Monday, July 21, 2025

Thunderous Hammers Forge Iron Swords

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.




IDF photo



Fade to Black...

 

  

Friday, July 18, 2025

Putting a Cat to Bed

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...




U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate Airman Konstandinos Goumenidis



Fade to Black...




Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Vark in the Dark

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...



Ken Hackman photo



Fade to Black...


Tuesday, July 15, 2025

FUCHS EINS!

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...



USAF photo by TSgt Michael Ammons



Fade to Black...




Friday, July 11, 2025

Toni and Her Pony

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...



Museum of Danish Resistanc via Danish WW2 Pilots



You can read more about Miss Strodl HERE...


Fade to Black...



Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Furious Fighting Cocks

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...











All images: Flight Archive


Fade to Black...


Monday, July 7, 2025

HELLDIVER!

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!



National Air and Space Museum Archives (Hans Groenhoff Photo Collection)


Oh hey, if you wanna see more Helldivers of the 'SBC' variety, take a looksee at THIS page from The Hawk's Nest, an online resource for the P-40 Warhawk and other Curtiss birds.


Fade to Black...




Saturday, July 5, 2025

Lampo del deserto

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...



Vintage Mechanics


Dissolvenza al nero...


Friday, July 4, 2025

This ain't 'yer Dad's Firebird...

 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



Chinese Ministry of National Defense photo


Fade to Black...


Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Music-Makin' Masher

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...




Sergei Skrynnikov  photo



Погружение во тьму...