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The Sleeping Pilot

IN JULY OF 1943, it was the same as now: sunshine was a treasured commodity in Oxfordshire, England. So, even in the middle of a war, when the sun came out and the guns were quiet, young men would do the natural thing and enjoy it in the most natural of ways: with an afternoon nap. The war be damned.

Mustang ACE of ACES - MAJOR GEORGE E. PREDDY

Squadron Leader Clive Rowley MBE RAF (Ret.), a former Royal Air Force fighter pilot, tells the story of USAAF fighter pilot and top-scoring Mustang ace George E. Preddy.

P-51: The 18th Fighter Bomber Group

With thousands of late-model P-51s available at the end of WW II, the Mustang became the predominant airframe inactive and guard units into the 1950s until they were supplanted by jets.

Fleet Finch

The classic WW II Canadian trainer

Impossible barriers are made to be broken

Few technologies have had such a rapid development and such a powerful impact on mankind as the invention of the airplane.

RAMPANT RAIDERS

April 25, 1967, VA-212 tests the A-4 to the limit

THE GROWLER

Boeing’s electronic attack weapon

Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3

Authenticated by its log books, an N3N that 41st U.S. President George H.W. Bush trained in is preserved and still flying—now owned by Stewart Wells.

Five-Gun Fury .

Lt. Floyd Fulkerson: Wingman to the Aces

YELLOW SCORPIONS - P-51 Mustangs rule the skies in China

Using Chinese airfields, the 311th Fighter Group was the first to take World War II to the Japanese. The 311th’s 530th Fighter Squadron, which became known as the “Yellow Scorpions,” was the first squadron based in China. During their combat tour, they flew A-36 dive bombers along with all versions of the P-51 (A, B, C and D). However, it was their expertise with P-51 B and C models that earned them the respect of Japanese pilots.

WACO “Super Sport” S3HD - A Golden Age king

The WACO “Super Sport” S3HD is often referred to as the “King of the WACO biplanes.” Built as only one example, it is the stuff of legends.

SPITFIRE WITH A PUNCH - ROYAL AIR FORCE FIGHTER IN POLISH COLORS

Squadron Leader Clive Rowley, MBE RAF (Ret.), a former officer commanding the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, tells the story behind the latest color scheme for the Flight’s Spitfire Mk XVI TE311.

F-35B LIGHTNING II SEMPER FI

The JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) program is synonymous with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, which ultimately won the competition against Boeing and its X-32. The JSF plan was to have a similar new fighter for the U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy and U.S. allies: Build a bunch and keep the price tag down. It has been a success story since then.

DEFENDER OF THE REICH WW II as seen by a Luftwaffe Ace

Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring was in rare form, his eyes full of fire as he faced one of the better known of Germany’s aces, Oberst Walther Dahl. “Göring’s reply astonished even me,” Dahl remembered. “In the presence of pilots with heads, arms and legs in plaster, he yelled: ‘You cowards! Now I know why your Geschwader holds the record for parachute jumps: you jump so as not to fight.’

Lightning ACE!

P-38 Legend Robin Olds

SOUTH PACIFIC WARRIOR

A rare combat Mustang

Supermarine Spitfire Elliptical Elegance

Showing off the flowing curves of a jaguar ready to pounce, a Spitfire snugs in close, its pilot a picture of concentration as he carefully places the airplane exactly where he wants. It’s a timeless image of a timeless design.

THE BEST WWII FIGHTERS

Which was number one?

“Hotrod” Jug

By the time this limited-production high-performance version of Maj. Michael Jackson’s Teddy was photographed in early spring 1945 at Boxted, the 56th FG had been operating with Thunderbolts for almost three years. Initially constituted in November 1940 as the 56th Pursuit Group, with three Squadrons (61st, 62nd and 63rd) operating a mix of training aircraft and basing, they were posted in scattered locations in defense of New York City in early 1942. With the 63rd actually based at Republic’s Farmingdale factory, it was a natural for the 56th to be tapped to be the premier Thunderbolt unit in May 1942.

GUNFIGHTER OF THE RISING SUN

A Zero pilot’s own story

Me 262 Mach 1 Mystery

Did the Reich get there first?

HELLCAT VERSUS CORSAIR

GRUMMAN TEST PILOT FLIES THE COMPETITION

Flying the FW 190

A legend gets checked out in the Butcher Bird

THE F-5 AN AMERICAN TIGER

We all know about jet fighters such as the Phantom, Tomcat, Eagle, Viper, Hornet, F-22, and F-35, but what about the less-covered F-5? It doesn’t seem to secure as much time basking in the spotlight. Let’s indulge ourselves.

THE MARINES' LAST DOGFIGHT

THE CORSAIR WAS ONE TOUGH BIRD

KITTYHAWK JUNGLE RESCUE

P-40 GETS A NEW LEASE ON LIFE

A Human Record of War: Life magazine, 1965

1965…The April 16 cover story in Life was a photoessay by Larry Burrows, a British journalist best known for his war photography in Vietnam.

On the Night Before

Airborne operations over Normandy on the night of June 5, 1944

TERRIFIC TILTROTOR

DRIVING THE V-22 OSPREY

My Life as Rosie the Riveter

I have read about and seen many images about “Rosie the Riveter,” but my story is unique. I was a model with a rivet gun who worked at a factory, and my husband really did fly the very planes that I was advertising to encourage women to build during WW II.