During the Cold War, these fighter planes were the mainstay of Soviet air defense. Here’s the history—and ignominious coda of the USSR’s premier fighter jets.
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National History Day: Turning Points in History
Learn about the 2023–24 competition and get resources on topics.
Posted inExclusive
Tom and Tom’s Excellent AirVenture: Watch Our Visit to One of the Aviation World’s Biggest Annual Shows
The annual Oshkosh fly-in includes scores of historic aircraft.
Posted inReview
Book Review: Even History Editors Go to the Beach. These Are the Books They’re Reading There
In these dog days of summer, beat the heat with these beach reads, from a general’s memoir to the exploits of the SAS.
Posted inStories
This Was History’s First Bomber. This Guy Made A Replica.
Mike Fithian’s grandfather flew this airplane type before World War I.
Posted inFeature
Meet Hugh Willoughby, the Wealthy Dilettante Turned Aviation Pioneer
In balloons or planes, this New York rich kid, friend to the Wright brothers and later America’s oldest pilot, realized the new frontier was in the skies.
Posted inReview
75 Years of the Israeli Air Force Review: A Granular History
While the author contends that Israel is more secure today, the existential threats never seem to go away
Posted inStories
Operation Sitting Duck? Obsolete British Biplanes Mounted History’s First All-Aerial Ship-to-Ship Naval Attack
In mid-November 1940 two waves of obsolete British biplanes mounted history’s first all-aerial ship-to-ship naval attack—with surprising results
Posted inReview
Book Review: Nuclear Folly / A History of the Cuban Missile Crisis
It is tempting to think that, 60 years and multiple historical accounts later, there is nothing new to be learned or said about this seminal episode of the Cold War
Posted inStories
Legend of DB Cooper: What Happened to History’s Most Famous Hijacker?
Fifty years later, mystery still surrounds the hijacking of a 727 over the Pacific Northwest — the only unsolved air piracy incident in commercial aviation history.