During the first night of the war, the Whitley had a crucial mission to bomb several German cities. However, surprisingly, as it approached its target, it didn’t precisely bombs that fell on top of enemy territory. Ugly Yet Reliable The Whitley’s prototypes didn’t impress many, but this unappealing yet reliable heavy bomber excelled during the […] More
The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light attack jet and advanced jet trainer aircraft developed during the 1960s, during the height of the Cold War. Both the French and West German air forces built this aircraft to specifically do trainer and light attack missions. It was also made to do duties better than its predecessors. […] More
The Douglas TBD-1 Devastator is a torpedo bomber from the late 1930s. Despite the name, it didn’t do a lot of devastation at all. In fact, it’s often remembered for its own devastation during the most famous battles in the Pacific. Here are the ten interesting facts about this obsolete bomber that was sent to […] More
The F15E Strike Eagle can reach up to 2.5 Mach speeds and equip with laser-guided missiles. It’s also equipped with the APG70 radar detecting hostile forces even from a long-range and two LANTIRN pods that can strike at pinpoint accuracy. Ultimately, though, this is a plane that would eventually wipe out the Iraqi Air Force […] More
Airborne aircraft carriers would allow fighter jet sorties to get into the action in one-third of the time of a battle group, carrying more firepower than a ground-based fighter squadron. It can also be used for everything from bomber defense, deep strike attacks, or interception against Soviet bombers. The Race to Building an Airborne Aircraft […] More
The Martin 262 Convoy Fighter was to be the cornerstone of the US Navy- this defensive fighter has propellers moving at supersonic speeds and can take off and land vertically. It was supposed to begin an era of the helicopter-like plane, but this never happened. The Search for a New Convoy Fighter World War II […] More
Developed by Northrop Grumman as part of the US Navy’s Unmanned Air Combat System (UCAS,) the X-4B is tailless, strike fighter-sized unmanned aircraft. Consistency Initially, two demonstrator tests were planned initially to go through a three-year test program. However, their performance was so consistent that preliminary tests ended only after 16 flights. Firsts The plane […] More
The Saab 37 Viggen was a single-seat, single-engine, short-medium-range combat aircraft developed by Sweden during the Cold War era. Onto the Next Big Thing After developing the Draken, the Swedish Airforce immediately set the requirements for its next-generation combat aircraft. The plane was planned to be adaptable to all tactical mission roles, with an integrated […] More
With the war in Indochina raging on, the US Air Force is struggling to develop a new aircraft to replace the aging WWII-era fighters utilized for close air support. Without the right CAS support, men on the ground are able to fight the North Vietnamese forces. A Desperate Program With time running out, and the […] More
There are various wacky, wild commercial aircraft that never got built, making the planes that are built today pale in comparison. Here’s a list of the fifteen commercial planes we nearly got: 1. Hawker-Siddeley HS 141 This aircraft matched those from Boeing and Airbus at the time, but it had one secret weapon- it can […] More
The USS Enterprise is one of the most decorated US ships in World War II. In fact, this aircraft carrier was forced to fight Japan on its own during the Battle of Guadalcanal. Stalemate On October 1942, the campaign in Guadalcanal was in a stalemate. While the United States has successfully invaded the region, Japan’s […] More
Boeing has a variety of aircraft that can fit the next passenger plane, but none of them fits the bill like the B-52. However, it also raises a couple of questions – how many passengers would it fit on board, what would it be like to fly, and is it even a good idea? The […] More
