Bristol 105 Bulldog
One of the best fighter pilots to come out of World War II started his career ignominiously, by crashing a Bristol Bulldog. In 1931, RAF ace-to-be Douglas Bader lost his legs when he started a slow roll too low. The single-seat biplane fighter — sturdy, solid and unshakable — was not designed for low-altitude maneuvering. But more than 400 of these steel and fabric fighters served around the world in the decade leading up to the war. Most were the Mk. IIA version, which had a more powerful Jupiter engine than Bristol installed in the original aircraft. The Mk. IVA flew faster, with an improved engine, and some reduction in drag from streamlining the fuel tanks in the wings. Outside Great Britain, Bulldogs served in Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania and Thailand. The RAAF flew them in Australia, where Bulldogs performed acrobatic displays throughout the 1930s. The Finnish and Swedish air forces also flew the Bulldog (Sweden built its own version).
