After WWII B-29 saw military service again in Korea between 1950 and 1953, battling new adversaries: the Soviet-built MiG-15 jet fighters When the huge VB-13 TARZON was first designed in…
Who could blame Vito, when approaching Moscow for the first time, felt his throat dry. Consequently, he reached into his pocket for a cough drop, but instead, he took out…
The survival kit carried by Blackbird’s pilots and RSOs included a few unconventional items, even though no SR-71 was ever shot down The Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft were the…
The SBD rear gunners fired as Saburo Sakai and his wingman closed the range. It was the high-scoring ace’s most harrowing and memorable combat of the war The US Navy…
‘Iowa the Air Traffic Controllers could not believe that they had an F-14 Tomcat under their control and so very low…500ft/152m,’ John Chesire, former US Navy F-14 Tomcat pilot The…
‘The F-14s dropped while the F/A-18s lased. We egressed the target area having achieved absolutely superb results from direct hits, and there were impressive secondary explosions,’ Bob Brauer, F-14A Tomcat…
After six years of development, the F-22 Raptor made its first flight on September 7, 1997, in Marietta, Georgia After six years of development, the F-22 Raptor made its first…
‘Everything about the A-12 Oxcart program was dark alley, cloak, and dagger. Even the way they financed the operation was highly unconventional,’ Ben Rich, second Director of Lockheed’s Skunk Works…
Only the hottest fuel was transferred to the engines by the SR-71 Blackbird smart valve, while cooler fuel was sent to the avionics and to retract landing gear The Lockheed…
How close did a Blackbird Mach 3 spy plane ever come to being shot down? The famed spy plane SR-71 Blackbird is renowned for holding the official record for the…