Month: November 2021

Are Russians hunting to fish the wreckage of the UK F-35B that crashed last week like they did with that of a US Navy F-14 that fell off the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy in 1976? – The Aviation Geek Club

Western allies have expressed confidence to recover the wreckage of the British F-35B Lightning II before Russia beats them to recover and gain critical technological know-how into the sophisticated fifth-generation fighter aircraft. Western allies have expressed confidence to recover the wreckage of the British F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter jet that crashed in the Mediterranean …

Are Russians hunting to fish the wreckage of the UK F-35B that crashed last week like they did with that of a US Navy F-14 that fell off the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy in 1976? – The Aviation Geek Club Read More »

US Navy F/A-18 pilot tells the story of when a Hornet used a 500-pound LGB to kill a lone terrorist scrambling across a gorge in Afghanistan – The Aviation Geek Club

From October 2001 to August 2021, US Navy F/A-18s Hornet and Super Hornet strike fighters provided around-the-clock battlefield coverage in the Afghanistan Theater of operations, where they were also tasked for some unusual missions. The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet was designed for aircraft carrier duty and was the first tactical aircraft designed to …

US Navy F/A-18 pilot tells the story of when a Hornet used a 500-pound LGB to kill a lone terrorist scrambling across a gorge in Afghanistan – The Aviation Geek Club Read More »

P-47 Thunderbolt pilot explains why strafing German trains during World War II was a dangerous business – The Aviation Geek Club

Trains were never safe from roaming P-47 Thunderbolts on armed reconnaissance missions. However, German tactics quickly made strafing them a more challenging and dangerous affair. The cool plate by Jim Laurier in this post features 3.7cm tracer rounds from carriage-mounted FlaK 43 batteries whiz past P-47D-27-RE 42-27221 as Col Leo Moon, CO of the 404th …

P-47 Thunderbolt pilot explains why strafing German trains during World War II was a dangerous business – The Aviation Geek Club Read More »

New VH-92A Marine One presidential helicopter not effective for “contingency operation mission” (i.e. it can’t be used during an emergency) – The Aviation Geek Club

The new VH-92A Marine One presidential helicopter isn’t effective “for the contingency operation mission,” a reference to emergency flights. President Joe Biden’s first flight on the VH-92A presidential helicopter, the new Marine One, is being delayed after a report by the Pentagon’s testing unit warned it’s not yet “operationally suitable” or sufficiently reliable — especially …

New VH-92A Marine One presidential helicopter not effective for “contingency operation mission” (i.e. it can’t be used during an emergency) – The Aviation Geek Club Read More »

The reason why the US will never sell the F-35 Lightning II to Taiwan – The Aviation Geek Club

The US has already started deliveries of F-35s to both Japan and South Korea, despite the fact that neither country needs the F-35 nearly as much as Taiwan does. As we have reported in 2017, Taiwan would welcome the sale of the F-35 stealth fighter. Back then Taiwan was looking for a fighter with short-take …

The reason why the US will never sell the F-35 Lightning II to Taiwan – The Aviation Geek Club Read More »

The story of the only aerial victory scored by a Royal Australian Air Force Wirraway during World War II – The Aviation Geek Club

Archer returned to Popondetta where he leapt from his Wirraway and ran across to the control tent where he exclaimed to the Control Officer “Sir, sir, I think I’ve shot down a Zero!” The swift and decisive defeat of RAAF CAC Wirraway aircraft (an Australian development of the North American NA-16 training aircraft) at Rabaul …

The story of the only aerial victory scored by a Royal Australian Air Force Wirraway during World War II – The Aviation Geek Club Read More »

That time a Taiwanese U-2 pilot flamed out at 70,000 feet over the Rocky Mountains and glided to a rough night landing at a remote airport in Colorado – The Aviation Geek Club

Major Hsi-Chon Hua, a U-2 pilot belonging to Taiwan’s Nationalist Chinese Air Force (NCAF) who flamed out at 70,000 feet and glided to a rough landing at the airport of the remote town of Cortez, Colorado, in 1959. In complete secrecy, a team headed by Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson at Lockheed’s “Skunk Works” in Burbank, …

That time a Taiwanese U-2 pilot flamed out at 70,000 feet over the Rocky Mountains and glided to a rough night landing at a remote airport in Colorado – The Aviation Geek Club Read More »

The story of the SR-71 Blackbird that pitched up and collided with a KC-135Q tanker during an air refueling over El Paso – The Aviation Geek Club

When his SR-71 pitched up and slammed into a KC-135Q tanker at 26,000 feet, Blackbird RSO Maj. Mortimer J. Jarvis knew it was time to go. The pilot, Lt. Col. Buddy Brown, ejected from the damaged SR-71 and Mortimer was right behind him. While doing research on Buddy Brown I found this article on The …

The story of the SR-71 Blackbird that pitched up and collided with a KC-135Q tanker during an air refueling over El Paso – The Aviation Geek Club Read More »

This Israeli F-4 was shot down by an Israeli Nesher during the Yom Kippur War: the story of the only Blue-On-Blue incident that resulted in one IAF aircraft shooting down another IAF aircraft – The Aviation Geek Club

This was a really rare Israeli air-to-air “friendly fire” incident and the only such incident that resulted in a “friendly kill” of one IAF aircraft shooting down another IAF aircraft. In the years that preceded the October 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel invested heavily in the creation of a heavy attack force of four F-4 …

This Israeli F-4 was shot down by an Israeli Nesher during the Yom Kippur War: the story of the only Blue-On-Blue incident that resulted in one IAF aircraft shooting down another IAF aircraft – The Aviation Geek Club Read More »

The F/A-18 Super Hornet is out of Canada competition to replace Royal Canadian Air Force’s CF-18 Hornet fleet – The Aviation Geek Club

Dario Leone Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters …

The F/A-18 Super Hornet is out of Canada competition to replace Royal Canadian Air Force’s CF-18 Hornet fleet – The Aviation Geek Club Read More »

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