.
USS Pasadena (CL-65) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that fought in the Pacific, taking part in attacks on Formosa, the Japanese Home Islands, Indo-China, the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The Pasadena earned five battle stars during World War II.
USS Springfield (CL-66) was commissioned as a Cleveland class light cruiser (CL-66) and fought in the Pacific during the Second World War. She was later converted into a Providence class Guided Missile Cruiser (CLG-7), and her active career lasted until 1974. During her short combat career she was awarded two battle stars.
The USS Mobile (CL-63) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that fought in the Pacific, supporting the fast carrier force during the island hoping campaign, including the invasions of the Gilberts, Marianas, Palau Islands, the Philippines and Okinawa. She received 11 battle stars for her service.
USS Vincennes (CL-64) was a Cleveland class light cruiser which fought in the Pacific, taking part in the battle of the Philippine Sea, the invasion of the Philippines, the battle of Okinawa and the raids on the Japanese home islands. She was awarded six battle stars for her World War II service.
The 378th Bombardment Group was a short-lived anti-submarine warfare unit that served in the US during 1942.
The 380th Bombardment Group was a B-24 unit that entered combat from Australia and that was attached to the RAAF for most of its operational career, fighting over New Guinea, the Dutch East Indies, Bornea, the Philippines, Formosa and eventually Japan.
The 383rd Bombardment Group, USAAF, went through two incarnations during the Second World War, first as a training unit and then as a B-29 unit in the Eighth Air Force in the Pacific.
The 346th Bombardment Group, USAAF, went through two incarnations during the Second World War, first as a US-based training unit and the second as part of the Eighth Air Force in the Far East.
The 376th Bombardment Group was a heavy bomber unit that was formed in the Mediterranean theatre and remained there until the spring of 1945, fighting in North Africa, Italy and raiding across the southern part of the Nazi Empire.
The 377th Bombardment Group was an anti-submarine group that operated for a short period in 1942.
The 340th Bombardment Group, USAAF, was a B-25 Mitchell group that served in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, initially acting in support of the British Eighth Army before moving on to support the combined Allied armies in Italy.
The 344th Bombardment Group, USAAF, was a B-26 group within the Ninth Air Force and acted in support of the Allied armies invading Europe in 1944-45.
The 345th Bombardment Group, USAAF, was a B-25 unit that was heavily engaged in the fighting in New Guinea, the south-west Pacific and the Philippines.
The 323rd Bombardment Group was a B-26 Marauder unit that formed part of the Eighth and then Ninth Air Forces and took part in the campaign against German positions in occupied France before D-Day and supported the Allied armies after the invasion.
The 335th Bombardment Group, USAAF, was a training unit that served in the United States during the Second World War.
The 336th Bombardment Group, USAAF, was a training unit that was based in the US from 1942-44.
The 322nd Bombardment Group was a medium bomber group that had a disastrous introduction to combat in the spring of 1943, losing ten out of eleven aircraft on its second raid, but that went on to develop effective medium level medium bomber tactics and supported the Allied armies after the D-Day invasions.
The 333rd Bombardment Group, USAAF, had two incarnations during the Second World War, first as a training unit and then as a B-29 group in the Eighth Air Force in the Far East.
The 334th Bombardment Group, USAAF, was a training unit that served in the United States during the Second World War.
The 321st Bombardment Group, USAAF, was a B-25 group that fought in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and southern France, sinking the battleship Strasbourg during that campaign.
The 330th Bombardment Group, USAAF, had two incarnations during the Second World War, first as a training unit and then as a B-29 unit that took part in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan.
The 331st Bombardment Group went through two incarnations during the Second World War, first as a replacement training unit and second as a B-29 unit with the Twentieth Air Force.
The 312th Bombardment Group fought in the South West Pacific, starting as a light bomber group equipped with P-40 fighter-bombers. It soon converted to the A-20 and used these aircraft in New Guinea and the Philippines. Late in the war the group began to convert to the Consolidated B-32 Dominator, but only a handful of these heavy bombers saw combat before the end of the fighting.
The 319th Bombardment Group entered service as a B-26 unit that took part in Operation Torch and the campaign in of Italy, before at the start of 1944 it was withdraw to the US, converted to the A-26 and moved to Okinawa, where it entered combat against the Japanese in July 1945.
The 320th Bombardment Group, USAAF, was a B-26 Marauder unit that fought in North Africa, Sicily and Italy before moving to the western Front to take part in the fighting in France and Germany.
The 308th Bombardment Group was a heavy bomber unit that was based in China from March 1943 until June 1945, from where it supported the Chinese and attacked the Japanese Empire from the west.
The 309th Bombardment Group was a training group that served in the United States from early in 1942 until it was disbanded in the spring of 1944.
The 310th Bombardment Group was a B-25 Mitchell group within the Twelfth Air Force that served in North Africa, Sicily and on the mainland of Italy, mainly targeting Axis communication targets.
The Nakajima Ki-82 was a design for a new aircraft to replace the disappointing Nakajima Ki-49 Donryu, but the success of the Mitsubishi Ki-67 meant that the design was never completed.
The Nakajima Ki-201 Karyu (Fire Dragon) was the Japanese Army's attempt to produce a jet fighter, and like the Navy's Kikka closely resembled the Messerschmitt Me 262.
The Nakajima Ki-49 Donryu (Storm Dragon) 'Helen' was a somewhat disappointing Japanese Army bomber that served in China, New Guinea and the Philippines, but proved to be vulnerable to Allied fighters as the war progressed and to have disappointing speed and handling.
The Nakajima Ki-80 was a version of the Ki-49 Donryu Army Type 100 Heavy Bomber designed for use by formation leaders. Two were built in October 1941, but they did not enter service.
Sonderkraftfahrzeug or Sd.Kfz numbers were ordnance numbers allocated to German military vehicles during the period of German re-armament in the 1930s and throughout the Second World War.
The Panzerkampfwagen Neubaufahrzeuge was a design for a multi-turreted medium-heavy tank that was produced in 1934-35 but that wasn't accepted for production.
The Panzerkampfwagen 38(d) was a modified and expanded version of the Panzer 38(t) that was to have been used as the basis for a family of new weapons during 1945 but that never reached production.
The 15cm sIG33 (Sfl) auf Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer was a modified version of the standard Hetzer anti-tank vehicle that carried a 15cm heavy howitzer.
The Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer was by far the best in a series of tank hunters based on the Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) and was a totally redesigned version of the vehicle that carried a powerful 7.5cm tank gun that was carried in the superstructure of the vehicle, just as in the more famous StuG family.
The Flammpanzer 38(t) Hetzer was the designation given to twenty Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzers that were converted to carry flame throwers instead of their normal 7.5cm guns
The Nakajima Ki-8 Experimental Two-Seat Fighter was a single-engine two-seat fighter produced as a private venture in the hope that the Japanese army would be interested.
The Nakajima Ki-19 was a twin-engined heavy bomber that was developed in 1936-37, but that lost out to the Mitsubishi Ki-21.
The 15cm sIG33 (Sfl) auf PzKpfw 38(t) Grille (Bison), SdKfz 138/1 was a self-propelled artillery gun that mounted the standard German 15cm heavy howitzer on the chassis of the obsolete Panzerkampfwagen 38(t).
The Munitionsfahrzeug 38(t) was an ammunition carrying vehicle produced to work alongside the 15cm sIG Grille.
The Panzerjager 38(t) fur 7.5cm PAK 40, ausf M (SdKfz 138) was the final and best version of the Marder III anti-tank vehicle to enter production.
The Aufklarungspanzer 38(t) (SdKfz 140/1) was a reconnaissance tank that was produced in small numbers by converting existing Panzer 38(t) gun tanks.
Operation Blissful, the Choiseul Raid of 27 October-4 November 1943, was a diversionary attack designed to distract Japanese attentions away from Bougainville, the next American target in the Solomon Islands.
The Australian Campaign on Bougainville lasted from November 1944 until the Japanese surrender on the island in August 1945 and saw fighting renewed on the island as the Australians attempted to clear the last Japanese strongholds.
The Nakajima C6N Saiun (Painted Cloud) 'Myrt' was a fast long-range reconnaissance aircraft that entered service in the summer of 1944 and was almost immune to Allied interception.
The Panzerjager 38(t) fur 7.62cm PAK 36(t) was the first of three variants of the Marder III and was an anti-tank vehicle produced by mounting captured Soviet guns on the chassis of the Panzerkampfwagen 38(t).
The Panzerjager 38(t) fur 7.5cm PAK 40 ausf H (SdKfz 138) was the second version of the Marder III tank hunter and the first to be armed with a German gun.
The Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) began life as the Czech LT-38 light tank, but the vast majority of them were produced after the German takeover of Czechoslovakia and they were an important element in the German armoured forces during the invasion of France, the brief campaign in Greece and the early part of the invasion of the Soviet Union.
The TNH n.A. or Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) neuer Art (new model) was a reconnaissance tank based on the PzKpfw 38(t) that was produced in 1942 for German trials but that didn’t enter production.
The Panzerkampfwagen 35(t) began life as the Czechoslovak LT-35, but was taken over by the German army and was used with some success in Poland and France, before being phased out in the face of superior Soviet armour during 1942.
The Flakpanzer 38(t) ausf M (SdKfz 140) was a stop-gap anti-aircraft vehicle produced by mounting a single 20mm cannon on the chassis of Panzer 38(t) tank.
The Koiari Raid (29 November 1943) was an unsuccessful attempt by the US Marines on Bougainville to interrupt a possible Japanese supply line to the south of the American beachhead on Empress Augusta Bay..
The invasion of Puruata Island (1-2 November) took place on the same day as the main Allied invasion of nearby Bougainville and saw a force of Marine raiders capture this small island close to the main American beachhead.
No.20 Fighter Squadron, RNZAF, spent two spells on Bougainville, where it supported the fighting on the ground and took part in the campaign against Rabaul. It also took part in the campaign against Rabaul during a short spell on Green Island during 1944 and a longer spell based on New New Britain in 1945
No.21 Fighter Squadron, RNZAF, took part in the long campaign against Rabaul, both from bases on Bougainville and Green Island and supported the Australian offensive on Bougainville.
Operation Cherryblossom, the invasion of Bougainville (1 November 1943-March 1944) was the last major operation during the Solomon Islands campaign and saw the Americans occupy a secure bridgehead on an Island that the Japanese had decided to make a bastion of their defensive line.
No.18 Fighter Squadron, RNZAF, took part in the invasions of the Treasury Islands and Bougainville in 1943, and spent much of 1944 and 1945 supporting the American and Australian campaigns on that island. It also spent some time on Green Island, taking part in the long campaign against Rabaul.
No.19 Fighter Squadron, RNZAF, took part in the battle against the Japanese counterattack on Bougainville in March 1944, the campaigns to neutralise Kavieng and Rabaul and helped provide air cover at Los Negros, the most westerly base used by the RNZAF in the Pacific.
The Focke-Wulf Fw 186 was a gyroplane that was developed in 1937-38 to compete with the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch, but that never entered production.
The Focke-Achgelis Fa 336 was a design for a powered version of the Fa 330 gyro kite.
The Focke-Achgelis Fa 284 was a design for a helicopter 'flying crane' designed to move heavy cargos suspended below the aircraft.
The Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 Backstelze (Water Wagtail) was the most numerous and simplest of Focke's rotor craft and was a simple unpowered gyro kite designed to increase the viewing distance from a U-boat.
The naval battle of Guadalcanal (13-15 November 1942) was a series of connected engagements that saw the defeat of the last major Japanese attempt to bring reinforcements to Guadalcanal and was the most important of the six naval battles that were fought around Guadalcanal.
The battle of Tassafaronga (30 November 1942) was the last of six naval battles to be fought around Guadalcanal, but although it ended as a notable Japanese victory it came during a minor supply mission and had little impact on the long-term course of the fighting.
No.16 Fighter Squadron, RNZAF, took part in the invasion of New Georgia, the American and Australian campaigns on Bougainville and the long campaign to neutralise Rabaul.
No.17 Fighter Squadron, RNZAF, took part in the fighting around Guadalcanal in 1943, supported the invasion of Vella Lavella, the campaigns on Bougainville and the long campaign to neutralise Rabaul. It ended the war providing fighter cover on Los Negros, the most westerly Pacific base to be used by the RNZAF.
The Focke-Achgelis Fa 225 was the prototype of a rotary wing glider, combining the rotor from a Fa 223 with the fuselage of a DFS 230 freight glider.
The Focke-Achgelis Fa 269 was a design for a convertiplane that would have taken off and landed like a helicopter but flown in level flight like a standard fixed-wing aircraft.
The Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 Drache (Dragon) was a twin-rotor helicopter that entered service in small numbers late in the Second World War.
The Focke-Achgelis Fa 224 was to have been a two-seat sports helicopter based on the experimental Focke-Wulf Fw 61/ Focke-Achgelis Fa 61, the first practical helicopter in the world.
No.14 Fighter Squadron, RNZAF, took part in the fighting in the South Pacific, serving on Guadalcanal, during the invasions of New Georgia and Bougainville and the long campaigns to neutralise Rabaul and Kavieng.
No.15 Fighter Squadron, RNZAF, fought in the South Pacific, helping to defend Guadalcanal and taking part in the invasions of New Georgia and Bougainville and the later Australain campaign on Bougainville well as the long campaign to neutralise the Japanese base at Rabaul.
No.7 General Reconnaissance Squadron, RNZAF, was a short-lived squadron that flew patrols from the northern tip of New Zealand during 1942 and early 1943.
No.8 Bomber Reconnaissance Squadron, RNZAF, went through two incarnations during the Second World War. The first was a home-based squadron that was disbanded early in 1943 while the second incarnation spent two months in the combat zone early in 1945 when it took part in the campaign to isolate Kavieng.
No.9 Bomber Reconnaissance Squadron, RNZAF, was formed overseas in July 1942 in response to an American request for assistance. The squadron flew anti-submarine patrols from New Caledonia, then Espiritu Santo in 1942-43. During 1944 it was posted to Bougainville where it flew patrols and attacked Japanese targets on the island and in 1945 it took part in the campaign to isolate Kavieng.
The battle of Cape Esperance (11-12 October 1942) was a clash between American and Japanese forces both covering supply convoys heading towards Guadalcanal.
The battle of the Santa Cruz Islands (26 October 1942) was an indecisive carrier battle during the Guadalcanal campaign that ended with one American carrier sunk and two Japanese carriers damaged, but that had little impact on the fighting on the island.
No.5 Flying Boat Squadron, RNZAF, went through two incarnations during the Second World War. In the first it operated the Short Singapore flying boat from Fiji during the period in which there was a real danger of a Japanese invasion. The second began in July 1944 when the squadron was reformed and equipped with the Consolidated Catalina. This incarnation of the squadron flew a mix of anti-submarine patrols and shipping escort missions from Espiritu Santo.
No.6 Flying Boat Squadron, RNZAF, spent most of its existence operating from Guadalcanal, from where it searched for Japanese submarines, took part in air-sea rescue missions and acted as an emergency transport unit.
The battle of Savo Island (9 August 1942) was a crushing Japanese victory in the waters just off Guadalcanal that saw them sink four Allied cruisers and helped to isolate the US Marines fighting on Guadalcanal.
The battle of the Eastern Solomons (24-25 August 1942) was the second battle in the series of six naval actions linked to the fighting on Guadalcanal and was a carrier battle that ended as a minor American victory.
The land battle of Vella Lavella (15 August-7 October 1943) was one of the first examples of the leapfrogging strategy that carried the Americans across the vast distances of the Pacific.
Operation Goodtime - the invasion of the Treasury Islands (27 October 12 November 1943) - was a preliminary operation before the main invasion of Bougainville Island in the Solomon Islands.
The action off Horaniu (18 August 1943) was an unsuccessful American attempt to prevent the Japanese from establishing a barge base at Horaniu, on the northern coast of Vella Lavella.
The battle of Vella Lavella (6 October 1943) was a Japanese naval victory that allowed them to evacuate nearly 600 men from the north-western coast of Vella Lavella.
Operation Toenails - the invasion of New Georgia (30 June-5 August 1943) - was the first major Allied offensive in the Solomon Islands after Guadalcanal was declared to be secure.
The battle for Wickham Anchorage (30 June-3 July 1943) was a short but hard-fought battle that saw American troops defeat a smaller Japanese force on Vangunu Island, and that allowed the Americans to use Wickham Anchorage.
The battle for Enogai Inlet (5-11 July 1943) was the first and most successful operation carried out by the Northern Landing Group on New Georgia and saw them capture a Japanese coastal gun battery as well as block the important trail from Bairoko to Munda.
The battle of Bairoko (20 July 1943) was the second major operation carried out by the Northern Landing Group on New Georgia, and ended in a rare Japanese victory after the poorly coordinated American attack was repulsed.
The invasion of Rendova Island (30 June 1943) was the first major step in the US invasion of the New Georgia group and was carried out in order to establish a base for the attack on the Japanese base at Munda on the main island.
The battle of Viru (30 June-1 July 1943) was an early success for the US troops invading New Georgia, the first major US offensive in the Solomon Islands after the end of the fighting on Guadalcanal.
The battle of Baanga Island (12-22 August 1943) saw the Americans occupy a small island near Munda after unexpectedly fierce Japanese resistance.
The battle of Arundel Island (27 August-20 September 1943) was both part of the mopping up operations after the fall of Munda on New Georgia, and of the operations to isolate the remaining Japanese base on Kolombangara.
The battle of Munda (2 July-5 August 1943) was the most important and most costly part of the wider American assault on New Georgia and saw them capture the main Japanese base and airfield on the island after a hard-fought month long campaign.
The battle of Kolombangara (13 July 1943) was fought in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Japanese getting more reinforcements from their main base at Rabaul to Vila, on the south-eastern shore of Kolombangara Island.
The battle of Vella Gulf (6 August 1943) was a clear American victory that crushed one of the last attempts by the 'Tokyo Express' to get reinforcements to the remaining Japanese garrisons in the New Georgia Islands.
Operation 'I' or 'I-Go' (7-16 April 1943) was the Japanese Navy's attempt to compensate for the loss of Guadalcanal by launching a series of massive aerial assaults on the American's new advanced bases.
The battle of Kula Gulf (6 July 1943) was an inconclusive naval clash between American and Japanese forces transporting troops to the New Georgia theatre in which both sides lost ships and the Japanese achieved their main aim of landing reinforcements on Kolombangara.
Operation Cleanslate - the unopposed occupation of the Russell Islands on 21 February 1943 - was one of the first steps in the Allied advance along the Solomon Islands and the long campaign to isolate the major Japanese base at Rabaul.
The action of Kula Gulf (6 March 1943) was a minor American naval victory that was triggered by a change encounter between two Japanese destroyers attempting to bring supplies to their base at Vila on Kolombangara and an American task force that was bombarding the same base.
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