Breaking the Sound Barrier: Chuck Yeager and the Bell X-1
On 14 October 1947 Chuck Yeager flew the Bell X-1 through the sound barrier. The full story: the programme, the broken ribs, the flight and its legacy. Read article
Tag: aviation history
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The Day Concorde First Flew: 2 March 1969
The full story of Concorde’s first flight on 2 March 1969: the treaty that built it, the taxi trials, André Turcat’s maiden flight from Toulouse, Brian Trubshaw’s British first flight five weeks later, and everything that followed. Read article
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de Havilland Comet: The First Jet Airliner
On 2 May 1952 a de Havilland Comet registered G-ALYP took off from London Airport and set course for Johannesburg with fare-paying passengers aboard. Nothing like it had ever happened before. The world’s first jet airliner was in scheduled service, flying far higher and considerably faster than the piston airliners it replaced, and it was… Read article
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How to Read Military Aircraft Markings and Serials
A guide to reading military aircraft markings and serials: national insignia, RAF and USAF serial systems, squadron codes, tail codes, special schemes and how to record them. Read article
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English Electric Lightning: Britain’s Mach 2 Interceptor
It could stand on its tail and climb like a rocket, it was the only all-British aircraft ever to reach twice the speed of sound, and pilots said flying it was like being strapped to a skyrocket. This is the story of the English Electric Lightning. The Lightning is the aircraft that still draws a… Read article
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de Havilland Mosquito: The Wooden Wonder
It was built of wood when the rest of the world was building fighters from aluminium, it carried no defensive guns on its bomber versions, and it was one of the fastest and most versatile aircraft of the Second World War. This is the story of the de Havilland Mosquito. When de Havilland first proposed… Read article
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Concorde: The Supersonic Airliner Story
The full history of Concorde, the Anglo-French supersonic airliner: its origins, design, the Olympus engines, entry into service in 1976, the 2000 Paris crash, retirement in 2003 and where to see the surviving aircraft today. Read article
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Why Aviation History Still Matters in the Age of Instant Imagery
Aviation has never been more visible than it is today. Aircraft are photographed constantly, on flightlines, at airshows, through fences, from terminals, and across social media platforms that reward speed and novelty above all else. Images circulate instantly, stripped of context, date, provenance, and often accuracy. Yet aviation history has never been more vulnerable to… Read article