Aerospatiale SA 313 / SA 318 Alouette II
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Antonov An-12 (Cub)
The Antonov An-12 "Cub" was a product of requirement by the Soviet Union during the Cold War years. With more land area to defend than any other superpower of the time, the Soviet military was faced with the daunting prospect...

Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck
The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck is an often overlooked indigenous Canadian aircraft design that performed admirably well throughout a bulk of the Cold War years. The system, partnered with America in the NORAD program, was char...

Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow
The Avro CF-105 "Arrow" appeared at a time when the Soviet Union was consistently developing higher-flying and longer range bombers capable of nuclear strikes virtually anywhere within reach. As a result, the Arrow was develo...

Avro Shackleton
The Avro Shackleton was derived from the Avro Lincoln bomber (the Lincoln itself designed from the Avro Lancaster), a four-engine aircraft appearing too late to see action in World War 2. The Shackleton featured a similar (th...

Avro Vulcan
The Avro Vulcan formed the second point on the triangle in the British "V-Bombers" collection - a series of three high-altitude, long range, nuclear-capable systems developed during the Cold War from a post-World War 2 Britis...

BAC TSR-2
Much in the vain of the North American XB-70 Valkyrie system for the United States, the TSR-2 was to be England’s super Cold War bomber. The system was to provide the United Kingdom with a supersonic low-level bomber capable ...

Beechcraft T-34 Mentor
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Bell UH-1 Iroquois (Huey)
The UH-1 Iroquois "Huey" became an important part of American military actions beginning in 1960 and expanding throughout the latter part of the Cold War years. The ubiquitous system became synonymous with the American effort...

Bell X-5
The X-5 was an experimental single-seat, single-engine, jet-powered fighter design prototype produced by the Bell Aircraft company and became the first aircraft to make use of in-flight variable geometry wings. Its roots orig...

Boeing 707
The 707 model series for The Boeing Company proved to be the catalyst for their commercial market successes to come. The 707 introduced a model design that was initially conceived of as a private venture, targeting both milit...

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
The B-52 has been the preeminent American heavy bomber of the last 54 years. The massive aircraft served throughout the heightened periods of the Cold War as a nuclear deterrent, as a dedicated bomber and reconnaissance platf...

Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker
The KC-135 Stratotanker proved to be a monumental product for the Boeing corporation in more ways than one, firstly solidifying its position as the premiere airliner manufacturer throughout the world and secondly offering the...

Boeing VC-137 Stratoliner
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Breguet Br.1050 Alize (Tradewind)
The Breguet Br.1050 "Alize" (meaning "tradewind") was a French production aircraft suitable for carrier-based anti-submarine warfare (ASW) tactics. The system was fielded in limited quantity throughout the Cold War and proved...

Cessna O-1 Bird Dog (L-19)
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Cessna T-37 Tweet
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Convair F-102 Delta Dagger
The F-102 Delta Dagger was a prototypical American aircraft design in the years following the Korean War, particularly doing away with the smooth lines and straight wing features commonplace in the years following World War T...

Convair F-106 Delta Dart
The Convair F-106 Delta Dart began its production life as a direct successor to the interim F-102 Delta Dagger (detailed elsewhere on this site). Like the F-102 before it, the F-106 was designed to meet and "greet" high-flyin...

Dassault Etendard
The base Dassault-produced Etendard (meaning "Standard") was a private venture that was initially greeted without much fervor. When the French Navy came looking for a lightweight carrier-capable platform, the Etendard series ...

Dassault Mirage III
Though now outclassed by the latest in Next Generation aircraft, the Mirage III - for a time - was the best European fighter in operation. The delta-wing system, a design proving quite capable early pioneering developments, o...

Dassault Mystere / Super Mystere
The Dassault-produced Mystere series of turbojet aircraft appeared just when the French nation was in the rebuilding stages following World War Two. The owner of Dassault, himself a captive of one of the many German concentra...

de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou
The Caribou series proved to be such an effective battlefield transport aircraft that more than a few were pressed into service as captured C-7's in the hands of the North Vietnamese. The type continues to serve in limited nu...

de Havilland D.H.110 Sea Vixen
In the 1950's, the de Havilland production of the Sea Vixen became the Royal Navy's first swept wing fighter design and Britain's first all-missile aircraft. The Sea Vixen was selected to replace the Sea Venom and became a fo...

Dornier Do 28 / Do 128 Skyservant
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Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
The A-4 Skyhawk (nicknamed "Heinemann's Hot Rod" and the "Scooter") came about as a private venture when the Douglas corporation was seeking to replace the aging AD Skyraider (A-1 Skyraider) piston-engine aircraft. The succes...

Douglas B-66 Destroyer
The Douglas-produced B-66 Destroyer was a light bomber designed by Ed Heinemann to replace the aging A-26 Invader in service with the United States Strategic Air Command (SAC). Based highly on the existing United States Navy ...

Douglas C-124 Globemaster II
With the close of World War 2 and the accompanying Berlin Airlift, the United States military saw a need to replace its aged C-74 "Globemaster I" systems with a newer and more capable platform. The C-124 was put forth as a pr...

Douglas DC-8
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Douglas EA-3B Skywarrior
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Douglas F3D / F-10 Skyknight
The Douglas F3D series of aircraft holds several distinctions in the world of aviation history and in the circle of United States military aviation. To start off, the F3D became the world's first jet-powered carrier-based nig...

Douglas F4D Skyray / F-6 Skyray
The F4D Skyray (affectionately nicknamed the "Ford" for its "F", "Four" and "D" used in the designation) stemmed from a 1947 United States Navy requirement to field a competitive Mach 1-capable, high-altitude interceptor. Not...

Douglas F5D Skylancer
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Douglas X-3 Stiletto
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English Electric Canberra / Martin B-57
The British-produced Canberra was originally conceived of as a high-altitude, high-level nuclear-capable medium bomber. The fuselage features would be dominated by a large rounded-wing structure housing two turbojet engines. ...

Fairchild C-123 Provider
The C-123 Provider was a four engine military transport aircraft utilized to good effect in the Vietnam War. Design of the aircraft was of particular note in that the system was powered by both conventional propellers and by ...

Fairey Gannet
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Fiat / Aeritalia G.91
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Folland / Hawker-Siddeley Gnat
The Folland Gnat was a swept-wing, jet-powered fighter of British origins appearing in the middle of the 1950's. Designed as a light-weight, cost-effective aircraft with impressive performance specifications, the diminutive G...

Fouga CM.170 Magister
It's easy to lose track of French military prowess following World War 2 but the Fouga Magister was a product of the years that followed. Developed towards closing years of the 1940's, the Magister became a principle jet-powe...

Gloster Javelin
The Gloster Javelin was the first twin-engine delta-wing jet fighter design to take up service with any one air force. The system would also become the United Kingdoms first all-weather day or night fighter and the very final...

Grumman F11F / F-11 Tiger
The Grumman-produced F11F Tiger was designed at about the time the Grumman Cougar was already close to production. The program goal of the Tiger series was to produce a highly-capable daytime fighter with exceptional dogfight...

Grumman F9F Cougar
The F9F Cougar was a direct and further development of the F9F Panther (detailed elsewhere on this site. The similarities between the two were limited to just the forward fuselage of the Panther being used in the Cougar desig...

Grumman F9F Panther
The Grumman F9F Panther series saw extensive combat in the Korean War for the United States Navy, accounting for over 78,000 combat sorties. The system was primarily utilized as a close-support strike aircraft but could hold ...

Grumman TF-1 / C-1A Trader
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Grumman WF-2 / E-1 Tracer
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Handley Page Victor
The Handley Page Victor formed the last part of the RAF's "V-Bomber" triangle also consisting of the Vickers Valliant and the Avro Vulcan. All three would make up the British strategic nuclear strike arm (given life through t...

Hawker / Armstrong Whitworth Sea Hawk
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Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter was the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy jet fighter of choice for decades since its inception, becoming the longest serving British jet-powered fighter of her time. Outwardly, the Hunter was of a most convent...

Lockheed C-130 Hercules
The arrival of the Lockheed-produced C-130 Hercules series of transport lay down the foundation of transport design for decades since its inception. The series ushered in standards such as the high-mounted monoplane wing desi...

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
The Lockheed F-104 was in many ways an engineering marvel whose legacy suffered terribly due to several internal and external circumstances, so much so, in fact, that the aircraft was dubbed the unflattering name of "Widowmak...

Lockheed F-94 Starfire
The F-94 (nicknamed "Starfire" in the "C" model only) was developed from the successful twin-seat Lockheed trainer aircraft known as the T-33 Shooting Star, which in itself was based on the single-seat P-80 / F-80 Shooting St...

Lockheed Martin U-2 Dragon Lady
The U-2 spyplane was a pivotal player during the peak years of the Cold War between the United States of America and the Soviet Union, charged with photographing key installations for the safety of the American homeland and i...

McDonnell F-101 Voodoo
The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was affectionately called the "One-oh-Wonder" and known moreso early on for its many record-setting achievements in the early years of use. The twin-engine fighter-bomber was a design that nearly w...

McDonnell F3H Demon
The F3H Demon series of aircraft produced by McDonnell Aircraft was a further development of the company's expertise with carrier-based turbojet-powered aircraft. Ever since the arrival of the Japanese "Zero" to the war front...

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (Fresco) / Chengdu J-5
As impressive as the later versions of the MiG-15 fighter were (detailed elsewhere on this site), the MiG-17 "Fresco" was a vastly improved development based on lessons learned in the formers design. With the MiG-15 represent...

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (Farmer)
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 "Farmer" was an entirely new aircraft design though it shared many external similarities with the existing MiG-15 and MiG-17 models. Building upon lessons learned on those former designs, the MiG-1...

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (Fishbed)
The MiG-21 was undoubtedly the most successful Cold War fighter in terms of reach, operating in over 50 air forces around the globe and seeing production well past the 10,000 example mark. The aircraft was developed with less...

Mil Mi-4 (Hound)
The broad-reaching Mil Mi-4 series of helicopter (known to NATO as "Hound") first appeared in 1952 and was designed within the Soviet Union as a direct response to the American H-19 Chickasaw helicopter debuting in the Korean...

Myasishchev M-50 / M-52 (Bounder)
The M-50 and M-52 bombers were two prototype intercontinental supersonic strategic bombers proposed by the Soviet firm of Myasishchev as early as 1956. Though the project and its design is some fifty years old, very little in...

North American / Boeing T-2 Buckeye
The North American (now Boeing) T-2 Buckeye was responsible for the training of thousands of American naval aviators from 1959 onwards. The system was fielded as an intermediate budget trainer designed to give United States N...

North American F-100 Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre was developed as the successor to the F-86 Sabre, another North American product. The F-86 Sabre proved a war winner for the Americans in the Korean War, tangling with the likes of the new...

North American X-10
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North American X-15
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North American YF-107 Ultra Sabre
The YF-107 "Ultra Sabre" prototype represented the final foray into military aviation for the North American Aircraft Corporation. The company that was responsible for such memorable airframes as seen embodied by the P-51 Mus...

Northrop F-89 Scorpion
The F-89 Scorpion offered up a solid ten years of service for the United States Air Force, charged with the defense of the upper North from Soviet bomber incursions during the Cold War. The F-89 was a large aircraft and desig...

Republic F-105 Thunderchief
The F-105 Thunderchief was a Cold War product of the Republic Aviation Corporation and became the company's last production aircraft before its merger with Fairchild. The platform was developed as a successor to the F-84 seri...

Ryan X-13 Vertijet
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Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw
The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw was an excellent multipurpose transport helicopter that saw use in various roles on a global scale. The system proved to be a tremendous replacement for the US Army H-5 Dragonfly series and went on...

Sikorsky H-34 / CH-34 Choctaw
The H-34 Choctaw was a multi-purpose, turbine-powered utility helicopter produced by Sikorsky in the United States. It was developed as a replacement for the similar Korean War-era UH-19 Chickasaw series of helicopters and de...

Sud-Ouest SO 4050 Vautour
These limited-production aircraft served with little distinction in French hands but were better served as night fighters and attack aircraft by the Israeli Air Force in later years. The aircraft is oft-noted for its design s...

Sukhoi Su-7 (Fitter-A)
The Sukhoi Su-7 (NATO codename of "Fitter-A") was a single-seat, single engine jet-powered fighter in service with the Soviet Air Force (Frontal Aviation) throughout the 1960s. It was a nuclear-capable aircraft that went on t...

Supermarine Attacker
The Supermarine Attacker was an unspectacular aircraft that was most notably used by the British Royal Navy. The system was initially designed for the Royal Air Force to take advantage of an already existing piston engine fig...

Supermarine Scimitar
The Supermarine Scimitar was an oft-forgotten carrier-based, jet-powered, single-seat fighter for the British Fleet Air Arm. The aircraft held a few "firsts" in its service run with the British Royal Navy - it became its fir...

Supermarine Swift
The Supermarine Swift series of aircraft was initially designed to supplant the aging and outclassed post-World War Two Gloster Meteor turbojet fighters and was a further development of the Supermarine Attacker. The system wo...

Tupolev Tu-142 (Bear)
The Tupolev Tu-142 "Bear" aircraft was a further development of the massive and successful Tu-95 Bear design popularized by its many appearances along the airspace border between the Soviet union and NATO allies during the Co...

Tupolev Tu-16 (Badger)
The Tupolev Tu-16 (codenamed "Badger" by NATO) owed its success story to the Cold War and its own versatility. Throughout its production life, the Tu-16 would go on to become arguably the best medium-type bomber platform in s...

Tupolev Tu-95 (Bear)
The Tupolev Tu-95 "Bear" was the Soviet symbol of Cold War prowess, consistently breaking across into American and Canadian airspace to test defensive response times and gather intelligence. The many forms of the Tu-95 produc...

Vickers Valiant
The Valiant was the beginning design in the series of 'V' strategic bombers for the RAF. The Valiant originated as a response for a high-level strategic bomber that could carry nuclear ordinance as well as conventional weapon...

Vought F-8 Crusader
The Vought-produced F-8 Crusader was a direct response to a Navy need for a supersonic carrier-based fighter platform. Utilizing nearly the identical powerplant of the F-100 Super Sabre, the F-8 Crusader became the world's fi...

Xian H-6
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Yakovlev Yak-25 (Flashlight / Mandrake)
The Yak-25 (NATO codename of "Flashlight") was yet another jet fighter design introduced by the Soviets during the early decades of the Cold War. The system was designed to patrol the vast northern-most portions of the Soviet...