WWII Triple Ace Answers Why They Beat The Luftwaffe

Triple Ace Pilot Col. Clarence “Bud” Anderson flew the P-51 Mustang Crow while he was assigned to the 357th Fighter Group “Yoxford Boys,” 8th Air Force. Bud eventually became the top ace of the 363rd Fight Squadron with 16 1/4 victories. In 2017, Bud was awarded Air Force Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the EAA […] More

The Story of Joe Peterburs – The P-51 Ace That Fought Germany

Joe Peterburs is a retired Air Force Colonel, and a veteran of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.  He was trained on P-40s, and was part of the 20th Fighter Group, 55th Fighter Squadron, flying P-51s, escorting B-17s, and defending against German fighter attacks. He was able to fly 49 missions, and approximately 269 combat hours.  Twist […] More

Defending London In A Spitfire | WW2: I Was There

Since he was a young boy, Allan Scott dreamed of flying- he wanted to become a pilot. When the war hit years later in 1939, he saw it as a fulfillment of his childhood dream. Although his application was initially rejected, it didn’t deter him. He was eventually chosen to become a fighter pilot, and […] More

5 Things You Should Know About The FC-31 Gyrfalcon

Fighter jet technology is evolving faster than ever before. For China, this comes in the form of the Shenyang FC-31 Gyrfalcon. The Chinese fighter comes with a strong resemblance to American fighters and may soon make the jump from prototype to production line in the 2020s. Here are five things you need to know about […] More

10 Facts About The Rotating-Tail Stuka: Junkers Ju 187

The German-designed Junkers Ju 187 was a dive bomber that was designed to replace the Ju 87 Stuka. This would be replacement has a unique design feature- a rotating tail. However, this never came to fruition as it was canceled in 1943. Here are the ten interesting facts about the Junkers Ju 187:  1. The […] More

5 Things You Didnt Know About The F-4

The F-4 Phantom is perhaps one of the most famous warbirds the US has ever operated. Its achievements in combat and its easily distinguishable design helped make the F-4 what it is today. But with that said, here are 5 things you might not know about the F-4 Phantom. 1. The second crew member had […] More

Why This Bomber Was Filled With Vodka

Once upon a time, there was an aircraft designed to fly with 52 gallons of Vodka to keep its 3 crewmembers comfortable during the flight. Whatever vodka wasn’t used up during the flight would be divided up between the flight crew and the maintenance crew on the ground. Though it may seem fictional, this was […] More

The Fighter With Six Engines And A Nuclear Bomb

In the 1960s, Republic started a daring new project led by the same people behind the legendary P-47 and F-84. This aircraft, however, was different. It was the Cold War, so it just had to be an aircraft that was also capable of carrying a nuclear bomb. Later on, this aircraft would prove to be […] More

The Bizarre Airplane Design That Shook Up Aviation

During the 1960s, developing a double delta wing aircraft was seen more as an unproven technology, and seen as a rather ambitious project. Because of its unstable design, the double delta configuration encountered issues.  However, little did the Swedish know that they would discover a new maneuver- the Cobra.  Here’s how the Saab 35 became […] More

The Toughest Fighter of World War II

On January 25, 1943, Joe Foss, a fighter pilot from the Marine Fighting Squadron 121, had just spotted a formation of over 100 Japanese bombers and Zeroes approaching the island of Guadalcanal.  Foss immediately knew that he was outgunned and outnumbered, with only 12 men under his command. Aboard his Grumman F4F Wildcat, a more […] More

The Most Technologically Advanced and Menacing Plane Ever Built by the US

In 2009, approximately 35 years without getting a strategic bomber, the US Air Force built the Long Range Strike Bomber program to build the most technologically advanced bomber.  This ambitious program took almost a decade, and the new stealth bomber was finally unveiled in December 2022.  Long Range Strike Bomber Program In 2009, the United […] More

10 Facts About The Yak-15 – The First Soviet jet fighter

First built by the Yakovlev Design Bureau during the mid-1940s, the Yak-15 is the first jet combat aircraft that was adopted by the USSR Air Force. Its history is a striking example of the era of the birth of jet aviation, demonstrating the time of learning about little-known technology, encountering endless difficulties, and just basically […] More