Arado Ar TEW 16/43-13
The Arado Ar TEW 16/43-13 was a design concept envisioned as a rocket-propelled interceptor for the German Luftwaffe. The design was put forth by Wilhelm van Nes as one of three possible developments that also included a twin...

Arado Ar TEW 16/43-15
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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...

Bell XFL Airabonita
The XFL "Airabonita" was a Bell Aircraft Company product developed in parallel with the P-39 Airacobra, a land-based USAAF design that eventually achieved operational status. In essence, the Airabonita was a "navalized" versi...

Bell XFM-1 Airacuda
In the same way that the XFM-1 Airacuda was a "different" sort of aircraft, the Bell company itself was "different sort" of aircraft maker. Know more for its unique elements in the P-39 Airacobra piston-engine fighter of Worl...

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...

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...

Dassault Mirage F1
The Dassault Mirage F1 series was designed to replace the successful Dassault Mirage III series. With a host of new features added to this new aircraft, the Mirage F1 would be a substantial upgrade to the whole Mirage family ...

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...

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...

English Electric / BAC Lightning
The English Electric Lightning was an impressive engineering feat for the British people. She was the first (and only) Mach 2-capable platform ever developed for the island nation and itself the fastest British fighter of all...

Fisher XP-75 / P-75 Eagle
General Motors became a major player in the American manufacturing realm when World War 2 arrived for the United States. With its automotive plants adept at mass-production, it was only fitting that the US military look to su...

Focke-Wulf Ta 152 Leistungsdaten
The Focke-Wulf Ta 152 aircraft design was intended for use as a high-altitude interceptor for the German Luftwaffe and appeared in the later years of the war. Now managing a defensive type campaign, German warplanners were lo...

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 F8F Bearcat
In many ways, the Grumman F8F Bearcat was the pinnacle of United States piston-engine fighter design. The aircraft arrived within the waning months of World War 2, missing combat action in all theaters altogether, but still m...

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...

Hawker Sea Fury / Fury
The Hawker Sea Fury was developed out Hawker's Typhoon and Tempest aircraft designs utilized by Britain during World War 2. Though not without their limitations, the Typhoon and Tempest platforms had substantial inherent bene...

Hawker Tempest
The Hawker Tempest originally appeared as an improved Hawker Typhoon, the war-winning aircraft that effectively failed in its intended role as an interceptor but went on to star as a low-level fighter-bomber. The Tempest bega...

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 / Boeing F-22 Raptor
The F-22 Raptor series of aircraft reportedly represents the most advanced aircraft design in the world to date. The system utilizes technology, design and experience to field a system that is designed to be the most potent f...

Lockheed XP-49
The XP-49 was a development of the Lockheed Corporation and a possible replacement for its successful line of P-38 Lightning aircraft. The XP-49 was to be a high-altitude performer with the capabilities of a well-designed fig...

Lockheed XP-58 Chain Lightning
The XP-58 "Chain Lightning" was initially envisioned as a larger version of the successful Lockheed P-38 Lightning twin-boom design capable of downing hordes of enemy bomber formations in single burst shots. The fear covering...

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 XP-67 Bat / Moonbat
The XP-67 was the first attempt by the McDonnell corporation to build a fighter for the United States Military. The same corporation would go on to built the superb F-4 Phantom II, F-15 Eagle and F-18 Hornet air superiority a...

Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet (Comet)
The Me 163 Komet was perhaps the most unique aircraft design of the Second World War. German scientists, always on the cutting edge of evolving war technology, developed a rocket-powered aircraft based on testing completed wi...

Mikoyan MiG-31 (Foxhound)
The Mikoyan-produced MiG-31 was the culmination of work that began with the development of the MiG-25 Foxbat series of high-altitude, high-speed interceptors challenged with taking out the new generation of long-range high-al...

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...

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (Flogger)
The Mach 2-capable MiG-23 "Flogger" became the first "swing-wing" fighter to enter service with the Soviet Union and went on to become a primary mount of the Soviet air services (replacing the range-limited MiG-21 "Fishbed") ...

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (Foxbat)
The MiG-25 Foxbat was designed as a high-speed pure interceptor to combat the developing XB-70 Valkyrie American bomber capable of Mach 3. Though the Valkyrie never materialized for US war planners, the MiG-25 was kept in pro...

Mitsubishi J2M Raiden (Jack)
The J2M Raiden (meaning "Thunderbolt" and codenamed "Jack" by the Allies) was primarily used as a local defense fighter by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The system was designed to combat the growing threat of the high-flying Bo...

Mitsubishi Ki-109
The Mitsubishi Ki-109 was a specialized derivative of the Mitsubishi Ki-67 heavy bomber. The Ki-109 was designed specifically to deal with the growing threat posed by the high-attitude American Boeing B-29 Superfortress over ...

Mitsubishi Ki-46-III (Dinah)
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Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki (Tojo)
The Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki (meaning "Demon Queller" and codenamed "Tojo" by the Allies) was a single engine monoplane interceptor appearing in production throughout the war years. The system was designed with performance in min...

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...

Novi Avion
The Novi Avion ("New Aircraft") was a Yugoslavian effort to produce a home-grown supersonic multi-role aircraft on par with the global 4th Generation fighters of the time. It shared many similarities with the French-based Das...

Panavia Tornado ADV
The Panavia Tornado series of strike aircraft was developed through a consortium featuring the nations of Britain, Germany (West) and Italy. Each country would be responsible for the design and construction of a specialized p...

Republic XP-72 Super Thunderbolt
The XP-72 Wasp Major Thunderbolt was intended to be an "ultimate" design of the highly successful P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber as produced by Republic. The XP-72 was to incorporate the successful P-47 airframe and mate it ...

Saab J 35 Draken (Dragon / Kite)
The Saab J 35 Draken (translated in English to "Dragon" but carrying the meaning of "Kite" based on the aircraft's angular resemblance to a kite) was one of the more excellent aircraft designs to emerge from the Cold War. The...

Sukhoi Su-11 (Fishpot)
The Su-11, by any regard, is considered a potent fighter. Based on a further development of the inferior and limited Su-9, the Su-11 featured an improved and more powerful turbojet engine capable of 22,046lbs of thrust with a...

Sukhoi Su-15 (Flagon)
The Su-15 (NATO codename of "Flagon") series of aircraft was designed by the Sukhoi firm as a true interceptor with the sole purpose of defending Soviet airspace NATO bomber incursions during the Cold War. The system was desi...

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 the 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-28 / Tu-128 (Fiddler)
The Tupolev-produced Tu-28 (NATO codename of "Fiddler") was a large intercept-capable aircraft built for the simple role of air defense and anti-bomber incursion. Developed at a time when both sides of the Cold War were seeki...

Westland Welkin
With its origins in the Westland Whirlwind, the Westland Welkin (meaning "Vault of Heaven") was a twin-engined fighter designed as a high-altitude interceptor to defend against another possible Luftwaffe bombing campaign agai...

Yakovlev Yak-28 (Brewer / Firebar / Maestro)
Nearly an exact copy of the Yak-25 (and the Yak-26 and Yak-27 for that matter), the Yakovlev Yak-28 was initially thought of as a multi-role fighter-bomber but eventually fulfilled the role of interceptor, reconnaissance and ...