What was the name of the fighter jet flown by the subject of John Barron's 1980 biography?
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MiG Pilot: The Final Escape of Lieutenant Belenko MiG Pilot: The Final Escape of Lieutenant Belenko is a 1980 biography by John Barron about the life and 1976 defection of Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 fighter pilot Viktor Belenko to the United States.
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Viktor Belenko Viktor Ivanovich Belenko (Russian: Виктор Иванович Беленко , born 15 February 1947) is a former Soviet pilot who defected to the West while flying his MiG-25 'Foxbat' jet fighter and landed in Hakodate, Japan. The opportunity to examine the plane up close was an intelligence bonanza for the West. Belenko later became an American aerospace engineer.
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Fraser Barron James 'Fraser' Barron DSO & Bar, DFC, DFM (9 January 1921 – 20 May 1944), was an officer of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) who was killed in flying operations during the Second World War. Barron was one of only four New Zealanders to be awarded a bar to his DSO and was considered a standout bomber pilot of the war.
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Grumman F4F Wildcat The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that began service with both the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy (as the Martlet) in 1940. First used in combat by the British in Europe, the Wildcat was the only effective fighter available to the United States Navy and Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater during the early part of World War II in 1941 and 1942; the disappointing Brewster Buffalo was withdrawn in favor of the Wildcat and replaced as units became available. With a top speed of 318 mph , the Wildcat was outperformed by the faster 331 mph , more maneuverable, and longer-ranged Mitsubishi A6M Zero. However, the F4F's ruggedness, coupled with tactics such as the Thach Weave, resulted in a claimed air combat kill-to-loss ratio of 5.9:1 in 1942 and 6.9:1 for the entire war.
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Laurence Cardee Craigie Laurence Carbee Craigie (January 26, 1902 – February 27, 1994), was a United States aviator and United States Air Force general. He became the first U.S. military jet pilot in 1942 when he piloted the Bell XP-59. With Orval R. Cook he is also known as one half of the Cook-Craigie plan, a method of producing aircraft.
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Cessna 310 The Cessna 310 is an American four-to-six-seat, low-wing, twin-engined monoplane produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engined aircraft that Cessna put into production after World War II.
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British Aerospace Sea Harrier The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval short take-off and vertical landing/vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft; the second member of the Harrier Jump Jet family developed. It first entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980 as the Sea Harrier FRS1 and became informally known as the ""Shar"". Unusual in an era in which most naval and land-based air superiority fighters were large and supersonic, the principal role of the subsonic Sea Harrier was to provide air defence for Royal Navy task groups centred around the aircraft carriers.
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Rolls-Royce Mustang Mk.X The North American Mustang Mk.X (as in "Mark.10"; also known as the "Rolls-Royce Mustang") was a British variant of the US North American P-51 Mustang using a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine in an experimental program undertaken by the Rolls-Royce company in 1942.
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Dick Merrill Henry Tyndall "Dick" Merrill (February 1, 1894 – October 31, 1982) was an early aviation pioneer. Among his feats he was the highest paid air mail pilot, flew the first round-trip transatlantic flight in 1936, was Dwight D. Eisenhower's personal pilot during the 1952 presidential elections, set several speed records, and would go on to be Eastern Air Lines' most experienced pilot with over 36,000 hours until his retirement in 1961. In total, Merrill flew over 45,000 hours as pilot in command, covering over eight million miles.
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Gordon M. Graham Gordon Marion Graham (16 February 1918 – 22 March 2008) was a United States Air Force Lieutenant General. Graham was a combat pilot who, during World War II was credited with 7 aerial victories making him a flying ace. He is credited with a further 9.5 aircraft destroyed on the ground. By the end of World War II, Graham had flown 73 combat missions in the P-51 Mustang.
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Alexander Kartveli Alexander Kartveli, born Alexander Kartvelishvili, (Georgian: ალექსანდრე ქართველიშვილი ) (September 9, 1896 – June 20, 1974) was an influential aircraft engineer and a pioneer in American aviation history. Kartveli achieved important breakthroughs in military aviation in the time of turbojet fighters. He is considered to be one of the most important and innovative aircraft designers in US history and the world.
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Black Cat (aircraft) Black Cat was a Consolidated B-24J-1-FO Liberator aircraft and the last American bomber to be shot down over Germany in World War II. It was one of thousands of B-24s produced by the Ford Motor Company at its Willow Run production plant.
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Third-generation jet fighter The third-generation jet fighter was the class of fighter aircraft developed between the early 1960s to the 1970s.
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James Jabara James "Jabby" Jabara (10 October 1923 – 17 November 1966) was the first American and United States Air Force jet ace in history. Born in Oklahoma, he lived in Kansas where he enlisted as an aviation cadet at Fort Riley after graduating from high school. Jabara attended four flying schools in Texas before he received his pilot's wings and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. Jabara flew two tours of combat duty in Europe during World War II as a North American P-51 Mustang pilot, and scored 1.5 air victories against German aircraft.
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Shenyang J-11 The Shenyang J-11 (Chinese: 歼-11), with NATO reporting name Flanker B+, is a single-seat, twin-engine jet fighter, whose airframe is based on the Soviet-designed Sukhoi Su-27 air superiority fighter. It is currently manufactured by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation. The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) of China (PRC) is the sole operator of the aircraft.
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Billy Fiske William Meade Lindsley Fiske III (4 June 1911 – 17 August 1940) was the 1928 and 1932 Olympic champion bobsled driver and, following Jimmy Davies, was one of the first American pilots killed in action in World War II. At the time Fiske was serving in the Royal Air Force (RAF). He was one of 11 American pilots who flew with RAF Fighter Command between 10 July and 31 October 1940, thereby qualifying for the Battle of Britain clasp to the 1939–45 campaign star.
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Lockheed D-21 The Lockheed D-21 was an American reconnaissance drone with maximum speed in excess of Mach 3.3 (2,215 mph; 3,564 km/h). The D-21 was initially designed to be launched from the back of a M-21 carrier aircraft, a variant of the Lockheed A-12 aircraft. Development began in October 1962. Originally known by the Lockheed designation Q-12, the drone was intended for reconnaissance deep in enemy airspace.
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R. J. Mitchell Reginald Joseph Mitchell CBE, FRAeS, (20 May 1895 – 11 June 1937) was an English aeronautical engineer, who worked for Supermarine Aviation. Between 1920 and 1936 he designed many aircraft. He is best remembered for his racing seaplanes, which culminated in the Supermarine S.6B, and the iconic Second World War fighter, the Supermarine Spitfire.
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John B. McKay John Barron McKay (December 8, 1922 – April 27, 1975) was an American naval officer and aviator in World War II, test pilot, and one of the first pilots assigned to the X-15 flight research program at NASA's Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California. As a civilian research pilot and aeronautical engineer, he made 30 flights in X-15s from October 28, 1960, until September 8, 1966. His peak altitude was 295,600 feet (55.98 miles), and his highest speed was 3,863 mph (Mach 5.64).
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John Cecil Kelly-Rogers John Cecil Kelly-Rogers (8 February 1905 – 29 January 1981) was an aviator who flew Winston Churchill to wartime meetings.
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Vought F-8 Crusader The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) was a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass, and for the French Navy. The first F-8 prototype was ready for flight in February 1955. The F-8 served principally in the Vietnam War. The Crusader was the last American fighter with guns as the primary weapon, earning it the title "The Last of the Gunfighters".
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V bomber The term V bomber was used for the Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft during the 1950s and 1960s that composed the United Kingdom's strategic nuclear strike force known officially as the V-force or Bomber Command Main Force. The strategic bombers, whose names all started with the letter "V" and which were known collectively as the "V-class", included the Vickers Valiant (first flew 1951, entered service 1955), Avro Vulcan (first flew 1952, in service 1956) and Handley Page Victor (first flew 1952, in service 1958). The V-Bomber force reached its peak in June 1964, with 50 Valiants, 70 Vulcans and 39 Victors in service.