F-86 Sabre Fighter Jet (1:55)
The F-86 Sabre jet, equipped with six 50-caliber machine guns, was the first U.S. swept wing fighter ever produced. Find out why pilots called it the best plane they ever flew.
Videos (10)
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F-86 Sabre Fighter Jet
F-86 Sabre Fighter JetVideo Clip (1:55)
Video Clip (1:55)
The F-86 Sabre jet, equipped with six 50-caliber machine guns, was the first U.S. swept wing fighter ever produced. Find out why pilots called it the best plane they ever flew.
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Soviet MiG-15 Fighter Jet
Soviet MiG-15 Fighter JetVideo Clip (1:40)
Video Clip (1:40)
The Soviet MiG-15 took part in the first jet-versus-jet dogfights of the Korean War, and even outperformed the American F-80 due to its blistering rate of climb.
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MiG-17 Fighter Jet
MiG-17 Fighter JetVideo Clip (1:34)
Video Clip (1:34)
Discover why the MiG-17, the first missile-armed fighter jet in Soviet service, was a thorn in America's side during the Vietnam War.
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Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress BomberVideo Clip (1:49)
Video Clip (1:49)
Marvel at the unprecedented speed, strength and seemingly endless range of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber, one of the most recognizable heavy bombers of World War II.
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Browning 50-Caliber Machine Gun
Browning 50-Caliber Machine GunVideo Clip (1:42)
Video Clip (1:42)
Discover how the Browning 50-caliber machine gun changed the face of U.S. combat, from its inception during World War II to its continued role in obliterating large targets.
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A6M Zero Fighter Plane
A6M Zero Fighter PlaneVideo Clip (1:27)
Video Clip (1:27)
Find out how the world's first strategic fighter plane, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, allowed the Japanese to achieve air superiority in World War II, at least until the Allied planes came along.
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Raid on Wake Island
Raid on Wake IslandVideo Clip (2:49)
Video Clip (2:49)
Take a brief look at the success of the F-6F Hellcat in the raid on Wake Island.
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P-47 Thunderbolt Fighter Plane
P-47 Thunderbolt Fighter PlaneVideo Clip (2:11)
Video Clip (2:11)
Find out what made the P-47 Thunderbolt one of the most efficient U.S. fighter planes during World War II, including its unprecedented speed, thick skin and longer fuselage.
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F-6 Hellcat's Kill-to-Loss Ratio
F-6 Hellcat's Kill-to-Loss RatioVideo Clip (2:14)
Video Clip (2:14)
The Grumman F-6F Hellcat had the best kill-to-loss ratio of its time. Find out just how many kills the single-seat fighter was credited with during World War II.
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MacArthur Arrives in New Guinea
MacArthur Arrives in New GuineaVideo Clip (1:50)
Video Clip (1:50)
Witness General Douglas MacArthur arrive at New Guinea and a B24 plane bomb a Japanese cargo ship in this video from General MacArthur in World War II. MacArthur arrives in New Guinea and is greeted warmly.
Speeches & Audio (10)
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War Report on B-29 Use
War Report on B-29 UseAudio Clip (2:36)
Audio Clip (2:36)
Brig. Gen. H.S. Hansell delivers a report in June 1944 on American B-29 bomber strikes against Germany and Japan.
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Allies Liberate Bastogne
Allies Liberate BastogneAudio Clip (1:27)
Audio Clip (1:27)
In a broadcast on December 29, 1944, Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe recounts the 101st Airborne’s victory against overwhelming odds at Bastogne, Belgium.
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Lyndon Johnson Considers Troop Increase in Vietnam
Lyndon Johnson Considers Troop Increase in VietnamAudio Clip (5:02)
Audio Clip (5:02)
In June 1965, shortly after a coup in South Vietnam led to the 10th change of government in the war torn country, an attack by the North Vietnamese destroyed three U.S. aircraft at Danang. During a recorded telephone conversation with Defense Secretary Robert McNamara on July 2, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson contemplates whether the war can be won.
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Paul Tibbets on Dropping the Atomic Bomb
Paul Tibbets on Dropping the Atomic BombAudio Clip (2:38)
Audio Clip (2:38)
On July 3, 1987, 42 years after dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Enola Gay pilot Paul Tibbets recalls his mindset during the fateful mission on August 6, 1945.
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U.S. Goals in World War II
U.S. Goals in World War IIAudio Clip (0:31)
Audio Clip (0:31)
In his speech delivered July 23, 1942, Secretary of State Cordell Hull explains the aims of the United States in World War II.
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U.S. Celebrates Liberation of Paris
U.S. Celebrates Liberation of ParisAudio Clip (1:29)
Audio Clip (1:29)
On August 25, 1944, Germany surrenders Paris, ending four years of occupation. In a radio broadcast, Jennings Randolph, a West Virginia congressman, sends his congratulations to the French people.
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Reagan Speaks on 40th Anniversary of D-Day
Reagan Speaks on 40th Anniversary of D-DayAudio Clip (0:41)
Audio Clip (0:41)
On June 6, 1984, in Normandy, France, President Ronald Reagan honors the heroes of D-Day, a pivotal moment during World War II.
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Eyewitness Account of Hiroshima Bombing
Eyewitness Account of Hiroshima BombingAudio Clip (3:34)
Audio Clip (3:34)
In an interview for the United States Strategic Bombing Survey in December 1945, Kaleria Palchikoff Drago, a Russian immigrant living in Japan, gives an eyewitness account of August 6, 1945, when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
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Korean War Progress Report
Korean War Progress ReportAudio Clip (3:56)
Audio Clip (3:56)
Upon his return from the Far East, Supreme Commander of U.N. forces Gen. Matthew Ridgeway addresses a joint session of Congress on April 22, 1952, and recounts stories of Allied bravery on the battlefield.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Delivers D-Day Prayer
Franklin D. Roosevelt Delivers D-Day PrayerAudio Clip (3:36)
Audio Clip (3:36)
In a national radio broadcast on June 6, 1944, as 160,000 Allied troops land in Normandy in an attempt to liberate France, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asks America to join him in a prayer.
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aircraft designed primarily to secure control of essential airspace by destroying enemy aircraft in combat. The opposition may consist of fighters of equal capability or of bombers carrying protective armament.
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