There are a lot of things that go into the fighter acquisition process, so it’s not unusual to pass on some amazing-yet-costly creations. Let’s take a look at the 5 fighters America could have gotten: General Dynamics F-16XL 3 years after the F-16 first took flight, its designers came up with the F-16 Supersonic Cruise […] More
Beloved by its allies and hated by the enemy – this is the story behind Fairchild Republic’s A-10 Thunderbolt II, otherwise known as the Warthog. German Roots The A-10 borrowed a lot of concepts from the Henschel Hs 129 and Junkers Ju-87G, both of which were German WWII aircraft known for their roles as “Tank […] More
After WWII, France was eager to re-establish its military prowess following a dark period in its history. A new era was about to come, starting with a revolutionary aircraft: the Sud-Ouest Vautour. Jet-Powered Multirole Aircraft Starting from scratch in 1951, the French Armee de l’Air issued a requirement for a jet-powered aircraft capable of fulfilling […] More
It is April of 1944, and the fighting over Europe is intense as the Allies pave the way for the upcoming invasion. In the 355th Fighter Group, one man by the name of Ed McNeff would score his first kill. Not As Planned On the 24th of April, McNeff would take off for a standard […] More
Curator Matthew Burchette and F-14 pilot Lt. Richard “Spud” Webb is here to talk to us about the F-14 Tomcat. Here are the three most interesting things they said about the famous jet fighter: 1. Cannon Ammo Workaround Its M61A1 Vulcan can fire 100 rounds per second, the perfect weapon of destruction for the F-14 […] More
Did you ever wonder which British bomber was the deadliest aircraft of WWII? Not the deadliest for the enemy – but for the crew. So, in which British aircraft did the most men from RAF Bomber Command die? Fairey Battle Of the crew who operated the Battle, 280 crewmen would perish. This is a relatively […] More
AP-63 In 1951, the design team at Republic Aviation began plans for a new supersonic single-seater tactical aircraft. It was to be supervised by Alexander Kartveli, who once worked on the development of the P-47 Thunderbolt, F-84 Thunderjet, and the Republic F-84F Thunderstreak. This new project, given the name “AP (Advanced Project) 63”, was expected […] More
Yakovlev VVP-6 With six giant rotors, this giant Russian helicopter would have been the biggest helicopter on the planet. It was devised to lift SAM missiles to remote parts of the forest to shoot down American spy planes while fully capable of vertical take-offs and landings. Its box-like design could have measured 49m long, with […] More
Committing mistakes at your job can be stressful. However, it’s definitely not as stressful as Taffy Holden’s mistake on July 22, 1966. Scheduled Ground Testing That day, Walter “Taffy” Holden, a 39-year-old engineer of the RAF’s No.33 Maintenance Unit, was working on the two Rolls-Royce Avon turbojets fitted on the Mach 2.0-capable English Electric Lightning. […] More
The Helldiver is perhaps the best example of a potentially excellent aircraft design that was ruined by its uncompromising requirements. Here’s how: Origins Early in 1938, the US issued requirements for a diver that would be: Powered by the 1500 hp 14-cylinder Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone, Carry a greater fuel load than the SBD Dauntless […] More
The US isn’t the only nation in the world with several top-secret aerospace projects. In fact, some of the wildest ideas came from the other side of the Iron Curtain. Here are three examples of the Soviet Union’s black projects: M-25 Sonic Boom Designed to fly low and fast over a battlefield, the M-25 was […] More
Sea deployments are already notoriously hard for the pilots. The unforgiving seas and the harsh winds it brings can transform a normal operation into a dangerous one in just a few seconds. Regardless, during WWII, some carriers possessed a unique ability that enabled them to launch aircraft from the sides. After all, if the deck […] More
