Airplane Gallery

Mitsubishi A6M Zero aircraft, World War 2 C016/3818

Mitsubishi A6M2 (Zero). US Air Force photograph of a test flight of a captured Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 (Zero). This aircraft was being refined and improved by the Japanese during the final days of World War II (1939-1945). They increased the low octane rating of their gasoline by adding ethanol to the fuel. The Mitsubishi Zero was already a feared fighter aircraft, and this higher octane fuel helped to improve engine performance

© US AIR FORCE/US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Supersonic shock waves, Schlieren image

Supersonic shock waves. Schlieren image showing the shock wave created by a supersonic jet flying in front of the Sun. Schlieren imaging is a method used to visualise density variations in transparent media. Here, it has been used to view the propagating disturbance in air created by an aircraft moving at the speed of sound. The method requires a bright light source and/or speckled background. In this case, the solar disc has been used, a technique called Background-Oriented Schlieren using Celestial Objects (BOSCO)

© NASA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) in Boston training plane, 1926 (b/w photo)

SLS249192 Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) in Boston training plane, 1926 (b/w photo) by American Photographer, (20th century); Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University; (add.info.: first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, from Newfoundland to Ireland;); A© Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard ; American, out of copyright

© © Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard / Bridgeman Images