Flight Journal
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COLUMNS
4 ‹ Editorial
82 ‹ Tailview
FEATURES
6 ‹ Hellcat versus Corsair
Grumman test pilot flies the competition
By Corky Meyer
18 ‹ Flying the FW 190
A legend gets checked out in the Butcher Bird
By Capt. Eric Brown
30 ‹ South Pacific Warrior
A rare combat Mustang
By Robert "Cricket" Renner
38 ‹ Me 262 Mach 1 Mystery
Did the Reich get there first?
By Walter Boyne
50 ‹ Lightning Ace!
P-38 legend Robin Olds
By Robin Olds via Christina Olds
58 ‹ Gunfighter of the Rising Sun
A Zero pilot’s own story
By Ron Werneth
66 ‹ The Best WW II Fighter
Which was number one?
By Corky Meyer
DEPARTMENTS
64 ‹ In Theater
46 ‹ Gallery
Supermarine Spitfire Learn More -
FEATURES
The Last Combat
F-117s Over Baghdad
The Original “Old Crow”
Flying for “Devotion”
First Bridge
REGULARS
Editorial
Gallery: Fairchild 24
Tailview
Learn More -
FEATURES
Ruthless Jug Jockey
Flying with the 317th Fighter Squadron
By Lt. George Novotny, USAAF (Ret.),
as told to and written by James P. Busha
Quick Draw McGraw
FM-2 Wildcat action in the battle of Leyte Gulf
by Capt. Joe D. McGraw, USN (Ret.),
as told to and written by James P. Busha
Marvelous Mustangs
Pilots of the 78th FG trade in their
P-47s for P-51s—and love them!
By Frank Oiler, First Lt. USAAC (Ret.),
as told to and written by James P. Busha
Bombing the Bombers
Me 262s take desperate measures
against the Allies
By J. Richard Smith and Eddie J. Creek
Dark Blue
Royal Navy Corsairs—the first to
fly from carriers
By Clive Rowley, MBE RAF (Ret.)
Ruff Stuff
Memories of an early war
South Pacific fighter pilot
By Major Norbert C. Ruff USAF (Ret.),
as told to and written by James P. Busha
Ivans & Indians
Fighting the Allies with a Fw 190
By Norbert Hannig, Luftwaffe Lt. Colonel (Ret.),
as told to and written by James P. Busha
Early Channel Battles
Spitfires fend off Me 109s
By John Starkey
Samurai Survivor
Zero Ace Saburo Sakai
By Kelly Bell
REGULARS
Editorial
In Theater:
The Fighting 56th
By Stan Piet
In Theater:
A Pacific Kodak Moment
By Frederick A. Johnsen
Tailview Learn More -
FEATURES
Risinger Raid
It seemed like a good idea
at the time
By Maj. Gen. Don Shepperd, USAF (Ret.)
Desert Comanches
P-40 combat over North Africa
By Col. Wayne E. “Fox” Rhynard, USAF (Ret.),
As told to and written by James P. Busha
Flying History into the Future
The new generation of warbird pilots, restorers & mechanics
By Jan Tegler
Bombing in the Beast
Ben Case and the SB2C Helldiver
By Robert F. Dorr
Annihilator 23's Six-Hour Fight
OH-58D Kiowa Warrior pilots
battle Afghan insurgents
By Jan Tegler
REGULARS
Editorial
Gallery: Timm N2T-1
Ed and Dustin Newberg keep one of the world’s first composite aircraft flying
By Jan Tegler
In Theater:
Alaskan Miracle Bird
By Robert F. Dorr
Tailview Learn More -
FEATURES
Combat Veteran
Spitfire AB910 flew 143 wartime operations and has amazing stories to tell
By Clive Rowley, MBE RAF (Ret.)
Stinson SR5A Reliant
Harry Ballance’s pursuit of perfection
By Jan Tegler
Covert Lightning
The A-Model F-35
By Ted Carlson
Breitling Dials Up a Unique Formation
A Mustang, Mosquito, Corsair and Warhawk bring the Super AVI collection to life
By Jan Tegler
A Month Like No Other
The epic final days of Luftwaffe ace Hans-Joachim Marseille
By Robert Tate
REGULARS
Editorial
Gallery: Albatros D.Va
By Gene DeMarco
In Theater: The Spoils of War
By Stan Piet
Tailview Learn More -
FEATURES
Test-flying
the Hellcat
A test pilot’s trials and tribulations
in Grumman’s WW II masterpiece
By Corky Meyer
Taming the
“Wooden Wonder”
Mike Spalding flies the Military Aviation
Museum’s DeHavilland DH-98 Mosquito
By Jan Tegler
Jug Ace
High-scoring P-47 Thunderbolt pilot
Lt. Col. Robert “Bob” S. Johnson
By Clive Rowley, MBE RAF (Ret.)
Riff Raff
The Hawker Sea Fury that forced
an astronaut back down to Earth
By Jan Tegler
Last Man Out
Miracle in the South China Sea
by Paul Novak
REGULARS
Editorial
In Theater: What they wore
By Robert F. Dorr and Charles E. DiSipio
Gallery: Me 163 Komet
By Heath Moffatt
Tailview
Sixteen Hours in “Old Crow”
By Jan Tegler
Learn More -
FEATURES
High-Time Hog Driver
Inside the cockpit with Lt. Col. John Marks,
the Air Force’s most experienced A-10 pilot
By Jan Tegler
Aerial Refueling
with a Drone
In the cockpit with the first aircrew ever to
refuel in flight from an uncrewed tanker
By Jan Tegler
Nighthawk
Under cover of darkness, Britain’s Hawker
Hurricane hunts for prey
By Clive Rowley, MBE RAF (Ret.)
Dive-Bombing Mustangs
The forgotten A-36
By Walter Boyne
Electric Flight Takes Off
A bright future for cleaner, quieter,
next-gen power
By Tom Atwood
REGULARS
Editorial
Gallery
Taylor Aerocar
By Dave Unwin
Tailview
An interview with
Jimmy Doolittle
By David Walsh
ON THE COVER: Flying in darkness, single-seat, non-radar-equipped Hawker Hurricanes fl ew with RAF Fighter Command night-fi ghter squadrons, their pilots attempting to intercept and destroy German bombers attacking targets in England in in 1941. RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Hurricane Mk IIC PZ865, fl own here by Group Captain Matt Peterson MBE. (Photo by John Dibbs/Facebook.com/ theplanepicture with eff ects by Betty Nero) Learn More -
FEATURES
Winds of Fate
Mustang pilots fly rocket attacks over Iwo Jima
By Brian Walter
That’s Close Enough!
Captain Tom Dwelle’s DFC-winning mission to save an Army convoy
By Jan Tegler
REACH
A C-17 aircrew’s dramatic flights during the fall of Kabul
By Jan Tegler
Sturmovik Killer!
Top scoring Fw 190 ace Otto "Bruno" Kittel
By Clive Rowley, MBE RAF (Ret.)
Spirits in the Sky
B-2 Stealth Bombers can do it all—unseen!
By Ted Carlson
REGULARS
Editorial
Gallery
The Forgotten Stinson: Model A Tri-motor
By Xavier Méal
Tailview
First Victory
By Col. C. E. “Bud” Anderson Learn More