The planned German invasion of Britain required the swift delivery of tanks, guns and men across the English Channel, prompting a call for a massive glider. Built in weeks, the Messerschmitt Me 321 ...

The de Havilland Mosquito was the “Wooden Wonder”—outrageously fast, and formidable. But it wasn’t the only aircraft fashioned from timber. In an age when aluminium promised the future, war forced ...