Arch and Teddy: First Flight By a U.S. President
A bromance blossomed between Archibald Hoxsey and Theodore Roosevelt in 1910 when the early aviator took TR for a short flight—the first by a U.S. president.
Unfettered Turkeys: Airplanes That Never Should Have Flown
It’s easy enough to design a bad airplane, but it takes real gumption to put it into production despite all signs to the contrary.
Boyington’s Bastards: The Legendary Black Sheep Squadron
It was one of the biggest air raids in the entire campaign for the Solomon Islands. More than a year after U.S. Marines landed on Guadalcanal, Navy TBF Avengers and SBD Dauntless dive bombers were to hit the Japanese base on Ballale,
Operation Bodenplatte: Last Gasp of the Luftwaffe
In the early morning hours of the first day of 1945, Allied pilots in northwest Europe might have expected to see pink elephants before they saw Nazi aircraft. Since the Normandy invasion, Royal Air Force and U.S. Army Air Forces fighters had largely driven the Luftwaffe from the skies.
Albatros D.III
Flown aggressively with tactical skill, the D.III became the terror of the Western Front
The Missile With a Man In It
The breathtakingly sleek Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was designed for a purpose that was too far ahead of its time.
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
Why Pilots Loved the F-105 ‘Thud’ Despite its Vulnerability
A fast mover designed to carry a nuclear weapon, the F-105 Thunderchief became the Vietnam War’s most important conventional fighter-bomber.
Sad Saga of the B-29 Kee Bird
When a B-29 crew got lost in weather over the Arctic and came down on a frozen Greenland lake, it led to an ill-fated recovery attempt 48 years later.
When Lindbergh Tested His Spirit of St. Louis
Recently discovered photos of the Spirit of St. Louis test flights shed light on the “Lone Eagle’s” preparations for his celebrated transatlantic flight.
What Happened to America’s First Passenger Airship?
Roy Knabenshue’s dirigible offered sightseeing flights around Los Angeles and Chicago, garnering frequent press coverage, then disappeared without a trace.
Book Review: MacArthur’s Air Force
Bill Yenne examines how Douglas MacArthur effectively wielded airpower during from World War II through the Korean War
The Wacky Wing on This 1910 Airplane Actually Worked
At a time when the basic elements of aircraft design were still being sorted out, this forgotten airplane sported a different sort of wing.
