Main Categories Archives - Page 29 of 270

Eyewitness to History: A Childhood Interrupted

By W. Joan Hawgood Hall, Former ACW.2 On September 1, 1939, my brother, Berkley, and I were being evacuated from London. Almost everything we owned was in our backpacks that Daddy had made for us, our gas masks in their boxes around our neck, our names on our coats. Mum and Dad came down to […]

Douglas C-47: A Gooney by any Other Name is Still a Gooney

Supreme Commander-Europe, General Dwight Eisenhower, didnít hesitate when ask to list the Allied weapons that most helped end the war. In no particular order he said, ìThe bazooka, the jeep, the atom bomb and the C-47. The bazooka made the lowly GI into a feared tank killer. The Jeep gave his commanders incredible flexibility to […]

WWI’s Albatros D.III

Lethal Wooden Wonder Let’s try to put the Albatros-Flugzeugwerke series of WWI fighters in perspective. First, the Wrights flew in 1903 but didn’t really reveal many secrets to the world until 1905. Then it was closer to 1908-1910 that Glenn Curtis jumped into the game with ailerons, elevators and all that other ìrealî airplane stuff. […]

Magnificent Pain: The Art of the Sukhoi 31

The world of serious, unlimited aerobatics, as seen from the inside is primarily one of grunts and groans and the never ending search for better and better machines capable of illiciting said grunts and groans. Standing at the head of the search for aerobatic excellence is the Sukhoi design bureau in Moscow. For nearly thirty […]

deHavilland DH82 Tiger Moth

The World’s Primary Trainer The first time I strapped on a Tiger Moth I had to laugh. For one thing, there was this HUGE compass projecting up off the floor between my knees. It was fashioned of polished brass and swung in gimbals to keep it level in all attitudes. It would have been more […]

WW II Snapshot: A Moment Frozen in Time

What do you see in this picture? Sharper than most WW II images, this one is of a fairly tranquil scene on the deck of CV-6, USS Enterprise. The shot was taken on May 15, 1942, and the red circles in their insignias had been painted over. That’s barely five months after Pearl Harbor and […]

Christen Eagle — The Rainbow Bird With the Dacron Plumage

With fabric feathers and 200 horsepower in its beak, the Eagle II was Californian Frank Christensen’s idea of what a two-place, good time flying machine should look and fly like. A slicked-up city cousin of a Pitts Special, the Eagle has its own following that is every bit as rabid about their airplane as the […]

Historic A-7E Corsair II — A Reminder of Desert Storm

For many Americans, the first news of Operation Desert Storm 27 years ago came through the excited voices of CNN reporters broadcasting over the sights and sounds of tracer fire and bombs exploding as they struck targets in Baghdad. It was an event that was months in the making, beginning in August 1990, when Iraqi […]

Flying the Coolest Bizjet — Gulfstream G650

What’s the coolest airplane in the world, at least that a civilian could buy? There are some impressive contenders for that unofficial title, including a couple I’ve had the chance to fly in the past year, such as the Gulfstream G650 and the Cessna Citation X+. The Embraer Legacy 500, a long-awaited midsize marvel from […]

During a January 4, 2018 media event at the restoration hangar, curators at the United States Air Force Museum showcased progress in restoring the Memphis Belle, flown by the aircrew to complete a 25-mission combat tour over Europe.

Memphis Belle Restoration Nears Completion

The world’s most iconic B-17 Flying Fortress is nearly ready for her long-awaited unveiling, just in time for the 75th anniversary of her final mission. Memphis Belle, an early-model B-17F, was flown by the first 8th Air Force crew to complete 25 missions, earning pilot Robert Morgan and his crew the honor of returning stateside […]