Watch Great Planes

In 1937 the Boeing Aircraft Company built America's first all-metal, four-engine heavy bomber, the legendary B-17 Flying Fortress. Bristling with 13 0.5 machine guns, and with an average bomb load of 6,000 pounds, the "Forts" took on the worst the Luftwaffe had to offer.Flying in formations of up to 1,000 bomber daylight raids, the B-17s attacked some of the most heavily defended targets in occupied Europe. Suffering unprecedented losses, the young American airmen in their B-17s helped turn the tide of the war in Europe by destroying the Nazi war machine.

Great Planes looks at the stories behind the most influential, innovative and intriguing machines that ever took flight. Designed to drop nuclear bombs on targets anywhere in the world, the B-52 was the Strategic Air Command's key weapon for over a decade. First deployed in 1952, it is still in service decades later.

The US Army's first operational turboshaft-powered helicopter, the Bell UH-1 "Huey", would prove one of the most successful rotorcraft in history, with over 16,000 built. The Huey was and remains a common sight in many of the world's military forces, and still is in first-line service in the US Marines. This document provides a history and description of the Huey.

The genius of the Chinook design lies in its 60-foot-long contra-rotating rotors. These eliminate the need for a rear vertical rotor, allowing all power to be used for lift and thrust. But the Chinook isn't just about muscle - this bird is fast and agile too.First deployed to Vietnam in 1965, the Chinook CH47-A was tested to the max. In just two years it put in 161,000 hours of flying time, carried millions of passengers and transported more than 1.3 million tons of equipment. In a single flight it could carry a platoon of soldiers into the heart of battle, and with its dual hooks hanging underneath, it fast became the king of swing.

The Airacobra, like its namesake, had a quick-strike weapon that was lethal and effective, a 37 millimeter canon. The Airacobra gave the Allies a fighting chance when, at the beginning of the War, the enemy seemed invincible.

Designed "A" for attack, the A-26 was so adept at its hybrid combat role that it saw front line service in WWII, Korea and Vietnam.

The Ling-Temco-Vought A-7 Corsair II is a carrier-based subsonic light attack aircraft introduced to replace the United States Navy's A-4 Skyhawk, initially entering service during the Vietnam War. The Corsair was later adopted by the United States Air Force, to include the Air National Guard, to replace the A-1 Skyraider, F-100 Super Sabre and F-105 Thunderchief. The aircraft was also exported to Greece in the 1970s, and Portugal and Thailand in the late 1980s. The A-7 airframe design was based on the successful supersonic F-8 Crusader produced by Chance Vought. It was one of the first combat aircraft to feature a head-up display (HUD), an inertial navigation system (INS), and a turbofan engine.

Breaking records in speed and sustained altitude, the SR-71 spy plane was one of the Air Force's best kept secrets of the 1960s. Its technology and achievements astounded even the experts of the day

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the U.S. Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. Proving highly adaptable, it became a major part of the air wings of the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. It was used extensively by all three of these services during the Vietnam War, serving as the principal air superiority fighter for both the Navy and Air Force, as well as being important in the ground-attack and reconnaissance roles by the close of U.S. involvement in the war.

Though somewhat difficult to handle, the Super Sabre afforded so much lifting power that it could carry the same payload as a WWII bomber, a load that it could deliver with incredible speed and precision. Adapted as a fighter bomber, the F-100 would be supplanted by the Mach 2 class F-105 Thunderchief for strike missions over North Vietnam. The F-100 flew extensively over South Vietnam as the Air Force's primary close air support jet until replaced by the more efficient subsonic A-7 Corsair 2. The F-100 also served in several NATO air forces and with other US allies. In its later life, it was often referred to as "the Hun," a shortened version of "one hundred."