Hi everyone - here's a quick shot of the proposed cover for the second edition of CWAM. I'm now working on the design of this issue (having finished the MiG-29 especially for it..!) so I hope it will be ready by the beginning of March. I hope that you like it and I'll be dropping some more teaser...
Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of Australia was incorporated on October 17th, 1936 under the direction of the Australian government and managed by Lawrence Wackett (1896-1982), the "father of the Australian aircraft industry". By September 1937 a factory had been constructed at Fishermen’s Bend in Port Melbourne, Victoria to produce military aircraft and…
Three new aircraft models installed in the Cold War Gallery, included two Medal of Honor aircraft. The models are an A-4E Skyhawk, an HOS3-1, and an AJ-1 Savage
A series of sleek exotic fighter aircraft concepts were explored between 1970 and 1982 in the US. With the fabulous good looks of a fictional spaceship, these Cold War studies were extremely lightweight and often revolutionary in shape and concept. Jim Smith delves into the fascinating story of Bud Nelson's light fight concepts. This article…
[/caption]On 22 August 1956 a P4M Mercator on night patrol flying 32 miles off the Chinese coast in international waters reported being under attack....
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Explore Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation's 4008 photos on Flickr!
Explore Dean West's 3158 photos on Flickr!
Camouflaged Noratlas of ETOM 88 in the evening light towards the end of Landsberg Open Day 1977. Today preserved at Evreux-Fauville as 64-BJ. - Photo taken at Landsberg (- Penzing) (ETSA) in Germany on September 11, 1977.
The following images were taken by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder during a Green Flag - East (GF-E) training mission flown by a Barksdale Air Force Base's 20th Bomb Squadron B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber. GF-E is a realistic air-land integration combat training exercise meant to replicate deployed warfare conditions. B-52s
At Travis AFB, California
During the early part of the Cold War, the U.S. Air Force needed an aircraft to gather information about Soviet air defense radar systems, including details like their location, range and coverage. The electronic reconnaissance RB-47H, developed from the,
The Vought F-8 Crusader originally designated as F8U is a single engine, supersonic carrier-based air superiority fighter jet that was developed by the “Vought” to serve for the United States Navy, the Marine Corps and the French Navy. The aircraft was designed to replace the Vought F7U Cutlass. The first prototype of this aircraft was ready for flight test back in February of 1955. The Vought F-8 Crusader was the principle aircraft for the US Navy and the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. The Vought F-8 Crusader was the last of the American jet fighters that were equipped with guns as their primary weapons. Due to this fact, the aircraft was nicknamed as “The Last of the Gunfighter”. The Vought Rf-8 was another variant of this aircraft that was developed for photo-reconnaissance. The aircraft served in the United States service longer than any other fighter versions. The aircraft was the essential aircraft that served a major role in the Cuban Missile Crisis as it provided low-level photographs that were impossible to gather at that tie with any other means. The last of the Vought F-8 Crusader served for the US Navy until 1987. For our readers today, we have gathered a bunch of amazing facts about the Vought F-8 Crusader which are as follows. Production:- The design for the Vought F-8 Crusader was started by the US Navy back in 1952. The design was being made of an aircraft that would be able to have the top speed of Mach 1.2 while having a climb rate of 25000 per minute with a landing speed of no less than 100 mph. First flight:- The aircraft was amongst the most fast built jet fighters in the history of US. The aircraft’s first prototype was ready by February of 1955 for its first test flight. Broke the speed record:- The Vought F-8 Crusader was the first ever jet fighter in the US that broke the speed record after it traveled at a speed of 1000 mph while being flown by U.S. Navy pilot R.W. Windsor back in 1956. Engine:- The Vought F-8 Crusader was equipped with only one Pratt & Whitney J57-P-20A afterburning turbojet. This engine was capable of generating up to 10,700 lbf (47.6 kN) of dry thrust. Weapons:- The Vought F-8 Crusader came equipped with 20 mm cannons that proved to be a great weapon for dogfights during the Vietnam War against the Soviet MiGs. Aerodynamics:- The first generation of fighter jets proved to be a valuable asset for the later generations. The Vought F-8 Crusader was designed to have an adjustable wing tilt. This feature allowed the wings to be pulled in closer by 7 degrees. This design was the base that was later applied in Navy’s current elite fighters like F-14 Tomcat and B-1 Lancer. Vought F-8 Crusader VS F-4 Phantom:- The F-4 Phantom fighter jet was designed by the Navy to serve mostly the air-to-air missile strikes to attain air superiority on interdiction missions. On the other hand, Vought F-8 Crusader relied on its guns and missiles for gaining air superiority. The aircraft was designed to have deft maneuvering which was not easy to fly by many pilots. Still, the pilots who flew this aircraft admired its prowess in aerial missions. Vietnam War:- The Vought F-8 Crusader was one of the primary aircraft that served in the Vietnam War. During the Vietnam War, for our Crusader lost in war, it destroyed nearly 19 MiGs. This was very impressive considering it was only second best to the Navy’s most elite fighter; the F-4 Phantom. During the war times, F-8 was the most feared fighter aircraft by the enemies. An Example of its massive air superiority:- According to one reported incident from back in May of 1972, two Vought F-8 Crusaders that were returning from mission intercepted one North Vietnamese MiG that was headed toward the US Naval Carrier group. The naval carrier initially sent two F-4 Phantoms towards it but they were called back. The reason for this sudden calling back was because F-8 intercepted the aircraft and when they did, the pilot of the MiG ejected out into the water. This alone was a testament to the statement as to how much enemies feared F-8. Later development:- The Vought F-8 Crusader lost its brilliance to the F-4 Phantom despite gaining many successes over its long years of service. The original name for F-8 was F-8U, with U being for the Upgrade possibility. The most successful upgraded version of F-8 was F-8U-3 which was regarded as “Best Fighter that the US Navy Ever built”. The F-8U-3 was the fastest and most maneuverable along with being the better dogfighter hen compared to F-4 Phantom. However, still F-4 prevailed in term of popularity because it was the future of the air superiority where jet fighters would reign with missiles and no pilot would be involved in dogfights. Highly acclaimed despite being Obsolete:- The idea of the jet fighters with missiles for air superiority was proven wrong with the start of Vietnam War but until then all the further development on F-8 was halted and it was stuck only in its original first form. Still, the Vought F-8 Crusader proved to be one of the highly acclaimed fighters during that era despite it being labeled as Obsolete. Export:- The aircraft although as primarily designed to be used by the US Navy and the Marine Corps it was still exported to two other countries of the world; France and the Philippines. In France, the aircraft served or its French Navy while in the Philippines, it served in the Philippine Air Force:- Retirement:- The aircraft served for the active duty in the US Navy until 1985 while it was still being used by the US Naval Reserve until 1987. Conclusion:- The Vought F-8 Crusader is dubbed as the last of the Gunfighters in the US Naval and Air Force. The aircraft, unlike the today’s aircraft, was only equipped with guns that were
Here are a few more pictures to keep this one alive. Come on February!! Attached to the wing of the B-52 carrier aircraft: First Landing...
What an impressive view! - Photo taken at Withheld in Russia in January, 2013.
Seen here at MAKS 2011 - Photo taken at Ramenskoye (Zhukovsky) (UUBW) in Russia on August 18, 2011.
Progress is Our Most Important Product, But It Happens So Rarely These Days Still, there's been a little bit of it on the Ki-27 project. P...
When the B-58 Hustler entered service in 1961, the three crew members had typical ejection seats, but ejection from the Hustler at very high speed proved extremely dangerous. To improve aircrew survivability, the Stanley Aircraft Corp. developed an,
