America’s Alertman

The Savoia Marchetti SM 82 Canguru was a triple engine transport aircraft that was also put to use as a bomber. Produced by the Italians, it was additionally used by their German allies and was capable of seating 40 fully-equipped soldiers comfortably or 51 fully-equipped soldiers uncomfortably. At the time this article appeared, this long-range transport was being used to shuffle German and Italian soldiers to the collapsing fronts in North Africa.

A photograph, profile and statistical information concerning the Vultee Vengeance A-31 – which was a W.W. II American dive bomber, built by Vultee Aircraft Corporation. The Vengeance was not used in combat by any US units, however it was deployed by the British and Commonwealth Air Forces in Southeast Asia as well as the Southwestern Pacific Theaters.

When, on December 7, 1941, the bombers and fighter aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy came roaring out of the Hawaiian blue to reign death and destruction on Pearl Harbor, the Aichi-99 was among those present. The attached article from 1942 will tell you all that the American military knew about it at the time.

Read about another plane that was at Pearl Harbor that morning…

From the pages of a 1943 issue of America’s Alertman was this page that presented some information about the German JU 88 twin engine bomber, which was the primary offensive aircraft in the Luftwaffe’s arsenal during the Second World War. It was the successor to the Ju-87 and saw service as a night fighter and torpedo bomber in addition to serving as reconnaissance aircraft. The earliest prototype first flew in December of 1936 with a civilian registration of D-AQEN; it managed a top speed of 360 mph. Throughout the course of the war there were 15,000 JU 88’s constructed.

The attached article from 1943 goes into greater detail and can easily be printed.