Aircraft | War History

X-32: Boeing’s Jet Fighter Prototype Lost Out to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

Boeing X-32 taking off

Many unusual-looking aircraft have been developed over the years, but none are as ugly as the Boeing X-32. Designed as part of the Joint Strike…

North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco: The Vietnam-Era Light-Attack Aircraft That’s Looking to Make a Comeback

Two North American Rockwell OV-10 Broncos in flight

The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco was a Vietnam-era light-attack and observation aircraft that was favored by the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.…

Bell P-63 Kingcobra: The American Fighter-Turned-Soviet Tank Buster

Bell P-63 Kingcobra parked on the tarmac

The Second World War saw the development of several new aircraft, among them the Bell P-63 Kingcobra. Initially developed for use by America, it became…

World War II-Era Mystery Solved 80 Years After Aircraft, Pilot Went Missing Over Italy

Aerial view of the Gulf of Manfredonia, where Warren Singer's Lockheed P-38 Lightning was discovered + Lockheed P-38 Lightning in flight

While fighting the Axis powers in Italy during the Second World War, a number of Allied pilots lost their lives. One of them was US…

SR-72: Lockheed Martin’s Proposed Hypersonic Successor to the SR-71 Blackbird

Clouds in the sky + Illustration of the Lockheed Martin SR-72 "Son of Blackbird"

In 1998, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was officially retired, marking the end of its over 30-year service with the US Air Force. Over its three…

Video Shows Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider Taking First Flight

Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider parked in a hangar

The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider – better known as the US Air Force’s newest flying wing – underwent its first official flight on November 10,…

The Magic Engineering Behind Why Early Fighters Didn’t Shoot Their Own Propellers

Close-up of the front of an aircraft equipped with an interrupter gear

Let’s dive into something that’s been bugging many for decades: how did old fighter aircraft shoot at the enemy without blasting their own propellers into…

One of the Principal Designers for the B-2 Spirit Got Himself Incarcerated At a Supermax Prison

Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit in flight

The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is an American heavy strategic bomber featuring low-observable stealth technology, allowing it to penetrate and attack undetected deep within enemy…

Northrop XP-79: The Flying Wing Designed to Ram Into Enemy Aircraft in Mid-Air

Northrop XP-79 parked on the tarmac

The Northrop XP-79 Flying Ram was a rocket- and jet-powered flying-wing fighter designed during the Second World War for the US Army Air Forces. The…

Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Museum Embarking on Project to Reconstruct WWII-Era Fairey Barracuda

Fairey Barracuda flying over the HMS Vulnerable (R63) and an Italian destroyer

The Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Museum has launched a project to carry out a live rebuild over a period of 10 years of an…

A Boeing B-29 Superfortress Carrying An Atomic Bomb Once Crashed In California

Boeing B-29A Superfortress in flight

On August 5, 1950, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress, operated by the US Air Force and carrying a Mark 4 nuclear bomb, crashed northeast of San…

Debris Field Found in Search for Missing US Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II

Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II taking off down a runway

Update – September 19, 2023: The crash site of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II that went missing over South Carolina on September 17, 2023…