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A US Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II, Minnesota ANG 66-647, cruises in the wild blue yonder.

Trolling for SAMs

It was another humid day, with the smells of Thailand heavy in the morning air as I walked into the Triple Nickel Fighter Squadron building at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base (RTAFB) in northeast Thailand. The 555th was the top MiG-killer squadron, but hunting had been scarce since I joined them earlier in the […]

Burma Banshees

The 90th Fighter Squadron in the CBI In the beginning of June 1944, while the 90th Fighter Squadron was based at Moran in India, the unit started to receive brand-new P-47s to replace its tired and obsolescent P-40Ns decorated with a painted skull on their hoods. On June 8, Lt. Col. Albert L. Evans Jr. […]

P-39 Airacobra: Up Close and Personal [VIDEO]

For over 20 years, Pioneer Aero Limited, based at Armore Aerodrome in Auckland, have been one of New Zealand’s (and the world’s), foremost restorers of Second World War aircraft. In this video, director Paul McSweeny discusses the Bell P-39 Airacobra restoration that Pioneer is on the verge of completing for Jerry Yagen’s Warbirds Aviation Museum […]

Hellcat at Work – free wallpaper!

The mighty Grumman F6F Hellcat needs no introduction. It carried the fight to the enemy throughout the Pacific and emerged as the most successful fighter of the Pacific Theater of Operations. More important, it was the airplane that could be counted on to bring a pilot home almost regardless of the amount of damage it […]

Grumman Avenger Quiz

5 things you might not know about Grumman’s famous Torpedo Bomber. The Grumman TBF Avenger, (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors), is an American torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval aviation services around the world. The Avenger entered U.S. […]

WW II Pilot Bernie Sledzick – Little Guy in a Big Airplane

Back then, junior year of high school should have been filled with coming-of-age memories, football pep rallies, and homecoming dances. Visiting colleges, choosing high-school sweethearts, and exploring possible careers should have been in the thoughts of soon-to-be seniors. Pearl Harbor changed all that. The very real world war and deciding to fight his country’s enemies […]

The Pilot’s View of Iconic Aircraft – Fighting Cockpits

The combat-aircraft cockpit has some sort of magical attraction to all who fly and those who would like to fly. It is the throne room in which aerial warriors, both past and present, sat and engaged in that rare form of combat that is built around the third dimension. It was—and is—man and machine wielding […]

WW II’s Submarine-Sinking Fairey Swordfish

It’s impossible to look at the Fairey Swordfish, affectionately known as the “Stringbag,” and not say, “You have to be kidding! This was one of the Royal Navy’s most effective weapons of WW II?” A gigantic, bi-winged personification of the word “anachronistic,” as the saying goes, the Swordfish may have been ugly, but it was […]

Lieutenant Junior Grade William Thomas Patton recounts his MiG kill with his wingman in front of his Skyraider.

Jets vs. Props

Propeller-driven aircraft engaging jet fighters in combat seems highly unlikely, but is surprisingly more common in the history of aerial warfare than one would think. With the dawn of the jet age in the waning days of World War Two and its rapid expansion throughout the Cold War, prop and jet fighters experienced a substantial […]

Reno Air Race Memories

Back in 1991, my friend Jim McRae and I decided to drive from Vancouver to Reno to see the 28th National Championship Air Races and the associated air show. The races featured many well-known pilots, three time winner Lyle Shelton in Rare Bear, Bill Destefani in Strega and Skip Holm in Tsunami. A totally new […]