’s Big Military Aircraft Encyclopedia

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Lockheed SR-71 BlackbirdThe fastest air-breathing aircraft ever built. Nothing has caught it — not even time.The crews called it ‘Habu’ — the pit viper that was never caughtMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 FoxbatThe stainless-steel interceptor that panicked the Pentagon — and later carried MiGFlug customers to the edge of space.Ground crews called it the ‘Flying Restaurant’ — it cooled itself with 240 litres of alcoholGrumman F-14 TomcatSwing wings, Phoenix missiles and Top Gun immortality.‘Anytime, baby!’ — the Tomcat community’s standing challenge to every other fighterSupermarine SpitfireThe elliptical-winged symbol of the Battle of Britain, in service from the first day of the war to the last.Its own designer called the name ‘bloody silly’ — the Luftwaffe disagreedMikoyan MiG-29 FulcrumSoviet agility incarnate — and for two decades the jet MiGFlug guests flew to the stratosphere.The Soviet fighter that ended up patrolling NATO skiesLockheed Martin F-22 RaptorStill the benchmark: stealth, supercruise and thrust vectoring — never exported.So dominant that exporting it is illegal — even to alliesSaab 35 DrakenThe double-delta interceptor that could do the Cobra before it had a name.Its pilots flew the Cobra decades before the Russians named itNorthrop Grumman B-2 SpiritA flying wing that shows up on radar the size of a bird — at roughly two billion dollars apiece.The stealth ‘Boomerang’ — worth more than its weight in goldYou can fly itMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 FishbedThe most-produced supersonic aircraft in history — over 11,000 built, flown by some 60 air forces.Fighter pilots called it ‘the pencil’ — and it could still bite at Mach 2General Dynamics F-16 Fighting FalconMore than 4,600 built — the lightweight that became the West’s standard fighter.76 victories, one loss — the bestselling Western fighter keeps receiptsMcDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIFlown by every US service and eleven nations — brute force made iconic.Proof that with enough thrust even a brick flies — 5,195 bricks, actuallyDassault Mirage IIIFrance’s delta-wing star: the first European jet past Mach 2 and a legend of the Six-Day War.Israeli deltas ran its score past a hundred kills — the fighter of the Six-Day WarMesserschmitt Bf 109The backbone of the Luftwaffe — more Bf 109s were built than any other fighter in history.Erich Hartmann scored all 352 of his kills on it — the highest tally in historyNorth American P-51 MustangThe long-range escort that followed the bombers all the way to Berlin.Bomber crews called it their guardian angel — the escort that reached BerlinMitsubishi A6M ZeroSo agile that Allied pilots were ordered never to turn with it.In 1941 it out-flew everything over the Pacific — built to dance, too light to lastMesserschmitt Me 262The world’s first operational jet fighter — too late to matter, too advanced to ignore.150 km/h faster than anything sent against it — jets have never looked backYou can fly itAero L-39 AlbatrosThe world’s favourite jet trainer — and the jet most MiGFlug customers fly first.The jet most MiGFlug customers fly first — and the one they come back forSukhoi Su-27 FlankerThe Flanker: cobra manoeuvres and the foundation of every Russian fighter since.Pugachev’s Cobra made it famous — the jet that stands on its tail mid-airEnglish Electric LightningThe only all-British Mach 2 fighter — nothing in the West climbed like it.It once intercepted a U-2 — its pilots called it a rocket with a seatChengdu J-20 Mighty DragonChina’s Mighty Dragon: the first non-US stealth fighter in service.Nobody outside China has ever seen one up close — exactly as intendedFairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt IIA titanium bathtub built around a 30 mm cannon. The infantry’s favourite sound.Built around a gun the size of a small car — the sound is spelled BRRRTBoeing B-52 StratofortressSeventy years in service and counting — the bomber that outlived its replacements.Grandsons now fly the very airframes their grandfathers flew — aloft since 1955Lockheed SR-71 BlackbirdThe fastest air-breathing aircraft ever built. Nothing has caught it — not even time.The crews called it ‘Habu’ — the pit viper that was never caughtMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 FoxbatThe stainless-steel interceptor that panicked the Pentagon — and later carried MiGFlug customers to the edge of space.Ground crews called it the ‘Flying Restaurant’ — it cooled itself with 240 litres of alcoholGrumman F-14 TomcatSwing wings, Phoenix missiles and Top Gun immortality.‘Anytime, baby!’ — the Tomcat community’s standing challenge to every other fighterSupermarine SpitfireThe elliptical-winged symbol of the Battle of Britain, in service from the first day of the war to the last.Its own designer called the name ‘bloody silly’ — the Luftwaffe disagreedMikoyan MiG-29 FulcrumSoviet agility incarnate — and for two decades the jet MiGFlug guests flew to the stratosphere.The Soviet fighter that ended up patrolling NATO skiesLockheed Martin F-22 RaptorStill the benchmark: stealth, supercruise and thrust vectoring — never exported.So dominant that exporting it is illegal — even to alliesSaab 35 DrakenThe double-delta interceptor that could do the Cobra before it had a name.Its pilots flew the Cobra decades before the Russians named itNorthrop Grumman B-2 SpiritA flying wing that shows up on radar the size of a bird — at roughly two billion dollars apiece.The stealth ‘Boomerang’ — worth more than its weight in goldYou can fly itMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 FishbedThe most-produced supersonic aircraft in history — over 11,000 built, flown by some 60 air forces.Fighter pilots called it ‘the pencil’ — and it could still bite at Mach 2General Dynamics F-16 Fighting FalconMore than 4,600 built — the lightweight that became the West’s standard fighter.76 victories, one loss — the bestselling Western fighter keeps receiptsMcDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIFlown by every US service and eleven nations — brute force made iconic.Proof that with enough thrust even a brick flies — 5,195 bricks, actuallyDassault Mirage IIIFrance’s delta-wing star: the first European jet past Mach 2 and a legend of the Six-Day War.Israeli deltas ran its score past a hundred kills — the fighter of the Six-Day WarMesserschmitt Bf 109The backbone of the Luftwaffe — more Bf 109s were built than any other fighter in history.Erich Hartmann scored all 352 of his kills on it — the highest tally in historyNorth American P-51 MustangThe long-range escort that followed the bombers all the way to Berlin.Bomber crews called it their guardian angel — the escort that reached BerlinMitsubishi A6M ZeroSo agile that Allied pilots were ordered never to turn with it.In 1941 it out-flew everything over the Pacific — built to dance, too light to lastMesserschmitt Me 262The world’s first operational jet fighter — too late to matter, too advanced to ignore.150 km/h faster than anything sent against it — jets have never looked backYou can fly itAero L-39 AlbatrosThe world’s favourite jet trainer — and the jet most MiGFlug customers fly first.The jet most MiGFlug customers fly first — and the one they come back forSukhoi Su-27 FlankerThe Flanker: cobra manoeuvres and the foundation of every Russian fighter since.Pugachev’s Cobra made it famous — the jet that stands on its tail mid-airEnglish Electric LightningThe only all-British Mach 2 fighter — nothing in the West climbed like it.It once intercepted a U-2 — its pilots called it a rocket with a seatChengdu J-20 Mighty DragonChina’s Mighty Dragon: the first non-US stealth fighter in service.Nobody outside China has ever seen one up close — exactly as intendedFairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt IIA titanium bathtub built around a 30 mm cannon. The infantry’s favourite sound.Built around a gun the size of a small car — the sound is spelled BRRRTBoeing B-52 StratofortressSeventy years in service and counting — the bomber that outlived its replacements.Grandsons now fly the very airframes their grandfathers flew — aloft since 1955

Complete Military Aircraft List: WWI Biplanes to Stealth Fighters

Compare all relevant Military Aircraft: Speed, Kill Ratio & More

Reino UnidoB.E.2Royal Aircraft Factory3,500 producedSo stable it could almost fly itself — and so defenceless the Fokkers called it easy meat.Reconnaissance116 km/hTop speed1912–1919In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoAvro 504Avro11,303 produced11,000 built — the aircraft on which a generation of the world’s pilots learned to fly.Trainer153 km/hTop speed1913–1934In serviceSaw combatCombatRusiaIlya MurometsSikorsky85 producedThe world’s first four-engined bomber — Sikorsky built it as an airliner with a promenade deck.Heavy bomber110 km/hTop speed1914–1922In serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaMorane-Saulnier LMorane-Saulnier600 producedGarros bolted steel wedges to its propeller — and air combat was born.Parasol scout125 km/hTop speed1914–1916In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoBristol ScoutBristol374 producedA pre-war racer sent to war with a rifle — the RFC’s first single-seat scout.Scout150 km/hTop speed1914–1916In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoF.E.2Royal Aircraft Factory1,939 producedThe pusher that helped end the Fokker Scourge — and shot down Max Immelmann.Pusher fighter147 km/hTop speed1915–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaFarman MF.11Farman1,000 producedThe ‘Shorthorn’ flew the first night bombing raid of the war.Bomber / recon106 km/hTop speed1914–1916In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoVickers GunbusVickers224 producedThe world’s first purpose-built fighter — a machine gun with wings, barely.Pusher fighter113 km/hTop speed1915–1916In serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaVoisin IIIVoisin800 producedThe pusher that scored the first air-to-air kill in history, in October 1914.Bomber105 km/hTop speed1914–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoAirco DH.2Airco453 producedGun in front, propeller behind — the pusher that broke the Fokker Scourge.Pusher fighter150 km/hTop speed1916–1917In serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaCaudron G.4Caudron1,358 producedTwin engines in 1915 — France’s first bomber to reach the Rhine and return.Bomber132 km/hTop speed1915–1917In serviceSaw combatCombat

AlemaniaFokker EindeckerFokker416 producedThe first true fighter — its synchronised gun made 1915 the year of the ‘Fokker Scourge’.Fighter140 km/hTop speed1915–1916In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoHandley Page Type OHandley Page600 producedThe ‘bloody paralyser’ — Britain’s first true heavy bomber, big enough to name a size of house after.Heavy bomber157 km/hTop speed1916–1920In serviceSaw combatCombatFranciaNieuport 11Nieuport900 producedThe ‘Bébé’ that ended the Fokker Scourge at Verdun.Fighter156 km/hTop speed1916–1917In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoSopwith 1½ StrutterSopwith5,939 producedThe first British aircraft with a synchronised gun firing through the propeller.Fighter / reconnaissance161 km/hTop speed1916–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

AlemaniaAEG G.IVAEG320 producedThe tactical workhorse of the German bomber force — steel tubing when everyone else used wood.Bomber165 km/hTop speed1916–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoAirco DH.4Airco6,295 producedThe day bomber fast enough to outrun fighters — America built 4,800 of them as the ‘Liberty Plane’.Day bomber230 km/hTop speed1917–1932In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoAirco DH.5Airco552 producedWings staggered backwards so the pilot could finally see — he hated everything else about it.Fighter164 km/hTop speed1917–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

AlemaniaAlbatros D.I / D.IIAlbatros320 producedBoelcke’s mount — the first fighter to carry two synchronized guns as standard.Fighter175 km/hTop speed1916–1917In serviceSaw combatCombatAlemaniaAlbatros D.III / D.VAlbatros3,840 producedThe shark-bodied Albatros that armed the Flying Circus — Richthofen scored most of his kills in one.Fighter186 km/hTop speed1917–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaBreguet 14Breguet5,500 producedFrance’s do-everything warplane — among the first aircraft built largely of aluminium.Bomber / reconnaissance184 km/hTop speed1917–1932In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoBristol F.2 FighterBristol5,329 producedThe ‘Brisfit’ — a two-seater that dogfought like a single-seater and served into the 1930s.Two-seat fighter198 km/hTop speed1917–1932In serviceSaw combatCombat

ItaliaCaproni Ca.3Caproni300 producedItaly’s three-engined giant — Caproni believed in strategic bombing before almost anyone.Heavy bomber140 km/hTop speed1917–1929In serviceSaw combatCombat

AlemaniaDFW C.VDFW3,250 producedGermany’s most-built aircraft of the war — the two-seater that did everything.Reconnaissance155 km/hTop speed1916–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

AlemaniaGotha G.IV / G.VGotha340 producedThe bombers that brought the war to London by daylight — and forced the birth of air defence.Heavy bomber140 km/hTop speed1917–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaHanriot HD.1Hanriot1,200 producedRejected by France, beloved by Belgium and Italy — Willy Coppens burned balloons in his.Fighter184 km/hTop speed1916–1928In serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaNieuport 17Nieuport4,000 producedThe sesquiplane that restored Allied air superiority after the Fokker Scourge.Fighter177 km/hTop speed1916–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoR.E.8Royal Aircraft Factory4,077 producedThe ‘Harry Tate’ — Britain’s artillery eye over every mile of the Western Front.Reconnaissance164 km/hTop speed1917–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoS.E.5aRoyal Aircraft Factory5,205 producedThe mount of Mannock, McCudden and Bishop — stable, fast, and easier to master than the Camel.Fighter222 km/hTop speed1917–1920In serviceSaw combatCombatFranciaSPAD S.VIISPAD6,000 producedGuynemer’s mount before the XIII — the fighter that made SPAD a legend.Fighter192 km/hTop speed1916–1923In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoSopwith CamelSopwith5,490 producedCredited with more aerial victories than any other Allied aircraft of the Great War.Fighter185 km/hTop speed1917–1920In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoSopwith PupSopwith1,770 produced‘A perfect flying machine’ — and the first aircraft ever to land on a moving ship.Fighter180 km/hTop speed1916–1918In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoSopwith TriplaneSopwith147 producedThree wings and a climb nobody could follow — Richthofen wanted one copied. Fokker obliged.Fighter187 km/hTop speed1916–1917In serviceSaw combatCombat

AlemaniaStaaken R.VIZeppelin-18 producedA four-engined giant with a crew of seven — no bomber matched its load until the next war.Giant bomber135 km/hTop speed1917–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoAirco DH.9Airco4,000 producedThe ‘Ninak’ policed the Empire for a decade after the Armistice.Day bomber182 km/hTop speed1918–1931In serviceSaw combatCombat

ItaliaAnsaldo SVAAnsaldo1,245 producedFast enough to skip the escort — it flew D’Annunzio’s leaflet raid over Vienna.Reconnaissance / fighter230 km/hTop speed1918–1935In serviceSaw combatCombat

Austria-HungaryAviatik D.IAviatik700 producedAustria-Hungary’s own fighter — better than its overheating engines ever allowed.Fighter185 km/hTop speed1917–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

AlemaniaFokker Dr.IFokker320 producedThe Red Baron’s triplane — the last 19 of Richthofen’s 80 victories came in it.Fighter185 km/hTop speed1917–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

AlemaniaFriedrichshafen G.IIIFriedrichshafen340 producedThe Gotha’s quieter partner — it flew more raids and got none of the fame.Heavy bomber135 km/hTop speed1917–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

AlemaniaHalberstadt CL.IIHalberstadt900 producedThe original ground-attack aircraft — strafing trenches at Cambrai before ‘close air support’ had a name.Ground attack165 km/hTop speed1917–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

AlemaniaLVG C.VLVG2,000 producedThe sturdy Saxon two-seater — its C.VI sibling still flies at Shuttleworth.Reconnaissance170 km/hTop speed1917–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaNieuport 24 / 27Nieuport1,100 producedThe last of the sesquiplane Nieuports — flown by aces from Paris to Petrograd.Fighter187 km/hTop speed1917–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaNieuport 28Nieuport300 producedAmerica’s first fighter — Rickenbacker’s squadron flew it when no US design existed.Fighter198 km/hTop speed1918–1919In serviceSaw combatCombat

AlemaniaPfalz D.IIIPfalz1,010 producedThe other German fighter — it dived harder than an Albatros and film-starred as one ever after.Fighter181 km/hTop speed1917–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

AlemaniaRumpler C.IVRumpler1,000 producedWorking at 6,400 metres in 1917 — above everything, photographing everything.High-altitude recon170 km/hTop speed1917–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaSPAD S.XIIISPAD8,472 producedThe mount of the aces — Fonck, Guynemer and Rickenbacker all scored in it.Fighter218 km/hTop speed1917–1923In serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaSalmson 2Salmson3,200 producedFrance’s radial-engined workhorse — American observation squadrons swore by it.Reconnaissance188 km/hTop speed1918–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoSopwith DolphinSopwith2,072 producedThe back-staggered Sopwith the pilots learned to love — once they stopped fearing the cage over their heads.Fighter211 km/hTop speed1918–1919In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoSopwith SnipeSopwith2,097 producedThe Camel’s successor — Billy Barker won a VC fighting sixty Fokkers alone in one.Fighter195 km/hTop speed1918–1926In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoVickers VimyVickers230 producedToo late for the war — so Alcock and Brown flew it across the Atlantic instead.Heavy bomber166 km/hTop speed1918–1933In serviceNo combatCombatAlemaniaFokker D.VIIFokker3,300 producedSo feared that the Armistice demanded its surrender by name.Fighter189 km/hTop speed1918–1930sIn serviceSaw combatCombatAlemaniaFokker D.VIIIFokker289 producedThe ‘Flying Razor’ — the war’s final German fighter, a cantilever monoplane years early.Fighter204 km/hTop speed1918–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoHP V/1500Handley Page63 producedBuilt to bomb Berlin from England — the Armistice came first, so it bombed Kabul.Heavy bomber159 km/hTop speed1918–1920In serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaNiD 29Nieuport-Delage1,571 producedToo late for the war, but the fighter half the world’s air forces flew in the 1920s.Fighter235 km/hTop speed1922–1928In serviceSaw combatCombat

AlemaniaPfalz D.XIIPfalz800 producedForever second to the Fokker D.VII — even its own pilots wanted the other plane.Fighter170 km/hTop speed1918–1918In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoSiskinArmstrong Whitworth469 producedThe RAF’s aerobatic twenties — all-steel structure while everyone else still glued wood.Biplane fighter251 km/hTop speed1924–1932In serviceNo combatCombat

FranciaBreguet 19Breguet2,400 producedRecord-breaker and colonial warhorse — it crossed the Atlantic and bombed the Rif.Bomber / recon235 km/hTop speed1924–1940sIn serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaPotez 25Potez4,000 producedFour thousand built, flown on every continent — the biplane that mapped empires.General purpose214 km/hTop speed1926–1940sIn serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoBulldogBristol443 producedDouglas Bader lost his legs aerobatting one — Finland flew them against the Soviets anyway.Biplane fighter287 km/hTop speed1929–1940In serviceSaw combatCombat

Estados UnidosP-6 HawkCurtiss700 producedThe most beautiful biplane Curtiss ever built — the Army’s silver-and-yellow years.Biplane fighter328 km/hTop speed1929–1937In serviceNo combatCombat

Reino UnidoWapitiWestland565 producedA decade policing the North-West Frontier — built partly from leftover DH.9A parts.General purpose225 km/hTop speed1928–1940In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoHart / HindHawker2,800 producedA light bomber faster than the fighters of 1930 — Hawker bred a whole family from it.Light bomber296 km/hTop speed1930–1943In serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaNiD 62Nieuport-Delage740 producedFrance’s between-wars stopgap — seven hundred sesquiplanes waiting for the monoplane age.Fighter270 km/hTop speed1931–1940In serviceNo combatCombat

Estados UnidosP-12 / F4BBoeing586 producedArmy and Navy shared one biplane — America’s favourite fighter of the early thirties.Biplane fighter304 km/hTop speed1930–1941In serviceNo combatCombat

USSRR-5Polikarpov6,000 producedSix thousand of everything — and it rescued the Chelyuskin castaways from the Arctic ice.Recon / light bomber228 km/hTop speed1931–1944In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoHeyfordHandley Page124 producedThe last biplane heavy bomber — its bombs lived inside the thick lower wing.Heavy bomber229 km/hTop speed1933–1939In serviceNo combatCombat

USSRTB-3Tupolev818 producedThe corrugated giant — it carried parasite fighters on its wings and dropped tanks by parachute.Heavy bomber212 km/hTop speed1932–1945In serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaAmiot 143Amiot138 producedThe bomber that looked like a flying house — bravely attacking bridges in 1940 anyway.Medium bomber310 km/hTop speed1935–1941In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoHawker FuryHawker275 producedThe RAF’s first 200-mph fighter — and Yugoslavia’s last biplane defence in 1941.Biplane fighter333 km/hTop speed1931–1941In serviceSaw combatCombatPolandPZL P.11PZL475 producedPoland’s gull-wings met the Luftwaffe first — and drew first blood in September 1939.Fighter390 km/hTop speed1933–1939In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosB-10Martin348 producedFaster than every fighter of 1934 — the all-metal shock that killed the biplane bomber.Medium bomber343 km/hTop speed1934–1942In serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaD.500 / 510Dewoitine380 producedA cannon firing through the propeller hub — China flew it against Japan before France needed it.Fighter402 km/hTop speed1935–1940In serviceSaw combatCombat

Estados UnidosP-26 PeashooterBoeing151 producedAmerica’s first monoplane fighter, wires, spats and all — it met Zeros over the Philippines in 1941.Fighter377 km/hTop speed1934–1941In serviceSaw combatCombat

CzechoslovakiaAvia B-534Avia568 producedThe finest biplane fighter of its day — Czechoslovakia never got to use it; Slovakia did.Biplane fighter394 km/hTop speed1935–1944In serviceSaw combatCombat

ItaliaCR.32Fiat1,312 producedThe aerobatic king of the Spanish Civil War — Italy’s most-exported fighter.Biplane fighter375 km/hTop speed1935–1943In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoGauntletGloster246 producedThe Gladiator’s open-cockpit brother — last of the RAF’s open-air fighters.Biplane fighter370 km/hTop speed1935–1940In serviceSaw combatCombatAlemaniaHe 51Heinkel700 producedThe Luftwaffe’s first fighter — outclassed over Spain, so it invented ground attack instead.Biplane fighter330 km/hTop speed1935–1943In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRI-15 / I-153 ChaikaPolikarpov6,578 producedThe gull-winged Chaika — Spain’s dogfighter, still duelling monoplanes in 1941.Biplane fighter444 km/hTop speed1934–1943In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRI-16 IshakPolikarpov9,450 producedRetractable gear and cannon first — Spain called it Mosca, the Germans called it Rata.Fighter525 km/hTop speed1935–1943In serviceSaw combatCombat

CzechoslovakiaŠ-328Letov470 producedIt flew for the Axis — then for the Slovak National Uprising against it.Recon / light bomber280 km/hTop speed1934–1944In serviceSaw combatCombat

AlemaniaAr 68Arado511 producedThe Luftwaffe’s last biplane fighter — obsolete at delivery, night fighter by 1940.Biplane fighter305 km/hTop speed1936–1940In serviceNo combatCombat

AlemaniaDo 17Dornier2,139 producedThe ‘Flying Pencil’ — built slim to outrun fighters, until the fighters caught up.Medium bomber410 km/hTop speed1937–1944In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoGladiatorGloster747 producedThe RAF’s last biplane fighter — Faith, Hope and Charity held Malta.Biplane fighter414 km/hTop speed1937–1944In serviceSaw combatCombatItaliaSM.79 SparvieroSavoia-Marchetti1,350 producedThe ‘damned hunchback’ — the most feared torpedo bomber in the Mediterranean.Torpedo bomber460 km/hTop speed1936–1952In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoSwordfishFairey2,391 producedThe ‘Stringbag’ biplane crippled Bismarck — too slow for modern gunsights to aim at.Torpedo bomber224 km/hTop speed1936–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRTupolev SBTupolev6,656 producedFaster than the fighters over Spain in 1936 — a lesson every air force copied.Fast bomber450 km/hTop speed1936–1943In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanA5M ‘Claude’Mitsubishi1,094 producedThe world’s first monoplane carrier fighter — the Zero’s older brother.Carrier fighter440 km/hTop speed1937–1943In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosB-17 Flying FortressBoeing12,731 producedIt brought crews home with the tail shot off — the most famous bomber ever built.Heavy bomber462 km/hTop speed1938–1959In serviceSaw combatCombatAlemaniaBf 109Messerschmitt33,984 producedThe backbone of the Luftwaffe — more Bf 109s were built than any other fighter in history.Fighter~640 km/hTop speed1937–1958In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoBlenheimBristol4,422 producedFaster than any RAF fighter when it appeared — a sitting duck three years later.Light bomber428 km/hTop speed1937–1944In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanG3M ‘Nell’Mitsubishi1,048 producedWith the Betty, it sank Prince of Wales and Repulse — battleships underway, gone in two hours.Medium bomber375 km/hTop speed1937–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosGrumman F3FGrumman229 producedThe Flying Barrel — the US Navy’s last biplane fighter, grandfather of the Wildcat.Carrier biplane fighter425 km/hTop speed1936–1941In serviceNo combatCombatAlemaniaHe 111Heinkel6,508 producedThe Blitz bomber, designed in disguise as an airliner.Medium bomber440 km/hTop speed1937–1958In serviceSaw combatCombatAlemaniaHs 123Henschel265 producedThe biplane pilots refused to retire — flying close support deep into 1944.Ground attack biplane341 km/hTop speed1936–1944In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoHurricaneHawker14,487 producedIt shot down more of the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain than everything else combined.Fighter547 km/hTop speed1937–1947In serviceSaw combatCombatAlemaniaJu 87 StukaJunkers6,500 producedIts sirens were weapons in themselves; Rudel flew 2,530 sorties in one.Dive bomber383 km/hTop speed1937–1945In serviceSaw combatCombat

JapanKi-10Kawasaki588 producedJapan’s last biplane fighter — the army’s agility cult began here.Biplane fighter400 km/hTop speed1935–1942In serviceSaw combatCombat

Estados UnidosP-36 HawkCurtiss1,115 producedPearl Harbor’s forgotten defender — and France’s best fighter of 1940 was American.Fighter500 km/hTop speed1938–1944In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosPBY CatalinaConsolidated3,308 producedIt found the Bismarck — and plucked thousands of downed airmen from the sea.Patrol / reconnaissance314 km/hTop speed1936–1979In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoWellesleyVickers177 producedGeodetic wings and a world distance record — Egypt to Australia, non-stop, 1938.Light bomber369 km/hTop speed1937–1942In serviceSaw combatCombat

ItaliaBR.20 CicognaFiat580 producedItaly’s modern bomber of 1936 — it even bombed Britain, briefly and badly.Medium bomber440 km/hTop speed1936–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoBattleFairey2,201 producedIts crews won the RAF’s first Victoria Crosses of the war — attacking bridges nothing could survive.Light bomber413 km/hTop speed1937–1941In serviceSaw combatCombatAlemaniaBf 110Messerschmitt6,170 producedMauled by day over Britain — deadly by night as the radar-eyed defender of the Reich.Heavy fighter560 km/hTop speed1937–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatNetherlandsFokker D.XXIFokker148 producedFixed gear and no armour — Finnish pilots ran up ace scores in it regardless.Fighter460 km/hTop speed1938–1944In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoHampdenHandley Page1,430 producedThe ‘Flying Suitcase’ — crews loved the handling and hated the squeeze.Medium bomber397 km/hTop speed1938–1943In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRIl-4Ilyushin5,256 producedIt bombed Berlin in August 1941, when nobody believed Moscow still could.Medium bomber430 km/hTop speed1940–1947In serviceSaw combatCombatAlemaniaJu 88Junkers15,183 producedGermany’s do-everything bomber — 15,000 built for a dozen different jobs.Bomber / night fighter510 km/hTop speed1939–1951In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanKi-21 ‘Sally’Mitsubishi2,064 producedThe army’s workhorse over China — obsolete by 1942, flying to the very end anyway.Medium bomber486 km/hTop speed1938–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanKi-27 ‘Nate’Nakajima3,368 producedIts pilots so loved its agility they resisted every faster successor.Fighter470 km/hTop speed1938–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoLysanderWestland1,786 producedThe moonlight taxi — dropping agents into occupied France on 350-metre fields.Army co-op / special duties336 km/hTop speed1938–1946In serviceSaw combatCombatPolandPZL.37 ŁośPZL120 producedPoland’s superb modern bomber — only about 90 stood ready in September 1939.Medium bomber445 km/hTop speed1938–1944In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRPe-8Petlyakov93 producedThe only Soviet four-engine heavy — it flew Molotov over the Reich to Washington.Heavy bomber443 km/hTop speed1941–1946In serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaPotez 63Potez1,360 producedFrance’s do-everything twin — fighter, bomber and recon, all at once in 1940.Heavy fighter / recon442 km/hTop speed1938–1944In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoSpitfireSupermarine20,351 producedThe elliptical-winged symbol of the Battle of Britain, in service from the first day of the war to the last.Fighter~700 km/hTop speed1938–1955In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoWellingtonVickers11,462 producedBarnes Wallis’s geodetic basket — it flew home full of holes that would down any other bomber.Medium bomber378 km/hTop speed1938–1953In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoWhitleyArmstrong Whitworth1,814 producedIt dropped the RAF’s first bombs on German soil — flying permanently nose-down.Heavy bomber370 km/hTop speed1937–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanB5N ‘Kate’Nakajima1,150 producedThe aircraft that put the torpedoes into Battleship Row.Torpedo bomber378 km/hTop speed1938–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoDefiantBoulton Paul1,064 producedAll guns in a turret, none facing forward — brilliant for exactly six weeks.Turret fighter489 km/hTop speed1939–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosF2A BuffaloBrewster509 producedA punchline in the Pacific, a legend in Finland — 26:1 against the Soviets.Carrier fighter517 km/hTop speed1939–1944In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosF4F WildcatGrumman7,885 producedOutflown by the Zero, it still held the line at Midway and Guadalcanal.Carrier fighter533 km/hTop speed1940–1945In serviceSaw combatCombat

ItaliaFiat G.50 / G.55Fiat1,061 producedThe Centauro was the best fighter Italy built — even the Luftwaffe tried to order it.Fighter620 km/hTop speed1938–1945In serviceSaw combatCombat

AlemaniaFw 200 CondorFocke-Wulf276 producedAn airliner turned U-boat scout — Churchill called it the scourge of the Atlantic.Maritime patrol bomber360 km/hTop speed1940–1945In serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaLeO 451Lioré-et-Olivier561 producedThe most beautiful bomber of 1940 — too few, and far too late for France.Medium bomber495 km/hTop speed1939–1944In serviceSaw combatCombat

USSRSu-2Sukhoi910 producedSukhoi’s first — flown by Ekaterina Zelenko, the only woman ever to carry out an aerial ramming.Light bomber486 km/hTop speed1940–1944In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoSunderlandShort749 producedThe ‘Flying Porcupine’ — U-boat crews found out why.Maritime patrol336 km/hTop speed1938–1959In serviceSaw combatCombatItaliaZ.1007 AlcioneCANT660 producedWooden wings over the Mediterranean — it bombed from Greece to Stalingrad.Medium bomber466 km/hTop speed1939–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosA-20 HavocDouglas7,478 producedAmerica’s night intruder — and Russia’s favourite lend-lease bomber.Light bomber546 km/hTop speed1941–1949In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoAlbacoreFairey800 producedBuilt to replace the Swordfish — the Swordfish outlived it.Torpedo bomber259 km/hTop speed1940–1944In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoBeaufortBristol1,821 producedIt crippled the Gneisenau — a run its pilot didn’t survive, and a VC remembered.Torpedo bomber420 km/hTop speed1940–1944In serviceSaw combatCombatFranciaBloch MB.152Bloch614 producedSturdy, undergunned, outpaced — flown to the last day of the Battle of France.Fighter509 km/hTop speed1939–1942In serviceSaw combatCombatFranciaD.520Dewoitine905 producedFrance’s best fighter arrived weeks before the fall — its aces made it count anyway.Fighter560 km/hTop speed1940–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanD3A ‘Val’Aichi1,486 producedIt sank more Allied warships than any other Axis aircraft.Dive bomber430 km/hTop speed1940–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatAlemaniaDo 217Dornier1,925 producedThe first aircraft to sink a ship with a guided missile — the battleship Roma, 1943.Heavy bomber557 km/hTop speed1941–1945In serviceSaw combatCombat

AlemaniaFw 189 UhuFocke-Wulf864 producedSoviet troops called it ‘the Frame’ — when it appeared, the shells followed.Reconnaissance350 km/hTop speed1940–1945In serviceSaw combatCombat

Estados UnidosHudsonLockheed2,941 producedAn airliner in uniform — the first RAF aircraft to down a German plane in WWII.Maritime patrol bomber397 km/hTop speed1939–1948In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanKi-43 HayabusaNakajima5,919 producedThe army’s Zero — lighter armed and even harder to catch in a turn.Fighter530 km/hTop speed1941–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatFranciaMS.406Morane-Saulnier1,176 producedFrance’s most numerous fighter of 1940 — brave, and 80 km/h too slow.Fighter490 km/hTop speed1939–1942In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosP-39 AiracobraBell9,588 producedAmerica never loved it; Soviet aces made it a legend on the Eastern Front.Fighter626 km/hTop speed1941–1949In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosP-40 WarhawkCurtiss13,738 producedThe shark’s teeth of the Flying Tigers.Fighter580 km/hTop speed1941–1948In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoWhirlwindWestland116 producedFour cannon in the nose in 1940 — killed by its own temperamental engines.Heavy fighter580 km/hTop speed1940–1943In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanA6M ZeroMitsubishi10,939 producedSo agile that Allied pilots were ordered never to turn with it.Carrier fighter533 km/hTop speed1940–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosB-24 LiberatorConsolidated18,482 producedMore built than any other American military aircraft — ever.Heavy bomber470 km/hTop speed1941–1968In serviceSaw combatCombatAlemaniaFw 190Focke-Wulf20,051 producedThe ‘Butcher Bird’ — its 1941 debut outclassed every Allied fighter in the sky.Fighter656 km/hTop speed1941–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanG4M ‘Betty’Mitsubishi2,435 producedEnormous range, no armour — its own crews called it the ‘flying lighter’.Medium bomber428 km/hTop speed1941–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoHalifaxHandley Page6,176 producedBomber Command’s other heavy — 82,000 sorties flown in the Lancaster’s shadow.Heavy bomber454 km/hTop speed1940–1961In serviceSaw combatCombatAlemaniaHe 177 GreifHeinkel1,169 producedIts coupled engines burned so often crews called it the Luftwaffe’s lighter.Heavy bomber565 km/hTop speed1942–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatAlemaniaHs 129Henschel865 producedA flying anti-tank gun — up to 75 mm of it, the largest forward-firing cannon of the war.Ground attack407 km/hTop speed1942–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatAlemaniaFw 189 UhuFocke-Wulf~860 producedThe twin-boom, all-glazed “Flying Eye” of the Eastern Front — slow and lightly armed, but famously tough to kill.Reconnaissance350 km/hTop speed1940–1945In serviceEastern FrontCombatRomaniaIAR 80IAR346 producedRomania built its own fighter — it fought the USAAF, then turned on the Luftwaffe.Fighter510 km/hTop speed1941–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRIl-2 SturmovikIlyushin36,183 producedThe most-produced military aircraft in history — Stalin called it as essential as bread.Ground attack414 km/hTop speed1941–1954In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanKi-45 ToryuKawasaki1,701 producedThe ‘Dragon Slayer’ — Japan’s night fighter that rammed B-29s when guns weren’t enough.Heavy fighter540 km/hTop speed1942–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanKi-46 ‘Dinah’Mitsubishi1,742 producedSo fast and so high that for two years nothing could intercept it.Reconnaissance630 km/hTop speed1941–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanKi-48 ‘Lily’Kawasaki1,977 producedBuilt to outrun the Soviet bomber that embarrassed Japan over China.Light bomber505 km/hTop speed1940–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanKi-49 DonryuNakajima819 producedThe ‘Storm Dragon’ — a heavy bomber by name, a medium by any honest measure.Medium bomber492 km/hTop speed1941–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanKi-51 ‘Sonia’Mitsubishi2,385 producedThe army’s Stuka — from China in 1939 to the last sorties of the war.Ground attack424 km/hTop speed1939–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosP-38 LightningLockheed10,037 producedThe fork-tailed devil — America’s two top aces both flew it.Fighter667 km/hTop speed1941–1949In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRPe-2Petlyakov11,427 producedThe ‘Peshka’ — a dive bomber fast enough to embarrass fighters.Dive bomber580 km/hTop speed1941–1954In serviceSaw combatCombatItaliaRe.2000 seriesReggiane780 producedLoved by Hungary, rejected at home — the line peaked in the superb Re.2005 Sagittario.Fighter630 km/hTop speed1940–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoStirlingShort2,371 producedThe RAF’s first four-engine heavy — legend says hangar doors dictated its wingspan.Heavy bomber434 km/hTop speed1941–1946In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosB-25 MitchellNorth American9,816 producedThe bomber that hit Tokyo from a carrier deck in 1942.Medium bomber438 km/hTop speed1941–1979In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosB-26 MarauderMartin5,288 produced‘The Widowmaker’ grew up to post the lowest loss rate of any US bomber in Europe.Medium bomber460 km/hTop speed1941–1948In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoBarracudaFairey2,607 producedThe ugly duckling that dive-bombed Tirpitz in its fjord.Torpedo / dive bomber367 km/hTop speed1943–1953In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanD4Y SuiseiYokosuka2,038 producedA dive bomber faster than a Zero — born from a Heinkel license, ending as a kamikaze.Dive bomber550 km/hTop speed1942–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosF4U CorsairVought12,571 producedThe bent-wing bird flew combat from Guadalcanal to the ‘Football War’ of 1969.Carrier fighter-bomber718 km/hTop speed1942–1969In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoFulmarFairey600 producedTwo seats, eight guns, no hurry — and still the Fleet Air Arm’s top-scoring fighter.Carrier fighter438 km/hTop speed1940–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanKi-44 ShokiNakajima1,225 produced‘Tojo’ traded Japan’s beloved agility for raw climb — B-29 crews noticed.Interceptor605 km/hTop speed1942–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRLaGG-3Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov6,528 producedPilots joked the acronym meant ‘varnished guaranteed coffin’ — then its heirs won the air war.Fighter575 km/hTop speed1941–1944In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRMiG-3Mikoyan-Gurevich3,172 producedThe first MiG — brilliant up high, where the Eastern Front refused to fight.High-altitude fighter640 km/hTop speed1941–1944In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoMosquitode Havilland7,781 producedThe Wooden Wonder — faster than the fighters sent to catch it.Fighter-bomber / night fighter668 km/hTop speed1941–1963In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosP-51 MustangNorth American15,586 producedThe long-range escort that followed the bombers all the way to Berlin.Fighter703 km/hTop speed1942–1957In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosSBD DauntlessDouglas5,936 producedFour minutes at Midway — the dive bomber that turned the Pacific War.Dive bomber410 km/hTop speed1940–1959In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoTyphoon / TempestHawker5,019 producedThe rocket-firing scourge of Normandy — and the Tempest hunted V-1s and Me 262s.Fighter-bomber686 km/hTop speed1941–1951In serviceSaw combatCombat

JapanB6N TenzanNakajima1,268 producedKate’s successor arrived when there were no carriers — and few pilots — left to fly it.Torpedo bomber482 km/hTop speed1944–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosBaltimoreMartin1,575 producedBuilt for Britain, never flown by America — the Desert Air Force’s workhorse.Light bomber488 km/hTop speed1942–1949In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoFireflyFairey1,702 producedThe Fleet Air Arm’s bruiser — it struck Tirpitz and flew on into Korea.Carrier fighter509 km/hTop speed1943–1956In serviceSaw combatCombat

JapanKi-61 HienKawasaki3,474 producedThe only Japanese fighter with an inline engine — Allied pilots kept mistaking it for a Messerschmitt.Fighter580 km/hTop speed1943–1945In serviceSaw combatCombat

Reino UnidoLancasterAvro7,377 producedThe Dambuster — it carried the heaviest bombs of the war, ten tons at a time.Heavy bomber454 km/hTop speed1942–1963In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosP-47 ThunderboltRepublic15,636 producedSeven tons of ‘Jug’ — it could lose a cylinder and still bring its pilot home.Fighter-bomber697 km/hTop speed1942–1966In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosTBF AvengerGrumman9,839 producedGeorge Bush was shot down in one — and the type helped sink Yamato and Musashi.Torpedo bomber442 km/hTop speed1942–1968In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRTu-2Tupolev2,257 producedTupolev designed it inside a prison design bureau — it earned him his freedom.Medium bomber528 km/hTop speed1942–1950In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosVengeanceVultee A-311,931 producedUnloved in Europe, devastating in Burma — diving at exactly 90 degrees.Dive bomber449 km/hTop speed1942–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosVenturaLockheed3,028 producedThe airliner that went to war twice — RAF bomber by day, Navy sub-hunter by sea.Patrol bomber518 km/hTop speed1942–1958In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosB-29 SuperfortressBoeing3,970 producedPressurised, remote-gunned, atomic — a project more expensive than the bomb it carried.Heavy bomber574 km/hTop speed1944–1960In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosF6F HellcatGrumman12,275 producedA 19:1 kill ratio — no fighter ever dominated its theatre so completely.Carrier fighter621 km/hTop speed1943–1954In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanKi-67 HiryuMitsubishi767 producedJapan’s best bomber — fast, armoured, self-sealing, and three years too late.Medium bomber537 km/hTop speed1944–1945In serviceSaw combatCombat

USSRLa-5 / La-7Lavochkin15,673 producedKozhedub’s mount — the wooden fighter that beat the Fw 190 at low level.Fighter661 km/hTop speed1942–1947In serviceSaw combatCombat

AlemaniaMe 262Messerschmitt1,430 producedThe world’s first operational jet fighter — too late to matter, too advanced to ignore.Jet fighter870 km/hTop speed1944–1951In serviceSaw combatCombatAlemaniaMe 410Messerschmitt1,189 producedThe Hornet hunted bomber streams with a 50 mm cannon in its nose.Heavy fighter624 km/hTop speed1943–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoYou can fly itDH Vampirede Havilland3,268 producedBritain’s second jet fighter — the first jet across the Atlantic and the first to land on a carrier.Early jet fighter882 kilómetros por horaTop speed1946–1990In serviceSaw combatCombatJapanKi-84 HayateNakajima3,514 producedJapan’s best late-war fighter — a match for the Mustang when its engine held together.Fighter687 km/hTop speed1944–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoMeteorGloster3,947 producedThe Allies’ only operational jet of WWII — it hunted V-1s over Kent.Jet fighter965 km/hTop speed1944–1980sIn serviceSaw combatCombatJapanP1Y GingaYokosuka1,102 producedA Japanese Mosquito on paper — a mechanic’s nightmare on the flightline.Fast bomber547 km/hTop speed1944–1945In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRYak-3Yakovlev4,848 producedThe French Normandie-Niemen aces chose it over the Spitfire — the lightest dogfighter of the war.Fighter655 km/hTop speed1944–1952In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRIl-10Ilyushin6,166 producedThe Sturmovik refined — it was still flying combat in Korea.Ground attack551 km/hTop speed1944–1962In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosA-1 SkyraiderDouglas3,180 producedThe ‘Spad’ — a piston dinosaur that shot down MiGs and guarded downed pilots in Vietnam.Attack518 km/hTop speed1946–1985In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosP-2 NeptuneLockheed1,177 producedThe Truculent Turtle flew 18,000 km non-stop in 1946 — a record that stood for 16 years.Maritime patrol586 km/hTop speed1947–1984In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoAttackerSupermarine185 producedThe Fleet Air Arm’s first jet — with a Spitfire’s wing and a tailwheel.Carrier fighter950 kilómetros por horaTop speed1951–1954In serviceNo combatCombatEstados UnidosB-36 PeacemakerConvair384 producedSix turning, four burning — the biggest piston bomber ever, wings deep enough to crawl through.Strategic bomber672 km/hTop speed1948–1959In serviceNo combatCombatEstados UnidosF-84 ThunderjetRepublic7,524 producedKorea’s bomb truck — and the first fighter to fly with a nuclear weapon.Fighter-bomber1,059 km/hTop speed1947–1974In serviceSaw combatCombat

USSRYak-15 / 17 / 23Yakovlev720 producedA jet bolted onto a Yak-3 — the Soviets’ crash course into the jet age.Early jet fighter868 km/hTop speed1946–1955In serviceNo combatCombat

Estados UnidosB-45 TornadoNorth American143 producedAmerica’s first jet bomber — its recon versions overflew the USSR in secret.Jet bomber920 km/hTop speed1948–1959In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosB-47 StratojetBoeing2,032 producedThe swept-wing revolution — every jetliner you’ve flown descends from this bomber.Strategic bomber977 km/hTop speed1951–1977In serviceNo combatCombatEstados UnidosF-86 SabreNorth American9,860 producedAmerica’s answer over MiG Alley — the swept-wing hero of the Korean War.Day fighter~1,100 km/hTop speed1949–1970sIn serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosF2H BansheeMcDonnell895 producedThe high-flying ‘Banjo’ — hero of the novel The Bridges at Toko-Ri.Carrier fighter933 km/hTop speed1948–1961In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosF9F Panther / CougarGrumman3,370 producedThe Navy’s Korea workhorse — Neil Armstrong and Ted Williams both flew it in combat.Carrier fighter1,041 km/hTop speed1949–1974In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRYou can fly itMiG-15 FagotMikoyan-Gurevich18,000 producedThe jet that shocked the West over Korea and made the MiG name world-famous.Jet fighter / interceptor1.075 kilómetros por horaTop speed1949–1970sIn service150 : 550CombatReino UnidoSea HawkHawker542 producedElegant simplicity — it struck at Suez and served India into the 1980s.Carrier fighter965 km/hTop speed1953–1983In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRTu-4Tupolev847 producedStalin’s carbon-copy B-29 — reverse-engineered rivet for rivet from three interned bombers.Strategic bomber558 km/hTop speed1949–1965In serviceNo combatCombatEstados UnidosF-89 ScorpionNorthrop1,050 producedThe only aircraft ever to fire a live nuclear air-to-air rocket.All-weather interceptor1,023 km/hTop speed1950–1969In serviceNo combatCombatEstados UnidosF3D SkyknightDouglas265 producedThe portly night killer — more Korean night kills than any other Navy type, still jamming radars over Vietnam.Night fighter909 km/hTop speed1951–1970In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosF7U CutlassVought320 producedTailless, radical, and lethal mostly to its own pilots — the ‘Gutless Cutlass’.Carrier fighter1,095 km/hTop speed1951–1959In serviceNo combatCombatUSSRIl-28 BeagleIlyushin6,316 producedThe Soviet Canberra — six thousand built, exported to every ally with a runway.Tactical bomber902 km/hTop speed1950–1980sIn serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoSwiftSupermarine197 producedSupermarine’s troubled Spitfire successor — it briefly held the world speed record anyway.Fighter / recon1,102 km/hTop speed1954–1967In serviceNo combatCombatEstados UnidosYou can fly itT-33 Estrella FugazLockheed6,557 producedThe two-seat Shooting Star that taught the free world’s pilots to fly jets.Jet trainer970 km/hTop speed1949–2017In service—CombatSwedenTunnanSaab 29661 producedThe ‘flying barrel’ — Europe’s first swept-wing jet in service, and a UN veteran of the Congo.Jet fighter1,060 km/hTop speed1951–1976In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoCanberraEnglish Electric1,352 producedThe jet bomber so good the Americans built it under licence.Jet bomber933 km/hTop speed1951–2006In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosF-94 StarfireLockheed855 producedAmerica’s first afterburning jet — scrambled into Korean nights.All-weather interceptor1,030 km/hTop speed1950–1959In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoGannetFairey348 producedDouble turboprop, contra-rotating props, folding everything — gloriously odd, quietly effective.Carrier ASW500 km/hTop speed1953–1978In serviceNo combatCombatFranciaOuraganDassault MD.450567 producedFrance’s first jet fighter, blooded over Suez and the Sinai.Jet fighter940 km/hTop speed1952–1980sIn serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoShackletonAvro185 produced‘Ten thousand rivets flying in loose formation’ — forty years of growling over the sea.Maritime patrol439 km/hTop speed1951–1991In serviceNo combatCombatReino UnidoVenomde Havilland1,431 producedThe Vampire’s hot-rod son — Switzerland kept it flying for three decades.Fighter-bomber1,030 km/hTop speed1952–1983In serviceSaw combatCombatCanadáCF-100 CanuckAvro Canada692 producedThe only Canadian-designed fighter ever mass-produced — the ‘Clunk’ guarded NORAD for decades.All-weather interceptor888 km/hTop speed1953–1981In serviceNo combatCombatEstados UnidosFJ FuryNorth American1,112 producedThe Sabre that went to sea — folding wings, tailhook and all.Carrier fighter1,090 km/hTop speed1948–1962In serviceNo combatCombatUSSRMiG-17 FrescoMikoyan-Gurevich10,600 producedThe refined MiG-15 that outturned supersonic jets over Vietnam.Day fighter1,145 km/hTop speed1952–1980sIn service71 : 63CombatEstados UnidosF3H DemonMcDonnell519 producedThe Phantom’s underpowered father — its lessons built a legend.Carrier fighter1,152 km/hTop speed1956–1964In serviceNo combatCombatEstados UnidosF4D SkyrayDouglas420 producedThe bat-winged ‘Ford’ — it held five time-to-altitude world records at once.Carrier interceptor1,162 km/hTop speed1956–1964In serviceNo combatCombatReino UnidoCazador de halconesHawker1,972 producedBritain’s most elegant jet — nearly 2,000 built, and Switzerland flew it for over three decades.Transonic fighter1,150 km/hTop speed1954–1994In service7 : 18CombatReino UnidoJavelinGloster436 producedThe ‘Flat Iron’ — the RAF’s delta-winged night watchman.All-weather interceptor1,140 km/hTop speed1956–1968In serviceNo combatCombatReino UnidoSea Vixende Havilland145 producedTwin booms, an offset cockpit, and an observer buried in the ‘coal hole’.Carrier interceptor1,110 km/hTop speed1959–1972In serviceNo combatCombatReino UnidoValiantVickers107 producedFirst of the V-bombers — it dropped Britain’s first live H-bomb, then its wings wore out.Strategic bomber913 km/hTop speed1955–1965In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosA-3 SkywarriorDouglas282 producedThe ‘Whale’ — the heaviest aircraft ever to routinely fly from carriers.Carrier bomber982 km/hTop speed1956–1991In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosB-52 StratofortressBoeing744 producedSeventy years in service and counting — the bomber that outlived its replacements.Strategic bomber1,047 km/hTop speed1955–nowIn serviceSaw combatCombatFranciaFouga MagisterFouga929 producedThe butterfly-tailed trainer that taught a generation of NATO pilots.Jet trainer715 km/hTop speed1956–2000sIn serviceSaw combatCombatSwedenLansenSaab 32450 producedSweden’s all-weather strike jet, in uniform for four decades.All-weather attack1,130 km/hTop speed1956–1997In service—CombatFranciaMystère IVDassault421 producedDassault’s first swept-wing success, flown by France, Israel and India.Fighter-bomber1,120 km/hTop speed1955–1982In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosS-2 TrackerGrumman1,185 producedHunter and killer in one airframe — and it still fights, dropping retardant on wildfires.Carrier ASW450 km/hTop speed1954–presentIn serviceSaw combatCombat

USSRTu-16 BadgerTupolev1,509 producedSeventy years in service and counting — China’s H-6 copies still probe the Pacific.Strategic bomber1,050 km/hTop speed1954–presentIn serviceSaw combatCombat

USSR / RussiaTu-95 BearTupolev500 producedThe counter-rotating turboprop giant still probing NATO airspace today.Strategic bomber925 km/hTop speed1956–nowIn serviceSaw combatCombatFranciaVautourSud Aviation149 producedFrance’s do-it-all jet — Israel flew it to war in 1967.Bomber / interceptor1,105 km/hTop speed1956–1979In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoVictorHandley Page86 producedThe most sinister-looking V-bomber — it ended its days refuelling the Vulcans that replaced it.Strategic bomber / tanker1,009 km/hTop speed1958–1993In serviceNo combatCombatReino UnidoVulcanAvro136 producedThe delta that howled — Black Buck raids to the Falklands were the longest bombing missions yet flown.Strategic bomber1,038 km/hTop speed1956–1984In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRYak-25 / 28Yakovlev1,660 producedYakovlev’s twin-jet family — night interceptor, bomber, and the West’s ‘Brewer’ puzzle.Interceptor / bomber1,840 km/hTop speed1955–1992In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosF-100 Super SabreNorth American2,294 producedThe ‘Hun’ — first to supersonic in level flight, then a decade in the mud over Vietnam.Fighter-bomber1,390 km/hTop speed1954–1979In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosF-102 Delta DaggerConvair1,000 producedThe ‘Deuce’ — the area rule made its waist and made it supersonic.Interceptor1,304 km/hTop speed1956–1979In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRM-4 BisonMyasishchev93 producedIt circled Moscow to look numerous — and invented the ‘bomber gap’ out of thin air.Strategic bomber947 km/hTop speed1955–1994In serviceNo combatCombatUSSRMiG-19 FarmerMikoyan-Gurevich8,500 producedThe first Soviet supersonic fighter — and China built even more of them than Moscow.Fighter1,455 km/hTop speed1955–1990sIn serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosA-4 SkyhawkDouglas2,960 producedHeinemann’s Hot Rod — so small it didn’t need folding wings, so good Argentina bombed a fleet with it.Attack1,077 km/hTop speed1956–2003In serviceSaw combatCombat

Estados UnidosB-66 DestroyerDouglas294 producedBuilt to bomb, remembered for jamming — the EB-66 shielded every strike over Hanoi.Bomber / EW1,020 km/hTop speed1956–1973In serviceSaw combatCombat

Estados UnidosF-101 VoodooMcDonnell807 producedOne-oh-Wonder — its recon versions brought home the Cuban missile photos.Interceptor / recon1,825 km/hTop speed1957–1984In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosYou can fly itCaza estelar F-104Lockheed2,578 producedKelly Johnson’s ‘missile with a man in it’ — Mach 2 on a razor’s-edge wing.InterceptorMach 2.2Top speed1958–2004In service6 : 4CombatEstados UnidosF11F TigerGrumman200 producedThe only fighter ever to shoot itself down — it outran its own cannon shells.Carrier fighter1,170 km/hTop speed1956–1969In serviceNo combatCombatSwedenDrakenSaab 35651 producedThe double-delta interceptor that could do the Cobra before it had a name.InterceptorMach 2.0Top speed1960–2005In service—CombatEstados UnidosF-105 ThunderchiefRepublic833 producedThe ‘Thud’ — it flew 75% of the strikes against North Vietnam in the early war, and paid for it.Strike fighter2,208 km/hTop speed1958–1984In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosF-8 CrusaderVought1,219 produced‘When you’re out of F-8s, you’re out of fighters’ — the last of the gunfighters.Carrier fighter1,975 km/hTop speed1957–1999In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoGnatFolland449 producedThe ‘Sabre Slayer’ of the Indo-Pakistani wars — and the Red Arrows’ first mount.Light fighter1,120 km/hTop speed1959–1979In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRYou can fly itMiG-21 FishbedMikoyan-Gurevich11,496 producedThe most-produced supersonic aircraft in history — over 11,000 built, flown by some 60 air forces.Fighter / interceptorMach 2.05Top speed1959–nowIn service150 : 250CombatUSSRSu-7 FitterSukhoi1,847 producedFast, tough, thirsty — its pilots joked it could outrun anything except a fuel gauge.Ground attack1,700 km/hTop speed1959–1986In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosU-2 Dragon LadyLockheed104 producedThe glider-winged spyplane flying at 21 kilometres since Eisenhower — still in service.High-altitude reconnaissance805 km/hTop speed1957–nowIn service—CombatEstados UnidosB-58 HustlerConvair116 producedMach 2 with a nuke in a belly pod — it collected speed records and crews’ nerves alike.Supersonic bomber2,240 km/hTop speed1960–1970In serviceNo combatCombatEstados UnidosF-106 Delta DartConvair342 producedThe Ultimate Interceptor — one landed itself in a snowbank after its pilot ejected, and flew again.Interceptor2,455 km/hTop speed1959–1988In serviceNo combatCombatItaliaG.91Fiat756 producedNATO’s light-strike competition winner, flown by Italy, Germany and Portugal.Light attack1.075 kilómetros por horaTop speed1961–1995In serviceSaw combatCombatFranciaMirage III / 5Dassault1,422 producedFrance’s delta-wing star: the first European jet past Mach 2 and a legend of the Six-Day War.Interceptor / multiroleMach 2.2Top speed1961–2010sIn service100 : 15CombatReino UnidoScimitarSupermarine76 producedSupermarine’s last aircraft — a nuclear-armed brute that lost half its number in accidents.Carrier strike fighter1,185 km/hTop speed1958–1969In serviceNo combatCombatUSSRSu-9 / Su-11Sukhoi1,100 producedThe delta that chased Gary Powers’ U-2 — unarmed, ordered to ram it.Interceptor2,120 km/hTop speed1959–1981In serviceNo combatCombatFranciaSuper MystèreDassault180 producedWestern Europe’s first fighter to go supersonic in level flight.Fighter-bomberMach 1.13Top speed1958–1996In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoEnglish Electric LightningEnglish Electric337 producedThe only all-British Mach 2 fighter — nothing in the West climbed like it.Supersonic interceptorMach 2.0Top speed1960–1988In serviceSaw combatCombatItaliaYou can fly itMB-326Aermacchi800 producedAermacchi’s jewel of a jet trainer, flown from Australia to South Africa.Jet trainer / light attack870 km/hTop speed1962–2000sIn serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosA-5 VigilanteNorth American167 producedA Mach 2 bomber that tossed its nuke out backwards between the engines — then became the fleet’s camera.Recon / strike2,123 km/hTop speed1961–1979In serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoBuccaneerBlackburn211 producedThe low-level maritime striker that refused to retire until after Desert Storm.Maritime strike1,074 km/hTop speed1962–1994In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosF-4 Phantom IIMcDonnell Douglas5,195 producedFlown by every US service and eleven nations — brute force made iconic.Interceptor / fighter-bomberMach 2.2Top speed1961–nowIn service150 : 42CombatUSSRTu-22 BlinderTupolev311 producedSo hot on landing its crews called it the ‘man-eater’ — beautiful and vicious.Supersonic bomber1,510 km/hTop speed1962–1990sIn serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosF-5 Freedom FighterNorthrop2,246 producedThe lightweight fighter half the world could afford — and the aggressor the US trained against.Light fighterMach 1.6Top speed1962–nowIn service25 : 15CombatCzechoslovakiaL-29 DelfínAero3,665 producedThe Warsaw Pact’s standard trainer — over 3,000 built, and the L-39’s father.Jet trainer655 km/hTop speed1963–1990sIn serviceSaw combatCombatFranciaMirage IVDassault66 producedThe delta bomber built to carry France’s nuclear deterrent at Mach 2.Strategic bomberMach 2.2Top speed1964–2005In service—CombatEstados UnidosP-3 OrionLockheed757 producedSix decades of hunting submarines — the airliner that never carried a passenger.Maritime patrol761 km/hTop speed1962–presentIn serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosA-6 IntruderGrumman693 producedNo radar picture, no problem — the Intruder hit targets in zero visibility before smart bombs existed.All-weather attack1,037 km/hTop speed1963–1997In serviceSaw combatCombatIndiaHF-24 MarutHAL147 producedAsia’s first home-built jet fighter — designed by Kurt Tank of Fw 190 fame.Fighter-bomber1,112 km/hTop speed1967–1990In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRTu-128 FiddlerTupolev198 producedThe biggest fighter ever built — a bomber-sized interceptor prowling the Arctic gap.Long-range interceptor1,665 km/hTop speed1966–1990In serviceNo combatCombatEstados UnidosA-12 OxcartLockheed15 producedThe CIA’s Oxcart: the SR-71’s secret, faster, single-seat older sibling.Strategic reconnaissanceMach 3.3Top speed1967–1968In service—CombatUSSRSu-15 FlagonSukhoi1,290 producedThe interceptor that shot down KAL 007 — guardian of the Soviet border, twice infamous.Interceptor2,230 km/hTop speed1965–1993In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosF-111 AardvarkGeneral Dynamics563 producedTerrain-hugging at Mach 1 in the dark — the raid on Libya was its masterpiece.Strike aircraft2,655 km/hTop speed1967–2010In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRMiG-25 FoxbatMikoyan-Gurevich1,186 producedThe stainless-steel interceptor that panicked the Pentagon — and later carried MiGFlug customers to the edge of space.High-speed interceptorMach 2.83Top speed1970–2020sIn service10 : 7CombatEstados UnidosSR-71 BlackbirdLockheed32 producedThe fastest air-breathing aircraft ever built. Nothing has caught it — not even time.Strategic reconnaissanceMach 3.3Top speed1966–1998In service—CombatEstados UnidosA-7 Corsair IILTV1,569 producedThe SLUF — ‘Short Little Ugly Fella’ — with the most accurate bombing computer of its era.Attack1,123 km/hTop speed1967–2014In serviceSaw combatCombatPorcelanaQ-5 FantanNanchang1,300 producedA MiG-19 stretched into a bomb truck — China’s first original combat jet.Ground attack1,240 km/hTop speed1970–2017In serviceNo combatCombatPorcelanaChengdu J-7Chengdu2,400 producedChina’s MiG-21, built until 2013 and exported across three continents.Lightweight interceptorMach 2.0Top speed1967–nowIn service1 : 0CombatFranciaMirage F1Dassault726 producedDassault’s swept-wing workhorse of African and Gulf wars.Interceptor / multiroleMach 2.2Top speed1973–2014In service39 : 35CombatUSSRSu-17 FitterSukhoi2,867 producedThe Soviet swing-wing that just won’t retire — still flying combat over Syria.Strike fighter1,860 km/hTop speed1970–presentIn serviceSaw combatCombatReino UnidoHarrierHawker Siddeley / BAe824 producedThe original jump jet — no runway required.V/STOL attack1,180 km/hTop speed1969–2010In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRMiG-23 FloggerMikoyan-Gurevich5,047 producedThe Soviet swing-wing: over 5,000 built, fought on every Middle East front.Swing-wing fighterMach 2.35Top speed1970–1990sIn service12 : 35CombatReino UnidoNimrodHawker Siddeley49 producedThe Comet airliner reborn as a submarine hunter — the only jet MPA of its era.Maritime patrol923 km/hTop speed1969–2011In serviceSaw combatCombatSwedenViggenSaab 37329 producedCanard, thrust reverser, highway basing — Sweden’s Cold War fortress in jet form.Attack / interceptorMach 2.1Top speed1971–2005In service—CombatUK / FranceJaguarSEPECAT543 producedThe Anglo-French strike jet that hugged the desert floor in 1991.Strike / attackMach 1.6Top speed1974–in serviceIn serviceSaw combatCombatCzechoslovakiaYou can fly itL-39 AlbatrosAero2,900 producedThe world’s favourite jet trainer — and the jet most MiGFlug customers fly first.Jet trainer750 kilómetros por horaTop speed1972–nowIn service—CombatPorcelanaShenyang J-8Shenyang380 producedThe Finback — two MiG-21s’ worth of engine in one very long fuselage.Interceptor2,300 km/hTop speed1980–presentIn serviceNo combatCombatUSSRTu-22M BackfireTupolev497 producedThe swing-wing that terrified NATO carrier groups for twenty years.Supersonic bomber2,300 km/hTop speed1972–presentIn serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosF-14 TomcatGrumman712 producedSwing wings, Phoenix missiles and Top Gun immortality.Fleet-defense interceptorMach 2.34Top speed1974–nowIn service5 : 0CombatUSSRMiG-27 Flogger-DMikoyan1,075 producedA Flogger with its nose to the ground — the ‘Ducknose’ that India flew until 2019.Ground attack1,885 km/hTop speed1975–2019In serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRSu-24 FencerSukhoi1,400 producedThe Soviet F-111 — two crew side by side, low and fast into any weather.Strike aircraft1,654 km/hTop speed1974–presentIn serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRYak-38 ForgerYakovlev231 producedThe Soviet Harrier that hated heat — its ejection seat fired itself when the lift engines quit.VTOL carrier fighter1,280 km/hTop speed1976–1991In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosA-10 Thunderbolt IIFairchild Republic716 producedA titanium bathtub built around a 30 mm cannon. The infantry’s favourite sound.Close air support706 km/hTop speed1977–nowIn service2 : 0CombatEstados UnidosF-15 EagleMcDonnell Douglas / Boeing1,198 producedOver a hundred aerial victories and no confirmed air-to-air loss — the most one-sided record of the missile age.Air superiorityMach 2.5Top speed1976–nowIn service104 : 0CombatFrance / GermanyAlpha JetDassault/Dornier480 producedThe Franco-German trainer that also flies with the Patrouille de France.Jet trainer / light attack1,000 km/hTop speed1979–in serviceIn service—CombatIsraelIAI KfirIsrael Aerospace Industries220 producedIsrael’s unlicensed Mirage with an American engine — an embargo turned into a fighter.MultiroleMach 2.3Top speed1975–nowIn service2 : 0CombatReino UnidoBAE HawkBAE Systems1,000 producedThe Red Arrows’ mount for 45 years — and the jet that trained most of the West’s fighter pilots.Trainer / light attack1,028 km/hTop speed1976–presentIn serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosF-16 Fighting FalconGeneral Dynamics / Lockheed Martin4,600 producedMore than 4,600 built — the lightweight that became the West’s standard fighter.MultiroleMach 2.05Top speed1978–nowIn service76 : 1Combat

Yugoslavia / RomaniaJ-22 OraoSoko253 producedThe joint striker that outlived both the countries that built it.Ground attack1,130 km/hTop speed1978–presentIn serviceSaw combatCombat

FranciaSuper ÉtendardDassault-Breguet85 producedThe carrier jet that fired the Exocets of the Falklands War.Carrier strike1,180 km/hTop speed1978–2016In serviceSaw combatCombatMultinationalTornado IDSPanavia745 producedEurope’s terrain-hugging strike jet, flown on Desert Storm’s most dangerous missions.Interdictor / strikeMach 2.2Top speed1979–nowIn serviceSaw combatCombatUSSR / RussiaMiG-31 FoxhoundMikoyan519 producedThe 3,000 km/h Foxhound guarding the world’s longest borders.Long-range interceptorMach 2.83Top speed1981–nowIn service2 : 0CombatUSSRSu-25 FrogfootSukhoi1,024 producedRussia’s flying tank — titanium bathtub, both wings optional, somehow still coming home.Ground attack975 km/hTop speed1981–presentIn serviceSaw combatCombatItaliaMB-339Aermacchi250 producedThe Frecce Tricolori’s mount — and Argentina’s light attacker in the Falklands.Jet trainer / light attack900 km/hTop speed1979–in serviceIn serviceSaw combatCombatUSSRMiG-29 FulcrumMikoyan1,600 producedSoviet agility incarnate — and for two decades the jet MiGFlug guests flew to the stratosphere.Air superiorityMach 2.25Top speed1982–nowIn service0 : 15CombatJapanMitsubishi F-1Mitsubishi77 producedJapan’s first post-war combat jet — a trainer turned anti-ship samurai.Strike fighter1,700 km/hTop speed1978–2006In serviceNo combatCombatUSSR / RussiaSu-27 FlankerSukhoi680 producedThe Flanker: cobra manoeuvres and the foundation of every Russian fighter since.Air superiorityMach 2.35Top speed1985–nowIn service3 : 1CombatEstados UnidosF/A-18 HornetMcDonnell Douglas / Boeing1,480 producedThe carrier multirole that replaced four aircraft at once.Carrier multiroleMach 1.8Top speed1983–nowIn service2 : 1CombatFranciaMirage 2000Dassault601 producedThe delta reborn with fly-by-wire — France’s backbone for four decades.MultiroleMach 2.2Top speed1984–nowIn service1 : 0CombatReino UnidoSea HarrierBritish Aerospace98 producedThe jump jet that won the Falklands air war without losing a single dogfight.V/STOL carrier fighter1,185 km/hTop speed1980–2016In service20 : 0CombatMultinationalTornado ADVPanavia194 producedThe long-legged interceptor built to hunt bombers over the North Sea.Long-range interceptorMach 2.2Top speed1986–2011In serviceUntestedCombat

USA / UKAV-8B Harrier IIMcDonnell Douglas / BAe340 producedThe jump jet, all grown up — from Gulf War decks to every Marine expedition since.VTOL strike fighter1,083 km/hTop speed1985–presentIn serviceSaw combatCombat

Estados UnidosF-117 NighthawkLockheed64 producedFaceted, black, and officially nonexistent for a decade.Stealth attackMach 0,92Top speed1983–2008In serviceSaw combatCombatItaliaYou can fly itS.211SIAI-Marchetti60 producedThe nimble Italian trainer — small, efficient, and open to civilians today.Jet trainer740 km/hTop speed1984–nowIn service—CombatRusiaTu-160 BlackjackTupolev36 producedThe ‘White Swan’ — the heaviest, fastest bomber ever built, and still in production.Strategic bomber2,220 km/hTop speed1987–presentIn serviceSaw combatCombatItaly / BrazilAMX GhibliAMX International200 producedThe Italo-Brazilian pocket bomber — Ghibli over Kosovo and Afghanistan.Light strike1,047 km/hTop speed1989–2024In serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosB-1B LancerRockwell100 producedThe ‘Bone’: swing wings, supersonic dash and the heaviest bomb load in the US Air Force.Supersonic strategic bomberMach 1.25Top speed1986–nowIn serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosF-15E Strike EagleMcDonnell Douglas / Boeing508 producedThe Eagle with a second seat and a bomb load heavier than a WWII bomber’s.Strike / multiroleMach 2.5Top speed1988–nowIn service1 : 0CombatFranciaRafaleDassault260 producedFrance’s omnirole: one airframe for carrier decks, nuclear strike and dogfights.OmniroleMach 1.8Top speed2001–nowIn service0 : 1CombatRusiaSu-33Sukhoi35 producedThe navalised Flanker flying from the Kuznetsov’s ski-jump.Carrier air superiorityMach 2.17Top speed1994–nowIn serviceSaw combatCombatPorcelanaJH-7 Flying LeopardXian270 producedChina’s homemade ship-killer — on station a decade before the Flankers arrived.Maritime strike1,808 km/hTop speed1992–presentIn serviceNo combatCombatSwedenSaab JAS-39 GripenSaab280 producedSweden’s highway-operable fighter — small nation, complete fighter.MultiroleMach 2.0Top speed1996–nowIn serviceSaw combatCombatEstados UnidosB-2 SpiritNorthrop Grumman21 producedA flying wing that shows up on radar the size of a bird — at roughly two billion dollars apiece.Stealth bomberMach 0.95Top speed1997–nowIn serviceSaw combatCombat

TaiwánF-CK-1 Ching-KuoAIDC131 producedTaiwan’s answer to an arms embargo — designed at home, named for a president.Multirole fighter1,275 km/hTop speed1994–presentIn serviceNo combatCombat

RusiaSu-30Sukhoi630 producedThe two-seat super-manoeuvrable Flanker India built an air force around.Supermaneuverable multiroleMach 2.0Top speed1996–nowIn service1 : 0CombatRusiaSu-34 FullbackSukhoi150 producedThe Fullback: a strike bomber with side-by-side seats and a galley.Tactical strikeMach 1.8Top speed2014–nowIn serviceSaw combatCombatMultinationalTyphoonEurofighter600 producedFour nations’ answer to air superiority — supercruise and 65,000 feet.Multirole / air superiorityMach 2.0Top speed2003–nowIn serviceSaw combatCombatJapanMitsubishi F-2Mitsubishi98 producedAn F-16 stretched and rebuilt in composites — the world’s first fighter with AESA radar.Multirole fighter2,124 km/hTop speed2000–presentIn serviceNo combatCombatEstados UnidosSuper HornetBoeing F/A-18E/F630 producedThe bigger, stealthier Hornet that rules today’s carrier decks.Carrier multiroleMach 1.6Top speed1999–nowIn service1 : 0CombatEstados UnidosF-22 RaptorLockheed Martin / Boeing195 producedStill the benchmark: stealth, supercruise and thrust vectoring — never exported.Stealth air superiorityMach 2.25Top speed2005–nowIn serviceSaw combatCombatPorcelanaChengdu J-10Chengdu600 producedChina’s first fully home-grown modern fighter.Multirole~Mach 2.0Top speed2005–nowIn service1 : 0Combat

PorcelanaJ-11Shenyang440 producedThe Flanker, made in Shenyang — licence-built first, indigenous later.Air superiorityMach 2.35Top speed1998–nowIn serviceUntestedCombat

IndiaTejasHAL51 producedTwenty years in the making — India’s tiny delta finally guards its own skies.Multirole fighter1,975 km/hTop speed2015–presentIn serviceNo combatCombatSouth KoreaFA-50 Golden EagleKAI T-50 /260 producedKorea’s supersonic export hit — it flew its first real strikes over Marawi.Light combat aircraft1,837 km/hTop speed2005–presentIn serviceSaw combatCombatPakistan / ChinaJF-17 ThunderCAC/PAC175 producedPakistan and China’s affordable multirole, built in Kamra.Lightweight multiroleMach 1.6Top speed2007–nowIn serviceUntestedCombatEstados UnidosF-35 Lightning IILockheed Martin1,100 producedThree services, a global coalition of air forces, one trillion-dollar programme.Stealth multiroleMach 1.6Top speed2015–nowIn service1 : 0CombatRusiaSu-35Sukhoi150 producedThe ultimate non-stealth Flanker: thrust vectoring and the Irbis-E radar.Air superiorityMach 2.25Top speed2014–nowIn service7 : 0CombatRusiaSu-57 FelonSukhoi40 producedRussia’s first stealth fighter — built in small numbers, combat-tested over Ukraine.Stealth multiroleMach 2.0Top speed2020–nowIn serviceSaw combatCombatPorcelanaChengdu J-20Chengdu250 producedChina’s Mighty Dragon: the first non-US stealth fighter in service.Stealth air superiority~Mach 2.0Top speed2017–nowIn serviceUntestedCombatEstados UnidosB-21 RaiderNorthrop Grumman≥100 plannedAmerica’s new stealth bomber — built to be affordable in numbers, and to one day fly with no one aboard.Stealth bomber~Mach 0.8Top speedFrom 2027In serviceIn flight testCombatEstados UnidosP-80 Shooting StarLockheed~1,715 producedAmerica’s first jet fighter — designed in 143 days, and the school of the jet age.Jet fighter594 mphTop speed1945–1970sIn serviceKoreaCombatAlemaniaMe 163 KometMesserschmitt~370 builtThe only rocket-powered fighter ever to fight — the fastest, and most dangerous, aircraft of the war.Rocket interceptor~1,000 km/hTop speed1944–1945In serviceReich defenceCombatEstados UnidosX-15North American3 builtThe fastest aircraft ever flown — a rocket plane that skimmed the edge of space at Mach 6.7.Rocket research aircraftMach 6.7Top speed1959–1968FlownResearchRoleEstados UnidosBell X-1Bell6 builtThe rocket plane that broke the sound barrier — Chuck Yeager, level flight, 1947.Rocket research aircraftMach 1.26Top speed1946–1958FlownResearchRoleEstados UnidosF7F TigercatGrumman~364 builtOne of the fastest piston fighters ever — Grumman’s twin-engine heavyweight, born too late for its war.Heavy fighter460 mphTop speed1944–1954In serviceKoreaCombatAlemaniaAr 234 BlitzArado~210 builtThe world’s first jet bomber — too fast to catch, and far too late to matter.Jet bomber742 km/hTop speed1944–1945In serviceWWIICombatEstados UnidosP-61 Black WidowNorthrop~700 builtAmerica’s first purpose-built radar night fighter — a big black hunter of the dark.Night fighter~370 mphTop speed1944–1954In serviceWWIICombatAlemaniaHe 162 VolksjägerHeinkel~320 builtGermany’s desperate wooden jet — designed in weeks, and meant to be flown by teenagers.Emergency jet fighter~840 km/hTop speed1945In serviceWWIICombatEstados UnidosA-26 InvaderDouglas~2,450 builtThe fastest US bomber of WWII — and one of the few aircraft to fight in three wars.Light attack bomber359 mphTop speed1944–1972In service3 warsCombatJapanN1K Shiden-KaiKawanishi~1,500 builtOne of the best Japanese fighters of WWII — able to fight the Hellcat on equal terms.Land-based fighter408 mphTop speed1944–1945In serviceWWIICombatReino UnidoBeaufighterBristol~5,900 builtBritain’s heavily-armed night-fighter and ship-killer — the low-level terror nicknamed “Whispering Death.”Heavy fighter~320 mphTop speed1940–1960In serviceWWIICombatSoviet UnionYou can fly itYak-9Yakovlev16,769 builtThe most-produced Soviet fighter of the war — the light, versatile Yak that gave the VVS its numbers.Fighter~690 km/hTop speed1942–1950sIn serviceEastern FrontCombatEstados UnidosP-63 KingcobraBell3,303 builtBell’s mid-engined cannon fighter — rejected at home, and sent by the thousand to the Soviet Union.Fighter410 mphTop speed1943–1950sIn serviceFar East 1945CombatJapanJ2M RaidenMitsubishi493 builtThe Zero designer’s opposite — a fast-climbing, cannon-armed interceptor built to stop the B-29.Interceptor365 mphTop speed1943–1945In serviceB-29 defenceCombatAlemaniaDo 335 PfeilDornier~37 completedThe push-pull “Arrow” — the fastest piston fighter of the war, built too late to fight.Heavy fighter480 mphTop speed1943–1945In serviceNingunoCombatItaliaMC.202 FolgoreMacchi1,106 builtItaly’s finest wartime fighter — a German engine in a racer’s airframe, agile but under-gunned.Fighter370 mphTop speed1941–1945In serviceMalta & desertCombatItaliaMC.200 SaettaMacchi~1,150 builtOne of Italy’s principal early-war fighters — agile and strong, but slow and under-armed on its radial engine.Fighter313 mphTop speed1939–1947In serviceMed & RussiaCombatItaliaCR.42 FalcoFiat~1,819 builtThe last front-line fighter biplane — superbly agile, hopelessly outgunned, and built by the thousand.Fighter (biplane)274 mphTop speed1939–1945In serviceBritain & AfricaCombatEstados UnidosSB2C HelldiverCurtiss7,140 builtThe US Navy’s troubled dive bomber — “The Beast” that helped sink Yamato and Musashi.Dive bomber295 mphTop speed1943–1947In servicePacíficoCombat