The Salmon That Couldn't Fly (But The Harrier Did)
From the Lockheed XFV-1 “Salmon,” a tailsitter that never left the drawing board, to the Harrier Jump Jet that proved the dream, and the F-35B Lightning II that perfected it—this is the story of VTOL fighters.
The Salmon was bold but hopeless, the Harrier proved it in combat, and the F-35B took it into the 21st century. Aviation history doesn’t get stranger—or more fascinating—than this.
Music Credits:
Revive The Light - Ryan Stasik, Kanika Moore (used in intro clip)
Dark Utopia - FormantX
Nerve - Dream Cave
The Palm and Sunset - Ruiqi Zhao
Photo Credits:
Lockheed L-081-40-01 XFV-1 (USN BuNo 138657, cn 081-1001) (4-9-2024), Date-9April2024, Author-ZLEA
617 Squadron F-35B and 9 Escuadrilla EAV-8B Harrier II, Date-16July2023, Author-Airwolfhound
#AviationHistory #VTOL #Harrier #F35B #LockheedSalmon #ColdWarAviation #MilitaryAviation #StrangeAircraft #BuffaloAirPark