USS Laffey

USS Laffey (DD-724)

CountryUSA
Class and typeAllen M. Sumner-class destroyer
Launched21 November 1943
Out of service9 March 1975

USS Laffey (DD-724) is an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, which was constructed during World War II, laid down and launched in 1943, and commissioned in February 1944. The ship earned the nickname “The Ship That Would Not Die” for her exploits during the D-Day invasion and the battle of Okinawa when she successfully withstood a determined assault by conventional bombers and the most unrelenting kamikaze air attacks in history. Today, Laffey is a U.S. National Historic Landmark and is preserved as a museum ship at Patriots Point, outside Charleston, South Carolina.

Source: USS Laffey (DD-724) on Wikipedia

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USS Jeremiah O Brien

SS Jeremiah O’Brien

CountryUSA
RoleLiberty ship
Launched19 June 1943
Out of service7 February 1946

SS Jeremiah O’Brien is a Liberty ship built during World War II and named for American Revolutionary War ship captain Jeremiah O’Brien (1744–1818). Now based in San Francisco, she is a rare survivora of the 6,939-ship armada that stormed Normandy on D-Day, 1944. Jeremiah O’Brien, SS John W. Brown, and SS Hellas Liberty are the only currently operational Liberty ships of the 2,710 built

Source: SS Jeremiah O’Brien on Wikipedia

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Views : 2997

Fokker S14 Machtrainer

Fokker S.14 Machtrainer

CountryNetherlands
RoleJet trainer
First fly19 May 1951
Built21

The Fokker S.14 Machtrainer is a Dutch two-seater military training jet aircraft designed and manufactured by Fokker for the Royal Netherlands Air Force. Development started in the late 1940s. It was one of the first jet fighter training aircraft in the world, making its first flight on 19 May 1951 and entering service in 1955.

Source: Fokker S.14 Machtrainer on Wikipedia

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Views : 1661

Northrop JB-1 Bat

Northrop JB-1 Bat

CountryUSA
RolePrototype jet-powered flying wing
First flyAugust 27, 1943
BuiltUnknow

The Northrop JB-1 “Bat” was a United States surface-to-surface cruise missile that was a prototype jet-powered flying wing. The United States Army Air Forces MX-543 program was initiated in September 1942 to use license-built versions of Frank Whittle’s jet engine (General Electric J31). The Northrop Corporation was contracted in late 1943, and only 10 JB-1 airframes were built. A manned version was towed for the 1st flight on “August 27, 1943”, from Rogers Dry Lake and a glider version was launched from a rocket-propelled sled and crashed in December 1944. An unmanned JB-1 powered by an improvised General Electric B-1 turbojet with a wing span of 28 feet 4 inches (8.64 m) made its 1st flight from Eglin Field’s Santa Rosa Island, Florida, on December 7, 1944, and crashed 400 yards from the rail launcher.

Source: Northrop JB-1 Bat on Wikipedia

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Northrop MQM-57B Falconer

Radioplane BTT

CountryUSA
RoleTarget drone
First flyUnknow
Built7300+

The Radioplane BTT, known as RP-71 by the company, as WS-426/2 by the United States Navy, and as WS-462/2 by the US Air Force, is a family of target drones produced by the Radioplane Company (later a division of Northrop).

MQM-57 Falconer: A variant of the BTT designated the RP-71, also known as the SD-1 Observer and later redesignated MQM-57 Falconer, was built for battlefield reconnaissance, with first flight in 1955. The Falconer was similar in appearance to the Shelduck, but had a slightly longer and stockier fuselage. It had an autopilot system with radio-control backup, and could carry cameras, as well as illumination flares for night reconnaissance. Equipment was loaded through a hump in the back between the wings. Although it only had an endurance of a little more than a half-hour, making it of limited use, about 1,500 Falconers were built and the type was used internationally with several different military forces, remaining in service into the 1970s. Over 73,000 BTT targets were built in all, and the type was used by at least 18 nations. Some may still be lingering in service.

Source: Radioplane BTT on Wikipedia

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Views : 1371

Intelligent Whale Submarine

Intelligent Whale

CountryUSA
RoleSubmarine
Laid down1863
Built1

Intelligent Whale, an experimental hand-cranked submarine, was built on the design of Scovel Sturgis Merriam in 1863 by Augustus Price and Cornelius Scranton Bushnell. In 1864 the American Submarine Company was formed, taking over the interests of Bushnell and Price and there followed years of litigation over the ownership of the craft. When title was established by a court the submarine was sold on 29 October 1869 through a contract made by owner Oliver Halstead and Secretary of the Navy George M. Robeson to the United States Navy Department, with most of the price to be paid after successful trials. In September 1872 the first trial was held and was unsuccessful, whereupon the Department refused further payments and abandoned the project.

Source: Intelligent Whale on Wikipedia

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Views : 1779

Aichi D3A Val Replica

Aichi D3A

CountryJapan
RoleCarrier-based dive bomber
First flightJanuary 1938
Built1495

The Aichi D3A Type 99 Carrier Bomber (Allied reporting name “Val”) is a World War II carrier-borne dive bomber. It was the primary dive bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and was involved in almost all IJN actions, including the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Aichi D3A was the first Japanese aircraft to bomb American targets in the war, commencing with Pearl Harbor and U.S. bases in the Philippines, such as Clark Air Force Base. Vals sank more Allied warships than any other Axis aircraf.

Source: Aichi D3A on Wikipedia

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Views : 3219

Convair YF-2Y Sea Dart

Convair F2Y Sea Dart

CountryUSA
RoleSeaplane fighter
First flight14 January 1953
Built5

The Convair F2Y Sea Dart was an American seaplane fighter aircraft that rode on twin hydro-skis during takeoff and landing. It flew only as a prototype, and never entered mass production. It is the only seaplane to have exceeded the speed of sound. It was created in the 1950s, to overcome the problems with supersonic planes taking off and landing on aircraft carriers. The program was canceled after a series of unsatisfactory results and a tragic accident on 4 November 1954, when test pilot Charles E. Richbourg was killed when the Sea Dart he was piloting disintegrated in midair. The four surviving planes were retired in 1957, but some were kept in reserve until 1962.

Source: Convair F2Y Sea Dart on Wikipedia

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Views : 2668

Fokker D. XXI

Fokker D. XXI

CountryDutch
RoleFighter
First flight27 March 1936
Built146

The Fokker D.XXI fighter was designed in 1935 by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker in response to requirements laid out by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger, ML-KNIL). The D.XXI was designed as an inexpensive, rugged, and compact fighter aircraft that would possess respectable performance for its era. Entering operational use in the early years of the Second World War, it provided yeoman service for both the Luchtvaartafdeling (Dutch Army Aviation Group) and the Finnish Air Force. Additionally, a few examples were constructed by the El Carmolí factory before it fell into rebel hands during the Spanish Civil War. Following the invasion and occupation of the Netherlands in May 1940, several captured Dutch D.XXIs were subsequently placed into service with the Luftwaffe.

Source: Fokker D. XXI on Wikipedia

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Views : 4425