Aircraft stories

It’s 1980 and in a darkened operations room located deep in the Norfolk countryside, Fighter Controllers monitoring a bank of radar scopes issue precise instructions into the ears of four US F-5 Tiger pilots. Their mission is to intercept hostile fighters that have intruded into friendly airspace. Or so it appears...

The F-15 Eagle first flew in 1972 and has dominated the skies ever since. Find out more about this formidable aircraft that the US has operated in every major conflict over the last forty years.

The PBY Catalina was arguably the most versatile aircraft of the Second World War. It was involved from start to finish, in every theatre, in a variety of roles.

By the end of 1943, the US Eighth Air Force was at breaking point, German flak and fighters were shooting down bombers in their hundreds. But just one year later, the Eighth Air Force were masters of the air over Europe. So how did they do it?

The B-29 Superfortress is arguably the most important and controversial aircraft in human history. With the dubious honour of being history’s deadliest bomber and the only aircraft to drop a nuclear weapon in combat, its story is one of ground-breaking innovation, unimaginable destruction and decisions that would dictate the course of the 20th century.

In 1958, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation delivered a prototype, twin-engine, supersonic, all-weather, long-range fighter -  a design the US Navy could not ignore: the F-4 Phantom II. It would go on to become the most-produced American supersonic jet fighter in history and an icon of the Cold War. 

In retaliation for the deadly bombing of a West Berlin nightclub in April 1986, US President Ronald Reagan ordered an attack at the heart of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime. Ten days later, F-111s took off from RAF Lakenheath for what would become the longest combat fighter mission in history.

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was vital to the US's strategic bombing campaign during the Second World War. During the conflict, B-24s served with every branch of the American armed forces and in every theatre of the war. Built in larger numbers than any other US aircraft, the B-24 would become a symbol of the industrial might of the American war machine.

The P-47 Thunderbolt is one of the most recognisable American fighter planes from the Second World War. . In this video, our expert Graham Rodgers walks us through the history and technical aspects of this iconic aircraft.