For today's quickie we bring you a 'purty one... 'tis a silhouette snap from the early-mid '80s showing an F-4S Phantom II from VF-202 'Superheats', one of the fighter RONs from CVWR-20, the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet Reserve Carrier Air Wing.
Enjoy...
For today's installment we bring you a pretty cool if crapola quality AP wirephoto showing an RVNAF (Republic of Vietnam Air Force) A-37 Dragonfly over the lush jungle greenery of South Vietnam, dropping things that go boom (in this case, a couple'a 500 lb 'snake eyes') on their commie brethren. Oh, and this photo is stamped with the date March 13th, 1972, though y'all should keep in mind that sometimes those stamps were a bit late.
Enjoy, and remember: when in doubt, lay some iron...
With today's quickie we bring you a real beaut... an A-10A from the 81st TFW snapped from a tanker over the North Sea on February 1st, 1988. This jet spent a bit-o-time at the boneyard beginning in 2006, was returned to service and updated to A-10C standards. Your blogmeister isn't sure if she's still flying today, but he'd like to think so.
Enjoy, and go ugly early...
Today's quickie is a screengrab from the opening credits of the film 'Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'. That sequence is composed of official USAF footage showing B-52s doin' the aerial refueling thang, and is one of a few treats for the wingnut to be found in the film.
Enjoy, and remember - if we was flyin' any lower, why we'd need sleigh bells on this thing...
For today's installment, we have an atmospheric and just plain cool-lookin shot from 1947 or thereabouts that shows a couple'a P-51 Mustangs (later F-51) from the 113th Fighter Squadron, an Indiana Guard outfit. This was the early days of the Air Guard, when the lines were still a bit blurred between the 'ole National Guard aviation outfits and the new organization called the Air National Guard, hence the 'NG' on the fuselages and tails instead of the eventually-adopted 'ANG'.
Enjoy, and remember - The Air National Guard Protects America...
Okay, your blogmeister has to clear that one up right outta the gate - no, the YB-49 was not a 'stealth' aircraft. The technology, and even the notion simply did not exist back then, except maybe in the minds of a few overly forward-thinking aeronautical engineers (somewhat doubtful) and one or three pulp rag and/or radio science fiction writers (much more likely).
Nonetheless, it would seem that the YB-49 did indeed possess certain qualities that fit in with the idea of 'stealth', most notably its reputed small-ish radar cross section (RCS). Your blogmeister has no data, hard or otherwise, to support this, just anecdotal schtuff. But, given what little he knows of such matters, the idea that the YB-49 was kinda-semi-sorta 'stealthy' and had a small-ish RCS is plausible in his mind.
Okay, 'nuffa-dat-schtuff. UFOs? Well, to some, or even many back then, yeah... this thing definitely would'a brought UFO vibes, especially if viewed from the angle at which the photo below was snapped. And people's imaginations... well, this is neither the time, nor the blog. So let's just say that the YB-49 was undoubtedly futuristic for the time, no matter how you looked at it. And maybe a little otherworldly-lookin' as well. But it certainly wasn't flown by little green men of any description, unless the pilot had scarfed down a bad breakfast burrito the morning of a test-flight, but... I don't think breakfast burritos were a thing back then either, so... just forget it.
Come to think of it, forget all'a what you just read, cuz' it was a pretty long-winded way of saying "your blogmeister was just being funny with the title of this-here installment of TWW".
Enjoy, don't take yourselves too seriously, and remember that lead is better for hats than tin foil, but it'll kill you much morely...
Today, a quickie. 'Tis a Fuerza Aérea de Chile (Chilean Air Force) F-16C shown prior to delivery while still in the US-of-A...
Fade to Black...
For today's installment we present a 'purty pikshur of a cute little jet... the Turkish Aerospace Industries Hürjet, to be exact. Your blogmeister doesn't know a whole helluvalot about this bird other than it's a trainer and light attack aircraft, and that Turkey and Spain have placed orders for the type to replace their ancient T-38s and F-5s, respectively. Oh, and the US Navy is also a potential future operator, as they're lookin' to replace their T-45 Goshawks. But they're lookin' at numerous contenders and will undoubtedly take a while to make up their minds.
Anyhoo, enjoy the pikshur...
Fade to Black...
Today's installment of TWW is somewhat nostalgic for your blogmeister, as the photo below was taken by his Dad at the Geneseo Airshow back in the 1980s sometime... 1983 or maybe '84... during the days of the original National Warplane Museum.
Anyhoo, 'ole Bruno's snap shows Bob Ferguson in his P-51D 'Ain't Misbehavin' being... well... Bob Ferguson. That fella always gave a thrill from gear up to touch-down.
Enjoy, and run 'em hard but don't put 'em away wet...
For today's quickie we have this fine hero shot of an unknown (to us) US Army air cadet at Douglas Army Air Field, Georgia with his Stearman PT-17 Kaydet, serial number 40-1840 or 40-1848... your blogmeister's tired old eyes can no longer tell the difference, and Photoshop ain't helpin' too much anymore.
Anyhoo, enjoy the pikshur, and take care-o-yo-Mk Is, folks...
Though they don't show up here too often, your blogmeister holds a great affinity for birds of the Curtiss variety. His Grandfather worked at Curtiss-Wright in Buffalo, NY, and helped to build several types there, including the P-36, P-40, license-built P-47s, and the C-46, which is the subject of today's installment of this-here cyber rag.
April 11th, 1942. The first C-46A, serial number 41-5159, rolls out of Curtiss Plant #2 at the
Buffalo Airport in Cheektowaga, NY.
Enjoy...
If you'd like to see more of the C-46, please check out THIS PAGE from your blogmeister's website, The Hawk's Nest.
Fade to Black...
For the most part, we here at TWW don't dive into the 'why' of what people do with their things with wings, even when they're carrying things that go boom under those wings. And we're not about to start now. Your blogmeister will simply remind the readership that this is an aviation photo blog, and we share cool and sometimes 'purty pikshurs of airplanes. Regardless of our personal feelings about the horrible shit that's happening in the world, we show the birds. Period.
Now, with that said, here's an Israeli F-15I Ra'am flown by the Hammers of 69 Squadron, Israeli Air Force setting out on a sortie with the officially stated intention to hit Hamas targets in Gaza on October 15th, 2023, just days after the horrendous Simchat Torah massacre of October 7th.
Fade to Black...
As the readership may or may not be aware, we luv us sum 'purty pikshurs 'round these parts. Same goes for the Grumman F-14 Tomcat. So this time 'round we figured, what the hey, why not do both?
So here's a real looker for y'all - a beauty of a shot snapped late in the evening 'somewhere in the Atlantic', showing an F-14B (née A+) from either VF-11 'Red Rippers' or VF-143 'Pukin' Dogs', tied down for the night and receiving some end-of-day TLC. Both RONs were embarked aboard USS George Washington (CVN-73) as part of Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW-7) during November of 2003.
Chocks and Chains, Baby...
For today's quickie we present a way-cool snap from June of 1990 showing Major Stephen R. Webber of the 2874th Test Squadron makin' a cockpit check before taking a General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark for a nocturnal test flight outta McClellan AFB in California.
Enjoy and remember... night-time is the right time...
Für... errrr... for today's quickie we present a fine foto of a Fulcrum vom... from Jagdgeschwader 73 (JG 73) 'Steinhoff' that's messin'round mit raketen... uhhh...with missiles.
This schnap was snapped back in 2003 during an exercise code-named 'Sniper', which saw seven MiG-29s from 731 Staffel, JG 73 participate in live-fire exercises over the Gulf of Mexico while flying out of Eglin AFB in Florida. The foto shows a 731 Staffel MiG-29A flown by Major Peter Meisberger launching a semi-active radar-homing R-27R1 (AA-10 'Alamo' in NATO-speak) at a QF-4 target drone over the Gulf.
'Sniper' was essentially a 'farewell' deployment for the German Fulcrums, as the type was phased out of Luyftwaffe service not long afterward, with the jets being transferred to Poland.
Enjoy, and make sure your chaff buckets are full...
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Fade to Black...
Today we present one in a series we like to call 'Planes and Dames'. This time 'round the plane is an RAF Mustang, likely a Mk.I or IA, while the dame is a Dane named Vera Elise 'Toni' Strodl, one of just two female Danish pilots to see service during the Second World War and the only one to fly under the Union Jack.
Strodl flew as a 1st Officer with the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) from 1941 to 1945, having previously served as an inspector and test pilot for Taylorcraft Aeroplanes Limited (later Auster) in Rearsby, Leicestershire, England. She may have picked up the nickname 'Toni' at Taylorcraft, though we're not entirely certain on that. Whatever the case, the photo below (taken in November of 1942 by Reuben Saidman) appears in the Summer 1975 ish of 'Auster Quarterly', and she is identified as 'Toni Strodl'.
Anyhoo, while with the ATA she was assigned to No. 15 Ferry Pilot Pool at Hamble, then to No. 4 Ferry Pilot Pool at Prestwick, and mainly ferried birds that had come from across the pond to their ultimate destinations with operational RAF units. She also undoubtedly flew many aircraft to and from repair depots, and logged more than 200 flights with the ATA during the war.
Tip of the hat to this lovely lass from Danernes Land...
For today's quickie we present a few fine photos showing a formation of Hawker Furies flown by 'The Fighting Cocks' of No.43 Squadron, Royal Air Force during September of 1939, shortly after war came to Europe.
Cheerio...
Today at TWW we bring you not only a 'purty one, but one that's not oft-seen... a fine color snap of a Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver. 'Tis BuNo 1813, to be exact, and she was flown by Lieutenant Commander Donald F. Smith, CO of Naval Reserve Aviation Base (NRAB) New York at Floyd Bennett Field.
Enjoy the pikshur... and in FULL color, too!
For today's quickie we present this atmospheric snap of a Macchi 202 Folgore of 88° Squadriglia at an unknown (to us) airfield in the North African desert. The scene was captured by a Sipho photographer on July 8th, 1942.
Godere...
We luv us sum 'purty pikshurs 'round these parts, and here's one... a Chengdu J-10C about to lift off from an air base somewhere in the land of The Red Dragon. Named 'Vigorous Dragon' by the Chinese, the J-10 also carries the NATO reporting name of 'Firebird'.
享受
For today's quickie we present this atmospheric snap from 1991 showing a Yak-28PP Brewer-E flown by the 118th Independent Electronic Warfare Aviation Regiment, which was based at Chortkiv, Ukrainian SSR.
Наслаждайтесь...
Погружение во тьму...
For today's quickie, we present an eerie image of an F-35B from VMFA-242 'The Bats' operating from the deck of USS America (LHA-6) in the Coral Sea on June 12th, 2025, just a couple'a weeks before your blogmeister typed these here words.
You're welcome.
A quickie today... we present a coolish shot showing two generations of Saudi birds of prey... the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and its predecessor in Royal Saudi Air Force service, the English Electric Lightning.
السلام عليكم
For today's quickie, we present an LTV PR photo showing the first flight of the first A-7H built for Greece in 1975.
Απολαύστε...
In 2015 the Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas (Philippine Air Force - PAF) ushered in a new era when the KAI (Korea Aerospace Industries) FA-50 Fighting Eagle entered service. The PAF retired its aging fleet of Northrop F-5A/B Freedom Fighters some ten years earlier and had been without a dedicated combat type, operating the Aermacchi (formerly SIAI-Marchetti) AS.211 Warrior trainer/light attack aircraft in that role as a stop-gap.
A PAF AS.211 of the 105th Fighter Training Squadron over Crow Valley Gunnery Range.
Derived
from the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle trainer, the FA-50 is the epitome of a
'best bang 'fer the buck' combat aircraft these days. A small,
lightweight multi-role aircraft capable of supersonic speeds, the FA-50
is a solid ground attack platform, a relatively capable air defense fighter, and
can also act as a conversion trainer, all at a low-ish cost of 30-35
million USD (1.6-1.9 billion PHP) per airframe, making it an ideal
choice for low-budget air forces such as the PAF.
In August of
2012, the Philippines Department of National Defense announced that
twelve TA-50 Golden Eagle trainers would be acquired for the PAF.
January of 2013 brought another announcement that the model to be
acquired was the FA-50 Fighting Eagle, a more advanced variant of the
type with air to air capabilities. The deal was formalized in March of
2014, and would cost the Philippines 421.12 million USD (18.9 billion
PHP). Deliveries took place from November of 2015 to May of 2017.
The
specific variant operated by the PAF is the FA-50PH, and the jets are flown by the 7th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 5th Fighter Wing out of Basa Air Base Floridablanca, Pampanga, about 40 miles Northwest of Manila.
Since entering service, the FA-50PHs have been used for strikes against some of the various rebel and insurgent forces that have plagued the Philippines for decades. One crew was lost with their jet in March of 2025 when they crashed on Mt. Kalatungan, in the southern province of Bukidnon during a night sortie against communist insurgents. A case of CFIT (Controlled Flight Into Terrain), the pilot likely became disoriented in the darkness and was probably unaware of his exact position in relation to the mountain. Weather, specifically high winds, was also probably a significant contributing factor.
This increase of the PAF's FA-50PH
fleet, combined with the impending acquisition of F-16s from the USA
will provide the PAF with greater ground attack and air combat
capabilities than at any time in its history.
Your blogmeister got a bit more wordy than normal here. Despite that, TWW remains primarily a photo blog, and as the readership of no more than two or three and hopefully not less than zero will know, we do love our 'purty pikshurs around here. So we got'sum for ya, and, as per usual, we'll let 'em do the rest of the talking.
Tangkilikin ang mga larawan...
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