Back when I was in the USAF as a photographer we used...film. It wasn't until the last 2 years that we started experimenting with digital technology.
Some interesting black-and-white developer combinations I liked with US films:
4x5 Ektapan with Polydol (Studio and copy-stand work). In a sink line. "Liked it" because it didn't exhaust itself quickly when processing large amounts of film.
120/220 Plus-X with Microdol-X (general location photography). Enlarged well with minimal grain.
HC-110 dilution-B in all formats 35mm-to-4x5 for Tri-X. Outstanding tonal range.
35mm with indoor existing light work (Public Affairs features/sports)? Tri-X and Diafine. This was a two-step developer A then B that took 400 ASA/ISO Tri-X and made it 1600 ASA/ISO with tight grain, good sharpness and acceptable loss of shadow detail. Great stuff.
Printing? I later found that Ilford papers (both resin-coated and fiber) were superior to any Kodak product we used. But you used what came through the USAF 6750-class (photo equipment and supplies) federal stock number supply system.
If you moved around a lot from base to base over the years, you kept a little notebook that had your favorite federal stock numbers in it.
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