F-35A Lightning II. Aircraft used by the Royal Air Force in support of its efforts in the Schneider Trophy races, and includes aircraft used solely as trainers. Chinook. During the 1960s the Mirage III was the basic air superiority fighter of the Israeli air force, and it performed spectacularly in the Six-Day War of 1967. Fill in the search field next to Aircraft Type button the proper ICAO code Example: For C-130 Hercules use ICAO Code: "C130" 2.1 If you don't know the Aircraft Type ICAO Code check here: NATO Military RUSSIAN Military. Fighter planes, military aircraft, both Mig and US-jets, warbirds (from the 1930-1950 era) with pictures and information. Heritage. A-10 Shrike– Curtiss 11. MQ-1B Predator. Military Aircraft; Air Force Attack Aircraft A-10 'Warthog' Thunderbolt II. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. 6 and 7 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Units (AACU). 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit RAF, Learn how and when to remove this template message, List of aircraft of the Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), "First of four Boeing C-17s is handed over to the UK RAF", "Avionic Upgrades for the RAF's Britten-Norman Islanders", "UK transfers Defender and Islander special mission aircraft from AAC to RAF", "Race through the skies in an RAF Tornado", flightglobal.com - RAF VC10s to make last operational flight, http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/CivilAircraftinWWIIService.cfm, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force&oldid=991283440, Articles needing additional references from December 2009, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Torpedo fighter/medium bomber/naval strike/trainer, Twin-engined monoplane flying boat/amphibian, Twin-engined turboshaft twin-rotor helicopter, Bomber/maritime patrol/electronic warfare, Fighter/fighter-bomber/reconnaissance/trainer, Twin-engined monoplane flying boat. A-1 – skipped to prevent confusion with Cox-Klemin XA-1 2. Support helicopter. U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon, with two Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, one 2,000-pound bomb, and an auxiliary fuel tank mounted on each wing. Mirage is the name for any member of a family of combat aircraft produced by the Dassault-Breguet aeronautics firm of France. The F-16 is 49 feet (15 meters) long and has a wingspan of 31 feet (9.45 meters). A-12 Shrike– Curtiss 13. The concept was of a flying armed biplane built to destroy other World War I aircraft. Flag images indicative of country of origin and not necessarily the primary operator. Although many of its functions were adopted by high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles, several U-2s are still in service. 2. Some names will fit warplanes better, some names will fit commercial planes better, and others might be best for a stunt plane. The F-16, also called Fighting Falcon, is a single-seat single-engine jet fighter built by the General Dynamics Corporation (now part of the Lockheed Martin Corporation) for the United States and more than a dozen other countries. A-5 Falcon– Curtiss 6. Army Air Corps aircraft are not included but can be found at List of aircraft of the Army Air Corps. This aircraft uses the most powerful fighter engine ever developed. Lockheed … Space cadet . 8 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS). These variants share a number of their parts in order to keep development, production and servicing costs low. In terms of international sales, the F-16 is the fighter in greatest demand, and it is currently in the air forces of more than 20 countries. Aircraft. However, these names are really nothing more than suggestions that the military services may or may not accept as the official name. A team under Aleksandr A. Arkhangelsky, longtime associate of company cofounder Andrey Tupolev, designed the Tu-95 (“Bear”), a huge turboprop bomber that first flew in 1954 and became one of the most durable military aircraft ever built and one of the longest-lived aircraft in the Soviet strategic arsenal. U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II, an attack aircraft. 3 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) at, No. C-17 Globemaster III – Barney. US Military Aircraft Nicknames Compiled by Richard H. Caldwell (Additions from various contributors) * Denotes a nickname used for more than one AC. The most widely produced version was the P-51D. A-7 – Fokker 8. See also: United States Air Force. The Russian aerospace design bureau’s MiG-21, a lightweight single-engine interceptor capable of flying at twice the speed of sound, was introduced in 1955. AH-64E - Apache attack helicopter A-1 : Skyraider : Spad, Able Dog, Fat Face (A-1E),Sandy: A-3D, EA-3B : Skywarrior: The Bf 109E, the principal German fighter from the invasion of Poland in 1939 through the Battle of Britain (1940–41), had a top speed of 350 miles (570 km) per hour and a ceiling of 36,000 feet (11,000 meters). 3. Many aircraft types have served in the British Royal Air Force since its formation in April 1918 from the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service. A list of some of these great planes is given below. Designed around a 1,200-horsepower, 12-cylinder in-line Rolls-Royce engine soon to be dubbed the Merlin, the Hurricane was an evolutionary development of earlier Camm designs, notably the Fury biplane fighter. The Apache attack helicopter is probably the most sophisticated piece of equipment in the world available to front-line troops. Since the 1980s the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has operated modified U-2s, designated ER-2 (for “Earth resources”), for the collection of data on the atmosphere, Earth, and celestial phenomena. 11 Air Observer Navigation School (AONS) at, No. Dakota. U.S. Air Force B-52G with cruise missiles and short-range attack missiles. Click Aircraft Type button.. These relatively inexpensive simple, durable aircraft were adopted by many of the world’s smaller air forces from the 1960s. Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. United States military aircraft are all given specific designations by the Department of Defense known as MDS designations (Mission Design Series) that identify their design and purpose. Approximately 1,500 Merlin-powered Mustangs were used by the RAF for daylight duties over Europe, and the plane was produced under license in Australia toward the end of the war. John P. Rafferty writes about Earth processes and the environment. 1937 . The B-52 has a wingspan of 185 feet (56 meters) and a length of 160 feet 10.9 inches (49 meters). Contents. Well, You Gave It Your Best Shot. The P-51 is widely regarded as the finest all-around piston-engined fighter of World War II to have been produced in significant numbers. Abingdon and Halton Communications Flights, No. The year its production began, 1940, was the 2,600th anniversary of the ascension to the throne of Japan’s legendary first emperor, Jimmu, hence the “zero” designation. There are a total of [ 53 ] individual aircraft entries in the Active USAF Aircraft (2020) category in the Military Factory. A10 Thunderbolt 25 Military Vehicles That Civilians Can Own . This craft was first flown in 1956 but subsequently underwent significant development. Go to our Live Tracking Map. The Fokker D VII aircraft may have made a rather late entry into the war (January 1918) but that doesn’t mean this bird… A name reserved for the pilot, soldier, or marine who is just out there on his own and in his own little world. Perhaps the most famous spy plane ever built, the U-2, also known as the Dragon Lady, has been in service since 1956. A-1 Skyraider – Able Dog, reference to its original “AD” (Attack aircraft, Douglas) designation, Zorro, Spad, Fat Face (A-1E), Sandy. Last of Grumman's cats, the F-14 Tomcat. The service ultimately decides whether to use the name selected by the manufacturer or a different name of its own choice. It was superior to anything the Allies could muster at low and medium altitudes, but it was outperformed by the British Spitfire at altitudes above 15,000 feet (4,600 meters). During that period, fuel-injected Daimler-Benz DB601 engines in the 1,000-horsepower range had become available, resulting in the Bf 109E, which was armed with two wing-mounted 0.8-inch (20-mm) automatic cannons and two machine guns in the engine cowling. Military Aircraft Subcategories. F6F Hellcat – Ace Maker, reference to its success in battle. 1.1. Top 20 Military Uniform … A-8– Curtiss 9. UK variant completely redesigned from Canadian original and shared few interchangeable parts. It originally carried a crew of six, its sole defensive armament being a remotely controlled gun turret in the tail. US Military Aircraft Nicknames Compiled by Richard H. Caldwell (Additions from various contributors) * Denotes a nickname used for more than one AC. UC-78 Bobcat – Bamboo bomber. The contractors providing the new UK Military Flying Training System will eventually operate 38 fixed wing aircraft and 32 helicopters on the military register, but the aircraft are initially civilian-registered. The following Gliders are or were flown by RAF training squadrons: This is a list of historical aircraft of the RAF. Active United States military aircraft is a list of military aircraft that are used by the United States military. The C-47 has gone by many nicknames — “Gooney Bird,” “Dakota” (a riff on Douglas Aircraft Company Transport Aircraft), and “Spooky” among others. Transport. Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. With a new name and a new country, Learjet pumped out 104 aircraft from its facility in Kansas in just two years of production, ending in 1966. For just those aircraft currently in service, see List of active United Kingdom military aircraft. A-9– Lockheed 10. Towed Glider Transport. F-16 Fighting Falcon. We recommend you play your cards close around this individual. ** Additions from Tim Luttrell. Many aircraft types have served in the British Royal Air Force since its formation in April … Choose a category: Or search by name: A109SP. Other countries whose air forces adopted the Mirage III included Brazil, Lebanon, South Africa, Argentina, Pakistan, Spain, Australia, and Switzerland. A-3 Falcon– Curtiss 4. It is powered by a single Pratt & Whitney or General Electric turbofan engine, which, with afterburning, can generate 23,000 to 29,000 pounds (102 to 130 kilonewtons) of thrust, accelerating the aircraft to more than twice the speed of sound. This name witnessed its peak in the 1880s. Fitted with a Plexiglas “bubble” canopy for all-around vision, it flew to a maximum speed of about 440 miles (700 km) per hour, reached an operating ceiling of almost 42,000 feet (12,800 meters), and was armed with six wing-mounted 0.5-inch (12.7-mm) machine guns. The names of military aircraft are usually chosen by the manufacturer. The P-51, also called Mustang, is a single-seat single-engine fighter aircraft originally designed and produced by North American Aviation for the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and later adopted by the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF). From left, A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-86 Sabre, P-38 Lightning, and P-51 Mustang. Airspeed Oxford. A-11– Consolidated 12. 2. BAe146. Twin-Engine Medium Bomber Aircraft. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Weaponry includes an 0.8-inch (20-millimeter) rotary cannon as well as attachments under the wings and fuselage for a wide variety of bombs and missiles. https://www.flyingmag.com/photo-gallery/photos/top-100-airplanes China has built a UFO-like aircraft and it has the Internet buzzing. Also 3D VRML models of jets to download, a FAQ explaining stealth, aviation art, jet engines and weapon systems. This is a list of military aircraft that are primarily designed for air-to-air combat and thus … There are a total of [ 718 ] World War 2 Aircraft (1939-1945) entries in the Military Factory. Return to the Modern Aircraft Index. 1 with No.2 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit, This page was last edited on 29 November 2020, at 07:11. You Got Some Of Them Right! A-6 Falcon– Curtiss 7. It has been sold to U.S. allies in the Middle East, where it proved very effective in air-to-air combat and ground attack in the Israeli-Syrian conflict of 1982 and in the Persian Gulf War of 1990–91. What a NASA Aircraft Test Looks Like. Dominie was the RAF's name for the Dragon Rapide - impressed examples retained original name, Evaluation only, later impressed. It was designed by Horikoshi Jiro and was the first carrier-based fighter capable of besting its land-based opponents. For aircraft no longer in-service see the list of military aircraft of the United States. 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