Mary Ellis: The ATA Pilot Who Flew 400 Spitfires Without a Radio
Share this story The Wellington rolled to a stop at an airfield in East Anglia, and the ground crew went looking for its pilot. They would not believe it was the young woman who had climbed down from the cockpit. “They actually went inside the aeroplane and...
Bud Day, Misty 01: The F-100 Pilot Who Escaped North Vietnam
Share this story The float was a few bamboo logs, and the man clinging to it had a right arm broken in three places, bare feet cut to ribbons and branches heaped over him for cover. He was crossing the Ben Hai, the river that divided North from South Vietnam. A sentry...
Viva Forever: Virgin Atlantic A330neo Honours Joan Branson
Share this story A fair-haired woman in a flowing red dress flies across the nose of Virgin Atlantic’s newest jet, a Union flag streaming beside her. Look closer and the underside of her skirt is tartan. Beneath her feet are two words: Viva Forever. Virgin...
El Al, Israir and Arkia Ask to Resume Dubai Flights
Share this story It took about five minutes for El Al to sell every seat on its first two rescue flights out of Dubai. By Friday morning, both flights were cancelled. Landing approval for Israeli airlines in Dubai had been withdrawn overnight, El Al said. Israeli...
Taiwan F-16 Block 70: First Two Jets Land After Six Weeks in Hawaii
Share this story Around noon on Friday, 2 October, an F-16 with a Republic of China flag spread across its instrument panel touched down at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung, on Taiwan’s Pacific coast. A second jet followed it in. After three years of slipped...
Red Erwin: The B-29 Radioman Who Threw a Burning Bomb Out the Window
Share this story The bomb was supposed to fall away into the sky. Instead it came back up the chute and hit Staff Sergeant Henry Erwin in the face, burning at around 1,300°F (about 700°C). Within seconds he was blind, his clothes were on fire, and thick white...
Hubert Zemke: The Commander Who Built the 56th Fighter Group Wolf Pack
Share this story Some aces are remembered for their kills. Hubert Zemke is remembered for his pilots. As commander of the US Eighth Air Force’s 56th Fighter Group, he turned a unit of eager young P-47 Thunderbolt pilots into Zemke’s Wolf Pack, one of the...
RAF Fairford Plot: UK PM Burnham Sees ‘Strong Indications’ of Iran Role
Share this story Britain has named a suspect state. Four days after police arrested five men near RAF Fairford, the Gloucestershire base that hosts American bombers, Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the BBC on 30 September that there are strong indications Iran played...
J-10CE in Azerbaijani Colours: China Pitches Its Fighter at ADEX 2026
Share this story Walk past the outdoor displays at ADEX 2026 in Baku and you will find a Chinese fighter wearing Azerbaijani colours. China’s state aerospace group AVIC has parked a full-scale mock-up of the Chengdu J-10CE at the Azerbaijan International Defence...
UAE’s Shadow Airlift: 100+ Missions on Sanctioned Russian Il-76s
Share this story The aircraft are old, white and almost anonymous: four-engined Ilyushin Il-76 freighters with Russian registrations and no airline name on the side. According to a Defense News investigation published on 30 September, they have also flown more than...
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