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American Combat Planes of the 20th Century is an incredible reference for anyone who is interested in any American Combat Plane History.   There are 758 pages and 1700 b/w photos in this substantial labor of love by Ray Wagner, who has been passionately researching and writing about aircraft for over 50 years.   Whether you are already familiar with his past works, or just discovering this accomplished author for the first time... This is the book that you've been waiting for!

If you'd like to see the book's   Table of Contents ... Click here.   You can also browse the entire   Index Section   to get an idea of the extensive amount of information that is covered within this book.

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A- 1 Eaton     A- 4 Skyhawk     A- 6 & A- 7     Air Weapons     AV- 8 to A- 10     A- 20 Havoc     A- 22 Martin Maryland     A- 23 Martin Baltimore     A- 24 Douglas     A- 26 Douglas Invader     Attack Planes     B- 2A, F-111, F-117 Stealth    B- 17 Flying Fortress     B- 24 Liberator     B- 25 North American     B- 26 Marauder     B- 29 Superfortress     B- 32 Dominator     B- 35 Flying Wing     B- 36     B- 47 Stratojet     B- 50 Boeing     B- 52 Stratofortress     B- 57 Canberra     B- 58 Hustler     Biplanes     Biplanes, Army Pursuits     Bombers, B- 70 to Stealth     Bombers, First Big     Curtiss Falcon     CO- 1     DH- 4 De Havilland     F3D- Douglas Skyknight    F3H- McDonnell Demon    F4D- 1 Skyray    F4F Grumman Wildcats    F- 4U Corsair    F6F Grumman    F7F Grumman    F7U Vought    F9F G. Cougar    F9F G. Panther    F- 16 Fighting Falcon    F- 84     F- 86 Sabre    F- 89 to F-94    F- 100 to F-108    First Fighters    Flying Boats    GAX    Iraq to Afghanistan    Martin Bombers    Missile Era Fighters    Navy Fighers    Navy Flying Boats    O- 2 Douglas     P- 35 Seversky     P- 36 to 42 Curtiss     P- 38 Lightning    P- 39 Airacobra    P- 40 Line    P- 47 Thunderbolt    P- 51 Mustang Fighter    P- 61 Black Widow    P- 63 Kingcobra    P- 79 to P-81    P- 82 Twin Mustang    SB2C Helldiver    TBF-TBM Avenger    Thomas-Morse    Torpedo Planes    V- 11 Vultee    XB -28    XP -48 / 77   

Air Weapons for the Cold War, 1946-1962

Iron Bombs, Sidewinder, Bullpup


Page 9

New Fighter WeaponsSuch weapons on bombers made it all the more necessary to arm fighters with weapons most likely to destroy the bomber on the first pass. Fifty-caliber guns were soon replaced by the fast-firing 20-mm M-39, and then the M-61 Vulcan became the standard weapon for the next generation. Six rotating barrels gave the Vulcan a rate of fire equal to four of the earlier weapons.

For bomber interception, the favored weapons soon became the air-to-air missile. Salvos of small unguided rockets used by jet fighters in the 1950's proved too inaccurate, so radar-directed Falcon and Sparrow missiles were developed.
Iron Bombs Table 9

The heat-seeking AIM-9 Sidewinder developed by the U.S. Navy has become the most widely used missile used against aircraft. The Sidewinder's first successful direct hit was on September 11, 1953, when future astronaut Wally Schirra fired a test shot from an AD-4 at a QB-17 drone. Sidewinders were first deployed with the F9F-8s of VA-46 in July 1956. Steady development of the AIM-9 would result in new models for each generation of fighters.

The first small ground attack missile was the Bullpup A deployed with VA-212 FJ-4Bs in April 1958. A 250-pound bomb with a solid-fuel rocket and radio control, it was replaced by the Bullpup B (AGM-12C) with a 1,000-pound warhead and liquid-fuel for a ten-mile range limited by visual guidance and adopted by the Air Force as AGM-12D.


Table 10

 Table 11








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