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More than half a century after the events of World War II, and
countless miles away from old land-based battles in Europe, MotorSnippets
recently flew out to Port Moresby (POM), Papua New Guinea, and
saw what is left of some legendary machines that were engaged
in the South-West Pacific theatre of the war (as it was called).
The rare opportunity of getting photographs during the last few
years remaining to them, of the machines shown in this article,
prompts us to widen our more usual definition of Classic and Performance
vehicles to include some of the most technologically advanced
and significant examples of motorised transport of their age.
 This
famous Japanese aircraft was more commonly known as the Zero (Fighter
– number 00). Its success was probably due to the meticulously
correct mating of airframe to its Sakae 21 radial engine (14 cylinders
in 2 rows of 7) which produced about 1 000 hp at 3 000 rpm, and
gave maximum speeds of between 330 and 350 mph. The A6M was light
and manoeuvrable, fuel efficient, and fast – all qualities
required by the Japanese Navy for a carrier-based fighter. Only
about 30 fly-able examples of the Zero are known to exist today.
Over 10 000 were built.
 The
Lockheed Lightning and the Zero are the icons of military aircraft
in the Pacific war. Faster, if less manoeuvrable than the Zero,
the American-built P38 had a top speed of 414 mph. It first flew
in 1939, and had two Allison 12 cylinder liquid cooled engines
of 1 425 hp each. On 14 July 1996, a former RAF squadron leader,
Michael Proudfoot was killed during a demonstration of the P38
in front of 13 000 people at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford,
Cambridgeshire. There are only 27 Lightnings known to be still
in existence, and only 7 can fly. Like the Zero – about 10
000 P38s were built.
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 Identification
of this American aircraft was a little difficult because so little
of it remains. However, the ‘swing door’ entry to the
cockpit is a clear give-away. The Aircobra had one Allison 12
cylinder, liquid cooled, unsupercharged engine producing 1200
hp, giving it a maximum speed of 385 mph. An impressive-looking
aircraft with its revolutionary nose wheel-type tricycle undercarriage,
and its armour-plating, it was rather heavy and sluggish, with
a slow rate of climb. It was outclassed by the Japanese Zero,
but because of its fearful firepower, it was widely used in the
Pacific as a bomber escort, interceptor, and ground attacker.
The pilot actually sat in front of the engine, with a drive shaft
between his legs. It had a production run of close on 10 000.
 The
Kittyhawk was an American-made single-seat fighter or fighter-bomber,
powered by a 1,040 hp Allison 12 cylinder, liquid cooled engine.
It had a maximum speed of 345 mph. Although underpowered, it was
manouvrable and strongly built, and had a range of 730 miles.
The Kittyhawks’ armaments, shown in the photograph, consisted
of six machine guns mounted in the wings. In the Pacific, it was
widely used for ground-attack. It had a production run of 13,738.
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