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The Short Sturgeon was a planned British carrier-borne reconnaissance bomber whose development began during Second World War with the S.6/43 requirement for a high-performance torpedo bomber, which was later refined into the S.11/43 requirement which was won by the Sturgeon. With the end of the war in the Pacific production of the aircraft carriers from which the Sturgeon was intended to operate was suspended and the original reconnaissance bomber specification was cancelled. The Sturgeon was then redesigned as a target tug which saw service with the fleet for a number of years. Later, the basic Sturgeon design was reworked as a prototype anti-submarine aircraft. The many modifications that resulted turned the promising design into a "hapless and grotesque-looking hybrid." The development process leading to the S.38 Sturgeon began with the 1943 S.6/43 requirement for a high-performance torpedo bomber with a bomb bay that could accommodate six 500-pound (230 kg) bombs or any of the current standard aerial torpedoes, operating from Audacious and Centaur-class aircraft carriers. A maximum all-up-weight of 24,000 lb (11,000 kg) was specified. Short Brothers were not invited to respond to S.6/43, but the preliminary responses from the other participating manufacturers indicated that a twin-engined design meeting all requirements was likely to weigh in excess of 24,000 lbs, while a single-engined design was unlikely to exceed the performance of in-service aircraft. S.6/43 was allowed to proceed, and there are indications that Shorts submitted two uninvited tenders, a single-engined Bristol Centaurus design and a twin-Rolls-Royce Merlin design. However, none of the original S.6/43 submissions was adopted and no reference to the Shorts submissions has been located in the official documentation. Focus instead shifted to splitting the requirements, with the torpedo bomber requirement becoming O.5/43, eventually leading to the Fairey Spearfish, while S.11/43 was written for a reconnaissance aircraft able to operate as a bomber. Specification S.11/43 called for the design and construction of a twin-engine naval reconnaissance aircraft for visual and photographic reconnaissance and shadowing, by day or night, and also able to operate as a bomber. The specification included a maximum all-up weight of 24,000 lb, height (stowed) of 17 ft (5.2 m), length of 45 ft (13.7 m) and a wingspan of 60 ft (18.3 m) (spread) / 20 ft (6.1 m) (folded). Powered wing-folding was also required. Shorts submitted the twin-Merlin S.38 Sturgeon as their tender to S.11/43, while Armstrong Whitworth proposed the twin-Merlin powered AW.54. After the AW.54 was criticized for lack of power, the AW.54A with two MetroVick F.3 turbojets was submitted. Submissions were also made by Blackburn and Fairey (also with twin-Merlin designs) and by Westland with a mixed-power design comprising a Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major radial in the nose and a Halford H.1 turbojet in the tail. On 19 October 1943, Shorts received the "Instruction to Proceed" and an order for three prototypes designated Sturgeon S.1, with military serials RK787, RK791 and RK794 assigned. The final tailored S.11/43 requirements followed in February 1944. The pilot's cockpit was a sub-assembly bolted to the front of the spar, placing him level with the leading edge of the wing, the navigator was behind the centre section of the wing and the radio operator — separated from the navigator by his equipment — behind him. The navigator and radio operator entered through a door, which acted as a ladder when opened, in the starboard side with their seats being offset to port. The cameras were installed in the fuselage behind the radio operator. One of the Sturgeon's unfortunate failings was in placement of controls. The fire extinguisher switch was located next to the cockpit switches required for firing the engine starter cartridges, resulting in some inadvertent mishaps and some unintended hilarity for ground crews. For more information on design and development, operational history, and variants, click here.

The de Havilland DH.103 Hornet, developed by de Havilland, was a fighter aircraft driven by two piston engines. It further exploited the wooden construction techniques that had been pioneered by the de Havilland Mosquito. Development of the Hornet had started during the Second World War as a private venture. The aircraft was to conduct long range fighter operations in the Pacific Theatre against the Empire of Japan but the war ended before the Hornet reached operational squadron status. The Hornet entered service with RAF Fighter Command where it equipped several day fighter units and was commonly stationed in the British mainland. It saw combat in the Far East, being used as a strike fighter as part of the British military action taken during the Malayan Emergency. A naval carrier-capable version, the Sea Hornet, had been envisaged early on and was procured by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. In the autumn of 1941, de Havilland found that it had the spare design capacity to work on a new project. At this point, the Mosquito had entered full-rate production and preliminary work on a jet-propelled fighter aircraft, which became the Vampire, was waiting for the production of prototype engines. The company promptly recognised a need for a high-speed, unarmed, night bomber powered by a pair of large Napier Sabre piston engines and a design for such an aircraft was first proposed under the designation D.H. 101 in October 1941. A design team led by R. E. Bishop with C. T. Wilkins assisting, was assembled with the aim of developing the D.H. 101, which was initially pursued as a private venture. . The Sabre engine was suffering from availability problems at that point and the DH. 101 was soon replaced by a lower-powered design, with the internal designation D.H. 102. This proposal was intended to be powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Griffon or Rolls-Royce Merlin engines but either engine would have meant that the aircraft would be somewhat slower and less attractive than the Mosquito. By November 1942, de Havilland had elected to shelve the night bomber project and concentrate on producing a long-range fighter, the D.H. 103, that would make the maximum possible use of the Merlin engine. The D.H. 103 resembled a small Mosquito, with a single seat; it was intended to take on other single-seat fighter aircraft, particularly those operated by Japan, while still being capable of conducting very long range missions to be of use in the Pacific Theatre. The long range requirement led to the fuselage being highly streamlined. An independently developed version of the Merlin engine which possessed a low frontal area was selected for use on the D.H. 103. The Royal Australian Air Force used one Sea Hornet F.20 for evaluation and tropical trials. For more information on the development, design, operational history and variants, click here. DH 103 Hornet Sea Hornet (Note the radar "thimble" on the nose of the aircraft in the bottom photo)

The Bristol Brigand was a British anti-shipping/ground attack/dive bomber aircraft, developed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as a replacement for the Beaufighter. A total of 147 were built and were used by the Royal Air Force in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency and Kenya until replaced by the de Havilland Hornet in Malaya and the English Electric Canberra jet bomber elsewhere. The Bristol Type 164 was the outcome of the 1942 Air Ministry specification H.7/42 calling for a faster development of the Beaufighter for long-range torpedo work and anti-shipping strikes. The Bristol design team under Leslie Frise, used the wings, tail and undercarriage of the Buckingham with a new fuselage of oval cross-section. The pilot, navigator/bomb aimer and radio-operator/gunner were grouped in the forward cockpit. In spite of the official change in its role to a bomber, the first eleven Brigands off the production line were completed as torpedo bombers. These early aircraft served with RAF Coastal Command from 1946–1947 before being converted to bombers. In 1946 the first 11 production torpedo-fighter (TF.1) aircraft were delivered to 36 Squadron and 42 Squadron, RAF Coastal Command, which had no need for coastal strike aircraft at the time so the torpedo-fighters were returned to Filton and converted to light bombers (B.1). The first B.1s were delivered in 1949 to 84 Squadron at RAF Habbaniya to convert from the Beaufighter and 5 Squadron in Aden, a Hawker Tempest unit. The first unit to convert from Beaufighters to the Brigand was 45 Squadron, based at RAF Station Tengah on the Island of Singapore, operating in support of British forces against the Communist Guerrillas, engaged in an insurgency in Malaya. The first Brigand was flown to Tengah from RAF St Athan in November 1949, a 16-day trip. After test flights, the first combat operation was conducted by the Brigand, piloted by Flight Lieutenant Dalton Golding and crewed by radio/radar operator Peter Weston, together with four Beaufighters of No. 45 Squadron against CT targets in the jungle west of Kluang, Malaya on 19 December 1949. The Brigand carried three rockets, and one 500 lb (230 kg) and two 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs. The operation was successful and No. 45 Squadron soon completed its conversion to the Brigand. Brigands of 45 Squadron and soon 84 Squadron were routinely engaged in strikes against Communist Insurgent targets throughout Malaya, direct and in close support of ground forces, as well as providing air cover as needed to convoys on the ground, against possible ambushes. Problems with the Brigand became apparent during operations in Malaya, with undercarriages failing to lower. This was traced to rubber seals in the hydraulic jacks deteriorating in the hot, humid climate. Just as this problem was being resolved another problem arose, more serious because it led to fatalities: a propensity for aircraft damage and loss during strafing runs employing the four 20 mm cannon. An accumulation of gases in the long cannon blast tubes, which ran under the cockpit, was igniting through use of high-explosive shells. This in turn severed hydraulic lines, which would burn. This was cured by drastically reducing ammunition loads and using only ball rounds. The Brigand also had a tendency to shed a propeller blade, leading to complete propeller failure; this in turn would lead to the engine being wrenched off the wing and an inevitable crash. The problem was found to be caused by corrosion in the propeller locking rings. More frequent maintenance helped alleviate this problem. As the Brigand became subject to more restrictions both unit commanders had serious doubts about the continued use of the aircraft. It was decided to continue operating them, since as long as thorough maintenance was carried out it was felt that nothing else could go wrong. Another design flaw arose in the leather bellows used to deploy the air brakes during dives. In the tropical climate, the leather would rot, causing the brakes to fail. This led to Brigands losing wings in dives due to excessive airspeed or rotation as only one brake deployed. When this problem was discovered the air brakes of all Brigands were wired shut, decreasing the aircraft's dive bombing capabilities. No. 45 Squadron converted to de Havilland Hornets in January 1952 while 84 Squadron was disbanded in February 1953. Soon after this, the Brigands were grounded and withdrawn from service. Brigands were also used operationally over Aden by 8 Squadron from 1950 to 1952, when it was found that the Brigand mainspars were suspect; the Brigands were replaced by de Havilland Vampires. In 1950 nine Brigand T.4 radar trainers were delivered to 228 OCU at RAF Leeming to train radar navigators on the use of Airborne Interception radar. A further variant with a different radar installation was Brigand T.5 which were converted from B.1s and later all the T.4s were also modified to T.5 standard. The last operator was 238 OCU at RAF North Luffenham which disbanded in March 1958. Variants The first to be built was the Brigand I or Brigand TF 1 and these entered service with RAF Coastal Command No. 36 Squadron and No. 42 Squadron. They were subsequently rebuilt to become the Brigand B 1, notable as both the first purpose-built multi-role bomber for the RAF and its last piston-engined bomber. It could carry either a 22 in (560 mm) torpedo under the fuselage with two 500 lb (230 kg) bombs beneath the wings, one 2,000 lb (910 kg) or two 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs beneath the fuselage and had underwing racks for 16 RP-3 60 lb (30 kg) rocket projectiles. Type 164 Brigand Four prototypes originally with Centarus VII engines. Brigand TF.1 Production torpedo-bomber variant, 11 built later converted to B.I. Brigand B.1 Bomber variant, rear gun removed and external bomb racks and rails for rockets added, 106 built and 11 conversions from TF.1 Brigand MET.3 of 1301 Flight RAF at RAF Luqa, Malta, in June 1949 Type 165 Brigand II Proposed training variant with dual controls, not built, as the Buckmaster, a dual-control conversion of the Bristol Buckingham was used for Brigand training instead. Brigand MET.3 Unarmed meteorological reconnaissance variant, 16 built. Brigand T.4 Trainer variant, used to train airborne interception (AI) radar operators, nine built, survivors to T.5 standard. Brigand T.5 Improved training version, which like the T.4 before it, was used to train airborne interception (AI) radar operators, conversions from B.1 and T.4.

The Kalinin K-7 (Russian: Калинин К-7) was a heavy experimental aircraft designed and tested in the Soviet Union in the early 1930s. It was of unusual configuration, with twin booms and large underwing pods housing fixed landing gear and machine gun turrets. In the passenger version, seats were arranged inside the 2.3-meter thick (7 ft 7 in) wings. The airframe was welded from KhMA chrome-molybdenum steel. The original design called for six engines in the wing leading edge, but when the projected loaded weight was exceeded, two more engines were added to the trailing edges of the wing, one right and one left of the central passenger pod. Nemecek states in his book that at first only one further pusher engine was added. The K-7 was designed by World War I aviator and Soviet aircraft designer Konstantin Kalinin at the aviation design bureau he headed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, It was one of the biggest aircraft built before the jet age. It had an unusual arrangement of six tractor engines on the wing leading edge and a single engine in pusher configuration at the rear. In civil transport configuration, it had a capacity for 120 passengers and 7,000 kg (15,000 lb) of mail. As a troop transport it had capacity for 112 fully equipped paratroopers. In bomber configuration it would be armed with 8 x 20mm autocannons, 8 x 7.62mm machine guns and up to 9,600 kg (21,200 lb) of bombs. The K-7 was built in two years in Kharkiv, starting in 1931. The K-7 first flew on 11 August 1933. The very brief first flight showed instability and serious vibration caused by the airframe resonating at the engine frequency. The solution to this was thought to be to shorten and strengthen the tail booms, little being known then about the natural frequencies of structures and their response to vibration. The aircraft completed seven test flights before a crash due to structural failure of one of the tail booms on 21 November 1933. The existence of the aircraft had only recently been announced by Pravda, which declared it was "victory of the utmost political importance," since it had been built with Soviet, rather than imported, steel. The accident killed 14 people aboard and one on the ground. Flight speculated that sabotage was suspected as the investigating committee had representation by the state security organization, the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU). However, there appeared recently some speculation in the Russian aviation press about the role of politics and the competing design office of Andrei Tupolev, suggesting possible sabotage. Although two more prototypes were ordered in 1933, the project was cancelled in 1935 before they could be completed. Images of this aircraft are scarse or of very poor quality. Some of these images have been taken from flight simulators and are been modified ( eg. extra engines on bottom image). Concept only.

The McDonnell 119/220 is a business jet developed and unsuccessfully marketed by McDonnell Aircraft in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Its configuration is unique for this type of aircraft, with four podded engines underneath a low wing. It is the only airplane built by McDonnell Aircraft to be marketed to civil buyers prior to the company's merger with Douglas Aircraft to form McDonnell Douglas. The jet could be outfitted for 10 passengers in a luxury executive configuration and could carry as many as 29. The Model 119 was designed in 1957 for the U.S. Air Force's UCX (Utility-Cargo Experimental) contract announced in August 1956, competing with the Lockheed JetStar. McDonnell entered the UCX competition with an eye on commercial sales; the company had never produced a civil aircraft. Designed for a 2,200 nmi (2,500 mi; 4,100 km) range at 550 kn (630 mph; 1,020 km/h) airspeed against a 70 kn (81 mph; 130 km/h) headwind, the 119 had a wing sweep of 35 degrees and a vertical stabilizer sweep of 45 degrees. Critical field length on takeoff was 3,930 ft (1,200 m) to 5,255 ft (1,602 m), while the advertised landing roll was 1,800 ft (550 m) to 2,050 ft (620 m). Roll control was provided by conventional ailerons, a combination of split flaps and Fowler flaps were used to enhance low-speed control, and the wings were equipped with spoilers that doubled as speed brakes. The cabin floor had tracks to allow interior fitments to be changed quickly to suit different missions; the aircraft could be used for medical evacuation, with room for 12 stretchers and two attendants, and McDonnell also promoted it as a trainer for bombardiers, flight navigators, radar operators, or electronic countermeasure technicians. Having invested over $10 million in company funds in the program, McDonnell initiated the formation of commercial sales and transport divisions to promote the 119, but company founder James Smith McDonnell was unwilling to commit to full-scale production until sizable orders were received. Completion of the prototype was delayed until 1959 due to the cancellation of the intended Fairchild J83 engine. Fitted with Westinghouse J34 turbojets for flight test purposes, the 119 was first flown on 11 February 1959, but the Air Force rejected it later that year in favor of the Lockheed JetStar (designated C-140), citing concerns about foreign object damage with the 119's low-mounted engines. Following this setback, McDonnell continued to market the type commercially, renaming it the 220 to commemorate McDonnell's second 20 years of business, and showing it in a 10-place luxury configuration and a more basic configuration with 29 passenger seats. McDonnell drew up plans to equip production models with more modern Pratt & Whitney JT12 or General Electric CF700 engines, and the 220 was awarded a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certificate on 17 October 1960. The company made a provisional deal with Pan American World Airways to lease 170 of the jets, but no other orders materialized, and McDonnell was ultimately unable to offer the aircraft to Pan Am at an attractive price; consequently, the airline rejected the aircraft in favor of the Dassault-Breguet Mystère 20, and no further production ensued. The McDonnell Corporation subsequently used the prototype as a VIP transport before selling it in March 1965 to the Flight Safety Foundation, which used it for crash survival tests and other research in Phoenix, Arizona. The jet was subsequently rumored to have been used for covert missions in Latin America before winding up derelict in Albuquerque. As of 2019, the single prototype was still extant, registered as N4AZ and stored at El Paso International Airport.[7] FAA records show that in January of 2022, the aircraft was sold. Registration certificate issued 28 Jan 2022, expiring 31 Jan 2025.

The Lun-class ekranoplan (also called Project 903) is a ground effect vehicle (GEV) designed by Rostislav Alexeyev in 1975 and used by the Soviet and Russian navies from 1987 until sometime in the late 1990s. It flew using lift generated by the ground effect acting on its large wings when within about four metres (13 ft) above the surface of the water. Although they might look similar to traditional aircraft, ekranoplans like the Lun are not classified as aircraft, seaplanes, hovercraft, or hydrofoils. Rather, crafts like the Lun-class ekranoplan are classified as maritime ships by the International Maritime Organization due to their use of the ground effect, in which the craft glides just above the surface of the water. The ground effect occurs when flying at an altitude of only a few meters above the ocean or ground; drag is greatly reduced by the proximity of the ground preventing the formation of wingtip vortices, thus increasing the efficiency of the wing. This effect does not occur at high altitude. The Utka, can engage enemy ships out to its radar horizon (about 35 kilometers/22 miles) but can fire the SS-N-22 out to the missile's 100-kilometer (62-mile) range with over-the-horizon targeting data. The name Lun comes from the Russian word for the harrier. Two were planned, one was built, the other cancelled. However, after its retirement in the late 90s, the heavily-armed ship - which is bigger than a jumbo jet - was left sitting at the unused Kaspiysk naval base. The Russian MD-160, aka 'Ekranoplan', aka 'Utka' - nicknamed the 'Caspian sea monster' - has been transported to Derbent, Dagestan, to become a tourist attraction.

The Bell X-5 was the first aircraft capable of changing the sweep of its wings in flight. It was inspired by the untested wartime P.1101 design of the German Messerschmitt company. In contrast with the German design, which could only have its wing sweepback angle adjusted on the ground, the Bell engineers devised a system of electric motors to adjust the sweep in flight. The incomplete Messerschmitt P.1101 fighter prototype recovered by United States troops in 1945 from the experimental facility at Oberammergau, Germany, was brought back to the United States. Although damaged in transit, the innovative fighter prototype was delivered to the Bell factory at Buffalo, New York where company engineering staff studied the design closely, and, led by Chief Designer Robert J. Woods, submitted a proposal for a similar design. Although superficially similar, the X-5 was much more complex than the P.1101, with three sweep positions: 20°, 40° and 60°, creating an inflight "variable-geometry" platform. A jackscrew assembly moved the wing's hinge along a set of short horizontal rails, using disc brakes to lock the wing into its inflight positions. Moving from full extension to full sweep took less than 30 seconds. The articulation of the hinge and pivots partly compensated for the shifts in center of gravity and center of pressure as the wings moved. Even so, the X-5 had vicious spin characteristics arising from the aircraft's flawed aerodynamic layout, particularly a poorly positioned tail and vertical stabilizer which, in some wing positions, could lead to an irrecoverable spin. This violent stall / spin instability would eventually cause the destruction of the second aircraft and the death of its Air Force test pilot in 1953. The unfavorable spin characteristics also led to the cancellation of tentative plans by the United States Air Force to modify the X-5's design into a low-cost tactical fighter for NATO and other foreign countries. Two X-5s were built (serial numbers 50-1838 and 50-1839). The first was completed 15 February 1951, and the two aircraft made their first flights on 20 June and 10 December 1951. Almost 200 flights were made at speeds up to Mach 0.9 and altitudes of 40,000 ft (12,000 m). One aircraft was lost on 14 October 1953, when it failed to recover from a spin at 60° sweepback. Air Force Captain Ray Popson died in the crash at Edwards Air Force Base. The other X-5 remained at Edwards and continued active testing until 1955, and remained in service as a chase plane until 1958. The X-5 successfully demonstrated the advantage of a swing-wing design for aircraft intended to fly at a wide range of speeds. Despite the X-5's stability problems, the concept was developed to an outboard rather than inboard hinge, and was later successfully implemented in such aircraft as the General Dynamics F-111 and Grumman F-14 Tomcat, the Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-23 and MiG-27, the Sukhoi Su-17/20/22 and Su-24, the Tupolev Tu-22M and Tu-160, the Panavia Tornado and the Rockwell B-1 Lancer.

The Westland Wapiti was a British two-seat general-purpose military single-engined biplane of the 1920s. It was designed and built by Westland Aircraft Works to replace the Airco DH.9A in Royal Air Force service. First flying in 1927, the Wapiti entered service with the RAF in 1928, and remained in production until 1932, a total of 565 being built. It equipped twenty squadrons of the RAF, both overseas (particularly in India and Iraq) and at home, remaining in RAF service until 1940, also being used by the Air Forces of Australia, Canada, South Africa and India. It also formed the basis for the Westland Wallace which partly replaced the Wapiti in RAF use. The Wapiti is named for the wapiti, also known as elk, one of the largest species of the deer family and one of the largest land mammals in North America and eastern Asia. In 1927, the British Air Ministry issued Specification 26/27 for a replacement of the elderly Airco DH.9A, designed during the First World War which still equipped the Royal Air Force's General Purpose squadrons. To save time and money, the specification called for the use of a high proportion of DH.9A components, (as the RAF still held large stores of DH.9A spares), while it encouraged the use of an all-metal structure.[2] A large number of types were tendered to meet this requirement from most of the major British aircraft manufacturers, including Westland, who submitted the design that later became known as the Wapiti. Westland had an advantage in that it had carried out the detailed design work for the DH.9A, and was already a major contractor for the DH.9A. The Wapiti was a conventional single-engined equal-span two-bay biplane with a slight wing stagger. It had tandem open cockpits and a fixed main undercarriage plus a tailskid. The forward fuselage was of metal tube structure with aluminium-and-fabric covering, while the rear fuselage was of fabric-covered wooden construction. The wings and tail were standard wooden DH.9A components, although later models replaced the wooden parts with an all-metal structure. The Wapiti was powered by a single Bristol Jupiter radial engine, and its crew of two were armed with a forward-firing Vickers machine gun and a Lewis gun for the observer, while it could carry up to 580 lb (264 kg) of bombs under the wings and fuselage. It was also fitted with radio and photographic cameras, and like the DH.9A before it, could carry a spare wheel for operations in adverse terrain. The prototype first flew on 7 March 1927. Initial tests showed poor control, and the prototype was modified with a much larger tail and horn-balanced ailerons, solving these problems. (It was later discovered that a 2-foot (0.61 m) fuselage section had been omitted from the prototype – as handling was now acceptable, it was not reinstated.) The Wapiti performed well during RAF trials, while using significant amounts of DH.9A components, and was declared the winner of the competition, an initial contract for 25 aircraft being placed in October 1927. After initial production, the wooden fuselage, tail and wings were replaced by metal structures in the Wapiti II and IIA, and the original long fuselage was eventually reinstated in the Wapiti V and later versions. In 1930, Westland produced an updated version of the Wapiti, the Wapiti VII, which differed so much that it was renamed the Westland Wallace. Royal Australian Air Force – 44 Wapitis were in service from 1929 to 1944. No. 1 Squadron RAAF No. 3 Squadron RAAF No. 1 Flying Training School RAAF Central Flying School RAAF For operational history and 11 variants, click here.

The Tupolev Tu-16 (NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years, and the Chinese license-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the People's Liberation Army Air Force. In the late 1940s, the Soviet Union was strongly committed to matching the United States in strategic bombing capability. The Soviets' only long-range bomber at the time was Tupolev's Tu-4 'Bull', a reverse-engineered copy of the American B-29 Superfortress. The development of the notably powerful Mikulin AM-3 turbojet led to the possibility of a large, jet-powered bomber. The Tupolev design bureau began work on the Tu-88 ("Aircraft N") prototypes in 1950. The Tu-88 first flew on 27 April 1952. After winning a competition against the Ilyushin Il-46, it was approved for production in December 1952. The first production bombers entered service with Frontal Aviation in 1954, receiving the service designation Tu-16. It received the NATO reporting name Badger-A. It had a new, large swept wing and two large Mikulin AM-3 turbojets, one in each wing root. It could carry a single massive FAB-9000 9,000 kg (20,000 lb) conventional bomb (the Russian equivalent in terms of size of the British Grand Slam, but lacking the ground penetrating capability) or various nuclear weapons for a range of around 4,800 km (3,000 mi). Production took place in three aviation plants, Kazan Aircraft Production Association, Kuybyshev, and Voronezh Aircraft Production Association. Although the Tu-16 began as a high-altitude, free-fall bomber, in the mid-1950s, it was equipped to carry early Soviet cruise missiles. The Tu-16KS-1 (Badger-B) version could carry AS-1 missiles over a combat radius of 1,800 km (1,100 mi). These very large weapons were aerodynamically similar to the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 fighter, fitted with either a nuclear or conventional warhead, having a range of about 140 km (85 mi). They were intended for use primarily against US Navy aircraft carriers and other large surface ships. Subsequent Tu-16s were converted to carry later, more advanced missiles, while their designations changed several times. A versatile design, the Tu-16 was built in numerous specialized variants for aerial reconnaissance, maritime surveillance, electronic intelligence gathering (ELINT), and electronic warfare (ECM). In total, 1,507 aircraft were constructed in three plants in the Soviet Union, in 1954–1962. A civilian adaptation, the Tupolev Tu-104, saw passenger service with Aeroflot. The Tu-16 was also exported to Indonesia, Egypt, and Iraq. It continued to be used by the Air Forces and naval aviation of the Soviet Union and subsequently Russia, until 1993. Delivery of the Tu-16 to China began in 1958, and the Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation license-produced the aircraft under the Chinese designation Xian H-6. At least 120 of these aircraft remain in service. On 14 May 1965, one of the PLAAF Tu-16 bombers carried out the first airborne nuclear weapon test inside China. For details of the 30 variants, click here.

The Sukhoi Su-30 (Russian: Сухой Су-30; NATO reporting name: Flanker-C/G/H) is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter for all-weather, air-to-air and air interdiction missions. The Su-30 started as an internal development project in the Sukhoi Su-27 family by Sukhoi. The design plan was revamped and the name was made official by the Russian Defense Ministry in 1996. Of the Flanker family, the Su-27, Su-30, Su-33, Su-34 and Su-35 have been ordered into limited or serial production by the Russian Defense Ministry. The Su-30 has two distinct version branches, manufactured by competing organisations: KnAAPO and the Irkut Corporation, both of which come under the Sukhoi aerospace group's umbrella. KnAAPO manufactures the Su-30MKK and the Su-30MK2, which were designed for and sold to China, and later Indonesia, Uganda, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Due to KnAAPO's involvement from the early stages of developing the Su-35, these are basically a two-seat version of the mid-1990s Su-35. The Chinese chose an older but lighter radar so the canards could be omitted in return for increased payload. It is a fighter with both air supremacy and attack capabilities, generally similar to the U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle. Irkut traditionally served the Soviet Air Defense and, in the early years of Flanker development, was given the responsibility of manufacturing the Su-27UB, the two-seat trainer version. When India showed interests in the Su-30, Irkut offered the multirole Su-30MKI, which originated as the Su-27UB modified with avionics appropriate for fighters. Along with its ground-attack capabilities, the series adds features for the air-superiority role, such as canards, thrust-vectoring, and a long-range phased-array radar. Its derivatives include the Su-30MKM, MKA, and SM for Malaysia, Algeria, and Russia respectively. The Russian Air Force operates several Su-30s and has ordered the Su-30SM variant as well. While the original Su-27 had good range, it still did not have enough range for the Soviet Air Defense Forces (PVO, as opposed to VVS – the Soviet Air Force). The Air Defense Forces needed to cover the vast expanse of the Soviet Union. Hence, development began in 1986 on the Su-27PU, an improved-capability variant of the Su-27 capable of serving as a long-range interceptor or airborne command post. The two-seat Su-27UB combat trainer was selected as the basis for the Su-27PU, because it had the performance of a single-seat Su-27 with seating for two crew members. A "proof-of-concept" demonstrator flew 6 June 1987, and this success led to the kick-off of development work on two Su-27PU prototypes. The first Su-27PU flew at Irkutsk on 31 December 1989, and the first of three pre-production models flew on 14 April 1992. The Su-30 is a multirole fighter. It has a two-seat cockpit with an airbrake behind the canopy. It can serve as an air superiority fighter and as a strike fighter. For more information on design, operational histories with a number of countries, and a long list of variants, click here.

The Macchi MB.308, later Aermacchi MB-308, was a light aircraft produced in Italy in the late 1940s, one of the most prolific Italian-built types of the following decade. It was a conventional high-wing cantilever monoplane with fixed tricycle undercarriage. Construction throughout was of wood. The pilot and a single passenger or instructor sat side by side, and later examples had a third seat behind them. The MB.308 was ordered in quantity by the Aeronautica Militare, which leased them out to Italy's aeroclubs. A modified version with a higher-powered engine was put into production in Argentina, under licence to sailplane manufacturer German Bianco. Variants MB.308 - main production version with Continental C85 engine MB.308 Idro - seaplane version MB.308G - three-seat version with Continental C90 engine MB.308G-100 - MB.308G built in Argentina with Continental O-200 engine and fuel tanks relocated from fuselage to wings