Luftwaffe Bf 109s Vs USAAF P-38s Following Operation Torch in 1942, USAAF fighter pilots encountered a baptism of fire while flying the highly sophisticated P-38 Lightning over North Africa. Their…
Why the Wolf Pack F-16 has a unique tail flash in honor of Robin Olds’s F-4C Phantom II
F-16 honoring Robin Olds This post has an intriguing photo that was taken on September 17, 2023, at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea. It shows an F-16C Fighting Falcon…
How a US Army OV-1 pilot brought down a North Vietnamese MiG-17 with his Mohawk’s rockets and gun
The strangest aerial engagement of the Vietnam War What was maybe the most peculiar aircraft combat of the Vietnam War occurred in late February 1968 over the triple canopy jungle…
F-14 plane captain recalls when his Tomcat RTB from ACM training with 95% of its starboard stab missing. The pilot never knew it was missing and just used a little trim for the ACM mission.
F-14 Tomcat ACM training Air combat maneuvering (ACM) is the art of maneuvering a combat aircraft in order to attain a position from which an attack can be made on…
When a US Navy F-14 Tomcat shot down a USAF RF-4C Phantom II during a war game
F-14 shooting down RF-4C A US Air Force (USAF) RF-4C Phantom II was shot down by a US Navy F-14 Tomcat on September 22, 1987, over the Mediterranean during NATO…
Cradle of Aviation Museum unveils newly restored F-14D ‘Felix 101’, the last US Navy Tomcat to ever fly
Cradle of Aviation Museum restores Felix 101 On Sep. 14, 2023 the curatorial staff and dedicated team of restoration volunteers at the Cradle of Aviation Museum presented the newly restored…
The P-47 that survived a strafing run with its wing torn off and its tail damaged by Spitfires
The P-47 Thunderbolt One of the most well-known fighter aircraft of the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II was the P-47, affectionately known as “Jug.” The P-47…
Footage shows crash of Russian Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic transport aircraft at 1973 Paris Air Show
The Tupolev Tu-144 The Tupolev Tu-144 (Russian: Tyполев Ту-144; NATO reporting name: Charger) is a retired jet airliner and commercial supersonic transport aircraft (SST). It is one of only two…
The chief of the SR-71 crew reveals why the Blackbird never stopped leaking fuel
The SR-71 Blackbird The US Air Force (USAF) created the SR-71 Blackbird in the 1960s; it was a plane that could move at a speed that exceeded three times the…
Here’s how a British Airways Boeing 747 that lost all four engines due to volcanic ash was able to land safely
The events around British Airways Boeing 747 flight BA 009 reveal the potential dangers of volcanic ash Plumes of volcanic ash near active volcanoes are a flight safety hazard, especially…