Aircraft
NATO Fighter and Attack Aircraft – Cold War I
As was to be expected in an alliance based on democracy and commercial opportunities, there was open competition in the very lucrative aircraft market, especially for fighters. Challenging the overwhelming industrial might of the United States was always a daunting experience, however, and was frequently both frustrating and very expensive too. Quite by chance, the start of the Cold War…
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Mil Mi-35P Attack Helicopter (Variant 2019 – “Phoenix”)
Mi-35P The Mi-24 attack / transport helicopter was developed by the Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant, a subsidiary of Russian Helicopters. The Mi-24 entered service with the Soviet Union in the late 1970s and has been deployed by 40 countries. More than 3,500 Mi-24 helicopters have been produced. It has been…
“Grief” in Development and Combat
Heinkel 177 by Mark Postlethwaite In last few months of the war the He 177 was used on the Eastern Front and for the first-time pattern bombing was used. Horst von Riesen, by now Kommodore KG 1, led his Geschwader against the railway centre of Velikye Luki, some 480km west…
German Failure to Develop a Four-Engine Bomber
“Amerika” bomber Amerika Bomber: A group of Me 264 aircraft getting ready to take off. The answer lies with Germany’s theory of war in general. Everyone knew that Germany could not sustain a long-drawn-out war like WWI. Blitzkrieg, to use a simple term, was developed to achieve quick victories of…
Dornier Do 24
Chance Encounter by Robert Taylor Seaworthiness trials with the Do 24 were conducted in the Baltic at the Seaplane Test Establishment at E-Stelle TravemĂĽnde in the autumn of 1937 using the fourth prototype, D-ADLP. The trials showed the flying-boat was ideal for air-sea rescue duties planned by the Dutch Navy…
Republic F-105 Thunderchief
As Republic F-105D Thunderchief fighter-bombers make a low-level strike on a North Vietnamese target, one sustains a serious hit, in Jim Laurier’s illustration “Thud Ridge.” LETHAL ENCOUNTER by William S. Phillips In 1951, a design team under Alexander Kartveli at Republic Aircraft began work as a company venture on a…
First World War Bombing of London 1915—1918 Part I
The First World War began in August 1914. Despite the German aim of a swift victory, their plans were thwarted. By the end of the year, the German army and its opponents, on both Western and Eastern Fronts, were stuck in trenches and the war seemed to have reached a…