Historical planes: The Korean War

Korean War: comforting a comrade

A military conflict between the Republic of Korea (presently known as South Korea) and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) teamed with China on June 25 in 1950. South Korea was supported by the United Nations while North Korea and China was supported by the Soviet Union. Although there is no present occurring armed conflict between North Korea and South Korea, these two nations are still divided politically and territorially in two.

Korean War: Battle in the streets of Seoul

The US Air Force aided South Korea during its bloody war with the North in the 50s. This battle was the first war in which jet aircraft played a central role. Air support with the use of F-86 Sabre jets, P-51D Mustangs, B-29 Superfortresses, helicopters (first large-scale use) and other aircraft was given by the US to the South.

Image of three-ship formation of Sabrejets in 1953

Pitted that time against the Soviet’s Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, also known as Sabrejet, developed by North American Aviation in the late 1940s. Its maiden flight was on October 1, 1947. The $219,457 jet fighter was developed from the FJ-1 Fury. There were 9,860 Sabres built.

The F-86 Sabre is 11.4m in length and 4.5m in height. It has a wingspan of 11.3m and can fly up to a maximum speed of 687mph. It is loaded with six M2 Browning machine guns, two AIM-9 Sidewinders missiles, and variety of rockets and bombs.

P-51D Mustang

Also produced by North American Aviation, the P-51D Mustang was the United Nations’ main fighter during the Korean War. Introduced in 1942, its first maiden flight was on October 26, 1940. 16,766 P-51D Mustangs were built costing $50,985 each.

9.83m in length and 4.17m in height, it has a wingspan of 11.28m. It can fly up to 437mph. The Mustang is loaded with six M2 Browning machine guns.

B-29 Superfortress

Another prominently used in World War II, the B-29 Superfortress, derived from the B-17 Flying Fortress, is a four-engine heavy bomber produced by Boeing in 1944. Its maiden flight was on September 21, 1942 and 3,970 were built.

The $639,188 B-29 Superfortress is 26.6m in length and 8.5m in height. It has a wingspan of 43.1m and has a maximum speed of 357mph. It is loaded with ten Browning M2/ANs, two M2 cannons, and bombs which can weigh up to 9000kg.

-wikipedia.org

Superjet’s SaM146 engine wins EASA certification

On June 23, the Snecma/NRO Saturn joint venture, PowerJet, received EASA type certification for the SaM146 engine of the Sukhoi Superjet 100. The engine passed certification tests last May 26 and PowerJet said that the engine’s performance throughout the certification test program “has fully met or exceeded expectations.” It endured 7,100 hours of testing including 3,500 hours of flight.

“PowerJet will provide a state-of-the-art engine right from service entry of the Sukhoi Superjet 100. This is also a landmark in relations between the European and Russian aerospace industries. We are now looking forward to seeing the SaM146 enter revenue service in the next few months,” Chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Ebanga stated.

“This certification shows that the SaM146 engine fully complies with EU safety regulations. It is the culmination of a particularly successful collaboration between PowerJet, the Interstate Aviation Committee of Russia and EASA. It marks the first certification of an aircraft engine jointly designed and produced in France and in Russia,” EASA Executive Director Patrick Goudou added. Certification by Russian authorities is “expected within a few weeks,” PowerJet claimed.

Sukhoi Superjet 100

The $27.8 million Sukhoi Superjet 100 is a modern, fly-by-wire regional jet which can accommodate 2 crew and 75-95 people. It has a length of 26.44m, height of 10.28m, wingspan of 27.8m, and maximum speed of 534mph.

So far only 4 Sukhoi Superjet 100 have been built since 2007.

-atwonline.com

-wikipedia.com

Pakistan’s F-16 Falcons set for delivery

Three F-16 Fighting Falcons are scheduled to arrive in Pakistan June 26 with 15 more to be delivered later this year and next, said Maj. Todd Robbins, the Pakistan country director in the office of the undersecretary of the Air Force for international affairs.

“This is the most visible part of a strong and growing relationship between the two air forces that will benefit us both near-term and long-term,” he said.
Pakistan officials paid $1.4 billion for the 18 new aircraft, in addition to $1.3 billion in upgrades to its existing F-16 fleet, which are to begin being delivered in 2012, Major Robbins said.

“They’ve not had (these capabilities) before, so this is a major milestone in the U.S. providing this capability, which older models (of F-16s) don’t have,” he said. “This will enable them to strike terrorists within their borders while helping them to avoid collateral damage. It’s an increase in capabilities that are beneficial to us all.”

This sale of F-16s to Pakistan renews new aircraft sales that existed between the United States and Pakistan in the 1980s, but were halted in the 1990s. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and other U.S. military and civilian leaders have spoken out about “not repeating the mistakes” of the U.S. halt in relations with Pakistan in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The F-16 is a multirole jet fighter sold to 24 countries around the world, according to its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin. The 18 being sold to Pakistan are the Block 52 versions of the aircraft,  Major Robbins said, which will give Pakistan new capabilities, including day-night, all-weather and precision-attack capabilities.

- U.S. Air Force