Summary Yakovlev Yak-38 had design flaws with lift fans leading to control issues and desert conditions failures. Heinkel He 162 failed due to rush in design, poor flight, production quality, metal scarcity. Vought F7U Cutlass lacked powerful engines, faced maintenance issues, short service life due to crashes. Combat aircraft are draining to be fast, efficient, and robust enough to successfully complete the missions. While many combat-capable aircraft achieve the designed goals, some are met with failure. Whether it is design, operational performance, or pure circumstance (timing, technology advancement, etc.), some planes inevitably fail. This article explores some of the worst...