🛫Visit the Ekster website today via my partner link: https://partner.ekster.com/Damcasterspod and use my code THEDAMCASTERS to get up to a 55% discount in the Ekster Black Friday Sale!!! ----------------------------------------------------- Join us for Part 1 of our look at the Combat Bullseye tests with author Chris Gibson. In 1967, the US Air Force's Tactical Air Command reached out to their counterpart in the Strategic Air Command for some help. Bombing results in North Vietnam were poor,...

🛫Become a Damcasteer today on Patreon! Join from just £3+VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt and a welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/thedamcasters ----------------------------------------------------- Welcome to a new show on The Damcasters, where Andy Wright of Aircrew Book Review and I will discuss the latest in aviation books! 🛩️Check out the Aircrew Book Review site here: https://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/ 🛩️Join the Aircrew Book Review...

Join us for Part 3 of our series on Boeing's Fortresses, the evergreen B-52 Stratofortress! 🛩️Watch all of our Boeing's Fortresses mini-series as they drop here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpytFew7euhmG92JX9NVUkl4ZbgZ7VmSU 🛩️Check out Ben Skipper's first visit to The Damcasters on Civil Aviation's First 100 Years right here: https://www.thedamcasterspod.com/podcast/100-years-of-civil-aviation-with-ben-skipper/ 🛩️Buy Ben's Flight Craft books from Pen and Sword at The Damcasters...

Join us for Part 2 of our series on Boeing's Fortresses, the remarkable B-29 Superfortress! Ordered from Boeing's drawing board and costing $3b in 1940s money, the delivery system for the atomic bomb cost even more than the weapon itself. But that is only part of the remarkable tale Ben Skipper has to share with us. 🛩️Catch all the Boeing's Fortresses Mini-Series as they drop here: https://www.thedamcasterspod.com/tag/boeing-fortresses/ 🛩️Check out Ben Skipper's first visit to The Damcasters...

Join us for Part 1 of our series on Boeing's Fortresses, the incredible B-17 Flying Fortress! 🛩️Check out Ben Skipper's first visit to The Damcasters on Civil Aviation's First 100 Years right here: https://youtu.be/upQyb-yEvzc 🛩️Catch all the Boeing's Fortresses Mini-Series as they drop here: https://www.thedamcasterspod.com/tag/boeing-fortresses/ 🛩️Buy Ben's Flight Craft books from Pen and Sword at The Damcasters Bookshop (UK Only) here: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/boneyabroad 👉Follow Ben...

Following an uncomfortable debate about a news article in Aeroplane Monthly on Duxford's future plans, Matt reflects on how the Avgeek community communicates. He also looks at the challenges of online discourse within the aviation community, the need for constructive criticism and civil debate, what that means for our aviation publications and how he will try to engage with everyone going forward. NOTE: I made this a full-numbered episode in the end! ★Get the latest from the Pima Air and...

Tuesday, 19th September 1944, was Black Tuesday for the 1st Airborne Division trying to take and hold the road bridge at Arnhem. It was the day Operation Market Garden failed. Comedian and historian Al Murray joins us to discuss the efforts of the RAF's 38 Group to resupply the Paras and understand why the defeat still grips us 80 years later. ★Buy Arnhem: Black Tuesday by Al Murray at The Damcasters bookshop here (10% of each purchase supports the pod) UK only:...

In 1945, the RAF and USAAF flew two remarkable operations. Mana and Chowhound were missions to deliver food and vital medical supplies to break the 'Hunger Winter' famine in Occupied Holland. A truce with the Nazis was agreed and the bombers flew unopposed to drop their vital cargo. In Hilversum, south of Amsterdam, was 14-year-old Lucy Hanson, who saw food fall from the sky. Today Lucy joins us to tell her incredible story of life under Nazi occupation and the day she no longer feared the...

Propwash is the summer Festival of the Air at Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome and we were delighted to be there! Following the museum's CEO Ian Flint's kind invitation to visit, we headed out to Essex to see First World War aircraft flying, tour the museum, its exhibits and, of course, indulge in the museum's renowned quiche. Join us as we tour Stow Maries and discover a true gem of destination. ★Support the Stow Maries Crowdfunder here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-the-story-alive  ★Visit...

On the 10th of August 1944, Harry Hardy joined 440 "City of Ottawa" Squadron RCAF in Normandy, flying Hawker Typhoon 'Bombphoons'. Harry flew 96 sorties (missions) through France, Belgium and Holland and was the pilot of The Pulverizers. In 2006, Harry gave this talk to the Royal Canadian Legion in White Rock, BC. The original footage has kindly been allowed to be reproduced here by his grandson, Rick Tunstall, and the Hardy Family. You can watch Harry give his presentation and see his slides...

#Catch-22 is one of Scott Marchand and I's favourite books, so when the opportunity came up to chat with Stoney Stonich, who, as a young pilot, signed on to be one of the B-25 pilots for Mike Nichols' adaptation in 1969, we jumped at the chance. Stoney tells us all about the production, the challenges and the excitement of filming aerial scenes, including THAT hair-raising takeoff and hanging out with the late great Bob Newhart. Stoney also is a T-6 man and helped form the North American...

Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome is the largest surviving Great War aerodrome in Europe, and it needs your help! Following roadworks that blocked access to the museum, they need your support to survive the funding black hole caused by the hole in the road. The Museum's CEO, Ian Flint, joins us to discuss Stow Maries' history and hopeful future. ★Support the Stow Maries Crowdfunder here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-the-story-alive  ★Visit the Stow Maries website here:...

It has been nearly 40 years since the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds into its 10th flight on January 28, 1986, killing her crew and shocking the world. Author Adam Higginbotham's new book, Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space, looks at the long chain of events that led to the Challenger disaster and its aftermath, in which a small group of engineers stood up against NASA and their employers. ★Visit Adam's website here:...

The Lockheed-Martin F-35 Lightning II is slated to be the mainstay of the US Air Force and NATO's air forces for years to come. But as Bill Sweetman, veteran aerospace journalist and independent analyst, dissects in his new book, "Trillion Dollar Trainwreck: How the F-35 Hollowed Out the United States Airforce", the program's lack of oversight and leadership has left the aircraft and its operators in a dangerous position. Buy Bill's book, Trillion Dollar Trainwreck: How the F-35 Hollowed Out...

The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, the Warthog, has been earmarked for retirement for over a decade, but what is happening today with the men and women who keep the Hogs flying into their sixth decade? Col Nick 'Stoli' Radoescu is the commander of the 355th Operations Group based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. He oversees the operations of four squadrons of A-10s and their support units, including the training of the next generation of Hog drivers. Stoli kindly sat down with Boney...

The Century Series was the name given to the series of second-generation US Air Force fighters that took the USAF beyond the sound barrier and towards Mach 2. With the F-100 Super Sabre, F-101 Voodoo, F-102 Delta Dart, F-104 Starfighter, F-105 Thunderchief, F-106 Delta Dart and F-107A all on display at the Pima Air Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona, aircraft designer Joe Wilding shows us around the design of these early jet fighters. ★Follow Joe on X(Twitter) at:...

The Hump was the air bridge between India and China during the Second World War. The men of the Air Transport Command would face then unknown weather systems flying between Himalayan mountains that forever towered over them. New York Times bestselling author Caroline Alexander joins us to tell us about the men who flew The Hump, which is the subject of her book, Skies of Thunder. Buy Skies of Thunder: The Deadly World War II Mission Over the Roof of the World at The Damcasters Bookshop (UK...

In this second part of our interview with WW2 Veteran Bob Reierson, Bob tells us about heading to the Pacific, flying the A-20 in combat over the Philippines, and, after 80 years, Bob climbs into the cockpit of the Pima Air and Space Museum's Douglas A-20G Havoc. Catch up on part 1 here: https://youtu.be/6uWN_vN7FyI Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum through the links below: ★Visit the Pima Air and Space Museum’s website here: https://pimaair.org/ ★Learn more about the Titan...

Bob Reierson joined the USAAF at age 18 and would find himself flying the Douglas A-20G Havoc in the Pacific. On my last visit to the Pima Air and Space Museum, director of collections Andrew Boehly arranged for Bob and I to sit down and discuss flying the A-20. In Part 1 of this 2-part interview, we discuss Bob joining up, learning to fly the PT-19, the BT-13, the UC-78, the B-25, and finally getting his hands on the A-20. To get early access to part 2 to hear about Bob flying the A-20 in...

David and Lindsey Goss run the fantastic GossHawk Unlimted in Casa Grande, Arizona. There they build incredible warbirds like Fw-190s (see part 1!) and care for the world's last airworthy Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer. Join us as Lindsey shows us around the Privateer and find out how you, if you are an engineer, are wanted at GossHawk ★Listen to part 1 here: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/building-focke-wulf-fw-190s-at-gosshawk-unlimited ★Watch part 1 here: https://youtu.be/KxTgQ_XbMbI...

Father and daughter team David and Lindsey Goss run one of the world's leading warbird restoration and maintenance companies, GossHawk Unlimited. Back in February, they kindly welcomed us to have a tour around the shop, learn about how GossHawk came about and, this week, what goes into rebuilding Focke-Wulf Fw-190s. Next week, we tour the world's last airworthy Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer. Watch the video version on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/KxTgQ_XbMbI ★Visit the GossHawk...

When filmmaker Mary Haverstick started pre-production on a film about the Mercury 13, which selected and tested women for spaceflight, she knew the key was the legendary Jerrie Cobb. Mary's relationship with Cobb led to her uncovering much more about the aviator and a trail that led to the CIA and the Kennedy assassination. Mary's 10-year journey resulted in her book, A Woman I Know, which chronicles her journey to uncover the secrets held by a very secretive woman. ★Buy A Woman I Know:...

SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy, was a joint program by NASA and the German Space Agency at DLR which put a 2.5m reflecting telescope in the back of an ex-Pan Am Beoing 747SP. Dr Dörte Mehlert, head of education and public relations at the German SOFIA Institute (DSI), joins us to take us through the incredible discoveries SOFIA made. ★NASA's SOFIA Mission Page: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/sofia ★Deutsches SOFIA Institut (DSI) Mission Page:...

The oldest Boeing B-52 Stratoforetress in the world, 52-0003 "The High and Mighty One", has just been lovingly restored at the Pima Air and Space Museum and is now on public display once again. On our recent visit, Matt and aircraft designer Joe Wilding (who is also a fabulous Damcasteer on Patreon) were allowed to crawl around the aircraft and check out the time capsule that is the X-15 Mothership. Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum through the links below: ★Visit the Pima...