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ON THE COVER:
A Lightning pilot ready for war. Five-victory ace 1st Lt. Gerald L. Rounds with his P-38G Chicken Dit of the 97th Fighter Squadron, 82nd Fighter Group. He named the plane after its squadron code letters “CD.” (USAAF)

FEATURES:

CAPTAIN MANTELL VS. THE SAUCER
What were the facts behind Tommy Mantell’s interception of a huge “saucer-like” object and what caused his P-51D Mustang to plunge to the ground? / by James Thompson

THE CONQUEROR
Our in-depth history of the last of the great Gee Bees — the R-6H. Built for the challenging MacRobertson race from England to Australia, this aircraft would compete in several other events before meeting a tragic end in the Potomac River / by Tim Weinschenker

LIGHTNINGS OVER PLOESTI
A daring raid by B-24 Liberators had failed to knock out the massive German oil refineries at Ploesti. The USAAF high command decided to send in a force of Lockheed P-38s fitted with 1000-lb bombs to dive-bomb the vital facilities / by Steve Blake

COLORS OF WAR
We dig deep into the Air Classics archives to present a selection of rare color photographs / by Michael O’Leary

LAUNCH THE ASSAULT DRONES!
Part In response to the threat of German unmanned flying bombs, the Navy instigated a massive program to build similar weapons. We examine the unusual Naval Aircraft Factory TDN-1 / by Howard Carter

BUILDING THE FLYING FORTRESS
Part Nine in our series continues the examination of the Boeing B-17G / by Michael O’Leary

POLIKARPOV’S RECORD-SETTER
Built in greater numbers than any other biplane, the Po 2 would become the standard Soviet trainer but it would also see combat action in WWII and Korea / by Stefan DeGraef

DEPARTMENTS:

WARBIRD & CLASSIC REPORT

All the latest vintage and veteran aircraft news / by Doug Fisher

CHECKLIST
Newest in aviation literature / by Nicholas A. Veronico

DOWN MEMORY’S RUNWAY

More aircraft from aviation’s glorious past / by Norm Taylor

AIRLINES
News and views from the readers of Air Classics