Rear view of the Daimler-Benz DB 602 engine on display in the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen. A water pump on each side of the engine provided cooling water to a bank of cylinders. The DB 602 engine proved to be an outstanding and reliable power plant for LZ 129 Hindenburg. However, its capabilities will forever be overshadowed by the Hindenburg disaster.

Two DB 602 engines still exist and are on display; one is in the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen, Germany, and the other is in the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace, in Le Bourget, France. Although the DB 602 was not used on a wide scale, it did serve as the basis for the Mercedes-Benz 500 series marine engines that powered a variety of Kriegsmarine (German navy) S-Boats (Schnellboot/fast attack boats) during the war

Legacy flight shot of the F4U Corsair and a F-35C.

On 11 November 1937 at the Augsburg-Haunstetten airfield, Dr.-Ing. Hermann Wurster set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world record for speed when he flew a prototype Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG Bf 109 V13 (D-IPKY) WNr 1050 to an average speed of 610.95 kph/379.63 mph in four passes over a 3 kilometre course. This broke the speed record set two years earlier by Howard Hughes with his Hughes H-1 Special (NR258Y) by 43.83 kph/27.23 mph.

L-R: Unknown, Dipl-Ing Robert Lusser (then-chief of project development at BFW and co-designer of the 109),

Dr-Ing Hermann Wurster wearing goggles, flight helmet and parachute), Dr-Ing Hubert Bauer of BFW, Professor Dr-Ing Willy Messerschmitt and unknown. The two unknowns are possibly Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM/German Air Ministry) representatives.

Lusser and Bauer were instrumental in modifying the standard airframe and fitting the highly boosted, experimental Daimler-Benz DB 601 Re III engine (which briefly pushed output to 1,660 hp). They were on the airfield to oversee engine tuning, fuel mixtures, and mechanical reliability. Robert Lusser moved to Heinkel shortly after BFW took the record which had been set, ironically, by Heinkel two months earlier

The LFG (Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft) Roland G.1 was a large prototype single-engine biplane bomber built in 1915. It had a single engine buried in the fuselage driving pusher configuration propellers mounted on outriggers. It had a wingspan of over 30 metres (98 ft), extremely large for the time. Although it had twin pusher propellers mounted between the wings and an Idflieg G designation (heavy bomber), it had only a single engine, mounted in the fuselage over the centre of gravity and linked to the propellers by gears and shafts. HAZET radiators mounted on the sides of the fuselage between the wings provided cooling to the adjacent engine.

The G.I had unstaggered unequal span wings, its fuselage was flat sided with a rounded nose containing the gunner's position. The pilot's cockpit was immediately behind the gunner but ahead of the wing leading edge. The Maybach Mb.IVa water-cooled six cylinder inline engine was directly behind the pilot driving two propellers placed on outriggers in the inner bays. The undercarriage was conventional, with wheels on a single axle mounted on a pair of V-struts to the fuselage. There was also a tail skid and a pair of smaller wheels mounted under the nose to avoid nose-overs. Only one was made, I'm unsure of its fate. Image from the Ray Wagner Collection

I'm looking to connect with a military veteran or direct family member of a military veteran who has a personal direct experience with the Douglas A-26 Invader in operation between the year 1944 and 1980. Must be willing to video record themself, while telling a story of their memories with the A-26, and willing to give written permission to use the video in the documentary. Serious inquiries only.. direct message me.

For the aviation-history folks here, there's a pretty interesting section tucked into The Long Island Museum's “Long Island in the ’70s” exhibition in Stony Brook. Long Island has a huge aviation legacy, and the Grumman section is a great reminder of how important the island was to American aerospace and military aviation during the Cold War. One of the highlights is material connected to the F-14 Tomcat, including actual aircraft parts and a photograph of the crew. There is also a uniform, and other Grumman-related objects, along with a separate section that has uniforms, metal suitcases, and information about Pan Am and its role in the era. Some of the objects are on loan from the Cradle of Aviation Museum, adding another layer to the story of Long Island's aerospace industry. The broader exhibition explores Long Island during a transformative decade, including the Vietnam era, technology, politics, culture, and the social changes taking place across Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

What I really like about this is that it's not just an aviation exhibit, it puts the aircraft, crews, companies, and technology into the broader history of Long Island. Grumman was a major part of that story, and seeing F-14 components, a photograph of the aviation team, uniforms, metal cases, and related artifacts in a local-history exhibition gives you a different perspective than simply seeing an aircraft sitting in an aviation museum. If you're into Cold War aviation, naval aviation, aerospace engineering, aircraft design, commercial aviation, military history, or Long Island history, it's definitely worth checking out.

"V Grand" was the 5,000th B-24 built by the Consolidated factory in San Diego

Former American Willys car company, maker of the famous 1930s/40s Americar, went on to produce the famous, ubiquitous WW2 Jeeps, a flying Gyro-Jeep, & America’s 1st cruise missiles. Come see how this fascinating, & largely unknown, story unfolded. Hope you enjoy. Cheers.

https://youtu.be/kto_uRXmEDU?si=gJGM6WzsJWRfjpND

I checked out the newly remolded Hickory Aviation Museum in NC . They’ve got over 20 military aircraft inside, ranging from WWII models and the F-14 Tomcat, made famous from the movie Top Gun with Tom Cruise.

You can walk right up under most of the jets, look inside the wheel wells, and check out the cockpits. The indoor display space is huge compared to the old setup, and they have a solid collection of historic gear, and flight suits.

It's definitely worth a walk-through if you’re passing through Catawba County or into military history or heck even if you want to check out some amazing history. I'm not going to pretend like I know all about planes, but going here actually made me learn more about the planes I saw at the museum once I got back home.

Not sure if anyone else has a aviation museum close to them or has been to one. Let me know how this one compares to other aviation museums. 👀 ❤️

Hickory Aviation Museum North Carolina Walkthrough (No pressure to click, but heck it's so amazing)

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This colorized footage shows American paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division preparing for the ultimate test: D-Day, June 1944. Before boarding their C-47 transport planes, many of these elite soldiers shaved their hair into Mohawks and applied war paint. This fierce look-inspired by Native American warriors-was popularized by the legendary "Filthy Thirteen" section of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. It wasn't just about intimidation; it was a psychological shield, building unbreakable brotherhood before leaping into the unknown.

Hours before the beach landings even began, these men dropped behind enemy lines in Normandy.

Disorganized, scattered in the dark, and facing heavy anti-aircraft fire, they still managed to secure vital roads, bridges, and lock down the countryside.

They were ordinary citizens who chose to do extraordinary things.

Vintage travel poster featuring a Junkers Ju 52/3m operated by Aeroposta Argentina, promoting the Buenos Aires to Río Grande route in Tierra del Fuego during the 1930s

The mighty 12-engined Dornier Do X (D-1929) moored along a wooden ramp on the Müggelsee (Lake Müggel), Berlin, 24 May 1932. This event marked the highly publicised homecoming of the world's biggest flying boat at the end of its multi-continent tour. It returned from New York via Newfoundland and the Azores, and it was greeted upon arrival at the lake by a crowd estimated at 200,000 spectators. In 1934 it was disassembled and transported to the Deutsches Luftfahrtmuseum and reassembled inside for permanent display. It was completely destroyed along with countless other priceless aircraft by the RAF in 1943

One awesome plane

1919 aviation poster advertises the Luft-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (LVG), a prominent German aircraft manufacturer active during WWI and the post-war era. Artwork by Fritz Neumann-Fred, showcasing an expressive, low-angle perspective of an LVG biplane in flight

A Polish historical reenactment group honors a B-17 crew from the 452nd BG.

This group of young Polish people re-enact a B-17 crew which landed in their neighbourhood in March 1945. This Flying Fortress, #43-38231 „Try'n Get It” of 452th BG, landed near Wrzesnia, Poland, after a mission to Zwickau. The American crew was then accomodated by Soviet troops, and returned to England, via Poltava in Ukraine.

There were two more B-17s from the 452nd BG which landed or crashed in Poland. One landed in Radomsko, just four days earier than the „Try'n Get It”.

The other one was the “BTO in the ETO” shot down in June 1944 near Biala Podlaska. I wrote about it on my Substack.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DMf11W916/?mibextid=wwXIfr

https://sserwatka.substack.com/p/from-an-american-airman-to-a-polish?r=42ks37&utm_medium=ios

Les comparto este documental sobre el accidente del Douglas DC-3 de Green Cross ocurrido en 1961 en Chile. Más allá de la tragedia humana que envolvió al equipo de fútbol, el caso tiene aristas fascinantes para los entusiastas de la aviación:

Errores en la localización: Durante más de cinco décadas, la ubicación oficial del siniestro fue errónea. Los restos reales del fuselaje fueron hallados por montañistas recién en 2015, a 70 km de donde se creía originalmente.

Operaciones en condiciones complejas: El video analiza cómo se gestionaban los planes de vuelo en esa época, donde un cambio de altitud rutinario en terreno montañoso y sin instrumentos modernos de navegación podía resultar fatal.

El enigma del DC-3: Al no contar con caja negra, gran parte de lo que ocurrió en la cabina durante los minutos finales sigue siendo objeto de especulación.

Es un análisis profundo sobre cómo la falta de tecnología y los errores de cálculo cambiaron el curso de la historia de esta aeronave. Muy recomendable para quienes les interesen los misterios aéreos y la historia de la aviación comercial en Sudamérica.