Welcome to Warbird Wednesday! Today we are looking at the XF-12 Rainbow which is a viewer requested aircraft! The Rainbow was a reconnaissance aircraft designed by Republic, but it was not successful due to the transition to jet engines and the availability of other aircraft for the same purpose. The aircraft featured a camera setup for in-flight film development, allowing it to capture and view images during missions. It had a top speed of 470 miles per hour and its first flight took place in 1

During World War 2, Republic Aviation was best known for creating the world-famous P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft. But by the end of the War, one of the company's lesser-known but most beautiful projects, the stunning XF-12 Rainbow, was in the works. The XF-12 was born from a mid-war Request for Proposal. The U.S Army required a high-performance and high-altitude photo reconnaissance aircraft to fly reconnaissance missions over Japan and its home island fortresses. Although highly innovative