The Most Beautiful Military Aircraft to Ever Roll Off the Production Line
In the world of aviation, the marriage of beauty and function has birthed stunning creations, with aesthetics and power being held in equal regard. From…
The Hughes H-4 Hercules Was An Absolute Mammoth Of An Aircraft
Several experimental aircraft have been designed over the years, but few (if any) were as large and eye-catching as the Hughes H-4 Hercules. A flying…
The WWII-Era Disappearance of a Grumman J2F Duck Over Greenland
The Grumman J2F Duck was an amphibious aircraft that served the US military in various capacities during the Second World War. It could operate from…
Albert Hickman: The F3H Demon Pilot Who Refused to Eject and Saved the Lives of 700 Americans
Disaster doesn’t just strike in the heat of battle; there are times when things go wrong during training, which put servicemen’s lives in danger. That’s…
Naval Aviators Graffiti Jet Fighter After Pilot Lands On the Wrong Aircraft Carrier
If you look at photographs captured during the mid-20th century, odds are you’ll come across some that feature US Navy aircraft covered in graffiti. The…
Dassault Rafale: The French ‘Burst of Fire’ That’s Seen Service Across the Middle East
The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-engine multi-role fighter. Developed in the 1980s and ’90s, the fighter was the product of disagreements with allied nations…
A Gloster Meteor Once Deflected A V-1 Flying Bomb With Its Wing
The V-1 flying bomb was an early cruise missile developed by Germany as part of its V-weapons (Vergeltungswaffen) program. Starting on June 13, 1944, V-1s…
Walter Holden Accidentally Took Off In a Fighter Jet – Despite Not Knowing How to Fly It
Not everyone who serves with the Royal Air Force (RAF) is a pilot, as it’s equally important for crewmen to maintain the aircraft. This, however,…
Ryan FR-1 Fireball: The US Navy’s First Jet-Engine Fighter Was Also the Worst Aircraft of World War II
The Ryan FR-1 Fireball was an American fighter designed by Ryan Aeronautical for the US Navy during the Second World War. It was a mixed-power…
Bell X-1: America’s Experimental Rocket-Powered Aircraft That First Broke the Sound Barrier
The Bell X-1 was a rocket-powered aircraft designed by Bell for a supersonic joint research project between the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and…
Henschel Hs 129 :The Luftwaffe’s Soaring Tank Buster Armed With a 75 mm Cannon
As tank warfare evolved and became a key strategy during the interwar period, the German Wehrmacht envisioned a new kind of blitzkrieg – one that…
Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star: The Only US Jet Fighter to See Action In WWII – During Secret Operations In Italy
The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, also known as the F-80, was the first jet fighter used operationally by the US Army Air Forces (USAAF). While…