2011 Summer Friends Journal Sampler

Summer 2011 Vol. 4 No. 2

Southeast Asia War Issue Classic F-105D SAR in Southeast Asia

THE AIR FORCE MUSEUM FOUNDATION, INC. BOARD OF MANAGERS

Dr. Earl Moore, President of the Berlin Airlift Veterans Association, speaks at the dedication on May 12, 2011, of the Berlin Airlift Memorial.

Berlin Airlift Veterans Association Dedicates First Memorial in New Section

O

n May 12, 2011, the Berlin Airlift Veterans Association dedicated its memorial in the new section of the Memorial Park adjacent to the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

One hundred and seven attended the dedication and of those, there were 30 American and one British veteran of the Berlin Airlift.

The memorial is similar in design to the Airlift Memorial located at the site of Templehof Air Base in Berlin Germany. The inscription on the base of the memorial tells the story of the greatest humanitarian airlift in history and an event that is considered by some to be the first battle of the Cold War. The inscription reads: Hoping to force the Allies to abandon West Berlin, the Soviet Union instituted a land and water blockade of the city.

This was their effort to take control of Germany and the rest of Europe. President Harry Truman and General Lucius Clay deemed it vital that the Allies remained in Berlin. England, France, and the USA responded with the airlift to supply over 2½ million Berliners with food, fuel, medicine, and the hope of remaining a free society. The Army, Navy, and Air Force united to make the first mission of the fledgling Air Force a success. The result of this massive airlift was stopping the spread of communism in Europe, Berlin remained free, NATO was spawned, and US foreign policy was set for years to come.

Thirty-one Americans lost their lives during the Berlin Airlift in aircraft related accidents.

The Berlin Airlift started on June 26, 1948 and ended September 30, 1949. During the Airlift aircraft flew 277,569 missions and delivered 2,325,509.6 tons of supplies. The names of the thirty one Americans who lost their lives during the Airlift are inscribed on the memorial.

Mr. Charles J. Faruki - Chairman Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Richard V. Reynolds - President Mr. Patrick L. McGohan - Vice President Maj. Gen. (Ret.) C. S. Cooper III - Secretary Mr. Jon G. Hazelton - Treasurer The Hon. Claude M. Bolton, Jr. Gen. (Ret.) William J. Begert Col. (Ret.) Mark N. Brown Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Charles H. Coolidge Jr. Ms. Frances A. Duntz Mr. David C. Evans Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Lawrence P. Farrell Jr. Col. (Ret.) Michael B. Goetz Maj. Gen. (Ret.) E. Ann Harrell Col. (Ret.) William S. Harrell Mr. Charles F. Kettering III Mr. Gregory G. Lockhart Col. (Ret.) Pamela A. Melroy Gen. (Ret.) T. Michael Moseley Gen. (Ret.) Charles T. Robertson Jr. Mr. R. Daniel Sadlier Mr. C. Kevin Scarborough Col. (Ret.) James B. Schepley Mr. Scott J. Seymour Mr. Gary G. Stephenson Mr. Harry W. (Wes) Stowers Jr. Mr. Robert J. Suttman II, CFA Col. (Ret.) R. A. Johnson - Executive Secretary Mrs. Lin Erickson - Chief Development Officer

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE Lt. Gen. (Ret.) J. H. Hudson, Director Terrill Aitken, Senior Curator

FRIENDS JOURNAL Editor - Maj. (Ret.) John B. King Art Director - Lt. Col. (Ret.) Richard Brice Editorial Assistants - Bill Hughes, Robert Pinizzotto, Tom Thacker, Dave Menard, Herman Engle Development Coordinator - Charlene Wells Membership Coordinator - Michele Giefer Editorial Office: (937) 656-9622 Membership Office: 1-877- 258-3910 On the Cover: NMUSAF RF-4C Phantom II © 2011 Richard Brice The Friends Journal is published quarterly by the Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to the expansion and improvement of the National Museum of the United States Air Force and to the preservation of the history of the United States Air Force. Authors retain all rights to further publication or use. Author’s views expressed in the Friends Journal do not necessarily represent those of the Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc. or those of the United States Air Force.

Printed in the USA. USPS Standard ”A” rate postage paid at Dayton, OH. Subscription to the Friends Journal is included in the annual membership of the Friends of the Air Force Museum. All materials are Copyright 2010 and may not be reproduced without permission from the Air Force Museum Foundation. Submission of material for publication and correspondence concerning contents should be addressed to The Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 1903, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-1903, and marked in the corner of the envelope “ATTN: Editor.”

Summer 2011 Vol. 34, No. 2

ARTICLES 6 MiG Killer Wanna-Be

by Col. Larry J. Bigham, USAF (Ret.)

9 A Flight Surgeon in Thailand

by Col. Paul A. Stagg, USAF, MC, (Ret.)

14 I Shouldn’t Be Alive

by Lt. Col. Henry “Lew” Smith, USAF (Ret.)

16 Captain Smith’s Fast Fifty

by CMSgt. Tom Perry, USAF (Ret.)

18 Drone Development

by Wing Commander Gary Coleman, RAF

22 R & R in Madrid

by Lt. Col. James L. McAfee, USAF (Ret.)

27 Republic F-105 Thunderchief

by Richard Brice and John King

31 Alaska, the Aleutians, and Russia

by Lt. Col. Peter Unitt, USAF, (Ret.)

36 Encounter With the Hanoi Taxi

by Joe Ciavardone

37 Southeast Asia War Gallery Photo Essay

by Richard Brice and John King

DEPARTMENTS 2 Editor’s Update and Feedback 24 Director’s Update 43 44 46 47 49

by Lt. Gen. John L. Hudson, USAF (Ret.)

New Exhibits Activities and Events Restoration Update Major Donations and Contributions Reunions

PHOTO: The Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association (River Rats) memorial in the National Museum of the USAF Memorial Park

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SEA Gallery Overview

Brice

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As you might expect, we at the Air Force Museum Foundation are very disappointed that the National Museum of the United States Air Force was not selected as a site to receive one of NASA’s Shuttles. It would have been a great addition to the Museum’s collection and a great tourist attraction for Dayton, Ohio. In a way though, it allows the Museum to more closely focus on its true mission of being the “Keeper of their stories” - the stories of heroic aircrews and dedicated support personnel that have made the United States Air Force and its predecessor services such an important arm of the nation’s Defense Department for over 100 years.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force continues to renovate the Southeast Asia War Gallery to recognize the 50th anniversary of the Air Force’s participation in that war. Although the war created major controversies at the time, the Air Force dutifully did its part in a professional and heroic manner. The gallery features updated displays and story boards and many of the aircraft have been repositioned to provide a better experience for our visitors. An important addition to the gallery is the Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant helicopter that was the main search and rescue aircraft during the war. The Museum’s B-57 has also been repainted to represent the medium bomber that replaced the aging A-26 Invader.

For this issue of the Journal, we are featuring several stories written by veterans of the Southeast Asia War. Col. Larry Bigham relates his experiences in the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing and his frustrated efforts to become a “MiG Killer.” Col. (Dr.) Paul Stagg provides a unique perspective on the war as he tells of his assignment as the hospital commander at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base from July 1969 to July 1970.

Being rescued by a Jolly Green Giant helicopter after bailing out of a shot-up A-1E Skyraider is the subject of Lt. Col. Henry “Lew”Smith’s story. What’s very interesting about this story is that a picture taken right after his rescue is featured on one of the Southeast Asia storyboards. Our last story about the Southeast Asia War comes from Joe Ciavardone who had a ringside seat when the Hanoi Taxi arrived at Clark Air Base in March 1973 with the first contingent of Prisoners of War released by the North Vietnamese. Joe considers that the proudest day of his life. To showcase the newly renovated Southeast Asia War Gallery, we have included a six page photo essay with pictures of the aircraft currently in the gallery and a centerfold featuring the Museum’s F-105 Thunderchief.

Besides stories about the War in Southeast Asia, we have some other fine stories from other eras of Air Force history. CMSgt. Tom Perry offers a story about training for air-to-air refueling during the Cold War in his story entitled “Captain Smith’s Fast Fifty.” We also have a story about the history of drones from Wing Commander (RAF) Gary Coleman. Many are familiar with the Predator, the Global Hawk, and the Reaper, but this article details the amazing evolution of the drone concept from the World War I period to the present day. Lt. Col. James McAfee has contributed a story about his experiences while on R&R in Spain during the week that President Kennedy was assassinated. Lt. Col. Peter Unitt has written a highly detailed story about a little known aspect of World War II. This is the story of the Alaskan Theater of Operations and the story of American aircrew that took refuge in Russia when they couldn’t make it back to their bases after bombing Japan’s Kurile Islands. This article tells the story of how the internees in Russia were allowed to “escape.”

We hope you enjoy the stories we have selected for this Journal and we hope you can visit the Museum soon to see the Southeast Asia War Gallery. Summer is a great time for a visit to Dayton, Ohio. In addition to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, there are many other aviation related venues to enjoy such as the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park and Carillon Historical Park. Come see us soon!

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FRIENDS FEEDBACK

Due to space limitations, not all letters received can be used. Those that are, may be edited for brevity.

Forward Deployment of B-47s from Robert Scahill, New Middletown, OH. In regard to Lt. Col. Malucci’s impression (see Winter 2010/2011 Friends Journal) that the B-47 was not deployed out of the US except three at a time, I think he is mistaken. Starting in 1953, B-47s went at wing strength TDY for 90 days at a time, first to the United Kingdom, later to North Africa and the Far East. Wing strength was three squadrons (60 aircraft). I was in the 306th Bomb Wing and I went two times to North Africa. We were in North Africa in 1956 during the Suez Canal crisis. All the wings took part and one wing and all support personnel were on station somewhere in the world all the time.

Air Force historians have a way of looking past the B-47. In the 1950s, when things were hot, the B-47 was the big boy on the block, not the B-52 (a good plane but very late in the 50s). The B-47 never was given the credit it deserved. In the 1950s, when you looked in the sky and saw contrails, it was a B-47.

Editor’s Note: We decided to get an opinion from the Museum’s Research staff about this subject and this is what they replied to us: I have reviewed all the comments from Lt. Col. Malucci and SSgt Scahill and have reviewed available sources. I have provided the following pertinent facts for your use.

The jet-powered Boeing B-47 was the Strategic Air Command’s replacement for the rapidly aging Boeing B-50 medium bomber. The first rotational deployments of the B-47 outside the continental United States began in 1953 when the 306th Bomb Wing deployed temporarily to the United Kingdom. From 1953 to 1958, at least one B-47 Wing was constantly forward deployed to bases in the United Kingdom.

These early deployments later became part of a larger Strategic Air Command policy of Reflex Action; whereby, an entire SAC B-47 Wing would be forward deployed for 90-days to bases in the United Kingdom, Spain, Guam, Alaska, and Morocco.The last B-47 Reflex Actions ended in 1966.

Brett Stolle, Manuscript Curator National Museum of the US Air Force Research Division.

Meeting an “Old Friend” from Ken Machtoff, Louisville, KY. During a recent visit to the National Muse-

um of the United States Air Force in March 2011, while touring the presidential and research hangar, I thought I recognized an aircraft - C-45H serial number 210893 .

After returning home I got out my collection of Kentucky Air National Guard photos.To my surprise I found a photo of C-45H 210893 in Kentucky Air Guard markings. It was one of the 900 rebuilt by Beechcraft that came out of Beechcraft with new serial numbers. C-45H 52-10893 was delivered to the USAF on October 13, 1954, and was assigned to the Kentucky Air Guard’s 165th Fighter Bomber Squadron. As a member of the Kentucky Air National Guard and a full time aircraft maintenance technician, I worked on and have flown in this very aircraft. The aircraft was assigned to the unit at Louisville’s Standiford Field from October 1954 to 1960.

During that time frame the Kentucky Air Guard at Louisville changed primary aircraft three times and changed names three times. In 1954, the unit was the 165th Fighter Bomber Squadron with F51Ds. In 1956, it became the 165th Fighter Interceptor Squadron with F-86As, and in 1958 it became the 165th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron with B-57Bs.

The Museum’s C-45 during its earlier life with the Kentucky Air National Guard.

“Flying Tigers” from Joe Ciavardone.

I just got my Spring Friends Journal and read the article “Flying the Hump.” In the article, the author mentions Dick Rossi. When I was furloughed by Eastern Airlines in the late 1950s, I took a job with Flying Tiger Airlines. While I was with them, I got to fly with just about all the original “Tigers” that founded the airline. It wasn’t until years later that I realized they were all great heroes and they treated me just like all the other crew members. I got to hear a lot of war stories from those guys. I have

Summer 2011 • Friends Journal

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FEEDBACK

great memories of those times and feel blessed to have been in great company.

Mustang Bail-Out Story from Jeff Nash, Peterson Air and Space Museum, CO. As a US Air Force museum professional, I always thoroughly enjoy the Friends Journal. And I found Mr. Roseberry’s article in the Spring 2011 edition very interesting. But I also feel compelled to point out a small error in the article on page 19.

Mr. Roseberry mentions that a month after his arrival with the 78th Fighter squadron, a second airfield was opened on Iwo Jima and occupied by the “21st Squadron.” He goes on to say after the arrival of this new squadron they were attacked by 300 Japanese with many squadron members killed in their tents.

This unit was actually the 21st Fighter Group, consisting of the 46th, 72nd and 531st Fighter Squadrons. In the early morning of March 26th, 1945, elements of the 21st FG were attacked in their encampment by Japanese soldiers. Assisted by a patrol of US Marines, 21st personnel counter-attacked and in the tent-bytent fighting killed 250 of the enemy. Fourteen group personnel were killed and 50, including group commander Colonel Kenneth Powell, were wounded.

The 21st Fighter Group is the predecessor of today’s 21st Space Wing, headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base, providing missile warning and space control to unified commanders and combat forces worldwide.

Short Landing at Tacloban from CWO James W. Farris, USAF (Ret.), Denison, TX. Regarding the story “Long Range Missions, Short Landings” in the Spring 2011 Friends Journal, I was personally involved in the “short landing” described in the story by John “Matt” Crawford. I distinctly recall that a Col. Gunn was in command of Tacloban and his attempt to prevent the pilot from landing on that poorly prepared runway. Against the Col.’s orders, the pilot landed. When I saw the chutes deployed out the waist windows, I knew we had trouble.

There were “grading” machines all over the airfield. One of these was speeding along the edge of the runway. When the tractor operator realized he was about to be run over, he jumped off just as the B-24 ran up on it and came to a stop. There were members of the B-24 crew

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who required medical attention.

As Col. Gunn began to “chew” on the pilot, he got into the ambulance with his crew members and left the scene. A very angry Col. asked if there was anyone who could taxi the B-24. When I told him I could, he ordered me to taxi it as far out into an unfinished area as it would go and shut it down. Since that was largely swamp, the landing gear sank into the mud where the aircraft stayed until the airfield was essentially finished. I don’t know how long that was, but it was there when we left Tacloban several months later.

Day of Infamy from Gerald P. Hanner, Papillion, NE. I found the article by Lt. Col. David L Gaede, USAF (Ret.) to be an interesting personal account of the events of December 7, 1941 at Hickam Field, Hawaii. Col. Gaede mentions the three-story concrete barracks near the flight line and that it took a beating from Japanese attackers.

That three-story concrete barracks survived the attack, albeit with losses. It later became the headquarters building for PACAF and is to this day. It is in the National Historic Register.

I saw the PACAF Hq. building for the first time in April 1964. It had, and still has, many pock marks in the exterior walls from the strafing and bombing of that day. By then, it was surrounded by many trees and was painted in a sort of camoflage green, but the pock marks remain as a historical reminder.

Museum B-10 at Kelly AFB - 1976 from B.C. Bates III, Tulsa, OK I found this picture I took during an open house at Kelly AFB, Tesas, on July 4, 1976. After being restored at Kelly, it was airlifted to the National Museum of the USAF. Thought your readers might like to see this photo.

Now Showing at our

Theatre Audience members will experience first hand the long-standing tradition of military and civilian response to a humanitarian crisis that may occur anywhere in the world. Through the eyes and reflections of the film’s featured characters, we will get an insider’s view of the training, the hardware used, and the passionate commitment to saving lives, as captured in the real-time filming of the response to the disaster in Haiti.

Visit www.rescue-film.com for film information

Visit www.airforcemuseum.com for showtimes & prices 937-253-IMAX

Summer 2011 • Friends Journal

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MiG Killer “Wanna-Be” a tale about how the MiGs repeatedly eluded a highly motivated young fighter pilot.

Col. Larry J. Bigham, USAF (Ret.)

I

graduated at the top of my flying training class in May of 1958, and chose the F‑86F Fighter Gunnery School at Williams AFB in Arizona. Six months later, I graduated as the “Top Gun” in my F‑86F class. I was pumped! I was ready! Bring on the MiGs over the Yalu, or wherever they were going to be. From Williams AFB I headed for Nellis AFB to check out in the F‑100 Super Sabre.

But, the “Needs of the service” changed things a bit. Our entire class was reassigned to the back seat of B‑47s in the Strategic Air Command (SAC). It seemed dark and stormy for several days but I soldiered up and determined to do what my country needed me to do as best I could. I became an aircraft commander after serving my time in the back seat. By mid 1965, I had over 2,000 hours in the B‑47 and my Air Force service obligation was fulfilled. I submitted my resignation and made plans to fly F‑100s with the Arizona Air National Guard while I finished school.

But, the “Needs of the service” again changed things a bit. Anyone with any fighter time was being invited to Southeast Asia. My invitation was in the form of orders. I checked out in the F‑100,and then the F‑4.

In November of 1966, I arrived at Ubon Air Base in Thailand where Col. Robin Olds greeted me with a long list of colorful words (some I had never heard before) about SAC personnel coming into his 8th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW). I got over it and determined to make him eat his words before my tour was over.

By Christmas I had a number of combat missions under my belt and was ready for my flight lead check. One day I received a call to tell me that the Wing Director of Operations, Col. Chappie

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James, wanted to see me. Chappie told me about a New Year’s Eve party in Saigon that was being hosted by South Vietnam’s political and military leader, Premier Nguyen Cao Ky and his wife. A representative from each of the combat wings in theater was invited to the New Year’s Eve party and Chappie said he wanted me to be the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing representative. Needless to say, I was very surprised. The wing was full of guys that had been flying combat missions for six months and I had been on station less than 60 days. Why me?

The only answer I came up with was that Chappie knew I was always sober and he wouldn’t have any worry about me getting drunk and embarrassing the wing. Of course, I agreed to go. A T‑39 picked me up along with some guys from other wings in Thailand.

The party was nice. The next day, New Year’s Day, I began to hear about Operation Bolo. When I heard more about the mission and learned that it was an 8th Tactical Fighter Wing mission, I understood why I was in Saigon: I was the “newbie,” and the guys that had been on station longer were going MiG hunting. On January 2, 1967 the 8th TFW “Wolf Pack” shot down seven MiGs. The same day I was delivered back to Ubon.

My opportunity came in May of 1967. My flight lead was my squadron flight commander, Phil Combies. I was #3, the element lead, and John Edwards was flying my wing. We refueled over the Gulf of Tonkin and coasted in north of Haiphong and south of the Chinese border. The F‑105 fighter‑bombers were slightly in front and below us.

We were their MiG CAP (top cover) so our job was to keep the MiGs away from the F‑105s.

A few minutes after we entered North Vietnam,

USAF Photo

WANNABE

we saw MiGs coming toward us from the Chinese border to the north. It looked like 12 to 16 of them. A second later, we spotted a second group of MiGs coming from the Hanoi area. Combies told me to take the MiGs coming from the north and he would take the ones coming from the south. We did not see each other again until we were on the ground back at Ubon.

These were MiG‑17s which were no match for the F‑4 Phantom II. Of course, if an F‑4 were to slow down and turn horizontally with the MiG, the MiG could turn faster and could eat your lunch. We knew to keep up our airspeed and to force the fight into the vertical.

When a MiG got to our six o’clock position we could simply pull the nose up and climb and the MiG could not stay with us.

Bottom line, these were easy targets for me. And there was more good news. Because of the presence of the MiGs, there was no AAA (anti‑aircraft artillery) fire and no SAMS (surface‑to‑air missiles) to worry about. It was surreal. What an opportunity!

I made a couple turns through the MiGs. Then I spotted one headed out of the fight apparently trying to regain altitude and airspeed. I descended and followed. Rich Bedarf was with me that day in the back seat and he immediately got a radar lock on. When the “in range” light came on, I launched two AIM‑7 Sparrow missiles. Goodbye MiG. But wait, the target was only about five degrees off my nose but the Sparrows never turned. They went straight as an arrow. They did not guide to the target.

I spotted another “sitting duck” headed out of the fight. Again, I descended and followed. I put the target a little

Brice

The MiG-17 was a refined version of the MiG-15 of the Korean War. Between July 10, 1965 and February 14, 1968, USAF F-105s and F-4s downed 61 MiG 17s.

farther above the horizon to be sure I didn’t have a radar ground clutter problem. Rich locked on. I fired the other two Sparrows.

Same result! The MiG had no idea I was there, but he didn’t need to worry. Again, the Sparrows did not guide.

This was not going well but I still had four AIM‑9 Sidewinders.

USAF Photo

Air-to-air ordnance expended, an F-4C refuels over Laos enroute to home base at Ubon.

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WANNA-BE

These were heat‑seekers rather than radar guided, missiles. I soon got behind another MiG that was in an easy right turn. Rich locked on and the radar gave me an “in range” light for the Sidewinders. I fired two missiles but the first one failed to come off the rail. The second Sidewinder launched and was tracking the MiG beautifully. However, the MiG pilot must have seen the launch because he pulled into a very tight turn increasing our angle off. The Sidewinder was turning with him but the guidance gyro tumbled just before reaching the MiG. The Sidewinder couldn’t quite make the turn.

John, my wingman, called that we had a MiG on our tail. We did, and he was beginning to fire. We pointed the nose toward heaven, and immediately got away from the little rascal. We got a fuel check and saw that it was about time to leave and find a fuel tanker. I started a turn toward the Gulf. But then I spotted another single MiG headed straight toward the Gia Lam airfield near Hanoi. I made a descending 180 degree turn down to about 1,000 feet above the ground so that the MiG was slightly above the horizon. I was in his six o’clock and he was headed straight home.

I was low and my rate of closure was high so I could see that my “in range” time would be very short. Just before the radar target hit the “in range” line, I fired the first Sidewinder. It was tracking beautifully but it confirmed the accuracy of the radar “in range” light. The propellant burned out just before the missile got to the MiG. I fired the second Sidewinder in range. It hit the right wing of the MiG. As I flew past the MiG I could see part of the wing was gone, and the pilot was descending and fighting for control. However, he was not on fire and the airfield was only 10 miles in front of him. Did he make it? I will never know. All my missiles were gone and the F‑4D did not have a gun. As we flew past, I told Rich “Let’s throw our checklists at him!

Now we were Bingo fuel (close to empty), so back to the coast. We refueled over the Gulf of Tonkin and returned to base. Of course I attracted a crowd when I landed. So far as I know, I was the only one that returned to base during my tour having fired everything available. Maintenance checked my fire control system and confirmed that the CW (carrier wave‑link between radar and missile) transmitter was dead; therefore I had no guidance for the Sparrow missiles. I got skunked.

But, never say never. A month later we planned a special mission designed to get MiG #5 for Col. Olds. Two flights of F‑4s were launched

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out of Ubon. Everyone else stayed home. No Air Force, no Navy, no one but two flights of F‑4s out of Ubon. Normally, our Rules of Engagement required visual identification of any target before firing. Not this day. Our two flights were in radio and visual contact and anything else in the air could be presumed hostile and fair game. If we could find a radar target, we could kill it.

I flew #2 with Col. Olds. I didn’t know how I could ever get a MiG flying #2, but stranger things have happened. There was a dim glimmer of hope. I remembered that one of our guys, Everett Raspberry, had nailed a MiG when he was flying #2 on the January 1st Operation Bolo mission.

This mission was, again, surreal. No AAA. No SAMS. No MiGS. It looked like the North Vietnamese had declared a holiday and were all at home drinking tea. We buzzed the airfields. We went back to base empty handed.

The MiG Killer Wanna‑Be? It was not gonna be! I soon completed my 100 combat missions over North Vietnam, packed my bags, and headed home.

Bigham

[Col. Larry J. Bigham, USAF (Ret.) was a Strategic Air Command B-47 aircraft commander and an F-4 combat pilot in Vietnam. His other assignments included Tactical Air Command Headquarters Operations, Chief of Flight Test: Air Asia Depot in Taiwan, DOD advisor to the Commander of the Iranian Air Force, Air War College faculty, and Deputy Commander, 813th Air Division, George AFB, California. He retired after 24 years service in 1980.]

A Flight Surgeon in SEA Blazing new horizons in medicine on the back of a water buffalo Col. Paul A. Stagg, USAF, MC, (Ret.) “There it is?” “What is?” “That beast is your transportation to Base Ops.” Having just arrived on a Lockheed C-130 cargo plane at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, to be the commander of the hospital, my new wing commander (and boss) pointed out the water buffalo nearby held on a short leash by a local Thai farmer. What a quandary. There seemed to be no way to avoid riding the beast, but there was no saddle or stirrups, stool, or ladder. I dared not make a fool of myself during my first hour in my new job! Mentally and physically I gathered my strength and leaped.

To my surprise, I landed squarely on the buffalo’s bristly-haired back. Cheers! I rode the beast to Base Ops and everyone was satisfied. Thus began the most interesting, most rewarding, and most fascinating assignment of my Air Force career.

I was stationed at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base from July 1969 until July 1970. The 432nd USAF Hospital at Udorn was a full service 50

patient bed facility with a dental clinic. There was a full complement of flight surgeons and their enlisted technicians.

For you to understand my job, I will explain the essence of “flight medicine” as performed by a flight surgeon. “Surgeon” is the traditional military term for any physician. A flight surgeon takes care of flying personnel, including pilots, navigators, flight engineers, loadmasters, gunners, and PJs (para-rescue jumpers). The flight surgeon studies the effects of air pressure changes and G-forces on the body, especially the ears which can easily become blocked when descending rapidly. In order to better understand the stresses on the flight crews, the flight surgeon is required to fly regularly for the same minimum hours as other aircrew and it should be in the mission aircraft of his/her unit if possible.

Soon after I arrived at Udorn RTAFB, I was sent to Clark Air Base, Philippines, for a week

I found this a rather novel way to go to Base Ops upon my arrival in Thailand.

Stagg

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FLIGHT SURGEON IN SEA

of jungle survival training. We had several days of lectures and demonstrations covering identification of snakes and other critters, jungle food sources, and use of survival gear.

Then we enjoyed three days and two nights in the jungle north of Subic Bay, hosted by a tribe of local pigmy natives. We learned how to make shelters with our bail-out equipment and parachute and even had a ride in the horseshoe hoist up to a hovering helicopter.

In addition to being a flight surgeon, I brought other resources to my job as hospital commander and medical advisor to the wing and base commanders. I had full training and was certified in general surgery. During my surgical training, I learned to fly as a stress-reliever and got a private license followed later by a commercial license. This offered me an excellent opportunity to establish rapport with pilots and other air crew officers and airmen.

I was one of two general surgeons assigned to the Udorn Hospital and took turns with the other surgeon on nights and weekends. In addition to a staff of several flight surgeons, we had a bio-environmental engineer and a few technicians who were responsible for technical aspects of public health and sanitation issues. At bases outside the US, the bio-environmental engineer usually inspects and certifies the sources for food, water, milk, ice, and other perishable items.

Our base bought ice in large blocks from a local vendor, frozen from clean water that our base delivered to him. We regularly tested it for E-coli and other bacteria, and frequently

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found the ice clear but positive for bacteria. Our contact with the vendor was our bio-environmental engineer, Capt. Bruce Dobbs, and several times he admonished the vendor for “bad” ice. Finally, one day he spent hours at the ice house watching the process. He found that in the freezing process, a cloudy residue collected in the center of each block. The vendor was afraid to deliver the ice blocks with “dirty” centers so he chipped out the center and filled it with some of his water which was contaminated. Once Capt. Dobbs convinced the vendor that we would accept the ice blocks with cloudy centers, we had pure ice.

The flying experience that brought me closest to a combat situation was with the gunship crews. Several Douglas AC-47 ”Spooky“ gunships were detached to our base from the parent squadron in Vietnam and provided support to friendly sites in parts of South Vietnam and in Laos along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. They were very effective while flying in a 30 degree bank, laying down a cone of bullets to help defend our soldiers from enemy attack.

Missions were always flown at night to avoid being good targets for ground fire and for the “awe” factor. I flew with them several times and helped the loadmasters throw parachute flares out the open side door while the gunners tended the belts of ammunition. I soon discovered that the noise in the cabin of the C-47 was terrific while firing, and became concerned about the effect of the noise on the crew’s hearing. When I asked Capt. Bruce Dobbs to show me how to operate our sound meter, he offered to fly with me and help

Capt.

Dobbs checking noise levels in AC-47 “Spooky.”

Stagg

Fairchild AC-119 “Shadow.”

Stagg

FLIGHT SURGEON IN SEA

record the sound levels. This was arranged and one night he and I flew as members of the crew.

As I recall, the sound levels in the cabin while firing guns were in the 130 decibel range. I do remember clearly that for adequate protection the crew members needed to wear good ear plugs and also the muff head phone type hearing protectors over their ears. Capt. Dobbs and I wrote a report which he presented to the annual meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association in the spring of 1970.

These gunship missions were not without some hazards. The crew members pointed out to me that the tiny red flashes that we could clearly see below us were the flashes of rifles being fired in our direction. In that connection, I am happy to report that, although I have been shot at, I was never hit, and that is a blessing. One night I was flying with the crew of a different type of gunship, the Fairchild AC-119, called “Shadow” or “Spectre.” We were on station and another AC-119 was about a mile away. Suddenly we saw a bright flash and learned that a missile had hit the end of their left wing and cut off the outer ten feet. They scrambled to throw out heavy things to lighten the airplane and luckily were able to fly back to our base. The view of that foreshortened wing the next day was awesome.

The most rewarding events were the rescues of air crew members whose planes had been shot down by enemy fire. At our base, the 40th Air Rescue & Recovery Squadron (ARRS) operated Sikorsky HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant helicopters. The loss of a plane and recovery of the crew was not a frequent occurrence, but an occasion of joy when it happened. I flew with the rescue helicopter crews several times but was never on board during a rescue. The usual mission was to be available as close as possible to the area of the strike missions.

Often that was in the northern part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in the Laos panhandle, or in northern

Stagg

Sikorsky HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant.

Laos where the enemy entered the Trail. For those missions, the rescue helicopter crews flew to a landing site (Lima Site) in central Laos where Laotian General Vang Pao had his headquarters.

We landed at the Lima Site, and waited for a radio call for help which we hoped would never come. About an hour before sunset, we took off and flew toward the area where the late afternoon strikes were programed. Once on station, we flew an orbit to be near in case a crew ejected so we could pick them up before dark, and save them having to evade capture during the night.

The PJ para-rescue jumpers were the bravest men I have ever known. Their motto is, “That Others May Live.” They ride the cable penetrator down through trees to the ground, assist the downed crewman, and then ride up to the helicopter. The PJs literally put themselves in harms way to help the crew to safety.

One beautiful day in May, I watched from across the runway as a McDonnell F-4D returned

Stagg

The fire that resulted from an F-4 crash at Udorn.

from a strike. Apparently during the strike, ground fire had punctured a hydraulic line and fluid had been leaking. When the pilot reduced power on final approach, there was no hydraulic pressure to actuate the control surfaces and the plane began to roll to the right. After rotating 90 degrees, both crew members ejected safely and came down within the base. The only injury was to one crew member who sprained his ankle.

Others were not so fortunate. The plane struck the only concrete building on base, the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service building.

All seven on duty perished instantly. From my location, it appeared that the airplane had impacted the hospital and I was in panic. The spilled jet fuel ignited and spread the flames to about 12 one-story

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FLIGHT SURGEON IN SEA

wood hooches. Although some night workers were asleep, everyone got out and no one was injured.

The base firefighters worked hard but the flames increased to a fire storm fueled by the sundried teak wood and they were unable to contain the fire. Some firefighters in their heavy fire gear and near the flames developed heat exhaustion.

We ran a shuttle of ambulances from the scene, took the exhausted firefighters to the hospital, and gave them intravenous fluids. Meanwhile, another ambulance took position and waited for more patients. They all responded to the therapy and recovered within a few hours. Not able to control the fire, the base engineers demolished a row of hooches with a bulldozer and the resulting firebreak enabled them to put out the fire.

I made a point of flying with every unit on our base. That included the 13th TFS (Tactical Fighter Squadron) and the 555th TFS. Both squadrons flew McDonnell F-4D Phantom II twin-jet fighters. I also flew with the 11th TRS (Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron) and the 14th TRS, which flew the McDonnell RF-4Cs. This version was equipped with several nose-mounted cameras which could photograph forward, sideways, and straight down. While the pilot put the aircraft in the right position, the back-seat crewman operated the cameras. In the aircraft maintenance area, there was a simulator for the RF-4C. I asked the technicians to show me how to operate the camera equipment. For my next flight with the “recce” people, I arranged to have the pilot let me operate the nose camera, and we took pictures of the temple at Chiang Mai, and a dam which impounded a lake in northern Thailand. Several days later, someone from the squadron came to my office and presented me with a framed set of

Stagg

McDonnell-Douglas RF-4C.

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the photos. That was a great thrill and the framed photos hang in my study today.

Another group that I flew with was a part of base operations. The fire and rescue division had a helicopter that was especially designed for fire suppression and crew rescue, the Kaman HH43 Pedro (official name Huskie). This squatty helicopter has two counter-rotating rotor blades side-by-side. The rear of the cargo compartment has doors that open and it can carry several fireman in their protective gear. There is a pressurized ball of fire suppressant solution that can be carried under the helicopter and set down at the site of a

Stagg

Kaman HH-43 Pedro. crash. I flew with them on a practice mission and learned what stresses they must anticipate.

Flying was not my primary responsibility at Udorn RTAFB. As hospital commander, I was responsible for medical and surgical care of base personnel. Among our physician staff, there were primary care physicians, two specialists in internal medicine, we two surgeons, and a radiologist. And of course, we had a staff of nurses and a great group of medical technicians. Most of our patients were base personnel and we treated them for the types of illnesses that you would find in most communities ranging from sore throat to pneumonia, diarrhea, to appendicitis, hepatitis, and minor heart problems.

There were surprisingly few traumatic injuries, mostly cuts and sprains. Patients who needed more extensive care were air-evaced to Clark Air Base in the Philippines. We were not expected to receive patients with combat injuries.

However, our Air America colleagues would sometimes bring two or three men in their gray, unmarked helicopter and we admitted them to the hospital, identified as “No Name Number xxx.” These men had no name, no unit or family

FLIGHT SURGEON IN SEA

information, and the place where they were wounded was never known by hospital staff.

They appeared to be from the Southeast Asia ethnic group. We treated their injuries, and then one day a gray helicopter would arrive and take them away.

Another day, a gray helicopter landed and we were called to pick up one of the pilots who had been shot in his back. A rifle bullet happened to pass through the cockpit just as he leaned forward to adjust a control. The bullet passed through the muscle on one side of his spine, exited the skin over the bones of the spine, then passed through the muscle on the other side of his spine. Treatment was simple, but if he had not leaned forward when he did, he would have had a serious injury to his spine and maybe paralysis.

Many of the aircraft maintenance personnel were relatively young and when a little cute dog showed up with puppies, some of them adopted her. Unfortunately, she became ill and died. The test showed that she had rabies and that she might have transmitted the disease to the puppies. All of the Air Force personnel that had fed and played with the dog were liable for rabies. About 13 young men had to be treated with rabies shots.

Assignment in a different part of the world gave opportunities to mix with other cultures.

The senior officers at Udorn Air Base exchanged visits with the senior officials of the city of Udorn in a series of monthly dinners. We alternated the sponsorship and each took pride in offering a special meal. Having learned a little about Thai premium meals, such as “hundred year old eggs,” I worried about my ability to enjoy the food. I usually did not know what I was eating, which was probably a blessing. Suffice it to say that I was never ill after one of those dinners. I was fascinated by the Thai temples and culture, especially a

medical school pavilion for acupuncture training.

I took a few days of leave in November, and flew space-available to Tokyo, landing at Tachikawa Air Base, and rode a train to the city.

The highlight of my stay was visiting the Tokyo Rotary Club. During my previous assignment, I was a member of the local Rotary Club and they kindly gave me a leave of absence for my Southeast Asia assignment which entitled me to visit other clubs. At most Rotary Clubs around the world, the procedure is to present oneself at the reception desk as a visiting Rotarian, pay for the meal, and be welcomed. As I turned away from the desk, a gentleman approached me, and in English welcomed me. While we were talking, another gentleman approached, and was introduced as a physician. In very good English, he asked me to follow him. He led me across the back of the dining room and down the far side to a slightly raised platform. At the end of a long head table were two empty chairs and at his bidding we sat in them. The meeting was conducted in Japanese, of course, and my host interpreted for me as time allowed. It was very nice. I was most impressed with the smooth efficiency with which they accommodated me and I have often wondered for whom our two chairs were intended.

My assignment at Udorn Air Base will always be a bright memory. I appreciated the opportunity to serve the Air Force in such a rewarding job. It was a high point in my career.

[Colonel Paul A. Stagg, USAF, Medical Corps was a general surgeon and flight surgeon in the Air Force. After many tours throughout the Air Force,he retired in 1974 to the civilian practice of surgery in Cambridge, Maryland. He retired from medicine at age 75, and enjoys sailing, Rotary, and the small town life in Cambridge.]

FRIENDS NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

Summer 2011 • Friends Journal

13

I Shouldn’t be Alive!

USAF Photo NMUSAF

Lt. Col. Henry “Lew” Smith, USAF (Ret.)

Ed. Note: Don Schmenk, one of our museum volunteers noticed a photo in the Southeast Asia War Gallery and just knew he knew one of the officers in the picture. After a while he remembered who the officer was and contacted him. Thanks to Don we have a very interesting article

by Lt. Col. Henry “Lew” Smith about his experiences during the Vietnam War.

T

here was a combat photographer at Nakhom Phanom (NKP) on May 16th, 1966. He took a lot of shots. One of the photographs was of me and two “Sandy” pilots. (Note: Douglas A-1Es were nicknamed “Sandies”) Ed Griffin and Dick Needham, both close personal friends. I am the one with the blackened face and an old style survival vest.

It followed a near death low altitude shoot down/ bailout experience and a rescue by the 602nd Fighter Squadron (Commando) and the famous and intrepid Jolly Green Giant helicopter unit.

But here’s the story of the mission. We were Dragonfly 23 and 24. With Lew Daugherty on my wing we were on an armed reconnaissance into North Viet Nam. Dick and Ed were in an hour earlier on a SAR(Search and Rescue mission) for one that was lost the day before. After several hours and no luck we were nearing Bingo (low on fuel) and started working our way out of North Viet Nam. Down in the tree tops we continued toward a mountainous area with many finger ridges. DF24 (Dragonfly 24) called out a truck on the side of one of the ridges. I didn't see it so I told him to hit it.

I picked it up as he fired a 5 inch HVAR (Highvelocity air rocket) and rolled in on my run. It was a hit but without any secondary explosions and he called me to break it off. We were in the valley

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between ridges as I saw the tracers head on right to the belly. I took two or three 12.7mm AAA (anti-aircraft) rounds right in the oil cooler scoop missing all of that heavy armor all around me.

Smoke in the cockpit was instant. I salvoed and jettisoned everything as I pulled over one ridge. I blew the canopy back to clear the smoke and was looking over the side. I called out that I was hit.

Smoke turned to heat, then fire through the floor.

The engine was running but getting rougher. As I pulled up, I was sure that I was going to burn.

I unbuckled and rolled over the side, I thought.

Unfortunately the Navy-type shoulder harnesses have metal fittings that buckle into the seat belt.

These had slid up my harness and jammed into the chute's quick releases. I pulled back in and released the jamb and went back over the side again. I don't actually recall pulling the D-ring, but instinct must have taken over. Flying horizontal, looking through my feet, I saw the plane hit the ridge just past the one I was headed for. The chute was out but hadn’t blossomed. Then I was flying through a huge stand of bamboo. It snared the chute before it fully opened.

DF24 never saw a chute. I swung down gently stopping about four or five feet from the floor of the valley between the two ridges.

I ran up the eastern ridge searching for my plane. I stopped and buried my brand new, one mission, white helmet, pulled out my sheets of carbon paper and smeared my face (before camo kits). About three-quarters the way up the ridge I found a rotted out stump, dove in and pulled some limbs in over me. Lew was circling overhead, not yet knowing where I was. I quickly made contact on the radio and he said the SAR force had been scrambled. Dick and Ed were there right quick and

ALIVE

joined up on DF24.

No gun against gun shoot-out here. We had one down and rule one applied. Don’t turn one SAR into another one. They could hit those guns with everything from CBUs (cluster bombs), fragmentation bombs, 2.75 and 5 inch rockets, willy pete (white phosphorus bomb), hard bombs and napalm. Thuds and F-4s were called into a stack as well as a tanker. When an A-1 went down, the whole world moved. Everybody loved those Sandies.

Sandy 11 (Richardson P. Rosecrans) and 12 (Leo Morton) led the Jolly Greens into the fray.

Dick and Ed were near Bingo and made several passes wiping out about a dozen enemy soldiers heading up the ridge my way. I popped my smoke which quickly blew back down the valley and the Jolly missed me on his first approach. Second try put the tree penetrator right in my lap. I pulled the seat down, mounted it as the sky lit up. The North Vietnamese liked to hold back as long as possible until the HH-3 went into hover. All five A-1s were in position for this and began to sanitize the exit

route. Woody Kimsey flew Jolly 1 and didn't wait for me to be hoisted up. Instead he took advantage of a freshly cleaned route and drug me through the briars and brambles on the way out. The flight back to NKP was routine. Dick, Ed and Lew were seriously Bingo. The combat booze was good.

At Udorn the debrief began. Very serious CIA debriefers asked dozens of questions a hundred ways. Because of covert activities all over Route Packs I, II & III their interest was primarily focused on what I saw on the ground. Others focused on the shoot down events especially how the hell I got out of the burning A-1 below bailout minimums.

I wanted to tell them that you just had to know how to ride the bamboo.

The “book” just might be titled ”I Shouldn’t Be Alive” just to set down how really serious I am about living to the fullest every day since May 16, 1966.

[The author retired from the Air Force in 1974 and accepted a seat on a local bank’s board of directors. He eventually became the chief executive officer of the bank for the next ten years. This led to a job as a financial consultant to aviation and logistics organizations. Before finally retiring, he served as a director on the Governor of Louisiana’s Airport Authority Board. Since 2008, he has been retired enjoying life with his wife of 56 years and his three grandchildren.]

U.S. Air Force photo

Downed F-105 pilot being rescued in 1972.

U.S. Air Force photo

CH-3E Jolly Green Giant in Southeast Asia.

This picture in the Museum’s Southeast Asia Gallery is the one that museum volunteer Don Schmenk noticed and recognized an old friend. Thanks to Don we have Lew Smith’s exciting story.

Summer 2011 • Friends Journal

15

Fast Fifty in a “Sixty-Six”

CMSgt. Tom Perry, USAF (Ret.)

O

ne April morning, a long time ago, aircraft commander First Lt. E. L. Price of the 420th Air Refueling Squadron was orbiting his KB-50J tanker, at assigned altitude, awaiting the arrival of his first customers of the day. His hook-up schedule was fully booked; it would be a good training day for his crew. Although inflight refueling had become increasingly routine, it was still regarded as a delicately dangerous ballet between comparatively slow prop-driven tankers and their scrappy jet-propelled receivers.

A lot of training was essential to deal with unpredictable glitches during airborne fuel transfers. “Probe-and-Drogue” was still regarded as an advanced system requiring great physical stamina and genuine airmanship. Hitting a dangling target about the size of a five-gallon can, at three-hundred miles an hour required splitsecond timing, especially with the tanker at fullthrottle and the receiver precariously scrambling between catching-up and flaming-out. And there was also the drogue’s unnerving game of “snapthe-whip” in turbulence that could also be pretty dicey.

So training was essential and was continuous for both the tanker crews and their receivers. But Lt. Price had just been notified that the fighters, booked as his first customers that day were unable to make the rendezvous. Faced with the prospect of a couple of hours of boring unproductive holes in the skies over East Anglia (United Kingdom) until his next receivers showed-up, he ran his crew through a few check-list simulations and emergency drills.

Then he engaged the autopilot and leaned back, speculating how long it would take to burn down

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to safe landing weight if nobody showed up for gas.

Just a few miles away, another intrepid young aviator was facing what an English cricketer would have identified as a “sticky wicket.” Capt. R.W. Smith, Maintenance Control Officer and test pilot of the 47th Bomb Wing at RAF Sculthorpe, had been advised that his landing clearance was delayed due to a runway obstruction.

Having just put his Douglas B-66B Destroyer through a comprehensive major-inspection shakedown, he glanced at his fuel gage and prudently concluded that a top-off would comfortably extend his diminishing time. He asked Sculthorpe Control if there was a tanker in the vicinity. He was promptly vectored to hookup with Lt. Price. Within a few minutes, he got a visual on the tanker and made radio contact. As he closed in to take on a few thousand pounds of fuel, Lt. Smith invited him to take as much as he needed because of the earlier no-show of the fighters.

“Incidentally,” Lt. Price chuckled, “ How about a fast two-hundred?”

Now to a flight of fighters, “a fast two-hundred” rapid refueling hookups was not an unreasonable request. In fact, the 420th Air Refueling Squadron had recorded as many as three-hundred fighter hookups within one hour. But fighters were a lot more responsive at slower refueling speeds than Mr. Douglas’ redoubtable B-66 Destroyer. The only locally-known one-hour count of B-66B rapid refuelings was thirty-eight, set a few years earlier by the 17th Bomb Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida. Nobody was wasting a lot of training time in pursuit of a meaningless record that wouldn’t even make the base newspaper. But with nowhere

NMUSAF

FAST FIFTY

to go except round and round until the Sculthorpe runway opened, Capt. Smith elected to make a few training runs for Lt. Price’s tanker crew. In addition to his initial “wet” hookup (to really refuel), he continued to plug-in and break-away fifty-times until Sculthorpe Control advised him that it was time to come home. All of Lt. Price’s later receivers showed up as scheduled. It was a good training day.

Capt. Smith spent the best part of an hour in debriefing the major inspection test flight. Afterwards, he walked into his office at Maintenance Control and flopped behind his desk.

“Man” he said, “I’m tired.” And that’s about all he said about it.

But his controllers heard all the details from the debriefing report. They told everybody on the flight line and throughout the Chief of Maintenance complex. You’d have thought that someone had won a trophy. The Wing Commander, Col. Dempster, no doubt was pleased when he read about it in the base paper, the Sculthorpe Scanner.

Apparently, no one has ever contested that long-ago record of fifty-one B-66B/KB-50J rapid air refuelings, within an hour. But just in case some

bearded old recluse has secretly restored an old Douglas Destroyer and is thinking of going for a new record, there are a couple of facts to consider.

First of all, there are no more KB-50Js, not even at the Davis Monthan AFB boneyard. Secondly, Capt. Smith did his fifty-one hookups in thirty minutes! And there’s still no trophy.

So if there’s any kind of a lesson to be learned from this story from fifty years ago, it might be how a couple of sharp young Air Force officers found themselves in an apparent no-win situation and worked it out together to everyone’s ultimate benefit.

That part never grows old. Look around any United States Air Force base; it happens all the time.

[Tom Perry retired from the Air Force in 1976 after 28 years of service. He went on to become a technical illustrator for the Muller-Martini Company retiring for a second time in 1992. Since retiring, he has spent time volunteering for various organizations around the Newport News, Virginia area. Among these organizations are Meals on Wheels, the National Park Service (Yorktown Battlefield), and Colonial Williamsburg.]

NMUSAF

Boeing KB-50J refuels a Douglas B-66 Destroyer.

Summer 2011 • Friends Journal

17

Drone Development THE BRITISH GOT THERE FIRST

Wing Commander Gary Coleman, RAF

W

hat’s in a name? Be it Remotely Piloted Air System (RPAS), Unmanned Air System (UAS), Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV), or just plain old “drone.” How did this recent, or not so recent, technology get its name?

First, drones are not new and the name “drone” has been used to refer to air systems which are remotely piloted from the ground since the late 1930s. But the origins are even older. In late 1915, pioneering inventor Captain Archibald Montgomery Low of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC – precursor to the Royal Air Force) was posted to the Royal Aircraft Factory and asked to help develop a radiocontrolled aircraft to intercept Zeppelin raiders and attack ground targets. With two other officers under his command, Captain Poole and Lieutenant Bowen, they set to work to see if it was possible. This project was called the "Aerial Target" or “AT” as a misnomer to fool the Germans into thinking the United Kingdom was building an unmanned aircraft to test anti-aircraft gun capabilities. However, “AT” was actually to stand for “Aerial Torpedo” and was being designed to deliver an explosive warhead directly to the Zeppelin airships in order to destroy them. At the same time, a similar deception technique was in use with the word “Tank,” as in water-tank, to cover up the UK’s work on an armoured tracked vehicle that is now what the world knows as the tank.

After coming up with a prototype, it was decided by General Sir David Henderson (Director-General of Military Aeronautics) that the Royal Flying Corps’ Experimental Works should be created to build the first proper "Aerial Target" (complete with explosive warhead). As

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head of the Experimental Works, Low was given approximately 30 hand picked men, including jewellers, carpenters, and aircraftsmen in order to get the remotely piloted aircraft built as quickly as possible.

Captain Low built the radio control system which, unsurprisingly, considering the technology at his disposal, was crude and heavy. His mastery of early wireless technology was well known as he also developed and demonstrated a television system called “Televista” in 1914 some 10 years prior to John Logie Baird’s “Television.” Aeronautical engineers built a small monoplane airframe for the “AT” powered by a 50 hp Gnome rotary engine. The first “AT” was flown in October 1916, but electrical noise from the engine’s magnetos interfered with the radio control system. The “AT” proved unworkable and was abandoned, but other aircraft manufacturers had become interested in the concept.

The well recognized and widely acclaimed Sopwith Aviation Company and the lesser known Ruston Proctor & Company Ltd. began immediate development of “AT” aircraft. ABC Motors Ltd, famed for designing the well proven 45 hp Gnat engine, had designed a throwaway engine specifically for use in Low’s aircraft. This 35 hp engine was a horizontally-opposed twin cylinder engine with a design run-life of two hours. It was the availability of this lightweight inexpensive engine that propelled research and development into the next phase.

Sopwith developed the 14 foot wingspan Sopwith “AT” which was fitted with the 35 hp

DRONE DEVELOPMENT

ABC engine driving an ordinary wooden propeller.

It is believed that one of the prototype Sopwith Land Tractor Biplanes (SLTBP) or “Hawker’s Runabout” (after its famous designer) was used as the basis for the Sopwith “AT.” The radio box was positioned further back towards the tail behind the fuel, batteries, and the explosives in order to reduce the risk of interference from the engine magnetos. The sensitive radio equipment was fitted into a wooden box with a glass lid suspended on rubber supports. The box itself measured about 2 feet 3 inches by 9 inches. This box contained all of the relays, receiver, and a new anti-interference filter. The Sopwith “AT” was completed in 1916.

It never flew because it was damaged while in a hangar and subsequently abandoned.

Ironically, the end result of Sopwith’s effort was the creation of the Sopwith Sparrow which was a manned small single-seat scout aircraft.

This in turn led to the development of the famous Sopwith Pup and later the Sopwith Camel, both of which went on to be highly successful manned aircraft types.

The Ruston Proctor “AT”, designed by Henry Folland and Geoffrey De Havilland, was completed and did go on to complete flight trials. A demonstration flight was made in front of many Allied generals on March 21, 1917 at the Central Flying School at Upavon. The aircraft was launched from the back of a lorry (truck) using compressed air (another first). Low and his team successfully demonstrated their ability to control the aircraft before engine failure led to its crash landing – apparently, “uncomfortably close” to the generals! Further trials with the Proctor “AT” were made at Northolt in July 1917.

Coleman

The Sopwith “AT” after it was damaged.

Coleman

The Sopwith Sparrow was a spin-off of the “AT” project.

Somewhat coarse maneuvers were effected by full application of the otherwise fixed rudder and elevator in response to radio signals and by throttle adjustment. This series of trials was unsuccessful and the Proctor “AT” never attained full production before the end of World War I. Geoffrey De Havilland, who set up his own company in September 1920, would build upon the experience he gained some 13 years later in his very own remotely piloted aircraft program (more of which to follow).

Low's inventions during the war were before their time and their potential was possibly under appreciated by the British armed forces of the day, although the Germans appeared to be well aware of how dangerous his inventions might be. In 1915 two attempts were supposedly made to assassinate Low. The first involved shots being fired through his laboratory window in Paul Street; the second attempt was from a visitor with a German accent who came to his office and offered him a cigarette which, upon analysis, contained enough strychnine chloride to kill. Low continued his passion for invention throughout his life and later became a professor.

In 1920 interest returned in remotely piloted aircraft, and research was directed towards three projects: 1. The “ammunition carrier” — a gyroscopically controlled aircraft capable of flying on a steady course at a constant speed for a given distance.

2. The “aerial target” —an inherently stable aircraft with a 20-mile range for gunnery target duties.

3. The “aerial torpedo”—to be dropped from

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DRONE DEVELOPMENT

aircraft and capable of flying under Wireless/ Telegraphy (W/T) control up to 10 miles.

The third project was abandoned after initial model-glider tests. In October 1921 a significant landmark towards the first two projects was reached when a manned Bristol Fighter, equipped with a simple gyro rudder control, was steered automatically in response to W/T transmitted at ranges of up to eight miles at Farnborough. The W/T was later to be known as the radio and its use for control of the aircraft is what we now know as “radio control.”

This research led to the development of the "Long-Range Gun With Lynx Engine” or “LARYNX" aerial torpedo of 1927. This was a small monoplane with a 200hp radial engine and a gyroscopic control system built by the Royal Aeronautical Establishment (the RAE was formerly the Royal Aircraft Factory) for the Royal Navy. It is possible that the "Long-Range Gun" label was a way of selling the idea to the admirals of the time who were unlikely to have fully considered the potential of this new capability. LARYNX was successfully launched from the destroyers HMS Stronghold and HMS Thanet off the coast of England. After some seven flights between 1927 and 1929, the results of the tests were judged inconclusive and further work was abandoned.

In October 1930, the RAE was given the task of developing a target aircraft. The Fairey IIIF was selected and the technology and principles of operation developed in RAE’s pioneering autopilot, the “Pilot's Assister,” were embodied in a new set of automatic equipment. After preliminary flying (with a crew) during the autumn of 1931, the aircraft, known as the Fairey Queen was taken to Lee-on-Solent in January 1932 and fitted with floats. Flight trials from HMS Valiant were made and were followed by live gunnery exercise assessments in 1933. It was decided not to put the Fairey Queen into production but to develop quickly a less ambitious target aircraft.

The De Havilland DH 82B Queen Bee was developed to the 1933 Air Ministry Specification 18/33. It combined the fuselage of the D.H.60G III Moth Major with all other components from the DH 82 Tiger Moth. It could be flown by a pilot from the front cockpit while the radio equipment was fitted in the rear cockpit. The first conventional flight was on January 5, 1935, and

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Coleman

Early DeHavilland experiments

82B

Queen

Bee

trials of the radio control capability started in June 1935 from HMS Orion. The Air Ministry ordered a total of 420 Queen Bees to Specification 20/35, 320 were contracted to De Havilland and 100 to Scottish Aviation Ltd. Deliveries were completed in July 1944. The RAF operated the Queen Bee from RAF Farnborough’s No 1 Anti-Aircraft Cooperation Unit (No 1 AACU) from April 11, 1938 to October 1, 1942. This unit operated Pilotless Aircraft Sections (‘A’ to ‘Z’ Flt) throughout the country; the deployments were known as “summer camps” and took place at bases such as RAF Cleave, Henlow, Hawkinge and Weyborne. The Sections returned to Farnborough during the winter and would remain until the following spring prior to redeploying for further gunnery “summer camps.”

No 1 AACU went on to form the Pilotless Aircraft Unit (PAU) at RAF Manorbier from May 5, 1942, to March 15, 1946.

A senior US Navy admiral witnessed the Queen Bee in operation in 1936 and found the concept very interesting. He set up a US Navy program under Lieutenant Commander Delmar S. Farnhey. By 1937, Farnhey's team had converted a number of light aircraft to radio-controlled targets and used them in exercises. It is said that Farnhey first coined the term “drone” for these remotely controlled aircraft as homage to their original Queen Bee lineage and the fixed-pitch drone they made because the RAF’s remote pilots made so few throttle demands in order to produce a predictable gunnery target for training.

In 1938 Farnhey decided to try a bomb-

DRONE DEVELOPMENT

carrying “drone” in US naval exercises. It was shot down, but the idea didn't go away, with Farnhey considering use of the newly invented television camera in such applications. In fact, Radio Corporation of America's (RCA) Dr. Vladimir Zworykin, one of the leading-lights behind the invention of television, had been promoting the idea of a television-guided assault “drone” for some time. But nobody in the military was interested until Farnhey found out about the capability. The first television-guided “drone,” using an RCAdeveloped television system, was demonstrated in 1940.

Evolutions continued from these early efforts resulting in the highly capable remotely piloted aircraft such as the MQ-9 Reaper and RQ-4 Global Hawk of today. Future developments such as BAeS Mantis and Taranis continue on the basis of British ideas that were dreamt up some 95 years ago. With advances in technology and automation, modern designs that can trace their ancestry back to the AT and Queen Bee of yesteryear share little commonality with them when comparing their roles and capabilities. Whether highly automated in their flight control like the RQ-4 Global Hawk or flown by a remote pilot but assisted by an advanced automatic pilot, as the MQ-9 Reaper is, the essential role of the mission crew piloting the aircraft, albeit remotely, makes these aircraft

more comparable to traditionally piloted modern military aircraft than a simple target “drone.” To reflect this, the Royal Air Force refers to them as Remotely Piloted Air Systems (RPAS). Use of the word “system” acknowledges the other critical elements required to ensure the capability of these aircraft can be exploited; the ground control stations (GCS), satellite ground stations (SGS), data links and support agencies and personnel to name but a few.

Today, the Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) itself is but one part of the RPAS. MQ-9 Reaper is the only RPAS currently operated by the Royal Air Force. Their operations in Afghanistan are being conducted 24/7 in support of UK and Coalition forces and the Afghan people. In the course of its missions it has undoubtedly saved lives and its utility and unique capabilities have established RPAS as a key component in the modern air force.

Consequently, it is appropriate that we should acknowledge the role of the less celebrated early pioneer of the television and the “AT” or “drone” that helped make this possible; Professor Archibald Montgomery Low (late Captain RFC). Born in London in 1888, Low died in 1956 at the age of 68 in relative obscurity compared to his pioneering peers Folland and De Havilland. His biography, released in 1958, is aptly entitled He Lit the Lamp.

MQ-9 Reaper in flight

Summer 2011 • Friends Journal

21

R&R in Madrid 11-22-63

Lt. Col. James L. McAfee, USAF (Ret.)

“P

residente Kennedy, asesinado!” Those were the chilling words spoken to us by the Spanish hotel clerk in Madrid. Neither of us spoke Spanish, but the words were unmistakable on that twentysecond day of November 1963. Our President Kennedy? Assassinated?

It was in the midst of the “Cold War” and we were young United States Air Force bomber pilots of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) starting our R&R (Rest and Relaxation) in Madrid. We had just gotten off a two week 24hour/day alert at Brize Norton AB in the English Midlands. Normally stationed at Plattsburg AFB, New York, with the 380th Bomb Wing, Captain Joseph White and I were pulling our semiannual “Reflex” tour in England.

There we sat alert with our B-47 bombers away from our home base. Similar alert bases were all over the United States, England, Western Europe, and North Africa ready to launch bombers and fighters or intercontinental missiles should an enemy conduct a nuclear strike against the United States. SAC also maintained an “Airborne Alert” with B-52s flying orbits near to the USSR on a continuing basis.

Joe and I were not on the same three man crew, but we both wanted to spend our week off in Madrid before returning to base to resume our alert status. The Air Force provided drop-off and pickup in a C-54 cargo aircraft at the popular Madrid R&R destination, so off we went looking forward to seeing the sites, eating suckling pig, and drinking a little of the local wine. We wanted to avoid the ubiquitous American tourist so we selected a small Spanish hotel where little or no English was spoken.

We were thunderstruck by the ominous greeting from the Spanish hotel clerk on that day in 1963 as we were changing dollars into pesetas for an evening on the town. Although the Spaniard’s statement was obvious, we had to find someone who spoke English to find out the whole story so we immediately took a taxi to the Madrid Hilton

22

Friends Journal • Summer 2011

Hotel where most Americans stayed.

All seemed normal in the spacious Hilton Hotel lobby except for a distinguished looking middle-aged lady quietly weeping to herself in one of the seating sections. We went over and introduced ourselves and asked if it was true that President Kennedy was dead.

She informed us that the President had been shot in Dallas earlier in the day and had died, but she didn’t know anything else. A couple of men she obviously knew came up and entered the conversation, one saying to her “What does the Duke think about this?” “I don’t know” she replied, “He left Madrid yesterday.” She then introduced us to the men, one being named-Webb something -I don’t recall the ladies name or the other man’s name. I gathered from the ensuing conversation that “the Duke” was John Wayne and that we were in with a Hollywood group of some sort. The lady then asked if we would all like to go up to Cameron Mitchell’s hotel suite and listen to the news on the radio. We readily agreed but I asked Joe aside “Who is Cameron Mitchell?”

Cameron Mitchell was a TV and movie character actor and sometimes leading man. He appeared in movies from 1945 to 1998. One of his early notable roles was as Ensign George Cross in “They Were Expendable” with John Wayne and Robert Montgomery. He had been in a short TV series “The Beachcomber” with Sebastian Cabot that ran through 1962 before it tanked. He would later star in “High Chaparral,” a Western TV series that ran from 1967 through 1971. I was told that Mitchell

was in Madrid trying to cut a movie deal.

The five of us went up to Mitchell’s suite to listen to the latest news on the assassination. We were introduced to our host, Cameron Mitchell, who invited us to make ourselves comfortable and listen to the news. We were also introduced to a tall Frenchman who had the distinction of being a Legion of Honor recipient, equivalent to our Medal of Honor. He was accompanied by a strikingly beautiful woman that we were told was his mistress. This whole situation was

R&R IN MADRID

quite a strange thing for a couple of young Air Force officers that grew up in the Midwest in the nineteenfifties. Webb told us that he was John Wayne’s makeup man. He said that Wayne really didn’t use much makeup but that “The Duke” kept him on because he was a friend. Cameron Mitchell went off to another room with some people to negotiate business and that was the last we saw of him that night.

The evening was quiet, somber, and sad. We all just sat and listened to the news reports, each lost in his or her own thoughts. It would have been a very heady evening for Joe and me under normal circumstances, but this was not a normal event and there were no “star-struck impressions.” Of course we would not have been in the company of these Hollywood people in other circumstances as we had nothing in common.

We never saw any of those people again after that night except for Cameron Mitchell when he appeared on screen. I always thought of that night every time I saw him. Mitchell died in 1994 but a couple of his movies were not released until 1998.

The next day Joe bought the only newspaper he could find and it was in Spanish. We were able to glean a few facts from the paper due to the similarity of some of the words to English. We learned the supposed assassin was Lee Harvey Oswald. I recall telling Joe “They had better guard that guy well or someone will kill him and we will never know what really happened.”

A couple of days later while having a beer in another Spanish hotel we found that the bartender was an American. We asked if there was any news on the Kennedy murder. I was stunned when he said that Lee Harvey Oswald had been shot dead by a man named Jack Ruby. Thus, unhappily, my prediction came true.

Even today we don’t really understand everything that happened on that terrible day our President was assassinated.

Thus, a routine break from the rigors of a Cold War military alert had turned into a sad adventure for a couple of young Air Force pilots. That week we were all just heartbroken Americans grieving for our slain President. -

As a post-script, when we returned to England and went back on alert, my aircraft commander reminded me of a trip we had taken a couple of months earlier that year. Our aircrew had delivered a B-47 to a Dallas airfield for a scheduled contract maintenance overhaul.

On our way out of Dallas from our hotel on that very hot Texas afternoon we stopped for a beer at a dark nightclub named “The Carousel.” There were no shows during the day and we only wanted to cool off anyway. Jack Ruby owned “The Carousel,” but he was not there. [ James L. McAfee retired as a Lt. Col. in 1979. During his career he flew B-47s in SAC, C-124s in MAC, and HH43s for the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service.]

NMUSAF

The Museum’s VC-137C carried the body of President Kennedy back to Washington, D.C., after his assassination in Dallas, Texas, in November of 1963.

Summer 2011 • Friends Journal

23

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) John L. Hudson,

Director, National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

Museum Director previews plans for fourth building

A

s you probably know by now, the National Museum of the US Air Force was not selected

by NASA to receive a space shuttle. Although unfortunate for the Air Force, we respect NASA’s decision and will move forward with our plans for a new fourth building to house the Space Gallery, Presidential Aircraft Gallery, and Global Reach Gallery featuring cargo and tanker aircraft.

The Space Shuttle program will still be a major exhibit component in the new Space Gallery. We have also been selected to receive several NASA artifacts such as the crew compartment trainer and nose cap assembly which will be used to provide an authentic educational and interactive experience for our visitors, and we are working with NASA to finalize the list of other NASA artifacts that we will receive.

Although we are in the preliminary stages of determining how the NASA items will be fully utilized, we do know that the Space Gallery will be populated with exhibits featuring the Apollo 15 Command Module, Mercury and Gemini spacecraft, and a Titan IV space launch vehicle for future display, as well as an X-15, X-24, and other assets which helped develop shuttle program technologies.

We also plan to develop new exhibits in the fourth building with many unique characteristics in design, propulsion, payload capacity, human factors, communication, range, speed, and operating environment. The museum will

USAF

USAF

An artist’s conception of the current National Museum of the US Air Force showing the fourth building directly behind the existing Cold War and Missile Galleries.

24

then incorporate these exhibits into educational programs with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). In addition, we will also pursue other educational opportunities in collaboration with a variety of institutions and organizations.

The Lockheed Martin Corporation recently announced a donation of $10 million, over 10 years to the Air Force Museum Foundation to assist with construction of the museum’s new fourth building.

This donation is a huge step forward in getting all of the funds necessary to award a construction contract, which we are planning to do in late 2012, and we remain committed to our goal of having the building completed in 2014. To that end, the Foundation continues to work very hard to raise the funds necessary for the fourth building which is now estimated to cost $47 million.

Just to give you an update on other museum news and events, we recently had a very successful Space Night and Space Day, May 5-6. The museum was able to inspire and educate a large number of youth and adults about the Air Force, space, and STEM. More than 1,600 people attended Space Night and had the opportunity to see presentations by four astronauts, obtain autographs, and take photos with them. Visitors were also able to enjoy in the many interactive displays that were set-up by the museum and other area organizations.

This summer/fall, we will be hosting several major events at the museum and there are two in

Friends Journal • Summer 2011

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Hudson introduces (from L to R), Col. (Ret) Mark Brown, Dr. Thomas Jones, Dr. Donald Thomas and Capt. (USN Ret) Michael Foreman, the astronauts who gave presentations during Space Night.

DIRECTOR’S UPDATE

particular that I would like to mention to you. The Jet World Masters championship competition will take place in the United States for the first time July 27-August 6 at the museum. Up to 100 pilots from over 50 different countries may compete during this two week event which is free and open to the public. The event features scale models with real turbine powered jets, detailed to exactly replicate full-size aircraft, with flying speeds up to 200 mph. Then, later this fall the three-day World War I Dawn Patrol Rendezvous returns, September 23-25. This event features vintage original and reproduction WWI aircraft, radio-controlled models, era automobiles, period re-enactors, and a collector's show. Check out the museum’s website for more information about these events.

Finally, museum staff began renovating the Southeast Asia War Gallery last fall in preparation for the 50th anniversary of the first US Air Force

campaign during the Southeast Asia War. The first phase of the Southeast Asia Gallery renovations are coming along very well. If you have not been through the gallery in the last couple of months, we invite you to walk through and take a look at some of the changes, including a new touch-screen in the Robin Olds exhibit, improved lighting, new exhibit cases, wall panels, aircraft positioning, painting, and more. The improvements and enhancements are looking great! We still have about another year and a half before we finish the gallery, but when it is completed, the new gallery will tell the full story of the service and sacrifice of Air Force people during the Southeast Asia War. As you can see, the museum is a busy place and there are many exciting additions and enhancements coming over the next few years.

Rest assured, the future of the museum is bright!

USAF

Christina Olds, daughter of the late triple ace and Air Force Cross recipient Brig.

Gen. Robin Olds, poses next to a wall panel about her father in the newly renovated Southeast Asia War Gallery during the 2011 River Rats reunion held at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

Summer 2011 • Friends Journal

25

FRIENDS NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

USA Mid -Atlantic Coast October 19-23, 2011 Join other Friends of the Air Force Museum on a bus tour which will take you to some of the premier museums in the Mid Atlantic states.

Also . . . be a representative from Dayton at the Centennial of Soaring at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina where in 1911 Orville Wright set soaring records which stood for decades.

The Soaring 100 Celebration will feature replica gliders as well as new cutting edge technology.

In addition to the experiences at Kitty Hawk, this tour will also visit the Campus of Washington & Lee University, The Virginia Aviation Museum, the Mariners’ Museum and the legendary Military Aviation Museum and Fighter Factory in Virginia Beach, where very rare warbirds and aeroplanes from World War Two are kept in airworthy condition.

Final Payment due NLT August 30th.

Mid Atlantic: $700.00 each Double; $875.00 Single.

CONTACT US: Phone;1-877-258-3910 Web: afmffrnd@donet.com

FIGHTER FACTORY Aviation Institute of Maintenance

5 Days — $700 (Double Occupancy) Everything included except Lunches

26 all photographs by Dan Patterson

Friends Journal • Summer 2011

®

REPUBLIC F-105 THUNDERCHIEF

Republic YF-105A Thunderchief.

Republic F-105Bs.

In 1951 Republic Aviation began a project to develop a supersonic tactical fighter-bomber to replace the F-84F. The result was the F-105 Thunderchief, later affectionately nicknamed the “Thud.” The prototype YF-105A first flew in October 1955, but the first F-105D did not fly until June 1959. A total of 833 Thunderchiefs of all types were built, including 610 F-105Ds. The US Air Force sent F-105s to Southeast Asia shortly after the Tonkin Gulf incident in the summer of 1964. The USAF operated the F-105D extensively in the air campaign against North Vietnam called Rolling Thunder. Although designed as a nuclear strike aircraft, the F-105 could carry over 12,000 pounds of conventional ordnance. Two seat F-105Fs and Gs were used in the dangerous “Wild Weasel” missions that suppressed surface to air missiles (SAMs) to protect formations of F-105D fighter-bombers.

The Museum has both an F-105D and an F-105G on display.

The Museum’s F-105D is painted and marked as it appeared while serving in the 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Takhli Royal Thai Air Base in Thailand. The nickname Memphis Belle II refers to the B-17F that carried the same artwork during WWII. The two red stars under the cockpit represent the two MiG kills it claimed during the Southeast Asia War. It arrived at the museum in April 1990.

F-105s take off in 1966 to bomb North Vietnam.

The Museum’s F-105G “Wild Weasel” (Herbert)

Summer 2011 • Friends Journal

27

National Museum of the

28

Friends Journal • Summer 2011

Republic F-105

e United States Air Force

5D Thunderchief

Summer 2011 • Friends Journal

29

The cockpit of the Museum’s F-105D Thunderchief

REPUBLIC F-105-D SPECIFICATIONS Span: 34 ft. 11 in Length: 64 ft. 5 in.

Height: 19 ft. 8 in.

Weight: 52,838 lbs. max.

Armament: One M-61 Vulcan 20mm canon and more than 12,000 lbs. of ordnance Engine: One Pratt & Whitney J-75-P-19W of 24,000 lbs. thrust PERFORMANCE Maximum speed: 1390mph.

Cruising speed: 778 mph.

Range: 2,206 miles Service ceiling: 51,000 ft.

SERVICE HISTORY OF F-105D, S/N 60-504 • Manufactured by Republic Aviation, Farmingdale, New York, and delivered to USAF Sep.1961 • September 1961 - To Mobile Air Logistics Area, Brookley AFB, Alabama.

• October 1961 - To 36th Tactical Fighter Wing (USAFE), Bitburg AB, Germany.

• February 1966 - To 4th Tactical Fighter Wing (TAC), Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina.

• September 1966 - To 18th Tactical Fighter Wing (PACAF), Kadena AB, Japan.

• March 1967 - To 355th Tactical Fighter Wing (PACAF), Takhli RTAFB, Thailand.

• October 1970 - To 23rd Tactical Fighter Wing (TAC), McConnell AFB, Kansas.

• January 1971 - To 184th Tactical Fighter Training Group (ANG), McConnell AFB, Kansas.

• March 1976 - To 113th Tactical Fighter Group (ANG), Andrews AFB, Maryland.

• June 1981 - To Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center, Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.

• February 1983 - Dropped from inventory as surplus.

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Friends Journal • Spring 2011

Alaska, the Aleutians, and Russia Lt. Col. Peter Unitt, USAF (Ret.)

W

hile conducting Heritage Tours for several years at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, I have observed that visitors don’t show much interest in the story of the USAAF in the Aleutian Campaign. If they know anything of the Aleutian campaign it is the early defensive period during 1942-43 involving the Japanese invasion and its eventual failure. But the subsequent offensive against the Kuriles and the internment of almost 300 American aircrew in Russia for many months is an amazing story. Contributing to the current lack of knowledge is the cloud of secrecy that was purposely maintained for many years over the whole internment issue. I recently became acquainted with a local Army Air Forces veteran of this campaign, Ralph W. Hammond. He has certainly enhanced my appreciation for this aspect of the war which I now relate with his permission.

Apart from a few story boards, the only real artifact in the Museum representing the Aleutian campaign is a lone P-39 in a snowy setting. Indeed, P-39Ds of the 57th Fighter Squadron flew missions from Adak Island for a few months in 1942 against the Japanese invaders on the islands of Kiska and Attu. However, the complete list of USAAF aircraft fighting the Aleutian campaign has to include the A-24, P-39, P-38, P-40, B-24, LB-30, B-25, B-26, and even a B-17 or two.

All of the aforementioned AAF aircraft served in the Eleventh Air Force which was formed in February 1942 out of the existing Alaskan Air Force. At different times these aircraft were in squadrons comprising the 28th Composite Group. As war broke out, the 28th, originally established in 1940, moved into various Aleutian islands where airfields were rapidly being constructed. The 28th’s medium bomber role was initially filled by B-26s of the 77th Bomb Squadron, initially on Adak Island and then on Amchitka for several months.

A couple of months after the Doolittle Raid, the Japanese attacked Midway Island and at least partly as a “diversion,” they also attacked American territory in Alaska. In fact, on June 3 and 4, 1942, Japanese naval aircraft bombed Dutch Harbor and Fort Mears on Unalaska Island killing over 50 Americans. Within less than a week, Japanese ground forces invaded the islands of Kiska and Attu at the westernmost end of the Aleutian chain. USAAF fighters and bombers, both medium and heavy, moved into the Aleutians and on June 11, began bombing and strafing the occupying Japanese, during which time the Eleventh AF suffered its first combat losses.

Two months earlier, on April 18, 1942, a precedent was set for the rest of the war when the eighth Doolittle Raider crew opted for internment in

The Museum’s diorama depicting a P-39 in an Alaskan setting.

Brice

Summer 2011 • Friends Journal

31

ALASKA

NMUSAF

77th Bomb Squadron B-25s on Shemya AAFB, Alaska, December 1944.

Russia by landing their B-25 near Vladivostok.

Almost coincident with that event, 20 year old Ralph Hammond enlisted in the Army Air Forces and was awaiting appointment as an Aviation Cadet, which he received on June 6, and joined Class 43D at Maxwell Field.

Meanwhile, in Alaska, in the fall of 1942, B-26 medium bombers of the 77th Bomb Squadron were joined and eventually replaced by B-25s. By January of 1943, only B-25s are mentioned in the daily Eleventh AF record.

From October 1942 until May 1943, Ralph attended Primary, Basic, and Advanced flight training at Bennettsville, South Carolina (PT-13), Cochran, (BT-13) and Moody Fields, Georgia (AT-9, and AT10).

At about the same time, in the chilling cold of Alaska, by February 1943, landbased squadrons of the US Navy’s Fleet Air Wing (FAW) 4 joined USAAF units in the Aleutians. On May 3, PV-1 Lockheed Venturas of VB-135 flew their first mission against the Japanese on Kiska from an airfield on the Aleutian island of Amchitka. Within a year these patrol bombers were flying so-called “Empire Express” missions against targets in the Japanese homeland.

Largely due to the atrocious weather conditions in the North Pacific, the struggle to regain control over Attu and Kiska took almost a year. At this point, in July 1943, both medium and heavy bombers of the 28th finally were able to go on the offensive against Japanese airfields and facilities across the Bering Sea in the Kurile Islands. This undoubtedly had the effect of convincing the enemy that their own northernmost island possessions were likely being softened in preparation for an attack on their homeland.

During attacks on the Northern Kuriles, especially

32

Friends Journal • Summer 2011

Paramushiru and Shimushu islands, both Eleventh AF and FAW 4 crews faced a stark reality. If their aircraft suffered severe mechanical failures or battle damage in the target area, it was practically impossible for them to return to their Aleutian airfields. Neither ditching in the frigid North Pacific nor trying to land on an enemy’s island was a pleasant option. However, there was a less undesirable choice to be made: head for Russia. After all, a Doolittle Raider had done it!

The Eleventh AF record shows that on Saturday, September 11, 1943, so many aircraft (B-24s and B-25s) and their crews were lost they could not mount another Kurile strike for about five months. Among the B-25s that went missing, five ended up in Russia.

After graduating with pilot wings and a commision on May 28, 1943, Ralph reported to Greenville AAF, South Carolina, for Aircrew Replacement Training in the B-25, flying C, D, and G models. In the summer Lt. Hammond found out he was being assigned to the Eleventh Air Force as a replacement pilot.

Soon thereafter Ralph along with other replacements reported for duty with the 77th Bomb Squadron where they would be flying the B-25C. They flew their first local area checkout missions in October 1943. At that time the squadron was operating from the airfield on Amchitka Island, about midway along the Aleutian island chain.

Ralph was soon assigned to a crew consisting of Lts. William Head (pilot), Ralph Hammond (copilot), and John Mcintosh (navigator), plus TSgt. Warren Lawton, (radio operator), SSgt John Carr (flight engineer), and SSgt. William Crowell (gunner.)

This 6 man crew was assigned to B-25C-NA-5 s/n 42-53351 in which they would fly together for several months.

Officially, for most of the war, the USSR observed

ALASKA

its 1941 neutrality pact with Japan, even after Germany invaded them. As a consequence they were bound to intern (hold for further disposition) any combatants ending up on their soil. Technically, these were not prisoners of war, but practically speaking, neither were they free to leave. Barely 20 miles separate the most northerly Kurile island, Shimushu, and the southern end of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. Not many more miles up the peninsula’s eastern coast lies the Siberian city of Petropavlovsk and its nearby airfield.

This airfield was on the delivery route of Lend-Lease aircraft for the Red Air Force.

This “survival” option was chosen throughout the war by three dozen Army Air Forces and Navy aircrews operating from the Aleutians, China, and India.

For quite a while after each internment “incident,” the fate of these airmen was not known/admitted to publicly except for the curt initials M.I.A. (Missing in Action), especially since there was US-USSR collusion involved in getting them back home amid constant diplomatic concerns.

The Doolittle crew, through somewhat ponderous and “behind-the-scenes” diplomatic efforts with the Russians, eventually was able to “escape.” Their trip home took them thousands of miles across the USSR, by airplane, train, truck, and on foot, from Siberia to within 300 miles of Moscow and thence to safety. It was all supposed to have been kept quiet to avoid any treaty difficulties with the Japanese on the one hand and compromising Soviet Lend Lease assistance on the other. At the end of 1944, versions of the Doolittle crew number 8 story did appear in the press which naturally made the Russians very nervous but it did not stop them from eventually helping all 291 internees.

On August 12, 1943, following a bombing

mission against Japanese installations on Paramushuru Island, the second US aircraft, a B-24, crash-landed at Petropavlovsk. By then the Doolittle crew had already been safe at home for three months. The official record shows very few B-25 combat operations for several of the winter months due, of course, to weather. On February 11, 1944, the 77th moved west once more from Amchitka all the way to the end of the island chain to Attu.

Apart from an occasional armed reconnaissance or search mission, most Eleventh AF operations were curtailed until the spring of 1944, when a series of anti-shipping strikes were made against targets in the Kuriles. Weather permitting, such missions continued between April 27 and September 9, 1944.

Starting in June, 1944, Ralph flew his first four combat missions, followed by one in July, four in August, and two in September. By that time, the Navy was flying missions similar to the 77th B-25s and by June 15, 1944, the first two of their PV-1 Ventura crews were interned. On June 18 and 26, a dozen 77th Squadron B-25s, including Lt. Hammond’s, flew missions to support a Naval Task Force withdrawing from the shelling of Kuraba Cape on Paramushiru Island. Missions 4-6 for Ralph were officially reported as ”uneventful” shipping sweeps.

The eleventh combat mission for Ralph’s crew occurred on September 9, 1944. It was a “shipping hunt” off Paramushiru. Only four of the six B-25s involved returned safely to Attu. They all attacked at mast height using the skip-bombing technique they had practiced with 500 pound bombs against rocks jutting out of the sea near their airfield. On this day, one aircraft unfortunately flew into the mast of a ship and the crew had to ditch in the frigid water. The other, with Ralph on board, lost an engine to antiaircraft fire which prevented them from returning to Attu.

NMUSAF NMUSAF

A B-25 of the 77th Bomb Squadron leads a group of eight bombers making the first strike by Eleventh Air Force bombers against the Japanese-held Kurile Islands.

Summer 2011 • Friends Journal

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ALASKA

Thus Ralph’s aircraft became the next Eleventh AAF aircraft to make the one-way trip safely into neutral Russia landing at Petropavlovsk. Before war’s end a total of nine B-24s, 13 B-25s (including the Doolittle Raider), 11 USN PV-1s, and even four B-29s, ended their last combat missions in Russia. The human total in crew members was 291, four of whom died from injuries received during or after their last mission.

By February 18, 1944, both the Doolittle crew (five men) and the second group of eight crews (62 men) had already “escaped.” The group that Ralph and his crewmates joined had started to gather on June 15, 1944 (two Navy crews) and he noted that his crew of six boosted the number of internees present in Russia at that time (September, 9, 1944), to 101. Each of the five groups which the 291 internees formed over time had similar, but not identical, experiences in their “escapes.” It seems likely that variations in group travel gave the Russians some confidence in their ability to conceal their efforts from the rest of the world, especially Japan. Within days of their arrival, the 39 most recent arrivals were shuttled from camps at Magadan and Petropavlovsk to Khabarovsk, located about 350 miles north of Vladivostok. After a couple of

months, they were moved several hundred miles along the Trans-Siberian Railway to the city of Tashkent in Uzbekistan which borders on Afghanistan to the south. About 35 miles from Tashkent a “permanent” camp had been established for internees at Vrevskaya.

Here they joined their forerunners. This group continued to grow in the next 45 days as four more crews, two Navy and two AAF, joined them. By the time this third group was aided in their escape, it had grown in number to 130, predominantly Navy personnel. In fact, there were ten Navy, four B-29, and three Aleutian Army crews.

The first hint of an organized “escape,” aided by the NKVD (People”s Commissariat of Internal Affairs), came on November 30, 1944, when an American military attache, Major McCabe, accompanied two Soviet officers to their command HQ in Tashkent.

While the Soviet officers worked out a plan to get them all out of Russia, McCabe came to the camp and told the assembled internees what was afoot An order, concocted at the US Embassy in Moscow, directed that all 130 men be moved on December 3 to Tbilisi in the Caucasus. This might have worked, but the plan was called off when syndicated American columnist, Drew Pearson, known for his unorthodox reporting,

NORWAY

Magadan

SWEDEN

Murmansk FINLAND

Baltic Sea

Kamchat POLAND

Petroplavosk Yakutsk

BYELARUS

SEA OF OKHOTSK

MOSCOW

Molotov

UKRAINE

Penza

Black Sea

Okha

RUSSIA

Kubyshev

Omsk

Chita Novosibirsk

KAZAKHSTAN

TURKMENISTAN

UZBEKISTAN

Kizal Arvat

Teheran

SEA OF JAPAN

MONGOLIA NORTH KOREA

Tashkent

SOUTH KOREA

CHINA

KYRGYZSTAN TAJIKISTAN

YELLOW SEA

Meshed To India and Freedom

Vladivostok

Alma Ata

Vrevskaya

Ashkahabad

IRAN

Khabarovsk

Irkutsk

Tashkent

Caspian Sea

800 km AFGHANISTAN

Kuril Islands

Sakhalin

INDIA

0

0 800 Miles

All locations approximate

The route taken by Lt. Hammond and other internees as they were moved across Russia after their landing in Petropavlovsk.

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Friends Journal • Summer 2011

ALASKA

“presented” a story claiming that one of the “Tokyo Raider” aircraft had actually landed in Manchuria (Japanese-controlled territory). He reported that the crew was rescued by a Red Army tank column whose commander would not release them to the Japanese. Instead, Pearson·s story claimed, they were taken to Russia and then flown back to Alaska.

The internees at Vrevskaya were not immediately aware of this development and had left the camp, definitely elated, first by truck, then by train from Tashkent bound for Ashkhabad, a two day journey.

At first the escape plan seemed to be working; a fake problem with one of the passenger cars left them overnight on a siding, while McCabe went on to arrange the next part of the plan. He was gone all day and returned with the disappointing news that Moscow had “chickened out” because of the Pearson column and wanted to wait for Japanese reaction. A despondent group returned to Vrevskayaj. It was not a Merry Christmas for them!

Most of the men had had no contact with home and family since leaving the Aleutians on those fateful flights. By January 17, 1945, another attempt was announced. McCabe had been replaced by a Major Hall who brought mail for the group. He also carried a letter from General Deane, chief of the US Military Mission to Lt.Cdr. Wayne, the group’s senior officer, confirming an upcoming ‘”escape” attempt, adding that each man must keep secret their whereabouts since being reported simply MIA, until the war was over. They, of course, agreed.

As if weather had not already played an annoying enough part in their Aleutian experience, snowdrifts and avalanches now blocked their way south from Ashkhabad into India; an alternate route was needed. At this point Hall asked them all to sign the pledges of secrecy. The train then took them from Vrevskaya through Ashkhabad and another 150 miles to Kizil Arvat in the Kara Kum desert, where they were tranferred into ten tarpaulincovered trucks. During the next two days, despite several checkpoints, negotiating sharp turns along difficult mountain roads, and a truck breakdown, they approached the Iranian border. Once through, they went on to Teheran, and Camp Amirabad, headquarters for the Allied Persian Gulf Command.

The NKVD officers had performed their part well, clearing the way for safe passage past the border guards, as they had done previously and would do again before war’s end. Following medical checkups (including delousing) the 130 former internees were expeditiously, but anonymously, returned to the

United States. Ralph stated that, as far as is known, none of them broke their pledge, mainly because they knew such an act would likely bode ill for those yet to be released. He fondly recalls the grand experience of sailing past the Statue of Liberty on March 6, 1945, free again at last!

Despite the fact that “leaks” had made their whereabouts known, which did place any airmen still interned in some danger, the Siberian internment story was subject to a lengthy period of official silence. Things were also obfuscated by difficulties deciphering the Russian records (phonetic name spelling, for example) that did not positively identify the internees right away. Thanks largely to the efforts of Colonel Otis Hayes, Jr., who was a LendLease liaison officer, the whole affair has been very well researched and authenticated during the last 20 years. Furthermore, after much deliberation, in 1988 the Congress did amend the nebulous status of former internees to that of POWs. The applicable law, signed by President Ronald Reagan, thus afforded them the same claim to recognition by a grateful nation (POW Medals and VA eligibility).

Following repatriation, Ralph, at the ripe old age of 23, continued his military service, initially as an instructor pilot, logging many hours, appropriately in the TB-25, crew trainer, until 1947. In the brand new United States Air Force, he continued serving his country for several years at bases in Pennsylvania, England, Maryland, Missouri, Iceland, and California, ending up in 1965 at Wright-Patterson AFB, managing Manpower at Air Force Logistics Command. There, in 1966, he transitioned to Civil Service until official retirement in 1985. Ralph passed away in Fairborn, Ohio in April, 2011.

[Peter Unitt was born in 1937 and raised in England. Peter joined the RAF after high school, spending five years as an Air Wireless Fitter. After discharge, he emigrated to the US and enlisted in the USAF in 1961. Following tech school, Pete served as an electronics instructor, entered the Airman Education Commissioning Program and was commissioned in 1967 as an aeronautical engineer. After retiring from the USAF he made his home in Fairborn, Ohio. Educated in both engineering and history, he teaches both subjects at a Community College, while volunteering as a docent. at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. He has written numerous aviation magazine and encyclopedia articles and a book about the Wright Brothers’ mechanic, Charlie Taylor. ]

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The Hanoi Taxi the ultimate “freedom bird” Joe Ciavardone

USAF

Return with Honor: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia.

When the aircraft left the ground, the POWs knew they really were free.

W

hat started out as just another routine day turned out to be the most unforgettable day in my life.

It was in March 1973 and I was a Boeing 727 flight engineer flying out of Yokota AB, Japan.

We had a contract to fly passengers, cargo, and the Star and Stripes military newspaper, all over the Far East from Japan to Korea, Okinawa, the Philippines, Taiwan, Bangkok, and Viet Nam. We also flew the Boeing 707 from the States to the Far East. I spent over six years flying in and out of the Far East, so there are many stories I could tell. But this one tops them all.

That day we left Yokota to deliver the paper to Korea, and ended up at Clark AB. We were to return to Yokota to complete our day of flying. When we landed at Clark AB and went in to file our flight plan back to Yokota we were told the base was closed. It was early afternoon and we didn't understand the problem until we were told it was because of a VIP flight.

We were lounging outside around the terminal building when the buses carrying school children started to arrive. School was out and they were all waving American flags It was like the 4th of July. At this point we were told it was for the flight from Hanoi with our POW's aboard. We were the only aircraft on the ramp as I recall, and the C-141 taxied right up next to our plane. We had a ringside seat. There was no civilian press allowed and it was the most beautiful sight to see the guys coming off the plane. There were tears coming down my face and I really didn't care. I was just overwhelmed and it is a sight I carry with me always, the proudest day of my life. I didn't realize I was watching history being made, only that to me this was my day in the sun. I thank God I was in the right place at the right time.I have flown many VIPs, but this day was my day. I fly the flag every March 14th in honor of all these great Americans.

I am told by my buddy Bill Broomhall, a volunteer at the National Museum of the USAF, that the C-141 Hanoi Taxi is there. I hope people that go there know the history that plane made, and for me to know that I was standing next to it on that day in March is my reward. I am so proud to be an American.

USAF

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Friends Journal • Summer 2011 USAF

Although many visitors to the National Museum of the United States Air Force identify the aircraft in the Southeast Asia War Gallery as those used in the Vietnam War, the gallery is actually appropriately named. The conflict that the United States was involved in during the early 1960s until late January 1973 involved not just North and South Vietnam, but also Laos and Cambodia. During the war, USAF units were stationed in South Vietnam as well as in Thailand.

The United States’ involvement in Southeast Asia began after the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu in May of 1954. After the French defeat, Vietnam was partitioned along the 17th parallel into North and South Vietnam during a conference on Asia that was held in Geneva, Switzerland later in 1954. Vietnam was fertile ground for a “war of liberation” and Communist North Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh began an active program of guerilla warfare in South Vietnam shortly after the country had been partitioned. After a clash between North Vietnamese and US naval vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin, President Johnson asked for and received special powers to conduct the Vietnam War. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed by Congress and signed by the president in August of 1964. Although not a true declaration of war, it became the basis for sending American troops and escalating the war in Southeast Asia to more than just a civil war between the Vietnamese that favored the rule of Ngo Dinh Diem and those in both the North and South that favored Ho Chi Minh.

Photo credits: Jerry Herbert, Dick Brice, Sarah Swan, and the NMUSAF

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Herbert

North American T-28B Nomad

EARLY OPERATIONS

Douglas A-1E Skyraider

Douglas B-26K Counter Invader

Douglas AC-47 “Gunship”

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Friends Journal • Summer 2011

The United States Air Force’s involvement in warfare in Vietnam began when the “Farm Gate” detachment arrived with their T-28D aircraft in November of 1961. The unit advised and trained South Vietmamese Air Force personnel and their T-28D aircraft carried South Vietnamese Air Force markings.

In the early days of its involvement in the Southeast Asia War, the USAF attempted to use relatively unsophisticated aircraft that could be flown by South Vietnamese Air Force personnel.

The North American T-28As upgraded to T-28D Nomad configuration were introduced as well as modified Douglas A-1E Skyraiders.

World War II vintage Douglas B-26s modified as B-26K Counter Invaders, were also used.

Another World War II veteran aircraft that proved its worth in Southeast Asia was the venerable C-47 outfitted as a gunship equipped with three miniguns firing out the side of the aircraft. These aircraft were very successful playing a vital role in the guerilla type of warfare that characterized the war in Southeast Asia.

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TACTICAL AIR OPERATIONS The majority of tactical operations in Southeast Asia involved attacking targets in North Vietnam (Operation Rolling Thunder) and interdicting supplies coming down the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

As the war continued into the mid 1960s, more modern aircraft were brought in. The North American F-100 Super Sabre became the premier USAF fighter-bomber used in South Vietnam. The McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II was the primary air superiority fighter that combated the MiG-17s and 21s flown by the North Vietnamese Air Force. Another version of this versatile aircraft, the RF-4C and the RF101C were the primary reconaissance aircraft used during the war. The F-105 Thunderchief served as a bomber and “Wild Weasel” aircraft.

Martin B-57s also served and largely took over the B-26’s medium bomber role. Later in the war, the Vought A-7D Corsair II served as an effective fighter-bomber.

North American F-100Ds Super Sabres

McDonnell-Douglas F-4C Phantom II

Martin B-57B Canberra

McDonnell RF-101C Voodoo Republic F-105D Thunderchief

McDonnell-Douglas RF-4C Phantom II

Ling-Temco-Vought A-7D Corsair II Summer 2011 • Friends Journal

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Cessna O-1G Bird Dog

FACs AND “WILD WEASELS”

Cessna O-2A Skymaster

North American Rockwell OV-10A Bronco

North American F-100F Super Sabre 40

Friends Journal • Summer 2011

Although forward air controllers (FACs) had been used in World War II and in Korea, the emphasis in those wars was to assist the Army as their “Eye in the Sky.” In the guerilla warfare environment of Vietnam, forward air controllers were also used to spot enemy concentrations and movements as well as supply caches. They would then call in the “Fast Movers” (F-100s) to attack the target that they had spotted. Early in the war Cessna O-1 Birddogs were used and later the Cessna O-2s and North American OV-10s.

A mission that evolved during the War in Southeast Asia was that of the “Wild Weasels.” This mission involved locating and destroying the radar sites that controlled the very deadly surface-to-air SA-2 missiles fielded by the North Vietnamese. Beginning in 1965, early Wild Weasel crews used the F-100F. Later F-105Fs and Gs equipped with Shrike and Standard ARM anti-radar missiles took over the mission. Close to the end of the war, a version of the F-4C was also developed as a Wild Weasel aircraft.

Republic F-105G Thunderchief

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STRATEGIC BOMBARDMENT AND AIR-SEA RESCUE While the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress was designed as a Cold War bomber capable of carrying a wide variety of nuclear weapons, many of them were modified to carry 750 pound general purpose bombs and were regularly flown from bases in Guam and Thailand to bomb targets in Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam. In 1972, after the North Vietnamese launched another major offensive during Tet against the South, they occupied much of South Vietnam below the Dimilitarized Zone (DMZ) and a strip of land along the South Vietnamese border with Laos and Cambodia.

Because of this offensive, President Nixon suspended peace talks and renewed the bombing of North Vietnam and the mining of harbors and rivers in that country. This operation was called LINEBACKER and was suspended in October when North Vietnam came back to the Paris Peace Talks. After negotiations bogged down again, Nixon ordered the LINEBACKER II offensive which began on Deember 18th. For eleven days, B-52s and tactical fighters attacked military and transport targets in North Vietnam. These attacks finally brought the North Vietnamese back to the peace talks on December 29th and on January 23, 1973 a ceasefire agreement was concluded which essentially ended the war in Vietnam.

Another major mission in Southeast Asia was the rescue of downed airmen. The stories of rescues carried out using Sikorsky HH-3 Jolly Green Giants are legendary. The museum’s video showing the rescue of a downed pilot by an HH-3 with A-1Es providing cover is one of the most popular ones in the Southeast Asia War Gallery. The Museum also has a veteran MH-53 of the Son Tay rescue mission that attempted to free POWs held in North Vietnam.

Unfortunately there were no prisoners at the site when the liberating force arrived.

Boeing B-52D Stratofortress

Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant

A1C Pisenbarger Exhibit

Sikorsky MH-53M Pave Low IV Summer 2011 • Friends Journal

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PRISONERS OF WAR IN SOUTHEAST ASIA During the war in Southeast Asia, American prisoners of war endured inhuman torture, political exploitation, filthy living conditions, and endless attempts at Communist indoctrination. North Vietnam treated the prisoners not as POWs but as foreign invaders and criminals bent on subverting Vietnam’s communist revolution.

The most notorious POW camp was Hoa Lo Prison, known to Americans as the “Hanoi Hilton.” Hoa Lo’s 20 foot walls, topped with barbed wire and broken glass, made escape nearly impossible. The filthy infested prison compound contained several buildings, each given nicknames such as “Heartbreak Hotel,” ”New Guy Village,” and “Little Vegas” by the POWs. Cells representative of the type in the Hanoi Hilton are part of the Museum’s exhibit that vividly portrays the horrendous conditions these brave Americans had to endure during their captivity in North Vietnam. Story boards tell the story of the POWs and the torture they endured and the ways they found to cope during their captivity.

The exhibit also contains a video display that features the story of the Hanoi Taxi’s (displayed outside) flight that brought out the first liberated POWs in February of 1973.

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Friends Journal • Summer 2011

Recreated cell block from the “Hanoi Hilton”

A photograph of the entrance to the infamous “Hanoi Hilton”

This storyboard tells how prisoners communicated

with each other during their captivity

The Hanoi Taxi flies over the National Museum of the United States Air Force in 2006.

From the Office of Public Affairs National Museum of the U.S .Air Force

Minuteman I added to Missile and Space Gallery

T

he Boeing LGM-30A Minuteman IA were recently placed in the Missile and Space Gallery.

The missile came to the Museum in 1971 and was displayed outdoors for several years. To prepare the missile for indoor display, four restoration specialists repaired the outer layer and the cableways, in addition to cleaning and treating the rocket section attach points.

The Minuteman missile concept pushed rocket technology to a new level, and it vastly improved U.S. nuclear strategic deterrence. The first Minuteman missiles became operational in late 1962, and the one now on display at the Museum is a symbol of those early missiles.

“Minuteman represented a significant advance in USAF ballistic missile technology when it came into service in 1962,” said Dr. Doug Lantry, a research historian at the Museum. “It was America’s first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, and it was quicker to launch and easier to protect and maintain that its contemporaries.

The Minuteman system was a mainstay of Cold War nuclear deterrence, and through a long series of improvements, Minuteman remains operational today.”

More information about the Minuteman I is available at www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/ factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=537.

The Minuteman IA joins seven other missiles on display in the Missile and Space Gallery – Jupiter, Thor, Titan I, Titan II, Thor Agena A, Minuteman III and Peacekeeper. Current plans call for two other missiles to eventually be added to the gallery.

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From the Office of Public Affairs National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

Outdoor events bring aviation excitement to Museum’s back field Jet World Masters July 27-August 6

This international competition brings the best scale military and civilian turbinepowered radio-controlled model aircraft together to compete for the title of “Jet World Master.” Free activities include an opening ceremony on July 27, competition and demonstration flights throughout the two-week event, and a final air show on August 6.

RC Model Aircraft Show September 2-4

WWI Dawn Patrol Rendezvous September 23-25

See daring acrobatics performed by model jets, helicopters and warbirds during this three-day air show of giant scale radio-controlled aircraft on the runway behind the Museum. This free event is hosted by the Museum each year over Labor Day weekend and is sponsored by the Dayton Ohio Giant Scalers.

Hours for the event are 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. each day.

One of the nation’s premier historical aviation events will bring the excitement and adrenaline of early air power to Ohio. The three-day flying event features vintage original and reproduction World War I aircraft, radio-controlled models, era automobiles, period re-enactors and a collector’s show. Hours for the event are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/wwi.asp.

Museum to host variety of events this summer, fall As always, keep in mind the USAF Heritage Tour, offered at 1:30 p.m. daily (and 10:30 a.m. on Saturdays) and the Behind the Scenes Tour of the restoration hangars, offered every Friday (some exceptions). Registration forms for the Behind the Scenes Tours are available at www. nationalmuseum.af.mil/visit/tours.asp.

Mark your calendar for the popular Family Day programs coming up on July 16, August 20 and September 17. Upcoming themes include rocketry, National Aviation Day and gravity, and free activities are planned for all ages.Visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/events/index. Gliders from egg crates a typical Family Day asp for a complete listing of Museum events. activity

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Friends Journal • Summer 2011

ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS

EDUCATION UPDATE: History Writing Competition - A New Educational Opportunity Learning never ends at the National Museum! In addition to serving thousands of public and private school students, the museum also serves home school students during our biannual Home School Days. This April we offered a variety of learning experiences for students in grades pre-K to high school. States represented included Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The next Home School Day will be this fall.

New this year was the Air Force Heritage and History Writing Competition. The competition was open to public, private school or home schooled students between the ages of 13-18. The research questions for this year’s competition were as follows: On June 20, 1941, the United States Army Air Forces was formed. Who were some of the advocates for forming this branch of service?

What were arguments for and against the formation of this branch of service? How has the service evolved and where may the Air Force be going in the future? Sixty-five students from seven states submitted research papers, and Air Force Museum Aerospace Educator, Erin Craig worked with local educators to determine the finalists. Those submissions were sent on to national-level judges, including a Robins Air Force Base historian and an editor at the Pentagon to decide the final three winners.

Scholarship award money was provided by the Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc., and Doolittle Raider Thomas Griffin. Nadine Nagle, a former Women Airforce Service Pilot, presented the awards during a ceremony at the National Museum in May. A $2,000 scholarship was awarded to the first place winner Tad M. Staller Jr. of Kettering, Ohio. Robert M. Harris of Indianapolis, Indiana received a $1,400 scholarship as the second place winner and third place winner Jeremy Lund of Lexington, Kentucky received a $600 scholarship.

Space Night offered a variety of interactive and fun space-themed programs, demonstration stations, artifacts and other displays during this free after-hours event. Four NASA astronauts shared their experiences of living and working in space. With over ten partnering organizations, visitors of all ages enjoyed this extraordinary event.

As the school season draws to a close, we are looking forward to our summer aerospace day camps. The camps are for students who will have finished grades 2-9. For more information visit: http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/education/camp/index.asp

2011 Air Force Heritage and History Writing Competition Winners: (L to R) 1st Place, Tad M. Staller, Jr., Nadine Nagle, 3rd Place, Jeremy Lund, and 2nd Place Robert M. Harris.

Greene County Dailies Greene County Dailies

Summer 2011 • Friends Journal

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From the Office of Public Affairs National Museum of the U.S .Air Force

Group from Memphis Belle Memorial Association Checks on Progress

F

ive members of the Memphis Belle Memorial Association visited the Museum’s restoration facility on May 13, 2011, to check on the progress being made on the B-17 nicknamed the Memphis Belle. The Memphis Belle Memorial Association, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to honoring the Memphis Belle, her crew, the 8th Air Force and everyone who served in defense of Freedom in WWII and educating all generations about the importance of the missions of the Belle and the other aircraft and crews who served. All the members are from the Memphis Belle’s former home in Memphis, Tennessee.

They enjoyed a special tour conducted by Roger Deere the head of the Restoration Division.

Roger reported to them that the engines are ready to hang on the inboard wing sections of the B-17 and when the wings are mated to the fuselage, the Belle will be able to rest on her own landing gear and will no longer need to be on stands. There is still a lot of work still to be done on the fuselage and right now that’s where the majority of restoration effort is being placed. Work is also going forward on the lower ball turret and it is almost done. Roger told the group the target date for finishing the Belle and moving it into the Museum is 2013.

Andrew Pouncey, a past president of the Association commented, “We are constantly amazed at the talent Roger’s staff exhibits working on the airplane.”

Among the five visitors was Dr. Harry Friedman, the author of the book Memphis Belle — Dispelling the Myths. Others on the tour were Brian Pecon, Neil Sherman, Jerry Klein, and Andrew Pouncey.

After the tour the group presented a check for five hundred dollars to the Air Force Museum Foundation and visited with Lt. Gen. Hudson, Director of the National Museum of the USAF.

Wright R-1820 Cyclone

Members of the Memphis Belle Memorial Assn.

(Left to right) Brian Pecon, Neil Sherman, Dr. Harry Friedman, Andrew Pouncey, and Jerry Klein.

Norden Bombsight

Ready for Wings 46

Friends Journal • Summer 2011

Air Force Museum Foundation Receives Two Major Gifts for the Building Fund

I

n May, the Air Force Museum Foundation received two major gifts totaling $15 million from The Boeing Company and Lockheed Martin.

The Boeing Company made a $5 million donation which will be made in three installments over the next three years. Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Richard V. Reynolds, president of the Air Force Museum Foundation, expressed his gratitude on behalf of the foundation. “We are extremely grateful for this major gift from The Boeing Company,” said Reynolds. “This extraordinary act of generosity is a huge step in the effort to fund construction of the new building, and will ultimately enable the museum to do an even more phenomenal job of educating visitors about the United States Air Force.”

Chris Raymond, vice president of Business Development for Boeing, replied, “Boeing is honored to be a supporter of the Air Force Museum. Our people and products form enduring bonds with generations of airmen. Boeing’s continuing commitment to this nationally important museum will help preserve the legacy of the Air Force’s contributions to freedom and insure that its stories and lessons are shared with future generations.”

On May 9, 2011, the Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc. announced its acceptance of a $10 million pledge from the Lockheed Martin Corporation.

This pledge, which is the single largest dollar gift the Foundation has ever received, will also be used to help construct a new 200,000 square-foot building to house the Museum’s Space Gallery, Presidential Aircraft Gallery, and Global Reach Gallery. The facility will provide educational opportunities in collaboration with a variety of other educational organizations and institutions focusing on history, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-based (STEM) programs.

Charles Faruki, Chairman of the Air Force Museum Foundation Board of Managers, expressed his gratitude on behalf of the Foundation. “We are grateful to Lockheed Martin for its generous gift of $10 million. Lockheed Martin has been a longtime supporter of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, and this contribution is the largest pledge we have ever received in support of the Museum. The new addition will significantly enhance the Museum’s ability to tell the full Air Force story and will be a platform to increase the education of students and teachers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

Ron Rand, Senior Vice President, Communications for Lockheed Martin Corporation, said, “We are proud to support the Air Force Museum Foundation’s efforts to enhance the National Museum of the United States Air Force by this contribution. The new facility will be a great place to educate and inspire tomorrow’s scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and aviators.”

The Foundation now has $34 million available in cash and pledges towards the goal of $47 million required for the fourth hangar.

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Richard V. Reynolds accepts a $5 million gift from Boeing’s Chris Raymond as Lt. Gen. (Ret) Jack Hudson, Director of the National Museum of the US Air Force looks on.

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Richard V. Reynolds accepts a $10 million gift from Ron Rand (right) of Lockheed Martin.

Representative Steve Austria (center) of Ohio’s 7th District was on hand for the presentation.

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CONTRIBUTIONS

Contributors to the National Museum of the United States Air Force The Air Force Museum Foundation wishes to express its gratitude to the many individuals who have contributed to the support of the National Museum of the United States Air Force through contributions to the Air Force Museum Foundation. We have found that many of our members and other donors contribute all through the year and not just during the End of Year Appeal. For that reason we are starting a new column to recognize our donors as they contribute throughout the year.

Building Fund

C. R. Anderegg John and Joy Blang Bob Cassidy The Boeing Company EADS North America, Inc. Emerson Climate Technologies, Inc Lawrence P. Farrell Michael B. Goetz Ole C. Griffith Don Gum Ann Harrell Jon Hazelton Lockheed Martin Company George Mongon Michael A. Nelson Gen. (Ret.)Lloyd Newton Cy A. Pierquet W. Craig Ramsey S. H. Robertson Thomas A. Rush Dan Sadlier James B. Schepley William A. Smith Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Thomas P. Stafford Gary Stephenson Stowers Machinery Corp. (CAT) Craig Wilan

End of Year Appeal

Robert A. Branchini Nicholas A. Brown Lewis G. Curtis Peter J. De Simio Mark Fothergill Scott Garner John D. Jones Robert W. Jurgensen Norma Lamicella William A. Mata Donald R. Merucci

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Friends Journal • Summer 2011

Robert H. Niepert Paul Oleniacz Steven Overway David Pickelhaupt Charles T. Ringwald Bernard J. Roke Ronald Ropke Charles E. Ryan Albert L.Seaver Christopher L. Ulm Kenneth H. Waltz

New Gifts

The Discussion Club Mike Gilroy Eugene Graber Daniel R. Grambsch Norman H. Happel Karl Haeuser Jeffrey P. Hock Don Jandernoa Miami Valley Council - Boy Scouts Judy Sheets Fred D. Steeb Don Wendeln Jacques E.Young

Memphis Belle Restoration Memphis Belle Memorial Association

Memorial/Honorarium Contributors The Army War College Foundation, Inc. Sally A. Beitenhaus The Bohnert Family David and Sandra Bowen Robert L. Brewster William Broomhall Dan and Virginia Brown Cincinnati Museum Center Larry and Sue Coblentz Catherine B. Craven

Mike and Mary Craven Pat and Debbi Craven Roger A. Craven Jeb and Amy Crouch Joseph Durant E-Con-O-Wise Rental, Inc. Easy Link Services Jon E. Eckerle Andy and Jane Fraser Verna M. Hamilton Glenn Jackson David Johnson Anne M. Moseley Carter E. Myers Preddy Memorial Foundation, Inc. Yvonne Reissig Ruby Rogers Brian Sekerak Squeeze Play Band Michael H. Tempel Gary B.Volz Marty and Kathy Waldeck Terence A. Widman John S. Yanik

Memorials/Honorariums for

Edward J. Amann Ray Berkheimer Mr. and Mrs. Russell J. Bundy John R. “Jack” Craven Henry “Hank” Giezyki Ralph R. Haines The Preddy Brothers Lt. Col. Robert K. Scudder Mr. Wray Shipley

Memorial Park 63rd Troop Carrier Wing 815th TCS/TAS Berlin Airlift KIA Memorial Berlin Airlift Mission Memorial Crew 11089 Memorial Pilot Training Class - 62A

AIR FORCE ARMY, NAVY / COAST GUARD

AIR FORCE NUMBERED UNITS 5th Aerial Port Sq. (RAF Mildenhall 1966-1969). 18-20 August 2011. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Bill Bishop, 258 Kartes Drive, Rochester, NY 14616. Phone: (585) 5812595. E-mail: w_j_bishop@yahoo. com

Reunion Notices Seebers, 99 N Country Gate Circle, The Woodlands, TX 77384. Phone: (936) 271-1221. E-mail: coachseebers@consolidated.net 39th Bomb Gp. 3-7 August 2011.

Dayton, OH. Contact: Liz Van Kampen, 5418 Honeysuckle Lane, Oregon, WI 53575. Phone: (608) 385-0923. E-mail: liz.vankampen@ sprintprint.com

5th Bomb Gp. (31st, 23rd, and 72nd Bomb Sqs.) 28 September-2 October 2011. Dayton, OH. Contact: Laura Scharer, 4363 Marian Waldo Road, Marion, OH 43302.

Phone: (740) 389-1250. E-mail: waldowoods@gmail.com

39th Troop Carrier Sq. 6-9 October 2011. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Ed Buyniski, 20 E Central Parkway, Unit 35, Cincinnati, OH 45202. Phone: (513) 241-2464. E-mail: edwardbuyniski@gmail.com

9th Bomb Gp. 22-25 August 2011.

Dayton, OH. Contact: Rollin Maycumber, 2523 Sherman Street, Hollywood, FL 33020. Phone: (954) 920-7096. E-mail: diefrodo@bellsouth.net

40th/469th Tactical Fighter Sq. (1967-69). 20-23 October 2011.

Fairborn, OH. Contact: John Smith, 376 Towncrest Drive, Beavercreek, OH 45434. Phone: (937) 306-8371. E-mail: carl7389@att. net

12th Fighter Maintenance Sq. 30 September-2 October 2011. Dayton/Fairborn, OH. Contact: James and Marilyn Hawkins, 1293 Mac Drive, Stow, OH 44224. Phone: (330) 655-2909. E-mail: gravesoh@ att.net 13th Air Force Veteran Assn.

5-8 October 2011. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Cliff Johnson,251 N Main Street, Cedarville, OH 45314.

Phone: (937) 766-5398. E-mail: johnsonc@cedarville.edu 17th & 452nd Bomb Wgs. (Korea).

28 August-1 September 2011. Las Vegas, NV. Contact: Tony Fucci.

Phone: (805) 491-0686. E-mail: afucci@msn.com or Alex Brast (320th BG (M) (WWII). Phone: (205) 637-7769. E-Mail: heartlandmtg@ charter.net 27th Air Transport Gp. 21-25 September 2011. Dayton/Fairborn, OH. Contact: Lt. Col. (Ret.) Richard

43rd Bomb Gp. (5th AF) 15-20 September 2011. Arlington, VA. Contact: Susan Lanson, 10460 Roosevelt Blvd., Suite 273, St. Petersburg, FL 33716. Phone: (727) 641-1332. E-mail: slanson1.@aol. com Website: http://www.Kensmen.com 47th Bomb Wg. 7-11 September 2011. Buffalo, NY. Contact: Charlie Palmer, 889 N Elkhorn, Apt. 112, Wasilla, AK 99654. Phone: (907) 242-1530. E-mail:cp47bwa@gmail. com 51st Munitions Maintenance Sq. Assn. 29 September-2 October 2011. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Joseph Harker, Jr., 7316 Scotts Place NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109.

Phone: (505) 821-6399. E-mail: delaser@msn.com 63rd Officer Candidate Wg. Assn.

11-15 September 2011. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Col. (Ret) Tom Hansen, 97D Chinook Lane, Steila-

coom, WA 98388. Phone: (253) 380-5261. E-mail: C130hans.@ msn.com 63rd Troop Carrier Wg. 3-6 May 2012. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Brian Forrester, 6969 E Shea Blvd., #101, Scottsdale, AZ 85254. Phone: (480) 998-1112.E-mail: brian@hcttravel. com 63rd Flying Training Detachment (Army Air Forces-Douglas, GA).

16-21 October 2011. Douglas, GA. Contact: John A. Hermann, 3562 West Fork Road, Cincinnati, OH 45211. Phone: (513) 481-0130.

E-mail: johnandirma@yahoo.com or Bill Manchester, 35499 Richland Street, Livonia, MI 48150. Phone: (734) 421-6624.

90th Bomb Sq. (Korea). 21-25 September 2011. Panama City, FL. Contact: Jimie Knight. Phone: (229) 861-3620. or Gary Long.

Phone: (480) 991-4757.

98th Air Refueling Sq. 20-23 September 2011. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Col. (Ret) James L. Lee, Jr., 8323 Scarsdale Drive, Indian -apolis, IN 46256. Phone: (317) 842-8737.E-mail: jlee411@comcast.net 100th Bomb Wg. 13-16 October 2011. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Alan Jankowski, 20 Carmarthen Way, Granville, OH 43023-0190. Phone: (740) 587-4116. E-Mail: jankowski@alink.com 340th Bomb Gp. 5-8 October 2011. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Jan Demuth, 3486 Weavers Ft. Jefferson Road, Greenville, OH 45331.

Phone: (937) 548-4710.

E-Mail: demuth3486@earthlink.net 340th Bomb Wg. 8-11 September 2011. Branson, MO. Contact: R. Barnhill, 277 Sandhill Road, Lonoke, AR 72086. Phone: (501) 6762305. E-Mail: ribarnhill@aol.com 349th Troop Carrier Gp. 14-18

Summer 2011 • Friends Journal

49

REUNIONS September 2011. Dayton, OH. Contact: Linda Sparks, 1201 Progress Drive-Apt. 37, Medford, OR 97504. Phone: (541) 857-0949. EMail: sparkle47@mind.set 355th Tactical Fighter Wg. (Takhli). 23-25 September 2011. Dayton, OH. Contact: Gene R. Carlson, 1944 Tanglewood Drive, Lafayette, IN 47905-4183. Phone: (765) 4481960. E-Mail: grc46250@juno.com 355th Fighter Gp. Assn. 4-8 October 2012. Fairborn, OH. Contact: William Cook, 811 Old Forge Road, Kent, OH 44240. Phone: (330) 5412653. E-Mail: bigbilldot@aol.com 359th Fighter Wg. 22-24 July 2011.

Dayton, OH. Contact: Curtiss Jennings, 3383 Heritage Oaks Drive, Hillard, OH 43026. Phone: (614) 571-9764. E-Mail: curtis.jennings@ bmwfs.com 376th Bomb Gp. 31 August-5 September 2011. Indianapolis, IN./ Dayton, OH. Contact: Ed Clendenin, PO Box 3000, PMB 10, Georgetown, TX 78627. Phone: (512) 868-5490. E-Mail: mo2tx2az@ verizon.net 394th Bombardment Sq. (H). 28 September - 2 October 2011. Dayton, OH. Contact: Laura Scharer, 4363 Marian Waldo Road, Marion, OH 43302. Phone: (740) 389-1250.

E-Mail: waldowoods@gmail.com 452nd Bomb Wg. see listing for 17th Bomb Wg.

526th Fighter Sq. (Ramstein/ Landsthul AB, Germany ). 1518 September 2011. Rapid City, SD. Contact: Don Wenzlick. Phone: (402) 291-0565. E-Mail: donwenzlick@yahoo.com 815th Troop Carrier Sq. 20-23 September 2012. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Bob Tweedie, 2783 Double Eagle Drive, Beavercreek, OH 45431. Phone: (937) 426-7947.

E-Mail: ineztwbird@aol.com 907th Tactical Airlift Gp. 1-2 October 2011. Dayton/Fairborn, OH. Contact: Louis Salerno, 1117 Hyannis Drive, Beavercreek, OH 45434.

Phone: (937) 426-8897. E-Mail: louis.salerno@att.net 927th Tactical Air Gp. 17-21 August 2011. Dayton-Fairborn, OH. Contact: Wendell Hurst, 7480 Hardisty, W Bloomfield, MI 48324.

Phone: (248) 360-4097. E-Mail: wlhurst@gmail.com 3080th Aviation Depot Gp. (Special Weapons)(Other NSS and OSS sites invited). 14-16 September 2011. Rapid City, SD. Contact: Buster Martin, 1129 Whitney Drive, Yuba City, CA. Phone: (530) 7552750.

6927th Radio Squadron Mobile (Onna Point, Okinawa). 12-15 October 2011. Branson, MO. Contact: Jerry Stein. E-Mail: flyjerry@bellsouth.net

489th Bomb Gp. 8-11 September 2011. Dayton/Fairborn, OH. Contact: Col (Ret) Bill Smith, 6016 Yarmouth Drive, Dayton, OH 454591452. Phone: (937) 435-1585. EMail: bsmith2040@hotmail.com

7505th USAF Hospital Gp. 28 September - 2 October 2011. Dayton, OH. Contact: Delores Liska, 6462 Alexandria Drive, Parma Heights, OH 44130. Phone: (440) 888-2976.

510th Fighter Sq. 4-8 September 2013. Mason, OH. Contact: Guy Wright, 1701 Mall Road Apt. 14, Monroe, MI 48162. Phone: (734) 740-3164. E-Mail: guywright@chartermi.net

BASES

50

Friends Journal • Summer 2011

Sampson AFB. 21-24 June 2012.

Fairborn, OH. Contact: Ray Marcum, 1573 Etta Kabel Drive, Beavercreek, OH 45432. Phone: 937) 4291617. E-Mail: rma4858126@aol.com

Sampson AFB 1950-1956, 3650 MTW, Permanent Party and Students. 5-8 November 2011. Fayetteville, NC. Contact: Walt and Mary Steesy, PO Box 299, Interlaken, NY 14847-0299. Phone: (607) 532-4204. E-Mail: sanafbvet@aol. com

CLASSES 3500th Pilot Training Sq. 11-14 October 2012. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Ed Mentzer, 2734 Pheasant Run Lane, Beavercreek, OH 454346664. Phone: (937) 426-8807. EMail: edmentzer@aol.com OCS 3-60. 14-17 June 2012. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Bill Baucom, 607 Rigside Place, Cary, NC 27511.

Phone (919) 467-0718. E-Mail: bbaucom5@nc.rr.com U.S. Army Air Corp Pilot Classes of WWII (formerly Pilot Classes of 1944). 8-11 September 2011.

Charleston, SC. Contact: Stan Yost, 13671 Overbird Drive, Ft. Myers, FL 33908. Phone (239) 4661473.

Pilot Training Class 62A. 26-29 September 2011. Fairborn, OH. Contact: William Kehler, 2718 Gray Fox Lane, Jacksonville, AR 720762627. Phone (501) 985-0547.E-Mail: bbkehler@aol.com Pilot Training Class 66E (Laredo Escadrille). 24-26 September 2011.

Fairborn, OH. Contact: Col. (Ret) J. Stewart Mosbey, PO Box 653, Williamson, GA 30292. Phone (770) 584-2272. E-Mail: firstflysqn@aol. com

ARMY Delta Troop 3/4th Cavalry. 8-11 November 2011. Dayton/Fairborn, OH. Contact: Marvin Runyon, 1127 Roundelay Road East, Reynolds-

REUNIONS burg, OH 43068. Phone (614) 8681435. E-Mail: marvinrunyon@sbcglobal.net 6th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment. 8-11 August 2013. Fairborn, OH. Contact: John Howdeshelt, 778 Eagledale Circle, Kettering, OH 45429. Phone (937) 435-0669. EMail: mamahowdy@yahoo.com 24th Infantry Division Assn. 1821 September 2011. Dayton/Fairborn, OH. Contact: Don Maggio, 411 Concord Road, Fletcher, NC 28732-9734. Phone (828) 684-5931.

E-Mail: the24thidavp@aol.com 113th Ordnance (Army). 12-14 August 2011. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Gary Weaver, 46 Westwood Road, Columbus, OH 43214. Phone (614)262-6259. E-Mail: vs43214@ aol.com 304th Signal Operation Battalion.

27-29 September 2011. Branson, MO. Contact: Victor Stamos, 4412 Cedar Ave S., Minneapolis, MN 55407-3628. Phone (612) 724-1180.

E-Mail: BUDSMART1@yahoo .com 335th Radio Research Company (Vietnam). 5-9 October 2011. Florence, KY. Contact: James Mossman, 7224 Stonerun Place, Liberty Township, OH 45044. Phone (513) 779-7145. E-Mail: very_lucky@cyberdude .com 836th Engineer Aviation Battalion.

8-12 September 2011. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Evelyn Midkiff, 361 Graystone Court, Miamisburg, OH 45342. Phone (937) 847-0948. EMail: emm1628@gmail.com Band of Brothers (Vietnam). 15-18 September 2011. Covington, KY. Contact: Dan Evans, 4675 Meadowview Drive NW, Canton, OH 44718. Phone (330) 833-6841.E-

Mail: dogtordan@cs.com

6275. E-Mail: Foleyraybev@windstream.net

NAVY, MARINES & COAST GUARD

USS Mitscher DL-2/DDG-35. 2125 September 2011. Erlanger, KY. Contact: Bob Lange, 1835 Norfolk Road, Glen Burnie, MD 21061-4351.

Phone: (410) 768-0751. E-Mail: MitscherDL2@cablespeed.com

USS Cowell (DD-547). 20-23 October 2011. Ft. Worth, TX. Contact: Larry Salley, 19 Auburn Street, Greenville, SC 29609-4043. Phone: (864) 268-3365. E-Mail: lsalley2r@ bellsouth.net USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38). 23-25 September 2011. Dayton, OH. Contact: Keith Roberts, 1311 Leeson Ave., Van Wert, OH 45891. Phone: (419) 238-0309.

USS Essex CV/CVA/CBS-9/LHD2.

Inc. 11-18 September 2011. Erlanger, KY. Contact: Gordon Kreiner, 811 Creekside Drive, Lebanon, VA 24226. Phone: (276) 889-2474.

E-Mail: anngorkr@yahoo.com USS Goldsborough DDG 20. 1115 September 2011. Covington, KY. Contact: Patrick Taylor, 120 East Main Street, Eaton, OH 45320.

Phone: (937) 533-0897. E-Mail: pat@pattaylorphoto.com USS Hornet CV-8, CV-12, CVA-12, CVS-12. 14-18 September 2011.

Washington DC. Contact: Carl and Sandy Burket, PO Box108, Roaring Spring, PA 16673. Phone: (814) 2245063. E-Mail: hornetcva@aol.com Reunion site: http://wwwusshornetassn.com/ USS James E. Kyes DD 787. 1821 September 2011. Dayton, OH. Contact: Norm Neff, 3430 Ridge Avenue, Dayton, OH 45414. Phone: (937) 275-4318.

USS LST 582. 22-25 September 2011. Fairborn, OH. Contact: R. Edwin Novak, Sr., 2904 Hiss Ave., Baltimore, MD 21234-4616. Phone: (410) 665-5953.

USS John S. McCain DL-3/DDG36. 21-25 September 2011. Erlanger, KY. Contact: Ray Foley, 229 Ridgeview Drive, Cameron, NC 28326-6567. Phone: (919) 498-

USS Norfolk DL-1. 21-25 September 2011. Erlanger, KY. Contact: Bob Godas, 190 N Wisconsin Ave, North Massape, NY 11758. Phone: (516) 293-4115. E-Mail: BobG190@ verizon.net USS Northampton CLC-1. 4-10 September 2011. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Len Shults, 3708 Duquesne Drive, Montgomery, AL 36109-4772.

Phone: (334) 273-9804. E-Mail: nortnsailor1@att.net USS Orleck DD 886. 20-24 June 2011. Ft. Mitchell, KY. Contact: Destroyer USS Orleck DD 886 Assoc., PO Box 213, Randolph, VT 05060.

Phone: (802) 728-9860. E-Mail: robonavy@yahoo.com USS Passumpsic AO 107. 21-25 September 2011. Diluth, MN. Contact: Robert Brockman, PO Box 1632, Onalaska, TX 77360. Phone: (936) 646-5086. E-Mail: brockman@ eastex.net USS Wilkinson DL-5. 21-25 September 2011. Erlanger, KY. Contact: Frank Brennan, 2950 SE Ocean Blvd. Bldg. #3 #1, Stuart, FL 34996. Phone: (516) 690-3521. EMail:FBren147@aol.com USS Willis A. Lee DL-4. 21-25 September 2011. Erlanger, KY. Contact: Frank Graham, 44 Garland Court, Brooklyn, NY 11229-6509. Phone: (718) 934-6410. E-Mail: FrankDL4@ optonline.net Destroyer Leader Assn. 21-25 September 2011. Erlanger, KY. Contact: Mel Young, 461 West Broadway Street, Alliance, OH 44601-2323.

Phone: (330) 823-8230. E-Mail: dl2sailor@sbcglobal.net

Summer 2011 • Friends Journal

51

REUNIONS

MISCELLANEOUS Air Force Vietnam Security Police (National). 5-9 October 2011.

Fairborn, OH. Contact: Phil Carroll, PO Box 8, Gladstone, OR 97027.

Phone: (503) 353-0443. E-Mail: k9nightfighter@msn.com American X POWs. 13-18 September 2011. Dayton, OH. Contact: Linda Irvine, 50721 State Highway 410 East, Greenwater, WA 98022.

Phone: (360) 663-2521. E-Mail: linda@thereunionbrat.com Berlin for Lunch Group (74057580th Operations Sq.). 23-25 September 2011. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Michael Hushion, 2017 Sumac Court, Beavercreek, OH 45431. Phone: (937) 259-4808. EMail: mhushion@woh.rr.com B-52 Assn. 9-12 August 2012. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Wayne Pittman, PO Box 340501, Beavercreek, OH 45434-0501. Phone: (937) 4261289. E-Mail: kwavn@earthlink.net B-52 DFCS Assn. 13-16 June 2013.

Fairborn, OH. Contact: Sharon Lemanek, 1326 Town Hall Road, Beavercreek, OH 45432. Phone: (937) 4268557. E-Mail: kenamel.s@fuse.net B-58 Hustler Assn. 27-30 September 2012. Dayton/Fairborn, OH. Contact: Ray Guffe, 8675 West Carol Lane, Glendale, AZ 85305.

Phone: (707) 481-5665. E-Mail: rwg1@uad1.com Blind Bat. 25-27 May 2012. Fairborn, OH. Contact: John Philson, PO Box 419, Syracuse, OH 45779.

Phone: (740) 416-1053. E-Mail: rushnpat@hotmail.com Det 8 Assn. 15-19 August 2011.

Fairborn, OH. Contact: Emerson McAfee, 1357 Red Lick Road, Berea, KY 40403. Phone: (859) 986-4362. E-Mail: emcafee@windstream.net EC-47 Assn. 25-27 September 2011. Branson, MO. Contact: J. C. Wheeler, 5648 Highway 21, Clarksville, AR 72830. E-Mail: jc@ec47. com Website: ec47.com

Nuclear Weapons Technicians Assn. 29 September-2 October 2011. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Joseph Harker, Jr., 7316 Scotts Place NE, albuquerque, NM 87109. Phone: (505) 821-6399. E-Mail: delaser@ msn.com Speckled Trout. 15-16 July 2011.

Fairborn, OH. Contact: Ron Petry, 4178 Slipperywood Place, Dayton, OH 45424. Phone: (937) 416-3558.

E-Mail: petryrd64@sbcglobal.net Ton Son Nhut Assn. 11-14 October 2012. Northern Kentucky/Dayton/ Fairborn, OH. Contact: Johnnie Jernigan, 956 Donham Drive, Beavercreek, OH 45434. Phone: (937) 426-3785. E-Mail: jernigan1@ameritech.net White House Communication Agency (Audio-Visual). 21-23 October 2011. Fairborn, OH. Contact: Kerry Pinkerton, 284 North Day Hill Road, Harvest, AL 35749. Phone: (256) 859-2999. E-Mail: pinkertonk@mchsi.com

Do You Have a Story for the Friends Journal ?

As many of you know the majority of our stories are contributed by our own Friends of the National Museum of the United States Air Force. We are currently in need of stories from the Korean War era, the Southeast Asia War era, and the Cold War era. We also would like stories from the Persian Gulf Wars and from Afghanistan. Our goal is to be able to present a variety of Air Force related stories from all eras in which the US Air Force or its predecessors played a role. While we have many World War II stories in our backlog, we are rapidly running out of stories from the post WWII period.

So if you think you have a personal experience that you think our readers would find interesting or can help someone you know who has such an experience, please consider submitting a story to us. If you have questions please call the publishing office at (937) 6569622. We can provide guidelines to help you put together a story that will tell your story to your fellow Friends of the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Submit manuscripts to: Editor-Friends Journal, Air Force Museum Foundation PO Box 1903 Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433 or e-mail to jking@afmuseum.com

52

Friends Journal • Summer 2011

DOGFIGHT - THE GREATEST AIR DUELS OF WORLD WAR II. Edited by Tony Holmes. World War II saw the perfection of the piston-engined fighter and the emergence of the fighter pilot as modern warfare’s glamorous elite. Dogfight analyzes the histories of some of the greatest fighter aircraft, their pilots and tactics, with thrilling accounts of true combat. Covering four air forces, three theaters, and ten iconic fighters, Dogfight is the complete story of head-to-head aerial combat in World War II. Hardcover.

352 pages.

Regular Price: $25.95 SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $19.46.

US MULTI-ROLE FIGHTER JETS. by Steve Davies. Multi-role fighter jets are designed to equally perform both aerial combat and ground-attack roles, and are essential assets to the modern United States Air Force and Navy. In this book, Steve Davies examines some of the most iconic and recognizable aircraft of the last 30 years - the Strike Eagle, the Viper, the Hornet, the Super Hornet, the Raptor, and the Joint Strike Fighter - combining combat stories with stunning photography of the aircraft. These jets played a vital role in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom seeing extended service throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century.

Hardcover. 270 pages Regular Price: $35.00 SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $26.25.

FIGHTING COLORS - THE CREATION OF MILITARY AIRCRAFT NOSE ART. by Gary Velasco. Since the early days of flight, military pilots have personalized aircraft with artistic creations, giving each plane a unique identity and aircrews a sense of pride in “their war bird.” This comprehensive volume covers the technical aspect on how nose art was applied to vintage military aircraft, with hundreds of fighters and bombers pictured. The uses of materials, supplies, and development of nose art designs are discussed with surviving nose artists. Fighting Colors is a graphic tool for all enthusiasts of pinup and vintage aircraft nose art. Softcover. 297 pages.

Regular Price: $34.95 SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $26.21.

SKY WALKING - AN ASTRONAUTS MEMOIR. by Tom Jones. The author was a distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. During his career, he piloted B-52s, earned a doctorate in planetary science, and worked for the CIA. He entered NASA’s astronaut program in 1990 and flew four missions on the space shuttle. Ultimately, Jones spent fifty-two days orbiting the Earth, including more than nineteen hours outside during extravehicular activity — that is sky walking. Softcover. 369 pages.

Regular Price: $14.99 SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $11.24.

HELL HAWKS! by Robert F. Dorr and Thomas D. Jones. This is the story of the 365th Fighter Group that flew their P-47 “Thunderbolts” in close support of Eisenhower’s ground forces as they advanced across France and into Germany after the D-Day invasion. Living in tents amid the cold mud of their front-line airfields, the 365th’s daily routine had much in common with the GIs they supported.

Softcover. 336 pages.

Regular Price: $17.99 SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $13.49 BOEING B-47 STRATOJET - A PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY. by Mark Natola. The Boeing B-47 was produced in larger numbers than any post-World War II American bomber. A total of 2,042 were built. With more than 25 variants, the B-47 was the backbone of the Strategic Air Command throughout the 1950s. Author Mark Natola takes you from the development of the first XB-47 through the final YB-47C and B-47Z concept aircraft. Softcover.

128 pages.

Regular Price: $19.99 SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $14.99.

AIRCRAFT COLORING BOOKS - JET FIGHTERS, AIRPLANES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR, AND ANTIQUE AIRPLANES.

by John Batchelor, Carlo Demand, and Peter Copeland. These coloring books will provide hours of entertainment for your young aviation enthusiast. All the famous fighters, bombers, and cargo aircraft are here for your young artist to color. Softcover.

Regular Price: $3.95 each SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $2.96 each

Note: Special Prices in this magazine are only good thru 30 September 2011.

No other discounts apply.

F-117 NIGHTHAWK PLASTIC MODEL AIRPLANE Your young modeler will really enjoy assembling this model of the F-117 stealth fighter. Skill Level 1. No gluing or painting required. Kit includes desk top display stand and peel ‘n stick decals with custom shark nose and lightning bolts. 1:72 scale. Length 11” and Wingspan 7¼”.

Regular price: $15.90 SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $11.92.

F-117A NIGHTHAWK T-SHIRT This exciting T-Shirt featuring the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter would make a great gift for that aviator relative or friend this summer. It’s made of 100% pre-shrunk cotton. Comes in Sm, Med, Large, Extra Large, and XXL. Regular price: $12.75 (S, M,L, XL) SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $9.56.

Regular price: $14.95 (XXL) SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $11.21.

INFANT ROMPER Check out this neat infant romper that features a little airplane on it and the words “Just Plane Cute.”

It fits most 6-12 month infants and features a snap closure. It’s made of 100% cotton with appliqued design.

Regular price $18.50 SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $13.87.

INFANT BIB This infant bib will surely put a smile on your little one at dinner time. It is machine washable and has a velcro closure. It has an appliqued design and says “Just Plane Hungry” on the front of it. 100% cotton.

Regular price: $11.50 SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $8.62

POW-MIA BALL CAP “POW-MIA...You Are Not Forgotten” patch design is embroidered on the front. Hat comes with an adjustable strap. One size fits all.

Regular price: $9.95 SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $7.46

POW-MIA FLAG Show your patriotism by flying this POW-MIA Flag to show you have not forgotten the sacrifice of the POWs and MIAs from all of America’s wars. Flag is approximately three by five feet. Made of 100% polyester. Flag has two metal grommets for hanging.

Regular price: $9.95 SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $7.46

Note: Special Prices in this magazine are only good thru 30 September 2011.

No other discounts apply.

SR-71 BLACKBIRD PLASTIC MODEL AIRPLANE This easy to build model of the SR-71 Blackbird will delight any young model builder. Skill Level 1. No gluing or painting required. Kit includes peel ‘n stick decals and a desk top display stand. 1:110 scale. Length 11 7/8” and Wingspan 6 1/8”.

Regular price: $15.90 SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $11.92.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE USAF DVD This guided tour DVD of the National Museum of the USAF is a great way to take the museum home with you! This is a story of courage & valor, of vision & innovation and of the men and women that answered the call in times of need. It is in their honor this museum stands as record to their achievements. Join us as we explore the rich heritage of our United States Air Force in this 65 minute program.

Regular price $24.95 SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $18.71.

SR-71 BLACKBIRD SPOTTER MUG This 13 oz. coffee mug featuring the SR-71 Blackbird will make a fine addition to your aviation coffee mug collection. Each mug comes with a front, side, and above image of the airplane on one side. On the other side it list facts such as wing span, speed, ceiling, range, crew, use, and a brief history of the airplane. Dishwasher and microwave safe.

Regular price: $7.50 SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $5.62

VIETNAM WAR TIE This beautiful Vietnam War tie from the Ties of Honor collection will make a fine gift for any Southeast Asia War veteran.

Handmade. 100% silk. Size approx.

58”L by 3½”W. Regular price: $36.95 SPECIAL MEMBER’S PRICE: $27.71.

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Earl’s Glory - William D. Hinsch

Five Aces; Fifty MiGs - Nixon Galloway

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ART COLLECTION

Japanese Ceremony - Mario Cooper

The 57th Anniversay of the Inchon Landings - John Thompson Memories- Bobbie Moline-Kramer

A Time to Pause and Reflect The men and women of the United States Air Force served proudly during the Korean War (1950-1953) and in the decades following the armistice.

As part of the continuing effort to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War and America’s continuing support of the Republic of Korea, the National Museum of the United States Air Force is displaying works of art that help interpret the Air Force’s Korean experience. The art is on loan from the United States Air Force Art Program.

Beauteous Butch - Mark Waki

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WW I Ambulance, National Musem of the USAF