1.
Hellenic Air Force
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The Hellenic Air Force is the air force of Greece. The Hellenic Air Force includes approximately 33,000 active troops, during the period of monarchy between 1935–1973 the force was known as the Royal Hellenic Air Force. The motto of the Hellenic Air Force is the ancient Greek phrase Αἰὲν Ὑψικρατεῖν, Always Dominate the Heights), the Hellenic Air Force is one of the three branches of the Hellenic Armed Forces. In 1911, the Greek Government appointed French specialists to form the Hellenic Aviation Service, the first civilian Greek aviator who was given military rank was Emmanuel Argyropoulos, who flew in a Nieuport IV. G. Alkyon aircraft, on February 8,1912, the first military flight was made on May 13,1912 by Lieutenant Dimitrios Kamberos. During September of the year, the Greek Army fielded its first squadron. January 24,1913 saw the first naval co-operation war mission worldwide and this was not the first air-to-surface bombing in military history as there was a precedent in the Turkish Italian war of 1911, but the first recorded attack against ships from the air. Initially, the Hellenic Army and the Royal Hellenic Navy operated separate Army Aviation, during the Balkan Wars, various French Henry and Maurice Farman aircraft types were in use. Naval Aviation was officially founded in 1914 by the then CinC of the Hellenic Navy, Greek aviation units participated in World War I and the Asia Minor Campaign, equipped by the Allies with a variety of French and British designs. In 1930, the Aviation Ministry was founded, establishing the Air Force as the branch of the Armed Forces. The Hellenic Army Air Service and Hellenic Naval Air Service were amalgamated into a single service, in 1931 the Hellenic Air Force Academy, the Scholi Ikaron, was founded. In 1939, an order for 24 Marcel Bloch MB.151 fighter aircraft was placed, the aircraft served in the 24th Pursuit Squadron of the then Hellenic Royal Air Force. On November 2,1940, a Breguet 19 intercepted the 3 Alpine Division Julia while it was penetrating Pindos mountain range, however, after 65 days of war, the RHAF had lost 31 officers killed and seven wounded, plus four NCOs killed and five wounded. Meanwhile, the number of aircraft had dropped to 28 fighters. Still, in March 1941 the Italian invasion was confronted successfully, during the Greco-Italian War the Hellenic Air Force shot down 64 enemy aircraft and claimed another 24. Actually, according to sources, Italians lost 65 aircraft during the whole campaign, against Greeks and British. In April 1941 the German Wehrmacht invaded Greece to assist her Italian allies, the Luftwaffe destroyed almost the entire Hellenic Air Force, some aircraft managed to escape in the Middle East. The top ace of Hellenic Air Force was Andreas Antoniou with 5.5 victories, five Avro Anson, one Dornier Do 22 and three Avro 626 escaped
2.
Bristol Blenheim
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The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company that was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War. It was originally developed as the civil-orientated Type 142 in response to Lord Rothermeres challenge to produce the fastest commercial aircraft in Europe. First flying in April 1935, the Air Ministry was quickly impressed by its performance, on 10 March 1937, deliveries of the newly named Blenheim commenced to RAF squadrons. The Blenheim was one of the first British aircraft to feature an all-metal stressed-skin construction, retractable landing gear, flaps, a more capable bomber derivative, the Beaufort, was also developed, being both larger and heavier than the Blenheim. A Canadian-built variant named the Bolingbroke was used as a patrol aircraft. The Mark IV variant was equally unsuccessful in its daylight bombing role, the Blenheim was also used by a wide range of overseas operators, as well being produced under licence in Finland and Yugoslavia. By this point, proposed use of the Aquila engine had been shelved in favour of the supercharger-equipped, deeming it suitable for the issued challenge, the design of Type 135 was further adapted to produce the Type 142 in order to meet the requirements outlined by Rothermere. On 12 April 1935, the Type 142, which had given the name Britain First, conducted its maiden flight from Filton Aerodrome. Flight tests soon proved that the aircraft was in fact faster than any fighter in service with the Royal Air Force at the time, Rothermere presented the aircraft to the nation for a formal evaluation at a potential bomber. By June 1935, the Air Ministry had become interested in the due to its high performance. On 9 July 1935, a conference was held by Bristol at the ministrys request into the question of converting the Type 142 into a suitable medium bomber. Based upon talks from the conference, the Air Ministry quickly formalised Specification B. 28/35 for prototypes of a bomber version, the Type 142M. Other modifications included the addition of a position and a Browning machine gun gun in the nose along with provisions for a semi-retractable gun turret in the dorsal position. In September 1935, a contract for 150 aircraft was placed. The Air Ministry had chosen to order the type directly from the board, having been urgently sought as one piece of a wider. The first aircraft built of this model, K7033, served as the only prototype, on 25 June 1936. The service name for the aircraft became Blenheim Mk I after the battle during the War of the Spanish Succession. On 10 March 1937, production deliveries to the RAF formally started,114 Squadron became the first squadron to receive the Blenheim
3.
Junkers Ju 52
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The Junkers Ju 52/3m is a German trimotor transport aircraft manufactured from 1931 to 1952. Initially designed with an engine but subsequently produced as a trimotor it saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with over twelve air carriers including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa as an airliner, in a military role, it flew with the Luftwaffe as a troop and cargo transport and briefly as a medium bomber. The Ju 52 continued in service with military and civilian air fleets well into the 1980s. The Ju 52 was similar to the companys previous Junkers W33, in 1930, Ernst Zindel and his team designed the Ju 52 at the Junkers works at Dessau. The aircrafts unusual corrugated duralumin metal skin, pioneered by Junkers during World War I, the Ju 52 had a low cantilever wing, the midsection of which was built into the fuselage, forming its underside. It was formed around four pairs of circular cross-section duralumin spars with a surface that provided torsional stiffening. A narrow control surface, with its outer section functioning as the aileron, the inner flap section lowered the stalling speed and the arrangement became known as the Doppelflügel, or double wing. The outer sections of this operated differentially as ailerons, projecting slightly beyond the wingtips with control horns, the strutted horizontal stabilizer carried horn-balanced elevators which again projected and showed a significant gap between them and the stabilizer, which was adjustable in-flight. The fuselage was of rectangular section with a domed decking, all covered with corrugated light alloy, there was a port side passenger door just aft of the wings, with windows stretching forward to the pilots cockpit. The main undercarriage was fixed and divided, some aircraft had wheel fairings, there was a fixed tailskid, or a later tailwheel. Some aircraft were fitted with floats or skis instead of the main wheels, in its original configuration, designated the Ju 52/1m, the Ju 52 was a single-engined aircraft, powered by either a BMW IV or Junkers liquid-cooled V-12 engine. However, the model was underpowered, and after seven prototypes had been completed. Originally powered by three Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet radial engines, later models mainly received 574 kW BMW132 engines. Export models were built with 447 kW Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp and 578 kW Bristol Pegasus VI engines. In 1932, James A. Richardsons Canadian Airways received CF-ARM and it was used to supply mining and other operations in remote areas with equipment too big and heavy for other aircraft then in use. The Ju 52/1m was able to land on wheels, skis or floats, before the nationalisation of the German aircraft industry in 1935, the Ju 52/3m was produced principally as a 17-seat airliner. It was used mainly by Luft Hansa and could fly from Berlin to Rome in eight hours, the Luft Hansa fleet eventually numbered 80 and flew from Germany on routes in Europe, Asia and South America
4.
Junkers Ju 87
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The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935, the Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffes Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. It served the Axis forces in World War II, the aircraft was easily recognisable by its inverted gull wings and fixed spatted undercarriage. Upon the leading edges of its main gear legs were mounted the Jericho-Trompete wailing sirens, becoming the propaganda symbol of German air power. The Ju 87 operated with success in the close air support. It spearheaded the air assaults in the Invasion of Poland in September 1939, in May 1940, the Ju 87s were crucial in the rapid conquest of the Netherlands, Belgium and France against all targets. Although sturdy, accurate, and very effective against ground targets, during the Battle of Britain a lack of manoeuvrability, speed and defensive armament meant that the Stuka required a heavy fighter escort to operate effectively. Once the Luftwaffe lost air superiority, on all fronts, the Ju 87 again became a target for enemy fighter aircraft. Despite these developments, because there was no replacement, the type continued to be produced until 1944. By the end of the conflict, the Stuka had been replaced by ground-attack versions of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. An estimated 6,500 Ju 87s of all versions were built between 1936 and August 1944, some notable airmen flew the Ju 87. Oberst Hans-Ulrich Rudel was the most successful Stuka ace and the most highly decorated German serviceman of the Second World War, the vast majority of German ground attack aces flew this aircraft at some point in their careers. The Ju 87s principal designer, Hermann Pohlmann, held the opinion that any dive-bomber design needed to be simple and this led to many technical innovations, such as the retractable undercarriage being discarded in favour of one of the Stukas distinctive features, its fixed and spatted undercarriage. Pohlmann continued to carry on developing and adding to his ideas and those of Dipl Ing Karl Plauth, the military version of the Ju A48 was designated the Ju K47. After the Nazis came to power, the design was given priority, despite initial competition from the Henschel Hs 123, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium turned to the designs of Herman Pohlmann of Junkers and co-designer of the K47, Karl Plauth. During the trials with the K47 in 1932, the vertical stabilizers were introduced to give the rear gunner a better field of fire. The main, and what was to be the most distinctive, after Plauths death, Pohlmann continued the development of the Junkers dive bomber. The Ju A48 registration D-ITOR, was fitted with a BMW132 engine
5.
Bell 47J Ranger
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The Bell 47J Ranger is an American two-bladed, single engine, light helicopter that was manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was a variant based on the highly successful Bell 47 and was the first helicopter to carry a United States president. The 47J was a variant of the earlier three-seat Bell 47H. The 47H was a variant of the 47G with a fully clad fuselage. The 47H proved to be too small, so Bell developed the 47J, the 47J was a single pilot aircraft with the pilot seat and controls centered in the front of the cabin, and positioned close to the 180° view unobstructed Lexan bubble windscreen. A single bench seat at the rear of the cabin spanned its entire width, in March 1957 two Bell 47Js were bought by the United States Air Force as presidential transport and designated H-13J. On 13 July 1957 a H-13J was the first helicopter used by a United States president when it carried Dwight D. Eisenhower from the White House. In March 1962 the two helicopters were moved from presidential duties but were used as VIP transports for the five years until retired in July 1967. Two Bell 47J-2s were used during the 1966 film production of Paradise, throughout the film Presleys character, Rick Richards, was flying a Bell 47J-2 over the Hawaiian Islands. 47J Ranger Production variant powered by a 220hp Lycoming VO-435-A1B engine, 47J-1 Ranger Military VIP variant as the H-13J, two built. 47J-2 Ranger Production variant with a 240hp Lycoming VO-540-B1B engine, powered controls, 47J-2A Ranger Production variant with a 260hp Lycoming VO-540-B1B3 engine and a collective boost system,75 built. 47J-3 Italian built variant by Agusta-Bell, 47J-3B1 High-altitude variant of the 47J-3 47K Training variant for the United States Navy, see HTL-7. HUL-1 United States Navy variant with a 260hp VO-435-B1B,28 built became UH-13P in 1962, HUL-1G Two HUL-1s used by the United States Coast Guard, became UH-13Q in 1962. HUL-1M Variant of the HUL-1 with a 250shp YT-62-A-3 turboshaft engine, hUL-2 Proposed turboshaft-powered variant, not built. HTL-7 Model 47K training version of the HUL-1 with a modified two-seat cockpit, UH-13J Two Bell 47J-1 Ranger aircraft utilizing the 179 kW Lycoming VO-435-21 engine acquired for VIP transport of the U. S. President by the U. S. Air Force. Originally designated as H-13J until 1962, UH-13P United States Navy variant for use aboard ice-breaking ships, Originally designated as the Navy HUL-1. TH-13N The HTL-7 re-designated in 1962, hH-13Q The HUL-1G re-designated in 1962. UH-13R The HUL-1M re-designated in 1962, Canada 1827 – Bell 47J-2 on static display at the Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum in Goffs, Nova Scotia
6.
Bell 206
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The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- or twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Armys Light Observation Helicopter program, Bell redesigned the airframe and successfully marketed the aircraft commercially as the five-place Bell 206A JetRanger. The new design was selected by the Army as the OH-58 Kiowa. The ICAO-assigned model designation B06 is used on plans for the JetRanger and LongRanger. On October 14,1960, the United States Navy solicited response from 25 aircraft manufacturers to a request for proposals on behalf of the Army for the Light Observation Helicopter, Bell entered the competition along with 12 other manufacturers, including Hiller Aircraft and Hughes Tool Co. Bell submitted the D-250 design, which would be designated as the YHO-4, on May 19,1961, Bell and Hiller were announced as winners of the design competition. Bell developed the D-250 design into the Bell 206 aircraft, redesignated as YOH-4A in 1962, the first prototype flew on December 8,1962. The YOH-4A also became known as the Ugly Duckling in comparison to the other contending aircraft, following a flyoff of the Bell, Hughes and Fairchild-Hiller prototypes, the Hughes OH-6 was selected in May 1965. When the YOH-4A was eliminated by the Army, Bell went about solving the problem of marketing the aircraft, in addition to the image problem, the helicopter lacked cargo space and only provided cramped quarters for the planned three passengers. The solution was a fuselage, sleeker and aesthetically appealing, adding 16 ft3 of cargo space in the process. A Bell executive contributed to this redesign by drawing on a sketch two lines extending the fuselage to where it meets the tail. The redesign was designated Bell 206A, and Bell President Edwin J. Ducayet named it the JetRanger, the 206L LongRanger is a stretched variant with seating for seven. The fuselage, stretched a total of 30 inches, adds two rear-facing seats between the front and rear seats, since 1975, Bell has produced more than 1,700 LongRangers across all variant types. In 1981, a version was released, the 206L TexasRanger. In both applications, the 250-C30P is derated from 650 hp for takeoff and 501 hp continuous, the 206L-3 is transmission–limited to 435 hp for take-off, and the 206L-4 is transmission-limited to 495 hp. The 206L-3 and L-4 have not been offered in a twin configuration under those model designations, in 2007, Bell announced an upgrade program for the 206L-1 and 206L-3 which is designed to modify the aircraft to the 206L-4 configuration, modified aircraft are designated 206L-1+ and 206L-3+. On January 24,2008, Bell Helicopter announced plans to end production of the Bell 206B-3 version after current order commitments were fulfilled in 2010, in 2011, used 206B-3s sold for around $1.4 million depending upon the equipment and configuration. However, production of the 206L-4 is ongoing as of 2016, the TwinRanger name dates from the mid-1980s when Bell developed the Bell 400 TwinRanger, but it never entered production
7.
Bell H-13 Sioux
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The Bell H-13 Sioux was a two-bladed, single engine, light helicopter built by Bell Helicopter. Westland Aircraft manufactured the Sioux under license for the British military as the Sioux AH.1, in 1947, the United States Army Air Forces ordered the improved Bell Model 47A. Most were designated YR-13 and three winterized versions were designated YR-13A, the United States Army first ordered Bell 47s in 1948 under the designation H-13. These would later receive the name Sioux, initially, the United States Navy procured several Bell 47s, designated HTL-1, between 1947 and 1958. The United States Coast Guard evaluated this model, and procured two HTL-1s for multi-mission support in the New York Harbor, the most common U. S. Navy version of the 47 was designated the HTL-4, and dispenses with the fabric covering on the tail boom. The U. S. Coast Guard procured three HTL-5s in 1952 and used these until 1960, the Coast Guard procured two of Bells Model 47G and designated them HUL-1G in 1959. The H-13 was used as an observation helicopter early in the Vietnam War, the Bell 47 was ordered by the British Army as the Sioux to meet specification H.240, with licensed production by Westland Helicopters. The first contract was for 200 helicopters, the first 50 helicopters of the contract were built by Agusta at Gallarate in Italy followed by 150 built by Westland at Yeovil. The first Westland Sioux made its flight on 9 March 1965. The Sioux is an observation and basic training helicopter. In 1953 the Bell 47G design was introduced and it can be recognized by the full soap bubble canopy, exposed welded-tube tail boom, saddle fuel tanks and skid landing gear. In its UH-13J version, based on the Bell 47J, it had a tail boom and fuselage. The H-13 and its variants were often equipped with medical evacuation panniers, one to each skid. A single 260 hp Lycoming VO-435 piston engine was fitted to the 47G variant, fuel was fed from two high-mounted external tanks. A single two-bladed rotor with short inertial stabilising minor blades was used on the Sioux, yR-13/HTL-128 Bell 47A helicopters procured by the United States Army Air Forces for evaluation. The YR-13 was powered by a 175 hp Franklin O-335-1 piston engine,10 of the aircraft were evaluated by the U. S. Navy as trainers. YR-13A3 YR-13 aircraft winterized for cold-weather testing in Alaska, HTL-2 US Navy equivalent of the commercial Model 47D. HTL-3 US Navy equivalent of the commercial Model 47E, powered by a 200 hp Franklin 6V4-200-C32 engine, H-13B65 aircraft ordered in 1948 by the U. S. Army
8.
Canadair Sabre
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The Canadair Sabre was a jet fighter aircraft built by Canadair under licence from North American Aviation. A variant of the North American F-86 Sabre, it was produced until 1958, several other air forces also operated the aircraft. In 1948, the Canadian government decided to re-equip the RCAF with the F-86 Sabre with Canadair contracted to them in Montreal, Quebec. An initial batch of 10 aircraft was ordered for tool verification, the Korean War changed this to a production batch of 100 aircraft. Canadair slowly built up its production facility to all components with related equipment obtained from other Canadian suppliers. Canadair gave the Sabre the project number CL-13, Canadair produced six versions of the CL-13 Sabre. The sole Sabre Mk.1 was essentially the same as the North American Sabre F-86A and it had a General Electric J47-GE-13 turbojet of 5,200 lbf thrust. The sole Sabre Mk 3 was the first of the Canadian Sabres to use the Avro Canada Orenda turbojet, the Sabre Mk.4 retained the General Electric engine and was destined for the RAF and was later passed on to other overseas air forces. The Sabre Mk.5 was the production version, equipped with an Orenda 10 with 6,500 lbf thrust. A change to the Orenda 14 with 7,440 lbf powered the Sabre Mk.6, the designation Sabre Mk.7 was mainly experimental. The last Sabre to be manufactured by Canadair, after being donated by the Pakistan Air Force, is now part of the permanent collection in the Western Canada Aviation Museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba. From 1950 to 1958, a total of 1,815 CL-13 Sabres were built at the Canadair plant in Montreal, the second generation of Canadair Sabre aircraft, and first to be built in quantity, was the Mk 2, with 350 produced from 1952–1953. The RCAF received 290 of these improved aircraft, during the first half of 1952, the remaining 60 Mk. 2s were supplied to the U. S. Air Force for use in the Korean War. Most RCAF Mk.2 Sabres were utilized in the air defence role with NATOs No.1 Air Division in Europe, others were assigned to the training role at bases in Canada. In mid-1952, the Sabre Mk.4 went into production with the first one flown on 28 August 1952, apart from some minor structural and systems changes, including improved air-conditioning and gun sight, the Mk 2 and the Mk 4 were identical. Of 438 Mk 4s built, approximately 70 were used temporarily by the RCAF, the other Sabre 4s went directly to the RAF under a mutual aid program, equipping 11 RAF squadrons. The majority served in West Germany with NATO, with two squadrons being based in the UK as part of RAF Fighter Command, the Sabre Mk.4 served with the RAF until mid-1956 when they were replaced by Hawker Hunters. The survivors were overhauled in the UK, fitted with 6-3 wing modifications and handed to the USAF which in turn passed them on to other NATO members, with the majority going to Italy and Yugoslavia
9.
Cessna T-37 Tweet
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The A-37 Dragonfly variant served in the light attack role during the Vietnam War and continues to serve in the air forces of several South American nations. The T-37 served as the U. S. Air Forces primary pilot training vehicle for over 52 years after its first flight, after completing Primary in the Tweet, students moved on to other advanced Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps or Allied trainers. With a total of 1,269 Cessna T-37s built, the USAF retired its last T-37 in 2009, Cessna responded to the TX request with a twin-jet design with side-by-side seating. In the spring of 1954, the USAF awarded Cessna a contract for three prototypes of the Model 318, and a contract for a static test aircraft. The Air Force designated the type as XT-37 and it first flew on 12 October 1954. The wide track and a steerable nosewheel made the easy to handle on the ground. The aircraft was designed to be simple to maintain, with more than 100 access panels, an experienced ground crew could change an engine in about half an hour. The XT-37 was aerodynamically clean, so much so that a speedbrake was fitted behind the doors to help increase drag for landing. Since the short landing gear placed the engine air intakes close to the ground, screens pivoted over the intakes from underneath when the gear was extended. The XT-37 was fitted with two Continental-Teledyne J69-T-9 turbojet engines, French Turbomeca Marboré engines built under license, with 920 lbf thrust each, Empty weight of the XT-37 was 5,000 lb. Tests showed the XT-37 had a speed of 390 mph at altitude. The aircraft had a ceiling of 35,000 feet but was unpressurized so was limited to an operational ceiling of 25,000 feet by USAF regulations. The initial prototype crashed during spin tests, later prototypes had new features to improve handling, including long strakes along the nose, and an extensively redesigned and enlarged tail. After these modifications, the USAF found the aircraft acceptable to their needs, production aircraft remained tricky in recovering from a spin, the recovery procedure was complex compared with most aircraft. The production T-37A was similar to the XT-37 prototypes, except for changes to fix problems revealed by the flight test program. The first T-37A was completed in September 1955 and flew later that year, the T-37A was very noisy, even by the standards of jet aircraft. The intake of air into its small turbojets emitted a high-pitched shriek that led some to describe the trainer as a Screaming Mimi, the piercing whistle quickly gave the T-37 its name, Tweety Bird, or just Tweet. The Air Force spent a lot of time and money soundproofing buildings at bases where the T-37 was stationed, the Air Force ordered 444 T-37As, with the last produced in 1959
10.
Convair F-102 Delta Dagger
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The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an American interceptor aircraft that was built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Forces air defenses in the late 1950s. Entering service in 1956, its purpose was to intercept invading Soviet strategic bomber fleets during the Cold War. Designed and manufactured by Convair,1,000 F-102s were built, a member of the Century Series, the F-102 was the USAFs first operational supersonic interceptor and delta-wing fighter. It used an internal weapons bay to carry guided missiles and rockets. As originally designed, it could not achieve Mach 1 supersonic flight until redesigned with area ruling, the F-102 replaced subsonic fighter types such as the Northrop F-89 Scorpion, and by the 1960s, it saw limited service in the Vietnam War in bomber escort and ground-attack roles. It was supplemented by McDonnell F-101 Voodoos and, later, by McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs, the follow-on replacement was the Mach-2 Convair F-106 Delta Dart, which was an extensive redesign of the F-102. On 8 October 1948, the board of officers of the U. S. Four months later, on 4 February 1949, the USAF approved the recommendation, in November 1949, the Air Force decided that the new aircraft would be built around a fire-control system. The FCS was to be designed before the airframe to ensure compatibility, the airframe and FCS together were called the weapon system. In January 1950, the USAF Air Materiel Command issued request for proposals to 50 companies for the FCS, by May, the list was revised downward to 10. Following recommendations by the committee to the Saville Board, the proposals were further reduced to two competitors, Hughes Aircraft and North American Aviation. Although the Valley Committee thought it was best to award the contract to companies, Hughes was chosen by Saville and his team on 2 October 1950. Proposals for the airframe were issued on 18 June 1950, on 2 July 1954, three companies, Convair, Republic and Lockheed won the right to build a mockup. Until then, Convair had done research into delta-winged aircraft, experimenting with different designs, of the three, the best design was to win the production contract under the name Project MX-1554. In the end, Convair emerged as the victor with its design, designated XF-102, after Lockheed dropped out, the development of three different designs was too expensive and in November, only Convair was allowed to continue with its Model 8-80. To speed development, it was proposed to equip the prototypes, continued delays to the J67 and MA-1 FCS led to the decision to place an interim aircraft with the J40 and a simpler fire control system into production as the F-102A. The failure of the J40 led to the Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojet with afterburner, rated with 10,000 pounds-force of thrust being substituted for the prototypes, the F-102B would later evolve to become the F-106A, dubbed the Ultimate Interceptor. The prototype YF-102 made its first flight on 23 October 1953, at Edwards AFB, the second aircraft flew on 11 January 1954, confirming a dismal performance
11.
Curtiss SB2C Helldiver
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The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was a carrier-based dive bomber aircraft produced for the United States Navy during World War II. It replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless in US Navy service, the SB2C was much faster than the SBD it replaced. Crew nicknames for the aircraft included the Big-Tailed Beast, Two-Cee, neither pilots nor aircraft carrier captains seemed to like it. Delays marred its production—by the time the A-25 Shrike variant for the USAAF was deployed in late 1943, poor handling of the aircraft was another factor that hampered its service introductions, both the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force cancelled substantial orders. The Truman Committee investigated Helldiver production and turned in a scathing report, problems with the Helldiver were eventually ironed out, and in spite of its early problems, the aircraft was flown through the last two years of the Pacific War with a fine combat record. The Helldiver was developed to replace the Douglas SBD Dauntless and it was a much larger aircraft, able to operate from the latest aircraft carriers and carry a considerable array of armament. It featured a bomb bay that reduced drag when carrying heavy ordnance. Saddled with demanding requirements set forth by both the U. S, Marines and United States Army Air Forces, the manufacturer incorporated features of a multi-role aircraft into the design. In 1939, a student brought a model of the new Curtiss XSB2C-1 to the MIT wind tunnel, professor Emeritus of Aeronautical Engineering Otto C. Koppen was quoted as saying, if they build more than one of these and he was referring to controllability issues with the small vertical tail. The first prototype made its flight on 18 December 1940. It crashed on 8 February 1941 when its engine failed on approach, the fuselage was lengthened and a larger tail was fitted, while an autopilot was fitted to help the poor stability. The revised prototype flew again on 20 October 1941, but was destroyed when its wing failed during diving tests on 21 December 1941, large-scale production had already been ordered on 29 November 1940, but a large number of modifications were specified for the production model. The SB2C-2 was built with fuel tanks, improving its range considerably. The program suffered so many delays that the Grumman TBF Avenger entered service before the Helldiver, a total of 7,140 SB2Cs were produced in World War II. The first version of the SB2C-1 was kept stateside for training, the first deployment model was the SB2C-1C. The SB2C-1 could deploy slats mechanically linked with landing gear actuators, the early prognosis of the Beast was unfavourable, it was strongly disliked by aircrews due to its size, weight, and reduced range compared to the SBD it replaced. In the Battle of the Philippine Sea,45 Helldivers were lost because they ran out of returning to their carriers
12.
Dassault Mirage F1
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The Dassault Mirage F1 is a French fighter and attack aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation as a successor of the Mirage III family. The Mirage F1 entered service in the French Air Force in 1974, powered by a single SNECMA Atar turbojet providing about 7 tonnes-force of thrust, the Mirage F1 has been used as a light multipurpose fighter and has been exported to about a dozen nations. More than 720 Mirage F1s have been produced, although it has a smaller wingspan than the Mirage III, the F1 nevertheless proved to be superior to its predecessor. It can carry up to 43% more fuel, has a shorter take-off run, the first prototype made its maiden flight on 23 December 1966. Despite the prototype crashing on 18 May 1967 due to flutter, killing its pilot, in order to comply with the French Air Forces requirement for an all-weather interceptor, the first production Mirage F1C was equipped with a Thomson-CSF Cyrano IV monopulse radar. The later Cyrano IV-1 version added a limited look-down capability, however Mirage F1 pilots reported that the radar can easily overheat, reducing its efficiency. First deliveries to the French Air Force took place in May 1973, initially, the aircraft was armed with two internal 30 mm cannons, and a single Matra R530 medium-range air-to-air missile carried under the fuselage. It was replaced after 1979, when the improved Matra Super 530 F entered into service with the French Air Force, in 1977, the R550 Magic was released. The F1 has these missiles mounted on rails on the wingtips, the 79 aircraft of the next production run were delivered during the period March 1977 to December 1983. These were of the Mirage F1C-200 version with a refuelling probe. The Mirage F1 served as the main interceptor of the French Air Force until the Dassault Mirage 2000 entered service, French Air Force Mirage F1s were first deployed operationally in 1984 during Operation Manta, the French intervention in Chad, to counter growing Libyan encroachment. Four Mirage F1C-200s provided air cover for a force of four Jaguars, two F1CRs also flew pre and post-strike reconnaissance missions. To avoid the risk of being mistaken for Iraqi Mirage F1s, following the end of the Persian Gulf War, France deployed Mirage F1CRs to Turkey as part of Operation Provide Comfort to protect Kurds from Iraqi aggression. In November 2004 and in response to an Ivorian air attack on French peacekeepers three Mirage F.1 jets attack Yamoussoukro airport and destroy two Su-25 aircraft and three attack helicopters. The last French unit to still be equipped with the Mirage F1, was the Escadron de Reconnaissance 2/33 Savoie, home-based at Mont-de-Marsan, the units primary mission was tactical reconnaissance, with a secondary mission of ground-attack. Because of the missions of the 2/33, their unofficial motto among the pilots has become, Find, Identify. The two 2/33 F1CRs operated with three Mirage 2000Ds, also based on rotation from France to Chad, in March 2011, 2/33 Mirage F1CRs were deployed to Solenzara Air Base, Corsica and conducted reconnaissance missions over Libya as part of Opération Harmattan. In 2013 2/33 F1CRs also participated in Operation Serval in Mali, the 2/33 F1CRs provided valuable photo information for strike aircraft flying the next day from France
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