The Aviation Show

In 1955, Paramount Pictures released one of their tentpole VistaVision epics, Strategic Air Command, starring James Stewart and directed by his longtime collaborator, Anthony Mann. Strategic Air Command is peak, high-resolution, widescreen 1950s propaganda at its finest, and while not a great film (David and I argue about that aspect too!), its time and place in the building of the mythology of Curtis LeMay's US Air Force bombing arm offers a fascinating insight into the mindset of both LeMay and Jimmy Stewart.

David, the host of The Cold War channel on YouTube, joins me to bring our long-running Bluesky debate about this film to the channel and look at a film that had US military cooperation at a level that would make Michael Bay and Tom Cruise green with envy.

Check out The Cold War channel on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheColdWarTV

Follow David on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/coldwarhost.bsky.social

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✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials!
Website: https://pimaair.org/
https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace
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Check out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/

👕Get your aviation on with 909
Apparel today! Check out their website here: https://www.909apparel.com/
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The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
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0:00 B-36 Takes Center Stage
5:25 Plot of a Propaganda Classic
12:13 LeMay Behind the Film
23:07 SAC’s Cold War Mission
31:24 LeMay’s Human Factor
36:27 From Hero to Ripper
42:42 Bombers, Missiles, and Madness
51:32 The Missing LeMay Biography
54:10 Weird Subplots and Standout Scenes
1:00:43 What’s Next for The Cold War?
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The new documentary, Beyond Blue Sky: The Untold Story of the First Private Astronauts, tells the story of Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites journey into space. In this episode we are joined by the film's director, Kevin Curran, and SpaceShipOne's Project Engineer, Matt Stinemetze, to discuss this incredible project that went from Burt Rutan announcing that they were going to space to winning the $10m Ansari X Prize in 2004.

Beyond Blue Sky: The Untold Story of the First Private Astronauts is a fantastic documentary and is available now on Apple TV and Amazon Prime in the UK and US.

Apple TV link: https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/beyond-blue-sky/umc.cmc.3scqjpza3p8lkaz5tr55ksmu9
Amazon link: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0JIG217NYGEBJVVA0ESRKJ3NP2?ref_=atv_dp_share_cu_r

All clips from Beyond Blue Sky are used courtesy of Focus on the Signal LLC.

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🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow

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✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials!
Website: https://pimaair.org/
https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace
https://www.instagram.com/pimaair
https://x.com/pimaair
https://www.youtube.com/c/PimaAirSpaceMuseum

Check out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/

👕Get your aviation on with 909
Apparel today! Check out their website here: https://www.909apparel.com/
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The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Sun is constantly changing; it is not just a constant ball of fire. Dr Ryan French joins us to tell us about the Sun's behaviour, space weather, and the impact of space hazards on Earth. So if you've ever wondered how solar activity affects our technology, the risks of space junk, and the future of space safety, then this is the show for you!

Check out Ryan's YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@Sun.Scientist

Find out more about Ryan French on his website at: www.ryanjfrench.com

Follow Ryan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sun.scientist/
Follow Ryan on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanjfrench
Follow Ryan on BlueSky: bsky.app/profile/ryanjfrench.bsky.social

Grab a copy of Ryan's book, Space Hazards: Asteroids, Solar Flares and Cosmic Threats, at The Aviation Show Bookshop.org! 10% of all sales goes to supporting the show and independent bookshops.
UK Link: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11015/9780008688172
US Link: https://bookshop.org/a/111804/9780008774660

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🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow

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✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials!
Website: https://pimaair.org/
https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace
https://www.instagram.com/pimaair
https://x.com/pimaair
https://www.youtube.com/c/PimaAirSpaceMuseum

Check out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/

👕Get your aviation on with 909
Apparel today! Check out their website here: https://www.909apparel.com/
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The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
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0:00 Sun Misconceptions
4:18 Solar Flares Explained
8:14 Space Weather Impacts
15:28 Forecasting Solar Storms
23:06 Protecting Critical Systems
26:32 The Space Junk Problem
31:46 Avoiding Orbital Debris
35:59 Cleaning Up Orbit
37:43 Asteroids and Meteors
39:58 Tracking Dangerous Rocks
42:50 Impact Risks on Earth
45:43 Wrapping Up
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The Hawker Typhoon and the 3" Rocket Projectile, the RP-3, have a special place in the annals of the Second World War. In this first part of a series looking at the Hawker Typhoon, we take a deep dive into the RP-3 and some of the realities of this legendary, if wonderfully inaccurate, weapon.

Check out The Aviation Historian website and get your copy of the new annual edition here: https://www.theaviationhistorian.com/

If you want to see the RP-3 animation by Marcin Gabryelczyk used in this video, you can check it out here: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/game-art-3inch-rp-3-rockets-6-variants-4fb022462efb4d1d80417f15c311e3aa
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🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow
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✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials!
Website: https://pimaair.org/
https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace
https://www.instagram.com/pimaair
https://x.com/pimaair
https://www.youtube.com/c/PimaAirSpaceMuseum

Check out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/

👕Get your aviation on with 909 Apparel today! Check out their website here: https://www.909apparel.com/
-----------------------------------------------------
The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
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0:00 RP-3 Rocket Origins
2:24 Rocket Design Revealed
3:54 Early Typhoon Testing
5:06 Desert Tank-Buster Trials
7:57 Normandy Training Begins
10:27 Rockets Under Combat Fire
12:19 Witness at Mortain
13:06 Claims Versus Reality
15:06 Typhoon’s True Impact
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I was recently given two prints by the renowned aviation artist, the late Robert Taylor. One is going on the wall, the other... Well, that is the focus of this video, as why would I want the signature of a man like Günther Rall, an ardent servant of fascism, hanging on my wall?

You can listen to both parts of our Birds of Prey discussion with Dr. Philip Blood via The Aviation Show website here:
https://theaviation.show/hedge-hopping/

You can grab a copy of Birds of Prey by Dr. Philip W. Blood at The Aviation Show Bookshop. 10% of each sale supports the show.
UK Link: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11015/9783838215679
US Link: https://bookshop.org/a/111804/9783838215679

Jonathan Glancy's 2004 Guardian interview with Rall can be found here: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2004/dec/30/1

Rall's obituary in The Daily Telegraph which includes Dr Richard P. Hallion's remarks, can be found via the Wayback Machine here: https://web.archive.org/web/20091015045404/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/air-force-obituaries/6299837/Generalleutnant-Gnther-Rall.html

Find out moe about the Foundation of Hamburg Memorials and Learning Centres and the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial on their YouTube channel @neuengamme.memorial and website here: https://www.gedenkstaetten-hamburg.de/en/

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🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow

-----------------------------------------------------
✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials!
Website: https://pimaair.org/
https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace
https://www.instagram.com/pimaair
https://x.com/pimaair
https://www.youtube.com/c/PimaAirSpaceMuseum

Check out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/

👕Get your aviation on with 909 Apparel today! Check out their website here: https://www.909apparel.com/
-----------------------------------------------------
The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
-----------------------------------------------------
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.