MilAvHistory

Early Access: The Air Force Has A China Problem

The US Air Force has a problem in the (South) (West) Pacific and it is going back to WW2 to fix it. Join me as I talk about how the USAF is getting ready to deter China by reactivating old bases and comprehensively changing their operational approach.

Let me know what you thought about this episode.

This video is sponsored by the USNIP - check out their great book catalogue:

Naval Institute Press 25% off with "MILAVHIS" at https://www.usni.org/press/books 

• Li, Xiaobing; China's New Navy (2023): https://www.usni.org/press/books/chinas-new-navy  

• Vandenengel, Jeff; Questioning the Carrier (2023): https://www.usni.org/press/books/questioning-carrier 

• Cole, Bernard; China's Quest For Great Power (2016)

• Official Reading List: https://www.usni.org/press/books?f%5B0%5D=subject%3A1959

Submit: Q&A Questions 3

Please submit your next questions here for me to tackle at the end of videos!

Chris

Early Access: Why Russia Can't Stop Using Helicopters

Russia's hundreds of helicopters for attack, air mobile and transport duties? But why? Let's talk about how Russia has incorporated rotary-wing aviation into their military and why they use them.

Hope you enjoy this episode and let me know your thoughts!

Chris

Bf 109 Pilot - Ask your questions

I will soon be able to ask some questions to a Bf 109 pilot and potentially a Me 163 pilot. If you have anything you would like me to ask, put them below.

Important: We are talking about „present“ Bf 109/Me 163 pilots and not WW2 veterans. So if you want to know how it was dogfighting, that’s not something they or I can help you with.

Early Access: F-35 | It Has No Easy Counter

The F-35 is able to gather, process and share a large amount of data - but how would it look like when adversaries start jamming? Let’s discover some technological and force level redundancies, and bring in space based communication.

Joining me today is my colleague Aleix Nadal Campos from the Freeman Air and Space Institute. Aleix provides insights on how a space infrastructure can be build that is resilient and survivable, thus underpinning the F-35s and other platforms ability to act globally. Aleix also recently published a well received paper in the issue of space architecture, that he even got to present to the London based air attaches! Give it a read here: https://bit.ly/3U9FhL9

Inside The Cockpit Package Supersized

It is here, the penultimate batch of Inside the Cockpit’s from last years USA trip. There are really special ones in this list for you to enjoy, some of my favourites in fact. Above, you can find the link to a beautiful restored and flightworthy B-25 Mitchell bomber. Beyond that, I’ve got three episodes on some warbird classics right here:

SBD Dauntless | Inside the Cockpit: https://youtu.be/3WbLtligsT8

P-47D Thunderbolt | Inside the Cockpit: https://youtu.be/VxWKOHPPNlM

P-38 Lightning | Inside the Cockpit: https://youtu.be/7eS-FS8BhsY

Big thank you to the folks at the CAF Minnesota Wing, CAF Georgia Wing, Aircrops Aviation and Fagen’s Fighters WW2 Museum for providing this unbelievable access to their machines.

Let me know what you think about these videos and thank you for making this project a reality!

Chris

Early Access: What Germany Thought About Soviet Air Support

Another video straight from the archive! I found a German translation of the Soviet Air Support manual, so let's check out in full detail! Big thank you to all of you, as your support allows me to fund these research trips!

Looking forward to your feedback,
Chris

EARLY ACCESS: Why Stuka? Reasons for Luftwaffe Dive-Bombing Explained

Why did Germany go with dive-bombers? While the Junkers Ju 87 is the quintessential "Stuka" from World War 2, what where the main motivations of the Luftwaffe to adopt a force of dive-bombers in the 1930s? Let me take you back in time and explore the discussions that resulted in the Luftwaffe of 1939.

Early Access: B-25 - Tank Gun Bomber With Extra Firepower

I was fortunate to find a B-25H armed with a 75mm tank gun at the New England Air Museum recently. Let's talk about why this bomber was converted to carry some heavy firepower!

Looking forward to your comments,

Chris

Early Access: Inside The Cockpit - P-63 Kingcobra

A little reminder here that the Early Access for the P-63 Kingcobra is already up! If you haven't seen it yet, check it out above.

Coming in fast and with firepower, the P-63 Kingcobra makes a statement. It wasn't quite enough against the P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51 Mustang but with that competition, getting 3rd place is a badge of honor if anything. Jump inside a Kingcobra with me and learn everything there is to this plane inside and out!

A big thank you here to you! Inside the Cockpit is only possible thanks to your generous support as we are 100% Community funded on this series. Let me know what you thought about this episode in the comments.

Chris

Early Access - A-10: What's The Future of the BRRRRRRT ?

The A-10 „Warthog“ Thunderbolt II is slotted for retirement by 2030. What was the overall state of the debate and what may we expect to see from the Hawg until then?

Looking forward to your comments, thanks for supporting the channel. This allows me to go on filming trips like the one where some of today's videos were shot.

Sneakpeak: 11 New Inside The Cockpits

I recently had another fantastic filming trip over in the US of A thanks to your support! Josh, our intrepid cameraman, and me filmed for you at the amazing New England Air Museum. What a productive few days it was, with the following aircraft now in the bank for Inside the Cockpit:

• A-10A Thunderbolt II

• F-100A Supersabre

• F-104C Starfighter

• A-26 Invader

• B-29A Superfortress

• FM-2 Wildcat (F4F)

• F6F Hellcat

• F4U Corsair

• VS-44 Excambian (only one in the world)

• CBY-3 Loadmaster (only one in the world)

• AH-1S Towcobra (that's right, chaos magic is coming to the channel!)

Beyond this, I filmed additional footage for the A-10A and B-25H Mitchell (the 75mm armed strafer B-25) that will be used in upcoming videos! Additionally, I had a special filming permission at the Smithsonian that I will share with you in an upcoming post.

A massive thank you here to you for funding this endeavour. ITC is 100% community funded and you make this possible! Looking forward to sharing this and other ITCs with you over the coming months - and of course, you will have early access to them all.

Best,

Chris

Early Access: Russian Helicopter Anti-Tank Tactics

Lots of helicopter footage has emerged from the Russo-Ukrainian war, including the use of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM). Let's explore the Russian anti-tank equipment and tactics used with helicopters.

Looking forward to your comments and feedback! Big thank you for your support - sharing some great info on the recent Inside The Cockpit filming trip soon.

Sponsored: Use my code "MAH" and get very own Flight Sim Gear at Thrustmasterhttps://bit.ly/49Dhfin

Early Access: Flying on a Fighter Jet

The Gripen is Sweden's purpose-built fighter and I was fortunate enough to get to fly one. Operating from a decentralised and dispersed posture, this aircraft will now be a new asset in NATO's arsenal. To discover this fighter and what makes it tick, join me as I  jump onboard and go for a ride to experience first hand what this state of an art jet has to offer.

Big thank you for all the support - this is a huge milestone for the channel and community!

Chris

Submit: Q&A Questions 2

Hey all,

Since it looks like the new Q&A segments are something you like, please add your new post-video Q&A questions here. No need to repost the ones you have previously asked, I have them all saved.

Thank you for the support!

Chris

Sneakpeak: Flying a Fast Jet

Talk about timing! Yesterday Hungary cast the final vote to pave the way for Sweden's accession into NATO, and today I found myself in a Swedish Saab Gripen jet flying over frozen lakes, cotton candy clouds, at supersonic speed and hitting the G's. This fast, nimble and precise fast jet makes flying easy - I will share the full experience with you soon.

Before I do that, a wholehearted thank you to you as a supporter of the channel - without you, this channel would not exist and I would not be able to go on filming tours like this one or on research visits. Though an 'all-inclusive' trip was offered to me, I declined and paid for all the reasonable expenses for this opportunity (hotel, flights to Sweden etc). This is to remain independent and have a clear delimitation between the channel and a company that provides such a  flight (Saab in this case).

Full disclosure: This flight was meant to happen end of last year but after I arrived at the tarmac, disaster struck: it turned out that the plane had to be grounded on that day. As I had paid for the trip, Saab compensated for this 'wasted' expense by paying this second attempt due to the issue last year being technically - both figuratively and practically - on their side. I think this was a fair arrangement and also shows, because community funds paid the original expenses, that without your support, this would not be possible. So thank you again and I can not wait to share the video with all of you!

Chris

Early Access: Bomber Pilots Talks About Flying a WW2 Bomber

At Oshkosh I ran into Mike Mainiero and Emmy Dillon who both fly a B-25 Mitchell bomber. Long story short, they volunteered their time to give you an overview of the cockpit and describe what is is like to fly this WW2 bomber! Hope you all enjoy it, let me know what you learned and thought of this episode and please also extend a thank you to our two amazing guests in the comment section of the video! I am sure they will appreciate it a lot!

This B-25 is "Miss Mitchell". She will feature on Inside The Cockpit soon - more info on her can be found on the CAF MN Wing website: https://www.cafmn.org/

Early Access: MiG-21 vs F-4 Phantom II

The MiG-21 vs F-4 Phantom II, it's a legendary duel in air warfare. Yet beyond the dogfight, we find a lasting legacy coming out of this combat in Vietnam.

Big thank you to all of you for your support, let me know your thoughts about this video and topic!

Early Access: Inside The Cockpit - P-51D Mustang "Twilight Tear"

What other plane represents American air power like the P-51? Ok sure, there are a couple but there is a reason why the Mustang is a true icon! Jump into the cockpit with me for a full and detailed tour of this magnificent flying P-51!

ITC is made possible only by your support - thank you so much! Let me know what you think about this tour and the video.

Chris

Early Access: Fighters vs Flak - What Killed More Bombers?

Fighters and Flak (Anti-Aircraft Artillery) were both used by Germany to shoot down Allied Bombers like the B-17, B-24 and Lancaster. However, which one was more successful? The answer is not that straightforward, so let's have a detailed look.

Thank you so much for the support! This video is the first of many that includes a quickfire Q&A session at the end of the video. You recently submitted questions here, feel free to add new ones in the original post - and if I haven't answered your message on screen, I have as a written reply and saved it for future videos! 

Submit Q&A Questions

Hey all,

I am trying out a new format to answer questions by recording an answer at the end of regular videos. So please leave questions in response to this post.

As I mentioned previously, I am not a fan of "regular Q&A" videos. They are all over the place regarding the content and I like to make videos with a thematic focus. However, I do think Q&A are great in principle and a fantastic way to answer some questions you might have. I have seen other YouTube channels do short post-video Q&A, and it looks like a good way to integrate it. Let's try this out for a quarter or two and see where it takes us! 

Thanks for the support!

Chris

He 162 - Germany's Desperation Fighter

The Heinkel He 162 "Volksjäger" was a last ditch effort by the Luftwaffe  to field a large number of jet fighters to stem the tide in the air.  Join me as I explore this history - was this plan ever going to work?

Let me know what you think of this episode! Big thank you for all your support.

Edit: My brain managed to mix up some numbers and wrote He 172 instead of He 162 and He 178 in two instances. Apologies, new link is up!

Early Access: Who is Better? Fighter Pilots NATO vs Russia

Western vs Russian Pilots - who is better? Join me as I tackle this monumental question and explore the ins-and-outs of two ways of war -  that really aren't comparable. Joining me are to experts, Prof. Justin Bronk from RUSI and Lt.Col. (Ret'd) Billiee Flynn of the RCAF.

Let me know what you think of this episode! Thank you for the support

Chris

Edit: New link, because the sponsor decided to randomly make their deal a better offer but forgot to tell me in advance...

Early Access: Inside The Cockpit - A6M3 Zero Fighter

No other aircraft influenced our memory of the Pacific War than the Japanese A6M Type 0 fighter! Join me on a full tour of this iconic machine and discover what it must have been like to fly!

Big thank you goes to all of you for making ITC possible! Let me know what you think of this episode.

Chris

Early Access: Masters of the Air - The German Reaction to US Bombing

What was the German reaction to the bombing by B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator during World War 2? Join me as I explore the reaction of the Luftwaffe from fighter planes, to tactics, anti-aircraft defenses and the bombing itself.

Let me know what you think of this episode and whether you are excited for Masters of the Air!

Thank you for supporting, enjoy the Early Access! 

Chris

Early Access: In Defense of The P-63 Kingcobra

The P-63 Kingcobra was fast, maneuverable and had immense firepower. On paper, it was a serious competitor to the P-47 and P-51 - yet the United States Army Air Force decided that the plane was not for them. Let's discover why!

(Apologies for the "late" early access release on this video. The scheduled release to you had a date error and I didn't pick it up over the holiday)

Thank you for your support, let me know what you thought of this episode!

Chris

Early Access: Inside The Cockpit - P-40 Kittyhawk (Warhawk)

If you ever wondered how to attract attention, take inspiration from “Aleutian Tiger”. This P-40K, painted in the colours of AVG Commander Claire Chennault’s son John Chennault unit, the 11th Fighter Squadron, sure is a looker. Striking an aggressive and colourful pose, this Warhawk (or Kittyhawk) reminds us of the American Volunteer Group fighting in China during World War 2 against Japan. This bird doesn’t just have a neat paint job then but it conjures up a fascinating history too. Jump on board with me and discover the ins-and-outs of the P-40!

Big thank you to Fagen Fighters WW2 Museum for providing exclusive access during Oshkosh 2023!

Have a great weekend, a fantastic and successful start into 2024 and thank you for making this project a reality!

Chris

Early Access: Inside The Cockpit P-63 Kingcobra

I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas celebration or regional equivalent - before we jump into the new year, here is a final early access update for all of you: An Inside The Cockpit of the P-63 Kingcobra!

Fast, heavily armed and with a very different design that many other fighters at the time, the Kingcobra sure is a looker. Join me as I jump inside one and show you the ins and outs of this aircraft. Initially produced as a (admittedly late) competitor to the P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51 Mustang, the P-63 never got their chance to shine with the USAAF (except as targets, check out Pinball) but were instead send to the Soviet Union. But whether it’s about performance or firepower, this plane deserves to have its time in the spotlight!

Big thank you to the Legacy Flight Museum in Rexburg, ID for their hospitality and access to this machine.

As always let me know what you think of this episode and and a big thank you to all of you for your support over Patreon. It allow Inside The Cockpit to be 100% Community Funded - without you my trip to the US would not have been possible. 

Have a great start into 2024!

Chris

Merry Christmas

HoHoHo - Santa's sled got an upgrade and he is going supersonic this year inside a F-16!

It is the 24th December which means that I celebrate Christmas. Yes, for Germans it is not the 25th  and as we are known world renowned for our Christmas celebrations, we get away with it (yes, Christmas means hometown pride over here - just come visit one of our markets, enjoy a Glühwein, a Wurst, Kartoffelpuffer, Lebkuchen and Stollen and you will know why). As such, a very happy "Frohe Weihnachten" from me to all of you. I wish you a very nice and cozy Christmas or regional equivalent, holiday and/or whatever you are up to this end of December. And then last but not least, a "Guten Rutsch" into 2024! Thank you for the support over this year and so many more - see you on the other side!

Early Access: How Germany Fixed The Eurofighter Typhoon Problem

Germany's Self-Made Eurofighter Typhoon Problem stands on the precipice  of being solved. Join me as I talk about the newest member of the  Eurofighter family, the "Eurofighter EK" - transforming Typhoon into an  Electronic Warfare aircraft.