Homepage “Splash the Zeros!” F-14 pilot who flew in The Final Countdown shares his personal notes on the movie that introduced the Tomcat to Hollywood

Mitsubishi Zero

F-14 Pilot’s Unreleased Notes on Filming “The Final Countdown”

Cold War Era / F-14 Tomcat / Military Aviation

“Splash the Zeros!” F-14 pilot who flew in The Final Countdown shares his personal notes on the movie that introduced the Tomcat to Hollywood

Dave Bio Baranek

Sponsored by: Tomcat RIO

Sponsored by: Tomcat RIO, Tomcat RIO

Thanks to our partners

Partner perks

On the Eve of the Battle of Midway Legendary Naval Aviator Jimmy Thach had 27 F4F Wildcat fighters and was his Squadron’s Only Pilot

Aviation History / Military Aviation

Did you Know on the Eve of the Battle of Midway Legendary Naval Aviator Jimmy Thach had 27 F4F Wildcat fighters and was his Squadron’s Only Pilot?

William Cobb

The “accidental” arrival of the legendary F4U Corsair in the South Pacific and the story of Ken Walsh, the first man to become a “Corsair ace”

Aviation History / Military Aviation

Fox Four Uncle: The Legendary F4U Corsair was Plagued by Troubles as a carrier aircraft but became the Primary USMC Fighter during WW II

William Cobb

The Imperial Japanese Navy's Ryujo: The Forgotten, Unique, one off hybrid of a Cruiser Hull with an Aircraft Carrier Superstructure Grafted on to it

Aircraft Carriers / Aviation History / Military Aviation

The Imperial Japanese Navy’s Ryujo: The Forgotten, Unique, one-off Hybrid of a Cruiser Hull with an Aircraft Carrier Superstructure Grafted on to it

William Cobb

The incredible story of when America’s Top Ace Dick Bong fought alone against Nine Japanese Zero Fighters. He shot down two of them and damaged another before safely RTB.

Aviation History / Military Aviation

The incredible story of when America’s Top Ace Dick Bong fought alone against Nine Japanese Zero Fighters. He shot down two of them and damaged another before safely RTB.

Dario Leone

Sponsored by: Schiffer Military

The ‘Saint Valentine's Day Massacre' debacle: The first Corsair combat proved a fiasco with nine American aircraft being lost for a single Zero-sen shot down

Aviation History / Military Aviation

The ‘Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre’ debacle: The first Corsair combat proved a fiasco with nine American aircraft being lost for a single Zero-sen shot down

Dario Leone

Sponsored by: Osprey Publishing

The story of the only aerial victory scored by a Royal Australian Air Force Wirraway during World War II

Aviation History / Military Aviation

The story of the only aerial victory scored by a Royal Australian Air Force Wirraway during World War II

Dario Leone

Sponsored by: Casemate

The day VMF-214 Black Sheep CO Gregory “Pappy” Boyington shot down three Zeros in 60 seconds

Aviation History / Military Aviation

The story of the mission where VMF-214 Black Sheep CO Gregory “Pappy” Boyington shot down 5 Japanese fighters and became “ace in a day”

Dario Leone

Sponsored by: Osprey Publishing

During WW II SBD Dauntless crews were officially credited with an astonishing 138 aerial victories, 106 of them Zero-sens, but these totals suffer from overclaiming. Here’s why.

Aviation History / Military Aviation

During WW II SBD Dauntless crews were officially credited with an astonishing 138 aerial victories, 106 of them Zero-sens, but these totals suffer from overclaiming. Here’s why.

Dario Leone

Sponsored by: Osprey Publishing

The “accidental” arrival of the legendary F4U Corsair in the South Pacific and the story of Ken Walsh, the first man to become a “Corsair ace”

Aviation History / Military Aviation

The “accidental” arrival of the legendary F4U Corsair in the South Pacific and the story of Ken Walsh, the first man to become a “Corsair ace”

Dario Leone

Sponsored by: Osprey Publishing

The Story of the Ki-43 Hayabusa pilot that claimed the shooting down of four USAAF P-38 Lightnings in an air battle that never was

Aviation History / Military Aviation

The Story of the Ki-43 Hayabusa pilot that claimed the shooting down of four USAAF P-38 Lightnings in an air battle that never was

Dario Leone

Sponsored by: Casemate

Here’s why an Imperial Japanese fighter pilot’s first encounter with the F6F Hellcat was usually his last

Aviation History / Military Aviation

Here’s why an Imperial Japanese fighter pilot’s first encounter with the F6F Hellcat was usually his last

Dario Leone

The story of Koga’s Zero, the captured A6M that helped the F6F Hellcat become the most effective carrier fighter of World War II

Aviation History / Military Aviation / Warbirds

The story of Koga’s Zero, the captured A6M that helped the F6F Hellcat become the most effective carrier fighter of World War II

Dario Leone

The Dogfight that led to the birth of the “Thach Weave” maneuver, the defensive counter employed during WWII by all US Navy and USMC fighter pilots when dealing with the Zero´s superior maneuverability

Aviation History / Military Aviation / U.S. Navy

The Dogfight that led to the birth of the “Thach Weave” maneuver, the defensive counter employed during WWII by all US Navy and USMC fighter pilots when dealing with the Zero´s superior maneuverability

Dario Leone

Buffalo flop! The story of the Brewster F2A, the aircraft deemed superior to Grumman’s F4F but that was totally outclassed by Japanese fighters

Aviation History / Military Aviation

Buffalo flop! The story of the Brewster F2A, the aircraft deemed superior to Grumman’s F4F but that was totally outclassed by Japanese fighters

Dario Leone

How low did he go? F-14 Pilots who helped filming "The Final Countdown" on how low the Tomcat pulled out during the Zero dogfight scene

Cold War Era / F-14 Tomcat / Military Aviation

How low did he go? F-14 Pilots who helped filming “The Final Countdown” on how low the Tomcat pulled out during the Zero dogfight scene

Dario Leone

We Killed Yamamoto: a detailed description of the P-38 assassination of the man behind Pearl Harbor

Aviation History / Military Aviation

We Killed Yamamoto: a detailed description of the P-38 assassination of the man behind Pearl Harbor

Dario Leone

Advertise

My Agile Privacy

This website uses technical and profiling cookies. Clicking on "Accept" authorises all profiling cookies. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. By clicking on "Customise" you can select which profiling cookies to activate. In addition, this site installs Google Analytics in version 4 (GA4) with anonymous data transmission via proxy. By giving your consent, the data will be sent anonymously, thus protecting your privacy.

Accept Refuse Customize

Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices