Category Archives: Video

The monster was born behind locked doors in wartime Britain. Its silhouette was unnatural, its speed hard to believe, and when it lifted into the air, it seemed to float as if the rules of physics no longer applied. They called it the Vampire. Continue reading →

Pilots called it the Luftwaffenfeuerzeug: the Luftwaffe’s Lighter. The Heinkel He-177 Griffin, a massive four-engine heavy bomber, had a fatal flaw: its engines were crammed together in pairs, generating heat no cooling system could handle. Aircraft exploded on runways before ever reaching combat. Continue reading →

4,000 pounds of airframe. 3,000 pounds of engine. It will reach 424 miles per hour and rocket off a carrier deck at nearly 5,000 feet per minute. By 1943, America is finally smashing its way across the Pacific. But there is still a problem no plane has solved. Continue reading →

In the spring of 1943, the Bay of Biscay had become a hunting ground–grey water, broken clouds, and constant ambush. Eight Junkers Ju 88s swept low across the waves, searching for the slow, ungainly shapes of Allied patrols. Continue reading →

All-American has just finished her run. Her bomb bays are empty, and Messerschmitts are right on her tail. One of them comes in for a pass, but it’s too close. The Bf-109 flies straight through the aft section of the bomber and is gone. The rear fuselage is split open by a long gash. One stabilizer is simply gone. Continue reading →

The thunder of rotor blades announces helicopters from miles away. Radio chatter fills enemy listening posts with target coordinates. Electronic signatures light up radar screens like beacons in the night. Every military aviation unit accepted that flying high-stakes insertions and rescue missions meant being detected by the enemy. Continue reading →

Test pilot Leo Sullivan straps in and pushes the throttles, bringing the massive C-5A Galaxy’s TF39 turbofans to life. It’s taken years of painstaking engineering just to get here. It needed wings strong enough to carry two battle tanks and six helicopters across the world. Its landing gear and structural frames have been redrawn from scratch just to ensure this titan can stand on its own. But the result has been worth it. Continue reading →

During the 1960s, advanced military trainers evolved alongside complex fighter aircraft, demanding better pilot preparation. Amid the rush, a small German company named Rhein Flugzeugbau, RFB, embarked on an unconventional idea; they set out to build a jet that wasn’t a jet at all. Continue reading →