The Eagle’s AIM-7 Sparrow missile was significantly less powerful than the Phoenix missile system. Research revealed that 170 F-14 Tomcats could equal 290 F-15 Eagles in terms of defense The…
Cold War
Carriers
US Navy selects Commercial Dismantlement plan to dismantle and dispose USS Enterprise (CVN-65), the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
The US Navy has opted for “Alternative 3,” which involves dismantling and disposing of USS Enterprise (CVN-65) using commercial industry expertise The US Navy has made a significant decision regarding…
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…
Airshows
Video shows the moment a Patrouille Suisse F-5 Tiger II hits a flock of birds during Radom Air Show
The video in this post features a Patrouille Suisse F-5 Tiger suffering a bird strike with a flock of birds crossing its path Filmed by our friend Dafydd Phillips during…
Cold War
The first U-2 pilot remembers how, after almost biting his lethal cyanide pill in half, the only U-2 pilot to fly above Moscow almost died and crashed into Red Square
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…
History
Zero-sen ace Saburo Sakai describes the combat in which he was injured by US Navy SBD Dauntless dive bombers
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…
While operational, it was effectively impossible to intercept to all the jet fighters of its generation barring a stripped Electric Lightning pushed to the limit – including F-15, F-16 or…
F-14 Tomcat
US Navy F-14 Tomcat pilot who fired a Phoenix missile against an Iraqi MiG-23 explains why the AIM-54 missed its target
Using their F-14 Tomcat (much-improved) Link-16 datalink, LCDR Coby ‘Coach’ Loessberg and his RIO obtained their targeting data from the supporting E-2C powered up their APG-71 and quickly set up…
Carriers
USS Ronald Reagan Yellow Shirt recalls when he was nearly killed by an F/A-18 that smashed on the flight deck after having inadvertently caught a wire during a wave-off
‘I thought the jet was going to explode when it crashed back onto the deck, the blast killing us or sending us flying over the edge of the deck,’ Robbie…