1. shot down an entire squadron of Soviet bombers
   strafed KGB headquarters
2. broke the sound barrier

In 1947, just after WWII, Yeager climbed into an experimental jet and blazed into history, becoming the first pilot to break the sound barrier. Yeager went on to become a worldwide celebrity.

1. crashing 36 planes
   being captured by the Soviets
2. losing track of a nuclear warhead

In 1960, Powers was piloting a U-2 spy plane when he was shot down and was immediately captured by the Soviets. The U-2 incident sparked worldwide headlines and terrible press for America.

1. anti-aircraft guns
   surface-to-air missile
2. secret lasers

Gary Powers was at high altitude, but his U-2 plane could not evade a Soviet surface-to-air missile. He ejected from the plane and drifted to the ground, where Soviet forces nabbed him.

1. Commie Blaster
   X-Wing
2. Starfighter

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter certainly has one of the most epic names of the post-WWII era. The Starfighter is a supersonic interceptor and fighter introduced in the late 1950s.

1. He spun out of control
   He broke the record
2. He never participated in the flight

During a December test flight, Yeager was determined to break Crossfield's Mach 2 record, so he pushed his Bell X-1A ever faster … and then spun out of control. He plummeted toward Earth and finally regained control, but only after losing tens of thousands of feet of altitude.

1. weight
   speed
2. bright colors

The Starfighter is a blazingly speedy plane. At full throttle, it can top more than 1,500 mph, and it can climb nearly 48,000 feet in just one minute.

1. Boeing
   Lockheed
2. Tesla

The U-2 was a Lockheed product, designed expressly for high-altitude reconnaissance. Believe it or not, more than half a century after its introduction, the U-2 is still in service, .

1. P-51
   Bell X-1
2. B-29

In 1949, Yeager bravely took to the skies in the experimental Bell X-1, which topped 700 mph, breaking the sound barrier and landing Yeager in the history books.

1. He defected to the West.
   He topped Mach 5.
2. He flew to the moon and back.

In 1976, Viktor Belenko hopped into an advanced Foxbat fighter and flew to Japan, defecting from his home country. President Ford granted him asylum and America gained heaps of knowledge from the stolen plane.

1. It flies a banner of Joseph Stalin everywhere it goes.
   It is painted with the blood of Americans.
2. It is utterly enormous.

The Tupolev Tu-95 is a huge, four-prop bomber. It has distinctive swept wings, which span nearly 165 feet.

1. It was completely automated.
   It has a nuclear warhead in the nose cone.
2. It's made of stainless steel.

The USSR introduced the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 in 1970, and the plane had a distinctive trait -- it was one of the few ever made from stainless steel. And yes, it is a beautiful plane.

1. fighter
   bomber
2. scout

The Tupolev Tu-22M is a long-range bomber that came of age during the Cold War and is still in use by the Russian military. It is particularly effective in anti-ship strikes.

1. true
2. false

Ha! Not even close. The Convair B-58 Hustler was an ultra-expensive bomber that was obsolete from the start, hampered by design issues and vulnerability to Soviet SAMs

1. Phantom
   Blackbird
2. Clown Shoes

In the history of aviation, few planes have become as iconic as the SR-71 Blackbird. Half a century later, its space-age shape still makes it look like something from the distant future.

1. Shooting Star
   Coffin Nail
2. Foxhound

The Mikoyan MiG-31 is the Foxhound, a supersonic interceptor introduced in the early '80s. This speedy plane will likely be in service for at least another decade.

1. Korean War
   Gulf War
2. WWI

During the Korean War, the North American F-86 Sabre was a counter-punch to the Soviet MiG-15. Its jet engine and load capacity made it suitable as both a fighter and bomber.

1. space flight
   terror
2. reconnaissance

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was a long-range reconnaissance plane. It could fly around 2,200 mph and zoom to 80,000 feet.

1. outer space capability
   zero reliability
2. extreme speed

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 is one of the fastest planes ever to make it to active military service. If a pilot is feeling lucky, he can push the "Foxbat" to speeds topping Mach 3.

1. Canada
   France
2. Finland

In the 1950s, Jacqueline Auriol gained fame as a daring French pilot. She was the first woman to enter military flight training and she set multiple speed records.

1. blast American ships
   shoot down American bombers
2. assassinate American leaders

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 was designed to intercept and shoot down American bombers, such as the B-29. It was one of the most effective warplanes of the Korean War.

1. long-range bomber
   reconnaissance
2. interceptor

The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was meant to be the "ultimate" interceptor of the Cold War era. In 1959, an Air Force pilot set a then-speed record of 1,525 mph.

1. bomber
   trainer
2. fighter

The T-33 T-Bird was a common trainer, made by the thousands to help U.S. pilots hone their skills. Other countries, however, have used the T-33 in combat.

1. zero windows in the cockpit
   randomly exploded
2. terrible quality

As with many products of the USSR, the Tu-22M suffered from quality issues. Its engines lasted only a short time due to poor manufacturing standards.

1. It flew Vladimir Putin to his first KGB assignment.
   It crashed into the White House.
2. It dropped the largest nuclear warhead ever.

In 1961, a Tupolev Tu-95 carried and then dropped the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuke ever detonated. The bomb's fireball was so intense that it rose to the altitude of the bomber that dropped it -- the crew was given just a 50% chance of surviving the test, but they did make it home alive.

1. true
2. false

Sadly, the super-futuristic (and crazy fast) SR-71 is no longer in service. The last of its kind were retired back in 1999.

1. It was too shiny and drew attention from miles away.
   It was an easy target for SAMs.
2. It was really hard to fly.

The Starfighter was a gorgeous, silvery, sleek plane And it was terribly difficult to fly. It also suffered from mechanical issues that resulted in pilot deaths.

1. fly right over the Kremlin
   go twice the speed of sound
2. shoot down 10 Soviet planes in one day

Like Chuck Yeager, Scott Crossfield felt the need for speed. In 1953, he became the first person to hit Mach 2, twice the speed of sound.

1. It simply outran them.
   It dove straight toward the Earth.
2. It turned on its shields.

The SR-71 featured neck-snapping speed. SAMs were no problem -- it simply accelerated to more than Mach 3 and left those missiles in the dust.

1. It was like a Hollywood action movie.
   He failed miserably.
2. He was killed by CIA agents in America.

Aleksandr Zuyev made off with a jet fighter, but not before being wounded by gunfire in a series of events fit for a Hollywood blockbuster. Then, he managed to the land the plane in Turkey and ultimately made a new life in the U.S. He died in a 2001 plane crash.

1. It used plastic explosives to blast the pilot to safety.
   It blasted sideways.
2. It shot downward.

The F-104's ejection seat blasted through the bottom of the aircrat due to concerns about pilots striking the rear tail fin. Of course, this design created obvious problems for pilots forced to eject at low altitudes.