Military Aircraft
Warplanes, including fighters, bombers, air tankers, surveillance aircraft and more- Explore more »
The Century Series: F-100
A portrait of the F-100 Super Sabre in action during the Vietnam War.
January 2006 |
By John Kocon
Midnight Raiders
How zeppelin bombers during World War I terrorized the British-and their own German crews.
January 2006 |
By Nicholas Nirgiotis
Speed Freak
In the 1950s, the Mach 2+ B-58 Hustler seemed a safe bet to win the arms race.
January 2006 |
By Dale Smith
A Full Retaliatory Response
When President John Kennedy contemplated nuclear war, what went through the minds of the U.S. bomber crews?
November 2005 |
By Thomas Jones
The Raptor Arrives
Debriefing the pilots who got the first crack at the F-22.
November 2005 |
By Carl Hoffman
The Boom Stops Here
Hush, hush, sweet SST. Engineers are inventing a supersonic airplane that won't bust windows.
November 2005 |
By T.A. Heppenheimer
The Rainmakers
Once a fire starts, these airplanes are the fastest way to slow it down. So why are they endangered?
September 2005 |
By Douglas Gantenbein
A Bell That Didn't Ring
Turns out that jets are like waffles: The U.S. Army Air Forces was tempted to throw its first one away.
September 2005 |
By William E. Burrows
White Rocket
How all U.S. Air Force pilots since 1968 have met their Mach.
September 2005 |
By Peter Garrison
The French-Russian Connection
With Russian Yaks, a small group of French pilots fought like hell to drive the Germans out of the Soviet Union.
September 2005 |
By Carl Posey
Cold Front
Meet the men who kept the Thunderbolts flying.
July 2005 |
By Thomas D. Jones and Robert F. Dorr
Despots Aloft
To the three most infamous dictators of the 20th century, the airplane was much more than a way to get from Stalag A to Gulag B.
May 2005 |
By Von Hardesty
The Meatball
Pilots who make it safely to the deck of an aircraft carrier have seen the light.
May 2005 |
By Sam Goldberg
The U-Deuce
The secret to a spyplane's eternal youth is a new suite of gadgets installed on a classic chassis.
March 2005 |
By William E. Burrows
Pony Power
What do you call a Temco TT-1 Pinto trainer with a new engine? A rare breed with a lot of giddyup-and-go.
March 2005 |
By Jay Miller
Save the Mentor!
T-34 owners are the latest to prove the value of good old-fashioned American ingenuity.
January 2005 |
By Peter Garrison
Send in the Global Hawk
In combat trials, the RQ-4A unmanned reconnaissance aircraft showed intelligence analysts what it means to have eyes like a Hawk.
January 2005 |
By John Croft
Fork-tailed Devils and Flying Shoes
What does the Northrop P-61 have in common with Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne?
January 2005 |
By Mark Gatlin
Crown Jewels
What gives the restored warbirds of the Flying Heritage Collection their sparkle?
November 2004 |
By Peter Garrison
50 Years of Hercules
As utilitarian as a bucket and just as plain, Lockheed's C-130 has flown almost everything to almost everywhere.
September 2004 |
By Carl Posey
