History

YF-16CCV: F-16 Fighting Falcon Variant   A characteristic feature of the YF-16CCV (the aircraft with the configuration defined by the control system) was two additional inclined front rudders under the air intake. The aircraft was used for “independent” tests on maneuverability. Here the term “independence” meant the ability to maneuver …

On May 17, 1987, the U.S. Navy guided-missile frigate USS Stark was on a patrol in the central Persian Gulf At night, Stark came under attack from an apparent Iraqi Air Force jet Aircraft. An Iraqi pilot attacked USS Stark in a Dassault Falcon 50 modified business jet armed. American …

In the Cold War era, Swedish JA-37 Jas Viggen fighter pilots were scrambled on 400-500 live Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) missions per year to intercept any unidentified aircraft approaching Swedish airspace. QRA targets came from both Warsaw and NATO nations Rolf Jonsson, a retired Swedish Air Force (Svenska Flygvapnet) fighter controller …

Battle of the Heligoland   image from cranstonfinearts The Battle of the Heligoland Bight was the first “named” air battle of the Second World War, which began the longest air campaign of the war, the Defence of the Reich. On 3 September 1939, the United Kingdom declared war on Nazi Germany …

On 1 May 1960, a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defence Forces while performing photographic aerial reconnaissance deep into Soviet territory. The single-seat aircraft, flown by pilot Francis Gary Powers, was hit by an S-75 Dvina (SA-2 Guideline) surface-to-air missile and crashed near …