USAF jets attack Iran in Operation "Epic Fury"

A small selection of images from the war against Iran, from FB photographers at Fairford and the CENTCOM website image gallery.

EF-18G Growler (a specialised, anti-air defence USN fighter/bomber) getting airborne from Muwwaffaq Salti AB in Jordan loaded with four AGM-88 anti-radar missiles…

 A U.S. Air Force F-15E takes flight in the Middle East in support of Operation Epic Fury, March 2, 2026. (U.S. Air Force Photo)

Lakenheath-based F-35 seen getting airborne in a recent USAF image posted on the CENTCOM image gallery. RAF Lakenheath in the UK hosts two U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II squadrons under the 48th Fighter Wing: the 495th Fighter Squadron ("Valkyries"), which was the first overseas USAF F-35A unit, and the 493rd Fighter Squadron ("Grim Reapers"), which transitioned from F-15s to F-35As during 2025. Both squadrons have achieved full operating capacity.

pre-flight checks on an F/A-18E Super Hornet aircraft, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron 37, on the flight deck of the world's largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), while operating in support of Operation Epic Fury in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, March 2, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo)

 An F-35C Lightning II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, is chained down on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury, Mar. 3, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo)

 An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151, makes an arrested landing on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury, March 3, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo)

A U.S. sailor performs a visual inspection on an F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron 213, on the flight deck of the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)

Oskar Hough photo, B-1 gets airborne from RAF Fairford 

four General Electric F101s seen in full burner mode as this RAF Fairford-based  B-1 takes off on 15 March. (HL PowerHunting photos)

 
..and, on 19 March, through the haze high in the skies over Somerset, a USAF KC-135R fuelling a B-1 over Launceston (Anna Wheeler photo)

Also on 19 March a B-52 from Minot AFB gets airborne from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire toting 12 AGM-158 cruise missiles each with 1000 lb armour-piercing warhead. Brilliantly captured by Adrian Webster Photography on FB (low-res copy shared here with the FB code..)

For an assessment of Iran's air defence capabilities see Tom Cooper's Substack page here

F-18 emergency carrier deck landing - Twitter video repost

A single click to view here - an F-18 comes in to land on a carrier with nose gear blocked. And cockpit view of an F-18 launch below. Reposted here via twitter 'embed' code

This is a quite remarkable piece of footage. An F18 emergency lands on a carrier without nose landing gear. 😲👏pic.twitter.com/1O5DQd2YvT

— Mark Lane 🇬🇧 (@marklanebiz) January 6, 2019

An F/A-18 catapult launch from a US Navy carrier. pic.twitter.com/JonWDzADBN

— UK Defence Journal (@UKDefJournal) January 6, 2019

Grumman F7F Tigercats flying in Monday's air show at Oshkosh

If you missed the Grumman F7F Tigercats flying in Monday's air show at Oshkosh (and haven't seen them up close), we've got you covered! Posted via FB embed code, a single click to view the video here..

F-4 VF-111 Sundowners USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) - ebay photo find #60

A U.S. Navy McDonnell F-4N Phantom II fighter (BuNo 151008) from Fighter Squadron VF-111 Sundowners being catapulted from the aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) in February 1977. VF-111 was assigned to Carrier Air Wing 19 (CVW-19) for FDR´s final cruise to the Mediterranean Sea from 4 October 1976 to 21 April 1977. Franklin D. Roosevelt was decommissioned on 30 September 1977.

 U.S. Navy - U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo No. 1996.253.7279.033

Two U.S. Navy McDonnell F-4B Phantom II of Fighter Squadron VF-111 "Sundwoners" in flight. VF-111 was assigned to Carrier Air Wing 15 (CVW-15) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea (CVA-43). Date circa 1972

 Source U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo No. 1996.253.7279.001 Author U.S. Navy

F2A Buffalo fighter, Naval Air Station (NAS) Miami, Florida, 1941-1942 - daily photo find # 53

F2A Buffalo fighters pictured during a training flight from Naval Air Station (NAS) Miami, Florida, 1941-1942. These items are part of a photograph album assembled by Commander Joseph C. Clifton during his service in World War II and can be found in the on-line searchable  US Naval Aviation museum collection

Aeronavale Crusaders Landivisiau 1979

Line up of 10 FN F-8 E(FN) Crusaders at Landivisiau in June 1979 with  Belgian Mirage at the far end of the line-up..

Reposted via Robert Robinson on FB who comments, ".. poor picture quality due to having a Zenit-E as a first camera. They are famous for inconsistent exposure across a frame, hence nearly all mine were brighter on the left hand side. Still, 10 F-8s were always going to make a nice picture I think...I made an effort in the 70's and 80's to do French Open Days as they often had good base flight launches. In this case all the F-8's flew, amazing!"

Thach and O'Hare' Wildcats VF-2 April 1942

The US Navy's two most famous Wildcat pilots in early 1942 - Leader of VF-2, Lt. Cmdr. John S. "Jimmy" Thach (creator of the Thach Weave) flys F4F-3 #F-1 alongside the Navy's first ace "Butch" O'Hare (in #F-13) near NAS Kaneohe on 10 April 1942. Note the opened canopies (a typical action when not in combat).
 

With the release of the Airfix 72nd scale kit there has been some discussion on various forums re Thach's Wildcat. Thach flew more than one Wildcat; there's a well known photo with him flying next to Butch O'Hare's F-13 in his F-1 (above), and both of those are -3 variants (two guns, non-folding wings), with the rudder stripes and red centers to the roundels, when they were based on Lexington. Thach was at the controls of F-23 on the morning of 4 June 1942 escorting the Yorktown strike (both aircraft have the VF-2 Felix the cat badge) and used the weave in combat for the first time. F-23 was damaged and never flew again, going down with Yorktown. So Thach used F-23 on only one mission, shooting down 3 Zeros.  He flew a different machine, F-1 when he shot down Joichi's Kate. The pictures depicts Thach's earlier -3, with O'Hare as his wingman, shortly after O'Hare shot down 4-5 Bettys trying to torpedo Lexington.. Thach flew a different aircraft in defence of Yorktown later in the day. F-23 was a -4.  I doubt there are any photos of F-23, although its Bu no was documented.

On 20 February 1942 Edward “Butch” O’Hare became the Navy's first flying ace when he single-handedly attacked a formation of 9 heavy bombers approaching his aircraft carrier. Even though he had a limited amount of ammunition, he managed to shoot down or damage several enemy bombers. On 21 April 1942 he became the first naval recipient of the US Medal of Honor in World War II.

O'Hare seated in the cockpit of his Grumman F4F "Wildcat" fighter, circa spring 1942. The plane is marked with five Japanese flags, representing the five enemy bombers he was credited with shooting down as they attempted to attack USS Lexington (CV-2) northeast of the Solomon Islands on 20 February 1942. The censor has blanked out the Fighting Squadron Three "Felix the Cat" insignia below the windshield.

F-14 Tomcat swing-wing trials

Tomcat No. 3, with Grumman's Chief Test Pilot, Chuck Sewell, at the controls. During aircraft testing, several flights were flown with the right wing locked in the forward position of 20 degrees, and the left wing at 35, 50, 60 and 68 degrees of sweep in flight. Amazingly, it was discovered that in the event of an operational in-flight malfunction, the Tomcat would remain controllable enough for carrier landing in this configuration.

via www.Sierrahotel.net

Fighter Country - The F-14 Tomcats of NAS Oceana (Motorbooks International) - David Parsons

 Author and former Top Hatters RIO Dave Parsons refers to his book 'Fighter Country' as a 'labour of love'. Published by Motorbooks Int in 1992, it is a superlative tribute to NAS Oceana, Virginia, and its Tomcats. The book features more than 190 full-colour photos of F-14s and other aircraft from all of Oceana's fighter squadrons - on the base and on the boat in action around the world. It takes you through a year in the life of the Tomcat driver or radar intercept officer (RIO): study at the RAG, soaking up the lore of the fighter community in the officers' club, air combat manoeuvring, carrier qualifications, workups, deployment on a cruise, and into combat during Operation Desert Storm.

 Fighter Country is also the first-ever history of Oceana and of each of the fleet fighter squadrons stationed there: the VF-13 Tophatters, VF-32 Swordsmen, VF-33 Starfighters, VF-41 Black Aces, VF-74 De-Devilers, VF-84 Jolly Rogers, VF-102 Diamondbacks, VF-103 Sluggers, VF-142 Ghostriders, and VF-143 Pukin' Dogs. Also included are the VF-101 Grim Reapers (the F-14 RAG), the VF-43 Challengers (Oceana's resident bandits), and the VF-11 Red Rippers and VF-31 Tomcatters (squadrons that transferred to NAS Miramar in early 1992). The base and squadron histories are brought to life by dozens of colour and black-and-white historical photos showing most of the great US Navy fighters of the past in the colourful and unique markings of these squadrons.

If you are a fan of the F-14 this is a great book! It is relatively hard to find, correspondingly expensive but is a great addition to any aviation book collection. Even if don't have a copy of Dave's book you can still enjoy many of his superb photos via his Facebook page

all images Dave Parsons 'shoebox', herewith a tiny taster. Thank you Dave;

"...Sun rising over Gulf of Sidra in 1986 after raid on Libya (known as Eldorado Canyon). I shot this image of our VF-102 wingman as we joined up for a hook check prior to recovery aboard USS America..."



Below; ".. I took this picture in late 1990 during Desert Shield deployment aboard USS John F Kennedy to Red Sea. We had come back through Suez Canal for port call in Turkey and did some intercept training with Brits operating out of Eastern Med. I asked the RAF pilot to join up after one of the intercepts so we could capture the moment so-to-speak..."

"..A gathering of Tomcats: KC-10 flying tanker track inside Iraq during Desert Storm providing fuel for Tomcats on CAP stations blocking Iraqi aircraft from escaping to Iran. This image is unique in capturing Tomcats from multiple carriers operating in both Red Sea (Kennedy) and Persian Gulf (America and Roosevelt)..."

F-35C lands on board Nimitz 03 November 2014

F-35C Lightning II carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter conducted its first arrested landing aboard an aircraft carrier off the coast of San Diego on 03 November 2014. Navy test pilot Cmdr. Tony Wilson landed F-35C test aircraft CF-03 at 12:18 p.m. aboard USS Nimitz's (CVN 68) flight deck. The arrested landing is part of initial at-sea Developmental Testing I (DT-I) for the F-35C, which  is expected to last two weeks.

  " For the first time in U.S. naval aviation history, radar-evading stealth capability will come to the carrier deck. The F-35C carrier variant sets new standards in weapon system integration, lethality, maintainability, combat radius and payload that bring true multi-mission capability to the sea. As we countdown to the F-35C’s first carrier developmental testing, find out how the F-35C differs from the other F-35 variants and the features that make it suitable for carrier operations..."

Lower view shows well the larger wing planform of the F-35 C with its foldable wing-tips. Other features of the carrier-borne version of the Lightning II include the twin nose wheel configuration for the nose-tow launch system. The C also features a greater internal fuel capacity. Read the rest of Lockheed Martin's F 35 C press release here