The largest piston-powered airplane ever mass-produced, Convairs B-36 "Peacemaker" was also the worlds first thermonuclear bomber. The genesis of this behemoth can be traced to WWII, when U.S. planners determined that if the British were defeated, a very-long-range bomber would be needed to battle the Nazis.

The prototype B-36 flew in 1946 and was quickly upgraded as the need for a bomber with a large lifting capacity - the early fission and later hydrogen bombs were both large and heavy - became paramount. Yet, when it entered active service in 1949, the "aluminum overcast" was already...

Created by Lockheeds brilliant designer Kelly Johnson, the SR-71 Blackbird is one of the most legendary aircraft to emerge from the famous "Skunk Works". Capable of Mach 3 flight, the SR-71 could survey 100,000 miles of the earths surface from an altitude of 80,000 feet. The SR-71 holds a coast-to-coast speed record of 64 minutes flown at over 2100 m.p.h.

The SR-71 flew from 1964-1998 for the USAF (with a brief retirement from 1989- 1995), and completed over 17,000 sorties and over 11,500 hours at Mach 3. During that time 12 of the 32 aircraft produced were lost in accidents, although...

The XB-70 Valkyrie was an aircraft ahead of its time. Equipped with drooping wingtips, and designed with one of the highest lift-to-drag ratios in aviation history, the XB-70 challenged the known concepts of the flight envelope and demanded extraordinary developments in engineering and construction. The test program produced promising results, including a Mach 3 flight in May of 1966. Yet after a disastrous collision later that year resulted in the loss of one of two prototypes, the Valkyrie program was curtailed. The remaining craft was retired in 1969. Originally printed by NASA and the Air...

Developed as a derivative of the F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter, McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle has a radically different mission: to launch deep interdiction missions without additional fighter support or jamming. Since its first flight in 1986, the F-15E has performed a variety of missions including deep strikes against high-value enemy targets in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Allied Force, and providing close air support. It can carry over 23,000 pounds of payload, including the JDAM, AIM-9X, AGM-130 and AMRAAM, and is equipped with an Active Electronically...

Created by famed Lockheed designer Kelly Johnson, the F-104 Starfighter was designed to compete with Soviet Mig-15s. Equipped with a huge and powerful J79 engine, the aircraft could reach speeds well in excess of Mach 2.0, while its thin, trapezoidal wing provided extremely low drag with terrific acceleration and rate of climb. Unforgiving and sensitive to control inputs, the F-104 killed many pilots and developed a reputation as a "widow-maker." Despite its shortcomings, the Starfighter enjoyed a long career. It flew in the air support role during "Rolling Thunder" in the Vietnam War. It...

Conceived during the dark days of the Cold War, the U-2 is a single-engine, single-seat, surveillance aircraft. Designed by aeronautical engineer "Kelly" Johnson, the plane was used by the C.I.A. to photograph installations deep inside Soviet Russia and remains in use by the U.S. Air Force. Known as the "Dragon Lady", the U-2 was originally highly classified. Its existence remained a secret until 1960, when a U-2 flown by Francis Gary Powers was shot down over Soviet territory that precipitated a major political crisis. Despite the incident, the U-2 went on to have a long and illustrious...

Visionary designer Jack Northrop built a series of experimental "flying wing" aircraft both before and during WWII. The YB-35, a propeller-driven strategic bomber featuring the drag-reducing all-wing design, offered enormous payload capacity and terrific endurance. The YB-49, a turbojet-powered variant built on the YB-35 airframe, captured the imagination of the world when it first flew in 1947. It quickly set both an unofficial endurance record and a trans-continental speed record, and appeared poised for rapidly deployment. Tragically, in June of 1948 one of two flying prototypes was...

The U.S. Air Force's first all-jet strategic bomber, the swept-wing Boeing B-47 Stratojet had a range of 3,500 nautical miles and a payload capacity of 20,000 pounds. It served as the mainstay of Strategic Air Command in the 1950s into the mid 1960s. The B-47 was an outgrowth of WWII research and development efforts, and the prototype aircraft first flew in December of 1947. The unique six-jet design featured twin engine pods on the wing near the fuselage, and one outboard. It also incorporated an elegant bicycle-type landing gear with two-wheel struts on the forward and aft fuselage and...

The USAFs first jet-powered bomber capable of reaching Mach 2.0, the Convair B-58 Hustler carried a crew of three and a nuclear payload. A complex aircraft, the B-58 suffered teething problems during development and became infamous for its maintenance requirements. It also compiled a dubious safety record: out of 116 Hustlers, 26 were lost in accidents. Nevertheless, the B-58s career spanned nearly a decade between 1960-70. It might have continued even longer, but Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara believed the aircraft, which was designed for high-speed, high-altitude tactical approach,...

Equipped with a W38 thermonuclear warhead and with a range of 5,500 nautical miles, the Titan I was the Air Force's first multi-stage intercontinental ballistic missile, and a vital part of America's nuclear arsenal in the years 1961-1965. Designed and built by the Glen L. Martin Company (later Martin Marietta), the HGM-25A/SM-68A missile was the first in a series of Titan rockets. Unlike its later siblings, Titan I utilized non-storable and highly volatile LOX and RP-1 as its propellants. As a result the missile had to be fueled prior to launch - a process that took roughly fifteen minutes....