I.A.R. 80 (Romania) (1939)

[Oliverlovesplanes]

Thanks Everyone for the Information so far, I might be able to find a model of It.

 

[topspeed]

Well, two things here:
First of all, the USAAF pilots had not encountered the IAR80/81 before and the misidentification can be understandable, as the Germans only had one radial-engined fighter in service.

Secondly, thinking that they were Fw190s would have them engaging the IAR80/81s using known traits and weaknesses of the Focke-Wulf, which the IAR did not possess.

Ok...what were those weaknesses that IAR 80 did not have ?

IAR 80 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Turnradius ?

 

[skyking1]

Don't forget poor recognition ability. Most pilots taking a nap break in recognition classes, lights off & slide projector.
Most, even model builders, had not heard of I.A.R. and their products

thanks. I don't feel so bad now.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Why was the nose so long? The fuel tank ahead of the pilot looks rather shallow. The pilot's downward view to the side was excellent, but forward must have been abysmal.

 

[SaparotRob]

There's quite a few aircraft that were involved in WWII that people are not aware of.

The front line favorites tend to steal the spotlight, but quite a few nations built native aircraft, sometimes only as limited production, but they are out there.

Yugoslavia built a fighter, the Ikarus IK-2, which did participate, but the political shift at the time stopped production after about 5 were produced.

Another native Yugoslav fighter, was the Rogozarski IK-3, which saw 6 operational (out of 12 built) and performed well against Axis fighters before they were destroyed by ground crews to avoid capture.

Bulgaria had their DAR-10, which was a single- engined recon and light bomber.
They also manufactured the DAR-11 fighter, which was a license-built Avia B-135.

The list goes on, but this may give an idea to the many aircraft types that get overlooked.

Well, that's four I've never heard of.

 

[GrauGeist]

Well, that's four I've never heard of.

Ok, here's a few more:

Switzerland's EKW C-36 which was multi-role, serving as fighter and ground attack.

The Chinese intended to develop their own fighters and had two designs, the Chu XP-0 and Chu XP-1. Both were slow in development due to the war and both were put in the back burner after the U.S. entered the war and began to provide military assistance.

The Belgians were developing a native fighter pre-war: the Renard R.36 and several variants. The R.36 was powered by a H-S 12Ycrs inline, the R.37 was powered by a G-R 14N-21 radial and the R.38 was powered by a R-R Merlin.

 

[topspeed]

Well, that's four I've never heard of.

There were 450 IAR 80s....and a french test pilot had flown it before WW2.

 

[GrauGeist]

There were 450 IAR 80s....and a french test pilot had flown it before WW2.

The first test pilot was Capt. Dumitru Popescu, April 1939.