Saab Gripen (World Fighter Aircraft Collection)

A Saab JAS 39 Gripen ("griffon") of the Czech Air Force coming in for a landing during the 2006 Czech International Air Fair.

The Gripen is a member of the latest generation of light fighters, designed by the Saab aerospace company of Sweden.   Saab has a long history of developing fighters, starting with the unusual Saab 21, which shared the twin-boom configuration of aircraft like the Venom, but used a single pusher propeller.   In a major redevelopment after the war the piston engine was replaced by a jet to produce the Saab 21R.   A string of other jet fighters followed over the years, comprising the Saab 29 Tunnan, Saab 32 Lansen, Saab 35 Draken, Saab 37 Viggen and finally the Gripen.

Sea Vixen (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

The Sea Vixen is a bizarre-looking British naval fighter jet with twin tail booms and a horizontal tail surface mounted at the top of the vertical stabilizers.   Extra fuel tanks were fitted above the wings in an extension of the tail booms.   The cockpit canopy is mounted on the left side of the fuselage, because a radar operator was housed entirely within the fuselage to the right of the pilot.   This radar operator didn't have a canopy, instead he entered the fuselage through a metal hatch to his position, which had only a tiny window.   This compartment was jokingly referred to as the "coal hole" because it was dark, cramped and unpleasant.   It was a dangerous place to be if the plane was shot down or had an accident, because it was very difficult for the radar operator to get out quickly.

Unlike its predecessor the Venom, the Sea Vixen had two engines and was just able to fly faster than the speed of sound.   It was the first British fighter to have no guns, relying entirely on rockets to shoot down enemy aircraft.

F-4 Phantom, F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-86 Sabres (World Fighter Aircraft Collection)

Three generations of American jet fighters in an air force "Heritage Flight" formation at the 2005 Oceana airshow in Virginia, an F-4 Phantom II in the lead, flanked by two F-86 Sabres and a trailing F-16 Fighting Falcon.   More Sabres were manufactured than any other American jet fighter, just under 10000, and the Phantom is the runner-up, with 5195 built.

The F-86 Sabre was America's first swept-wing fighter and proved to be significantly more capable than earlier jets like the straight-winged P-80 Shooting Star.   The F-86 was able to tackle the Russian-designed MiG-15 on equal terms and unlike earlier jet fighters it remained in service for many years, rather than becoming obsolete quickly.

The F-4 Phantom II is one or two generations more advanced than the Sabre, and was the most important American fighter of theVietnam War, like the Korean war a struggle carried out in Asia against communist forces.   The Phantom was very capable, but since Korea the gap in training between American and communist pilots had closed, and instead of the roughly 10 to 1 kill ratio enjoyed by Sabre pilots during the Korean war, Phantom pilots achieved only about a 3 to 1 ratio, and were now frequently shot down by ground-to-air missiles, a threat absent in Korea.   As a result, the navy started the TOPGUN training course near the end of the war, which significantly improved navy figures, while air force performance in the Phantom actually decreased during the same time period.

The F-16 was developed as the successor to the Phantom II, and incorporated many lessons learned by use of the Phantom inVietnam, such as the need for a cannon to be built into the basic design of the aircraft.   The F-16 Fighting Falcon remains the backbone of the modern US Air Force, providing effective service in greater numbers than the more capable but more expensive F-15 Eagle and F-22 Raptor.

Short 360 STOL Cargo Plane (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

The Short 360 is an airliner with very good short takeoff and landing (STOL) performance, allowing it to be used in places with very small runways.   The name Short wasn't given because of this, but because it was designed by Short Brothers, a company based in Northern Ireland which has been operating since 1908, making it the oldest aviation company in the world.   In fact, two of the three Short Brothers had been selling hot-air balloons since 1902, a year before the Wright Brothers made their first flight in a heavier-than-air plane.   The Short Brothers even built six copies of the originalWright Flyer under licence, and so became the first aircraft manufacturing company in the world.

The Short 360 can carry up to 39 passengers, but here it's being operated as a cargo plane for FedEx.   The boxy shape of the plane makes it very practical for airline and cargo operation, but it does look quite strange, and the wings look far too small to support the weight of the plane.   It's also very unusual in modern times to see a plane which has struts to brace the wings against the fuselage!   Nevertheless, this has been a very successful design, exported to many countries and a modified version is still operated by the US Army as the C-23B Sherpa.

P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang (World Fighter Aircraft Collection)

The P-38 Lightning "Glacier Girl" in formation with the P-51D Mustang "Tempus Fugit" during the 2006 "Aviation Nation" airshow in Nevada.

The Lightning and the Mustang both had relatively long range compared to contemporary British and German fighters like the Spitfire, Hurricane and Bf109.   This allowed the American aircraft to provide long-range escort duties for American bombers flying against German and Japanese targets, and it also allowed deep penetration strike and interdiction missions, such as the shooting down of Japanese admiral Yamamoto, who planned the Pearl Harbor attack.

There are far fewer Lightnings still flying than Mustangs, and "Glacier Girl" is a particularly interesting aircraft because of its unique history.   In July of 1942 it was flying across the Atlantic to Great Britain with five other P-38s and two B-17 Flying Fortress bombers.   Bad weather forced all of the aircraft to make anemergency landing on an ice sheet in Greenland, from where the crews were rescued.   The aircraft remained behind and by the time a recovery effort was launched in 1992, they were buried under 270 feet of ice.   Using imaging techniques it was determined that this particular Lightning was in better condition than the others, and hot water was used to melt a passage down to the aircraft, which was dismantled, brought to the surface and then restored to flying condition.   In 2007 it was sold for five and a half million dollars, making it one of the most expensive warbirds now flying.

F-15 Eagle and P-47 Thunderbolt (World Fighter Aircraft Collection)

An F-15E Strike Eagle (colloquially known as the Beagle or "bomb eagle") in a USAF "Heritage Flight" formation with the P-47 Thunderbolt "Tarheel Hal" at the 2007 Commemorative Air Forceairshow at Midland, Texas.

It's a very appropriate combination of aircraft, since the Thunderbolt was a top-rate fighter in World War Two which served equally effectively in the ground attack role, just as the Strike Eagle effectively performs both roles today.

Precious Metal Racing Plane (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

"Precious Metal" is a highly modified P-51 Mustang fighter which competes at the Reno Air Races in Nevada.

In spite of appearances, Precious Metal doesn't have a six-bladed propeller.   Instead, it has two separate propellers which turn in opposite directions!   The engine which drives these contra-rotating propellers has also been changed from the standard Rolls-Royce or Packard Merlin to a more powerful Rolls-Royce Griffon.

In some ways, Precious Metal is a throwback to early models of the Mustang, which had a raised back.   Later, these were replaced with a low back and a "bubble" canopy like the one on the F-16 Fighting Falcon.   However, to improve aerodynamics for racing, this type of canopy was removed and replaced with the old style of back.   However, unlike other modified P-51s on the racing circuit, Precious Metal has the original style of radiator cooling scoop under the fuselage, which degrades performance significantly.

F-22 Raptor Stealth Fighter (World Fighter Aircraft Collection)

For a few years after its introduction, aviation enthusiasts feared that the F-22 Raptor's performances at airshows would be limited to the same "high and level" passes which had sucked so much life out of demonstrations by the air force's other stealth aircraft, the F-117 Nighthawk and the B-2 Spirit.

However the top brass relented, perhaps hoping to enlist public support for the procurement of large numbers of such an expensive aircraft, and the Raptor started performing banked "photo passes" like this and then expanding the demonstration envelope to include thrust-vectoring maneuvers made possible by its ability to angle the jet exhausts while in flight.   Although the Russians had been performing mind-boggling thrust-vectoring displays for many years in their Sukhoi and MiG fighters, the Raptor remains the only western fighter with this capability, which makes even non-technical airshow viewers stare in amazement.

Something else which came as a surprise to enthusiasts was the Raptor's ability to pull clouds of vapor, sometimes entirely obscuring the entire aircraft under a fast-moving cloud - a new type of "stealth" that no-one had previously thought of!   Up to this time, the American "vapormeister" had been the F-18 Hornet, but the F-22 has now added this all-important crown to its list of achievements.

Enstrom F-28A Helicopter (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

The Enstrom Helicopter Corporation is one of the least well-known of the American helicopter manufacturers.   This F-28A is a variant of the first model of helicopter they sold commercially.

In spite of its color scheme, this type of helicopter never operated with the US Marine Corps.

P-51 Mustangs (World Fighter Aircraft Collection)

The P-51 Mustang was the definitive American fighter of World War Two.   In the mind of the American public it became one of the two emblematic aircraft of the war, the other being the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber.

As well as being a very effective fighter in a dogfight, the Mustang also had the huge advantage of great range, which allowed it to escort bombers from Great Britain all the way into Germany, and in the Pacific War from places like Iwo Jima to the Japanese mainland.

The early model P-51A, P-51B and P-51C all had a high back, but the P-51D introduced a "bubble" or "teardrop" canopy developed by the British, which allowed the pilot to see enemies approaching from behind.   The two P-51Ds shown here flying at the 2008Commemorative Air Force airshow in Midland, Texas, both have this type of canopy, though technically both aircraft are TF-51s, since they've both been fitted with a rear seat, like the training versions developed after World War Two.

De Havilland Buffalo (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

Modern military aircraft from foreign countries don't often perform at American airshows, so it was a rare sight to see this Buffalo cargo plane from Canada at the 2006 Thunder Over Michigan airshow.

The Buffalo was designed by the British company de Havilland, which built World War Two planes like the Mosquito, post-war jet fighters like the Vampire, Venom and Sea Vixen, and also produced the world's first jet airliner, the Comet.   The Canadian subsidiary of de Havilland built float planes like the Beaver and Otter, and then came up with a much larger aircraft, the two-engined Caribou.   The Caribou was designed for the United States Army, and built on the excellent short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities of de Havilland Canada's previous aircraft.   The army bought 159 of them and used them extensively in Vietnam.   The CIA's Air Americatransport service also used them in Indo-China for covert operations.   Some of the army planes were captured by the communists at the end of the war and continued in service for several years, just like other captured American aircraft.

The Buffalo was a turboprop version of the Caribou, but with a high tail which made an already maneuverable aircraft even more maneuverable.   It was also designed for the US Army, but political fighting between the American armed services meant that the army was no longer allowed to operate large fixed-wing aircraft, so suddenly the Buffalo no longer had a customer.   The Royal Canadian Air Force therefore bought 15 of them, and others were sold to Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, India and Zambia.   In 2009 it was decided to replace the Canadian Caribou aircraft with the Italian-designed Spartan.

P-51 Mustang and F-16 Fighting Falcon (World Fighter Aircraft Collection)

A legend flying a legend.

Famed test pilot Chuck Yeager flying a P-51D Mustang in formation with an F-16 Fighting Falcon at the 2005 Edwards Air Force Baseairshow in the high desert north of Los Angeles.

Yeager is no stranger to the Mustang, having flown one called "Glamorous Glennis" during World War Two, achieving 12.5 kills, including one against an Me 262 jet fighter.   He is also no stranger to Edwards Air Force Base, which used to be called Muroc army air field.   This was and still is the main test and development location for air force aircraft, and it's where in 1947 he became the first man to break the sound barrier by flying in the rocket-powered X-1, at age 24.   He did this in spite of breaking two ribs a couple of days before the flight while riding a horse, an accident which he kept secret in case he was taken off flight status.

Space Shuttle on 747 (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

Technically, the aircraft you see here mounted on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft is not a Space Shuttle, it's correctly referred to as an Orbiter vehicle or Orbiter for short. The Space Shuttle is the combination of the orbiter, the external fuel tank and the two solid rocket boosters.

The orbiter leaves Earth's atmosphere as a rocket and returns as a supersonic glider, traveling at up to 17,500mph (Mach 25) when it first re-enters the atmosphere. The orbiter is the largest and heaviest glider in operation, weighing 110 tons and with a length of just over 124 feet, a height of 69 feet and a wingspan of 79 feet. Some people would say that it's not a very good glider, since it's completely incapable of gaining altitude but rather falls at a hair-raising 10,000 feet of altitude per minute, which results in a 40 degree glide path, slowing only as it pulls up or "flares" for landing. Touchdown happens at 215mph, considerably faster than the 160mph most airliners land at. Astronauts training to fly the shuttle do part of their training in a Gulfstream corporate jet whose engine thrust is reversed to simulate the rapid descent of the orbiter.

The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft is one of two 747s modified with shuttle attachment points and endplates on its horizontal tailplanes to increase stability when loaded with the Orbiter.

C-27 Spartan (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

It's not often that you see a large aircraft upside down, but it's a regular part of the airshow act of this Italian Air Force C-27J Spartan.   This Spartan is the support ship for the Frecce Tricolorijet display team, accompanying them like the Blue Angel's C-130 support plane, Fat Albert.   Both support planes perform a display, but Fat Albert never did anything like this!

In spite of what you might think, most large aircraft can do barrel rolls or even loops (most helicopters can't, though the Bo-105 is an exception).   When the Boeing 707 was first flown in public, its pilot Alvin Johnston twice did barrel rolls at low altitude in front of amazed crowds.   Even more impressively, the supersonic Concorde airliner was repeatedly barrel rolled when it was being tested.

The Spartan was derived from the Italian designed G222, which also flew some wild maneuvers at airshows.   Not all of these were intentional, and certainly not the dramatic landing accident at the 2002 Royal International Air Tattoo in Great Britain which resulted in lots of sparks, flames and smoke, but no injuries.

F-14 Tomcat (World Fighter Aircraft Collection)

For many people the F-14 Tomcat will always be the quintessentialUS Navy jet fighter, made most famous by its starring role in theTom Cruise movie "Top Gun".

In this photo a Tomcat in a retro 1970s color scheme does a low-level pass immediately after takeoff with afterburners at full-power, during the F-14's farewell show at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia, in 2005.

In addition to the Tomcat's own remarkable capabilities, the F-14's popularity owes almost as much to the reverence felt for its manufacturer, the same Grumman Corporation which made World War Two naval fighters like the F3F, F4F, F6F, F7F and F8F, as well as a line of post-war jet fighters including the Panther and Cougar.

Whether viewed from the side, the front or the rear, the Tomcat has some very strange looking bumps and curves, which earned it the affectionate nickname "The Turkey."   All of those unusual shapes are there for a reason, and it's a surprise for many people to learn that the plane's wings provide only half of the total lift, the rest being generated by the fuselage itself and the "tunnel" between the engines, which not only creates 40% of the lift but also helps to reduce the plane's radar signature by shielding the ordnance hanging beneath the fuselage.

Ka-50 "Hokum" helicopter gunship (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

The Ka-50 Black Shark (NATO reporting name "Hokum") is a Russian helicopter gunship which hasn't entered full production and perhaps never will.

The Black Shark has two main rotors which turn in opposite directions, an unusual configuration which has always been favored by the Kamov design bureau, and is found in most of their helicopters, including the Ka-27 "Helix" and Ka-226 Sergei.   The Black Shark was designed as a replacement for the aging Mi-24 "Hind" attack helicopter, which became famous during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan.

Like the Bo-105 helicopter, the Black Shark is fully aerobatic, able to do loops and barrel rolls and even to fly backwards or sideways at more than 60 miles per hour.   It has the same head-up display as the MiG-29 fighter and can operate in complete darkness when the pilot is using the built-in forward-looking infrared display and wearing night vision goggles.   In addition to a 30 mm cannon on the side of its fuselage, the stub wings allow it to carry a lot of firepower, comprising up to 12 anti-tank missiles and 20 unguided rockets.

The Black Shark is unique among helicopter gunships for having only one crew member, and many people doubt whether it's possible to effectively fly a helicopter and operate its weapons at the same time.

Ka-27 "Helix-A" Helicopters (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

These strange-looking helicopters are Russian navy Ka-27s, which received the NATO reporting name "Helix-A".

The Ka-27 has the same contra-rotating rotor design of other helicopters designed by Kamov, such as the Ka-50 Black Shark and the Ka-226 Sergei.   Although it's more complex mechanically than traditional single rotor designs, there are several major advantages.   The biggest benefit of having two rotors turning in opposite directions is that the torque created by one rotor is cancelled out by the torque created by the other rotor.   When the rotor on an ordinary helicopter turns, the torque makes the body of the helicopter turn in the opposite direction.   Normally this is counteracted by the tail rotor pushing back to keep the helicopter's fuselage from spinning, however this uses up to 30% of the total engine power.

A helicopter like the Ka-27 which doesn't need a tail rotor can use this power to carry heavier loads, to climb higher or faster, or to fly forwards faster.   Another advantage of not having a tail rotor is that it's safer - quite a few helicopter accidents happen when the tail rotor hits an object or a person on the ground.   Another benefit is that the helicopter can be made more compact, allowing it to operate where there isn't much space, for instance landing on city streets, or on a ship.   This advantage is the major reason why Kamov was successful making naval helicopters, while other Russian manufacturers like Mil built land-based helicopters like the Mi-6 "Hook" and Mi-10 "Harke".

Taylor Aerocar (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

Every ten years of so, somewhere in the world an inventor slaps himself on his forehead and says, "Now why didn't I think of that before?".   After drawing up some preliminary sketches he makes his way to some unsuspecting investors and presents his plans to build and market a revolutionary aircraft - a hybrid automobile and commuter plane!   Now Joe Public will be able to drive his car out to the nearest airfield, get it ready for flight and then soar high above the congested freeways below him, filled with imbeciles gazing heavenward in wonder.

The idea that those very same imbeciles will be the ones filling the skies over everyone's heads doesn't faze either the inventor or his investors, whose eyes are filled either with stars or dollar signs.   The money goes on the table, the demonstration models are built and flown and then - nothing.   No hordes of ordinary people rushing out to pony up large quantities of cash for the flying car, no mass production and thankfully no imbeciles weaving dangerously above us.

The Taylor Aerocar was probably the most successful of these flying automobiles, though only six were ever built, and this is the only one which is still flying.   The same engine drives either its propeller or its front wheels.   With its wings folded backwards it can travel at 60 mph along the road, and in the air it can reach 110 mph.

F-22 Raptor (World Fighter Aircraft Collection)

The F-22 Raptor is the world's first true stealth fighter, able to evade radar and hit enemy aircraft before they're even aware of the Raptor's presence.   Here it can be seen taxying during the military exercise Red Flag 07-2 at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

The F-117 Nighthawk was referred to as the "stealth fighter" long before the Raptor arrived on the scene, but in fact it was a ground attack aircraft and not a fighter.   The Nighthawk's "F-117" fighter designation was a deliberate attempt to mislead people about the aircraft, which was a top-secret black project until it was finally revealed to the public at the end of 1988, many years after it had entered service.   The F-117 was theoretically capable of carrying air-to-air missiles but it was never operated this way and pilots never trained for this role.

As well as its stealth, the Raptor boasts several other formidable capabilities, including thrust-vectoring and the ability to supercruise or fly supersonically without the use of afterburners.   It's often claimed that the Raptor was the first aircraft which can supercruise, but in fact the British-designed English Electric Lightning jet fighter developed in the late 1950s was the first aircraft with this ability, and the Concorde airliner spent most of its flight envelope in supercruise, using its afterburners only to achieve the desired altitude and initial speed.   Although its precise performance is classified, a combat-ready Raptor can probably supercruise faster than any other comparable fighter, largely because its entire weapon load is usually carried internally.

LT-6 Mosquito Forward Air Controller (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

The T-6 Texan was the most numerous military training aircraft ever made, earning it the name "pilot maker" during World War Two.   However this isn't a T-6 Texan, it's a variant called the Mosquito, which was given the designation LT-6 or T-6D.

The Mosquito was used as a forward-air controller (FAC) during theKorean War and the Vietnam War.   Pilots would fly over enemy territory and mark their positions using the phosphorus rockets you can see under the wings.   A larger ground attack plane would then drop bombs or explosive rockets onto the places the slow-flying Mosquito had marked.

P-47 Thunderbolt (World Fighter Aircraft Collection)

The world's only flying early model "razorback" P-47 Thunderbolt, in the air at the 2006 Chino airshow.

The Thunderbolt was the largest and heaviest single-engined fighter of World War Two, a marked contrast to cramped aircraft like the Bf 109 and Spitfire.   Although not as maneuverable as those planes, it was jokingly said that a P-47 pilot could dodge bullets simply by running around inside the cockpit.   It was certainly true that the Thunderbolt cockpit was much larger, and it also had air conditioning and a seat which one pilot described as being as comfortable as a lounge chair.   However in addition to its size, at that time the Thunderbolt was also the most expensive single-engined Army Air Force fighter, at a cost of $US85,000 each in 1945, compared to $US51,000 for the P-51 Mustang.

In spite of its size, the plane's good aerodynamics and powerful 14 cylinder radial engine, fitted with a turbo supercharger like the P-38 Lightning, gave it a high top speed, a late variant reaching 505 miles per hour in level flight.   This speed and its eight 50 caliber machine guns made it an excellent fighter, and it was able to dive at up to 550 miles per hour, meaning that enemy aircraft couldn't escape by that route.   When a new paddle-bladed propeller was added, German aircraft could no longer escape by climbing, either.   The P-47 destroyed a total of 3752 German aircraft and was the steed for the most successful American ace in Europe, Francis Gabreski, who achieved 28 kills.

Even when fully armed there was enough power left over from the engine to allow the carrying of up to 2500 pounds of bombs or ten 5 inch rockets, making the Thunderbolt a very effective ground attack aircraft.

Hawker Nimrod (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

The Hawker Nimrod was a British carrier-based fighter which entered service in 1933, but had already been replaced by a naval version of the Gloster Gladiator by the time World War Two began.   With a top speed of 195 miles per hour, the Nimrod was faster than its predecessors, but it still harkened back to aircraft from World War One, with its biplane layout, fixed undercarriage, open cockpit and armament of only two .303 inch machine guns which fired through the propeller arc.

The Nimrod was designed by Sydney Camm, one of the greatestBritish aircraft designers, who was also responsible for wartime fighters like the Hurricane, Typhoon, Tempest, and Sea Fury and, after the war, jets like the Hunter and an experimental vertical takeoff aircraft called the Kestrel, which was developed further and became the Harrier "jump jet".

Aggressor F-15 Eagle (World Fighter Aircraft Collection)

An "aggressor" F-15 Eagle taxies from the hot ramp during the Red Flag 07-2 military exercise.

For many years the F-15 Eagle was the USAF's premier fighter, until the advent of the next-generation F-22 Raptor relegated the Eagle firmly to second place.

The Eagle's genesis goes back to the late 1960s when the United States became aware the Russians were developing a very large, twin-tail fighter which became known as the MiG-25 "Foxbat".   Believing that the two large vertical stabilizers were intended to provide maneuverability in air-to-air dogfighting, the United States started to develop its own twin-tail aircraft to counter the MiG, the result being the Eagle.

It turned out that many of the American assumptions about the MiG-25 were incorrect; like the MiG-15 and MiG-21 before it, the MiG-25 was designed as a short-range, high-speed interceptor with speed of climb as one of the main design goals.   In the case of the Foxbat, high-altitude performance was also a requirement, and the large vertical stabilizers were intended primarily to avoid the problem of inertial coupling which can occur in this flight regime.

Nevertheless, development of the Eagle proceeded and it made its first flight in 1972, entering full production in 1978.   It entered service with the USAF and various foreign air forces, and has been involved in numerous combat situations in the Middle East, including shooting down four of the MiG-25 fighters which it was designed to counter, though none of them flown by Russian pilots.   By February of 2008 pure fighter versions of the F-15 had shot down 104 enemy aircraft, with no air-to-air losses of their own.

Me 163 Komet Rocket-Powered Fighter Plane (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

The Me 163 Komet was the world's first and only rocket-powered fighter to enter service.   As well as having an unusual power source, it also had an unusual tailless delta layout which was borrowed from designer Alexander Lippisch's early aircraft.   He had done a lot of work with gliders, which was one factor in his decision to have the plane land on a skid under the fuselage, instead of on a normal wheeled undercarriage.   For takeoff, the Komet was mounted on top of a wheeled cart which was jettisoned soon afterwards.   In spite of the lack of a horizontal tail, the Komet flew very well and it was nearly impossible to make it stall or spin.   The thin wings meant that it didn't suffer from the "compressibility" problems experienced even by much slower aircraft like the P-51 Mustang.

The Komet was easily the fastest aircraft of World War Two, able to fly at 596 miles per hour, and it could climb at a 70 degree angle and reach 40000 feet in the incredible time of only 3 minutes.   However it wasn't an effective fighter, partly because its approach speed was so high, so during the war it only shot down a total of 16 bombers.   To make matters worse, many of its pilots were hurt or died because of two undesirable features of the plane.   The rocket fuel consisted of two components, both of which reacted strongly with organic matter, which meant that if some spilled on the pilot or a member of the ground crew then he could be severely burned.   Landing on a grass airstrip was always dangerous, hitting a bump with the skid could injure the pilot's back and any remnants of fuel could leak, causing a fire or explosion.   Refueling was also dangerous, both because of the possibility of explosions and because of the risk of the fuel making contact with someone's skin.