Flight Journal - Page 27 of 286 - Aviation History | History of Flight | Aviation History Articles, Warbirds, Bombers, Trainers, Pilots

D-DAY INVASION: JUNE 2024

1930'S FIGHTER FLIES AGAIN: APRIL 2024

The Legend of Maj. Paul "Pappy" Gunn

Their Finest Hour

Butcher Bird Hellcat & Corsair: A test pilot recalls

Stinson’s Big-Guy L-Bird

Stalin’s Flying Hammer

LATEST

Friday Fighter: P-40 Warhawk

The P-40 Warhawk will never be enshrined in the Hall of Fame of Fantastic Fighters. It was too slow, couldnít turn tight enough, was hard to handle on the ground and, compared to some fighters, had nasty stall characteristics. Further, its hydraulic system was too complicated, its landing gear too rudimentary and its Allison V-12 […]

Memorial Day: A Day to Remember and to Honor

This is going to sound trite, because it IS trite. It is me, representing the old fashioned, hardcore America, once again reminding the Nation that Memorial Day is not about hot dogs, baseball games, or making cannonball splashes in the pool. Memorial Day is about white stone monuments reaching to the horizon. Each with a […]

F-82B Twin Mustang – Free Wallpaper

Each time we produce an issue of Flight Journal, we go through literally hundreds and hundreds of photos, but only about one out of 20 ends up gracing one of the pages. The net result is that we have an awful lot of photos that didn’t quite fit the layout, but they are great […]

T-Tailed Tri-Jet: The Martin XB-51

The XB-51 was a one-of-a-kind movie star that starred in the 1956 movie entitled Toward the Unknown as the Gilbert XF-120, which would have made it the world’s biggest fighter! What began life as a four-engine turbopropjet (two) and turbojet (two)-powered attack aircraft designated XA-45, evolved into a three-engine, turbojet-powered, medium-class bombardment aircraft designated XB-51 […]

Charles Lindbergh standing beside the Spirit of St. Louis. Photograph by American Commercial Photographers (attrib.), 1927. Missouri History Museum Photographs and Prints Collections. Lindbergh, Charles A. Collection. n22380.

On This Day in Aviation History

1927 – Charles Lindbergh lands his new Ryan monoplane, the “Spirit of St. Louis,” in St. Louis, Mo., after a record non-stop overnight flight from San Diego, Calif., of 14 hours, 25 min. 1957 – Death of Victor Herbert Strahm, American World War I flying ace, who served in World War II and was chief test pilot for the U.S. Army Air Forces. […]

B-17 Flying Fortress Online Free Artwork

There’s that wonderful word again: Free! This time we’re offering high- quality PDF downloads of William Wylam’s fabulous drawing of the B-17G Flying Fortress. The detailing is incredible and the PDF could be blown up to almost any size without losing quality. Enjoy! Click here.

Iconic Firepower: Proximity Fuzes

Proximity fuzes vexed AAF General Hap Arnold during World War II. The United Sates had them, the Germans were working on them, and the prospects for heavy bomber formations were not good if Germany perfected theirs. Before proximity fuzes, the problem facing antiaircraft gunners at long range was to estimate distance and altitude for pre-set […]

In Theater: The Heavy-Hitting Jug

Seventh ranking American ace of the European Theater, Capt. Fred J. Christensen, Jr. stands with the other legends of the 56th Fighter Group that brought the Republic Thunderbolt into service and remained true to their charge until the VE-Day victory. As with many WW II fighter pilots, Christensen’s dream of finding himself in that exclusive […]

The Fewest of the Few: How the Supermarine Spitfire Won the Battle of Britain

Those who have previously studied the Battle of Britain have most often come the conclusion that, although the Spitfire was an integral part to the Royal Air Force’s defense of Britain, it was ultimately the workhorse Hawker Hurricane that won the battle. However, a new theory proposed by aviation historian Ryan Clauser challenges that school […]

The Cold Blue

A tribute to the men who won the ultimate victory 75 years ago, this movie will be showing in select theaters May 23rd and will be available on demand on HBO June 7th. Featuring extraordinary, never before seen color footage shot by one of the world’s greatest directors, William Wyler, you’ll feel as though you’re 30,000 feet over Nazi Germany, […]