On June 13, 1944, an anti-aircraft battery in the district of Woolwich was caught by surprise when the world’s first-ever cruise missile, the V-1 Flying Bomb, struck Grove Road just 2 kilometers from the tower of London. It was a weapon like no other – flying to its target with no pilot at the controls, […] More
The USS North Carolina was the lead ship of the North Carolina-class battleships. She was also the first American battleship that was newly constructed to enter service during World War II. Here are ten interesting facts about the USS North Carolina- the US Navy’s first fast battleship: 1. She was one of the most highly […] More
The Soviet Union’s Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 is the Soviet Union’s single-seat, single-engine jet fighter, and one of the most feared high-performance weapons of the 20th century. Here are ten interesting facts about this stellar aircraft: 1. It was the first of its kind to have swept wings and reach high transonic speeds With MiG-15s flying in […] More
The Tupolev TB-3 is a four-engine Soviet heavy developed in the late 1920s. It was the first all-metal, four-engine, monoplane bomber to enter service, and transformed the Soviet Air Force’s capabilities. Design Origins The TB-3’s story begins in 1925 with the Soviet Air Force. During the 1920s, the Soviet Union didn’t have the required facilities […] More
On November 26, 1941, a Japanese attack fleet of six aircraft carriers, two battleships, and hundreds of aircraft departed from Japan. They planned a surprise attack on the US Pacific fleet anchored at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. But why did they want to attack in the first place, and why did a miscalculation lead to their […] More
Each time the United Kingdom’s Bomber Command was given challenging missions, the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber was always their go-to plane. Equipped with four Rolls-Royce engines with an impressive top speed of 187 miles per hour, it has an excellent lifting capacity and an unobstructed bomb bay. Its standard load of up to 18,000 pounds […] More
You might find yourself asking, where were the German carriers in World War II? Did Hitler have any? Well kind of. Germany built an aircraft carrier during WWII and had three more planned. It was one of the biggest ships built during the war, but it was never deployed. Here’s the story behind the Graf […] More
Unlike the Americans who basically designed the A-10 aircraft around a big gun, their Soviet counterparts were actually doing the opposite. What they did is that they already took an existing fighter aircraft, and created an enormously powerful gun for it. Flying Balcony When compared to the MiG-23, the MiG 27’s design was slightly simplified […] More
On January 16, 1991, after months of training in a mission they were not fully informed about, the United States Air Force’s 596th Bomb Squadron’s mysterious mission suddenly become a reality. Because of Iraq’s Invasion of Kuwait, over 57 airmen hopped aboard seven B-52 Stratofortresses carrying a highly secretive new American weapon, and do the […] More
The year was 1944. During a high-risk bombing mission against the Imperial Japanese forces, an American plane takes a direct hit from anti-aircraft fire. Incredibly, this one plane, this one mission, and this one round from a Japanese gun would play a key role in shaping the fate of the Western world for the next […] More
Over 376 B-17 Flying Fortresses were tasked to pierce the industrial heart of Germany and take down the Luftwaffe’s manufacturing capabilities. Squadrons of P-47 Thunderbolts were asked to escort the bombers, but German Messerschmitt Bf 109s swarmed them. By then, the Thunderbolts have also reached their fuel limit, and they were forced to abandon the […] More
In service since 1976, the Warthogs have a stellar career that spans up to 50 years. Thanks to its long line of upgrades, it’s not retiring anytime soon. Lethal in an Ever-Evolving Battlefield To remain lethal, the A-10 was upgraded to the brute metal-raining attack aircraft of the 2000s that shouldn’t be messed with. It […] More
