ON THE COVER:
This dramatic image from Philip Makanna captures all the drama and danger of aerial combat during the Great War. These exacting replicas of a Royal Flying Corps RE.8 and German Air Service Fokker D.VII were constructed by Sir Peter Jackson’s The Vintage Aviator Ltd. in New Zealand. This realistic air combat scene was staged for the cameras of the “Ghost” during one of his many aerial missions with TVAL’s splendid WWI recreations

FEATURES:

COST OF WAR
A further selection of Allied and Axis aircraft knocked out of action during the Second World War. Our continuing series underlines the immense cost of aircraft and lives as America and its Allies battled the forces of evil / by Michael O’Leary

SUICIDE ON A BUDGET
With the coming American invasion of the Home Islands, the Japanese high command knew they would need lots of aircraft to satisfy the mission of the Divine Wind — thousands of low-cost planes and pilots to expend against America’s massive fleet and the landing forces that would pour ashore. The ungainly Ta-Go was put forth as a solution / by C.E. Colby

THREE PILOTS AND AN ALBATROS
How the acquisition of a poster illustrating a German aircraft and pilots from the Great War not only inspired the author’s deep passion for aviation but also led him on a quest to discover who the pilots were and what happened to them / by Ben Marsh

CHINA BLITZERS!
Part Two in our comprehensive history of the 26th Fighter Squadron and its years of combat in the CBI. The 26th would transition from the Curtiss Warhawk to the North American Mustang in their war against the Japanese / by Steve Blake

DEPARTMENTS:

MESSAGE FROM PUBLISHER

WARBIRD & CLASSIC REPORT
All the latest vintage and veteran aircraft news from around the world / by Doug Fisher

LOG ENTRIES
Today, few aviation enthusiasts remember the name Ormer Locklear. However, after the Great War and into the early 1920s he became one of the most sought-after Hollywood stunt pilots. His spectacular rise would, unfortunately, have an equally spectacular fall / by Mark Bingham

FRIDAY NIGHT OLDIES
Rare Kodachromes of surplus ex military aircraft with an interesting collection spanning from biplanes to jets / by Doug Fisher

DOWN MEMORY’S RUNWAY
Focusing on American aircraft from aviation’s glorious past / by Norm Taylor

AIRLINES
News and views from the readers of Air Classics