150 years ago people could not believe that man could fly. Then new modern era of technology allowed to construct more and more advanced airplanes, which from the begining were used during conflicts. One of airplanes which always kept attention of the public were fighters. Planes which primary role was to gain air superiority and take part in air to air battles.
Within less then 100 years fighters changed from biplane small airplanes to supersonic weapons of destruction.
I present you 4 eras of aerial firefight made from lowpoly 3D models modelled, textured and rendered in Blender software.
World War I
Fokker D. VI german fighter launched in 1918. Just 110 HP. (left)
Ansaldo A.1 Balilla italian fighter, after WWI produced in Poland for polish airforce. In fight since 1917. (right)
World War II
Better known from Mustangs and Spitfires, but Polikarpov has extraordinary design with short hull and bulky engine which looks like cartoon but is in fact real airplane.
Polikarpov I-16 russian fighter with short (6m) hull and 700 HP engine. 525 kmh topspeed and great horizontal maneuverability was enough to fight with great 109. Intruduced in 1935. (left)
Messerschmitt BF-109 was one of best fighters during WWII. Since 1935 more then 30 thousands were produced. Many version were produced with engines from 600 to 2000 HP, Latest could fly as fast as 700 kmh. (right)
Cold war
After the war world has changed. Fighters were one of most important weapons, which could provide support for bombers but could also execute air-to-ground missions by themselves. They grew a lot. Usage of jet engines caused change in design.
MIG-21 Fishbed was introduced in 1956. It was modern russian fighter with delta wings. It was most produced supersonic aircraft in history with more then 11 000 units produced. Powerful single engine allowed it to fly 2200 kmh. MIG-21 was used for almost sixty years in different airforces. (right)
F-4E Phantom II joined airforce in 1958. 14 tons if weight was able to flu 2370 kmh thanks to two jet engines. 5200 were produced and therefore it was most popular american supersonic fighter until now. (left)
Modern warfare
From dogfight to multipurpose mission. From close range combats to attack of enemy outside of sight. Modern fighters are capable of doing all of actions.
Saab JAS-39 Gripen is swedish multipurpose lightweight fighter introduced in 1988. 2 sets of wings with steering of front wings gives him great maneuverability. Gripen is capable of reaching Mach 2 speed. (left)
F/A-18 Hornet is american multipurpose fighter launched in 1978. 2 GE engines give him speed up to 1.8 Mach and 3300 km range.It is advanced and expensive weapon of air superiority. 1500 produced and still counting. (right)
