Thirsty Thud

In this quickie installment we bring you a rather groovy shot of an F-105D about to gas up in Southeast-Asian skies... enjoy...

Project 914 Archives

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It's Voodoo

In this installment of 'TWW' we bring you something from your blogmeister's neck of the woods...

As a fighter-interceptor, photo-recce platform, and nuke-lugging fighter-bomber, the McDonnell F-101 Voodoo served the USAF in almost all suitable roles, except that for which it was originally envisioned; a penetration fighter to escort SAC's BUFFs to Moscow. Thankfully, it was never actually needed to fill that particular role. However, the very vital role for which the Voodoo is perhaps most-well known, that of fighter-interceptor, was filled admirably by the F-101B variant.

Of all the outfits that flew the 'Bravo' in defense of North America, the 136th Fighter Interceptor Squadron is nearest and dearest to your blogmeister's heart, if only because that particular outfit was nearest to the place he and his dearest call home. Based at Niagara Falls, NY, the 136th, as part of the Aerospace Defense Command, was responsible for protecting certain areas of the Northeastern United States, and flew the 'One-Oh-Wonder' in that role from 1971 to 1982.

Anyhoo, here's a fine view of F-101B 58-0279 in the 136th's original livery, from sometime in the 1970s... enjoy...

Project 914 Archives (S.Donacik collection)

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Polski MiG

Today we bring you a super-quickie... a slick-lookin' Polish Navy MiG-21Bis snapped over the Baltic Sea in September of 2002. POLSKA!

Mariusz Adamski photo

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French Tank Buster

Today we continue a series that we like to call, 'So ugly only a mother could love it', or... 'That thing flies?' with this more-than-less-than-visually-appealing little 1950s French number.

Your blogmeister doesn't know a whole helluvalot about the Potez 75 except that it was envisioned as a tank-buster. Quite frankly, the only thing we can envision right at the moment is a buncha tankers bustin'-out-laffin' upon seeing this contraption coming their way. But looks can be deceiving and you should never judge a book by its cover, right? Well, sometimes, maybe. But in this particular case... 'eh, judge all you like.

By all accounts we've come across, the Potez 75 was a dismal failure in its intended role as a platform from which to fire wire-guided anti-tank missiles, specifically the Nord SS.10, and production orders were not forthcoming. Undaunted, the folks at Potez saw that certain 'improvements' were made and that the type was re-branded under the good 'ole fashioned 'close air support' label. This time an order was placed for some 100 examples, but cancelled a short while later, apparently due to budget concerns.

In the end, though the Potez 75 may have been a flop, you can't say that it isn't an interesting machine. An interesting, frakkin' fugly little machine...

Project 914 Archives

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Atlantic Cat

In this installment of our little cyber-rag we present a pretty nice photo showing an FM-2 Wildcat of VC-36 just coming off the cat while launching from USS Core (CVE-13) during anti-submarine operations in the North Atlantic on April 12th, 1944. You're welcome...

NARA - US Navy photo by Photographer's Mate N.H. Seehafer

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The Dragon Slayer

Alrighty folks, here's a quickie for y'all. Your blogmeister doesn't know a whole lot about meatballs... well, the kind that go with spaghetti, yeah. But not those from Nihon-koku. Anyhoo, although he may not be knowledgeable on the subject of Birds of the Rising Sun, he sure do like 'em, especially this variety here... the Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu (Dragon Slayer), known to the Allies during the Second World War by the code-name 'Nick'. Enjoy!

Project 914 Archives

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