B-2 Spirit

Hawker Hurricane I

The Hawker Hurricane was designed by Sir Sidney Camm and his team, and stemmed from a design project begun in late 1933 for a monoplane development of the famous Fury biplane interceptor. In January 1934, Sidney Camm saw the initial design performance figures of the new Rolls-Royce PV.12 later to become the famous Merlin, the projected fighter was altered to take full advantage of this engine’s greater power. Hawker received a contract for one prototype in February 1935 and in November that year, the new silver monoplane made its first flight.

About three months after the first flight, the prototype went to the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at Martlesham Heath in Suffolk for preliminary evaluation by the RAF.

During the Battle of France in May and June 1940, many RAF Hurricane squadrons saw action against the German Invaders, including several home-based units. Losses were extremely heavy and in the final stages of the bitter campaign many Hurricanes had to be destroyed on their airfields to prevent them from being captured. The success of the Hurricane in the Battle of Britain has been well recorded, but it is worth mentioning that the redoubtable fighter destroyed more enemy aircraft during the battle than the combined total of all other defenses.

RAF Hurricane Is went into action in the Middle East and Mediterranean in 1940; and in the following year, when the Germans invaded Yugoslavia, about 40 Hurricanes were serving the Royal Yugoslav Air Force. By that time, Hurricane production under license had begun in Belgrade but the enemy’s occupation of the country brought it to a close. The Germans swept through Yugoslavia and on into Greece where Hurricanes and Gladiators made a courageous but utterly hopeless stand against both the German and also the Italian air forces. The British fighters were soon overwhelmed and the pilots who survived withdrew first to Crete and finally back to Egypt from when they had first come.

Hurricane Is fought with RAF squadrons in the Far East during the early stages of the campaign there, in Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, Burma and Ceylon.

A total of 3,924 Hurricane Is were eventually completed in the UK, 1,924 of them by Hawker and the rest by Gloster. The first Canadian-built Hurricane I flew on January 9, 1940 and machines from the Dominion began to arrive in the UK in time to fight the Battle of Britain. 160 Hurricane Is were built, being eventually re-designated Mk X as they differed from the British-built aircraft in having American Packard-built Merlin 28 engines.

Specifications:
Powerplant: (late production aircraft) one 1,030 horsepower Rolls-Royce Merlin III twelve-cylinder liquid cooled vee engine.
Dimensions:
Span: 40 feet (12192 mm)
Length: 31 feet, 5 inches (9576 mm)
Weights: 4,982 lbs (2260 kg); 6,447 lbs (2924 kg)
Performance: Max speed 254 mph (409km/h) at sea level; rate of climb at 11,000 feet (3353m) 2,420 ft/min (738m/min); max range with 20 min reserves 425 miles (684 km); serving ceiling 34, 200 ft (10970m).
Armament: Eight .303in (7.7mm) Browning machine guns with 334 rounds per gun.

F-16 Fighting Falcon

F4F Wildcat

F-14 Tomcat

The F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic aircraft manufactured by Grumman. In 1972, the F-14 Tomcat entered service with the United States Navy and replaced the F-4 Phantom II. In 1976, the F-14 was exported to the Imperial Iranian Air Force. On September 1974, the F-4 Phantom was replaced by the F-14 and entered service to USN with squadrons VF-1 Wolfpack andVF-2 Bounty Hunters aboard USS Enterprise and also participated in the American withdrawal of Saigon. On August 19, 1981, the F-14 saw service on the Gulf of Sidra and had its first kills. The F-14 was also selected to inherit the Reconnaissance mission upon departure of the RA-5C Vigilante and RF-8G Crusaders from the fleet.

The F-14 was designed as both an air superiority fighter and a long range, naval interceptor. The plane features variable geometry wings swinging automatically during flight. The F-14’s fuselage and wings allow it to climb faster, while the twin-tail offers better stability. A Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod Systems or TARPS was developed housing three sensors. In the 1980s, while the Tomcat was being used in combat for air superiority mission in Iran, the US Navy flew regular daily combat missions in Lebanon. During that time, the Tomcat was too large and was vulnerable for overland use type of mission. In 1986, during the Gulf of Sidra operations, F-14s were only used over water missions since it was vulnerable. It was on Desert Shield that F-14s experienced overland combat operations on a regular basis. In 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, the F-14s consisted of Combat Air Patrol over the Red Sea and Persian Gulf and overland missions consisted of strike escort and reconnaissance. The F-14s also participated in Operation Deliberate Force, Operation Allied Force, Operation Desert Fox, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The F-14 was still considered the largest and most expensive fighter during its time. The F-14 has completed its retirement from US Naval service and was slated to remain in service through 2008. On February 8, 2006, the last F-14 combat mission was completed when a pair of Tomcats landed aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt after it dropped one bomb in Iraq.

The remaining intact F-14 aircraft have been stored at the Boneyard of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. As of July 2007, the remaining 165 aircraft were shredded to prevent parts from being acquired by hostile states.

F-117 Nighthawk

PBY Catalina

The Consolidated PBY Catalina was a flying boat patrol bomber that was designed by Isaac Laddon. PB stands for Patrol Bomber, with Y being Consolidated Aircraft’s manufacturer identification; the name Catalina was given to aircraft in British service.

Considered obsolete by many as the World War II began, the PBY Catalina proved a tremendous asset to all the services that flew her, performing in roles never envisioned by the designers. Maritime patrol, convoy escort and ASW were her primary duties, but in all combat areas, especially the South Pacific, The PBY Catalina proved to be a capable bomber and outstanding Search and Rescue Dumbo, saving hundreds of survivors. Bombing and strafing “Black Cats”, overall Black PBYs flying at night, were the scourge of enemy efforts to supply by-passed forward area bases. Basically changed from first production in 1936 to the last PBY, delivered in 1945, the Catalina’s operational capability had increased enormously with improved armament, power-boosted ammunition supply, armor, fuel dump valves, self-sealing fuel tanks, thermal deicing, radar and communication gear.

PBYs continued to serve many armed services after the war. The last Navy Catalina, a PBY-6A, flew until 1957 in the Naval Reserve. Foreign air forces operated PBYs into the 1970s, principally for search and rescue and logistic support of outlying installations. Catalinas have served in many civilian roles since the Second World War, providing passenger and freight service to remote areas and for many more exotic pursuits. Some serve as water bombers, fighting forest fires all over the world with water scooped into hull tanks through retractable probes as the PBY skimmed over a lake or river surface. Several have been configured as air yachts by private owners. For improved performance, many have been re-engined with 1,700hp Wright R-2600 engines and nacelles from B-25 bombers. A revised vertical tail improves stability and control and has led to a new name – “Super Cat”.

Specifications (PBY-5A):
Crew: 9 (a pilot, co-pilot, bow turret gunner, flight mechanic, radioman, navigator, two waist gunners, tail gunner)
Engines: Two 1,200-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 Twin Wasp radial piston engines
Weight: Empty 20,910 lbs., Max Takeoff 35,420 lbs.
Wing Span: 104ft. 0in.
Length: 63ft. 10.5in.
Height: 20ft. 2in.
Maximum Speed: 179 mph
Long-Range Cruising Speed: 117 mph
Ceiling: 14,700 ft.
Range: 2,545 miles
Armament: Five 7.62-mm (0.3-inch) machine guns
Up to 4,000 pounds of bombs or depth charges

CV-22 Osprey

A-10 Thunderbolt II

The A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). It is the first USAF aircraft designed exclusively for close air support (CAS). Its official name comes from the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, a fighter that was particularly effective at the CAS mission. However, it is more commonly known by its nickname “Warthog” or just “Hog”. The common story behind the aircraft’s nickname is that it was due to the A-10’s lack of aesthetic appeal, slow speed and thick skin. The protrusion of the GAU-8 cannon’s muzzle along with the blunt nose resembles a hog’s snout or boar’s tusk, and the report of the gun is low and growling, all serving to make the A-10 reminiscent of a warthog.

The Warthog’s primary mission is to provide CAS of ground forces by attacking tanks, armored vehicles, and other ground targets, and also to provide a limited air interdiction role. As a secondary mission, it provides airborne forward air control, guiding other aircraft against ground targets. In the USAF inventory, the airframe is designated OA-10 when used primarily in a forward air control role.

The A-10 saw combat for the first time during the Gulf War in 1991, destroying more than 1,000 Iraqi tanks, 2,000 military vehicles, and 1,200 artillery pieces. Warthogs also shot down two Iraqi helicopters with the GAU-8 gun. Seven A-10s were shot down during the war. However, they had a mission capable rate of 95.7%, flew 8,100 sorties, and launched 90% of the AGM-65 Maverick missiles fired in the conflict. The aircraft saw service again in the 1999 Kosovo War, in the later stages of the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, in Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan in March 2002, and in the 2003 Iraq war. According to Iraqi POWs, the single most recognizable and feared aircraft at low altitude was the Warthog. It was seen as deadly accurate, rarely missing its target.

The Warthog is scheduled to stay in service with the USAF until 2028 and possibly later, when it may be replaced by the F-35 Lightning II. The entire A-10 fleet is currently undergoing upgrades.

Specifications
Wing span: 57 ft 6 in (17.42 m)
Length: 53 ft 4 in (16.16 m)
Height: 14 ft 8 in (4.42 m)
Weight: 29,000 lbs (13,154 kg)
Maximum takeoff weight: 51,000 lbs (22,950 kg)
Fuel capacity: 11,000 lbs (7,257 kg)
Payload: 16,000 lbs (7,257 kg)
Speed: 420 mph (Mach 0.56)
Range: 800 miles (695 nautical miles)
Ceiling: 45,000 ft (13,636 m)
Power plant: Two General Electric TF34-GE-100 turbofans
Thrust: 9,065 lbs each engine
Armament: One 30 mm GAU-8/A seven-barrel Gatling gun; up to 16,000 lbs (7,200 kg) of mixed ordnance on eight under-wing and three under-fuselage pylon stations, including 500 pound (225 kg) Mk-82 and 2,000 lbs (900 kg) Mk-84 series low/high drag bombs, incendiary cluster bombs, combined effects munitions, mine dispensing munitions, AGM-65 Maverick missiles and laser-guided/electro-optically guided bombs; infrared countermeasure flares; electronic countermeasure chaff; jammer pods; 2.75-inch (6.99 cm) rockets; illumination flares and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.

P-47 Thunderbolt

History