Tag Archives: fighter

Unusual German WWII Planes

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The Steve Udvar-Hazy Center has aircraft from across the world and eras but does have some very unusual Second World War aircraft. The US acquired a variety of types at the end of the war from the German programmes which were taken home to evaluate. Some of these ended up in the hands of the Smithsonian when they were no longer needed. Two interesting examples are now on display at Dulles. These include a jet powered bomber and a puss-pull fighter.

The Arado AR234 Blitz is a conventional looking plane if you set aside the engine pods under the wings. To a modern eye, it looks very tame, but I imagine it was something special at the time. Next to it is the Dornier DO335 Pfeil – a push-pull configuration piston engined fighter. This was not a unique design idea for Germany. The US had a similar concept – an example of which I saw in Kalamazoo. So much innovative aerospace concepts were developed in the heat of war and these two are very rare examples of what was underway at that time.

Why Does the Black Widow Fascinate Me?

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In my early teens, I got into model making. One of the things I used to look forward to was when Airfix released their catalogue for the year. This included the new releases and, one year, they released a kit of the Northrop P-61 Black Widow. I had never heard of this type at the time. WWII aircraft weren’t really my thing then. However, for some reason, this plane really caught my attention. Not enough to buy the kit though – too many modern jets for me to focus on!

For some reason, this fascination with the P-61 has stuck with me. There aren’t many of them in preservation so, when I see one in a museum, I am drawn to it. There is one supposedly being restored to flight but that is a multi-year effort which will take a while yet. The NASM has on at the Udvar-Hazy annex. I was keen to get shots of it. However, they do seem to have done a decent job of tucking it in between other airframes that makes getting a clean shot tricky. I did the best I could with angles between other planes or getting elevated.

The X-35B and Its Propulsion System

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The F-35 is in widespread service in considerable numbers with many more to come in due course. However, before the F-35, there was the X-35 – the Lockheed Martin contender in the JSF competitive fly off. Up against the Boeing X-32, two X-35s were built. One of them was initially used to demonstrate the proposed Air Force configuration before it was modified with the vertical lift system proposed for what became the F-35B in USMC service.

With the competition complete, the demonstrators were superfluous and the X-35B airframe made its way to the National Air and Space Museum. Here it sits on display. What is the most interesting part – at least to me – is that they have taken the propulsion system out of the jet and put it on display separately. You can see the main engine as well as the lift fan module, the shaft coupling the two, the nizzle that both have to direct the flow and the roll posts that are used to provide both additional lift and roll control in the hover.

It is a cool demonstration of the basic configuration that is now operational in the F-35B. it has certainly been developed since this design, but the basic principles remain the same. Unlike the Harrier that had the engine in the centre of gravity of the aircraft (not a very convenient location) and redirected all thrust through four nozzles, this configuration has a mighty engine at the rear which can be vectored down when required through a three bearing nozzle that is both simple and ingenious but then a shaft drive from the same engine to a fan module that sits behind the cockpit drawing air from above and directing it down with some ability to vector it too. This forward fan balances against the rear main nozzle. It provides a significantly higher amount of vertical thrust than the Harrier ever managed and allows a larger and more capable aircraft to land vertically at the end of missions. Quite a smart piece of design.

Won’t Forget the Blue Angels Crosses Too

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I posted a bunch of crossing shots of the USAF Thunderbirds and, since I was doing that, I thought it might look like favouritism if I didn’t do the same for the Blue Angels. I saw a lot more of the Blue Angels in the second half of my time living in the US because Fleet Week in San Francisco and Seafair in Seattle always had them in attendance. That meant I got to see them after the transition to the Super Bug but the majority of shows I saw over the years were with the legacy Hornets. Anyway, here are a bunch of crossing shots for the Blues to balance things up.

Thunderbirds Crossing Shots

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As is often the case, I was looking for something when I came across something totally different and that took me down a rabbit hole. In this case, I found myself looking through some old shots of the USAF Thunderbirds. Particularly when living in the Midwest, I used to see them display pretty frequently. You get a bit blasé about it after a while. Anyway, I was skimming through shots to see whether I had any crossing shots that I liked. I was pleasantly surprised to find a few of them that came out pretty well. Modern cameras allow rapid frame rates which help with crossing shots but apparently, I could still get it right occasionally when the tech wasn’t quite so advanced. The weather and lighting might vary a bit but here are some of the ones I liked most.

Up Close with Some F-35s

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This tanker trip included something I hadn’t had on previous flights – F-35s. Not a lot of them but we did get some jets show up later in the sortie. The surface finish on the F-35 is interesting, and it does pick up the light in good ways when the angles are right. The joy of being up at 16,000’ is that the chances of good light are high.

It is quite funny looking across at the pilot in the cockpit while they are plugged in. There I am staring at them while they are doing something reasonably intense. They have to decide whether to pretend we aren’t there and just look cool or are they going to give us a wave! Depends on your crew of course but I have had both.

Please Come Just a Touch Forward

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Sometimes, pilots don’t realise that their obligations to a photographer are more important than their other mission goals!! I was in a Voyager on a refuelling track over the North Sea providing fuel to a bunch of RAF jets. A couple of Typhoons from 3 Sqn (ignore the unit markings on one of the jets) came up to get some fuel. They had a time on a range that they were waiting for so hung out in formation on our wing until near their slot so that they could top off at the last minute before heading in.

A tight formation of the two jets off our wing was really cool. They were close in and their formation was nice and tight. Perfect photo stuff. However, their location was just a touch further back then ideal with the wing tip obscuring the planes a touch. I was desperately hoping that they would pull forward just a touch. Nope, locked in place seemingly effortlessly maintaining station. Then, after a turn at the end of the track, the positioning moved just a touch forward. I was able to get a clear shot of the pair at last. What a great view. This was also one of those moments when it is important to stop looking through the viewfinder and enjoy watching this most unusual of sights.

Time to Tank Typhoons Again

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Tanker trips are always a great opportunity if they come up and I had another one a while back. Back to Brize and up in the Voyager. This was a slightly shorter trip than the last one as a result of a planned runway closure at Brize that needed us to be back on the ground. While it was shorter than my previous trip, we did have more trade.

The majority of what we got was Typhoon traffic. It is quite a challenge picking them out as they turn in towards the tanker for the join. Sometimes I spot them but often they are behind us before I know they are there. Isn’t that what a fighter pilot is supposed to always do? Once they appear on the port wing, you get a good look at them before they slip into pre-contact position. The forward fuselage is a good spot to be when they arrive and depart but, once they are on the hose, you can only see them from the last few rows of the aircraft and then it is very tight.

Fortunately, they stay on the basket for a while which means that people get a good chance to have a look and get some images. Picking a side for the light depending on which side of the racetrack we are using is handy, but you can also get a change of light if making the turn at either end. When the planes gather on the starboard side ready to depart, I changed my approach this time. I would kneel on the floor because, when they power up and climb away, they go up fast. You need to be low down to be able to track them heading off.

Up Close with the Gripen E Pair

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With RIAT having been cancelled for 2026, I find myself looking back at some shots from last year. This was the first time I got to see some Gripen E variants. All of my previous Gripen encounters have been earlier generations of the jet from the prototypes onwards. There was a pair of the jets taking off together at the end of the show. A tight crop on them as they climbed out gave a good look at these new airframes. I do like the Gripen. Nice to see it still finding customers.