Supermarine's Spitfire is undoubtedly one of the iconic fighters of WWII, and continues to garner support from warbird enthusiasts worldwide. 22 distinct major versions of the Spitfire were developed to meet the operational demands of the war. Australia's involvement with the Spitfire began in th...

On the 4th of July 1989, a strange incident would occur in Europe. Over the course of an hour, various air forces would be put on high alert as a Soviet MIG-23 flew across central Europe. What wasn’t known, until after the aircraft had been intercepted and visually identified, was that this MiG-2...

Made famous by the movie "A Bridge Too Far", the Market Garden operation took place in September, 1944. Join us to better understand the struggles of the men who made it to the farthest objective - the Bridge at Arnhem.

Within the span of 120 years, military aviation has evolved from a niche experimental weapon, an important observation tool, to now a fundamental battlefield element. The history is well documented. One of the lesser discussed topics within this evolution is that of aircraft camouflage. Let’s tak...

The Tsar Bomba, a Soviet nuclear bomb code named “Ivan”, was the most powerful nuclear weapon ever created and tested. The testing of this bomb would be the Soviet’s declaration of nuclear competence to the United States, which held superiority over the USSR in the nuclear weapons race.
In order ...

In the early 1970s, the Imperial Iranian Air Force - as it was then known - sought to procure new fighters to combat potential threats, particularly that posed by the new MiG-25. The new MiG’s capability was largely a mystery to the west, and Iran needed a strong deterrent for it’s northern borde...

Have you ever wondered how many carriers were in commission in the US Navy during WWII? Here is your answer! Please enjoy this surface-level overview of each carrier class the US Navy had during WWII.

During the Vietnam War, pilots would square off using many new technologies. For the first time, air-to-air missiles would be used, allowing for longer range combat and more intense dogfights.

On the 5th of August 1964, the US Navy begins operations of a new aircraft over Vietnam. This new multirole aircraft - the F4 Phantom - will come to define Vietnam War era jet combat, but during these early missions the aircraft was still a work in progress. Today we look at the story of the firs...

It is the morning of January 16th 1991. Within the next 24 hours, coalition forces will undertake a precision aerial campaign against Iraqi forces, in what will be known as Operation Desert Storm. Desert Storm will see almost 4000 aircraft mobilized by both sides, with coalition forces taking par...

The French government signed an armistice with Germany in mid-1940, which was effective from June 22nd onward, following the fall of France. This would, as the French hoped, put an end to the regional conflict in France and restore a measure of security. England, which had by this time withdrawn ...

Teddy Roosevelt was the first president to fly in a plane and FDR would receive the first presidential airliner in 1933. In this program, we will explore the history of the Air Force One aircraft.

The Henry Ford’s Curator of Transportation, Matt Anderson, shares the stories behind two influential American racing teams that found major success using teamwork.

Over the years the C-130 Hercules has been the subject of many experiments. From landing on aircraft carriers to retrieving falling film cannisters from spy satellites. However, one of the more prominent experiments was around a rocket powered concept, which was to be used in a hostage rescue ope...

The base was operational during the height of the Cold War and was part of Project Blue Book investigations. On September 19, 1961, the radar tracked an unknown object for 18 minutes. That same night, Betty and Barney Hill claimed to be abducted by aliens just 40 miles away.

The base was operati...

The Henry Ford’s master presenter, Ray Pisani, shares the history of the Wright brothers' journey to build the world's first controlled, powered aircraft.

On August 9th 1945, the United States dropped a nuclear weapon on Nagasaki. After almost 80 years, few are aware of the strange events that led to Nagasaki - of all places - being chosen as a nuclear target. The reality is, the city was not chosen because of any real military significance of valu...

‘Nisei' (2nd generation) follows the journey of two brothers through WWII, Minoru and John Miyasaki, who are stripped of citizenship, imprisoned, but still volunteer to join the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, an all Japanese-American regiment and the most medaled unit in the history of the US mili...

Produced by the Office of War information's Bureau of Motion Pictures, this program gives us a contemporary look at how early American received their jump training, and also how some of those men moved on to specialize in winter and mountain warfare. Fans of the 10th Mountain may find this very i...

The B-1B Lancer has long been one of the most capable bomber aircraft ever produced. Able to fly supersonic (and at extremely low altitudes), deliver large quantities of weapons with pinpoint precision, the Lancer has been proven in several conflicts. However, the B-1 bomber we know today was nev...