The revolutionary X-15 remains the fastest manned aircraft ever to fly.Built in the two decades following World War II, it was the most successful of the high-speed X-planes. The 'sound barrier' was smashed completely by the X-15, which could hit Mach 6.7 and soar to altitudes above 350,000ft, beyond the edge of space. Several pilots qualified as astronauts by flying above 50 miles altitude in the X-15, including Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon.Th...

A new study of how the first purpose-built anti-tank helicopter gunship – the Bell AH-1 Cobra – engaged communist armor and well-armed irregular fighters in the war for control of Vietnam.The Vietnam War was often dubbed 'the helicopter war' because it was the first conflict in which helicopters took a dominant role. As the only dedicated gunship to be fielded by US forces during the conflict, the AH-1 Cobra saw combat against North Vietnamese Army (NVA) tanks, arm...

A detailed look at the deadly battle between US Navy F9F Panther jet fighter-bombers and communist anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) defenses that proliferated throughout the Korean War.The F9F Panther was one of the many fighters converted for ground-attack duties, following an established US tradition. Originally designed as a jet fighter, in April 1951 it became the first jet to launch from a carrier with bombs loaded, using them to destroy a crucial railway bridge ...

The F-105D Thunderchief was originally designed as a low-altitude nuclear strike aircraft, but the outbreak of the Vietnam War led to it being used instead as the USAF's primary conventional striker against the exceptionally well-defended targets in North Vietnam and Laos. F-105 crews conducted long-distance missions from bases in Thailand, refuelling in flight several times and carrying heavy external bombloads.The MiG-17 was the lightweight, highly manoeuvrable defending fighter ...

A detailed study of one of the US's most famous post-war aircraft, the F-4 Phantom, which saw service in three branches of the US military during the Vietnam War.Although the F-4 Phantom II was the most important fighter-bomber to see action with all three American services during the Vietnam War, it was essentially a U.S. Navy design, and the carrier-borne squadron crews were its main operators in combat.The aircraft pioneered the use of long-range, radar-...

F-111s based in England flew the longest fighter combat mission in history against the Libyan capital Tripoli in 1986, and in 1991 the aircraft was one of the most important Coalition warplanes in the successful Desert Storm campaign.The General Dynamics F-111 was one of the most technically innovative designs among military aircraft, introducing the variable-sweep wing, terrain-following radar, military-rated afterburning turbofan engines and a self-contained esca...

An in-depth technical study of the USN and export variants of the McDonnell–Douglas F-4 Phantom – sure to appeal to modelers, veterans, and aviation enthusiasts.Originally designed as a carrier-borne long-range interceptor armed with radar-guided missiles and tasked with defence against missile-launching bombers, the Phantom II went on to establish itself as one of the most important multi-role fighter, attack and reconnaissance aircraft of the 20th century.

The combat history of the F-105 Thunderchief units during the Vietnam War, detailing the strengths and weaknesses of the aircraft, and the difficulties it faced during many months of dangerous combat.Facing the most formidably concentrated air defences in history, pilots of the F-105D flew against North Vietnamese targets day after day during the 43 months of Operation Rolling Thunder. Despite its limited maneuverability and the lack of self-sealing fuel tanks, whi...

A detailed study of how Operation Desert Storm saw Coalition forces respond to Iraq's surface-to-air missile defences with ground-breaking combat aircraft technology.Developed in the wake of the USA's ill-prepared entry into the Vietnam War, aircraft carrying electronic counter-measures equipment and anti-radar missiles were crucial to the success of Operation Desert Storm during the First Gulf War. Iraq's air defence systems were elaborate and co...

Twenty-five US Marine Corps squadrons flew versions of the Phantom II and 11 of them used the aircraft in South-East Asia from May 1965 through to early 1973. Rather than the air-to-air missiles that were the main component in the original F-4 armament, these aircraft carried an ever-expanding range of weaponry. Some toted 24,500-lb bombs and others strafed with up to three 20 mm gun pods, while most flew daily sorties delivering napalm, Snakeye bombs and big Zuni rockets. Many US Marines ...

While the F105 Thunderchief was the USAF's principal strike weapon during the Rolling Thunder campaign, the US Navy relied on the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk for the majority of its strikes on North Vietnam.The Skyhawk entered service in 1956 and remained in continuous production for 26 years. Throughout Operation Rolling Thunder it was the US Navy's principal daytime light strike bomber, remaining in use after its replacement, the more sophisticated A-7 ...

World War II saw the development of the heavy bomber as a decisive weapon which, in sufficient numbers, could overcome defensive fighters and guns and lay waste to strategic targets.The addition of nuclear weapons to the bomber's armament made it even more formidable, and by the late 1940s, US planners saw the growth of a Soviet nuclear-armed bomber fleet as a terrifying threat to North American security. Conventional subsonic fighters with guns and free-flight air...