Air Warfare
Early Cold War Reconnaissance Flights
F-6D & F-6K A total of 163 P-51Ks were completed as F-6K photo-reconnaissance aircraft. 126 Inglewood-built P-51Ds from blocks 20, 25, and 30 were converted after completion as F-6Ds. A few others were similarly converted near the end of the war. All of these photographic Mustangs carried two cameras in the rear fuselage, usually a K17 and a K22, one…
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American Warplanes – Pre-Second World War Naval Aircraft
The early years of US naval aviation were marked by rapid changes in technology and extremely limited budgets in the post-First World War era. That meant the US Navy bought small lots of aircraft from numerous manufacturers, always seeking the best in performance while it transitioned from biplane to monoplane,…
American Warplanes – Second World War Naval Aircraft
Because of the sometimes long lead time between development of an aircraft and its successful acceptance into service, the US Navy has always been forced to begin thinking about the next generation of aircraft as soon as possible. Reflecting this need, the US Navy contracted with Grumman in June 1941…
American Warplanes – Cold War Naval Aircraft
With the beginnings of the Cold War in 1948, nobody could conceive of any future wars between the two new super powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, which did not involve the use of nuclear weapons. This left the US Navy as a service that had no way…
American Warplanes – Interwar Aircraft (1919–1938)
Upon the conclusion of the First World War in November 1918, the Air Service had in its possession approximately 7,900 aircraft, of which less than 1,000 had seen operational service in France. The majority of the wartime-acquired planes would be sold as surplus, with some placed into storage. All existing…
American Warplanes – Second World War (1939–1945)
The rise to power of various totalitarian nations in the 1930s, such as Japan, Italy and Germany, convinced the senior political and military leadership of the United States that the nation would eventually be drawn again into overseas conflicts. They therefore sought to prepare the country’s military forces for that…
American Warplanes – Early Cold War (1946–1961)
There was a large drawdown of aircraft numbers with the aviation element of the US army following the conclusion of the Second World War. From the wartime high of around 80,000 aircraft, the USAAF was down to approximately 10,000 aircraft by 1946. Only the latest generation of planes remained in…