HomeNewsPhotos

Planes over water

AIR FORCE PHOTOS

Clear Filters | 41 - 60 of 119 results

Northrop YB-49 flying wing prototype bomber

The Northrop YB-49 flying wing prototype bomber. Capt. Glen Edwards was killed when a YB-49 crashed June 5, 1948. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Details Download

Northrop YB-49

The YB-49 is photographed at the Northrop facility, Hawthorne, Calif., Dec. 23, 1948. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Details Download

Convair X-F-92A

The Convair X-F-92A flies a test mission. The aircraft was a delta-wing concept demonstrator. (Courtesy photo)
Details Download

Boeing YB-52 lands in 1953

The Boeing YB-52 from North American lands on Rogers Dry Lake, Calif., in 1953. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Details Download

YB-52 in flight

The YB-52 flies a test mission in an undated photo. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Details Download

Lt. Col Frank K. "Pete" Everest

Lt. Col Frank K. "Pete" Everest set the last low altitude world absolute speed record when he piloted the YF-100 to 755 mph, Oct. 29, 1953. He subsequently piloted the rocket-powered Bell X-2 to a record speed of Mach 2.87 or 1,900 mph in June 1956. (Courtesy photo)
Details Download

North American YF-100A

The YF-100A, the first aircraft to exceed Mach 1 on its first flight, flies over the North Base of Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on its first flight May 25, 1953. (Courtesy photo)
Details Download

North American YF-100

The first North American YF-100 built with the serial number 52-5754 lands with drag chute. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Details Download

D-558-2 Skyrocket launch

The D-558-2 Skyrocket just after launch from a P2B-1S, the U.S. Navy version of the B-29 Superfortress. (Courtesy NASA photo)
Details Download

D-558-2 Skyrocket

The D-558-2 Skyrocket is towed on the lakebed of Rogers Dry Lake, Calif. (Courtesy NASA photo)
Details Download

A. Scott Crossfield, test pilot

A. Scott Crossfield with the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket after his record-breaking Mach 2 flight, Nov. 20, 1953. In 1993, NASA awarded him the Distinguished Public Service Medal for his contributions to aeronautics and aviation for 50 years. (Courtesy NASA photo)
Details Download

Bell X-1A rocket plane

The Bell X-1A in flight. Maj. Chuck Yeager piloted the rocket plane to a top speed of Mach 2.44 or 1,650 mph Dec. 12, 1953. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Details Download

X-1A in flight over Rogers Dry Lake

X-1A in flight over Rogers Dry Lake, Calif., in 1953. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Details Download

Maj. Charles "Chuck" Yeager and the Bell X-1A

Maj. Charles "Chuck" Yeager and the Bell X-1A at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Yeager reached speed of Mach 2.44, at an altitude of 75,000 feet on Dec. 12, 1953, a speed record at the time. It wasn't a perfect flight -- the aircraft encountered an inertial coupling phenomenon and went out of control. Yeager was able to recover it and return to the base. (Courtesy photo)
Details Download

XF-104, prototype for the F-104 Starfighter

The XF-104 from Lockheed taxis on Rogers Dry Lake, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. in the 1950s. The XF-104 is distinguished by the lack of inlet shock cones and the short fuselage. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Details Download

XF-104, prototype for the F-104 Starfighter

The prototype for the world's first Mach 2 fighter, the XF-104 from Lockheed, made its first flight Feb. 28, 1954, at Edward Air Force Base, Calif. (Courtesy photo)
Details Download

Bell X-2

The Bell X-2 became the first aircraft to climb above 100,000 feet and exceed Mach 3 in September 1956. (Courtesy photo)
Details Download

X-2 in the mid-1950s

The X-2 rocket plane in flight during the mid-1950s. (Courtesy NASA photo)
Details Download

X-2 pilots, Capts. Iven Kinchloe and Mel Apt

Capts. Iven C. Kinchloe (left) and Mel Apt pose with the Bell X-2 rocket-powered aircraft. Captain Kinchloe climbed to 126,200 feet altitude in the X-2 Sept. 7, 1956. Captain Apt reached a speed of Mach 3.2 -- three times the speed of sound -- in the aircraft before it tumbled out of control and he was killed attempting to bail out on Sept. 27, 1956. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Details Download

X-2 rocket plane dropped from mothership

An X-2 rocket plane is dropped from the B-50 Superfortress mothership in the mid-1950s. (Courtesy NASA photo)
Details Download