Forming Bonds and Earning Respect The two friends first met aboard USS Leyte in 1950. Hudner was assigned to the VF-32 where he piloted the F4U Corsair alongside his wingman, Jesse Brown. Brown faced discrimination growing up in the early 1900s. Still, he became the first African-American to complete the Navy’s basic flight training program. […] More
Imagine being so fast you can shoot yourself down. That is the story of the F-11 Tiger, an aircraft so quick that it somehow managed to hit itself. Born From Necessity The US saw the Soviet Union as a strong opponent during the Cold War. They were weary of the USSR’s capabilities, especially when it […] More
The Vought F-8 Crusader is a single-engine, supersonic aircraft built for the United States Navy and the Marine Corps and served principally for the Vietnam War. It was the only fighter plane during the war with guns and missiles. Here are some interesting points about the F-8 Crusader, also known as the Last Gunfighter: Record-Setting […] More
The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was supposedly the Navy’s frontline carrier-based bomber for the entire duration of World War II. However, it was plagued with problems throughout its development and even after it was officially introduced. Here are the five reasons the “Helldiver” was the worst and final navy dive bomber: It showed signs of trouble […] More
In another episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, American TV host Jay Leno showcases the power and incredible engineering of his Merlin 1650-1 engine. The engine was well-known to be the very heart of famous World War II planes, like the P-51 Mustang, and the legendary Lancaster bombers. Here are ten fun facts that you need […] More
The P-61 Black Widow was the first operational aircraft of the United States, specifically as a night fighter. A lethal bite from the Widow could rival enemies. It had four forward-firing 20mm cannons on its belly and a dorsal turret holding 0.50-caliber machine guns. Here are seven interesting facts that you need to know about […] More
The B-26 Marauder became one of the most feared aircraft in World War II. Engineer Peyton Magruder of the Glenn L. Martin Company created this revolutionary twin-engine medium bomber. But it soon gained a notorious reputation as an aircraft far too dangerous to fly. Here are the ten disadvantages of flying the B-26 Marauder: 1. […] More
Craig Button was a 32-year-old USAF pilot who died in 1997. 25 years later, the manner of his death is still in question. Training Mission and Disappearance On April 2, 1997, Button was on a training mission with two other A-10s. This session was the first time Button was going to use live rounds. That […] More
1. You Need Connections Unlike cars, you can’t just go to your nearest hangar and ask for a quote for a P-51 Mustang. Production of this warbird has been canceled for decades now. So in order to get one of these, you need to have connections first. Hopefully, a guy you know knows a guy […] More
The First Attack 1st Lt. Edmund Smith and his B-29 crew took off on January 27, 1945, from Isley Airfield for a bombing mission. Their main target was Tokyo’s Musashiho and Nakajima aircraft factories. Destroying these factories would help cripple the production of Japanese planes. However, just 15 miles out west near Mt. Fuji, their […] More
Chilling Discovery On November 23, 1944, a B-17 bomber crashed near a group of Allied soldiers in Belgium. As it crashed, witnesses noticed that the B-17’s engines were still running. The soldiers near the wreck waited in anticipation for the crew to exit the plane themselves. After all, there were no flares fired to signal […] More
Peaked Way Too Early It started out very promising but it went downhill pretty fast. That is the story of the Vultee XP-54 “Swoose Goose”, one of the many warbirds that never saw action during the war. The XP-54 was supposed to be the largest and heaviest single-engine plane made by America during WWII. On […] More
