There are 45 Vietnam War Airplanes in the Military Factory.
Also: Vietnam War Jets
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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 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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
Fairchild AC-119 Shadow / Stinger The AC-119 series was a modified "G" model of the successful C-119 "Flying Boxcar" transport aircraft. The AC-119's would see service throughout the Vietnam War fulfilling a dual-role capability based on model type.
"Shado...
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...
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 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...
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 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 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 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...
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 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 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 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-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) In many ways, the MiG-21 stands as the pinnacle of the Mikoyan-Gurevich's development in terms of a frontline turbojet fighter. The system became a bridge that connected the post-World War Two jet designs with that of the hig...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
Tupolev Tu-28 (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...
Vought A-7 Corsair II The middle-weight Vought-produced A-7 Corsair II was designed as a replacement for the A-4 Skyhawk light-weight fighter / bomber, and was based on the engineering successes of the F-8 Crusader. Owing its general visual appear...
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...
The Vietnam Conflict was a new battleground in the Cold War. The Cold War was a strategic global campaign of wits and psychological games involving sponsored satellite states and funding - either monetarily or threw arms shipments and sales. When the Soviet Union-sponsored North Vietnamese invaded the United States-sponsored South Vietnamese, a new line in the sand had been crossed. What would follow next would be years of deadly warfare in the skies and on land. The Vietnam Conflict would see the rise of the turbofan-powered jet fighter that could handle multiple roles at speeds topping Mach 2. In the end, the conflict would be a disastrous psychological defeat to the United States of America and a much needed morale booster to communism across the globe. The Vietnam War saw heavy use of bigger, faster and more potent aircraft than ever before. Carpet bombing was taken to all new heights (literally) and Napalm was used on massive scales to weed out an enemy that could not be seen in the thick dense jungles. The United States would employ aircraft armed with the latest in air-to-air homing technology on platforms such as the Vought F-8 Crusader and the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom. By the middle of the conflict, it would be realized that the "missile only" design theories of the new generation of American fighters was a crutch to the close-range fighting that raged in the skies. As such, the cannon would eventually be brought back into aircraft design for all future American warplanes.
On the contrary, the Soviet-produced jet fighters like the MiG-21 Fishbed would enjoy a sense of advantage with it's nimbleness and close support weapons consisting of cannon and short ranged homing missiles. The war would still have to be decided by the pilots themselves, though the technology at their fingertips would play and increasing larger role by conflict's end. The air war was not only limited to jet aircraft. Rotary aircraft like the Huey Cobra and Huey transport helicopter could be armed with a plethora of weapons - from rockets and miniguns to grenade launchers and machine guns. Vietnam became the first true "helicopter war" as both sides fielded a variety of gunships and transports. By the end of the conflict, the United States war machine could not keep up with the mounting losses at the front and the pressure at home. With a last ditch effort to instill a fighting cause in the South Vietnamese, the United States officially pulled out and closed a forgettable chapter in its history - a chapter that would, with time, right the wrongs of aviation design in the last half of the Cold War and bring America's military might back to life.
