Too capable to simply fly away into the sunset, we look at the brilliant aircraft that decided that age is just a number and soldiered on far longer than anyone expected.

In the First World War, a particular aircraft model might expect an active life of a few months. An aircraft type made for the next war may have even enjoyed a life of ten years. By the 1950s, aeroplane models were making maiden flights that remain in active service today… Here are 10 aircraft that refused to quit:

10. de Havilland Mosquito (1940)

The de Havilland Mosquito was a fast British multi-role combat aircraft that flew in 1940. Powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin engines and with a lightweight construction that made extensive use of wood, the Mosquito used its speed and ferocious firepower to significant effect.

The de Havilland Mosquito is famous for its success as a fighter bomber and reconnaissance aircraft with the RAF and the Allies in the second world war, but its story did not stop there. The 'Wooden Wonder' saw its last combat in Israeli hands. Despite the punishing effects of the Middle Eastern climate on its wooden airframe, the Israeli Air Force was an enthusiastic Mosquito operator.

10: de Havilland Mosquito

Its unrivalled performance made it virtually immune from air attack, and Mosquitoes were heavily employed in the reconnaissance role until the end of 1956. Even after Arab air forces introduced the MiG-15 jet fighter, Israeli Mosquitoes flew deep into their neighbour's territory, and not one was ever lost to enemy action during these missions.

The final combat use of the Mosquito came in November 1956 when, as part of Operation Kadesh, the Israeli contribution to the Suez action, 110 squadron Mosquito FB.VIs attacked Egyptian armour and encampments in the Sinai in force repeatedly over four days. 110 squadron was disbanded less than two months later, and the Mosquitoes were sent to storage.

9: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (1941)

The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a large fighter powered by a radial engine. Fast, long-ranged and tremendously tough, it was the primary United States Army Air Force fighter bomber of the war. Despite being complex and expensive to operate, the P-47 was rugged, potent and reliable. Over 15,636 were made.

As such, ample numbers were available for both initial export and later surplus distribution. A swathe of nations, particularly in Central and South America, eagerly snapped up the Thunderbolt. P-47s served with Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Iran, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Portugal, Soviet Union, Turkey, the UK, Venezuela (pictured), and Yugoslavia.

9: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

Nicaragua was a major user of the type and loaned a handful to the CIA-backed Guatemalan insurgent Air Force in 1954, who used the Thunderbolts in the early stages of a successful coup to oust the elected government and install Carlos Castillo Armas.

The final aerial combat for the mighty 'Jug' came in January 1955. During a border dispute, Gerald Delarm Amador (who had earlier flown in the same aircraft in the Guatemalan coup) shot down a Costa Rican Mustang in a Nicaraguan F-47N. This aircraft survives in the collection of the Commemorative Air Force in the US. The last user of the Thunderbolt, though, was Peru; the last operational Peruvian Thunderbolts were withdrawn in 1966.

8: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (1938)

It is an interesting irony that an aircraft most famous for starting fires all over Europe for a couple of years then spent decades putting fires out. The Flying Fortress's career in its intended role was limited after 1945; the advent of the B-29 rendered it obsolescent in its home nation.

It was also too large, too expensive to operate, and sophisticated for most developing nations. As a result, most of the B-17s operated by air forces after 1945 were used as transport craft. The one great exception was Israel, which operated three Fortresses for years, bombing Cairo in 1948 to great psychological, though militarily insignificant, effect.

8: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress

The mighty B-17 ended its conventional bombing career by attacking Egyptian targets during the Suez crisis in late 1956. However, the Fortress's 'bombing' career did not end there. Various private operators bought up surplus B-17s to use as firefighting aircraft. With its prodigious load-carrying ability and pleasant flying characteristics, the Fortress was well suited to the task.

Its immensely strong structure was well able to deal with the punishingly turbulent air near a large fire. The final B-17 firefighting operations were flown as late as 1985, and most of the preserved airworthy B-17s today are ex-firefighting aircraft.

7: Douglas C-47/DC-3 (1935)

The DC-3 was an airliner developed in the mid-1930s. At the beginning of the Second World War, it was adapted (with minor modifications) into a military transport aircraft and designated the C-47. Over 95% of the airframes built were these military versions.

During the decade of C-47 production, several engine variants were used without significant changes to the type or size of the engine. The original DC-3 was powered by the 9-cylinder Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 producing 1000 horsepower. The C-47 predominately used the 14-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp, which produced 1,200 horsepower.

7: Douglas C-47/DC-3

Roughly one-third of the US-built aircraft was the C-47B variant. This aircraft used Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90 engines with a high-altitude two-speed supercharger. This 1942 modification was critical for the China-Burma-India supply routes and allowed the aircraft to carry a full payload over the 15,000-foot mountain passes.

Trustworthy and capable, the C-47 proved utterly brilliant, and a total of 10,174 were made. Though an ancient design, around 400 C-47s and DC-3s are still flying and serving today, over 90 years years after the first DC-3 took flight.

6: Mil Mi-24 ‘Hind’ (1969)

With many of the other aircraft in this article, we have compared the aircraft to Western equivalents, but in the case of the Mil Mi-24, this is not possible; it did not, and still does not, have a direct Western counterpart (the closest equivalent, the Sikorsky S-67 Blackhawk, was cancelled).

In the West, there are attack helicopters, like the Apache, and transport helicopters, like the H-60 Blackhawk, yet the Mi-24 is both at the same time.

6: Mil Mi-24 'Hind'

Able to carry a squad of troops or fight in the 'tank-busting' or Close Air Support (CAS) role with unguided rockets, missiles and a powerful gun, the Mi-24 has become iconic after fighting in almost every war in the late 20^th and early 21^st century. Able to be delivered in discrete crates to foreign nations and then easily assembled in the field, the Mi-24 is a low-tech, high-performance' flying tank'.

It is likely that the Mil ‘Hind’ series has been used in more conflicts than any post-war aircraft. Despite the great age of the ‘Hind’ series there is no sign of it going anywhere soon. Today it still serves with a multitude of operators around the world.

5: Avro Shackleton (1949)

The Lancaster IV was a powerful, beefed-up Lancaster, which emerged so different from the baseline Lanc that it merited a new name, Lincoln. It first flew in 1944 and entered service in August 1945, just as the Second World War was ending. A long loiter time, bags of internal room and a very strong structure made the Lincoln an ideal choice for the anti-submarine warfare role.

The anti-submarine Lincoln ASR.3 earned a new name once more, becoming the Shackleton.

5: Avro Shackleton

On 30 March 1951, the first Shackleton was delivered to No. 120 Squadron RAF. By December 1952, seven squadrons were operating the type. With the arrival of the Nimrod in 1969, it was intended to begin the retirement of the Shackleton fleet. However, when the Royal Navy's large aircraft carriers and their Gannet aircraft were scrapped, the UK had no airborne early warning radar coverage.

Pending the hoped-for arrival of an advanced Nimrod or Andover-based system, twelve Shackletons were fitted with ancient AN/APS-20 radar sets, essentially a 1945 vintage radar designed for use with the wartime Avenger. The resultant machine, the Shackleton AEW, was absurdly outdated and vulnerable but did keep the 'Shack' alive until 1991, meaning the Lincoln series spanned the entire Cold War.

4: Grumman F-14 Tomcat (1970)

The charismatic F-14 Tomcat 'swing-wing' fighter found international fame as the star (alongside Tom Cruise) of the 1986 movie Top Gun. More seriously, the F-14, which first flew in 1970, was a fleet defender with impressive capabilities and equipped with the best weapons and sensors of its generation.

The F-14 is a twin-engined heavy fighter-bomber, unique in its ability to use the extremely long-range AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missile. Towards the end of its US Navy career, it developed into an extremely effective multi-role aircraft nicknamed the 'Bombcat' for its new air-to-surface role.

4: Grumman F-14 Tomcat

The F-14 Tomcat entered service in 1974 and retired from the US Navy, its primary operator, in 2006. Thirty-two years is a little on the short side for a modern fighter aircraft, but the US Navy was not the only operator of the F-14 Tomcat, nor was its US service the most significant combat in the Tomcat's combat career.

The other operator of the F-14 is the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force. Iran ordered the F-14 Tomcat in 1974 and received aircraft two years later. Iranian Tomcats proved brilliant in the Iran-Iraq War, destroying many Iraqi aircraft. Despite American support for Iran's Tomcat having been suspended many decades ago, thanks to a massive effort of improvised engineering, the F-14 refuses to retire. It remains flying in Iran today, with around 41 planes in service.

3: A-10 Thunderbolt II

We cannot avoid squeezing these three in, so we'll cheat slightly and put them in one entry. The A-10 is a tough armoured attack aircraft built for Close Air Support and 'tank-busting' anti-armour roles. It was built around a vast rotary cannon capable of spewing out thousands of shells as large as milk bottles a minute. It first flew in 1972 and developed a ferocious reputation in the 1991 Gulf War, as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The A-10 has become an extremely controversial aircraft in recent years, its supporters – mainly from the US Army (that largely benefits from it) - championing its formidable Close Air Support capabilities and its detractors – mainly from the US Air Force (that flies it) - noting its obsolescence and vulnerability on a modern battlefield.

3: F-4 Phantom II

The Phantom II first flew in 1958 and remains operational in 2025, with Greece, Iran, and Turkey. It has excelled in various roles: naval fighter, bomber, reconnaissance aircraft and more. Its great strengths are its speed, robust construction, and bombload.

3: C-130 Hercules

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules tactical airlifter first flew in 1954 and was reborn as the radically improved C-130J Super Hercules in 1996. The C-130 remains in production today and continues to serve in many air forces worldwide.

2: Tupolev Tu-95 ‘Bear’ (1952)

It is quite possible that a current Tu-95 pilot’s grandfather may have also flown the plane. A tiny number of military aircraft types that first flew in the early 1950s remain in active service today, and one is the utterly distinctive and horrendously loud 'Bear'.

This massive strategic bomber is known for its combination of sharply swept-back wings and four massive NK-12 turboprop engines with contra-rotating propellers. The turboprop powerplant was chosen as, at the time of the aircraft's conception, Soviet jet engines could not offer the fuel efficiency required for strategic range.

2: Tupolev Tu-95 'Bear'

Though it does not have pure jet engines, the Tu-95 is extremely fast; at 575 mph (925 km/h), it is the second fastest propeller-driven aircraft (after the Piaggio Avanti business-aircraft). Other family members included the Tu-142 maritime patrol aircraft, Tu-114 airliner and Tu-116 VIP transport aircraft.

Developed primarily for the grim task of nuclear bomber, the Tu-95 delivered the most destructive bomb of the Cold War, the apocalyptic 50-megaton AN602 'Tsar' bomb. Tested on 30 October 1961, this horrific device created a fire 8 kilometres (5 miles) wide and a mushroom cloud 7.8 times higher than Mount Everest.

1: Boeing B-52 Stratofortress (1952)

The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, an eight-engined long-range strategic bomber, has a combat history spanning over seven decades. Introduced in 1955, it first saw combat during the Vietnam War in Operation Rolling Thunder (1965-1968), conducting bombing runs over North Vietnam.

During the Cold War, B-52s served as a nuclear deterrent, flying airborne alert missions under Operation Chrome Dome. In the Persian Gulf War (1991), they flew from bases worldwide, dropping 72,000 tons of bombs on Iraqi targets in Operation Desert Storm, targeting infrastructure and armoured units.