Vanished Hero

THE MYSTERY OF LT. COL. ELWYN RIGHETTI

the future of aerial warfare

are hyper-sophisticated fighters actually needed? 

A Tale Of Two Mules

CLASSICS

In A Tiny Corner Of A Huge World: What Are The Chances?

TAILVIEW

When Plumbing Fixtures Ruled The Skies

Humor and American Ingenuity at Work.

Kingfisher To The Rescue

Balancing himself carefully on the root of the OS2U Kingfisher’s right wing, Chief Aviation Radioman Ruben Hickman waited for the opportunity to grab the cable and hook suspended from a crane aboard the heavy cruiser USS Baltimore.

The Flying Heritage Collection F6F-5 Hellcat

The Flying Heritage Collection (FHC) at Paine Field, Everett, Washington, proudly displays and flies Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat Bureau Number 79863, the 11,008th Hellcat accepted by the U.S.

Flying Jackets

History’s love affair with the aviator’s best friend.

Burma Banshees

The 90th fighter squadron in the CBI. 

Running With The Devil

Becoming an ace with “Satan’s Angels”

Right Place, Right Time

How luck and fate allowed me to survive my missions.

Never Stay Still

Geoffrey Wellum: The Battle of Britain’s Youngest Warrior.

Sharp-Shooting Hellcat

“Mac” McWhorter runs up the score.

Jugs Vs. Jets

P-47 pilot scores the ultimate kill.

Out For A Sunday Ride

Civilian Pilots Caught in History’s Path.

Perennial Bad Guy: The MiG-21 65 Years Old And Still Kickin' Butt

If the United States has developed fighters that have staying power over many yearsthe venerable F-4, F-15, and F-16 come to mindthen the Russian MiG-21 must surely share that space. The MiG21 made its public debut in a Soviet air display in 1956. Known as an air-to-air missile fighter, the MiG-21 can also wage war with an internally mounted 23mm cannon. Some like to call the MiG21 the AK-47 of jet fighters. Like the famed short Soviet rifle, the MiG-21 has proven to be both lethal and long-lived around the world.

Shooting Blanks Top-Secret Cold War Recce Missions

Right after the war ended, I learned to fly in a Piper Cub before I went into the Air Force. I started out in Stearmans, even though they were phasing them out. They just lined us up according to height, and the shortest one-third of the guys got into Stearmans. I was happy because I wanted to fly the Stearman, and we got a lot more acrobatics than the guys in the AT-6 did. I eventually flew the P-51s at Williams Field in Phoenix, Arizona. I was 19 years old and just having a ball, and it only got better from there because they had the F-80 Shooting Stars at Williams Field. I was selected to go into a reconnaissance squadron and flew the RF-80, which was a reconnaissance version of the F-80, out at March Field in California. I actually liked recon work better than the fighters because we were flying all over the United States taking pictures. The poor fighter boys would just go to the gunnery range, shoot into the sand, and head back.

Which Way Did They Go?: Midway's Mysterious Tragedy Is Solved By A $10 Bill

There is one mystery concerning the June1942 Battle of Midway that has long confoundedhistorians: Why did not even one Hornet divebomber attack the Japanese carrier force? Reportedly, they were on the same course as theplanes from Yorktown and Enterprise and took off at the same time. Numerous official and unofficialexplanations all came down to simple bad luck.There is no denying that luck and chance playeda major role at Midway. In the case of HornetsAir Group 8, however, so did bad judgment, poorleadership, and arrogance. It was a simple $10 billthat provided the missing clue to the mystery.

Reliable Reliants Stinson's SR-5 Straight Wing

The 1930s had more than its share of dichotomies that, from this end ofhistorys telescope, make little sense. The stock-market crash of 1929 seta record depression in motion that numbed America for most of the nextdecade. To make matters worse, nature decided to make mid-America intoa dust bowl, where real estate in one state often found its way to another.

Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk

The image captured here is exceptionalfor more reasons than one.

Forgotten Survivor

The Culver PQ-14 Cadet Target Drone.

Bomber Crew: A Day In Their Lives

B-17 Crewmen Remember the German Missions.

Piggyback In A P-38

A Daring Rescue under Fire.

UFOs Vs. Marines Do You Believe In UFOs?

His name was Ray Watkins, and he was a helluva nice guy and smart as they come. He got his Double “E” degree through the NESEP Program. Ray had just asked me the question that was sure to come up sooner or later in any Ready Room in the Fleet. I knew Ray was a mathematician as well and mused a bit before answering. “Ray,” I said, “I know the mathematical odds are that there has to be some form of life out there in the galaxies. I just don’t believe they reside in this solar system.” Ray had a twinkle in his eye and said, “I think you’re wrong.”

Death At Daybreak

Kiwi goes to war in a hawker tempest.

Aviation-History Travel

Visiting the Sites, Events, and Hardware That Made History.

Wolfpack Warrior

A New Pilot Learns from 56th FG Pros.

Rabbits Out Of A Hat

Archivist Miracles

The Art And History Of The Aviator Watch

The art and history of the Aviator Watch

Flying The FM-2 Wildcat

A Modern Pilot’s Personal Perspective