fighter Archives

Featured in fighter

Nov 2, 2022

That time the USAF intercepted a pilotless Soviet fighter

On the morning of July 4, 1989, alarm bells blared at Soesterberg Air Base in the Netherlands, home of the US Air Force’s 32d Tactical Fighter Squadron. Within minutes, a pair of armed F-15 Eagles, manned by Capts. J.D. Martin and Bill …

BYIan D'Costa

Nov 2, 2022

BYTeam Mighty

Aug 19, 2022

Why the most capable fighter of WWII was actually ‘The Little Fighter That Could’

The service life of the F4U Corsair was a little more than 10 years, but in that time, it had…

BYTeam Mighty

Aug 19, 2022

BYTeam Mighty

Jun 9, 2023

How an airman shot down a Japanese fighter from the cockpit over the Himalayas

More than a thousand airmen aboard more than 600 planes went down in the Himalayas during World War II, but that’s just an estimate.

BYTeam Mighty

Jun 9, 2023

BYRuddy Cano

May 26, 2022

Did you know ‘Honest Abe’ was actually a formidable fighter?

Abraham Lincoln, America’s 16th President, led the United States and prospered in conserving the Union during the American Civil War,…

BYRuddy Cano

May 26, 2022

BYTeam Mighty

Feb 22, 2023

How a prop-driven biplane took down a jet fighter in the Korean War

Military history is full of battles fought against unbelievable odds. Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose. The story of the…

BYTeam Mighty

Feb 22, 2023

BYSandboxx

Nov 18, 2022

The Navy’s insane vertical take-off fighters of the 1950s

Nearly two decades before the Harrier jump jet would prove the efficacy of vertical take-off and landing platforms, the U.S….

BYSandboxx

Nov 18, 2022

BYWard Carroll

Aug 22, 2022

The 18 greatest fighter aircraft of all time

Results are what make a weapons system great, not just technology. In the case of fighter aircraft, it’s all about the kills, and with that as the main selection criteria, here’s WATM’s list of the 18 greatest fighters of all time: </p…

BYWard Carroll

Aug 22, 2022

BYSandboxx

Jun 23, 2021

This is what an F-35 looks like when it drops a nuclear bomb

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is frequently touted as the most advanced fighter ever to take to the skies, and soon it will be certified to carry nuclear bombs. Like all fifth generation fighters, the F-35 is a stealth platform…

BYSandboxx

Jun 23, 2021

BYSandboxx

May 12, 2021

What’s actually different about the Block III Super Hornet?

The U.S. Navy began taking delivery on the first Block III F/A-18 Super Hornets for testing last year, and while…

BYSandboxx

May 12, 2021

BYTeam Mighty

Mar 29, 2021

These 7 photos prove the F-4 is the greatest multirole fighter of all time

The arguments have raged in the back bars of officers clubs for years about which fighter is the greatest. (And many times a pilot’s vote is for the airplane he or she happens to be flying at that time.) But in terms of staying power and mission ag…

BYTeam Mighty

Mar 29, 2021

BYSandboxx

Mar 24, 2021

F-16XL: The F-16 with hardpoints for 27 weapons

For more than forty years, the F-16 Fighting Falcon has served as the backbone of the U.S. Air Force’s fighter…

BYSandboxx

Mar 24, 2021

BYSOFREP

Mar 23, 2021

Memphis Belle: The legendary B-17 flying fortress

The “Memphis Belle” a B-17F Flying Fortress of the Eighth Air Force would become the most famous of the 12,750…

BYSOFREP

Mar 23, 2021

BYHarold C. Hutchison

Mar 22, 2021

Here’s how you bailed out from a World War II fighter

These days, when things go south while in a fighter, pilots are trained to reach for the loops that trigger their ejection seats. You just give it a yank and t…