Military Aviation History(Page 3)

Latest in Military Aviation History

The Most Replayed Carrier Crash In History Happened 70 Years Ago Today

The Most Replayed Carrier Crash In History Happened 70 Years Ago Today

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Jun 23, 2021
Why The F-117 Made Its First Flight In Pastel Camouflage 40 Years Ago Today

Why The F-117 Made Its First Flight In Pastel Camouflage 40 Years Ago Today

By Thomas Newdick and Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Jun 19, 2021
That Mysterious Black Target From Kirtland AFB Was Related To A Program Called TDU-X

That Mysterious Black Target From Kirtland AFB Was Related To A Program Called TDU-X

By Joseph Trevithick and Tyler Rogoway
Updated on May 28, 2021
The Story Behind The Thunderbirds’ Black-Tailed F-4 Phantom And “Captain Carbon”

The Story Behind The Thunderbirds’ Black-Tailed F-4 Phantom And “Captain Carbon”

By Joseph Trevithick
Updated on May 28, 2021
With No Ejection Seats, Skyknight Fighter Crews Slid Down A Tunnel To Salvation

With No Ejection Seats, Skyknight Fighter Crews Slid Down A Tunnel To Salvation

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on May 5, 2021
Remembering The Time Grumman Helped Craft A Modern Fighter For China

Remembering The Time Grumman Helped Craft A Modern Fighter For China

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Apr 30, 2021
Articulated Gun Pods Allowed Soviet Aircraft To Fire Backwards, Downwards, And Even Sideways

Articulated Gun Pods Allowed Soviet Aircraft To Fire Backwards, Downwards, And Even Sideways

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Apr 12, 2021
The Boscombe Down Incident Remains One Of Military Aviation’s Most Intriguing Mysteries

The Boscombe Down Incident Remains One Of Military Aviation’s Most Intriguing Mysteries

By Brett Tingley
Updated on Apr 8, 2021
The Cheyenne Attack Helicopter Had A Crazy Rotating Gunner’s Seat Right Out Of Star Wars

The Cheyenne Attack Helicopter Had A Crazy Rotating Gunner’s Seat Right Out Of Star Wars

By Brett Tingley and Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Apr 2, 2021
This Is The Early Warning Radar Helicopter The Royal Navy Could Have Had

This Is The Early Warning Radar Helicopter The Royal Navy Could Have Had

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Apr 1, 2021
Special Operations Command’s New A-29 Super Tucano Pays Tribute To World War II Air Commandos

Special Operations Command’s New A-29 Super Tucano Pays Tribute To World War II Air Commandos

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Mar 29, 2021
Canada’s CF-105 Arrow Interceptor Is The Cold War Legend That Refuses To Die

Canada’s CF-105 Arrow Interceptor Is The Cold War Legend That Refuses To Die

By Stephen Walker
Posted on Mar 25, 2021
Yes, The U.S. Navy Also Took The Spitfire Into Battle During World War II

Yes, The U.S. Navy Also Took The Spitfire Into Battle During World War II

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Mar 5, 2021
How The World’s First Privately Owned Fleet Of F-16 Aggressor Jets Became A Reality

How The World’s First Privately Owned Fleet Of F-16 Aggressor Jets Became A Reality

By James Deboer
Updated on Feb 24, 2021
Air Force Fighters Almost Got An Air-Launched Ballistic Missile 40 Years Ago, Now They’re A Hot Item

Air Force Fighters Almost Got An Air-Launched Ballistic Missile 40 Years Ago, Now They’re A Hot Item

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Jan 26, 2021
The “Lady Bird Special” Was The Lowliest Of Air Force One Aircraft

The “Lady Bird Special” Was The Lowliest Of Air Force One Aircraft

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Jan 26, 2021
Royal Air Force Turned A Torpedo Bomber Into A Flying Flamethrower During World War II

Royal Air Force Turned A Torpedo Bomber Into A Flying Flamethrower During World War II

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Jan 20, 2021
The Story Of The Jet That Would Have Delivered South Africa’s Nuclear Bomb

The Story Of The Jet That Would Have Delivered South Africa’s Nuclear Bomb

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Jan 18, 2021
This Stretched Super FB-111 Was A Low-Cost Challenger To The B-1 Bomber

This Stretched Super FB-111 Was A Low-Cost Challenger To The B-1 Bomber

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Jan 9, 2021
Behold The SR-71 Blackbird’s Nest At Dawn

Behold The SR-71 Blackbird’s Nest At Dawn

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Jan 2, 2021
Britain’s Shackleton Radar Plane Was Born As An Already Antiquated Cold War Dinosaur

Britain’s Shackleton Radar Plane Was Born As An Already Antiquated Cold War Dinosaur

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Dec 24, 2020
Chasing Soviet Missiles In The Cobra Ball From A Desolate Rock In The Aleutian Islands

Chasing Soviet Missiles In The Cobra Ball From A Desolate Rock In The Aleutian Islands

By Robert Hopkins
Updated on Dec 16, 2020
Chuck Yeager’s Amazing Life Told Through The Airplanes He Flew

Chuck Yeager’s Amazing Life Told Through The Airplanes He Flew

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Dec 9, 2020
The Untold Story Of How Indonesian And Australian Jets Nearly Came To Blows Over East Timor

The Untold Story Of How Indonesian And Australian Jets Nearly Came To Blows Over East Timor

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Dec 2, 2020
Yes, Serbian Air Defenses Did Hit Another F-117 During Operation Allied Force In 1999

Yes, Serbian Air Defenses Did Hit Another F-117 During Operation Allied Force In 1999

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Dec 2, 2020
Test Pilot Explains The YF-23 Black Widow’s Awesomely Innovative Flight Control System

Test Pilot Explains The YF-23 Black Widow’s Awesomely Innovative Flight Control System

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Nov 27, 2020
How A Canadian Pilot Became The First Westerner To Fly The Feared MiG-29 Fulcrum

How A Canadian Pilot Became The First Westerner To Fly The Feared MiG-29 Fulcrum

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Nov 27, 2020
The Forgotten Fireball Made The First Jet-Powered Carrier Landing By Accident

The Forgotten Fireball Made The First Jet-Powered Carrier Landing By Accident

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Nov 27, 2020
You Can Buy The World’s Only Flyable P-82 Twin Mustang For $12,000,000

You Can Buy The World’s Only Flyable P-82 Twin Mustang For $12,000,000

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Nov 27, 2020
The Day The Royal Air Force Lost Six Jet Fighters In Just 45 Minutes

The Day The Royal Air Force Lost Six Jet Fighters In Just 45 Minutes

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Nov 27, 2020
A Dozen Of The Most Unusual Variants Of The Ubiquitous KC-135 Family Of Aircraft

A Dozen Of The Most Unusual Variants Of The Ubiquitous KC-135 Family Of Aircraft

By Robert Hopkins
Updated on Nov 27, 2020
The AH-1W Super Cobra Has Been Retired From The Marine Corps After 34 Years Of Service

The AH-1W Super Cobra Has Been Retired From The Marine Corps After 34 Years Of Service

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Nov 27, 2020
The Amazing Story Of How This Nazi Recon Plane Ended Up Being Tested In The U.S. During WWII

The Amazing Story Of How This Nazi Recon Plane Ended Up Being Tested In The U.S. During WWII

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Nov 27, 2020
The Amazing Tale Of Bravo November, The British Chinook Helicopter That Refused To Die

The Amazing Tale Of Bravo November, The British Chinook Helicopter That Refused To Die

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Nov 27, 2020
This Soviet Twin-Rotor Helicopter Design Was A High-Speed Rival To The Mi-24 Hind

This Soviet Twin-Rotor Helicopter Design Was A High-Speed Rival To The Mi-24 Hind

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Nov 25, 2020
The Nanchang J-12 Is The Lightweight Chinese Fighter You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

The Nanchang J-12 Is The Lightweight Chinese Fighter You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Nov 5, 2020
Veteran Flight Tester On How The YA-7F Strikefighter Was Really A Jet Recycling Program

Veteran Flight Tester On How The YA-7F Strikefighter Was Really A Jet Recycling Program

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Jul 11, 2020
Skyhawks Over Cuba: VC-10 “Challengers” And Their TA-4J’s Unique Cold War Mission

Skyhawks Over Cuba: VC-10 “Challengers” And Their TA-4J’s Unique Cold War Mission

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Jul 5, 2020
Early On, The A-10 Warthog’s Legendary Gun Was Both a Blessing and a Curse

Early On, The A-10 Warthog’s Legendary Gun Was Both a Blessing and a Curse

By Joseph Trevithick
Updated on Jul 5, 2020
The Crazy Aircraft Carrier Hangar Catapults Of World War II

The Crazy Aircraft Carrier Hangar Catapults Of World War II

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Jul 5, 2020
The AGM-122 “Sidearm” Came To Be From A Novel Missile Recycling Scheme

The AGM-122 “Sidearm” Came To Be From A Novel Missile Recycling Scheme

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Jul 5, 2020
Remember The Fallen With This Chilling “Grumman Cats” Missing Man Formation

Remember The Fallen With This Chilling “Grumman Cats” Missing Man Formation

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Jul 5, 2020
The U.S. Air Force’s Last Tail Gunner Has Retired

The U.S. Air Force’s Last Tail Gunner Has Retired

By Joseph Trevithick
Updated on Jul 3, 2020
The Time A F-4G Wild Weasel’s Anti-Radiation Missile Blew Apart A B-52’s Tail

The Time A F-4G Wild Weasel’s Anti-Radiation Missile Blew Apart A B-52’s Tail

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Jul 3, 2020
Ryan Aeronautical Had Big Plans for the Vertifan Jump Jet

Ryan Aeronautical Had Big Plans for the Vertifan Jump Jet

By Joseph Trevithick
Updated on Jul 3, 2020
France Turned the B-26 Invader Into a Colonial Night Fighter

France Turned the B-26 Invader Into a Colonial Night Fighter

By Joseph Trevithick
Updated on Jul 3, 2020
Taking The F-14A Tomcat On Cruise For My First Time

Taking The F-14A Tomcat On Cruise For My First Time

By Paul Nickell And Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Jul 3, 2020
Lockheed Once Pitched the Massive C-5 as a Flying Command Center

Lockheed Once Pitched the Massive C-5 as a Flying Command Center

By Joseph Trevithick
Updated on Jul 3, 2020
The Pentagon Thought it Could Retire the U-2 in 1969

The Pentagon Thought it Could Retire the U-2 in 1969

By Joseph Trevithick
Updated on Jul 3, 2020
Watch These Old World War II Bombers Launch Target Drones

Watch These Old World War II Bombers Launch Target Drones

By Joseph Trevithick
Updated on Jul 3, 2020
Aircraft Carrier “Bow Prongs” and Why They Are Disappearing

Aircraft Carrier “Bow Prongs” and Why They Are Disappearing

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Jul 3, 2020
John Glenn’s Combat Nickname Was “Old Magnet Ass” For All The Right Reasons

John Glenn’s Combat Nickname Was “Old Magnet Ass” For All The Right Reasons

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Jul 3, 2020
Behold the Pioneering A-6C Intruder With its Massive Ventral Sensor Pod

Behold the Pioneering A-6C Intruder With its Massive Ventral Sensor Pod

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Jul 3, 2020
SAAB’s Viggen Could Stick a Landing and Takeoff Again Like No Other Fighter

SAAB’s Viggen Could Stick a Landing and Takeoff Again Like No Other Fighter

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Jul 3, 2020
The “Toxic Death” Paint Scheme Was The F-117 Nighthawk’s Most Outrageous

The “Toxic Death” Paint Scheme Was The F-117 Nighthawk’s Most Outrageous

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Jul 2, 2020
Pour Out an Iced Tea for Bob Hoover

Pour Out an Iced Tea for Bob Hoover

By Chris Cantle
Updated on Jul 2, 2020
The Air Force Almost Got A Near Hypersonic Radar Plane Killing Cruise Missile Decades Ago

The Air Force Almost Got A Near Hypersonic Radar Plane Killing Cruise Missile Decades Ago

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jul 1, 2020
The A-7 Attack Jet’s Head Up Display Was A Revolution In Air Combat Tech

The A-7 Attack Jet’s Head Up Display Was A Revolution In Air Combat Tech

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Jun 28, 2020
Incredible Lecture By F-14 Designer Explains Why The Tomcat Owes A Lot To The F-111

Incredible Lecture By F-14 Designer Explains Why The Tomcat Owes A Lot To The F-111

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Jun 26, 2020
The Stealthy F-117 Nighthawk Could Have Executed Nuclear Strikes Against The Soviet Union

The Stealthy F-117 Nighthawk Could Have Executed Nuclear Strikes Against The Soviet Union

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Jun 17, 2020
The F-111 Aardvark’s Air Inlet Spike Was A Work Of Engineering Art

The F-111 Aardvark’s Air Inlet Spike Was A Work Of Engineering Art

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on May 3, 2020
The SR-71 Blackbird Was Almost Brought Back For The Global War On Terror

The SR-71 Blackbird Was Almost Brought Back For The Global War On Terror

By Stephen Walker
Updated on Mar 28, 2020
CIA’s Predecessor To The SR-71 Blackbird Tested Electron Guns To Hide From Radars

CIA’s Predecessor To The SR-71 Blackbird Tested Electron Guns To Hide From Radars

By Joseph Trevithick
Updated on Mar 25, 2020
This Strategic Air Command Airpower Demonstration From 1987 Is Just Bonkers

This Strategic Air Command Airpower Demonstration From 1987 Is Just Bonkers

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Mar 9, 2020