This image shows the “Saviors” of Great Britain in their darkest moment, during the so-called “Blitz”, or what is the same, the Luftwaffe attack to the United Kingdom during the summer of 1940. In the foreground, a Hurricane , in the background two Spitfires. The Spitfire fighter became the successor of Hurricane, which nevertheless, would continue to fight some years until it was retired at the end of the war.As the WWII advanced, the Spitfire was relieving the Hurricane as interceptor. The Spitfire demonstrated a great capacity to be improved and updated constantly, and thus be able to face the evolution of the German fighters. More than 30 Spitfire‘s variants and 21 variants of the Hurricane were developed during their careers.Beautiful image in which we can see a Spitfire, on the left, and a Hurricane. These two aircraft were the backbone of the British air defense, both in the Homeland and in all operational theaters. In total, almost 15,000 Hurricanes and more than 20,000 Spitfires were manufactured.Here we can see the “V-bombers“, three different types of British strategic bombers that were the spearhead of the UK nuclear response during the 50s and 60s. In the foreground we have the Avro Vulcan, followed by the Vickers Valiant, and closing the formation is a Handley Page Victor. These bombers entered service in 1956, 1955 and 1958 respectively and maintained their nuclear role until 1970.This picture shows a Hawk T.1 from the RAF’s 4 Flying Training School supervising the landing of a Hunter GA.11 belonging to the Royal Navy’s Fleet Requirements and Air Direction Unit (FRADU) at the beginning of the 90s. Currently the Hawk is still used as an advanced jet flying trainer, although in the T.2 variant. Respect the Hunter GA.11. it was removed from service within the FRADU in 1995, when it was replaced by … the Hawk T.1!Until 1999 the RAF had entrusted the important mission of providing support to the British land forces on the battlefield. Currently continues to do so integrated into the Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) along with other Army and Navy helicopters. Here we see a Puma HC.2 along with a Chinook HC.4, both models have been the core in support role for many years, and will continue to be in the near future.Curious image in which we can see the two models of Corsair aircraft. The carrier-based Vought F.4U fighter-bomber (on the right), and its counterpart appeared just 25 years later, the LTV Vought A-7 Corsair II attack aircraft. Both had “busy” careers, actively participating in WWII and Vietnam War respectively.A splendid formation of US Navy’s carrier-based aircrafts. Formed from left to right by four A-6 Intruder bombers, four S-3 Viking antisubmarine aircraft and four A-7 Corsair II attack aircraft, leading the formation we have four F-14 Tomcat fighters. All the aircraft on board make up the so-called Carrier Air Wing (CVW).Another US Navy’s carrier-based aircraft formation composed by four F-14 Tomcat fighters, four F/A-18 Hornet fighter-bombers, two S-3 Viking antisubmarine aircraft, two KA-6D Prowler tankers and one E-2C Hawkeye early warning aircraft. The Carrier Air Wing (CVW) is designed to be able to fulfill all the tactical missions that any Air Force can face.Another close formation of aircrafts belonging to a US Navy Carrier Air Wing. This time is composed by two F-14 Tomcat, four F/A-18 Hornet, two S-3 Viking, one KA-6D Prowler, one E-2C Hawkeye and one C- 2A Greyhound. The first Carrier Air Wings were activated in 1937 and since then they are the main air component within the US Navy and the US Marine Corps.Beautiful image showing a magnificent formation of US Navy aircrafts passing in front of Mount Fuji, Japan. From left to right we can see an E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, a C-2A Greyhound, a KA-6D Prowler and four F/A-18 Hornet. The CVW’s composition have been changing over time but have always been composed from 70 to 100 aircraft and helicopters.An F-4 Phantom II fighter-bomber along with an A-5 Vigilante bomber. Both aircraft constituted the core of the US Navy’s Carrier Air Wing from 1960 until the end of the Vietnam War. The F-4 formed the fighters squadrons (VF) and the A-5 was framed in the heavy attack squadrons (VAH).These are the two unique AWACS aircraft models that have served within the US Navy’s Carrier Air Wing. In the foreground we see the E-2C Hawkeye and in the background is the E-1 Tracer, which was the first carrier-based AWACS aircraft in the World. Each carrier airborne early warning (VAW) squadron consisted of 2 or 3 aircraft.Around 7 million tons of bombs were dropped during the Vietnam War. In this image we see an F-111 Aardvark leading the formation with two F-4 Phantom II in one of the tens of thousands ground support missions carried out by the USAF. This time the bombardment was carried out against targets over Hanoi.Great image in which we can see thirteen F-105 Thunderchief releasing its lethal charge during Vietnam War. Due to the difficulty of being able to clearly observe enemy positions, great attack missions like this one had to be done to achieve some kind of effect. Despite the spectacularity, the results were generally very poor.Curious image taken over an USAF’s formation composed by an A-3 Skywarrior followed by four F-105 “Thuds” in one of their usual attack missions carried out during Vietnam War. The US dropped three times more bombs on Vietnam than it did during its participation in the entire WWII.The helicopter became a real “battle horse” during Vietnam conflict. In this image we see the two most famous models used by the US Marines, the everlasting UH-1 Huey, followed by its attack variant, the AH-1 Huey Cobra. Together they formed an effective tandem that managed to quickly deploy a powerful response to the fleeting Vietcong’s attacks.The US Marine Corps used KC-130 tankers to refuel in flight their attack aircraft during Vietnam War, mainly F-4 Phamtom II and A-7 Corsair II. In this image we see two F-4 filling their tanks to expand the combat radius and be more effective in their missions.This image shows a US Navy aircrafts formation headed by an F-14 Tomcat followed by two F/A-18 Hornets and a third line consisting of two MiG-21 Fishbed flanking a third F/A-18.Multinational aircrafts formation composed by, (from left to right): F-4, Mirage 2000, F-16, F/A-18 (almost hidden), F-14, AMX Ghibli, F/A-18, MiG-21, B-1B, Alphajet, Mirage V, F-16 and F/A-18 flying over the incomparable Egyptian pyramids.This image shows a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk followed by a Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II. Two aircrafts appeared at different times but with the same mission, the attack to ground forces. especially the armored ones. In this role the A-10 has no rival thanks to its powerful 30mm gatling gun and its maneuverability at low altitude.Here we can see two prototypes of strategic bombers developed just after the WWII for the USAF. On the left, the Northrop YB-49, a “flying wing” equipped with eight turbojets that did not go beyond the experimental phase. Next to it, the Boeing YB-47, of which more than 2,000 units would be built under designation B-47 Stratojet.Here we have a powerful heavy bombers formation operated by the USAF from 1938 to the present. On the left is the B-29 Superfortress, in the center appears the B-52 Stratofortress followed by a B-17 Flying Fortress, and to the right of both a B-47 Stratojet. These bombers cover the period from 1938, when the B-17 entered service, until present, thanks to the extraordinary longevity demonstrated by the B-52, which is still in service in its “H” version.This is what you see when a “Spooky” gunship is sending a steel rain to a target. It should be noted that only one round in five is a a tracer round! The “Spooky” and the B-52 were the most feared weapons by the Vietcong, and watching this image, the fear was more than justified.Unusual image in which we can see the two spy planes par excellence, the U-2 Spyplane (in the foreground) and the SR-71 Blackbird. Both aircraft marked a milestone with their exceptional performance, some of them unbeaten today. Both were flying over 24,000 meters high, immune to all fighters of that time, but not to the antiaircraft missiles. In May 1 1960, this would be demonstrated by Gary Powers’s U-2, which was shot down over Sverdlovsk, Soviet Union.
