Air Age Inc

Marine Fighting Squadron 323 (VMF-323) was commissioned on August 1, 1943, and was quickly brought up to combat-ready status under the leadership of young Maj. George Axtell Jr. Instilling great discipline and aggressive fighter tactics, the men of VMF-323 certainly earned their squadron’s nickname as the “Death Rattlers.” At the controls of the F4U and FG-1 Corsairs, the men of VMF-323 not only provided ground support for the island-hopping Marines below but also shot down more than 124 Japanese planes. Here is the story of three such men who, by their own accounts, were each “just doing my job.”

Not even the most aggressive aerial bombing in history was winning the Korean War, until one heroic Air Force mission did the impossible—ended the war—and violated every rule command leadership had created. Author Thomas McKelvey Cleaver reveals the secrets behind this daring mission.

Warbird Aviation Art is proud to offer this most unique limited edition of just 25 pieces of aircraft aluminum each signed by retired Air Force Brigadier General Paul Tibbets and featuring ‘the RED GREMLIN’ nose-art of his B-17E hand-painted by artist Ron Kaplan. Gen. Tibbets’ personally approved the accuracy of Kaplan’s replication. Each piece arrives individually numbered and ready-to-hang in a 16 x 15-inch Peruvian Walnut shadow box, and comes with a reprint of photos taken at the 1997 signing by Gen. Tibbets. #3 of 25 from this edition is available for immediate shipment, and commissions are accepted.

The now combat-tested F-35A has become ubiquitous around the world, and the aircraft can be found residing as the top dog of choice within the various air forces. Born in controversy as are almost all new programs, the F-35 continues to be manufactured at a high rate, aside from some Covid delays. The cost was probably the number one gripe, with program delays coming in second. Regardless, the F-35 is in the process of being as popular as the F-16 was when it made its entry back in the day.

If, in 1945, some farsighted investor had suggested purchasing and hoarding war surplus aircraft as a guaranteed way to make your fortune, you would have considered him a crackpot of the first order. Now, advance yourself to the 21st century: next to gold bullion (1945 price: $35/ounce), you might have been wise indeed to collect, scavenge, and hoard all the spoils of WW II. No one could have realistically imagined the future interest and marketability of what seemed, at the time, to be aviation junk. Nor could the intense recovery and restoration activities centered on WW II aircraft have been imagined.

The Vintage Aviator Ltd. (TVAL), in Wellington, New Zealand, has reproduced one of the most significant fighters from the Great War. This time the focus was on an iconic German aircraft, the Albatros D.Va, which was the machine of choice and the last in a long line of single-seat fighters. Many of the highest scoring German Aces achieved the majority of their victories while flying Albatros fighters.

Harry Ballance Jr. has no memory of his father’s Stinson SR5A or any of the Stinsons his father owned. Born in 1939, he was too young to comprehend the beauty or significance of the Reliant series of elegant, high-wing commercial/private aircraft made in Wayne, Michigan between 1933 and 1941. With 10 principal civilian models, four military versions, and an assortment of subtypes, the SR line was offered as swift, luxurious personal transport for the well-to-do, company personnel, commercial passengers, and successful executives like Ballance’s father, Harry Ballance Sr.

Since 1912, when a young man named George Gray landed an open-cockpit biplane on a farmer’s field, aviation has played an important role in communities located throughout the 6 million-acre Adirondack Park. Through a range of historic images and postcards, Aurora Pfaff tells the story of pilots who linked communities by air, transported goods and people, and the small towns and airfields that they called home.