WWII Aircraft
This page shows the number and type of aircraft built during World War II. About 276,000 aircraft were manufactured in the US. Of those, 43,000 were lost overseas.
United States
12,731 built
18,482 built
9,984 built
3,970 built
10,037 built
9,584 built
13,738 built
15,686 built
15,875 built
12,571 built
12,275 built
9,837 built
Russian
5,753 built
36,183 built
31,000+ built
11,400 built
9,920 built
German
6,508 built
6,150 built
30,480 built
29,001 built
15,000 built
British
2,383 built
6,176 built
20,351 built
14,533 built
7,780 built
7,377 built
Japan
167 built
10,449 built
5,919 built
Statistics from Flight Journal magazine.
The cost of U.S. aircraft in 1940s dollars
| B-17 | $204,370 | |
| P-40 | $44,892 | |
| B-24 | $215,516 | |
| P-47 | $85,578 | |
| B-25 | $142,194 | |
| P-51 | $51,572 | |
| B-26 | $192,426 | |
| C-47 | $88,574 | |
| B-29 | $605,360 | |
| PT-17 | $15,052 | |
| P-38 | $97,147 | |
| AT-6 | $22,952 |
Some Numbers
- 9.7 billion gallons of gasoline consumed, 1942-1945.
- 107.8 million hours flown, 1943-1945.
- 459.7 billion rounds of aircraft ammo fired overseas, 1942-1945.
- 7.9 million bombs dropped overseas, 1943-1945.
- 2.3 million combat sorties, 1941-1945 (one sortie = one takeoff)
- 299,230 aircraft accepted, 1940-1945.
- 808,471 aircraft engines accepted, 1940-1945.
- 799,972 propellers accepted, 1940-1945.
- During WWII, we lost 14,903 men and 13,873 airplanes from 52,651 aircraft accidents inside the US
- Almost 1,000 planes disappeared en route from the US to foreign locations.
- 43,581 aircraft were lost overseas
- In a single 376-plane raid in August 1943, 60 B-17s were shot down.
- On average, 6,600 American servicemen died per month during WWII, about 220 a day.
- Total U.S. combat casualties were pegged at 121,867.
- In 1944, the U.S. Army Air Force has 2,372,000 personnel.
Sources: Rene Francillon, Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific war; Cajus Bekker, The Luftwaffe Diaries; Ray Wagner, American Combat Planes; Wikipedia.