Kapil Kajal

Kapil is a journalist with nearly a decade of experience. Reported across a wide range of beats with a particular focus on air warfare and military affairs, his work is shaped by a deep interest in twentiethโ€‘century conflict, from both World Wars through the Cold War and Vietnam, as well as the ways these histories inform contemporary security and technology.
493 Articles

Boneyard Files: Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star – The Abandoned Cold War Pioneer

The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star became Americaโ€™s first operational jet fighter, pioneering jet combat in…

Aces: Heinrich Bongartz – Germanyโ€™s Elite Blue Max Fighter Ace

Heinrich Bongartz was a German WWI flying ace who scored 33 victories, survived severe combat…

Grounded Dreams: Brewster XA-32 – The Dive Bomber That Failed To Perform

The Brewster XA-32 was an American dive bomber developed during WWII to replicate the success…

Pioneers of Aeronautical Engineering: Max Munk – A German Behind NACA’s Revolutionary Wind Tunnel

Aeronautical pioneer Max Munk helped transform aviation through his work on airfoil theory and the…

Grounded Dreams: Kaiser-Fleetwings XBTK – How a Torpedo-Bomber Dream Died

The Kaiser-Fleetwings XBTK was a late-WWII US Navy dive and torpedo bomber designed for escort…

Boneyard Files: Douglas F4D Skyray – The Supersonic Interceptor Lost in Arizona

The Douglas F4D Skyray was a Cold War Navy fighter that set world speed and…

Aces of the Great War: Harold Leslie Edwards and the Canadian Blitz of the Skies

Canadian WWI observer ace Harold Leslie Edwards scored 21 aerial victories in Bristol F.2 Fighters…

Grounded Dreams: Why The Revolutionary Kamov Ka-22 Was Abandoned Forever

The Kamov Ka-22 combined helicopter and airplane technology into one experimental Soviet aircraft. Despite setting…

Pioneers of Aeronautical Engineering: John Stack – The Man Behind the Sound Barrier

Aeronautical pioneer John Stack helped the United States overcome the challenges of high-speed flight, contributing…

Grounded Dreams: Columbia XJL-1 – The Single-Winged Duck Scrapped By The Navy

The Columbia XJL-1 was the US Navy's postwar attempt to replace the Grumman J2F Duck.…