Main Categories Archives - Page 94 of 270

Four Down!

The Korean Combat the U.S. Tried to Forget By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver November 18, 1952: The cloud cover was 500 feet above the freezing Sea of Japan; visibility estimated at two miles in blowing snow as the Siberian blizzard howled over the pitching, rolling shapes of the ships forming Task Force 77. On the flight […]

Book Review: Solitary

By Peter B. Mersky Editor’s note: Peter Mersky has written 16 books on military aviation, including the first book outside Israel on IAF aces. Besides many magazine articles, he has reviewed some 700 books for various publications, as well as his own regular (since 1982) column for Naval Aviation News, the U.S. Navy’s oldest periodical. He is […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1915 – Birth of Colin Purdie Kelly, Jr. , American World War II bomber pilot (shown); he became one of the first heroes of the war for sacrificing his own life to save the crew of his dying Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. 1939 – First flight of the Marinens Flyvebaatfabrikk M.F.12 (Høver M.F.12), a Norwegian […]

Red Arrows Star of UK Air Tattoo

The Royal Arrows are proving the star attraction at today’s Royal International Air Tattoo. The traditional highlight of their display calendar is currently taking place at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England. The world’s largest military air show welcomed the squadron today for a full display and flypast. This year, Arrows fans will have the chance to get […]

Rare Bird: Pitcairn Autogiro

A piece of Jurassic aviation is reborn “This is a real prehistoric monster in flight. Once the helicopter was built, these autogiros became dinosaurs,” stated the late Jack Tiffany of Spring Valley, Ohio, at the time, co-owner (with Jim Hammond of Yellow Springs, Ohio) of the Pitcairn PA-18 N1267B (c/n G-65), the only example of […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1883 – Birth of Maurice Arthur Benjamin, South African World War I flying ace. 1914 – Reinhold Böhm takes off in his Albatros biplane for a nonstop flight, without refueling, that lasted 24 hours, 12 minutes. 1929 – First flight of the Macchi M.67 (shown), an Italian racing seaplane designed for the Schneider Trophy race. […]

Update: Aussie B-24 Restoration Effort

Most aviation enthusiasts are aware of the role that the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator played in USAAF service during World War II. Many, however, are not aware that seven Royal Australian Air Force squadrons flew the B-24 Liberator in long range strikes against Japanese military targets in South East Asia. During WWII, the RAAF […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1933 – Flying their Lockheed Model 8 Sirius “Tingmissartoq” (shown), built in 1929 and used for the 1931 survey flight of Alaska, the North Pacific and China, Charles Lindbergh and his wife begin a major route-proving tour of the North and South Atlantic. 1943 – Birth of John Howard Casper, U.S. Air Force pilot and […]

F-35s May Miss UK Air Show

British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said Lockheed Martin Corp’s F-35 Lightning II fighter jet may miss the Royal International Air Tattoo air show this week given a fleet-wide grounding ordered after an engine failure last month. But Hammond told a conference in London on Wednesday that he was “still optimistic” that the new warplane would be […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1892 – Birth of Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov, Soviet aircraft designer who became known as the “King of Fighters.” 1944 – Swordfish aircraft from the British Merchant Aircraft Carrier (or “MAC-ship”) MV Empire MacCallum mistakenly sink the Free French submarine La Perle. It is the only time that MAC-ship-based aircraft sink a submarine. 1961 – Death […]