Aircraft
Ilyushin DB-3
DB-3 The DB-3 went into production at Plant No. 39 in Moscow and Plant No. 18 in Voronezh. To perfect the bomber during series production, Plant No. 39’s experimental workshop was transformed into a design bureau, with Sergei Ilyushin as chief designer. This was simply a formality, because by that time the Ilyushin OKB had already been formed as a…
Most Recent
USN Air War Vietnam 1964-73 Part I
The Crusader became the ultimate “day fighter” operating off the aircraft carriers. At the time, U.S. Navy carrier air wings had gone through a series of day and night fighter aircraft due to rapid advances in engine and avionics. Some squadrons operated aircraft for very short periods before being equipped…
USN Air War Vietnam 1964-73 Part II
Phantoms and MiGs met each other in the sky over Vietnam on many occasions throughout the first half of 1967 and American crews also continued to run the gauntlet of SAM missiles and ground fire. On 24 March, Lieutenant Commander John Cooley ‘Buzz’ Ellison, pilot of an A-6A Intruder in…
USN Air War Vietnam 1964-73 Part III
On 14 July, on its first day on the line, the Oriskany suffered its first combat loss. Lieutenant (jg) L. J. Cunningham’s A-4E in VA-164 was hit by AAA as it attacked barges on an inland waterway near Gia La, 15 miles south-east of Vinh. The aircraft was hit in…
USN Air War Vietnam 1964-73 Part IV
On 26 October, the navy lost two A-4Es and an F-8E Crusader to North Vietnamese SAM batteries. The first aircraft was lost during another raid on Phuc Yen. Commander Verlyne Wayne Daniels, a Korean War veteran, having flown Skyraiders with VA-155 in 1953, had returned to his old squadron in…
F-104 Starfighter
First USAF fighter to fly above Mach 2, the F-104 Starfighter made its appearance in the 1950s when it was decided to replace the still airworthy F-100 Super Sabre with a fighter which could be used mainly as an interceptor. Planning started in 1952 and the first of two prototypes…
Liberators in Europe I
‘The first of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator groups activated had been the 44th on 15 January 1941 at MacDill Field, Florida and the 93rd was created using personnel from the 44th. This Group also provided personnel for the 98th commanded by Colonel John Riley “Killer” Kane, the son of a…