Aircraft facts

De Havilland. English-made de Havilland DH 106 Comet was introduced in 1952 by British Airways. A year after, Comet airframes began suffering catastrophic metal fatigue, with three of them tearing apart during mid-flight.

Japan. The MXY-7 Navy Suicide Attacker Ohka (pictured) was a manned flying bomb that was usually carried underneath a Mitsubishi G4M2e "Betty" Model 24J bomber to within range of its target; on release, the pilot would first glide towards the target and when close enough he would fire the Ohka's three solid-fuel rockets. The Japanese produced approximately 850 Ohkas, and seven US ships were damaged or sunk by them throughout the war.

It's taking-off. Dark trails visible in this picture are exhaust fumes from bomber's eight engines working full-power during take-off

Aircraft. The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed. The versatile airframe has found uses in a variety of other roles, including as a gunship (AC-130), for airborne assault, search and rescue, scientific research support, weather reconnaissance, aerial refueling, maritime patrol, and aerial firefighting. More than 40 variants of the Hercules, including a civilian one marketed as the Lockheed L-100, operate in more than 60 nations.