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When a mysterious unidentified contact flying at 3,000 feet appeared off the windswept coast of Cold War Britain, an American fighter pilot on exercise with his Royal Navy counterparts was sent to investigate. As he caught up with the enigmatic aircraft, his controller’s voice came crackling over the radio to ask what he had found. The pilot’s jaw dropped as he surveyed the strange contraption by his side, unsure quite how to answer.

It certainly was an odd spectacle: one engine idly shut off, a jet pipe protruding from the side like an octopus’s funnel, unusual wings, counterrotating propellers, a dizzying yellow and black spinner, and a colossal mushroom cap of a radome. The man operating this bizarre machine was no less outlandish, an enormous bearded giant in an oldfashioned leather flying helmet, apparently oblivious to his surroundings as he casually read a book without a care in the world.

Barely able to believe his eyes, the American pilot stuttered his response to the controller, the conclusion obvious: he must be flying alongside God himself.

Of course, this peculiar aircraft was not a divine vessel but an oddball British carrierborne warplane, the Fairey Gannet. A pioneering postWorld War 2 experiment to provide the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm with a dedicated antisubmarine aircraft for the first time, its unconventional design would often find it a contender for the ugliest warplane of all time.




Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, topsecret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.

As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.

All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.