Cold War
1946-1991
Jets, supersonic flight, and the reconnaissance revolution. The Space Race began here. Military budgets funded the most advanced aircraft ever built. Some still hold records today.
Historical context
The Cold War drove aerospace innovation at a pace unmatched before or since. The U-2, SR-71, and countless experimental aircraft pushed the boundaries of what was possible. Military aviation achieved Mach 3+ and 85,000 feet. The same competition that produced these aircraft put men on the Moon.
Defining characteristics
- • Jet propulsion becomes standard
- • Breaking the sound barrier
- • Strategic bombers and ICBMs
- • High-altitude reconnaissance
- • Stealth technology development
Aircraft from the Cold War
A-4 Skyhawk
Ed Heinemann was told the Navy wanted an attack aircraft half the weight of the A-1 Skyraider. He de...
Bell UH-1 Iroquois (Huey)
The Huey is the sound of Vietnam. That distinctive whop-whop-whop of the two-blade rotor is the most...
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 made international travel affordable. Before the jumbo jet, flying across an ocean wa...
C-130 Hercules
The C-130 Hercules has been in continuous production for over 70 years. That fact alone tells you ev...
Cessna 172 Skyhawk
Forty-four thousand. That's how many Cessna 172s have rolled off the line since 1956, making it the ...
CH-47 Chinook
The CH-47 Chinook is the heavy lifter of the U.S. Army. When you need to move artillery pieces, vehi...
Concorde
Concorde is the only supersonic airliner that actually worked. The Soviets built the Tu-144, which c...
de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
The Beaver is THE bush plane. Full stop. De Havilland Canada designed it by literally asking bush pi...
Douglas DC-9
The DC-9 democratized air travel. Before it, jets were for major airports with long runways and full...
F-104 Starfighter
Kelly Johnson called it 'the missile with a man in it.' The F-104 Starfighter was the purest express...
F-4 Phantom II
The F-4 Phantom II was the do-everything fighter of the Cold War. Navy interceptor, Air Force fighte...
Grumman G-164 Ag Cat
Grumman, the company that built the Hellcat and the Tomcat, sat down and designed a crop duster. And...
Hughes 500
In Vietnam, the OH-6 'Loach' flew low and slow on reconnaissance missions, finding the enemy so Cobr...
Learjet 23
Before the Learjet, if you were a CEO who wanted to fly private, you chartered a turboprop and prete...
Lockheed Constellation
The Constellation was the most beautiful airliner ever built. That triple tail, the graceful dolphin...
MiG-15
The MiG-15 was the wake-up call. When it appeared over Korea in November 1950, American pilots in st...
MiG-21
The MiG-21 is the AK-47 of fighter jets. Small, cheap, simple, and built in staggering numbers. Over...
Mil Mi-12 (Homer)
The Mil Mi-12 is the most absurd helicopter ever built, and it actually worked. The Soviets wanted t...
SR-71 Blackbird
The SR-71 Blackbird still looks like science fiction sixty years after its first flight. Kelly Johns...
U-2 Dragon Lady
Kelly Johnson's Skunk Works built the U-2 in 80 days — a high-altitude reconnaissance platform that ...