Fighter aircraft facts for kids

F-22s, a type of fighter aircraft

Fighter aircraft are small military planes that are made to fight other airplanes. They are often fast, having aerodynamic shapes (shapes that make them move through air easily) and very powerful engines for their size. They also usually are maneuverable (turn well). Fighters can carry many different kinds of weapons, including missiles, machine guns, and bombs. While fighters may be used as attack aircraft to attack vehicles, soldiers, or buildings on the ground, they are different from bombers because they are mainly designed to fight other airplanes. Specialized fighters have been made, such as night fighters, interceptors, and air superiority fighters.

Examples of fighter aircraft

Images for kids

U.S. Air Force fighter aircraft representing different eras; a World War II P-38 Lightning (upper right), a pair of F-86 Sabres from the early jet age, and a modern F-22 Raptor (lower left)
Hawker Sea Hurricanes in formation
MiG-17 underside
A USAF F-22A Raptor stealth fighter
Vickers F.B.5 Gunbus
Airco DH.2 "pusher" scout
Billy Bishop sitting in his Nieuport 23 with the machine gun (just visible at the top of the picture) mounted to fire over the propeller
The actual aircraft used by Wintgens in his pioneering aerial engagement, his Fokker M.5K/MG with IdFlieg military serial number "E.5/15", as it appeared at the time of the engagement
A Sopwith Camel at the RAF Museum
German Fokker triplanes of Jasta 26 in World War I
Hawker Fury of 43 Squadron, RAF, a typical late inter-war biplane
An early monoplane fighter: the Boeing P-26 Peashooter, which first flew in 1932
Parasol monoplanes were popular in many European countries, and paved the way for cantilever low-wing monoplanes. This is a restored Swiss Air Force Dewoitine D.26.
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2/Trop "Black 6"
The long-range Mitsubishi A6M Zero typified the highly maneuverable, but lightly armored, fighter design.
The Yakovlev Yak-9 was the most mass-produced Soviet fighter of all time. It remained in production from 1942 to 1948, with 16,769 built (14,579 during the war).
This Supermarine Spitfire XVI was typical of World War II fighters optimized for high level speeds and good climb rates.
Ilmari Juutilainen, a Finnish fighter pilot with Brewster BW-364 "Orange 4" on 26 June 1942 during the Continuation War
A modern reproduction of the Messerschmitt Me 262 in flight in 2006. The first two operational turbojet aircraft, the Me 262 and then the Gloster Meteor entered service in 1944.
Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero Model 22
Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat, early 1942
Captured Nakajima Ki-43-I under evaluation by the Allies
Lockheed P-38 Lightnings in formation
Grumman F6F-3 Hellcats, May 1943
North American P-51D Mustang during WWII
Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9 fighter-bomber
German Bf 110G-4 night fighter with nose-mounted radar at the RAF Museum in London
A Northrop P-61 Black Widow of 419th Night Fighter Squadron
Soviet Lavochkin La-9
A Ryan FR-1 Fireball of VF-66 at NAS North Island, 1945. This aircraft featured a piston engine for range and a jet engine in the tail for speed.
The Messerschmitt Me 163 was the fastest aircraft of WWII.
Messerschmitt Me 262A at the National Museum of the United States Air Force
RAF Gloster Meteor
USAF Lockheed P-80B Shooting Stars at Langley AFB

A US Navy McDonnell F2H-2 Banshee over Wonsan, North Korea, 1952

English Electric Lightning
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Dassault Mirage III
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MiG-21F interceptor
U.S. Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II
Soviet MiG-23 MLA "Flogger-G"
Shenyang J-8D in flight
A USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon taking off
Side view of a German Air Force Panavia Tornado
US Navy F-14D Tomcat over the Persian Gulf
A USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle
Mikoyan MiG-29
Sukhoi Su-27 "Flanker"
French Air Force Dassault Mirage 2000
Eurofighter Typhoon
French Air Force Dassault Rafale during aerial refueling
HAL Tejas
A flight of two USAF Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors
Russian Air Force Sukhoi Su-57
USAF Lockheed Martin F-35A
M61 20 mm gun installation on West German Lockheed F-104G Starfighter
AIM-9 Sidewinder (underwing pylon) and AIM-120 AMRAAM (wingtip) carried by lightweight F-16 fighter
An MBDA Meteor, an ARH BVR AAM used on the Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab JAS 39 Gripen, Lockheed Martin F-35, and Dassault Rafale