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Five-Gun Fury .
Lt. Floyd Fulkerson: Wingman to the Aces
YELLOW SCORPIONS - P-51 Mustangs rule the skies in China
Using Chinese airfields, the 311th Fighter Group was the first to take World War II to the Japanese. The 311th’s 530th Fighter Squadron, which became known as the “Yellow Scorpions,” was the first squadron based in China. During their combat tour, they flew A-36 dive bombers along with all versions of the P-51 (A, B, C and D). However, it was their expertise with P-51 B and C models that earned them the respect of Japanese pilots.
WACO “Super Sport” S3HD - A Golden Age king
The WACO “Super Sport” S3HD is often referred to as the “King of the WACO biplanes.” Built as only one example, it is the stuff of legends.
SPITFIRE WITH A PUNCH - ROYAL AIR FORCE FIGHTER IN POLISH COLORS
Squadron Leader Clive Rowley, MBE RAF (Ret.), a former officer commanding the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, tells the story behind the latest color scheme for the Flight’s Spitfire Mk XVI TE311.
F-35B LIGHTNING II SEMPER FI
The JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) program is synonymous with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, which ultimately won the competition against Boeing and its X-32. The JSF plan was to have a similar new fighter for the U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy and U.S. allies: Build a bunch and keep the price tag down. It has been a success story since then.
DEFENDER OF THE REICH WW II as seen by a Luftwaffe Ace
Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring was in rare form, his eyes full of fire as he faced one of the better known of Germany’s aces, Oberst Walther Dahl. “Göring’s reply astonished even me,” Dahl remembered. “In the presence of pilots with heads, arms and legs in plaster, he yelled: ‘You cowards! Now I know why your Geschwader holds the record for parachute jumps: you jump so as not to fight.’
Lightning ACE!
P-38 Legend Robin Olds
SOUTH PACIFIC WARRIOR
A rare combat Mustang
Supermarine Spitfire Elliptical Elegance
Showing off the flowing curves of a jaguar ready to pounce, a Spitfire snugs in close, its pilot a picture of concentration as he carefully places the airplane exactly where he wants. It’s a timeless image of a timeless design.
THE BEST WWII FIGHTERS
Which was number one?
“Hotrod” Jug
By the time this limited-production high-performance version of Maj. Michael Jackson’s Teddy was photographed in early spring 1945 at Boxted, the 56th FG had been operating with Thunderbolts for almost three years. Initially constituted in November 1940 as the 56th Pursuit Group, with three Squadrons (61st, 62nd and 63rd) operating a mix of training aircraft and basing, they were posted in scattered locations in defense of New York City in early 1942. With the 63rd actually based at Republic’s Farmingdale factory, it was a natural for the 56th to be tapped to be the premier Thunderbolt unit in May 1942.
GUNFIGHTER OF THE RISING SUN
A Zero pilot’s own story
Me 262 Mach 1 Mystery
Did the Reich get there first?
HELLCAT VERSUS CORSAIR
GRUMMAN TEST PILOT FLIES THE COMPETITION
Flying the FW 190
A legend gets checked out in the Butcher Bird
THE F-5 AN AMERICAN TIGER
We all know about jet fighters such as the Phantom, Tomcat, Eagle, Viper, Hornet, F-22, and F-35, but what about the less-covered F-5? It doesn’t seem to secure as much time basking in the spotlight. Let’s indulge ourselves.
THE MARINES' LAST DOGFIGHT
THE CORSAIR WAS ONE TOUGH BIRD
KITTYHAWK JUNGLE RESCUE
P-40 GETS A NEW LEASE ON LIFE
A Human Record of War: Life magazine, 1965
1965…The April 16 cover story in Life was a photoessay by Larry Burrows, a British journalist best known for his war photography in Vietnam.
On the Night Before
Airborne operations over Normandy on the night of June 5, 1944
TERRIFIC TILTROTOR
DRIVING THE V-22 OSPREY
My Life as Rosie the Riveter
I have read about and seen many images about “Rosie the Riveter,” but my story is unique. I was a model with a rivet gun who worked at a factory, and my husband really did fly the very planes that I was advertising to encourage women to build during WW II.
The Art of James Dietz
A historical painting is only as good as the story it tells, and how convincingly it combines the people, their actions, costumes, surroundings and atmosphere in an appropriate composition.
I Will Run Wild: The Pacific War from Pearl Harbor to Midway
In I Will Run Wild, Cleaver expertly captures the strained relationship between the U.S. and Japan prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Restoring a Classic
A Canadian Staggerwing Gets a New Life
FIRST KILLS!
F-82 OPERATIONS IN THE KOREAN WAR
Preserving aviation history
Duplicate history
HURRICANE FORCE
Group Capt. Billy Drake: A Gentleman and an Ace
BAILOUT AT 70,000 FEET
A U-2 pilot hits the silk at the edge of outer space
And in the end ... friends
Piloting one of 21 Fw 190s of II. Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 1, Oberleutnant Wolfgang Kretschmer, during the March 6, 1944 Berlin Air Raid, took part in the noon head-on attack on the 13th Combat Bomb Wing. As he emerged from the rear of the B-17 formation, he instinctively glanced back at the receding enemy bombers and saw the one he had attacked, rear up and out of control. Others, trailing smoke or losing height, were obviously in trouble. The German pilot turned back to the front to find that the rest of his unit had disappeared. He was alone. Undaunted, Kretschmer pulled a tight turn and sped after the enemy bombers, determined to deliver a follow-up attack from the rear.