Aircraft | War History

Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star: The Only US Jet Fighter to See Action In WWII – During Secret Operations In Italy

Lockheed P-80A-1-LO Shooting Star in flight

The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, also known as the F-80, was the first jet fighter used operationally by the US Army Air Forces (USAAF). While…

No. 1426 Flight RAF Flew German Aircraft Decked Out In Royal Air Force Insignia

Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3 in flight

In September 1942, Rachel and Eddie Jones were enjoying the warm weather at their home near Romsey, England. Rachel had formed a keen interest in…

Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse: The German Bomber Destroyer That Was No Match for Allied Fighters

Messerschmitt Me 410A-1/U2 Hornisse parked on the tarmac

The Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse was a German twin-engine heavy fighter and bomber destroyer operated by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. Designed as…

KAI T-50 Golden Eagle: The Supersonic Trainer That Took Out Rebels In the Philippines

KAI T-50 Golden Eagle in flight

The KAI T-50 Golden Eagle is one of few supersonic trainers in the world and the first developed for the Republic of Korea Air Force…

Mikoyan MiG-29K: The Russian Cold War-Era Fighter That Didn’t Enter Service Until 2010

Mikoyan MiG-29K landing on the flight deck of the INS Vikramaditya

The Mikoyan MiG-29K is a Russian all-weather carrier-based multirole fighter. Developed by the Mikoyan Design Bureau in the late 1980s, it was the naval variant…

Saab J35 Draken: The Nordic Dragon That Accidentally Discovered the Cobra Maneuver

Saab J35F Draken in flight

In the post-World War II world, the need for advanced jet fighter technology loomed large. In the soaring 1960s, the Saab J35 Draken was nothing…

Why Did a Test Pilot Wear a Gorilla Mask In Flight?

Two Bell P-59 Airacomets in flight + Individual wearing a gorilla mask

Imagine flying through the skies during the Second World War when, suddenly, an aircraft appears to your left. The pilot waves at you, but it’s…

The P-38F Lightning ‘Glacier Girl’ Was Buried Beneath The Ice For 50 Years

Lockheed P-38F Lightning 'Glacier Girl' in flight

So many aircraft went down during the Second World War that it would be difficult to calculate the total. One was a Lockheed P-38F Lightning,…

de Havilland Mosquito: The Versatile Aircraft That Struck Fear Into the Germans

de Havilland Mosquito in flight

The de Havilland Mosquito was a British twin-engine, multirole combat aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other Allied air forces during…

Northrop Grumman X-47B: The US Navy’s Historic Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle

Northrop Grumman X-47B flying near the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77)

The Northrop Grumman X-47B is an American unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV). Two were developed for use under the US Navy’s Unmanned Combat Air System…

Korean War Helicopters That Were Vital to Those Serving In the Conflict

Troops walking toward a Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw + Sikorsky H-5 Dragonfly taking off

The Korean War took place between 1950-53 and saw the UN coalition forces operate a plethora of military vehicles, including helicopters. The United States, in…

The McDonnell F3H Demon Was Doomed Before It Ever Entered Service

McDonnell F3H-2N Demon in flight

The US Navy has operated an array of aircraft throughout its history, but few had as short a service life as the McDonnell F3H Demon.…