# Favourite Cold War era military aircraft? And why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 9, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265 "2015-04-09T21:36:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Didactylos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@Didactylos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didactylos)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/41 "2015-04-10T10:35:40Z")
Tupolov Tu-160 “Blackjack”- gigantic yet perhaps the most graceful soviet combat plane of that era. It is certainly a more handsome plane than its little brother the boxy but rather more practical Tu-22M “Backfire”. It was designed in the 70’es but only barely became operational before the cold war ended. [![](https://obris.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Tupolev-Tu-160-Vitaliy-Kopylov-1.jpg) ](https://obris.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Tupolev-Tu-160-Vitaliy-Kopylov-1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/42 "2015-04-10T11:13:39Z")
The Blackbird is gorgeous, but I think the nod has to go to the Harrier. VTOL, saw active service, land and sea, etc. And the only plane that can nod. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/43 "2015-04-10T14:13:36Z")
Three favorites: A-10 due to playing A-10 flight sim games. B-1B due to living near McConnell AFB in Wichita Avro Vulcan due to now living near the Farnborough Airshow. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/44 "2015-04-10T14:19:05Z")
> [@Battle\_Pope](#): > > Forgot the F-111 :smack: > > Hell of an aircraft. I got to several ‘dump and burn’ displays over the years, both day and night ones 😃 > > By chance I was in Brisbane on the day the last Australian ones were retired and saw their last flyby. My least favorite. I worked on those POS for 8 years. The US Navy said ‘hell no’ to their version and used the lessons learned to get the F-14. The US Air Force was then stuck with all the compromises made to the basic design to try to get the F-111 to also be a carrier aircraft. “McNamara’s folly” indeed! The British Aero Vulcan was impressive to see. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/45 "2015-04-10T14:26:31Z")
One of the prettiest cold war bombers, the [Tupolev Tu-95](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-95)"Bear" featured swept back wings and 4 turboprop engines, with speeds not far off that of a B-52. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/46 "2015-04-10T14:37:53Z")
Another Blackbird fan. Then the wartie ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/47 "2015-04-10T15:20:00Z")
F-4 Phantom II. I don’t really know how to describe it, but it just looks like a predator in a way that few others do. About the only others that I can think of might be the F/A-18E Super Hornets and the A-10 Warthog. Plus, in my mind, it’s THE quintessential Cold War fighter, having been used by the US, the UK and various NATO allies since 1960. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/48 "2015-04-10T15:39:17Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I may be one of the few people here who fully appreciates what you wrote there. 😉 😛 Thanks! And [Kelly Johnson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Johnson_(engineer)) was a genius! ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/49 "2015-04-10T15:44:07Z")
Yet another vote for the SR-71, for all the reasons already given. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/50 "2015-04-10T16:43:57Z")
No love for the poor Valkyrie? That one spooks me. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/51 "2015-04-10T16:56:34Z")
Valkyrie is a good choice. Looked sci-fi even. Space Bomber, 1999! And the Bear is likely one of the most recognizable military aircraft I know of. Large, 4 engine, swept wing, PROPS! ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/52 "2015-04-10T17:12:39Z")
> [@DummyGladHands](#): > > No love for the poor Valkyrie? That one spooks me. I think the XB-70 is super-cool, but I’d assumed that the planes had to have actually been in service. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/53 "2015-04-10T17:45:57Z")
Another SR-71. Hottest confirmed plane ever built, bar none. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/54 "2015-04-10T17:54:41Z")
Thanks for the responses everyone, a lot of great and interesting choices, wow but there are so many classic and unique aircraft of the era. Another vote for the Sr-71 Blackbird, even if you rolled it out _today_ as a brand new aircraft it would _still_ look futuristic, I can’t imagine how it seemed to people who first saw it back in the 1960’s. For ‘the enemy’ I have a soft-spot for the Mig-29 Fulcrum, I remember being fascinated by the first images I saw of it. And just to be different, the Mi-24 Hind, it just looks genuinely intimidating and is another successful long-lasting design. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/55 "2015-04-10T18:14:06Z")
The [Viggen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_37_Viggen) because I like being different. Really what’s not to love - versatile, capable and cheap. The Swedes did combat aircraft right. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/56 "2015-04-10T18:16:24Z")
All good choices, and if we include the XB-70 then the [Avro Arrow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Canada_CF-105_Arrow) should be in that mix as well. Had it not been axed it might have changed how some airplanes were built today. No one has mentioned the [Frogfoot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-25) either. Does everything an A-10 does but nearly supersonic to boot. Or the [Hind D](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mil_Mi-24). That is one mean looking helo, and it can carry troops. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/57 "2015-04-10T18:45:52Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > And just to be different, the Mi-24 Hind, it just looks genuinely intimidating and is another successful long-lasting design. > [@swampspruce](#): > > All good choices, and if we include the XB-70 then the [Avro Arrow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Canada_CF-105_Arrow) should be in that mix as well. Had it not been axed it might have changed how some airplanes were built today. > > No one has mentioned the…[Hind D](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mil_Mi-24). That is one mean looking helo, and it can carry troops. _cough_ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/58 "2015-04-10T18:54:39Z")
Favorite Cold War bird? This one is easy! [The B-58 Hustler](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_B-58_Hustler) **Looks fast standing still** - check **Mach-2 cruise** - check **Nuclear weapons** - check **Sexy voice warnings from an actress/singer** - check **Supersonic Ejection Pods** - check **Unbroken World Speed record** - check (longest supersonic flight, Tokyo to London, 8 hours, 35 minutes, avg speed 938 mpg). ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/59 "2015-04-10T19:06:26Z")
> [@Battle\_Pope](#): > > Forgot the F-111 :smack: > > Hell of an aircraft. I got to several ‘dump and burn’ displays over the years, both day and night ones 😃 > > By chance I was in Brisbane on the day the last Australian ones were retired and saw their last flyby. Since you mentioned the 'Vark, I’ll bring up the EF-111 “Raven” variant. (the “Spark-vark”). Massively bad-ass looking, but completely unarmed. But still probably a better EW platform than any before or since. (EF-18 might come close, now.) ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265/60 "2015-04-10T22:47:56Z")
Since the F-16 is the plane I’d most like to fly, I’m voting for that one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-cold-war-era-military-aircraft-and-why/717265.md?page=4)