The Soviet Union went to extraordinary lengths to create an effective ground attack aircraft during the Second World War. At that point, they envisioned a warbird capable of doing extreme damage to enemy infantry and vehicle regiments. The Fire Hedgehog In 1944, as the Red Army advanced victoriously toward the West, two weapons designers came […] More
The Boeing P-26 ‘Peashooter’ was an American-built single-seat fighter aircraft that entered service in the 1930s. It became the first all-metal monoplane fighter operated by the US Army Air Corps, ushering in a new era in military aviation. From The Start The P-26 was a design created in response to a USAAC requirement for a […] More
World War II introduced us to the Mustangs, Lightnings, Spitfires, Mosquitos, Bf 109s, and many more. Included in this long list of fascinating aircraft are the RAF’s Gloster Meteor and Germany’s Messerschmitt Me 262. These two warbirds became the first operational jet-powered fighters in the world. Both were developed in secrecy during the war and […] More
In the fall of 1974, the Space and Missile Systems Organization did an air-launched ballistic missile test. The only plane that could carry the giant 86,000 pound-missiles was the recently unveiled Lockheed C-5 Galaxy. It was able to drop it from 20,000 feet over the Pacific, and this impressive piece of engineering continues to serve […] More
This plane is unique in the sense that its wings are round. More specifically, the wings form a circle all the way around the fuselage- a closed wing or more accurately, a ring wing around the plane. Why did this ring-wing plane didn’t fly, why we never built it, and what happened to the concept? […] More
The PZL.24. is a fairly underrepresented Polish aircraft during the Second World War. It would be the last of a long, rich lineage of Polish-designed fighter aircraft. Design Modifications Further modifications to the design were explored by PZL as late as 1939, with a planned K variant carrying four 20 mm cannons, and an L […] More
At the height of the war, the Japanese sought to develop one last aircraft that could bring the war in their favor against the Allies. Enter the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate. Considered the finest Japanese fighters ever built, it completely took the USAF by surprise. The Gale A single-seat fighter, the Hayate (Japanese for Gale,) was […] More
The United States military has been known to push its helicopters to the very brink of their usability. For instance, the Black Hawk has significantly surpassed its operating lifetime. But the issues with China caused US authorities to evaluate what they have, and they set on an ambitious project set to replace the current fleets […] More
On June 3, 1942, in the deserts of Libya, 9 P40-B Tomahawk Fighters from the South African Air Force 5th Squadron are rushing to the aid of the French defenders that are being bombed in a fort. It’s a star-studded flight with flying aces in its midst- Cecil Golding, Robin Pare, and Louis Botha. Out […] More
Like the leaders of today, Germany’s political and military leaders during WWII also had special aircraft reserved for their personal use. These aircraft were all of one type – usually the luxury version of the famous Junkers Ju52/3m – a tri-motor transport plane equivalent to the Douglas DC-3. Creating The FDF In 1934, Hitler created […] More
Designing a stealthy fighter aircraft with great maneuverability is certainly achievable today. In the 1990s, however, Lockheed Martin decided to make their own version – one with a sleek airframe but no tail. Multi-Axis, No-Tail Aircraft An aircraft that could leverage thrust vector control to manipulate high-end dogfights, the new design skipped on using a […] More
The Mil V-12 is a heavy transport helicopter built in the USSR during the late 1960s. It was the biggest helicopter in the world and was created to carry Russian missiles to remote forest locations, away from the US’ eyes. Primary Purpose While the V-12 may look like an experimental aircraft, it has a primary […] More
