The P-47 “Jug” Hit the Germans Hard in the Air and on the Ground
World War II saw three U.S. Army Air Forces fighters of consequence: everybody’s favorite, the North American P-51; the remarkable Lockheed P-38; and the absurdly large Republic P-47.
Sabre Ace Race: Deadly Contest in Korea’s Skies
“Tell Jabara the Mexican got two.” The transmission from U.S. Air Force Captain Manuel J. “Pete” Fernandez Jr., inbound from MiG Alley on March 21, 1953,
Create Your Own M*A*S*H Chopper
To faithful viewers, the helicopter that swooped in with wounded GIs in Korea was known as a M*A*S*H chopper.
Operation Linebacker II: The 11-Day War
The so-called Christmas Bombings in 1972 brought the North Vietnamese back to the negotiating table, but at a high cost
Gulf War: The Corsair’s Last Hurrah
During Operation Desert Storm, launched early in the morning of January 17, 1991, the United States deployed a variety of cutting-edge military aircraft as main actors in the air stage, including the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter.
How Freddie Laker Took On the Big Airlines and Won
To the aviation world Sir Freddie Laker was truly a legend in his own time. A tycoon of working-class origins who built up his business empire from nothing, Laker makes the entrepreneurs on “Dragons’ Den” and “Shark Tank” seem like amateurs.
Bell X-1: Dropping the Orange Beast That Broke the Sound Barrier
During the past 70 years, numerous books, articles, documentaries and movies have told the story of how U.S. Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in a Bell X-1 on October 14, 1947.
Chuck Yeager: The Voice of Experience
Few, if any, individuals are as well-known in the annals of aviation history as Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager.
Aviation History Book Review: The Flying Tigers
The American Volunteer Group (AVG) that helped China fend off Japanese invaders in the first seven months after Pearl Harbor has probably been detailed in books and assorted media more extensively than any other combat flying organization,
America’s First Practical Airliner: Tale of the Tin Goose
“I should like a thousand dollars, and I can only promise you one thing: You’ll never see the money again!”
Aviation History Book Review: God is My Co-Pilot
I grew up hearing stories about the air war in China. During World War II, my father was an aircraft electrical systems mechanic in Maj. Gen. Claire L. Chennault’s Fourteenth Air Force.
