NF Meteors: The RAF’s First Jet Night-Fighters
Armstrong Whitworth turned the Meteor from a simple day-fighter into one of the first radar-equipped all-weather jet interceptors. Doug Gordon remembers the career of the early night-fighter Meteors, the NF.11 and NF.13.
Handley Page Victor: A complete history
The Victor ably served the RAF for 35 years. Doug Gordon examines the design, development and service of the futuristic-looking V-bomber.
When a navy operated Tornados
Doug Gordon details the varied roles undertaken by Tornados of the German Navy
When USAF 'Superforts' darkened British skies
As tensions between the superpowers began to flare, the presence of American bombers on British soil again became a familiar and necessary one — and it was down to Strategic Air Command’s Boeing B-29s and B-50s to wield the ‘big stick’
A-10 Cold War insights from a Woodbridge squadron boss
Retired Colonel Bill Rial spoke to Doug Gordon about commanding the 78th Tactical Fighter Squadron based at RAF Woodbridge.
Cold War A-10s: Bentwaters and Woodbridge Tankbusters
In the June, 2015 issue of Aviation News, Doug Gordon looked back at the A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and pilots attached to the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing at RAF Bentwaters and Woodbridge during the Cold War.
Convair B-36 Peacemaker: The World’s Biggest Bomber
In the March 2014 issue of Aviation News, Doug Gordon told the story of the world’s largest bomber, Convair’s B-36 Peacemaker, Strategic Air Command’s first intercontinental nuclear delivery platform
USAFE Phantoms Part 2 – Wild Weasels and Recce
In the second instalment of this two-part article, Doug Gordon looks at United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) Wild Weasel and recce Phantoms and their role in the 1991 Gulf War.
Pilot recalls flying the challenging MiG-23BN 'Flogger'
What was life like as a ground attack pilot on the other side of the Iron Curtain, flying the challenging MiG-23BN attack aircraft with East Germany’s air arm? Some of the tactics may have been familiar in the West, but certain underlying doctrines weren’t
East German MiG-21s: Cold War Fishbeds - Part 2
The East German Air Force’s MiG-21s were key to the defence of the GDR...