Spookwars: How Enigma helped win in the air

Been meaning to post this for a while. It’s a good intro on the British/American program to break and read high-level German codes.  It comes from an audio podcast by the National Museum of the Air Force, at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, OH. 

US Congress gets ugly early to save the A-10

Is the A-10 “Warthog” being forced into early retirement by short-sighted bureacrats? Well, that depends on who you ask and what the latest headlines are. In 2014 the US Air Force announced (again) its intention to deactivate and retire the venerable Thunderbolt II from the inventory.

F-35 arrives at Nellis AFB Fighter Weapons School

I won’t get into detail on this post, but check out this new USAF-produced video on the F-35 Lightning II (aka Joint Strike Fighter). Don’t fixate on the gee-whiz shots of the new jet. Pay attention to how they describe the USAF Fighter Weapons School’s role, and think about what they mean as they talk so much about “integrating” the F-35’s capabilities. More on FWS and weapon system integration in future posts…

Lieutenant Strange and the strange incident

Here’s an awesome “there-I-was” story. In fact, it just may be the mother of all there-I-was stories. It stars two of the main characters of WWI air power…

Thunderstruck: Israel’s Operation Orchard vs Syrian reactor

The IAF’s two-seat F-15I is Israel’s version of the F-15E Strike Eagle of the USAF. In Hebrew, it is called Ra’am (thunder).

OK, time for a more current topic…

Without a doubt, the Israeli Air Force is one of most capable, well-trained air services in the world. Since the very birth of their country, IAF leaders and aircrews have  written bold chapters in the annals of air power history.

Battle of Annette Island and the ghost sub

Annette Island lies about 600 miles NW of Seattle, and is part of the island chain at the very southern-most part of Alaska.  During WWII the Pacific Northwest became a minor theater of operations, as Japanese forces invaded the islands of Attu and Kiska (US sovereign territory) and Jap submarines ventured south into coastal waters off British Columbia, Washington and Oregon.

Boly 9118: Canada’s sub-killer

Just finished a 1/72 Airfix kit of the Bristol Blenheim, painted up as a Canadian-built Bolingbroke (aka “Boly”).

I’ve been getting kill-me-now bored of the standard dark earth/dark green/sky RAF paint scheme.  So wanted something different for this.  Found some pics, aftermarket decals, and an interesting story.  Who can pass that up?

The eagle and the devil: Galland in Nazi Germany

I’ve never understood how some of history’s most courageous, gallant and yes, honorable, warriors could have fought for such an evil regime as Nazi Germany, and remained loyal to devil-incarnate Adolf Hitler.  I know there were complex motives and psychology involved, and sweeping political dynamics.   But its still hard for me to get my head around…

The elusive Colonel Tomb

One of the most intriguing figures in air power history is a man many say never existed.  During the Vietnam War, US combat pilots were bedeviled by a skilled and deadly adversary…  

Scotty T’s dancing helicopters

I’ll be covering the rapidly unfolding unmanned revolution that has already transformed military aviation and what air power means.  And there’s a big crossover between the civilian/hobbyist RC world and the military UAV industry, so check this out…