Category Archives: Video

Stalin’s Secret Rocket Plane – Bereznyak-Isayev BI

The Soviet BI glides midair, its wood-and-metal frame gleaming under the overcast sky. In the cockpit, pilot Grigory Bakhchivandzhi grips the controls. He’s already taken this experimental warbird once before on its maiden flight. Now, it’s time to push it to its limits.

The rocket engine projects the BI forward with a force that slams Bakhchivandzhi back into his seat, shooting faster than even the Luftwaffe’s best could dream of. Continue reading →

Yakovlev Yak-38 – the Soviet Fighter Everyone Feared (Until they saw It In Action)

Aboard the deck of carrier cruiser Minsk, the atmosphere was anything but quiet. It was December 1982, and two Yak-38 Forger jets, the Soviet Union’s first—and only—vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, were finally prepping for a mission six years into their operational service. Ahead of them loomed the ship’s distinctive ski-jump ramp, designed to give the jets a boost, conserving precious fuel and allowing them to carry heavier payloads. Continue reading →

The Horten Ho-229 was the World’s First Jet-Powered Flying Wing

In the 2011 movie Captain America: The First Avenger, the eponymous hero battles the evil Nazi Red Scull onboard a sleek, menacing all-wing aircraft in the waning days of World War II. The future of freedom hangs in the balance as the sophisticated jet plane zooms toward New York City with a payload of super weapons intended for total annihilation. Continue reading →

Westland Lysander – the Awkward Aircraft that Became a Deadly Night Killer

With its ungainly high wings, fixed landing gear, and massive wheel spats jutting from its sides, the old-fashioned Westland Lysander certainly cut a strange silhouette in the perilous skies of World War 2. Looking more like a biplane that had lost its bottom wings, this peculiar dragonfly failed at virtually every combat role it was given. Continue reading →