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While reviewing some of my aircraft images, I discovered that unconsciously I had processed many of them in black and white.  The older WWII aircraft seem best suited to the mood of Black and White ... after all, color film was not in wide use when they were manufactured. And, Black and White seems to work for the newer aircraft, too, as they begin life as monochromatic metal forms colored only by their various identification markings.

This first photo is of an airplane affectionately called the "Warthog."  It was designed for close air support and as a tank destroyer and its official name is The A-10 Thunderbolt II.  The history and capabilities of this aircraft are fascinating.  One interesting tidbit is that it's primary weapon is an amazing cannon that uses depleted Uranium metal in the "bullets" because of its denseness.  This particular photograph was taken with the airplane parked outside against a white hanger wall in bright sunlight.  I used the harshness of the light to portray the design of the warthog as a no-frills; eat-you-for-lunch kind of machine. I hope that comes across in this image.

This is the rear engine nacelle of one of a  C-17's jet engines.  We don't think much about jet engines today when we board an airline.  They are amazingly reliable ... yet each has over 25,000 individual parts!  As a "thing,"  jet engines deserve much more respect.

"Out of the Sun" is the tile of this image.  The aircraft is a P-38 Lightning made by Lockheed.  Attacks on flying aircraft as well as ground targets were almost always attempted from above the target and with the Sun to the aircraft's rear to minimize the chance of being seen ... thus the title.

The Navy and Marines in WW II used the Corsair shown below.  It is characterized by the gull-like shaped wings.  That design was dictated by the need to fold the wings up while sitting on the deck of an aircraft carrier.  The plane was widely used in the Pacific Theater of war.  This is the type of plane used in the TV series "Ba Ba Black Sheep."

I thought this next image of the turret of the rear seat of an Avenger makes an interesting visual design.  

Below, is a side view of a C-47 transport plane built by Douglas Aircraft.  This plane was photographed inside a hanger at a museum  in Orange County.  The civilian variant (which came first) of this plane was the DC-3, and it is widely credited as the aircraft that changed aviation from its "maybe-it-will-work but likely-not" status to the first reliable platform on which to build an industry. 

The rear view of  the C-47. Wars require logistics and beginning in WW II airplanes like this became the primary way to deliver the "goods." This is my favorite shot of the series.

Jet fighters were introduced at the end of WW II by the Germans.  They came too late and were too unreliable to make a difference, but their potential performance scared the *%$# out of the Allies.  The aircraft in this next photo was the first American Jet fighter built, I think, at the very end of WW II.  I don't believe it ever saw service.  This particular aircraft apparently had been sitting outside for some time.  The image was taken at sunrise and I was attracted to the grit and the dew rivulets running down the canopy windows and along the leading edge of the wing. The tiny bit of difused light makes this image.

So there you are ... American Warbirds in Black and White.  I think it is an effective way to show aircraft ... particularly the earlier machines.  I hope, as always, that you enjoyed the images.  Thanks for taking the time to look, and a particular thanks to those of you who take the time to respond!

Bye for now,

Adam