Can a fighter jet be stolen? Theft of aircraft is a crime that is becoming more and more common, and it is frequently committed in conjunction with drug smuggling. Owners…
Cold War
Cold War
The pilot of an SR-71 with his RSO remembers performing a Blackbird super low pass at 152 knots
The SR-71 Blackbird One of the most sophisticated Blackbirds, the SR-71 (along with the A-12 and YF-12) was created by a group of Lockheed personnel under the direction of Clarence…
Cold War
RAF Lightning pilot set an (unofficial) world altitude record by reaching 87,800 feet at Mach 2.2
The RAF Lighting Interceptor Designed as a Mach 2 interceptor with an unrivaled rate of climb, the English Electric Lightning was frequently referred to as “a pilot sitting on two…
NavalWarfare
US Navy submariner recalls when while his boat was on silent running engineering watchstanders had to bang wrenches on metal for half an hour before other subs and ships could find it during drills
Silent running Silent running (or ultra-quiet) is a stealth mode of operation for submarines. During silent running, the propellers have a characteristic RPM band in which no cavitation noise arises.…
History
B-52 crews penetrated NORAD’s massive surveillance system at low-level without losses for three years in a row during an exercise
B-52 modified for low-level flight America’s first heavy bomber with swept wings and a long-range was the B-52 Stratofortress. It started as a high-altitude, intercontinental nuclear bomber, and its operating…
The centerpiece of America’s Naval forces Aircraft carriers are the centerpiece of America’s Naval forces – the most adaptable and survivable airfields in the world. On any given day, Sailors…
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 was more than three…
Carriers
F-35B Lightning II Performs First Night shipborne rolling vertical landing Aboard HMS Prince of Wales
F-35B first night shipborne rolling vertical landing aboard HMS Prince of Wales An F-35 Lightning II test pilot performed the first night shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) aboard HMS Prince…
SR-71C The Bastard The amazing video included in this post was recorded in June 2016 at Hill Air Force Base (AFB) and shows “The Bastard,” SR-71C S/N 61-7981, the last…
NavalWarfare
US Navy Nuclear Submariner explains what Ohio-class SSBN crews are supposed to do afterwards if they really did finish launching their ICBMs
Ohio-class SSBN The Ohio-class SSBN was conceived in the early 1970s and at 560 feet, they became the largest submarines ever built by the US Navy. USS Ohio (SSGN 726,…