The Fighter That Flew as Both Prop and Jet

The Fighter That Flew as Both Prop and Jet

Most fighters carry the engine in the nose and the propeller out front. The Swedish Saab 21 did the opposite: it put the engine behind the pilot and the propeller at the very back, spinning between two slender tail booms. It was an elegant answer to an old problem...
The Manta Ray That Broke the Speed Record

The Manta Ray That Broke the Speed Record

Look at it from above and the name explains itself. The Douglas F4D was a broad, tailless delta with gently rounded wingtips — the silhouette of a manta ray gliding through water. The Navy called it the Skyray. The pilots, with magnificent deadpan, called it the...