It's a veritable "HABU HEAD-ON!!!" ... :-)

Maxfield Parrish would love it - I think!

Did the 'baka' types who flew these 'bombs w/wings' wear crash helmets? And, if so, what difference did it make; i.e., the whole purpose was to make as big a crash as possible! ... c'mon, I'm just kidding! - sorta' ...

This MAY be THE single most-interesting aviation image I've ever seen - and I've seen a LOT! Anyway, I believe the 'vehicle' atop the SR-71 appears to be a NASA "Linear Aerospike SR71 Experiment" (LASRE) pod. FYI, LASRE is a NASA experiment (in cooperation with Lockheed-Martin) to study a Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) design based on a highly-advanced, 'cutting edge', Linear Aerospike Rocket Engine. (An early RLV concept vehicle was the X-33.) Anyway, the experiment's goal was to provide in-flight data to help Lockheed-Martin validate the computational algorithms they developed to design the craft. LASRE was a small, half-span model of a lifting body with eight thrust cells of an aerospike engine. The experiment, mounted on the back of an SR-71 Blackbird aircraft, operated like a kind of "flying wind tunnel." LASRE focused on determining how a RLV's engine plume would affect the aerodynamics of its lifting body shape at extremely high altitudes and speeds. The interaction of the aerodynamic flow with the engine plume creates drag and refinements had to be designed to minimize that interaction. Regardless, the configuration of the specific pod in this image is extremely unusual and nothing like any of the others shown in the 'plethora' of pictures in NASA/Dryden Research Facility galleries!

Aviation Wallpaper simply does NOT get any better than this truly exquisite shot! Thank you so much for uploading it!

Holy Gamolies - This is another OUTSTANDING Wallpaper Of A "Chrome Goodie!" BIG Thanks for posting!

This is a terrific shot of a VERY RARE aircraft! Judging by its appearance, I have to assume that the YB-60 was Convair's attempt to 'blow away' the competition; i.e., the Boeing B-52 'Strato-Fortress.' Although it looks like a good effort, I'd have to see the performance specs to determine its rightful place in history! Regardless, big BIG Thanks for posting this GREAT image!

The 'Kittyhawk' was the P-40 variant purchased (under Lend-Lease) by the British in WW-II. Since the aircraft in this particular image has Chinese Insignia, it's the U.S. export "Warhawk" version. Just a FWIW ... d'oh!

I wonder why this delta configuration never 'went operational?' I mean, c'mon, just look at the (increased) no. of 'hardpoints' - not to mention heightened performance and greater range! Politics at 'work' once again!

er, ahh, it's a Lockheed P-38; i.e., NOT 48! Otherwise, an interesting 'silhouette shot' of a classic WW-II fighter! Thanks for posting!

The Comet was a gorgeous airliner, but its square-window configuration led to disaster as one aircraft after another suddenly began falling out of the skies. After extensive testing (of a pressurized fuselage submerged in a huge water tank), DeHavilland concluded that minor stress cracks that began in the corners of the windows ultimately lead to in-flight disintegration of the entire airframe! By the time they'd fixed the problem, it was too late for the British airliner industry as Boeing's 707 began gobbling up any/all available contracts!

The BEST radial-engine fighter EVER built (and that includes a wide-range of 'heavy metal!') IMHO, Roy Grumman and his crew at the "Iron Works" got this one exactly right! Finally, FWIW, the 'Little Bear' is also my FAVORITE aircraft of all-time! (er, you can tell that already, right?)

Okay, I give up ... WTF are the 'empannages' on each side of the fuselage (apparently) leading over the top of the wing back to the tail? I don't think I've ever seen anything like this on an aircraft - let alone a supersonic jet fighter! HELP!

I don't believe the inimitable Jack Northrop had anything to do with this particular aircraft. FWIW, it was, in fact, an effort by North American Aviation to 'upgrade' the F-100 Super-Sabre and win a new Air Force contract! Hence, the name Ultra-Sabre!