B-36 Peacemaker (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

The B-36 Peacemaker was America's first intercontinental nuclear bomber, the largest piston-engined aircraft ever to enter production, and still holds the world record for the largest wingspan of any combat aircraft.

The Peacemaker project began even before the attack on Pearl Harbor caused America to enter World War Two.   At that time it seemed very likely that Germany was going to invade and defeatGreat Britain.   If a war between America and Germany then started, America would have to bomb targets all the way from the continental United States, which was completely impossible with existing aircraft.   Even after it became clear that Great Britainwouldn't fall the B-36 project was kept alive, first because of the need to bomb Japan and, after the capitulation of Japan, by the start of the Cold War.   The two atomic bombs dropped on Japan by B-29 Superfortresses were soon replaced by larger bombs which were beyond the carrying capabilities of the B-29, leaving the B-36 as the only nuclear bomber with the size, lifting capabilities and range to hit targets in Russia.   The Peacemaker was much larger than its predecessor, with a length of 162 feet and a wingspan of 230 feet, compared to a length of 99 feet and wingspan of 141 feet for the Superfortress.

The Peacemaker was fitted with six piston engines driving propellers, all mounted at the back of the wings in pusher configuration, each engine producing an incredible 3800 horsepower.   To make things even more interesting, it also had four jet engines, which led to the expression among its crews "six turning and four burning".   The jet engines gave extra power for takeoff, but they were shut off when cruising in order to conserve fuel and increase range.

The Peacemaker was America's main atomic bomber until it was completely replaced by the B-52 Stratofortress in 1959.   Its payload was even greater than the B-52, but it could only fly half as fast.   Although much of the B-36's design was old, its large wing and powerful engines allowed it to fly at an altitude and speed which prevented Russian fighters, including the early jets, from intercepting it.   If it was intercepted then it could defend itself using no fewer than eight turrets, each equipped with two 20mm cannon, the most defensive firepower any bomber has ever carried.   An attempt was later made to carry a small "parasitic" jet fighter called the XF-85 Goblin into combat, but it was too difficult for the fighter pilots to hook up to the trapeze which attached them to the Peacemaker, and the project was abandoned.

F-5 Tiger IIs (World Fighter Aircraft Collection)

These F-5 Tiger II fighters taxying out during the 2009 Marine Corps Air Station Yuma airshow in Arizona are unusual in several ways.

The first oddity is that the F-5 was built by Northrop mainly for export, although it did see very limited combat with American forces in Vietnam.   It was also intended as an air force fighter, however these two have Marine Corps insignia.  Finally, these aircraft are painted in a very unusual disruptive color scheme, not at all like the current US military low visibility grey scheme.

The reason for all of these peculiarities is that these aircraft are not part of the regular United States combat forces, instead they are "aggressor" aircraft operated by the Marine Corps, a similar function to those performed by the air force at Nellis Air Force Base with their F-15 aggressors and F-16 aggressors.   Since the main purpose of aggressors is to allow American aircraft to fight against aircraft which have different flight characteristics than their own, it makes more sense to use F-5s in this role than F-15s or F-16s, which are part of the regular military.   Indeed the Marine Corps bought these ex-Swiss Air Force F-5s because they perform much like the Russian MiG-21 "Fishbed" fighter.   The color scheme and red star on the tail are a deliberate recreation of standard Soviet paint styles.

KC-135 Stratotanker (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

The KC-135 Stratotanker is a dedicated aerial refuelling plane.   It allows fighters and other military aircraft to fly more missions by transferring fuel to them near where they're operating, rather than having to go to a distant air base to refuel.

United States Air Force tankers like the KC-135 use a "flying boom" to transfer fuel.   This consists of a long metal pipe which expands like a telescope, the small "wings" near the end allowing a boom operator or "boomer" lying in front of a window at the back of the plane to maneuver it into the receiving plane's fuel receptacle.   TheUnited States Navy and Marine Corps, as well as foreign air forces, prefer the "probe and drogue" method, with a metal tube or "probe" on the receiving plane, and a basket or "drogue" attached to a flexible hose on the tanker.   The receiving plane's pilot flies towards the tanker and inserts the probe into the drogue, and fuel transfer then begins.   This method allows several planes to refuel at once from the same tanker, since it's possible to have a hose extending from the fuselage, and others extending from the wings.   However, the boom allows fuel to be transferred to large aircraft more quickly.   Another advantage of the boom is that a fighter or other small plane with engine trouble or a large fuel leak can hook up to the boom and then shut down the engine and be towed back to base, where it can glide down.   This technique was used on many occasions during the Vietnam War.

The Stratotanker was developed at the same time as the Boeing 707 airliner.   It was supposed to be nearly identical, but airlines decided they wanted the plane to be larger, so the two planes ended up with much less in common.   For many yearsBoeing had been building only military aircraft like the B-47 Stratojet and B-52 Stratofortress, but the 707 allowed them to break back into the airliner business.

F-16 Fighting Falcons (World Fighter Aircraft Collection)

Two California air national guard F-16 Fighting Falcons during the opening ceremony for the 2009 Riverside airshow.

Unusually for an American airshow, they're both fitted with extra fuel tanks and short-range and long-range practice missiles, however unlike at foreign airshows, flares aren't permitted during these demonstrations.

The F-16 is the workhorse of the USAF, less capable than its twin-engined brother the F-15 Eagle, but cheaper to build and operate, and therefore able to be fielded in greater numbers.

First flying in 1974, the F-16 has been a phenomenal success, going beyond its original brief as a daytime fighter to become a true multirole aircraft equally as capable doing ground attack and air-to-air combat.   It now operates with about 25 air forces around the world, and comes in a variety of configurations, including two-seater models.   It has taken part in many military operations and shot down a wide variety of other aircraft in combat.

Polikarpov I-16 fighter plane (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

The Polikarpov I-16 was a very innovative fighter which first flew at the end of 1933.   It was the first cantilevered monoplane fighter with retractable undercarriage, which greatly increased the top speed, making it the world's fastest fighter of the time.   Although some people thought it was based on the American P-26 "Peashooter", it was in fact an original design.

About 500 I-16s fought with the Republicans during the Spanish civil war, completely dominating the air until the Messerschmitt Bf 109 appeared.   When Germany invaded Russia in 1941, about two-thirds of the Russian fighter force still consisted of the I-16, even though the Russians had already realized that it was at the end of its development potential.   The I-16 was still capable of operating against the early-model Bf 109E "Emil" at low altitudes, but by 1943 it had been replaced by more modern aircraft.

P-38 Lightning and Mitsubishi Zero (World Fighter Aircraft Collection)

The Chino-based P-38 Lightning "23 Skidoo" chases the Commemorative Air Force's Mitsubishi Zero during the 2006 Arizona Skyfest held near the town of Prescott.

The Zero was Japan's main fighter throughout World War Two, and American forces made extensive use of the Lightning during thePacific War because of its long range, especially when using drop tanks like the ones visible in this photograph underneath "23 Skidoo".   An aircraft with two engines also has considerable advantages when flying over vast stretches of ocean, though flying a P-38 on only one engine is no easy matter.

Ultimately the Lightning shot down more Japanese aircraft than any other USAAF fighter, though navy and Marine Corps F6F Hellcatsdid shoot down more.