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FEATURES

The Star of Africa
By Stephan Wilkinson
Baby-faced Me-109 ace Hans-Joachim Marseille may have been the greatest fighter pilot of World War II.

Mystery of the Missing Pilot
By Lisa Sonne
Airmail flier Maurice Graham’s disappearance with a planeload of valuable securities in 1930 set off a frantic search.

A Hawk Between Two Wars
Colorful Curtiss Hawk biplanes served the U.S. military as well as more than a dozen foreign air forces.

Bite of the Black Widow
By Warren Thompson
When the sun set in the Pacific War, Northrop’s P-61 night fighter emerged as the ultimate predator.

Red Mule
By Truman Temple
Polikarpov’s open-cockpit biplane trainer, the Po-2, was transformed into a potent psyops weapon on the front lines of two wars.

ONLINE EXTRAS

Discussion:

German World War II ace of aces Erich Hartmann was credited with 352 victories, while the leading Allied Ace, Soviet pilot Ivan Kozhedub had 62. What do you think accounts for the disparity between Axis and Allied fighter victory tallies?