How the SR-71 Blackbird was conceived
The plane was given the nickname “Blackbird” after being painted all black. Before Gary Powers’ U-2 was shot down, work on a ground-breaking espionage plane had already started at Lockheed’s…
The plane was given the nickname “Blackbird” after being painted all black. Before Gary Powers’ U-2 was shot down, work on a ground-breaking espionage plane had already started at Lockheed’s…
Due to the facility’s emphasis on bombers in the 1940s and 1950s, the neighborhood gave it the nickname “the bomber plant,” which still lasts today The Air Force Plant 4…
Alvin S. White, a North American test pilot, and Col. Joseph F. Cotton piloted the XB-70 Valkyrie, which took off from Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, and landed at Edwards…
The aircraft designated F-105F Wild Weasel III, took over as the USAF’s primary SAM suppressor during Operation Rolling Thunder in the summer of 1966, replacing the F-100F Wild Weasel I…
The plans were given to the nonprofit organization The People’s Mosquito, which used them to repair a de Havilland Mosquito so that it could fly again The Telegraph reports that…
The 10,000 pounds Mk I bomb known as “Little Boy” dropped out of the bomb bay as the Enola Gay lurched. On December 17, 1944, the 509th Composite Group was…
During the Vietnam War, the Skyraider’s primary tasks included providing CAS to ground forces and protecting helicopters that were recovering downed airmen in hostile territory The Douglas AD Skyraider, which…
With 68 bullet wounds, a shot-out windshield, and holes through the rotor blades, Jolly Green 22 managed to escape the trap During the Southeast Asia War, the U.S. Air Force…
The innovative and potentially very effective flying wing design, in which the tail section and fuselage are deleted and all payload is carried in a thick wing, was employed by…
The Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird, USAF serial number 61-7972, set four National Aeronautic Association and three Fédération Aéronautique Internationale speed records on its final flight on March 6, 1990 The Lockheed…