The 10 Ugliest Military Jets Ever

[@major__kong]

I think the Vulcan bomber was pretty cool. I wouldn't call it ugly. Also, it had this amazing howl caused by resonance from the intakes.

[@BobGeogeo]

And also: Thunderball.

[@davidsmith8997]

The Vulcan is arguably the best looking bomber of all time!

[@grahambuckerfield4640]

@@davidsmith8997 Agreed, as for mission capabilities to do the then longest bombing raid in history, as the aircraft were being retired, without the massive funding and support of the US. Also, it adapted well to low level operations. I don’t get the mission capability of the Yak-38, a carrier aircraft with no radar, only AIM-9B copy Atoll AAM’s, or a small weapon load with minimal range. It needed the auto elect capability due to it being so dangerous.

[@Marc-ww7cc]

With you guys on this one. Vulcan looks absolutely terrifying.

[@ericaandshane]

Have to chime in. Seeing the beautiful Vulcan fly at RIAT a decade ago was a highlight of this plane geek's life. The Vulcan and Victor are stunning aircraft, designed shortly after the war.

[@Craiglife777]

The F-94 should get some bonus points for fighting Godzilla.....we even have it on film.

[@Yadro767]

And the Vulcan for its role in James Bond's Thunderball.

[@maximilliancunningham6091]

Akward, straight wings, boxy, a T-33 that was left out in the sun, too long.

[@jonathanhudak2059]

Craiglufe777, right lol! The Starfire is odd but still cool like a more uncommon 1950s American car like an Edsel

[@robfredericks2984]

LOL!

[@JohnTBlock]

Ugly is as ugly does - the A-10 is beautiful to any grunt it saved! And as said in "Flight of the Intruder", " Fighter pilots make movies, Bomber pilots make HISTORY!"

[@TheNecromancer6666]

Well the A10 was extremely mediocre at its job. Look up how how effektive F-111 F was as a Tank hunter and precision CAS plattform and how effective the A10 was. The A10 was cheap. The F-111F was actually good.

[@leifkirchoff]

Curve on the Vulcan provides an efficient transonic wing with low speed handling. They adapted this design for the Concord.

[@B-A-L]

No doubt he'd include the Concord if he made a list of ugliest civil airplanes too, oh and leave out the Boeing SST.

[@kareliask]

Bringing the V bombers into this qualifies as rage baiting :D The RAF did produce some monstrosities in the transport category, the AW Argosy and Blackburn Beverley are some all-time great eyesores.

[@charlesparr1611]

Fairey gannet.... Oh god the electric lightning... That thing was hideous... Sure was fast though.

[@reubensandwich9249]

The V bombers I always felt looked awesome. The English Electric Lightening and Harrier didn't look nice. The F-111 I feel is one of the worst.

[@leaj847]

Yes, the Fairey Gannet should have been on the list!!

[@nicklovell5872]

@@leaj847The Gannet didn't qualify for this list. It was a turboprop, not a pure jet.

[@maximilliancunningham6091]

The TSR-2 was beutifull, and reeked of SPEED, from every angle.

[@badeyebill50]

WTF???? The VULCAN is one BAD ASS Bomber It was GREAT at Bomb Comp in the late 70s and early 80s dont Forget the Falkland Islands Bombing from Jolly Old England In My Opinion one of the very Best looking Planes ever.....Just an OLD B52H Crew Chief

[@lightwoven5326]

And one of the best ecm's also landed at New York and no one knew it was there. Was able to fly supersonic at 50 foot and its ceiling was in excess of 40 thousand.

[@raymurphy9749]

Not to mention that the Vulcans 'nuked' America twice therefore being the most capable in terms of battle damage on top of the howl that put the fear of god into you with it's four Olympus engines and it's looks that made the USSR tremble

[@sureshot8399]

@@lightwoven5326 Much as I love the Vulcan, I gotta tell you the only way a Vulcan was supersonic at 50 feet is if it was in a nose dive and hit the deck 49 feet later. Still don't see it or any of the other V-bombers as ugly though, particularly the Vulcan.

[@lightwoven5326]

@sureshot8399 My father was an aircraft engineer. It was foolhardy ;) and top speed is officially 'close' to the speed of sound, and you are aware its air density as well as load etc. And ofc some performance details were obsurfcated, but they did have to remove bits of tree after 1 flight. Also the flight ceiling was approx. 58 thousand feet. Checked some details and a conversation with the pilot on its last tour at Farnborough. If he claims that he was doing the speed of sound at 50 foot, I suspect he wasn't monitoring the instruments closely lol or it would be more about plough damage.

[@richardvernon317]

@@lightwoven5326 No Vulcan broke Mach 1 ever!! A Victor Mk 1 did in a dive and everybody at its airfield at Radlett heard the boom.

[@Batman_Pancakes]

Aww, the A6 was always one of my favorites, but I grew up watching Flight of the Intruder constantly, it's still one of my favorite movies.

[@johnnyh3653]

I grew near NAS Whidbey where the west coast A-6 squadrons were based. I loved watching those planes.

[@DylanTheGrizzlyGuy]

I love the A6!

[@tegli4]

Come on! Look at that smile on the XF32. The lil guy wants to be friends! Of course that list is very subjective, but I have always fund the V bombers AND the UK's early jet plane designs quite visually striking. I see them as peak retro-futurism.

[@mpatrick7860]

When I see the V bombers, for some reason I think Bond.....James Bond.

[@tegli4]

@@mpatrick7860 recently got subscribed to Amazon Prime and watched Doctor No which is chronologically the first Bond movie. Was pleasantly surprised by it and I plan to watch more of those oldies. I remember watching Never Say Never Again many years ago and it was my introduction to Bond. After a quick check I see that Thunderball (which I presume is the movie you are referring to regarding the V bombers) have almost the same plot as NSNA. Would be interesting to compare those two.

[@ryanw1433]

He’s laughing at you like a drunk pelican.

[@RCAvhstape]

The X-32 looks like an overfed wiener dog that wants to roll over and have its belly rubbed.

[@JoshuaC923]

Like the nimrod

[@PaulDoumerBridge]

A good friend of mine was a USAF test pilot in the early 90's. He flew every attack and fighter aircraft in the USAF that was in the inventory at the time. He was one of the last if not the last regular USAF pilot to be mission qualified on the A-7D. He has mentioned several times he loved flying the A-7. He said it had great range, the moving map display worked really well and surprisingly he said it was almost as fast as the F-15E Strike Eagle on the deck.

[@robertwarner5963]

Good point! When heavily-loaded, few supersonic fighters can exceed the speed of sound.

[@ilejovcevski79]

I refuse to consider the Starfire ugly! I used to a have a toy of it as a kid, and to this day i still find it lovely!

[@E.King1845]

Honestly I always thought of the A-7 Corsair as a pretty cool looking plane. Performance wise it wasn't as sleek and fast as the F series planes. But it got the job done.

[@romine777]

I agree with all of your selections except for the A-7. To me, seeing the A-7 approaching and landing on a carrier is a sight to behold.

[@joshcarter-com]

I always loved the A-7, too. Really nice lines and proportions. When I think 1970’s Cold War attack plane, the A-7 is what comes to mind.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

it’s ugly, but it worked hard for years…ugly doesn’t matter if it saves lives and protects the ships

[@warhawk_111]

Hello from Sweden. Happy to see we got represented in this list also

[@emmettjones5165]

SAAB's reputation for aviation engineering excellence and producing highly-capable aircraft of marked durability is well known and admired here.

[@warhawk_111]

Yeah we are a small country but makes some high quality military equipment @@emmettjones5165

[@GARDENER42]

Valiant not Vixen for the third V bomber. The only Vixen was the de Havilland Sea Vixen, as fleet air defence fighter.

[@poprocket2342]

The sea vixen definitely deserves to be on this list though

[@richardvernon317]

@@poprocket2342 Supermarine Attacker, The first NAA Furyand Sea Venom should be on this list.

[@callumsmodellingcentre6902]

Wouldn't argue that this list is perfect, definetly more inconsistencies throughout

[@therealDWrules]

I participated in a Red Team review of the X-32 when I worked at Boeing. The Air Force had dubbed it 'Monica'. I remember one comment from a design team member that started like this "Here's how we stuffed this turkey..."

[@mpatrick7860]

I was also working at Boeing then. I felt the X-32 should have won. Sorry to seem conspiratorial but Cheney's wife was a major Lockheed share holder. That entire family couldn't care less about mission capability or the welfare of the crews or troops on the ground. They only wanted that stock price up. When I worked at Edwards years later, I saw a lot of 35's and they did a lot of sitting on the ground.

[@ISpinUWin]

My father was with Raytheon/TI and was part of the target acquisition team, which included interfacing with the 360 helmet display. He also thought it had superior capabilities compared to the competition. I still have his project jacket and I know I have an X35 Christmas ornament somewhere. ;)

[@danmiller7079]

Being just a grunt, I was always told by our flights op Lt. that the F-4 phantom was known as the ugliest plane but it could kick ass (post gun installation). I still love to hear that characteristic whine of those engines. Great channel, Mooch!

[@dougrobinson8602]

They didn't call the F-4 "Double Ugly" for nothing.

[@stevenblackwell4903]

Up close the J-79 is music

[@Rover200Power]

The Avro Vulcan started out with a straight leading edge, but testing showed buffeting during high speed manoeuvres, so the kink was added along with some other changes. A beautiful bit of engineering.

[@johnhunt1725]

A little surprised the F-117 didn't at least get a mention...

[@klonkimo]

Maybe an honorable mention, it's mission capability would have been a 11 out of 10

[@davidsmith8997]

Agreed, it's ugly as f***.

[@davidsmith8997]

@@klonkimo I don't think it's done nearly as much as the A-6, and that only got an 8.

[@klonkimo]

@@davidsmith8997 yeah, I thought the Intruder was pretty low there too, I'm sure Danny Glover would agree. Bombing Baghdad wasn't possible without it or more casualties though, being able to go where no one else can is quite a capability.

[@davidsmith8997]

@@klonkimo I agree it certainly deserves a high score for being the first functional stealth jet. It went where no one else could, just as you say.

[@diraziz396]

04:39 - That shot shows how badass that corsair is. Thanks Mooch

[@MrPr3shaff]

You loved the A-6 when you were low on fuel. Your Tomcat drank a lot of gas. Fighter guys make movies, attack guys win wars!!!

[@CPO-Snarky]

💯

[@user-ho1yn6ms7y]

“Fighter pukes make movies, bomber pilots make history!”

[@Hitttiht]

In the attack community which is awarded first, wings or jealousy?

[@aaronseet2738]

IT IS AN A-6 DRIVER BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE ON THIS SHIP CAN HIT THE XO'S ASHTRAY

[@stubryant9145]

I like the A7, don't regard it as ugly. Occasionally saw one out of NAS Lemoore attempt to harass me while on a forest fire lookout. Which I absolutely loved!

[@gregorymaupin6388]

As an A-7E Corsair maintainer I Loved her also she’s absolutely gorgeous.

[@mpatrick7860]

To me the A-7 high speed low passes were a thing of beauty.

[@rp1645]

YES you being a service guy ( crew members) can see how you loved your babies. You knew the insides and out of her. Me being a construction guy, I grew up running CASE Backhoe 580-C very advanced smooth looking Backhoe. But I feel in Love with the Bucyrus Erie 190 Dynahoe ( all the guys I worked with) called them Dyna-PIGS a very heavy (19000) pounder. The thing about the Dynahoe was the STRONGEST deepest digging depth for a rubber tired backhoe 19 feet with standard boom and dipper NO extendahoe. I bought one in 2003 for $5000 it now has close to 9000 hours on meter. Never have overhauled the old reliable 353 Detroit Diesel. She just keeps digging in my back yard. I keep her plugged in in cooler weather. That Detroit Diesel takes straight 40Wt. None detergent heavy duty Diesel Oil. (Delo) They had an electric solenoid switch for rear single wheels BRAKES. No double brake pedals like most backhoes. I was told by a service guy when I bought her who used to sell the Dynahoe that the city's like New York would ( spec) out the new backhoe on that braking system. No one else in the market place in the 1970s made that system. They did hold up very strongly with a ( bull nose) hammer breakers. They also did excellent work as a hoe pack on ditch work.

[@gregorymaupin6388]

@@mpatrick7860 100% Right

[@bradlincoln2418]

A-10 is a beauty

[@chris_hisss]

Yeah this seems to be a polarizing plane. For me though I love it. I also had no idea what a crusaider was until much later, I always thought THAT looked ugly compared to the A-7. But like mooch says what pushed it up was that 3 of the community mentioned it. I also don't really agree with the effectiveness of a 7, if the A-10 gets an 8 the A-7 would, it has put in way more work than the A-10 or really any up to that point, but I digress.

[@richardchapman1236]

Ward, thanks for recognizing that the A7E Corsair II had the first HUD in a Navy combat aircraft. 1970. Awesome technology considering 54 years ago. To me it was a great and awesome looking airplane. I was very fortunate and proud to have flown it in combat. Westpac 70/71 USS Ranger CVA61. It could carry more fuel and ordinance than it weighed empty. It also had a turbo fan Allison TF41 that had very long loiter time. I flew it non stop, no inflight refueling or drop tanks, Lemoore CA to McGuire AFB NJ, formation with another A7E with a drop tank.

[@huffpappy]

If you've ever seen a Vulcan fly, there is no way you'd say it's ugly. It's one of my favorites.

[@scottfw7169]

A-7 Corsair 2 was really the Corsair 3 and the F4U Corsair was actually the Corsair 2 because the Vought O2U of 1927 was the first Corsair.

[@mpatrick7860]

I always thought the A-7 looked very cool.

[@listerdave1240]

I would wholeheartedly agree with you but science is science.

[@georgeb424]

The A-7 squadrons on NIMITZ wore a patch "Harley of the Fleet". I found them particularly awkward when viewed while landing; the main gear came out of the center line of the fuselage and looked almost like an inverted V. When coming in to land, it was always "little left, little right, little left, little right... oh to H#$% with it... BANG, on deck"! Then they wobbled to over to park in the six-pack. Reminded me of an Albatross bird landing.

[@Glen.Danielsen]

Ward, this is creativeness! And delightful as always.

[@yetiatlarge555]

Ugly is the craft that fails to get you home.

[@yetiatlarge555]

@@Justanotherconsumer That is legendary I always thought that plane from the outside looked a little bit like a puffin. But again the only perspective that really matters is from the cockpit look out on short final. And any landing where you can use the plane again is a good landing. Thank you so much for replying I appreciate you I subscribed to your channel

[@brentbernard3631]

All too true🤬😡🥺😭

[@livethefuture2492]

You mean the 737 MAX?

[@yetiatlarge555]

No, I examine the totality of circumstance. I never even considered this aircraft for the sole purpose of having a moment of levity with Mooch. @@livethefuture2492

[@richardbeckenbaugh1805]

@@yetiatlarge555Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing, any landing where they can use the jet again is a great landing.

[@harrylime3.143]

I think you got it right Mooch, science comes through again

[@gordonbergslien30]

Had the opportunity to visit the SAC museum outside Omaha a few years ago. They had an XF-85 on display. Placing it near one of the most beautiful a/c ever, the B-58 Hustler, made it look even uglier! Great content as always, Commander!

[@WesleyandCiara]

Your passion for all things military and geopolitics is infectious. Wishing you growth here on the channel and personally. Keep the content coming!

[@emmettjones5165]

Ward, I'm going to have to ask you to review your Mission Capability score of 3 for the Vulcan bombers, I think the raid on Port Stanley airfield 1 May 1982... and all that tanking... alone should raise this score to a higher number than three. Even as an American, there will always be a place in my heart for the Spitfire, the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, the Harrier, Tornado...and Vulcan.

[@paulheitkemper1559]

XF-84H Thunderscreech. The loudest aircraft ever made. The propeller tips travelled faster than the speed of sound even at idle thrust. It severely incapacitated a guy on the ground during a run-up.

[@Markle2k]

The A-6 and A-7 are hard done by in the mission capability rankings. They were workhorses and got the job done. Plus, the A-6 looks downright elegant in planform view. Yes, I know you said “when you walk up to it in the hangar”, but it should get extra credit for that parting scene in the subscriber input flyby.

[@Sundancer268]

I served on the USS Hancock CVA-19 and left for Shore Duty six months before de-commissioning.

[@ypaulbrown]

them boys at Pawtauxent and Edwards must have really wondered when those planes showed up... not to mention the chaps at the NASA wind tunnel in Cleveland at Lewis.... thanks Ward......you never cease to amaze......Paul in Florida

[@-007-2]

The A10 Warthog is one of the most beautiful jets ever made. Top 10 for sure.

[@thomasgoodwin2648]

Missing: The Convair XFY-1 Pogo and the F117 Wobbly Goblin errr... Stealth Fighter! What was it they used to call B-52s? Big Ugly Something Something? ✌😎👍 PS. How can yall be hatin' on the Vulcan? Such a magnificent beast in the air and such a lovely singing voice to boot.

[@WayneKitching]

I think the Vulcan is much better looking than the Vulcan. The Victor looks badass, like the villains' plane in a 60s Sci-fi book.

[@pyronuke4768]

Also missing: MiG-9, Yak-23, Su-17, and about half of Europe's domestic fighters form the 50's and 60's.

[@CrazyChemistPL]

I like the look of the Corsair II. Stubby, sure but the overall lines are still as elegant and harmonious. In fact I somewhat feel like it is the Crusader that is a tad too long rather then Corsair being too short. And sorry, but Victor is an awesome looking airplane. Like something totally out of this world... that could be just me, though, I always had a soft spot for alt looks.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

I like the A-7 Corsair. I think I built a plastic model kit of one when I was a kid.

[@charlesparr1611]

The Vulcan is awesome and gorgeous and was proven extremely effective as well, lumping three wildly different aircraft together like that is so bizarre that I can only assume he's setting us up for a huge battle with Justin Bronk over British aircraft aesthetics. And I am here for it.

[@charlesmartin1121]

Totally agree. The A-7 had a kind of utilitarian beauty.

[@CrazyChemistPL]

@@charlesparr1611 Of the specifically British jet aircraft I can say I really like the look of four. One bomber, Victor and three fighters/attackers: Javelin, Harrier and, this gonna be controversial, Sea Vixen. The Sea Vixen has amazing silhouette and I'm pretty sure if it had either centerline or more traditional side-by-side cockpit, it would be considered one of the better looking early jets. Honourable mention for the BAC Lightning, I like the look of it, but not on par with the previous ones. Now, there seems to be serious omissions on my list, some great looking planes like the Tornado or the Eurofighter, but I omitted them on the ground of them being joint ventures rather than exclusively British projects.

[@smgdfcmfah]

Love the Victor - but it's BECAUSE it looks like something designed by a 1930s science fiction author!

[@kevinmyers440]

I’m sure a lot of ground troops would argue with an eight for the warthog

[@charlesparr1611]

Especially the ones killed by friendly fire, of which the a10 is the all time leader. Ih wait, we never hear from them, because they're dead.

[@charlesmartin1121]

There are different types of beauty. And seeing that magnificent hog roll-in on an enemy position with it's massive gun burring...that is a beauty sight.

[@charlesparr1611]

@@charlesmartin1121 I believe none of those types of beauty is 'killing friendlies because the pilot has to decide targets by peering over the side through binoculars and frequently hits the wrong crowd of dots.' Maybe I'm old fashioned about that.

[@ImpendingJoker]

That has nothing to do with the airplane though. That was due to pilot error. So that would have no bearing on the aircraft itself.@@charlesparr1611

[@ImpendingJoker]

That has nothing to do with the airplane though. That was due to pilot error. So that would have no bearing on the aircraft itself so your comment is not only in bad taste but inaccurate that you are leveling that number at the aircraft itself and acting like no other aircraft has ever committed friendly fire. You're nothing but a troll.@@charlesparr1611

[@Dr_Reason]

The Cutlass did not require a boat to be dangerous. It could be dangerous anywhere.

[@hughjass1044]

This is exactly my kind of episode! Apart from being a military nerd, I'm also a car guy and while I appreciate all the types of cars that any car guy would, I also have an eye for the... how shall we say?.... less conventional designs. For example, some of my favorite models are the AMC Pacer, the Pontiac Aztec, the Exner Mopars, the Fiat Multipla, just about anything out of the former Eastern Bloc, the Renault Dauphine and so on. The weirder it looks, the better I like it. The A-10 was always one of my favorites but to that list, I'll be adding the X-32, which I'd seen before but sort of forgotten about but the new king... by a mile.... is that indescribably butt ugly... meaning absolutely gorgeous.... XF-85 Goblin!

[@tarmaque]

Ha! My Dad had a Renault Dauphine when he was in high school in the 60's. His future father-in-law helped him rebuild the engine on a table in his garage. (My Grandfathers were friends) He talked about it for the rest of his life, even though he only had it for a year or so before he wadded it up taking a corner too fast.

[@MattThornton87]

Well that's the special relationship out of the window... with our beautiful V Bombers on the ugly list 😂🇬🇧! Great video mooch, keep up the superb work with the channel content. Best wishes Avro Vulcan 😉

[@ChrisMoffat-ov3lx]

I think it's just envy, Matt!

[@oddshot60]

When I was a kid in the 19and50s, I dreamed of becoming a Naval Aviator and flying the most beautiful fighter ever to grace a carrier deck, the F4U Corsair. Eventually I learned that the Navy didn't fly them any more, but by then I spotted the UNBELIEVABLY BEAUTIFUL A-7 Corsair II and I was in love all over again. By the time I graduated High School in 19and69, I found out that I needed to have college to become a Naval Aviator and, financially speaking, that simply wasn't in the cards, flying the Corsair II just wasn't going to happen. I know that the A-7's low intake was dangerous for the deck crew, but certainly no more than the F4U's propeller. I think the Corsair II was the best looking camo painted A/C ever ... even better than the Phantom, but that could just be the love talking.

[@simonflower6356]

The Corsair was the Fonzie of naval aviation - it was so cool it didn’t need to be a beauty.

[@kenjohnson5124]

9:55 Not “Vixen” but “Valiant”!

[@davidellis2021]

Rare mistake there. Don't know why they only got a 3 for mission capability. The Vulcan bombed Port Stanley from Ascension Island, refuelled by Victors. Also, the kink of the wing was to remove buffeting. The early Vulcan's had straight wings.

[@kenjohnson5124]

@@davidellis2021 Yeah, rare indeed! Good ole Mooch! Yeah, one had problems with refueling and had to divert to Brazil. They had trouble jettisoning the ARM missiles (Shrike) and Brazil got a look at our missiles! Maybe had the Argentine left his radar on long enough, the missiles may not have fired! If the jettison system failed, why couldn’t the crew just fire them off overriding the lock on system?

[@johnhudghton3535]

​@@kenjohnson5124Come on, these aircraft were at the very end of their luves, they were literally rescued and rebuilt from the scrap pile, no wonder they had servicability issues.

[@OneEyedJacker]

Vulcan, Victor, Valiant.

[@sladewilson2379]

It's science !😂....brilliant stuff, loved it.!

[@WardCarroll]

Thanks for the support, Slade!

[@turnagec]

Fun episode! I love the British Vulcan though!

[@walterbordett2023]

Wink," there are lies, damn lies and then there are statistics. " Great vid Ward.

[@Chiller11]

I appreciate that this channel doesn’t use completely illogical opinion to reach its ridiculous conclusions. Rather it goes to extreme lengths to utilize only subjective illogical data plus MATH to calculate its way to its ridiculous conclusions. That is, indeed, Science!

[@wayneroyal3137]

Great video!!!! I was smiling the whole time, I was surprised that the Cutless lasted as long as did. Awesome work

[@stretch3281]

10:11 Vixen was a 2 seat naval fighter, what you ment to say was "valiant and yes it was ugly. There will be alot of upset Brits who love the Vulcan but personly I've allways loved the shape of the Victor. At least this was only about jets so the beautiful Gannet didn't get any more 💩 flung at it. Also the Vulcan scored hits on Portstanly runway and airfield during the Falklands war.

[@aterxter3437]

A famous quote from Marcel Dassault, our greatest aircraft designer, founder of Dassault Aviation, father of the mirages legacy : " un bel avion vole bien", "a beautiful aircraft fly well". A real story took place during the Dassault Rafale design phase : Having already left the CEO office of his company, being in his 80's, he still had the habit to visit the different design desks to feel how his engineers worked. When discovering the shape of the aircraft's nose he said "non, non, ce n'est pas beau, je n'en veux pas, ce n'est pas bien" "no, no, that is ugly, I don't want that, that isn't good", despite all the engineers saying that it was the ideal shape, he firmly believed against and asked for a blank sheet of blueprint. He drew by hand what he considered what was the right shape for the aircraft, and when it got digitalised, the engineers found that it was even better than their proposition.

[@georgesykes394]

The A-6 Intruder is the 2nd most beautiful aircraft Grumman ever made after the Tomcat. Intruder strikes during the Vietnam War were often confused for B-52s. And let's not forget the Mighty A-6 did something the legacy Hornet never could carry over 9 tons of ordnance on a Combat sortie in excess of 600 NM without tanker support.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

You think the flying drumstick of death is beautiful?🍗

[@georgesykes394]

@WALTERBROADDUS Yes I do. It was a bad ass aircraft flown by men of the same caliber. One of those men was Admiral Jeremiah A. Denton DFC and Navy Cross recipient.

[@hoghogwild]

@@WALTERBROADDUS Was the A-6 a bad one? Particularly easy to bring down or were they accident prone?

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@hoghogwild I would say the A6 was a good aircraft. It just wasn't particularly pretty.🍗

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@georgesykes394 I think it's a highly functional and versatile performing aircraft. But it still looks like a flying drumstick.🍗😏

[@jes2731]

The A-6 only gets an 8 for capability? The Navy's one and only all weather low-level bomber that could carry up to 30, 500 lb general purpose bombs, skimming the tree tops at 50 feet, while screaming along at 500 mph in a thunderstorm. Hell, it could damned near carry it's own weight in fuel and ordinance. ...and YES, I'm biased to it. (VA-115 86-89') 😎

[@TheNecromancer6666]

I think only because compared to other low altitude Interdictors its dynamically so mediocre. All its competitors either way faster and some are faster and have more range and weapons load. And its the only defenseless aircraft of its class.

[@pithicus52]

I wonder how many of the people who claimed that the A-6 is ugly ever actually got close to one.

[@charlessage7323]

I guess I'm in the go ugly early crowd. I liked all those airplanes aesthetically, well except the Goblin, and come on the X-32? How can you be so harsh with an airplane that always looks so happy?!

[@ddegn]

I thought they were all beautiful. Apparently science has concluded I have no taste.

[@Farweasel]

It looks like a blissed out Basking Shark [I *like* basking sharks, they're sort of friendly giants]

[@mpatrick7860]

I was never entirely sure the Goblin was a real thing. I remember a plastic model in the 70's that looked like that and it was called a Flapjack.

[@ddegn]

@@mpatrick7860 I think the Vought XF5U had the nickname of Flapjack. It was another really strange looking airplane.

[@charlessage7323]

I think I remember that model, it looked like the Goblin but the wings actually flapped? And as noted below, the actual flying flapjack was a whole different animal and kinda on the ugly side.@@mpatrick7860

[@onkelmicke9670]

Cutlass looks cool. The Parasite Fighter certainly has the looks of a parasite.

[@ryankc3631]

The A-10 is an absolute work of art.

[@hernzo9798]

Well I learnt something new today never knew the a-10s round jackets go back in the plane

[@stretch3281]

They have to, there weight keeps the center of gravity under control.

[@hernzo9798]

@@stretch3281 k thought it was an environmental aspect to it 😂

[@stephendecatur189]

"Handsome is as handsome does" is now quantifiable. (I knew I was waiting for something.) Thanks Ward.

[@jackryan152]

I need to go dig out my Thomas Dolby albums

[@natron1973]

I absolutely love it! Great video… I was a grape on the Wasp from 93 to 94. Go Navy! I live just outside Toledo, Ohio. The 180th Ohio air national guard visits us daily. They previously flew the A-7, so a part of me was like “hey man, don’t pick on those guys. They’re pretty cool.”😂 but you made great points, and I’m happy with their scientific placement.

[@rayclark474]

Jarhead PC on the A4. A few miles south in Kenton.

[@fenix2k1]

Vulcan lumped in with the other V bombers and yet no BUFF?

[@B-A-L]

He's American, what do you expect?

[@pekkasimula8535]

Thanks for an informative and also funny episode 😊 In my mind, PZL TS-11 Iskra - of the proud Polish design - would definitely earn its' posiition in the ranking. Particularly so, when viewed as sitting on the ground.

[@vmpgsc]

XF8U-3 Crusader III. Even worse of a design change than the A-7 IMHO.

[@drgonzo305]

Looking straight down from the above the F-32 looks pretty cool, the design has been growing on me.

[@pyronuke4768]

To me, the X-32 looks more goofy than it does ugly, and it's appearance has been so memed to death by this point it feels like low-hanging fruit.

[@goodfoot7926]

The A7 was used extensively in the ANG and some of them went to the ANG straight off the assembly line. The active Air Force did not like the A7

[@mpatrick7860]

The active USAF didn't even like the A10 either. Never understood that.

[@petestorz172]

The A-6 was a pretty flexible aircraft, with the electronic warfare variant, EA-6 and the tanker variant, KA-6. The A-10A's head-up display had a great official name, the Projection Unit, PU for short. If the PU electronics suffered a failure or power loss, it had a targeting system powered by the aircraft's 28V power. The PU's night filter was very simple, a red cellophane "curtain" that was pulled over the top of the optics.

[@philippatek3928]

Marine here - I was so glad the AV8B wasn’t on here 🤣

[@SkyhawkSteve]

Another Marine here... the Harrier II isn't bad, but the TA-V8A was an aircraft with some odd proportions. I guess most folks just aren't familiar with it?

[@everTriumph]

Hands off our Beautiful V bombers. The Vulcan evolved from a triangle wing to the modified design to improve its performance at high altitudes. And we are talking altitudes well in excess of anything the US could manage. The Victor had a wing which curved allowing it to slip into supersonic flight without any drama. The main spar is moved towards the nose leaving a huge unbroken bomb bay with a maximum load well in excess of even the Vulcans. Again generous wing area allowed heights well in excess of its US competition to be achieved.

[@ericmiddleton8367]

Valiant, not vixen

[@danlewellyn6734]

The Sea Vixen was pretty damn ugly.

[@charlesmoss8119]

The vixen was terrifying - I knew two people completely separated whose lives had been altered - one ejected during service and was injured - the other’s father was killed. But I always thought it sort of looked ok

[@peterfinucane8122]

​@@charlesmoss8119 The offset canopy looks strange. But the Sea Vixen looks great in flight.

[@mytmousemalibu]

The Valiant & Vulcan are pretty imo. The Victor is pretty bad though

[@ericmiddleton8367]

@@danlewellyn6734 - she was not!

[@briangriffiths114]

You always have some truly impressive guests on this channel! Col Campbell's achievement in piloting her damaged A-10 using manual reversion is legendary.

[@timsparks7049]

I loved KC's rather cheeky comment that they could hang AIM-9 Sidewinders on the Wart Hog. My question is, given its low and slow profile of the Hog did they hang the Sidewinder facing backwards? I think you got it right, Science rules!!!!!

[@pg1171]

Thank you so much Ward for doing this one, and the way that you did it! Great choices!

[@smgdfcmfah]

How can the BAE Lightning not make this list? The thing looks like a pregnant fish. The wings look like it was designed using Lego from the 70s before they made triangle parts. The wings also look as though they were just glued to the fuselage as an afterthought. Even the over/under twin engines make it look ludicrous from head on while the MiG-21 style nose intake looks like crap on any aircraft.

[@jackaubrey8614]

...says your guide dog....

[@smgdfcmfah]

@@jackaubrey8614 Lol. Says the Brit fanboy that thinks it's the greatest plane ever made? Obviously it's all opinion, and admittedly they were pretty badass in their day and greatly underrated on most lists, but ever since I was a kid and had a model kit of one I've know that they were ALL function over form. I honestly didn't think it was a real plane when I first saw the kit because it looked so fckn' stupid! (it was the '70s when I got the kit and I'd never seen a picture - the racks on TOP of the wings were the icing on the cake!). There is literally NO angle that aircraft looks good from!

[@pyronuke4768]

I feel like about half of these didn't belong here. The F-93, the Yak-38, the A-7, and the A-10 all have slightly off proportions but they still look like planes should. And with only three (technically five) foreign planes making the list when there are so many European and Soviet planes available to choose from that look arguably worse. And going out on a limb here, but I think the X-32 looks more goofy than it does ugly.

[@geographyinaction7814]

Lightning is gorgeous, especially without the auxiliary fuel belly-tank.

[@JoeParkerAndThePower]

Vulcan was the prettiest of the V-fleet, which says a lot for their ugliness.. but service history of 30yrs as a nuke for the Vulcan alone, plus Op Black Buck in the Falklands invasion, *plus* the later re-role to tanker for the Victors.. has to be worth more than that for mission capability? Plus, the roar when Vulcan flew over with afterburners at 2000ft or so was IMMENSE But that's just my opinion... and this is _science_. *SCIENCE*.

[@colinritchie1757]

The 3rd V bombers is the Valiant

[@evan6901]

You’re breaking my heart with a couple of these, I’ve never been accused of having good taste though. I Love your channel Sir, the information you deliver is always on point and always your experience is appreciated and respected. God bless you brother.

[@A10-Wart-Hog]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

[@jimb9063]

Absolutely true.... Just noticed your name though. I guess??!

[@vandalorian8777]

I mostly agree with the list. The X-32 is the poster child for everything that is wrong with Boeing as a company. As for the Warthog I think it is one of the most bad ass aircraft ever built and bad ass is beautiful

[@rickwilliamson9248]

GREAT list Ward, but I think the A-6 Crusader, A-7 Corsair and A-10 Thunderbolt II got shortchanged on their mission-capability ratings. Their decades of service alone - not to mention weapons load - should have given them a 10. And I guarantee the troops on the ground thought they were beautiful when they arrived on scene for CAS.

[@Hitttiht]

First time I ever smiled ear to ear in a 17:18 math class. I think the Swiss to stick with banks and watches. Super Job on this video. Now it’s time to get back to breakfast for the kids and the second book in the trilogy, Punks’s Wing. Keep on & smile on!

[@hololightful]

I don't think the A-10 is ugly at all... The opposite in fact!

[@mikebridges20]

One more thing about the X-32: to get it to be able to lift off vertically, they had to remove the landing gear actuators and bolt the landing gear down, plus remove the air inlet to lower the weight enough to get enough thrust to lift off the ground.

[@williamcrane8236]

Want the Stratfire three plane that couldn't sit down the F6F target drone? Pretty much shooting shotguns at bumble bees so I can see the failure but infamy must be honored.

[@1930Granada]

I think those were F-89 Scorpions out of what's now Camarillo Airport

[@jhonbus]

You're absolutely right about the Vulcan's leading edge profile being deliberate, of course, it's to improve the stall characteristics. The wing is designed so that a stall begins at the root long before it occurs at the wingtips, preventing the sudden stall of one wingtip which would immediately cause a fatal flip. Even a symmetrical full stall is super serious for a delta wing, since your control surfaces become ineffective. The "Jagged" rather than smooth leading edge profile is the really clever bit - the discontinuities generate vortices over the wing surface from leading to trailing edge, which inhibit the flow separation of a stall from progressing outwards along the wing.

[@abrahamdozer6273]

The DeHavilland Vampire deserves an ugliness mention although they were easy to fly, apparently and nearly 3300 of them were built.

[@lightwoven5326]

Also killers of their pilots. You can tell a vampire pilot in old photos as they have a diving knife on their thigh. This was because of compression causing the Life raft to explosively discharge between the pilots legs causing the stick to be pushed forward with the result of causing the aircraft to nosedive into the ground!

[@rp1645]

Thank you ( WARD) my F-14 ( REO) friend I remember growing up spending summer groceries shopping in Port Townsend Washington State. I would Hear the ( Growlers) coming over the Straights from Navy Air Station Whidbey Island. A lot of times hearing them but not being able to see them 😊

[@ivanthemadvandal8435]

I can kinda see putting the Victor on this list, but the Vulcan, are you kidding,? The Vulcan is a beauty I would like put the English Electric Lightning in place of the V-bombers

[@tarmaque]

Are you kidding? The English Electric Lightning, in spite of its pregnant belly, is a gorgeous aircraft. Like a supermodel who's not afraid to do a photo shoot while with child.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

No Xb-51? No Douglas Skyknight? No Republic F-105? No Grumman Jaguar?

[@buenapilapil5513]

I'm glad the F-105 is not on this list. It looks fast even while sitting on the ground

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@buenapilapil5513 I've never liked anything from Republic.

[@pyronuke4768]

Plus this list has so many American planes in it when there are a ton of foreign ones that look arguably worse.

[@deanperkins2091]

The A-10s Ugliness score is tragic, but the mooch has spoken

[@michaelharo1673]

I’m a retired Skunk and I take exception to your parting comment about the F-35’s looks; however, I probably wouldn’t have argued too much if you had mentioned any criticisms about its performance.😮

[@markpfeifer1402]

I think being "ugly" only makes attack aircraft more bad ass looking. Fighters, on the other hand, need to look sleek and proportionate.

[@Unfassbarer]

Danke!

[@unclerojelio6320]

As a kid we used to go to the annual Austin Aerofest and several times we were treated to a Vulcan bomber demonstration. Nothing else has ever quite matched the sight and sound of that monster in action.

[@josephforrest3713]

The X32 actually looked awesome from the top...But from the front... YIKES lol.

[@bradley-eblesisor]

Didn't you get the mimo? Doctor Fauchi unilaterally declared himself "SCIENCE". I'm so sorry to be the one to give you the bad news 😂

[@generfeld]

Surprised to see the A-10 on here. But I guess since we had to narrow it down to "military", and also "jets", then we are forced to pick the ones that arent necessarily ugly but just "not as nice looking as others"/"least nice-looking". Goblin looks like something out of a Far Side cartoon. 14:15 LOVE this vintage photo of the Super Sabre and Thud and Voodoo together in unpainted aluminum/silver. F105 is a gorgeous plane in all-silver. Good video and thanks for all the work you do.

[@arcataslacker]

This is a great reminder as to how much I love the a6. I don't know what it is but there's something about it that just strikes me as beautiful

[@alaingabriel1710]

I visited the Udvar-Hazy Center (in Virginia near the Dulles airport) many years ago and got to see a SAAB Tunnan up close while in there. The tour guide told us that it was the only plane in their collection which had a bullet hole in it. It had come from a bar just outside the center, where a barroom fight had resulted in a gun being fired in the direction of the museum. I thought that up close the Tunnan was kind of cute.

[@geoffcampbell7846]

Brilliant! After a frustrating day, to sit down with a jackD and watch this brought a wide smile to my face. Cheers 🥃👋

[@drive-channel1834]

The X-32 has the biggest smile 😁