• Smithsonian
    Institution
  • Smithsonian
    Journeys
  • Smithsonian
    Store
  • Smithsonian
    Channel
  • goSmithsonian
    Visitors Guide
  • Smithsonian
    magazine

AirSpaceMag.com

  • Subscribe
  • Home
  • History of Flight
  • Flight Today
  • Military Aviation
  • Space Exploration
  • Need to Know
  • How Things Work
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • History of Flight

The Airplanes of James Bond

After 46 hours watching all 22 films, our list numbers more than 150.

  • By The Editors
  • Photographs by Movieposter.com
  • AirSpaceMag.com, July 14, 2008
View More Photos »
$Alt

From Russia With Love (1963)

 
Tweet

Article Tools

 
  • Font
  • Email
  • Print
  • Comments (11)
  • RSS
  • Related Topics

    Aerospace Films

    Aircraft

    Photo Gallery

    <b>Dr. No (1962)</b>
<br>Boeing 707;
<br>Mercury spacecraft

    The Airplanes of James Bond

    Explore more photos from the story


    More from AirSpaceMag.com
    • Live and Let Fly

     

    You've seen our list of the coolest airplanes appearing in nearly half a century’s worth of James Bond films.

    Now, after watching all 22 Bond flicks, the editors at Air & Space have compiled a list of more than 150 aircraft and spacecraft (both fictional and non-) shown in the films.  Click through the photo gallery at right to see the list.

    Additions? Corrections? Let us know, in the comments section below.

     

    You've seen our list of the coolest airplanes appearing in nearly half a century’s worth of James Bond films.

    Now, after watching all 22 Bond flicks, the editors at Air & Space have compiled a list of more than 150 aircraft and spacecraft (both fictional and non-) shown in the films.  Click through the photo gallery at right to see the list.

    Additions? Corrections? Let us know, in the comments section below.



    Related topics: Aerospace Films Aircraft


    Tweet Digg
     
    Comments (11)

    Just one comment about your collection of Bond´s airplanes:
    The unidentified "russian two props plane" in "The World Is Not Enough" is actually a spanish designed and built light transport CASA 212 AVIOCAR; a very probable reason for its presence in the film is the fact that part of this film was shot in Spain. Thanks.

    Posted by Pablo Sanchez on July 18,2008 | 08:39 AM

    Where is the Republic RC3 Seabee??

    While it had only a short appearance in "The Man With the Golden Gun", and was not used to chase or shoot down any bad guys (but did contribute an explosion-- its own, courtesy of the solar laser), Bond's beautiful flight through Thailand's Phang Na Bay cliff islands in the Seabee, was a visual highlight of an otherwise low-end cheesy Bond film.

    It was certainly more memorable to viewers, and important to the movie than the Harrier!
    I'm also skeptical of the inclusion of the Marchetti 260TP, given that the movie is not even out yet!

    The Seabee's unusual fuselage design, flying amidst the unique scenery in the movie, plus the Bond-cool "belly-up-to-the-beach-in-a-tux" landing, make for a memorable flight worthy of James Bond coolness, and worthy of mention in your article.

    Posted by Colin Gould on July 19,2008 | 02:04 PM

    The aircraft approaching the hangar as Bond is about to fly through it is a Lear Jet, if I am not mistaken. Either that or a Cessna Citation. Hard to see at that distance, but since I own a BD-5J, I know that's not it. :)

    Posted by Juan Jimenez on July 19,2008 | 04:04 PM

    I think the plane in the skyhook system in Thunderball was a converted B17

    Posted by Phrahnsis on July 20,2008 | 03:41 PM

    The Living Daylights offered rich pickings, with most of the Moroccan Air Force's fleet seeming to be cast (in Russian markings): Fouga CM.170 Magister, OV-10A Bronco and Alpha Jet H, in addition to plenty of C-130H screen time. Plus an Aero Commander, Royal Air Maroc 727 and 757, and - in the first scene - a Gib-based Nimrod MRA1.

    Posted by Ian Corrigible on July 26,2008 | 06:24 PM

    I could not find a reference to a scene where Bond is on the outside of a Beech 18. He is trying to elude an assassin, and escapes by pushing the elevator down with his foot,forcing the plane to nose down.He leaps off the aircraft before it crashes.I don't remember which flick it was, but I think Roger Moore was Bond.

    Posted by Daniel Wright on July 30,2008 | 04:05 AM

    I cannot remember exactly which film it was in but Bond successfully bellied in a Navion in one of them. Anyone remember which film?

    Posted by Bryce VanStavern on August 5,2008 | 04:12 PM

    There's a Brantley B2 at the end of Goldfinger that you forgot to include!

    Posted by Matt on August 8,2008 | 10:16 AM

    The Navion you were thinking of was actually a Meyers 200 and it was in the movie You Only Live Twice. The Meyers 200 looks similar but is in fact smaller (though still a four-seater) and quite a bit faster. It's also made of steel with aluminum skin. Great airplane but very rare. They only made around 130 of them in the 1950's and 1960's. But almost all of them are still around thanks to their extremely strong construction.

    Posted by Dean Siracusa on August 19,2008 | 03:41 AM

    The fictional mega-airliner in Casino Royale is a retired modifed 747, not an A340.

    Also, the "VC-140" you list in Goldfinger is a civil JetStar...probably the same one used as Goldfinger's jet.

    You missed a helicopter in "Youy Only Live Twice" the Brantly...as seen on the poster. Also, there is a turbine version of the Westland Whirwind (license-built Sikorsky S-55/H-19)near the hangar that the BD-5J flies though in "Octopussy".

    Also, did anyone else notice that the poster of "From Russia with Love" features a Bell 47J while the helicopter in the film is (as you correctly note) a Hiller UH-12.

    Posted by J Boyle on September 7,2008 | 11:31 PM

    I think the plane in the skyhook system in Thunderball was a converted B17

    Posted by Phrahnsis on July 20,2008 | 12:41PM

    Also prior to that appearance, divers are dropped by parachute from a Boeing HC-97G Strofreighter.

    Posted by Adrian Balch on November 3,2010 | 10:48 AM

    The tiger helicopter in Golden Eye is not fictional. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurocopter_Tiger

    Posted by Jane Doe on December 7,2011 | 05:53 PM

    Post a Comment


    Name: (required)

    Email: (required)

    Comment:

    Comments are moderated, and will not appear until Smithsonian.com has approved them. Smithsonian reserves the right not to post any comments that are unlawful, threatening, offensive, defamatory, invasive of a person's privacy, inappropriate, confidential or proprietary, political messages, product endorsements, or other content that might otherwise violate any laws or policies.



    Advertisement


    Most Popular

    • Viewed
    • Emailed
    • Commented
    • Topics
    1. The World From Your Airplane Window
    2. The Legacy of Flight
    3. Grab the Airplane and Go
    4. D’oh! 10 Goofs in Space
    5. Inside the Enola Gay
    6. Where Have All the Phantoms Gone?
    7. At the B-17 Co-op
    8. 100 Years of Marine Aviation
    9. Combat on Canvas
    10. B-36: Bomber at the Crossroads
    1. 100 Years of Marine Aviation
    2. Grab the Airplane and Go
    3. At the B-17 Co-op
    4. A Sudden Loss of Altitude
    5. Ride-Sharing With the Rich
    6. Extraterrestrial Outfitter
    7. *Pilot Not Included
    8. Ground Proximity Warnings
    9. The Other Harlem
    10. The Rise and Fall and Rise of Iridium
    1. Why do airline seats have to be in an upright position during takeoff?
    2. Commentary: Metric Mayhem
    3. Where Have All the Phantoms Gone?
    4. At the B-17 Co-op
    5. The Legacy of Flight
    6. The Other Air Forces
    7. D.A.S.H. Goes to War
    8. 100 Years of Marine Aviation
    9. Why do we have to turn off iPods during takeoff?
    10. The World From Your Airplane Window
    1. Bombers
    2. Experimental Aircraft
    3. Cold War Era
    4. Golden Age of Flight
    5. Vietnam War
    6. 21st Century Aviation
    7. Military Aviators
    8. Aviators
    9. Aerospace
    10. Fighters
    11. Air Racing

    View All Most Popular »

    Advertisement


    Follow Us

    Air & Space Magazine
    @airspacemag
    Follow Air & Space Magazine on Twitter

    Sign up for regular email updates from Smithsonian.com, including daily newsletters and special offers.

    Popular Videos

    • Newest
    • Most Viewed

    The East Coast at Night

    (1:20)

    The Milky Way From Orbit

    (0:22)

    Cameras Instead of Guns

    (2:00)

    Resisting Enemy Interrogation

    (1:05:34)

    View All Newest Videos »

    Go For Launch!

    (3:52)

    Directing Hermann Goering

    (3:16)

    Refueling Over Iraq

    Refueling Over Iraq

    (02:20)

    Cameras Instead of Guns

    (2:00)

    View All Videos »

    In the Magazine

    FM2012 Cover

    March 2012

    • The World's Highest Laboratory
    • 100 Years of Marine Aviation
    • At the B-17 Co-op
    • Extraterrestrial Outfitter
    • World War II: The Movie

    View Table of Contents »

    Snapshot

    Old Recruit

    A rare Ryan PT-22 goes up for auction.

    Reader Scrapbook

    Over the Pacific

    Check out our scrapbook of readers' aviation and space pictures. Then add your own.


    Smithsonian Store

    24K Space Shuttle Orbiter Model

    Item No. 68048

    Smithsonian Journeys

    Astronomy in Arizona

    Enjoy exclusive observatory visits and skywatching in the southwest (May 9 - 13, 2012)




    View full archiveRecent Issues

    • FM2012 Cover
      Mar 2012


    • Jan 2012


    • Nov 2011

    Newsletter

    Sign up for regular email updates from Air & Space magazine, including free newsletters, special offers and current news updates.

    Subscribe Now

    About Us

    Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine has been delighting aerospace enthusiasts with the best writing about their favorite subject since April 1986. As an adjunct of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Air & Space matches the grand scope of the Museum, encompassing every era of aviation and space exploration. With stories that range from the Wright Brothers to the design of NASA's next lunar lander, Air & Space emphasizes the human stories as well as the technology of aviation and spaceflight.

    Explore our Brands

    • goSmithsonian.com
    • Smithsonian Air & Space Museum
    • Smithsonian Student Travel
    • Smithsonian Catalogue
    • Smithsonian Journeys
    • Smithsonian Channel
    • Site Map
    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright
    • About Air & Space
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising
    • Subscribe
    • RSS
    • Topics

    Smithsonian Institution

    Produced by Clickability