HOME

American Cold War Airplanes

There are 120 American airplanes of the Cold War in the Military Factory.
This listing covers airplanes from 1946 through 1989.

Beechcraft C-12 Huron
...

Bell 204 / UH-1B/C Iroquois (Huey)
The UH-1 Iroquois was designed to fit a need developed by the United States Army for a utility helicopter capable of MedEvac duty. The UH-1 series would go on to have a prolonged life in both military and civil functions and ...

Bell 205 / UH-1D/H Iroquois (Huey)
Based on the successful UH-1B Huey model, the UH-1D was an improved and more powerful version that included increased cabin space for up to 14 passengers. As the YUH-1D (taken from the base Bell 205 airframe), the system firs...

Bell 206 JetRanger
The Bell 206 was derived from the unsuccessful OH-4 bid by the Bell company to fulfill a US Army need for a light-weight, turbine-powered, four-seat observation helicopter in 1960. It would not be until 1967 when delays in th...

Bell 212 / UH-1N/Y Iroquois / AB 212
Continuing in the long line of successful Bell-produced transport/assault helicopters, the Bell 212 airframe - spawning the UH-1N, AB 212 and UH-1Y models - was a further development. The Bell 212 was a joint-production effor...

Bell AH-1 HueyCobra
Based on the private venture Bell 209 helicopter, the AH-1 Cobra series of helicopters is many a military's primary light attack helicopter. As early as the 1950's Bell corporation was experimenting with armed versions in the...

Bell AH-1 SuperCobra
The AH-1W and AH-1J SuperCobra series of helicopters are an updated and slightly modified version of the AH-1 HueyCobra (or simply "Cobra") detailed elsewhere on this website. Much like the base Cobra, the SuperCobra is a...

Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior / 406CS Combat Scout
The Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior was a further development of the successful Bell OH-58 Kiowa. Intended to be fielded alongside the Apache Longbow and provide scouting and observation capabilities in an offensive support capacit...

Bell X-1
The Bell X-1 was an advanced technology demonstrator that became the first aircraft in the history of aviation to break the speed of sound. Specifically designed to be airdropped from a B-29 Superfortress, the X-1 would then ...

Boeing / McDonnell Douglas / Hughes AH-64 Apache
Originally a Hughes-based design, the YAH-64 faced off against a Bell YAH-63 system in the United States Army's search for an advanced attack helicopter. The system was to field the latest in technology, maneuverability and b...

Boeing / McDonnell Douglas / Northrop F/A-18 Hornet
The F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engine carrier-based attack fighter currently in frontline service with a variety of forces worldwide. Derived from the failed YF-17 Cobra attempt at a new USAF lightweight fighter (the F-17 lost o...

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 727-200
...

Boeing 737-300
...

Boeing 747-400
...

Boeing 757-200
...

Boeing 767-300
...

Boeing AV-8B / BAe GR.7 Harrier II
The AV-8B Harrier II was a follow up design undertaken by the McDonnell Douglas corporation with the junior partner being the British Aerospace Corporation (BAe). The system built upon the successes encountered during use of ...

Boeing B-47 Stratojet
The swept-wing B-47 produced by Boeing was a milestone in bomber design in many ways. The system pioneered the traditional bomber layout found on many of todays systems and offered up capabilities unheard of before then. As a...

Boeing B-50 Superfortress
Though looking every bit the identical twin of the World War Two-era B-29 Superfortress (also produced by Boeing), the B-50 incorporated enough new elements to deem it an all new aircraft - retaining just 25 percent of the B-...

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
The mammoth B-52 series of long-range, high-altitude strategic bombers was originally conceived of as an eight-engine turboprop system and successor to the B-50 heavy bomber. The initial B-52 plans were later redrawn to make ...

Boeing CH-46 Sea Knight
The CH-46 Sea Knight is similar in design and role to the CH-47 Chinook series of transport helicopters. Both offer up unobstructed access to the aircraft by keeping engine components mounted above the design. Both also utili...

Boeing CH-47 Chinook
The Chinook series of medium-lift helicopters has been a mainstay utility service system for the US Army (among others) for decades since its design and inception. The series featured the highly identifiable twin-tandem rotor...

Boeing CT-43 / T-43A
...

Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS
...

Boeing E-4 Airborne Command Post
...

Boeing KC-10 Extender
...

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 L-15
...

Boeing OH-6 / MD 500 / MH-6 (Little Bird)
The OH-6 series of helicopters is a successful light observation and light attack system fielded with the US Army and special forces since the mid-1960's. The aircraft proved nimble enough to operate in close-support of groun...

Cessna A-37 Dragonfly
The Cessna A-37 Dragonfly was born out of a need for close-support aircraft to assist in the Vietnam War. As such, the T-37 jet trainer was converted for the role and became the A-37 series of aircraft. The system would go on...

Cessna T-37 Tweet
...

Cessna T-41 Mescalero
...

Chance Vought F7U Cutlass
The Chance Vought F7U Cutlass was an interesting aircraft in many ways. For one, the aircraft was the direct result of American research into the jet designs and technologies of the Arado company - the German aircraft firm th...

Convair B-36 Peacemaker
If developed a few years sooner and the B-36 could have very well taken part in the Second World War. The initial designed was put forth from a United States Army Air Corps requirement for a large intercontinental bomber capa...

Convair B-58 Hustler
The delta-wing Convair B-58 Hustler was the first United States Air Force supersonic operational bomber. The system was designed to be capable of high-altitude flight, which was a popular design concept during the early years...

Convair F-102 Delta Dagger
The F-102 Delta Dagger was a very typical Americana 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 ...

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...

Curtiss-Wright XP-87 / XF-87 Nighthawk
The XF-87 was a failed proposal attempted by the Curtiss-Wright aircraft design bureau to meet an Air Force requirement for the world's first dedicated radar interceptor aircraft crewed by two personnel and operating under je...

Douglas A-1 Skyraider
The mammoth Skyraider series would have been a major player in the Second World War if it were designed and produced a few years earlier than it had. Regardless, the system would prove itself quite a capable close-support air...

Douglas B-26K Counter Invader / A-26A Nimrod
The B-26K Counter Invader was based on a highly modified World War Two-era A-26 Invader aircraft. What set the Counter Invader apart from it's predecessor was that the Counter Invader was featured without any turret systems, ...

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
...

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...

E-6A Mercury TACAMO
...

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar
Fairchild Corporation produced a winner in the post-war world with the introduction of the C-119 "Flying Boxcar". The Boxcar was derived from the C-82 "Packet" transport - looking ever more like the identical to the final C-1...

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II
The uniquely-designed A-10 Thunderbolt II (its namesake derived from the World War II piston-engine fighter/bomber - the P-47 Thunderbolt) was specifically developed as a close-support anti-tank killing machine. The A-10 woul...

General Dynamics / Grumman EF-111 Raven
The EF-111 Raven was a developed from a United States Air Force need for an electronic warfare aircraft to replace its aging fleet of EB-66 platforms. The EF-111 was born directly from the airframe of the existing F-111 Aardv...

General Dynamics / Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon
The F-16 Fighting Falcon can officially go down as one of the most successful aircraft designs of the Cold War. The system was designed in a head-to-head competition with the McDonnell Douglas YF-17 Cobra and successfully def...

General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark
The General Dynamics F-111 "Aardvark" was purposely designed as a variable geometry "swing wing" platform from the outset. The variable sing wing philosophy would allow the aircraft to utilize three pre-determined geometric p...

General Dynamics F-16XL
Though appearing very much like the F-16 Fighting Falcon base model, the F-16XL was designed as a very different aircraft. The F-16XL was a conversion model development designed to study the effects of laminar airflow at supe...

Grumman A-6 Intruder
The Grumman A-6 Intruder series of strike aircraft was designed to a United States Navy specification drawn up covering an attack aircraft capable carrying and delivering large payloads over distance and in any weather. The i...

Grumman C-2 Greyhound
...

Grumman E-2 Hawkeye
The E-2 Hawkeye series serves carrier battle groups (principally in the United States Navy) and is called upon as an all-weather airborne command and control battle space management system. The Hawkeye became operational in 1...

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 F-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat-series of variable-geometry wing carrier-capable interceptors is one of the true living success stories of Cold War aircraft design. The system was popularized by the Hollywood motion picture "Top Gun"...

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 HU-16 Albatross
The Grumman HU-16 Albatross platform made appearances all across the globe with United States military forces, rescuing downed US airmen in need. The system was an amphibious platform, allowing for operation from land and / o...

Grumman OV-1 Mohawk
Development of the OV-1 Mohawk platform stemmed from a joint requirement fielded by both the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps for a "battlefield surveillance aircraft" displaying rugged and versatile qual...

Grumman X-29
The Grumman X-29 was a technology demonstrator used to test a variety of aerial elements including direction thrust, canards and forward-swept wing formations....

Gulfstream II / III / C-20 / SRA-1
...

Hughes XF-11
Though only achieving prototype form, the XF-11 was one of the darling designs of famed American aviator Howard Hughes. Looking very much like an oversized Lockheed P-38, the twin-boom XF-11 was designed to fulfill a United S...

Lockheed / Vought S-3 Viking
The S-3 Viking series of carrier-borne aircraft was a joint production effort from the Lockheed and Vought aircraft firms. Selected from no fewer than five proposals from various other companies an including the two aforement...

Lockheed AC-130H Spectre / AC-130U Spooky
Since the advent of the airplane as an instrument of war, warplanners have relied on the power of mobile aerial attacks to keep an enemy on its toes. From the simple dropping of flechettes on entrenched enemy positions in Wor...

Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne
The Lockheed-designed and produced AH-56A attack helicopter was a failed attempt at the United States Army's AAFSS (Advance Aerial Fire Support System) requirement. Designated the "Cheyenne", the aircraft represented the most...

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 C-141 Starlifter
The C-141 Starlifter appeared in 1965 - interestingly enough without a prototype preceding its inception - and became the workhorse transport aircraft for the United States Air Force. The aircraft was developed to a Military ...

Lockheed C-5 Galaxy
At one time the Lockheed-built C-5 Galaxy was the largest aircraft ever produced, being able to field a compliment of 350 troops, 10 LAV-type systems, 5 Humvee vehicles, 2 M1 Abrams main battle tanks or a single CH-47 Chinook...

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
The uniquely-designed F-104 Starfighter was a successful product by Lockheed based on lessons learned from aircraft design in the Korean War. The system was basic to the core in terms of design - aerodynamics and a solid powe...

Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk (Stealth Fighter)
Aptly-named, the Lockheed-produced F-117 Nighthawk became the world’s first operational stealth aircraft in the world. Conceived of and developed from the late 1970’s, the Nighthawk was the subject of much speculation before ...

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 P-3 Orion
The P-3 Orion aircraft is a product of Lockheed Martin, designed and accepted at a time when Lockheed could do little wrong in the way of earning government contracts. The P-3 was a direct requirement for a United States Navy...

Lockheed Martin SR-71 Blackbird
The sleek SR-71 Blackbird spyplane reached an all new plateau in supersonic high-level flight for the Lockheed Corporation. Developed from the YF-121-A interceptor program which spawned the A-12 program which in turn generate...

Lockheed Martin U-2
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...

Lockheed MC-130 Combat Shadow
The MC-130 platform has served special forces operations since the Vietnam War and is based on the successful Lockheed C-130 cargo aircraft platform. The MC-130P Combat Shadow specifically serves as an inflight refueling vehi...

Lockheed MC-130 Combat Talon I / II
The MC-130 series is represented by the MC-130E Combat Talon I and the MC-130H Combat Talon II systems. Both utilize the hugely successful C-130 Hercules airframe and were designed specifically for use with special forces ope...

Lockheed P2V Neptune
The P2V Neptune series of aircraft was one of the more successful post-war designs for America, with service that spanned decades for a handful of American-friendly countries. The system was designed by Lockheed Corporation f...

McDonnell Douglas / Boeing F-15 Eagle
For a time, the F-15 Eagle series was the pinnacle of American air superiority incorporating technolgy and design that produced a highly manuervable and performanced enhanced multi-role fighter platform. The F-15 was designed...

McDonnell Douglas / Boeing F-15 Strike Eagle
The F-15E "Strike Eagle" expands the role of one of the Cold War's most potent aircraft designs - the F-15 Eagle. Strike Eagle capabilities were introduced in the latter 1980's to provide the F-15 Eagle base aircraft the abil...

McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
The A-4 Skyhawk (nicknamed the "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 su...

McDonnell Douglas C-9 Nightingale
...

McDonnell Douglas F-4 / RF-4 Phantom II (Wild Weasel)
...

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II
The highly-regarded F-4 Phantom II was the product of the now McDonnell Douglas Corporation. This Vietnam War-era warbird would go onto become one of the most respected combat aircraft in the United States and across the glob...

McDonnell Douglas MD-11
...

McDonnell F-101 Voodoo
The F-101 Voodoo (affectionately known to its pilots as the "One-oh-One Wonder" for its performance capabilities) was a well respected weapons platform designed in the 1950's. The twin-engine, single or two-seat fighter was a...

McDonnell F2H Banshee
The twin-engine, single-seat F2H Banshee was based on the successes that the McDonnell company found with the F1H Phantom series of jet aircraft. Even appearing similar to the aforementioned craft, the F2H Banshee was in fact...

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...

McDonnell FH-1 Phantom
The FH-1 Phantom served with the United States Navy as their first jet-powered carrer-based aircraft up until 1950 and was in design as early as 1943. The system featured a straight wing design, twin Westinghouse engines, a c...

McDonnell XF-85 Goblin
The XF-85 Goblin was an attempt by the McDonnell bureau to realize the dream of a "parasite fighter" program that was actually feasible for use in a wartime environment. The basic theory revolving the parasite fighter was not...

McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo
World War 2 proved to American warplanners that the importance of escort fighters for their bombers could not be overstated. The value added by such systems as the P-51 Mustang, P-47 Thunderbolt and P-38 Lightning systems was...

North American A-5 Vigilante
The A-5 Vigilante bomber actually began as a private venture by the North American Aviation Company as early as 1953. This development centered around the design of an all-weather, high-level, long range bomber capable of car...

North American AJ (A-2) Savage
The AJ Savage series of aircraft was a product of the North American Aviation Company for the United States Navy following the Second World War. North American had already made a name for itself by this time with memorable Wo...

North American B-45 Tornado
Development of the XB-45 began in 1944 and continued into 1945, representing the later years of the Second World War. With reports that Germany had already succeeded in development of production-quality jet bomber designs, th...

North American F-100 Super Sabre
The acclaimed F-100 Super Sabre was an all new development by the North American Aviation company based on successes achieved with the preceding F-86 Sabre airframe in the Korean War and beyond. The system was suppose to be r...

North American F-86 Sabre
The highly-regarded F-86 Sabre was North American Aviations first attempt at a jet fighter design. Already on the drawing board as early as 1944, everything changed when Allied forces uncovered research that the Germans were ...

North American FJ-1 Fury
The North American FJ-1 Fury aircraft system appeared for a limited time with United States Naval air forces but was instrumental in the design of another North American classic warfighter - the F-86 Sabre. The FJ-1 Fury spaw...

North American XB-70 Valkyrie
The XB-70 Valkyrie was intended to be the USAF 'super bomber' for decades to come and was tabbed as the eventual successor to the B-52 Stratofortress in support of the United States Strategic Air Command. Developed with the l...

100

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...

101

Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter / F-5 Tiger II
The Northrop-produced F-5 Tiger series was intended as a low-cost, low-maintenance alternative for Allies of the United States during the Cold War years. The initial model was the F-5 "Freedom Fighter", which in turn spawned ...

102

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...

103

Northrop Grumman EA-6 Prowler
The Prowler series of carrierbased aircraft are dedicated electronic warfare systems based on the Vietnam-era A-6 Intruder strike models. Since their introduction, the Prowler series has seen action up through the present Ame...

104

Northrop T-38 Talon
...

105

Northrop YF-17 Cobra
The YF-17 Cobra was a Northrop Aviation creation through NASA to support further testing and research of aircraft at transonic speeds (meaning just underneath the speed of sound, or 700-780mph / 1,127-1,255kph). The YF-17 Cob...

106

Republic F-105 Thunderchief
The F-105 Thunderchief is more widely remembered for its contributions to the Vietnam War for the United States Air Force but its appearance actually dates back to the late 1950's and 1960's. The system proved quite valuable ...

107

Republic F-84 Thunderjet / Thunderstreak / Thunderflash
The F-84 series saw extensive combat action in the Korean War, though its development actually stemmed more from the years after the end of the Second World War. The F-84 became the United States Air Force's first operational...

108

Rockwell / Boeing B-1 Lancer
The Rockwell B-1 Lancer series was a variable sweep wing low-altitude penetration aircraft capable of delivering nuclear free-fall bombs at high speeds. The system was designed from a Cold War initiative in 1965 by the United...

109

Rockwell OV-10 Bronco
The OV-10 Bronco series was a direct result of the United States Marine LARA requirement (Light Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft). The system was designed as a twin-engine high-wing aircraft capable of providing accommodations f...

110

Rockwell XFV-12
The XFV-12 aircraft was a proposed Rockwell International design to a United States Navy requirement for a VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft system. Though a promising concept from the beginning, the XFV-12 was te...

111

Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion
...

112

Sikorsky CH-53 Super Stallion
...

113

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...

114

Sikorsky HH-3 Jolly Green Giant
The HH-3E series is no longer in service with the United States Air Force but gained considerable fame in the Vietnam War for its many rescues of downed aircrews in the conflict. The system featured a stretched fuselage and w...

115

Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low
...

116