ON THE COVER:
Test pilot Skeets Coleman begins the long climb to the cockpit of the Convair XFY-1 at Brown Field on 4 November 1954. (Convair)

FEATURES:

THE DAY THE ACES DIED
Excerpted from the new book Corsair Down!, the kamikaze attack on USS Bunker Hill is detailed / by Martin Irons

LIGHTNINGS OVER PLOESTI
Concluding the detailed examination of the P-38 dive-bombing attacks on Nazi Germany’s refineries in Romania / by Steve Blake

COLORS OF WAR
More rare images from the files of Challenge Publications / by Michael O’Leary

SPEED KINGS!
Clayton Folkerts’ sleek designs captured records during racing’s Golden Age
/ by Tim Weinschenker

CONVAIR GOES VERTICAL
Using WWII German data, Convair attempted to create a point defense fighter
/ by Howard Carter

BUILDING THE FLYING FORTRESS
Continuing the examination of the Boeing B-17G / by Michael O’Leary

DEPARTMENTS:

WARBIRD & CLASSIC REPORT
Vintage and veteran news from around the world / by Doug Fisher

CHECKLIST
Latest in aviation literature / by Nicholas A. Veronico

DOWN MEMORY’S RUNWAY
Images from aviation’s glorious past / by Norm Taylor

AIRLINES
News and views from the readers of Air Classics