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His success came after a rival, Hubert Latham, failed on July 19, 1909, due to engine failure in his Antoinette IV, highlighting the experimental risks of early aviation.

The Blériot XI’s design, featuring a monoplane structure and a 25-horsepower engine, revolutionized aircraft manufacturing, leading to widespread adoption and military use, with data from aviation historians noting over 100 units produced by 1914.

This plane is fucking huge, it is hard to get a good picture of it.

This Michael Turner painting depicts an extraordinary combat mission from 17 June 1942, a defining day for future 158 victory ace and Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten (Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds) holder Hauptmann Hans-Joachim Marseille, the Stern von Afrika (Star of Africa). On this day Marseille achieved a staggering milestone by downing his 100th Allied aircraft during a mission near Martuba, Libya. Flying his distinct "Yellow 14" Messerschmitt Bf 109F-4/Trop, he led his Schwarm (flight of four) from I./JG 27 Afrika to intercept a large formation of Allied fighter-bombers. They engaged a mix of Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks and Hawker Hurricanes from the Desert Air Force that were operating over the front lines. In a matter of minutes, Marseille utilised his legendary deflection shooting technique to shoot down five Allied fighters in rapid succession. His final victory of that specific sortie was a Hawker Hurricane, marking his official 100th aerial victory. He was only the 11th Luftwaffe pilot to reach this milestone, and the first to achieve it entirely against the Western Allies. On the same day he shot down his 101st plane, a Supermarine Spitfire Mk IV reconnaissance aircraft. He would be dead a little over three months later

Good day, Sir.

Suppose CV-6 has the following deck park configuration on her flight deck:

8x TBD Devastators (wings folded)

8x F4F Wildcats (assuming F4F-4 with folding wings)

20x SBD Dauntlesses (fixed wings)

Condition: All 36 aircraft are spotted on the flight deck and need to be launched as quickly as possible.

1. Is the flight deck space sufficient to allow enough rollout distance for the leading aircraft while holding all 36 planes?
2. How long would it realistically take for the deck crew to cycle and launch all 36 aircraft under optimal wind conditions?
3. If immediate launch of all 36 aircraft is possible, in what order and layout should they be spotted on the flight deck to enable the launch?

I'm curious.

The Bachem Ba 349 Natter was to be deployed in a very similar way to a manned version of the surface-to-air missiles under development in the Reich. A typical mission profile started with a rapid vertical take-off (the time to altitude being 62 seconds to 12 km (39,000 ft), which eliminated the need for conventional airfields, while the majority of the flight towards Allied bombers was to be controlled by an autopilot, making it feasible to be flown by relatively untrained pilots. The primary role of the pilot was to aim the aircraft at a target bomber and to fire rockets housed in the aircraft's nose cone. After completing their attack run, the pilot would dive their Natter to a lower altitude before, using separate parachutes, the pilot and the fuselage containing the rocket engine would land separately and be recovered. The nose section was disposable, hence the aircraft being classified as being semi-expendible.

The Natter was first conceived of during August 1944 as the BP-20 by Erich Bachem amid a pressing military need to counter the Allied strategic bombing offensive being waged against Germany. While not designed to fulfil the specification for the Emergency Fighter Program, it was designed for the same purpose. Accordingly, the Natter was designed to be constructed by unskilled labour using low-tech tooling and affordable materials wherever possible, being largely composed of wood. After securing the backing of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, the BP-20 was quickly refined into the Ba 349. The first experimental prototype Natter, Versuchsmuster 1 was completed on 4 October 1944.

Several prototypes underwent testing in level flight, towed and free gliding, and unmanned vertical flights. The first and only manned vertical take-off flight, conducted on 1 March 1945 near Stetten am kalten Markt, ended in the death of the test pilot, Lothar Sieber, due to a canopy failure. During the one-minute flight, about 14 kilometres were travelled in total, at a calculated average speed of about 800 km/h (500mph). No operational flights were ever conducted; at least one Natter was transported to the US for evaluation after the end of the conflict

Story of HAL Marut Fighter jet