The top speed of the fastest operational fighter was less than 360 mph when the war started. By 1945, this had increased by an astonishing 300mph. Knowing that ‘speed was life’, some designers packed ...

The fastest military aircraft ever built—from the SR-71 Blackbird to the MiG-25 Foxbat—were designed during the Cold War to outrun missiles, evade defenses, and intercept threats at extreme speeds ...