Swiss Air Force Mirage IIIRS photo reconniassance version, the type was retired in 2003.

Here’s a project which has taken me most of four decades to produce, and is still evolving as we speak. Aviation photography is a passion for me, and has been since I purchased my first single lens reflex film camera during the mid-1980s. Forty years ago, I set out to record as many types of aircraft on film as I could, and began adding to an archive of aircraft photos of which I hoped would be the basis for my use in publications and even a book or two.

U. S. Navy A-7E Corsair II, the type was retired from service in 1991.

At first, I went for quantity, not quality. There were so many aircraft types and operators out there to take photos of, and I really wanted to get a broad variety of as many types and operators. Visits to American airports and air shows gradually filled my “wish lists” of aircraft types, both of military and civilian operated. As time passed, I became more selective of the events I attended, many times my desire to get a photo of a rare foreign visiting aircraft made my whole trip a success. As luck would have it, I was able to start traveling to other countries during the 1990s and discovered a whole new variety of aircraft and operators to add to my archive. “Upgrading” camera equipment and switching to more capable and sharper film over time improved the quality of my photos, which I appreciate today. Finally in the mid-2000s, I made the switch to digital camera equipment. I also purchased a film strip scanner which allowed me to convert my negative and slide photos to digital files.

Royal Netherlands Air Force Fokker 60 UTA-N, the type was retired in 2006. Another pair of Fokker 60 airframes were modified into Maritime Patrol Aircraft and served until 2007.

This project, which I call “Grounded, A Historical Look at Retired Military Aircraft Types Around the World”, contains photos of military aircraft types which their operators have fully retired from service. All of these photos contain images of active aircraft before their grounding. If possible, I’ll add some information about the type and the final year when the last examples were retired. In no particular order, I’ll add a plane a day for at least a year, it’ll probably be a few years before I entirely run out of examples. Check back often to see what I’ve seen over the span of forty-plus years.