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.