Lockheed D-21: Cold War Spy Drone

In October 1962, the C.I.A. and the U.S.A.F. requested that Lockheed study a high-speed, high-altitude drone concept for reconnaissance flights over particularly hostile territories to avoid endangering aircrews. Created during the height of the Cold War and following the shootdown of a U-2 spy p...

By Friedrich Seiltgen •

POTD: Eject, Survive, Stay Silent - The S&W Model 41

Specialized equipment often reflects very specific mission requirements, and few examples are as niche as the modified Smith & Wesson Model 41 pistols issued for the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird pilot survival kits.

By Eric B •

Mikoyan MiG-29: The Reactive Fulcrum?

Military aircraft design of the Cold War era could be described as akin to physics, or, more specifically, to Newton’s Third Law of motion, which states, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” From lessons learned in the Vietnam War, the United States Air Force determi...

By Peter Suciu •

Evolution of the Flying Wing

From its earliest experimental roots to today’s cutting-edge stealth bombers, the flying wing has remained one of aviation’s most radical and enduring ideas. Stripped of traditional fuselage and tail structures, this design prioritizes aerodynamic efficiency above all else. The design reduces...

By Friedrich Seiltgen •

Cold War Shadows: The VSS Vintorez and AS Val Silent Weapons

The VSS Vintorez emerged during the late Cold War as part of a highly specialized Soviet effort to develop a quiet, compact rifle capable of delivering accurate fire without revealing the shooter’s position. Designed in the 1980s at the Central Research Institute of Precision Engineering (T...

By Lynndon Schooler •

Kingfisher vs. Zero: Shocking Victory Over Iwo Jima

A wide range of really well-known aircraft types were used in World War II, by both sides. But for every Mustang, British Spitfire, Bf109, Zero, Flying Fortress, Corsair or Mitchell bomber, there were many other hard-working planes that received little to no attention. Quite often their operation...

By Tom Laemlein •

Curious Relics #128: Nagant 1895 Part I – Belgian Design Russian Hands

Welcome, if you are a newcomer to this fun bi-weekly segment of AllOutdoor.com! The last time around we closed out our four-part run covering the M1 Carbine. Today we are kicking off something completely different and heading back across the Atlantic. Ladies and gentlemen, today we are starting c...

By Sam.S •

Arado Ar 234 Blitz: Germany’s Jet-Powered Bomber

Despite around-the-clock bombing by British and American heavy bombers, the Germans during World War II produced an ever-increasing volume of advanced military materiel right up until the end of the war. Even though they had terribly limited resources and were being squeezed on all sides, they st...

By Will Dabbs, MD •

POTD: A Cold War Whisper - The PB Silenced Pistol

Today’s Photo of the Day features the Kalashnikov PB (Pistolet Besshumnyy), a Soviet-era integrally suppressed semi-automatic pistol that remains in limited production under Kalashnikov Concern. Originally developed and entering service in 1967, the PB was designed to provide a suppressed s...

By Eric B •
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