US Air Force Museum - the Vietnam War

The Vietnam War ushered in the age of air to air missile combat. It saw the first use of the radar guided missile. It also saw the reintroduction of the gun to aircraft. It also so the first use of a airborne controller.

This is a Constellation with a radome attached. This particular one was the first aircraft to direct another aircraft to its kill.

This is a head on shot of the MiG-21 which was our main adversary in the war. It was a pretty decent aircraft. Was slightly faster than the F-4 but definately more maneuverable.

This is the MiG-17.

This is a head on shot of the F-105 which was used mostly for ground attack and hunting surface to air missiles.

This is a head on shot of the F-4 Phantom. Originally it was not equipped with a gun and they discovered that having guns on planes was still needed so they developed a pod for it.

This is the F-111 Aardvark, one of the first swing wing aircraft. During the 50's, they found that delta wing aircraft were great at high speeds but not so great at low speeds. They had a high stall speed which made them difficult to land. This was an effort to get the best of both worlds. Much of the technology used in this found its way to my favorite aircraft - the F-14 Tomcat.

This is a A-1 Skyraider. Originally developed at the end of World War II. It saw some use in Korea and Vietnam.

This is the B-52 Stratofortress, an awesome aircraft. Originally developed in the early 1950's. The last aircraft rolled off the production line in 1964. It is still being used today in much the same role as in Vietnam. There are stories of sons flying the same plane their fathers flew. Pretty soon, there may be a story of a grandson flying the same aircraft. It may still service into 2050 making it a 100 year old aircraft. Simply amazing.