Exint pods, man-carrying pods used to insert or exifiltrate special forces or wounded soldiers were not only tested British Harriers and AH-64 Apache and certified for Israeli AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters.
The concept dates back to World War 2 when “body-bags” or wing-mounted enclosures were tested on British Spitfires as well as Stuka dive bombers and ME 109 fighters. Tests were conducted even in the U.S.
Dan Nelson, a reader of this blog sent us some pictures, reportedly taken in 1944, showing casualty evacuation pods attached to an F-5, the reconnaissance variant of the P-38 Lightining.
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.
Over Germany, Italy, Japan, “Flak” (anti-aircraft gun) was, along with enemy fighters, the main threat to Allied bombers. An Army Air Force training film explains FlaK (from the German word for Anti-aircraft gun – Flugabwehrkanone): […]
You may like warbirds or not, but this video is awesome. The Vought F4U Corsair is probably one of the most famous American fighter planes ever. More than 12,500 examples of this aircraft were manufactured […]
Ever wondered what it was like to fly in a Spitfire during the Battle of Britain? This video will give you an idea. The video below will bring you aboard a vintage Spitfire recreating classic Battle […]