The first one I'm putting up is the F-111 AardvarkThe F-111 Aardvark fighter-bomber is the world’s first operational aircraft with variable geometry, or swing, wings. Born in controversy, the F-111 proved to be one of the best all-weather interdiction aircraft ever built. On 15 April 1986, this F-111 led the US Air Force portion of Operation El Dorado Canyon, the retaliatory raid against Libya in response to that country’s state-sponsored terrorism. The crew module escape system, in which the entire cockpit is ejected, led to the side-by-side crew arrangement. The weapons systems officer in the right seat has a control stick, but limited flight instruments.
Compared to modern fighters the old Ardvark is starting to show her age.
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Manufacturer: General Dynamics
Type: Fighter (Long-Range Interdiction)
Number Built: 562
First Flight: 21 December 1964 (F-111A)
In Service: 1967 ––1996
Notable: The US Air Force officially nicknamed the F-111 “Aardvark†on 27 July 1996, the day it was retired from service. Pilots unofficially called it that for years.
Photographer/Location: John Rossino/National Museum of the US Air Force