The scariest plane of WW1: Fokker E. I Eindecker
Country: Germany
First flight: 1915
Normal takeoff weight: 660 kg
Wingspan: 8.5 m
Engines: 1 PD (piston engine) Oberursel U.0, 80 hp
Maximum speed: 132 km / h
Service ceiling: 3000 m
Practical range: 200 km
The aircraft received the nickname Fokker scourge ("punishing" Fokker). The aircraft was so effective as a fighter that the British forbade their pilots to fly over the front line alone, because when meeting one-on-one, other aircraft simply had no chance against a Fokker armed with a 7.92mm LMG 08 machine gun. / 15 Spandau. One of the Fokker E. I (Eindecker means monoplane), captured in 1916, is now on display at the London Science Museum.
First mass-produced combat aircraft with vertical take-off and landing: Hawker Siddeley Harrier
Country: UK
First flight: 1967
Maximum takeoff weight: 11500 kg
Wingspan: 7.7 m
Engines: 1 turbojet engine Rolls Royce Pegasus Mk.103 thrust 8750 kgf
Maximum speed: 1185 km / h
Service ceiling: 15,000 m
Maximum range: 1900 km
The world's first lightweight vertical take-off and landing attack / fighter. Since 1967, 257 aircraft of various modifications have been built, including 110 AV-8A aircraft manufactured under license in the United States by McDonnell Douglas, which were in service with the British Air Force, the Spanish and Thai Navy and the United States Marine Corps. The aircraft managed to fight during the Falklands War, where 20 Harriers, based on the British aircraft carriers Hermes and Invincible, shot down 21 Argentine aircraft.
Fastest aircraft: Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
Country: USA
First flight: 1964
Maximum takeoff weight: 77 t
Wingspan: 17 m
Engines: 2 TRDDF Pratt Whithey J58-P4
Maximum speed: 3500 km / h
Service ceiling: 26,000 m
Practical range: 5200 km (subsonic)
US Air Force strategic high-speed reconnaissance aircraft. The first aircraft in the world, created using technologies to reduce radar signature. Titanium alloys were used in its design, because due to the high flight speed, the skin was heated up to 400–500 ° С. A total of 32 vehicles were built (12 lost during operation). In 1976, the SR-71 set the official absolute speed record among manned aircraft - 3529.56 km / h, which has not been broken to date. The aircraft made reconnaissance flights over Vietnam and North Korea in 1968, during the Cold War over the territory of the USSR and Cuba, and in 1973 it was used for reconnaissance of the territory of Egypt, Syria and Jordan during the Arab-Israeli war. The aircraft was "armed" with electronic and photographic reconnaissance devices and side-looking radar. In addition to the US Air Force and the CIA, the SR-71 was operated by NASA as a flying laboratory under the AST (Advanced Supersonic Technology) and SCAR (Supersonic Cruise Aircraft Research) programs.
The first multi-engine aircraft: "Russian Vityaz"
Country Russia
First flight: 1913
Normal takeoff weight: 4000 kg
Wingspan: upper - 27 m, lower - 20 m
Engines: 4 piston Argus, 4x100 hp
Maximum speed: 90 km / h
Service ceiling: 600 m
Practical range: 170 km
The world's first multi-engine aircraft, which laid the foundation for the creation of heavy aviation. The aircraft was designed by the outstanding aircraft designer Igor Sikorsky. The device made its first flight in May 1913, and already in August of the same year, a world record for flight duration was set - 1 hour 54 minutes. Another outstanding example of aviation technology of the 20th century, the Ilya Muromets aircraft, became his direct follower.
First turbojet combat aircraft: Messerschmitt Me-262
Country: Germany
First flight: 1942
Normal takeoff weight: 6400 kg
Wingspan: 12.5 m
Engines: 2 turbojet engines Junkers Jumo 004B-1, thrust 2x900 kgf
Maximum speed: 850 km / h (at altitude)
Service ceiling: 11,000 m
Practical range: 1040 km
Powered by Junkers Jumo 004 turbojets, this aircraft, which made its maiden flight in 1942, was so superior to conventional fighters in terms of speed and climb rate that the commonly used definition of "wonder weapon" would fit well with it. Although the aircraft was originally conceived as a fighter jet, Hitler demanded that it be turned into a bomber, invulnerable to enemy fighters due to its speed and altitude. However, the command of the Luftwaffe considered this decision wrong. As a result, by 1944 the aircraft was not ready either as a fighter or as a bomber. The first victims of the Me-262 in the summer of 1944 were the Mosquito and Spitfire, whose speed and altitude could no longer serve as reliable protection against jet fighters. In the autumn of the same year, the Me-262 showed its capabilities as jet bombers, destroying the bridges at Nimwegen and Remagen and the English airfield at Endhoven. And although in general the successes of the Me-262 were quite modest, they clearly showed in which direction military aviation would develop in the future.
Highest-altitude fighter: Fighter-interceptor MiG-25
Country: USSR
First flight: 1964
Maximum takeoff weight: 41 t
Wingspan: 14 m
Engines: 2 TRDF R-15B-300
Maximum speed: 3000 km / h (at altitude)
Service ceiling: 24700 m
Practical range: 1730 km (subsonic)
It is the world's first serial fighter to reach a speed of 3000 km / h. In 1961, A. I. Mikoyan began designing an aircraft capable of intercepting the promising supersonic strategic bomber North American XB-70 Valkyrie. The aircraft with the factory code E-155 made its first flight in March 1964, and in 1969 began mass production. The aircraft, named E-266, became the record holder for the number of world records set on it: speed on various closed routes (100/500/1000 km) and on the basis of 15/25 km, rate of climb and absolute flight altitude (July 22, 1977 A. V. Fedotov reached an altitude of 37,800 m on this plane). Some of these records have not been broken to this day. Since the aircraft developed a high speed, and the skin was heated to almost 300 ° C, stainless steels, titanium and heat-resistant aluminum alloys were chosen as the main structural materials. Until the early 1990s, the MiG-25 in the interceptor version formed the basis of the USSR Air Force's air defense. The aircraft was produced in the interceptor version, as well as in reconnaissance and reconnaissance-strike versions. Now in service with Russia are several dozen reconnaissance bombers MiG-25RB.
Longest-lived bomber: Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
Country: USA
First flight: 1952 (B-52A)
Maximum takeoff weight: 220 t
(for modification B-52H)
Wingspan: 56 m
Engines: 8 turbojet engines Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-3/103, thrust 8x7600 kgf
Maximum speed: 1000 km / h
Service ceiling: 15,000 m
Maximum flight range: 16200 km
The most massive heavy bomber in history and, moreover, the record holder for active longevity among all combat aircraft. From 1952 to 1962, almost 750 aircraft of eight modifications were produced, but the B-52H variant is still in service with the US Air Force. 75 of them will serve right up to 2040, which will allow this bomber to become the oldest aircraft in history (it is also considered the record for range). The B-52 was created as a carrier of nuclear weapons, and the constant combat duty of these bombers was terminated only in 1991. The aircraft took an active part in the Vietnam War, as well as in all recent regional wars and conflicts.
Most massive jet aircraft: MiG-15 fighter
Country: USSR
First flight: 1947
Normal takeoff weight: 4800 kg
Wingspan: 10 m
Engines: 1 turbojet engine RD-45F, thrust 2270 kgf
Maximum speed: 1030 km / h
Service ceiling: 15200 m
Practical range: 1300 km
Aircraft with the factory name I-310 were powered by British Rolls-Royce Nene engines. The design of this engine was taken as a basis for the release of the first Soviet turbojet engine VK-1 (RD-45), which was used to equip aircraft called the MiG-15. These fighters became the real star of the Korean War, they also fought in China and the Middle East. This fighter became the most massive aircraft in the history of jet aviation - taking into account licensed production in other countries, more than 15,000 aircraft were produced, which were used in 40 countries. The last MiG-15s were removed from service with the Albanian Air Force in 2005.
Most stealthy strike aircraft: Lockheed Martin F-117A Nighthawk
Country: USA
First flight: 1981
Normal takeoff weight: 23,600 kg
Wingspan: 13.3 m
Engines: 2 turbojet engines General Electric
F404-GE-F1D2, thrust 2x4670 kgf
Maximum speed: 970 km / h
Service ceiling: 13,700 m
Combat radius of action: 920 km
The world's only light stealth bomber was mass-produced from 1982 to 1991, with a total of 59 aircraft built. Designed to covertly penetrate the enemy's air defense system and deliver high-precision strikes against important ground targets, for which it can carry guided bombs and guided missiles (maximum combat load - 2670 kg). He took part in hostilities in Panama, both wars in Iraq and operations against Yugoslavia. Removed from service in 2008. Information about the efficiency of the aircraft is contradictory, but its very existence is a clear illustration of the skill of aircraft designers who were able to make such an exotic machine fly.
First Fifth Production Fighter: Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor
Country: USA
First flight: 1990
Normal takeoff weight: 38 t
Wingspan: 13.6 m
Engines: 2 TRDDF Pratt Whitney F119-PW-100, thrust 2x15600 kgf
Maximum speed: 2410 km / h
Service ceiling: 19800 m
Combat radius of action: 760 km
The world's first and so far the only serial fifth-generation multifunctional fighter that implements all the features of this type of aircraft: stealth (stealth technology), super-maneuverability, supersonic cruising flight, a high degree of automation, piloting, navigation, target detection and weapon use. The main weapons are housed in internal compartments. The first flight of the pre-production vehicle took place in September 1997. It was planned to purchase 384 aircraft for the US Air Force, but due to the crisis and the high cost of machines (this is the most expensive fighter in history, its cost price is about $ 150 million), the program was reduced to 188 copies.
