Boeing P-12E

The Boeing P-12E is one of those immortal classics; it never saw combat, but it had the pugnacious look of a true fighter plane. It was in fact,a much better aircraft than its better known contemporary, the Curtiss P-6E.

Albatros D Va

The Albatros D Va of World War I was the standard German fighter of the day, used in much greater numbers than the more famous Fokker Dr I triplane. A sleek looking aircraft, with its plywood fuselage and graceful control surfaces, it was slow, at about 106 mph, and its sesqui-plane arrangement was a design flaw, for the lower wing had a tendency to twist in a dive.

Messerschmidt Me 262

The sleek and deadly Messerschmitt Me 262 was the world's first operational jet fighter. There are many myths about the airplane, the most pervasive of which is that it was Hitler's order to make it a bomber that delayed its entry into combat. His order didn't help, but the real problem was the availability of production engines. Had the Germans done the necessary metallurgical research they might have had this airplane in 1943--and then it would have posed a terrific problem to the Eighth Air Force.

Northrop P-61 Black Widow

Some aircraft have names that suit them perfectly and the Northrop P-61 Black Widow is one of these. A handsome aircraft, more maneuverable than it would appear to be given its size, it proved to be a deadly marauder at night. I may be wrong about this, but I don't believe that any P-61 was ever shot down by an enemy aircraft. Let me know if I'm in error on this.

B-52 Stratofortress bomber

The B-52 Stratofortress was and is a great airplane to fly, and is undoubtedly the greatest bargain in the history of weapons. First flown in 1952, it is still in service, and may be in service in 2052 the way things are going. Well, 2030, anyway.