Fokker D.VIII Fighter: The Deadly Flying Razor

In the summer of 1918, a new fighter ascended in the German Air Combat Forces, or Luftstreitkräfte, boasting a level of performance that would outpace any of Anthony Fokkers’ famous designs. The Fokker E.V parasol monoplane, eventually known as the Fokker D.VIII, demonstrated tremendous combat...

By Tom Laemlein

Leupold Pro Team’s Ampuero Releases Marco Polo Bowhunting Film

Pedro Ampuero just released a film that most bowhunters will want to watch. “Marco Polo: Bowhunting the Impossible” dropped on YouTube on June 7 after premiering in Madrid on June 4, and it documents what is reportedly the first-ever filmed spot-and-stalk bowhunt on Marco Polo sheep. ...

By Sam.S

Tallboy and Grand Slam: World War II Bunker Busters

By 1940, both England and Germany realized that the Kriegsmarine’s U-Boats were the key to the Battle of the Atlantic. Eliminating the German submarine threat was Britain’s top priority. Expanding the U-Boat fleet was Germany’s greatest hope to bring the British to their knees. In those dar...

By Tom Laemlein

Aviation Icon and American Hero: Chuck Yeager

Born into poverty in the woods of West Virginia, Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager was a World War II aircraft mechanic, fighter pilot, double ace, military commander, and a test pilot who broke the sound barrier. His journey from Army private to USAF Brigadier General is an inspiration to all. Yeage...

By Friedrich Seiltgen

Battle of Britain: Myth vs. Reality

The idealized concept immediately took root and blossomed: the Royal Air Force saved Britain from invasion in 1940. The conventional wisdom holds that Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s legendary “few” handed Nazi Germany its first defeat in World War II and paved the road to eventual victo...

By Barrett Tillman

Lockheed D-21: Cold War Spy Drone

In October 1962, the C.I.A. and the U.S.A.F. requested that Lockheed study a high-speed, high-altitude drone concept for reconnaissance flights over particularly hostile territories to avoid endangering aircrews. Created during the height of the Cold War and following the shootdown of a U-2 spy p...

By Friedrich Seiltgen

POTD: Eject, Survive, Stay Silent - The S&W Model 41

Specialized equipment often reflects very specific mission requirements, and few examples are as niche as the modified Smith & Wesson Model 41 pistols issued for the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird pilot survival kits.

By Eric B

Triumph and Tragedy: The USS Indianapolis

No one on board the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) knew anything about the cargo they were carrying. What they did know was that the veteran cruiser (launched in 1931) made the trip from San Francisco to the island of Tinian in the Marianas in just ten days. The crew was proud of the “Indy”, and fo...

By Tom Laemlein

Mikoyan MiG-29: The Reactive Fulcrum?

Military aircraft design of the Cold War era could be described as akin to physics, or, more specifically, to Newton’s Third Law of motion, which states, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” From lessons learned in the Vietnam War, the United States Air Force determi...

By Peter Suciu
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