Aircraft
NATO Codenames for Soviet aircraft
NATO Codenames for Soviet aircraft During the Cold War, it was common for the West to know (or suspect) that an aircraft existed in the Soviet inventory, but not know its correct designation. Even when the USSR released publicity pictures of their aircraft (or allowed Western journalists to film them flying past during displays), the aircraft’s name was usually never…
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Soviet V-1s
The Soviet-made Chelomey 10Kh superficially resembled the German V‑1. Eighteen months after the first V1 attack on London the NKAP top brass (and probably the Soviet military leaders as well) did an ‘about face’ on their attitude to guided weapons The aforementioned engineers Nikol’skiy and Chachikian wrote to the Soviet…
75 SQUADRON – RAAF
No. 75 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fighter unit based at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory. The squadron was formed in 1942 and saw extensive action in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II, operating P-40 Kittyhawks. Port Moresby and Milne Bay In…
Dogfights Redux
History World War I. By the beginning of World War I in August, 1914, many military strategists had already predicted the possibility of combat between aircraft. At the time, military aviation on all sides was limited to a few hundred rudimentary aircraft that were expected to perform reconnaissance missions, artillery…
P2V Neptunes Part I
P2V-5F Neptune VP-8 in flight c1958 The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (originally designated P2V until September 1962) was a Maritime patrol and ASW aircraft. It was developed for the United States Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and PV-2 Harpoon, and being replaced in turn with the Lockheed…
Sablatnig Flugzeugbau GmbH
Dr Josef Sablatnig was born in Klagenfurt, Austria, and regarded as one of Germany’s ‘Old Eagles’. In 1903, he built his first aircraft, possibly a glider (there is no record of it ever having been flown), and deciding that there was more of a future for aviation in Germany, Josef…
The British Army Air Corps’ ‘Whistling Chicken Leg’
Affectionately known by Army Air Corps pilots as the ‘Whistling Chicken Leg’ and the ‘Tinny-Winny’, the Westland-built Gazelle AH.1 has been in continuous in service for more than forty-five years. Three AH.1s were officially accepted to the Gazelle Intensive Flying Trials Unit (IFTU) at Middle Wallop on 3 May 1973.…