AirSpaceMag-Military Aviation

A New Dawn, Partially Realized

Fri, 17 May 2013 06:20:38 GMT

In 1969, Pan Am was promising both the jumbo jet and the SST. In the end, we only got one of them.

Panthers At Sea

Tue, 21 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

U.S. Navy Panthers weren’t highly evolved, but they could shoot. And they were air conditioned.

The Navy Gets a Panther

Tue, 21 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

It wasn’t the flashiest jet fighter, but the Grumman F9F was a rugged little aircraft that did everything asked of it.

Above & Beyond: Contact!

Tue, 21 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

What happens when helicopters get a little too close.

When Republic Aviation Folded

Tue, 21 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

A historian rescued a lone document from the company’s files.

In the Age of Stratojets

Wed, 01 May 2013 01:54:11 GMT

A former B-47 crew chief looks back at one of the great airplanes of the 20th century.

Kamikaze Bats

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 06:18:11 GMT

The plan: Strap napalm bombs onto bats, and drop them over World War II Japan.

Plane Spotting

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 05:01:06 GMT

You'll find them at most any airport. Some spotters try to see every type of jet flown by a given airline, while others are on the lookout for special liveries.

Does Missile Defense Actually Work?

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 03:38:45 GMT

Not 100 percent. But it’s better than it used to be.

My Mother Had Wings

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 03:27:42 GMT

The daughter of a WASP tells her mother's tale.

The Invention of Flight

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 04:54:53 GMT

Inventors, dreamers, daredevils, charlatans: Aviation's early years had them all.

Docking on the Empire State Building

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:56:59 GMT

Despite plans for a mooring station, only one airship ever docked at the Empire State Building.

Britain’s High-Mach Ground-Hugging Heartbreak

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 08:00:00 GMT

The TSR-2 bomber was a case of aeronautical genius foiled by political foolishness.

Trigger Pullers and Mouse Clickers

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 07:05:35 GMT

Do drone pilots deserve medals?

Medevac!

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 08:00:00 GMT

Transporting the wounded in Iraq.

Flights & Fancy: Hornet Babies

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 08:00:00 GMT

“Back in the old Marine Corps...”

Rescue, James Bond Style

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:08:06 GMT

Some of 007's imaginative toys were based on actual inventions.

Hidden Treasures

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 06:59:13 GMT

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is a wonderland for the aviation enthusiast.

Fantastic Plastic

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 09:16:16 GMT

Dive bombers, fighters, and trainers, all hanging from a bedroom ceiling.

Who Inspects the Navy’s Aircraft Carriers?

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 02:27:51 GMT

It takes a (uniformed) village.

Last of the Few

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:45:00 GMT

The Battle of Britain in the words of the pilots who won it.

Beautiful Bombers

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 08:10:00 GMT

A new book documents the glory of World War II aircraft.

Veterans Day

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:48:27 GMT

These Museum staffers and volunteers once served their country in the armed forces. Now they serve in a different way.

Can the Pentagon Unbundle Its Behemoth Space Systems?

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 05:02:23 GMT

Support for "disaggregation" of military satellites is getting louder.

Tennis, Anyone?

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 05:51:20 GMT

When she wasn't playing tennis on the wing of a biplane in flight, Gladys Roy was dancing the Charleston.

Oldies and Odditites: The Flying Crane

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 09:00:00 GMT

Test pilot Gale Moore rose to the challenge of the XH-17.

Some Thing on the Wing

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 08:45:45 GMT

Quite a shock out my airplane window.

Hazardous Mail

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 09:17:44 GMT

A simple scrap of paper reminds us of a time when delivering letters cross-country was risky business.

The Misty Mystique

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 09:00:00 GMT

Over Vietnam, F-100 pilots flew fast and low. Later, they hit the heights.

Above and Beyond: Nuke the Pilot

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 09:00:00 GMT

Operation Redwing tested aircraft vulnerabilities to atomic blasts.

History in Flight

Tue, 11 May 2010 08:01:10 GMT

Rare warbirds star in a California airshow.

The Art of War

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:47:33 GMT

The paintings of Tom Lea, Life magazine's artist-correspondent during World War II.

Panther Paint Job

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:54:55 GMT

Watch a 57-year-old warbird go from Winona rags to Blue Angel royalty.

Warbird Obsession

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 03:47:30 GMT

It's an addiction. Admitting you have it is the first step.

Photo Gallery: A Tiltrotor Squadron in Afghanistan

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 04:00:27 GMT

Scenes of a Marine unit flying the incredible, versatile Osprey.

Stratomouse!

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 10:05:33 GMT

In the 1950s, balloons carried live mice to near-space to study how the trip might affect astronauts.

Spy Pigeons

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:59:46 GMT

Unlikely soldiers during World War II: More than 250,000 pigeons deployed by the British.

The X-47 Ships Out

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 04:29:33 GMT

The Navy’s unmanned combat aircraft makes a historic takeoff, and prepares for carrier trials at sea.

Catapulting Into History

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 02:15:58 GMT

The first catapult launch of an unmanned combat aircraft -- and more milestones to come.

Pippo: A World War II Mystery

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 07:03:21 GMT

Why does the solitary night fighter call out for a nickname?

The Beech Boys

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The pilots and fans dedicated to prolonging the stardom of the Beech 18.

Beavers On Parachutes

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 07:34:20 GMT

In 1948, Idaho decided the best way to move beavers was to airdrop them.

The Air Force Survival Guide (Don’t Leave Home Without it)

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 06:44:51 GMT

Find yourself in a hostile environment? The Air Force knows what to do.

Viewport: Good Deals

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 05:00:00 GMT

A couple of very good deals

The Ordeal of VF-653

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 05:00:00 GMT

From a Navy Reserve pilot’s letters home, a picture of the darkest days of the Korean War

In the Museum: Rotary Rescue

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The Sikorsky HO5S-1 made its name flying medevac missions in Korea.

Asleep at the Wheel

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 09:15:07 GMT

Driving a drone is (apparently) nothing like playing World of Warcraft.

The New Afghanistan Air Force

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 07:03:32 GMT

How the U.S. military is training Afghans to fly.

The Raiders Remember

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 06:00:00 GMT

In an annual ceremony, the last of the Doolittle Raiders recall their part in victory over Japan.

Steinbeck’s Dispatches From Vietnam

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 09:00:00 GMT

In 1966, the author of The Grapes of Wrath met a new working class: Hueys, Hercs, and Spooky.

Due South of Key West

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 01:47:28 GMT

Flying fast and low over Castro’s Cuba.

Intensive Air

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 06:00:00 GMT

One reason more soldiers are making it home alive.

Stratospheric Jump Set for October 8

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 05:10:17 GMT

Felix Baumgartner and his Red Bull team set a date for the Big Leap.

Evacuating the Injured

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 06:16:48 GMT

A Marine Corps pilot flies CASEVAC missions in Iraq.

Cuba During the Missile Crisis

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Fifty years later, Cubans remember preparing to fight the Americans.

Above & Beyond - "We've Been Hit" - Sept12

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 09:00:00 GMT

F/A-18 vs. surface-to-air missile: Guess who won.

Above & Beyond: When the Missiles Left

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 06:00:00 GMT

A Navy aircrew got it on film.

Viewport: Seeing Is Believing

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Seeing is believing.

Kennedy’s Evidence

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Low-level aerial photos confirmed that Soviet nuclear missiles were in Cuba in 1962.

Restoration: Carpenter’s Special

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 06:00:00 GMT

De Havilland D.H.98 Mosquito

Alarming Reports from George Orwell

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 03:49:09 GMT

In the weeks leading up to the Blitz, Londoners were still learning how to respond to air-raid warnings.

Remembering Phyllis Diller

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 08:27:33 GMT

A story from when the famed comedian joined Bob Hope on his USO tours.

In the Museum - Painting History - Sept12

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 09:00:00 GMT

Restoring the sole surviving Heinkel He 219.

Airman Down

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 09:00:00 GMT

Rescue aircraft are different today, but "surrender" is still a dirty word.

Soul of the Skyraider

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 09:47:42 GMT

A U.S. Air Force Heritage Flight Foundation pilot describes what it’s like to fly three generations of ground attack aircraft.

How Do You Name an Aircraft Carrier?

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 04:26:53 GMT

It's not as straightforward as you think.

Take a Seat

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 07:23:21 GMT

Sixty-six years ago this week, Sergeant Lawrence Lambert became the first person in the U.S. to be ejected from a high-speed aircraft.

The Ultimate Fighter?

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 06:33:30 GMT

With the F-35, Lockheed Martin takes a turn trying to make one combat plane that can do everything.

Thanks for the Lift

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 01:02:53 GMT

Riding on a Marine Corps C-130 in Iraq had its risks, not all of them expected.

What’s Under the Thames?

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 07:01:22 GMT

Almost 100 aircraft were lost in the river during World War II alone, and it's not certain how many are still to be recovered.

Typhoon Watch

Mon, 21 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

For the first time since World War II, fighters are stationed at RAF Northolt.

London’s Armed Rooftops

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 05:19:12 GMT

As the world's athletes put on their game face, the British Army prepares for aerial attack.

Oldies and Oddities: The Original Men in Black

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 09:00:00 GMT

UFO investigations may have been the least exciting duty for the Air Intelligence Service Squadron.

The Tower Ravens

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 01:26:19 GMT

During World War II, a raven helped alert the city to approaching bombers.

“Mayday, This is Death 23”

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 06:30:29 GMT

The call that makes every Apache pilot freeze.

Battle Noise School

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 05:32:26 GMT

How psychologists conditioned soldiers and civilians to the sounds of combat during World War II.

Under the Eurofighter’s Hood

Mon, 21 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Europe’s frontline fighter is a marvel of technology.

Berry’s Leap

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:24:00 GMT

In February 1912, Capt. Albert Berry made the first parachute jump from an airplane.

The First Air Force Mission

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 02:35:07 GMT

In 1916, eight Curtiss biplanes from the U.S. Army’s 1st Aero Squadron—the country’s entire air force—flew into Mexico for their first military action.

Above & Beyond - Bait and Switch

Mon, 21 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Naval aviators push Qaddafi's buttons in a 1981 exercise.

Building Spitfires, Slowly

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:54:40 GMT

The legendary WWII fighter wasn't so fast getting out of the factory.

Wingman in a Pontiac

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:00:00 GMT

It takes two to land the dragon lady.

The Women’s RAF

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:00:00 GMT

In World War II Britain, a new group of pilots answered the call to serve.

Killer at 70,000 Feet

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:00:00 GMT

The occupational hazards of flying the U-2.

He Saved Navy Fliers from Spam

Thu, 17 May 2012 04:31:14 GMT

Long before Swanson's TV dinner, there was the Maxson Sky Plate.

Lin Xu’s Obsession

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:00:00 GMT

It started with a search for images of his hometown in China. Hundreds of miles of film later, he can't stop looking.

Titanic’s Wireless Operators: The Original Texters

Mon, 14 May 2012 06:11:22 GMT

Text messaging, from 1912 to 2012.

Howard Hughes’ Robot

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 04:25:59 GMT

On his record-setting flight in 1938, the billionaire had two navigators, only one of which was human.

High Valor

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 01:37:12 GMT

Barry Crawford is honored for his heroism as a combat air controller in Afghanistan.

Above and Beyond: Radar Love

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:20:00 GMT

Before instrument landing systems, military pilots relied on controllers to steer them right to the runway.

Spy Pilot

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:00:00 GMT

One of Lockheed’s former chief test pilots for high altitude reconnaissance describes the joys and terrors of the U-2.

I WAS THERE: Bring Down the Spyplane

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:00:00 GMT

MIG-17 vs. Lockheed U-2.

High Spy: The Amazing U-2

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:33:01 GMT

Still keeping watch after more than 50 years.

Diary of a Spy

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Events that made the U-2 the world's most famous player in the game of espionage.

Berry’s Leap, Pt. 2

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:07:45 GMT

Grant Morton wasn't the first to parachute from an airplane, or even the second.

Göring’s Nephew

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 04:45:30 GMT

A bizarre case of mistaken identity almost cost a World War II B-17 commander his life.

Bomber of the Future

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 07:53:36 GMT

The U.S. Air Force announced last weekend that the competition to build the next bomber is already underway.

K-MAX at Work

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:20:43 GMT

A few months into testing, the new cargo helo seems to be performing well.

Above and Beyond: The Last Bombing Mission of World War I

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:00:00 GMT

They survived the mission; would they survive the landing?

Hardest to Fly?

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:08:02 GMT

Piloting an Apache helicopter almost always meant both hands and feet doing four different things at once.

100 Years of Marine Aviation

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:00:00 GMT

A salute to 10 aircraft that carried the few and the proud into history.

At the B-17 Co-op

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:00:00 GMT

Like bomber crews on 100-plane raids, today’s B-17 owners find strength—and survival—in numbers.

DARPA ISO UAV

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:13:06 GMT

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is trying out innovation the 21st century way: crowdsourcing.

Moments and Milestones: One Fast Yak

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:00:00 GMT

How Will Whiteside and his team transformed a light trainer into a racer.

In the Museum: D.A.S.H. Goes to War

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:00:00 GMT

The first rotary-wing UAV entered military service in 1962—and remained in operation until 1997.

Cancelled: SeaMonsters of the Navy Martin P6M SeaMaster

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:00:00 GMT

The Navy wanted a nuclear bomber of its own; the Glenn Martin Company thought, Why not a flying boat?

Viewport: Airborne Artillery

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:00:00 GMT

The Navy wanted a nuclear bomber of its own; the Glenn Martin Company thought, Why not a flying boat?

Reviews and Previews: Soldier of Fortune

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:00:00 GMT

The life and mysterious death of an American ace in the Spanish Civil War

Bob Smyth, Grumman Test Pilot (1927-2012)

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:44:01 GMT

He flew the first flight of the F-14A Tomcat in 1970, but made bigger headlines when he had to eject from the aircraft just nine days later.

The Battle of Key West

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:59:21 GMT

Phantoms v. MiGs over Florida in 1962.

Thirty Hours, No Stops

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:28:39 GMT

The B-2 needs four fill-ups to keep flying.

The Dogs of War

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 05:49:11 GMT

Man's best friend on the front lines.

The Other Air Forces

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 03:00:00 GMT

Humorist Bruce McCall's small fleet of little-known aircraft.

Tweetups Then and Now

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:14:39 GMT

Lockheed Martin held their first Tweetup this week, inviting fans to see the last F-22 roll out of the factory. So what exactly is a Tweetup, and how did they start?

Missing in Inaction: F-104

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:37:36 GMT

Alert: If you see a Starfighter in a parking lot, contact this Dutch museum.

70 Years of “Slipping the Surly Bonds”

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 08:19:51 GMT

Whether you love it or hate it, John Gillespie Magee's "High Flight" remains the most enduring of aviation poems.

Air Force Slashes Airshow Demos

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 02:34:00 GMT

Don't go looking for F-16s or A-10s at military airshows from now on. The F-22 will be performing solo.

Getting Medieval

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 03:46:38 GMT

When the Eighth Air Force wanted to protect its bomber crews, it asked medieval armor specialists for advice.

Above & Beyond: The Man My Mother Fell in Love With

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 03:00:00 GMT

When the Navy retired the Tomcat, my father went with it.

Catch-22 At Fifty

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 06:57:42 GMT

Writer Joseph Heller drew on his own wartime experience for his 1961 masterpiece.

Unmanned Helos Headed For Afghanistan

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 06:12:51 GMT

Troops in Afghanistan should start receiving supplies from the new K-MAX unmanned helicopters for the first time this month.

Stay Tuned

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:21:07 GMT

A new emergency warning system will be tested on Wednesday -- 60 years after another radio network warned Americans of Cold War air raids.

The Other B-29 Missions

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 05:28:33 GMT

The big bomber's little-known errands of mercy.

The Warbird Woodstock

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 08:23:23 GMT

A new book highlights the final Gathering of Mustangs in 2007.

King of the Bombs

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:25:05 GMT

Fifty years ago this weekend, the biggest nuke ever.

The World’s First Warplane

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 08:01:56 GMT

One hundred years ago this Sunday, on October 23, 1911, Captain Carlo Piazza climbed onto his spindly Blériot XI and made military history.

Lightning on Deck

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 04:05:08 GMT

The Marine Corps version of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is undergoing sea trials this week and next, and already has chalked up a milestone: the first vertical landing of the F-35B at sea.

Making MUSIC Together

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 04:04:30 GMT

Manned and Unmanned join forces in a training exercise.

Mind If I Borrow It

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 09:00:00 GMT

The day an Air Force mechanic commandeered a North American F-86.

Military Aviation

Thu, 29 May 2008 03:10:05 GMT

The day an Air Force mechanic commandeered a North American F-86.

F-22 Pilots Breathing Easier?

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:20:58 GMT

We'll find out soon enough. After four months on the ground, the F-22 Raptor was cleared by the U.S. Air Force to resume operations this week.

X-47 on Deck, Kind Of

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 02:32:12 GMT

This summer the X-47B unmanned combat aircraft made its first arrested landing on the USS Eisenhower. Well, actually it was an F/A-18D Hornet (left) operating as a surrogate, using the software and [...]

Could You Fly a Sabre

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 09:00:00 GMT

The challenge of handling a 1950s MiG killer.

Moments and Milestones Trophy Mission

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 09:00:00 GMT

Honors for a risky bombing run.

Going Once….The 1920 Pulitzer Race Trophy

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 06:10:46 GMT

From the Chicago Daily Tribune, November 28, 1920: "At last the pride of the Army air service, the Verville-Packard chasse biplane, has established its worth by romping ahead of thirty-four starters in the first Pulitzer...

Airplanes of the Eighth

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:29:54 GMT

Where to see B-17s and Mustangs for yourself.

The Raptor Arrives

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:19:30 GMT

Debriefing the pilots who got the first crack at the F-22.

Apollo in Afghanistan

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 02:19:11 GMT

Three legendary astronauts—Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, and Gene Cernan—were in Kabul, Afghanistan, yesterday, meeting with American service men and women as well as young Afghan Air Force trainees. From the NATO press release: “This is the best day of my life!” said Lt. Fatama Abteen, one of a small handful of female Afghan Air Force [...]

Lieutenant Ivan Baranovsky’s P-39

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 06:00:00 GMT

An airacobra's journey to the eastern front...and back.

Conan Knows Best

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 03:35:44 GMT

Who can forget the immortal question posed by the Mongol General in the 1982 classic Conan the Barbarian? Wait…don’t tell me you’ve forgotten? When the Mongol General bellows “What is best in life?” some (sissy) barbarian offers the following: “The open steppe, fleet horse, falcons at your wrist, and the wind in your hair.” (“The [...]

Coming Extractions

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 11:53:14 GMT

The Army’s CH-47 Chinook helicopter has flown a stunning but standard maneuver—the aft-wheel pinnacle landing—since 1962. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the move has reached its peak. This month as many as 5,000 pairs of boots will leave the ground, with a goal to extract 33,000 by next September. Many will exit the same way they [...]

The Mobile in Mobilization

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 06:00:00 GMT

D.B. Cooper (Still) Missing

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 05:26:57 GMT

After investigating a thousand suspects since a person who called himself (or herself) D.B. Cooper skyjacked a Boeing 727 on November 24, 1971, the FBI thought it finally had a “credible” tip. Until last night, that is, when CBS News reported that the Cooper lead had fizzled and the FBI was expected to formally rule [...]

F-35 Catapult Test

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 02:45:38 GMT

While the Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter continues its struggle with budget politics, the test program marches along. On Wednesday the F-35C—the version designed for aircraft carriers—made its first catapult launch during a ground test at Naval Air Systems Command in Lakehurst, New Jersey, with Navy test pilot Lt. Chris Tabert at the controls. Ship [...]

Saving Gas Over the Top

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:15:18 GMT

An Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker may haul more than 31,000 gallons to refuel other aircraft, but for long-haul missions, it needs to watch every drop of its own fuel. That’s why, when a KC-135 crew flew from Washington state to Kyrgyzstan over the North Pole last month, the Air Force brass was pumped. It wasn’t [...]

The Battle of Midway, 69 Years Later

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:40:04 GMT

“The Battle of Midway was probably the most important battle in the Pacific war during World War II,” says Russell Lee, a curator in the aeronautics division at the National Air and Space Museum. “On that day, American carrier forces defeated the Japanese, and stopped permanently their westward expansion.” Prior to the battle, Japan possessed [...]

Flights and Fancy: How I Bagged an F-4J

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Who would think a kite could down a fighter?

The Akron and Macon’s Hail Mary Pass

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 03:54:57 GMT

“One of the interesting things about airships,” says Tom Crouch, a senior curator at the National Air and Space Museum, who gave a lecture on the subject this week as part of the Museum’s Ask an Expert series, is that they were “transitional technology. They were capable of doing a great many things before airplanes [...]

The Bombing of Waziristan

Tue, 17 May 2011 05:58:41 GMT

In this rugged hiding place, outlaws like Osama bin Laden are rarely run to ground. The British learned that lesson in 1939.

Mile-High Jetpack

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 01:56:33 GMT

If you haven’t seen it yet, take a look at this video of the Martin Aircraft Company’s recent mile-high test of its personal jetpack and safety parachute system. The flight topped out at 5,000 feet, but could have gone higher. While a dummy was on board for this test, the New Zealand-based company is marketing [...]

Life on the Big Screen

Fri, 20 May 2011 07:51:37 GMT

The “glass cockpit,” named for the new generation of flat panel, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), is commonplace now in all types of aircraft from the Cessna to the space shuttle. LCD technology began to appear in earnest in the 1990s. Today, with the continued price plunge of electronic displays, the perforated instrument panel, like that [...]

Survival Tactics

Tue, 24 May 2011 12:58:07 GMT

During World War II, the Smithsonian Institution aided the war effort in many different ways. An “Ethnogeographic Board” was established to act as a clearinghouse for government wartime needs, and one of their major undertakings was the “Survival Project,” requested by the U.S. Navy. Smithsonian historian Pamela Henson writes in “The Smithsonian Goes to War: [...]

NASA Art Returns to Washington

Fri, 27 May 2011 01:17:13 GMT

Since 1963, hundreds of artists (and musicians, poets—even one fashion designer) have interpreted NASA’s aeronautic and space projects. The artists were given carte blanche to create what they wanted, in any medium, on any subject. In celebration of NASA’s 50th anniversary in 2008, more than 70 diverse artworks from the program began touring the country [...]

Helicopter Missions: Vietnam Firefight

Tue, 31 May 2011 07:02:25 GMT

In 1966, Second Lieutenant Larry Liss was on the Czech-German border during a snowstorm, freezing his varlata off, when he saw something beautiful. It was a Bell UH-1 helicopter, still on the ground. The pilot—who was wearing short sleeves and drinking a cup of coffee—took one look at Liss and shook his head. “He said, [...]

The Real X-Jet

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 08:19:38 GMT

From Transformers to the X-Men, the Blackbird is still Hollywood's favorite futuristic jet. Here's the real story of its birth.

That Old Crate

Tue, 17 May 2011 06:00:24 GMT

From Minnesota cratemakers, a new CG-4 glider like the ones they built in World War II.

Above and Beyond: Warner and the Whale

Tue, 17 May 2011 06:00:00 GMT

How we turned the A3D into a tanker.

Two Days in the Life of a B-24 Crew

Tue, 17 May 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Take a fantasy flight in a real, live Liberator.

Explanation: They Were Drunk

Tue, 17 May 2011 07:55:26 GMT

In the history of aviation, there were ideas that didn’t quite work out. Take the Avro VZ-9-AV Avrocar, one of ten odd aircraft profiled in the Smithsonian Channel film “Unbelievable Flying Objects.” (It’s number 5). The U.S. Air Force became interested in the Avrocar as an early “stealth” aircraft that could hover beneath radar, then [...]

Helo With a Halo

Fri, 06 May 2011 11:32:45 GMT

Plenty of buzz going around about the mysterious stealth chopper left behind by U.S. Navy SEALs after they shot and killed Osama bin Laden last Monday morning, local time, in Pakistan.Having suffered technical problems and a hard landing, the helo apparently couldn't fly back out of bin Laden's com...

Helicopter Missions: The Taliban Gambit

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:30:44 GMT

It's summer 2005. In Afghanistan, a four-man U.S. Navy SEAL team has been ambushed by the Taliban. A Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter is immediately sent to extract them, but as it approaches the rescue site, the Taliban fire a rocket-propelled grenade, hitting the Chinook's fuel tanks. All 16 crew ...

Parachuteless Freaks

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:01:29 GMT

On March 23, 1944, a British Lancaster bomber over Germany's Ruhr River took heavy flak and exploded. As his oxygen mask and goggles began to melt, and his flight suit burned, tail gunner Nick Alkemade heard the pilot ordering the crew to bail out.The aircraft was at 18,000 feet, and while Alkemade...

Inside Joke

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 07:02:09 GMT

Admit it: Sometimes you want to skip all the technical hoo-hah and get straight to the jokes. For your enjoyment, today we're resurrecting a bit of aircraft maintenance humor that has been roaming the Internet since 1997, and circulating on hard copies before that. The jokes have been attributed to...

The Victory of Advertising

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 03:23:53 GMT

Before the Japanese air attack on the U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, less than one percent of all workers in American aeronautical factories were female. Just two years later, more than 475,000 women would help to manufacture aircraft for the war effort. Another 350,000 would ...

Parachuting in Virtual Reality

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:44:26 GMT

That's what they're doing at the Royal Air Force's Brize Norton base as an adjunct to regular jump training.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr81ZG-tXQU

Carrier-bound, and Unmanned

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 08:18:11 GMT

The X-47B, an unmanned combat vehicle being developed by Northrop Grumman for the U.S. Navy, made a successful first flight at California's Edwards Air Force Base on February 4.The X-47B is no small toy—it's about the size of the retired Grumman F-14 Tomcat. It will continue to work toward the ...

A Guppy with Talons

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 02:10:50 GMT

No, it's not some freakish genetics experiment. It's NASA's Super Guppy transport hauling around a couple of T-38s. Read about it here.

Fired Up

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 01:35:04 GMT

Balkan military officials report that China's new stealth fighter might have some technology acquired from a Lockheed Martin F-117 Nighthawk that was shot down over Serbia in 1999.Whoever recently took this footage of the new fighter doing high-speed taxi tests gets plenty fired up about it around ...

The Budget News From 1911

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 06:40:48 GMT

As in any year, there are winners and losers in the 2012 Pentagon budget announced yesterday. The Defense Department plans to buy more Reaper unmanned drones, but the Marine Corps' short takeoff and landing version of the F-35 was put on two-year "probation," and may not happen at all. Pretty stand...

You've Got EMALS

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 11:03:14 GMT

We told you all about electromagnetic catapults in this story from January 2007. Now the first airplane has been launched with an EMALS system: an F/A-18E Super Hornet, at a Navy test site in Lakehurst, New Jersey.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euLsg_viWW0

The Human Crash Test Dummy

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 03:03:51 GMT

You had to hand it to John Stapp. When it came to exploring the limits of human tolerance, he didn't ask test subjects to try anything he wasn't willing to do himself.On this day in 1954, Stapp set the record for G-force tolerance—a whopping 46.2 Gs.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfZjN2ceVOI

Still, It Was a Crowd Pleaser

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 03:17:40 GMT

Four T-38 pilots from Vance AFB in Oklahoma are being investigated by the Air Force for flying too low over a college football crowd last month. They came screaming over the University of Iowa's Kinnick Stadium at an altitude of 500 feet just as the national anthem ended—but were supposed to be twi...

T-bird Low Show

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 02:10:33 GMT

Are the United States Air Force Thunderbirds offering a new "low show" when cloud cover is below minimums? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUdHAx6gZqg&NR=1 We contacted the demonstration squadron and asked. Their reply: "Thank you for your interest in the USAF Thunderbirds and for taking the tim...

Happy Veterans Day

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 01:59:12 GMT

It's not often that you get to see a Boeing C-17 Globemaster make a flyover down a palm-tree-lined street, but it happened one recent Veterans Day in Long Beach, California. Enjoy. Gotta love the car alarm going off in the background at the end of the video—no flyover's complete without one. http:/...

Air Force Sloganizing

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 06:55:29 GMT

The U.S. Air Force recently announced its new motto: "Aim High...Fly-Fight-Win," which generals chose out of five contenders suggested by airmen and the general public: Fly Fight Win, Aim High, Above and Beyond, Air Power, and Wings of Freedom. This from the same people who named the Boeing C-17 ...

Air Force Drones Cut to Wide Angle

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 05:28:47 GMT

U.S. Air Force drones that serve as the aerial eyes of American combat troops in Afghanistan are about to widen their view.A multi-camera system called "Gorgon Stare" (named for the Medusa's deadly gaze, which turns onlookers to stone) will be installed on unmanned Reaper aircraft and deployed t...

Western Low-Fly Zones: Not in My Sky

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 02:05:12 GMT

The Air Force is looking for places in the American West where pilots can practice flying special operations missions over terrain similar to the rugged mountains of Afghanistan. One proposal would call for a new Low Altitude Tactical Navigation area straddling the border of Colorado and New Mexico...

A Piece of Lafayette Escadrille History

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 02:26:53 GMT

On November 15, 2010, Bonhams & Butterfields in San Francisco will auction this dark grey-green canvas fuselage insignia panel from a Spad VII flown by the Lafayette Escadrille, featuring the familiar Indian-head insignia. The panel, says the company's press release, was collected by Sergeant E...

The Autobots Are Coming!

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 03:35:55 GMT

The defense research agency DARPA recently selected six companies to participate in a year-long program to transform a Humvee-like vehicle into an aircraft. Lockheed Martin and AAI Corporation are asked to supply something that can “avoid traditional and asymmetrical threats while avoiding road ...

Magellans of the Air

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 03:26:15 GMT

On September 28, 1924, crowds cheered and sirens shrieked as the Army Service pilots known as "the Magellans of the Air" landed at Sand Point Field in Seattle, Washington, after completing the first round-the-world flight.They had set off on April 6, some six months earlier, determined to circumnav...

You've Got (Balloon) Mail

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 03:21:53 GMT

In September 1870, not long after the start of the Franco-Prussian War, the city of Paris was under siege by Prussian soldiers. By the 19th, the German army had blocked all communication into or out of the city. There was nothing worse, wrote French journalist Francisque Sarcey, than to "live cut o...

Top Gun 2.0?

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 04:13:00 GMT

The Hollywood grapevine and other gossip networks are all atwitter over the news that Paramount Pictures is reportedly in talks with producer Jerry "Blow It Up" Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott about a sequel to their 1986 movie, "Top Gun," which made a megastar of the Grumman F-14 (and some o...

Pushing His Buttons

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 02:18:03 GMT

Alex Spencer, curator of British aircraft and military flight materiél at the National Air and Space Museum, started his career some 20 years ago as a lowly intern. One morning, as he was riding the shuttle out to the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility in Suitland, Maryl...

"Ah, Dr. Mach!"

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 05:56:41 GMT

On this day in 1953, 21-year-old North Korean pilot No Kum-Sok astonished the American flyers at Kimpo Air Base in South Korea by landing in the middle of their runway and surrendering—thus becoming the first MiG pilot to defect to the West. In his fascinating 1996 book, A MiG-15 to Freedom, No (w...

Wings of Honor

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 09:02:02 GMT

The World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., was built to honor the 16 million Americans who served in the armed forces during that conflict, the more than 400,000 who died, and all who supported their efforts from the homefront. But the Greatest Generation is aging rapidly, and about 1,200 World...

B-24 Understudy Fills Big Shoes

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 02:43:44 GMT

Just two weeks ago, the Commemorative Air Force returned its B-29 Superfortress, Fifi, to flight after six years of down time while the airplane was fitted with customized engines (maintainers had found metal shavings in the engine oil). The CAF planned to re-launch Fifi as the signature aircraft f...

Dog Ate My Homework

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 02:10:06 GMT

The cabaret known as the U.S. Air Force's KC-X tanker competition is getting in some high-kicks now, baby. This summer, a little known company with 30 employees called U.S. Aerospace, which had changed its name from New Century only last March, and which has had some recent questions surrounding it...

The Air Force in 2030

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:03:34 GMT

Forecasting technology is a notoriously tricky business. In spite of all the predictions, we still don't have fusion power or flying cars, but in 2010 you can kick around a virtual soccer ball using a handheld camera phone, and who saw that coming?It's the job of the Air Force Chief Scientist and h...

Low Jinks in the Mach Loop

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 02:06:17 GMT

How do you complete a marathon in four minutes? In a jet fighter, of course, at 400-plus knots. That's how this Tornado pilot and others fly the Mach Loop in Wales. The loop is a 26-mile ring of valleys in a region designated by the British military as Low Flying Area 7, one of several such regi...

The Flying Fortress Turns 75

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:45:37 GMT

A classic symbol of World War II aviation, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is celebrating its 75th anniversary of flight today. To commemorate the airplane’s long history, at least four of them will be at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin this week.Of the nearly 13,000 B-17s produced between...

Hang Time

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 06:25:20 GMT

Designers of spy planes have come up with any number of ways to increase dwell time over a target, from long-lasting UAVs to slow-moving airships to this hydrogen-powered craft called Phantom Eye, which was unveiled last week by Boeing Phantom Works.According to Boeing, Phantom Eye will be shipped ...

Sixty Years After Korea

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 02:50:38 GMT

The Korean War often gets lost in the commemorative gap between World War II and Vietnam, but it was the first major conflict of the Jet Age, and has plenty of lore of its own. The war began 60 years ago this month, when North Korean forces crossed the 38th Parallel to invade South Korea. Here's a...

The World War II History of the Wright Military Flyer

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:35:16 GMT

The two-seat biplane looks somewhat flimsy. Sure, it was cutting-edge in 1909 when the Wrights demonstrated it for the U.S. Army Signal Corps at Fort Meyer. But how would it fare during World War II?Fortunately, the Wright Military Flyer never had to compete in any dogfights. But it did travel from...

The Battle of Britain Beacon

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 11:12:41 GMT

To mark this year's 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, the Royal Air Force Museum has begun initial planning for a new exhibition building, tentatively called the Battle of Britain Beacon.The 350-foot-tall structure (taller than Big Ben, the Statue of Liberty, and the United States Capitol...

Stupid Pilot Tricks 2.0

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 02:44:40 GMT

Several people received minor injuries when the powerful rotors of a Marine Corps V-22 Osprey, landing at a Staten Island park during a Memorial Day aerial demonstration, created mini-tornadoes of dirt, brush, and debris. Air & Space hereby bestows upon the crew the 2010 Stupid Pilot Award, fir...

Uniform Justice

Tue, 25 May 2010 07:28:26 GMT

Ah, uniforms. People either love 'em or hate 'em. One could argue that the U.S. military has a good number of attractive uniforms: think of the Marine Corps dress uniform, the blue Army service uniform, the Navy's full dress whites, and the Air Force flightsuit.But it seems that our illustrious mil...

The Aerodynamic Properties of the Humvee

Tue, 04 May 2010 08:06:56 GMT

What springs to mind when thinking of the Humvee? Its sleek, aerodynamic lines? Well, no. But that didn't stop DARPA from announcing (in a 58-page proposal) its plans for combining an SUV-type ground vehicle with Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) capabilities. In other words, a flying Humvee.DAR...

Stealth: Flying Invisible

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 07:11:06 GMT

In March 1999, during the Kosovo War, as Lieutenant Colonel Dale Zelko piloted his F-117, he saw two missiles punch through the bottom of the clouds. The unbelievable had happened: A Serbian surface-to-air missile had locked on to his aircraft. Zelko was able to eject, and was rescued shortly after...

Not Your Average Seagull

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 08:32:41 GMT

On April 13, Bonhams auction house will offer a 1917 Curtiss MF "Seagull" Flying Boat for sale. The MF (which stands for "Modernised F-boat") was developed in 1917 from the original F model, a design the U.S. Navy had been using since 1912/1913. (The F model was the most successful of the pre-war C...

F-35 Sticks the (Vertical) Landing

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:48:29 GMT

Lockheed Martin's F-35B Lightning II fighter hit another mark in its test program on March 18: the first vertical landing. Pilot Graham Tomlinson gently descended from a height of 150 feet after hovering for a minute above the runway at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. Watch for yourse...

"Sorry, Goose, It's Time to Buzz the Tower"

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:07:40 GMT

The 31 members of Class 136, U.S. Navy Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland, which graduated last December, pitched in on a deluxe jet plane kiddie ride, wearing Test Pilot School livery and signed by each student. Says Damon Carson of Kiddie Rides USA, "The commanding officer and other st...

New Lightning

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:01:27 GMT

Last week, a third Lockheed Martin F-35B—the coolest variant of the F-35, with its ability to take off vertically then go supersonic—joined two others already undergoing flight tests at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. (It's shown here leaving the Lockheed facility in Fort Worth, Texas...

Russian Raptor

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:12:37 GMT

Russia's first "fifth-generation" fighter made its debut today on a snowy airfield in the country's far east.Sukhoi test pilot Sergey Bogdan took the company's PAK FA prototype aircraft on a 47-minute flight before returning to the factory runway at Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Bogdan reported that the new ...

Lasers High and Low

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:47:05 GMT

Boeing has released this video of a test conducted at the Army's Redstone Arsenal in Alabama last September, during which the ground-based Laser Avenger weapon blew up 50 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) of the kind used against U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mounted on an armored vehicle,...

Saturn, Selenokhod, and Scott Speicher

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:03:08 GMT

Today's offering is a post-Thanksgiving smorgasbord of stories (okay, I'll stop with the alliteration). First, a lovely NASA video of an aurora shimmering above Saturn, with commentary by Caltech planetary scientist Andy Ingersoll, who's been exploring the outer solar system since the Pioneer 10 ...

Little, Big

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:46:32 GMT

Size matters. (Well, at least in the surveillance world.)And three projects under way take dimensions to whole new lengths. The LEMV (it stands for Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle) is a mammoth hybrid airship championed by the U.S. Army as part of a future fleet of reconnaissance vehicles...

India's Reincarnated Aircraft Carrier

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:20:38 GMT

According to a report in Flight International, India’s defense ministry is buying Russian-built MiG-29K fighters as "part of a 2004 order...that was incorporated into a deal for the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov.”Wait—India has an aircraft carrier?That navy workhorse, the aircraft carrier, has ...

A Joyride Through the Grand Canyon

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:33:35 GMT

They wouldn't be allowed to do it today, but back in 1959, experienced military pilots would sometimes buzz the Grand Canyon when flying out of nearby Nellis AFB. At the time, RAF pilot Ron Dick was an exchange officer with the US Air Force, training students in a Lockheed T-33. Fellow instructor B...

"Whatever you do, DON'T pull the striped handl..."

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:10:12 GMT

Last Wednesday, an as-yet-unnamed joyrider in a South African Air Force Pilatus PC-7 Mk. II turboprop inadvertently triggered his ejection seat while over Langebaanweg Air Force Base in the Western Cape Province. The passenger was blasted through the canopy within seconds, much to the astonishment ...

The First U.S. Military Pilot

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:39:55 GMT

A hundred years ago today, the U.S. military got its first pilot. On October 26, 1909, Frederick E. Humphreys, a 26-year-old Lieutenant with the Army Signal Corps, soloed for the first time in a Wright Flyer at College Park, Maryland, under the watchful eye of no less an instructor than Wilbur Wrig...

Video: Airborne laser test

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 06:59:57 GMT

Boeing and the U.S. Air Force have been busy this summer testing the Advanced Tactical Laser, a high-power directed energy weapon mounted on a C-130H Hercules transport.In this August 30 test at New Mexico's White Sands Missile Range , the laser was fired at a target for the first time, with the fo...

The "Jaws" of Cold War Fighters

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:41:43 GMT

From the company that brought you the P-51 Mustang, F-86 Sabre, and F-100 Super Sabre came the F-107, North American's entry in a 1950s Mach 2 fighter-nuclear bomber competition. Though it was based on the F-100 design, evident in the wings, aft fuselage, and tail section, something went seriously ...

Robot airplane goes AWOL, gets shot down

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:57:42 GMT

Aerial warfare took another step into the robo-future on September 13 when a U.S. Air Force F-15E pilot was sent to destroy an out-of-control MQ-9 "Reaper" drone as it headed toward the Afghan border. It was the first time an errant Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) had to be shot down by a human pilot...

Son of Israeli Astronaut Dies

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:39:55 GMT

An F-16 crash has claimed the life of Lieutenant Assaf Ramon, the son of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, who died when the space shuttle Columbia broke apart in 2003. One year after losing his father, Assad revealed his own astronaut aspirations. "I want to share my father's experiences, and to under...

Who's depressed? Not military pilots

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:43:19 GMT

Clinical depression is a significant health problem in America; even by low estimates, it afflicts 6.7 percent of the general population in a typical year.For military pilots, it can be a career-ender. Air Force pilots and navigators diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) are taken off fli...

Watch an F-18 come to life in under four minutes

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 07:20:25 GMT

Another video too cool not to pass on: Speeded-up assembly of an F/A-18F Super Hornet:

Recreating Frank Tinker's 1937 dogfight

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:50:43 GMT

While a group of well-wishers recently marked the 100th birthday of Spanish Civil War pilot Frank Tinker, one aficionado took it a step further by simulating one of the American-born aviator's most famous victories, a shoot-down of a Messerschmitt Bf-109 in July 1937. See the video here:

June 8, 1989: Bailout at Le Bourget

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 06:45:41 GMT

Even 20 years later, this is an amazing piece of footage: Russian test pilot Anatoly Kvochur bailing out of his MiG-29, just 300 feet off the ground, at the 1989 Paris Air Show. I actually saw this happen—or rather, I was standing talking to a friend when we saw a cloud of black smoke and people r...

Grumman’s Homely Seaplane

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:35:44 GMT

Grumman has built some venerable seaplanes—think Goose, Albatross, Mallard, and Widgeon—but it ran aground when it put a portly F4F-3 Wildcat on floats and called it an F4F-3S seaplane fighter (a classic oxymoron). The only redeeming feature of the F4F-3S was its nickname: Wildcatfish. In 1942, th...

One casualty of 45,000

Fri, 22 May 2009 09:02:05 GMT

A bit of Memorial Day perspective from Mark Wells, a historian at the U.S. Air Force Academy, from his excellent 1995 book Courage and Air Warfare: The Allied Aircrew Experience in the Second World War: However dramatic or tragic, statistics alone cannot possibly tell the whole story of the Allied ...

Remembering the fall of Saigon

Fri, 01 May 2009 02:22:49 GMT

On this day in 1975, the last Americans were airlifted from Saigon, bringing an end to the war in Vietnam. Fred Reed, who was a news reporter at the time, was "determined to stay until the end." His account of being evacuated in the middle of the night in a darkened C-130 appeared in our June 1992 ...

Hold the F-22s, Order More F-35s

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:54:45 GMT

After much lobbying and posturing on both sides, there appears to be a decision: The Air Force will cap production of the F-22 fighter at 187 airplanes, according to an op-ed by Air Force secretary Michael Donley and chief of staff Gen. Norton Schwartz (link requires registration) in yesterday's Wa...

Giving the WASPs their due

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:35:25 GMT

You don’t see much bipartisanship in Washington these days, but yesterday all 17 female members of the U.S. Senate, Democrats and Republicans alike, introduced a bill (S. 614) to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs. The medal, previously given to groups...

In the Museum: Wanted: TLC for Misunderstood Warbird

Tue, 17 May 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Challenging the Helldiver’s bad reputation.

*Pilot Not Included

Tue, 17 May 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Military aviation prepares for the inevitable.

Stranded at Sea

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Blazing sun, a pitching sea, and hungry sharks—and that was just the start of their troubles.

Combat U.

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:56:01 GMT

Learning the art of the dogfight at Red Flag.

Take a Ride in a B-25

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 06:00:00 GMT

From engine fumes to exhilaration, here’s what to expect.

Wendover’s Atomic Secret

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 07:00:00 GMT

How B-29 crews trained to drop the bomb.

Spin Down

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 08:05:38 GMT

Thousands of Air Force pilots trained on the Holloman centrifuge. Now a better ride is coming.

100 Years of Naval Aviation

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 07:00:00 GMT

The Navy's first pilot and 10 more milestones.

January Book Club Selection: The Dream Machine

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 06:28:59 GMT

A new "untold history" of the V-22 asks: Is the Osprey safe?

Book Excerpt: The Short Life of Aircraft Five

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 04:32:55 GMT

The only flight of the Osprey's fifth prototype lasted less than two minutes, and it was one wild ride.

The Lion That Never Roared

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 07:00:00 GMT

CANCELLED: Israel's Arieh Fighter

Viewport: Naval Aviation’s 100th Birthday

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 07:00:00 GMT

CANCELLED: Israel's Arieh Fighter

When Hornets Growl

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 07:00:00 GMT

The new, supersonic face of e-warfare.

A & S Interview: Yang Guoxiang

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:12:41 GMT

One of China's top test pilots recalls the H-Bomb that almost backfired.

Lockheed's Missing Link

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:27:22 GMT

Between the F-80 and the F-104, a supersonic pioneer fought the Cold War...in its own way.

We Represented All Women

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:55:51 GMT

During World War II, WASPs proved that an airplane couldn’t tell the difference between a male and female pilot.

Steichen Sent Me

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:35:24 GMT

Led by famed fashion photographer Edward Steichen, a group of camera men captured the action of World War II naval aviation.

Unconventional Weapon

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:42:35 GMT

What we learned about stealth technology from the combat career of the F-117.

Air America's Black Helicopter

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:45:52 GMT

The secret aircraft that helped the CIA tap phones in North Vietnam.

The Niihau Zero

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:36:43 GMT

Pieces of Pearl Harbor's lone surviving Zero tell of a violent clash of cultures and a race for technology.

Restoration: The Memphis Belle

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:18:08 GMT

For this famous B-17, surviving 25 missions in World War II was the easy part.

The Last to Die

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:13:45 GMT

The war in the Pacific ended as it began, with a surprise attack by Japanese warplanes.

How Things Work: The Ouija Board

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:39:20 GMT

Think of a shipboard chess game with airplanes instead of pawns.

Over the No-Fly Zone

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 01:41:33 GMT

Patrolling over northern Iraq in 2001 felt like driving through a small town with Hell's Angels.

9/11: The Saga of the Skies

Thu, 15 May 2008 06:52:15 GMT

Chaos and control over Washington, while the Pentagon burned.

In the Footsteps of the Mighty Eighth

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:32:11 GMT

A writer searches southern England for traces of a legendary World War II air force.

Marine One

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:13:14 GMT

Meet J.T. Bachmann, the first USMC pilot to fly the Joint Strike Fighter.

Birth of the Kulbit

Wed, 21 May 2008 08:50:08 GMT

Not just maneuverability. Supermaneuverability.

Hurricane Walkaround

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:44:16 GMT

Aviation historian Ron Dick takes a closer look at an old warbird.

How Things Work: Electromagnetic Catapults

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:28:52 GMT

From zero to 150 in less than a second.

Detect and Direct

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:07:05 GMT

The Navy's newest Hawkeye gets closer to the fight.

Mystery on Guadalcanal

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:27:59 GMT

In the wreckage of a Wildcat lay clues to what happened in a famous World War II dogfight.

Goodwill Mission

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:50:27 GMT

To residents of Florida’s Gulf Coast, the Joint Strike Fighter says “Won’t you be my neighbor?”

A Short (Very Short) History of the F-19

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:42:08 GMT

What airplane came in a little box and never flew?

Control the Air

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 04:49:33 GMT

On the ground with Marines in Afghanistan, the author sees a different side of close air support.

Batstrike!

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 06:35:05 GMT

A loud thud. A shower of purple-white sparks. This can't be good.

Letter From Bagram

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 07:36:24 GMT

Occasional dispatches from our man in Afghanistan.

Book Club July 2010: Fighter Pilot

Tue, 18 May 2010 12:11:34 GMT

The memoirs of legendary ace Robin Olds.

The Disorient Express

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 04:01:47 GMT

Despite the best training and technology, why do pilots still die from not knowing which end is up?

Restoration: USS Intrepid

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:54:30 GMT

Cleaning up an aircraft carrier.

Portrait of the Enemy

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 05:01:50 GMT

Photographs taken from the world’s first warplanes changed the course of battle.

Last of the Invaders

Tue, 18 May 2010 01:44:21 GMT

A reader tips us off to the restoration of a rare bird.

In the Museum: The Mysterious Second Seat

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A reader tips us off to the restoration of a rare bird.

The Truth is Out There

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A veteran reporter describes his search for the aircraft of Area 51.

The Curse of the Cargomaster

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Readied to transport the first U.S. ICBMs, the Douglas C-133 had a peculiar habit. It kept crashing.

Just Shoot Me

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Late in World War II, the Bell P-63 became an aerial gunner's easiest target.

Sidewinder

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 04:00:00 GMT

The missile that has rattled enemy pilots since 1958.

Above and Beyond: Fire and Ice

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 04:00:00 GMT

The missile that has rattled enemy pilots since 1958.

John Freeborn: 1919-2010

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:35:00 GMT

In a 2004 interview, an RAF hero recalled encounters with friends and enemies during the Battle of Britain.

Tilters

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:38:18 GMT

You might say that Osprey pilots are neither fish nor fowl.

Osprey at War

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:47:09 GMT

Can the MV-22 pass muster in Afghanistan?

The Raptor Rocks

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:21:19 GMT

F-22s treat airshow fans to a maneuverability demo.

Air War Iraq

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:39:24 GMT

From Al Asad Air Base, portraits of U.S. aircraft and crews in the fourth year of fighting.

Flying Bombers in World War II

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:23:36 GMT

Stories my mother told me.

How to Win Enemies and Influence Policy

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:23:38 GMT

From the halls of power to field laboratories, the Air Force Chief Scientist helps shape the future of U.S. flight.

Monster Bomber

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:23:39 GMT

At the Pima Air and Space Museum, the B-36 is the largest U.S. warplane ever rebuilt.

Then and Now: Fill ’er Up

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:23:34 GMT

At the Pima Air and Space Museum, the B-36 is the largest U.S. warplane ever rebuilt.

Martial Arts

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:25:01 GMT

Memo to bad guys: Wanna know what U.S. warplanes you’ll tangle with in the future? Visit an aerospace model shop.

Flights & Fancy: When Bad Things Happen to Good Drones

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 07:39:46 GMT

Memo to bad guys: Wanna know what U.S. warplanes you’ll tangle with in the future? Visit an aerospace model shop.

Hornet v. MiG

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 07:57:30 GMT

U.S. Marine aviators to Malaysian MiG pilots: Show us what you got.

Legends of Vietnam: Bronco's Tale

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:56:56 GMT

One of the most versatile aircraft of the Vietnam War appears on the verge of a comeback.

Above and Beyond: The Unhappy Bottom Riding Club

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 06:17:34 GMT

One of the most versatile aircraft of the Vietnam War appears on the verge of a comeback.

Legends of Vietnam: Super Tweet

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:19:10 GMT

Yeah. The A-37 was small. So was Napoleon.

Above and Beyond: An Extra Two Seconds

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:32:44 GMT

Yeah. The A-37 was small. So was Napoleon.

How Things Work: Missile Killer

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:43:24 GMT

In this tables-turned scenario, the airplane shoots down the missile.

Above and Beyond: Adventures in the South China Sea

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:09:37 GMT

In this tables-turned scenario, the airplane shoots down the missile.

Welcome to Yodaville

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 04:58:43 GMT

Population: Zero. Threat level: High

Thuds, the Ridge, and 100 Missions North

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:54:31 GMT

How the Republic F-105 got good at a mission it was not designed to fly.

Above & Beyond: Take a Left at Portugal

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:48:53 GMT

How the Republic F-105 got good at a mission it was not designed to fly.

Where Have All the Phantoms Gone?

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:46:00 GMT

How a fighter-bomber-recon-attack superstar ended up as fodder for target practice.

Oldies & Oddities: The Alraigo Incident

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:40:16 GMT

How a fighter-bomber-recon-attack superstar ended up as fodder for target practice.

A & S Interview: Brig. Gen. Brooks Bash

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 05:41:28 GMT

A talk with the commander of the Air Force transition team in Iraq.

Above & Beyond: I Have a Flameout

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 02:33:27 GMT

A talk with the commander of the Air Force transition team in Iraq.

The Open Gate

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:17:26 GMT

A B-57 crew faced the end of the world.

Getting Out

Fri, 01 May 2009 02:02:50 GMT

In April 1975, escaping Saigon meant crowding into a darkened C-130 in the middle of the night.

A Single Daring Act

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:18:25 GMT

Memoirs of Korea by an acclaimed novelist.

"My Body Will Collapse Like a Falling Cherry Blossom"

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:19:04 GMT

Memoirs of a suicide squadron survivor.

The Flight of the Bumblebee

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:20:05 GMT

World War II's black pilots had two war to fight.

Book Excerpt: Hell Hawks!

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:28:36 GMT

How P-47s became the tank busters of World War II

The Bone is Back

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 08:37:52 GMT

Too trouble-prone for nuclear alert and sidelined in the first Gulf War, the B-1 is today the busiest bomber in the fleet.

A & S Interview: Dick Anderegg

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 07:59:41 GMT

A talk with the Air Force historian.

Above & Beyond: Mission Unaccomplished

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 05:38:06 GMT

Memorable flights, and other adventures.

The Real X-Men

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:40:33 GMT

Life came at you fast when you flew the X-15.

WWII: A Reader's Guide to the Air War

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:41:34 GMT

Our pick of the best books and memoirs on World War II aviation.

Tuskegee Memories

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:37:09 GMT

This World War II veteran loved flying all airplanes, but especially the Mustang.

Calling All Mustangs

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:37:12 GMT

This September a super-size squadron of P-51s will relive the legend.

Flocking ScanEagles

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:37:27 GMT

When it comes to operating UAVs, six heads aren't better than one.

Can We Stop a Nuke?

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:13:27 GMT

From the impossible dream of a space-based shield, missile defense has come down to Earth. But will it work?

Above & Beyond: Milk Run

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:34:32 GMT

How a milk run from an aircraft carrier nearly killed me.

Weight Watchers

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:25:13 GMT

How a team of engineers and a crash diet saved the Joint Strike Fighter.

The X-35 on Display

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:25:35 GMT

The fighter of the future comes to the Hazy Center.

The Great Warplanes

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:24:37 GMT

Portraits of military aviation's first fleet.

Stormbird

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:23:40 GMT

Portraits of military aviation's first fleet.

Tomcat Tribute

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:20:49 GMT

The Navy's fearsome fighter retires.

Persian Cats

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:20:55 GMT

How Iranian air crews, cut off from U.S. technical support, used the F-14 against Iraqi attackers.

Tales of the F-14

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:21:04 GMT

More recollections of the fabled fighter.

A Hard Day's Night

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:21:42 GMT

Cold war B-52s flew an icy northern route on alert for a Soviet missile strike.

Gas Guzzlers

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:26:40 GMT

The Air Force looks for economy at the pump.

Iraq Air Force One

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:22:05 GMT

New pilots, new government.

Operation Hot Wheels

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:55:52 GMT

Far away in the Middle East, soapbox racing flies the hearts of military persons back home.

Torture Chamber

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:22:33 GMT

Because airplanes must fly in the real world, the Air Force built a fake one.

Steichen's Navy

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:22:21 GMT

With museum-quality photographs, Edward Steichen showed the world what it was like to be a sailor at war.

Fire and Ice

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:22:28 GMT

A wrecked bomber in Russia memorializes a World War II battle for the North Pacific.

Midnight Raiders

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:22:12 GMT

How zeppelin bombers during World War I terrorized the British-and their own German crews.

A Bell That Didn't Ring

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:19:58 GMT

Turns out that jets are like waffles: The U.S. Army Air Forces was tempted to throw its first one away.

White Rocket

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:20:00 GMT

How all U.S. Air Force pilots since 1968 have met their Mach.

The French-Russian Connection

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:20:04 GMT

With Russian Yaks, a small group of French pilots fought like hell to drive the Germans out of the Soviet Union.

Cold Front

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 02:35:50 GMT

Meet the men who kept the Thunderbolts flying.

Beached Starship

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:18:59 GMT

Some say that Beech and Raytheon's turboprop failed because it tried too much, too soon.

The Hotrod Squad

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:19:06 GMT

There's hardly a combat mission that the A-4 Skyhawk hasn't flown.

All Guts, No Glory

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:19:10 GMT

What they lacked in strength, World War II escort carriers made up in numbers...and the perseverance of their crews.

I Got Shot Down

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:19:14 GMT

Seven airmen talk about the event none wants to experience.

Night Stalkers

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:19:15 GMT

U.S. soldiers in Vietnam heard rumors of ghosts; the Viet Cong chalked it up to bad luck.

Through Darkest Iraq with Gun and Cobra

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:18:52 GMT

A month of war through the night-vision goggles of a Marine AH-1W SuperCobra pilot.

Expert Witness

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:18:22 GMT

The EWO and the MIRV: Cold war talk for an RC-135 crew's lucky day.

The Comet Affair

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:18:32 GMT

Why the cold war forced the British government to choose between keeping a friend and arming an enemy.

To Snatch a Sabre

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:18:43 GMT

Fifty years ago, North Korea's secret allies plotted to heist from the United States a North American F-86.

Infrared Countermeasures

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:18:44 GMT

The systems that cool the threat from heat-seeking missiles.

The Champ

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:18:46 GMT

From the decks of World War II aircraft carriers to today's airshow circuit-the journey of a Royal Australian Navy Fairey Firefly.

Exit Strategy

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:18:37 GMT

Target: Soviet weapons plant. Mission: Low-altitude bombing. Payload: Nuclear. Problem: Getting back.

The Pentagon's Flying Saucer Problem

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:18:41 GMT

The weapon system that could have made the enemy die laughing

Restoration: Going the Distance

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:18:15 GMT

The ninth life of a PBY-5A Cat.

CorsairFest

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:18:15 GMT

There's a lot more to the F4U than its past association with black sheep.

Will the Air Force Finally Get a Spaceplane?

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:18:17 GMT

If Boeing's X-37 can maneuver politically as well as in space.

Winner Take All

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:18:17 GMT

All the nail biting, second guessing, and sheer engineering brilliance in the battle to build the better Joint Strike Fighter.

Giant Amphibian

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 05:54:37 GMT

Japan has one godzilla of a seaplane.

How Things Work: Supersonic Inlets

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 06:27:04 GMT

Japan has one godzilla of a seaplane.

Restoration: Mach 2 Heavyweight Champion

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 06:59:18 GMT

The North American RA-5C Vigilante.

Shoot 'Em Up

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:08:52 GMT

Sometimes you have to destroy the aircraft in order to save it.

Air(show) Assault

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:18:18 GMT

With a Caribou, Mohawk, Bird Dog, Hueys, and Cobras, Army aviators are teaching the loudest history lesson you ever heard.

Above & Beyond: Ration of Luck

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:39:31 GMT

With a Caribou, Mohawk, Bird Dog, Hueys, and Cobras, Army aviators are teaching the loudest history lesson you ever heard.

Air War in the Falklands

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 01:43:23 GMT

Grand miscalculations, unknown odds, miserable weather, vast distances—and unlikely adversaries.

Above & Beyond: Nights Over North Vietnam

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:37:22 GMT

A former South Vietnamese Air Force commander shares his military experiences in a new book.

How Things Work: Ejection Seats

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 02:18:29 GMT

A former South Vietnamese Air Force commander shares his military experiences in a new book.

The Birth of Spooky

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 08:33:35 GMT

How they put the "A" in the AC-47.

Moments & Milestones: 50 and Counting

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 02:58:56 GMT

How they put the "A" in the AC-47.

Above & Beyond: Mission X

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 05:20:54 GMT

How they put the "A" in the AC-47.

The Plane With No Name

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:18:05 GMT

The F-111: In Australia, an airplane for all seasons.

Moments & Milestones: Low and Dark

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 03:00:34 GMT

The F-111: In Australia, an airplane for all seasons.

Special Report: Aftermath

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:17:53 GMT

Are government and industry doing enough to make the sky secure?

Restoration: The Bat

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:17:55 GMT

ASM-N-2 Guided Missle

Air Combat U

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:17:56 GMT

At the USAF Fighter Weapons School in 1957, the instructors were mean, but the aircraft were meaner.

All and Nothing

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:17:47 GMT

After Pearl Harbor, the Japanese planned to strike the United States with aircraft borne by giant submarines. If it worked, the Atlantic fleet would be trapped.

Save the Blimp Base

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:17:46 GMT

From this Naval air station airships hunted U-boats in the Florida Keys.

Above & Beyond: "Cleared in Hot"

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:07:39 GMT

From this Naval air station airships hunted U-boats in the Florida Keys.

Flights & Fancy: Adventures in Pararescue

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 03:03:11 GMT

From this Naval air station airships hunted U-boats in the Florida Keys.

Dog of War

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:53:34 GMT

Think of Yankee Lima Four Two as a time machine: Jump in and you're back in Vietnam.

In the Museum: Over 50 and Fabulous

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:13:07 GMT

Think of Yankee Lima Four Two as a time machine: Jump in and you're back in Vietnam.

The Fastest Show on Earth

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:17:29 GMT

How two Lockheed F-104 Starfighters became airshow stars.

High Honor

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:17:31 GMT

The origins of the missing man formation.

Predator: First Watch

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:17:33 GMT

Lesson learned: never send a man to do a machine's job.

Above & Beyond: Stealing the Show

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 07:19:49 GMT

Lesson learned: never send a man to do a machine's job.

In the Museum: Beautiful Goose

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:32:42 GMT

Lesson learned: never send a man to do a machine's job.

The Hammer

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:17:25 GMT

For every airplane, there's a region of the flight envelope into which it dare not fly.

Made in the U.S.S.R.

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 05:30:07 GMT

Of course they copied it. The two airplanes could have been twins. But was the Soviets' Tu-4 truly an exact duplicate of the Boeing B-29?

A&S Interview: Ray Puffer

Fri, 21 May 2010 08:54:08 GMT

The former Air Force historian asks, "Can anyone dispute that I had the most interesting job in the entire Air Force?"

Memories of Kosovo

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:17:14 GMT

A helicopter pilot recalls his peacekeeping tour of duty over one of the world's most strife-torn regions.

The Christmas Bombing

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:17:23 GMT

In December 1972, the B-52 bombers that North Vietnamese missile crews had been waiting for came to Hanoi. Night after night. Over virtually the same track.

Moments & Milestones: And They're Off!

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 07:33:37 GMT

In December 1972, the B-52 bombers that North Vietnamese missile crews had been waiting for came to Hanoi. Night after night. Over virtually the same track.

Above & Beyond: The Undertakers

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 03:04:14 GMT

In December 1972, the B-52 bombers that North Vietnamese missile crews had been waiting for came to Hanoi. Night after night. Over virtually the same track.

Viewport: Sharing the Wealth

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:23:26 GMT

In December 1972, the B-52 bombers that North Vietnamese missile crews had been waiting for came to Hanoi. Night after night. Over virtually the same track.

Counterpunch

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:15:33 GMT

Flying Wild Weasel missions involved a variety of airframes but just one philosophy: Do unto SAMS before they do unto you.

Ravens of Long Tieng

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:15:53 GMT

In the remote highlands of Laos, U.S. Air Force pilots fought a secret war.

That New Black Magic

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:15:56 GMT

In the early years of the cold war, enter Kelly Johnson and an clean sheet of paper--long enough to accommodate an 80-foot wingspan.

The Coldest Warriors

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 06:59:02 GMT

Tales from the corridors of an agency so secret that officially it didn't exist.

Alone and Unarmed

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:16:43 GMT

As unpiloted craft take over the reconnaissance mission, an intelligence insider looks back on the work that set recce pilots apart.

Above & Beyond: Man Overboard!

Tue, 27 May 2008 08:10:17 GMT

As unpiloted craft take over the reconnaissance mission, an intelligence insider looks back on the work that set recce pilots apart.

Microspies

Fri, 23 May 2008 08:25:59 GMT

Can tiny aircraft deliver the big picture?

Huey

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:16:45 GMT

If you remember Vietnam, you remember the Bell UH-1.

Bomb Squad

Thu, 29 May 2008 05:39:49 GMT

How airborne detectives collect evidence from a cloud of atomic debris.

The Heroes

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:16:54 GMT

Two airmen and extraordinary courage.

Nguyen Van Bay and the Aces From the North

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:17:11 GMT

As an F-4 Phantom pilot, I had tried to kill these men. And they had tried to kill me. I thought it was time we had a talk.

Change of Command

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:14:48 GMT

When Robin Olds arrived in Vietnam, morale soared.

Tullo and the Giant

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:14:36 GMT

For pilots shot down over North Vietnam, the way home was jolly and green.

Plausible Denial

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:14:31 GMT

A daring mission to fly combat in Vietnam came with a catchno one else could know.

The Last of the Mohawks

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:14:26 GMT

Grumman's triple-tail, bug-eyed, heat-seeking camera platform.

Escape to U Taphao

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:14:21 GMT

In the final days of the Vietnam war, chaos and heroism converged in the effort to evacuate U.S.-supplied aircraft.

Legends of Vietnam: Shoulder to Shoulder

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 08:35:03 GMT

The Grumman A-6 was ugly, but it sure could cook.

A&S Interview: Brig. Gen. Iftach Spector

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 03:11:34 GMT

Israeli Air Force Ace, teacher, author

Above & Beyond: Canadian Helicopter Force, Afghanistan

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:32:52 GMT

Israeli Air Force Ace, teacher, author

Prairie Wind

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:32:51 GMT

In Nowheresville, Nebraska, the Air Force learned a thing or two about turbulence.

In the Museum: Honor Roll

Tue, 18 May 2010 07:25:12 GMT

In Nowheresville, Nebraska, the Air Force learned a thing or two about turbulence.

The Real Top Gun

Tue, 18 May 2010 07:21:25 GMT

Nobody handled a Tomcat like Snort.

Century Series Wannabe

Tue, 18 May 2010 07:21:57 GMT

North American F-107A

Truck Killer

Tue, 18 May 2010 01:00:54 GMT

For one mission in Vietnam, the best aircraft for the job was a bomber from World War II.

Medevac From Luzon

Tue, 18 May 2010 08:05:22 GMT

A small band of helicopter pilots risked their lives to rescue wounded soldiers during World War II.

The Last Gunslinger

Tue, 18 May 2010 07:22:24 GMT

The F-15C is the only dedicated dogfighter left in the U.S. military fleet. Why isn't the Air Force replacing it?

Viewport: Fast Company

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:53:30 GMT

From the desk of the Director of the National Air & Space Museum