Aircraft
List
Biplane Use Between WW1
and WW2
Between the wars the biplane became a mail carrier,
passenger carrier and a play thing of the rich. This was due, in
part, to the large number of surplus military biplane aircraft
available at relatively low prices. Monoplanes had existed from
a very early date but only became dominant with the introduction
of new monocoque designs in the later part of the 1930's Up to
this time the biplane was the best available aircraft design
solution.
Biplane Service during WW2
By the outbreak of WW2 most operational military aircraft
were monoplanes, with the notable exception of basic biplane
trainers, notably the Boeing Kaydet, Bucker Bu-131 Jungman and
the de-Havilland dh82a Tiger Moth biplanes. Many civilian
biplanes were eventually pressed into service with military
forces during WW2, but this was out of necessity rather than
choice. One notable exception was the Fairey Swordfish biplane,
which remained the Royal Navy's main carrier borne torpedo
bomber from 1935 until the end of WW2, regardless of the
numerous attempts to replace it with newer biplane and monoplane
aircraft designs.
Biplane Aircraft
Production After WW2
After WW2 ended, many ex military biplane trainers were sold
cheaply on the civilian market for use as trainers, crop dusters
and personal private biplane aircraft transports. Biplane
aircraft were still manufactured after WW2 for special purposes,
the American Pitt's Special was designed as an advanced
aerobatic biplane aircraft and the largest single engine
biplane, and the Russian Antonov AN2 was designed as a "land
anywhere" flying truck primarily for agricultural use although,
due to it's outstanding STOL capabilities and ruggedness, it was
used in considerable numbers by the Soviet armed forces for
dropping paratroops.
Facts about some of the more
famous biplane aircraft can be found below:
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