The USAF is the 7th and current title. The USAF was founded on September 18th, 1947.
Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Curtiss, Bell, McDonnell, Republic, North American, Convair.
Fighter Aircraft
Curtis P-1 Hawk: Early open cockpit biplane fighter of the United States Army Air Corps. Max speed at 155 mph and two .30 cal brownings mounted to the front.
Boeing P-26 Peashooter: The first U.S. all metal monoplane fighter. Consists of an open cockpit and can reach speeds of 230 mph. Two .30 cal and a .50 cal were the standard weapon sizes Curtiss P-36 Hawk: First American plane to reach full scale production. All metal monoplane can reach speeds of 320 mph. Weapons consisted of a .50 caliber and .30 caliber Browning machine guns. Lockheed P-38 Lightning: "Fork Tailed Devil" A fighter with a uniques twin boom that can reach speeds of 440 mph. Weapons consisting of two .50 cals and two .30 cal Browning's. Bell P-39 Airacobra: Versatile fighter that was only strong at low altitude due to engine design. Used mainly by Russia due to little need of high altitude making altitude not as important. Reaches speeds of 370 mph, basic armaments included two .50 cal and two .30 cal Brownings. Curtiss P-40 Warhawk: The third most produced fighter by the United States, all metal monoplane that could reach speeds of up to 360 mph. Standard armaments included four .50 cal Brownings. Republic P-47 Thunderbolt: One of the largest and heaviest single piston fighter aircraft in history nicknamed "Jug." Reaching speeds of 430 mph and a standard armament of eight .50 cal brownings. Grumman F8F Bearcat: Strong creation of advanced fighters to meet the needs of faster rate of climb which led to numerous advantages. Speeds up to 450 mph and basic armaments of four .50 cal brownings, four 127mm rockets and a 1,000 lb. bomb. North American P-51 Mustang: Considerably one of the best fighters of WWII era, reaching speeds of 440 mph with a base of six .50 cal brownings, this long range fighter escorted bomb runs from conflicts until the midst of the Korean war where the F-86 took over the roll. Northrop P-61 Black Widow: A fighter specifically developed as a night fighter that uses radar. Mounted with four .79 cal Hispano's and four 50 cal Browning's reaching speeds of 360 mph with twin booms. Bell P-63 Kingcobra: Re-imagined version of the P-39 to try and correct its errors, widely accepted by The Red Air Force. Little to no use by the USAF. With a 1.45 cal M4 mounted in the nose hub made it a favorite of Russia's air force. Can reach speeds of up to 410 mph. Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star: The first operational turbojet engine fighter used by the USAF in 1944. Lead superiority over jet fighters until the mug-15 made its appearance which would lead to the inventions of the F-86 and F-94. Was able to reach speeds of 600 mph, with six .50 cal m4 Brownings, eight 127mm rockets and two 1,000 lb bombs. North American P-82 Twin Mustang: The last piston engine fighter to be put into production by the USAF. Twin fuselage with two pilots, the co-pilot has controls for emergency and relief whereas the pilot on the left has normal engine instruments. Both cockpits can control the planes propellers and flaps. The plane could reach speeds of 475 mph and carries six .50 cal, 25 127mm rockets and 4,000lbs of bombs. North American P-86 Sabre: "MiG Killer" Mass produced jet fighter used during the Korean and Cold war. Until the Sabre, the MiG 15 was dominant in the sky. The P-86 broke the sound barrier and remained a mainstay in the air force until 1980. The Sabre held six .50 cal M3 Brownings and could reach speeds of up to 670 mph. Northrop F-89 Scorpion: Early jet fighter that still used a straight wing build, flew as an all weather fighter. The first aircraft to be designated to carry the genie, an air-to-air missile with a nuclear warhead. It held six .79 cals and could reach speeds of 630 mph. Convair F-102 Delta Dagger: Fighter/interceptor used to intercept soviet bombers during the cold war. It was the first ever USAF jet to use delta wings. Reached speeds of 825 mph and held twenty four 2.75 unguided rockets and six guided missiles. McDonnell F-110 Spectre: Twin engine, twin seat, all weather long range supersonic fighter. Set 15 records and 18,000 lbs of bombs and has 9 eternal hard points for air-to-air, air-to-ground and guided missiles. Later models included the M-61 Vulcan rotary canon(.79 cal.) Reaches speeds of 1,470 mph. Lockheed/ General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon: Single engine multirole fighter that was designed as a superiority day fighter which changed to an all weather multirole aircraft. A frameless canopy for increased visibility, a seat rotated 30 degrees to reduce g-forces and a side mounted control stick for ease of maneuvers were invented for the falcon. Uses a M-61 Vulcan and can reach speeds of up to 1,320 mph. McDonnell Douglas F-18 Hornet: Supersonic, twin engine all weather fighter. Primarily used for escort and close air support. Reaches speeds of 1,190 mph and caries the M-61 Vulcan. Lockheed F-22 Raptor: Twin engine, single seat, stealth all weather fighter. The very advanced fighter stopped being built after the F-35 took over due to a lower cost and more versatility. Reached speeds of 1,500 mph and carried an M-61A2 Vulcan and six long range missiles and two short range missiles. Lockheed F-35 Lightning II: Single seat, single engine, stealth multi-role fighter. Reaches speeds of 1,200 mph and carries a 25 mm equalizer canon and seveal bays for short range air-to-air and long range air-to-air missiles with air-to-ground bombs. |