INVADER Vol 38 Issue 3 Winter 2020-2021

Vol. 38 No. 3

Winter 2020-2021

Also in this issue: -Night Bomber, B-57G -Col Vincent LaBerge -20mm Cannon, A-26 -News Whiteman AFB

Redbirds in the Korea War

Winter 2020-2021

that several other navigators flew with him as well, Roger Bauman, George Knight and Denny Nielsen come to mind. Some of you have heard my stories about flying with Gen. Yeager at the reunions.

Speaking of George Knight, he recently sent me a copy of a book his son discovered doing some research on Vietnam, “B-57 Canberra Units of the Vietnam War”,

by T. E. Bell. It was first published in 2011, and is well written, with many photographs, featuring many names and photographs that those of us from that era will recognize. I highly recommend it.

This Invader issue features an excellent article, by Addison Thompson about he and his sensor operator, Dave Clark’s experiences flying the B-57G model out of Ubon, Thailand. Ad was initial cadre on the G model, and went on to a very successful career as a USAF test pilot, and later, a test pilot with Rockwell and Boeing.

Dave Clark and his wife, Nancy, were regular attendees at our reunions, and Dave was the association Vietnam rep at the time of his passing in 2019.

Bob Koehne

President’s Corner

Another Vietnam era Reaper alumni with an interesting background, Curt Farley, is joining our association.

After the Air Force, Curt had a long, successful career as an American Airlines captain, and in his spare time performed in air shows across the country in his own MIG-17. Curt lives on an air park in Texas, with his Stearman and plans on attending our next reunion, so we will be able to ask him about all of his experiences.

It is only a few days before Christmas and the day of winter solstice as I sit down to write these comments.

Here in the Pacific northwest at just north of 47 degrees latitude, winter solstice means only eight hours of official daylight. That, along with our reputation for plentiful rain, makes for some rather dreary days.

Except for snow sports, most activities shift indoors anyway, but the continuing virus pretty much means indoors with family only. We are trying to make the best of it, and hope all of you are too. I’m getting quite a few questions about our next reunion. When we canceled the September 2020 reunion, we were thinking Spring 2021. Given that the general population probably won’t be vaccinated until May, I think that September/ October 2021 is the better option at this time. We are still planning on San Antonio.

It was sad to hear of Gen. Chuck Yeager’s recent death at age 97. As many of you know, he was one of the 405th Fighter Wing commanders at Clark Air Base during the Vietnam war. Interesting that two bomber squadrons, the 8th and 13th, were assigned to that wing. Gen. Yeager was the 2nd ace to command that wing during my two years there, the other being Col. Vermont Garrison. It was my honor to have flown B-57 missions with both of them. In fact, my last combat sortie in Vietnam was with then Col. Yeager. I know

Chuck Yeager with B-57 at 405th Fighter Wing commanders at Clark Air Base in the Philippines.

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Continuing on with Reaper Alumni with interesting careers, former 13th commander (2005-2006) Thomas A. Bussiere, is now Lt. General Bussiere, vice-commander of US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), one of eleven unified combatant commands in DOD. They are responsible for strategic deterrence, global strike, and DOD’s global information grid. The command occupies the old SAC headquarters at Offutt AFB, and their shield closely resembles that of SAC.

Another old workhorse, the nearly 60 year old B-52, is finally going to get the new engines that have been talked about for decades, along with a host of other improvements in range, power, sensors, and bomb carrying capacity that will provide the equivalent of 22 extra bombers. Many of these upgrades are well under way and are significant enough that the “H” model may become an “H+” or “J”. The crew size will likely drop to four. The over engineered Boeing frame on the BUFF has decades of structural life remaining. There are three companies vying for the engine contract, and all the choices have already proven themselves on other airframes. I’ll keep you posted.

There was an article in the October AF magazine that might be of interest to A/B-26 fans. It was about operation “Farm Gate”, a classified USAF operation in Vietnam 1961-1963, whereby propeller driven airplanes, including four B-26’s (“borrowed” from the CIA) flew out of Bien Hoa with Vietnamese markings, and always with a Vietnamese national onboard, who was always designated as “in command” even though that national may have been a file clerk.

Donald W. Kasson October 1, 2020 Radar Mech, 1953-54

It’s my honor to continue to serve as your association president. May all of you and your families work through these difficult times, and I look forward to seeing many of you at our next reunion.

Rest In Peace

Charles J. Hilton Jr. March 2, 2020 Crew Chief, 1954-55

Alfred A. Head August 5, 2020 Crew Chief, 1950-52 Kenneth W. Epling October 18, 2020 Navigator, 1955-57

The INVADER is the official newsletter of the 13th Bomb Squadron Association, a non-profit organization. The INVADER is published three times yearly for the benefit of the Association members. Views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Association or of the Department of the Air Force. *Members of the 13th Bomb Squadron Association must maintain contact with the Association or “after two years of not communicating with the Association, a member will no longer receive the INVADER or the Directory”.

Editor: Don Henderson, e-mail: Don@HendersonGDI.com Cover Photo: Headquarters, Far East Air Forces APO 925 (1 February 1952) Fifth Air Force, Korea --- Major A.R. Fortney, Osceola, Wis., checks the scythe blade of ‘Oscar’ to see how sharp it is.

Major Fortney commands the 13th Bomb Squadron of the 3rd Bomb Wing in Korea. Besides administrative duties, Major Fortney has flown 44 combat mission as a pilot of a U.S. Air Force B-26 Invader, light bomber. Regardless of the weather, the Wing strikes nightly against enemy supply lines in North Korea. (U.S. Air Force Photo) AF-150-6

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Officers of the 13th Bomb Squadron Association Robert R. (Bob) Koehne 23332 SE 225th St. Maple Valley, WA 98038

1st Vice President/

Ron Silvia 20 Green Lane Assonet, MA 02702-1410

2nd Vice President

James R. (Bob) Parks 3219 Tavern Oaks St. San Antonio, TX, 78247

Secretary

Edward T. (Tighe) Carvey 6980 Olympic View Ct. Silverdale, WA 98383

Treasurer

Bill Hamann 1898 SE Coronado lane, Stuart, FL 34996-5140

Locator Data Manager

Charlie Breitzke 8 Hobkirk Drive Bella Vista, AR 72715-3404

Member at Large Korea

Ron Jarrett 10349 416th Avenue Britton, SD 57430-5005

Member at Large GWOT

Major Nicholas Anderson, “Wolf �

13th Bomb Squadron, Whiteman AFB, MO

President

Please note, due to the sad passing of Ed Connor and Dave Clark, we are without representation for both WWII and Vietnam War-era Veterans of the 13th Bomb Squadron Association. Since this is an appointed/volunteer position, if you are interested in representing the Association, please contact Bob Koehne at info@13thbombsquadron.net for consideration.

As always, we are looking for your stories and photos for future issues of the INVADER, please contact Don Henderson with your stories and photos so that we can continue to build the history of the 13th Bomb Squadron!

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13th Bomb Squadron Whiteman AFB, Missouri Reapers Past and Present These have been two strange and busy years for the 13th Bomb Squadron at Whiteman AFB, Missouri. 2019 started off fairly normal as we completed our first year as the 13th Bomb Squadron. A transition of command occurred in June 2019 with Lt Col Michal P. “Ox” Polidor assuming command. The Reapers completed 103 cross country flights and 3457 sorties for 3810 hours of flying during calendar year 2019 to maintain continuous training hours and support official functions.

In November 2019, the Reapers teamed with our Whiteman Base Community Council sister city (California, Missouri) to support the Missouri Girls Town (MGT) for Christmas.

MGT is a place for abandoned and troubled girls to help shape a positive future. The unit donated a plethora of gifts which culminated in each girl receiving several that were on their wish lists. The volunteers for the Reapers wrapped gifts and completed a community service project by putting new bed frames and beds together for all the residents of MGT.

The Reapers initiated quarterly exercises with Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC), Talon Fury, to improve our capabilities and train the best bomber pilots in the Air Force. These exercises consist of a week-long training (approximately 32 sorties a week) with the JTACs. They help pass coordinates for various targets to help improve B-2 proficiencies and introduce basic skills needed in the Combat Air Force (CAF). These training events will continue for the foreseeable future.

2020 started out normal and then transitioned in March into COVID19 protocols due to the pandemic. All personnel were directed to telework to avoid exposure to the virus.

The mission had to continue so a schedule was developed to make sure we met our flying training hours and we continued to educate and grow our world class B2 bomber pilots.

During the pandemic we still managed 38 cross country flights, 3043 sorties and 3325.7 hours of flying. We created a varied schedule that included teleworking from home when you were not flying or in academics. The unit transitioned back to semi-regular hours in July where we remain focused on our flying and training.

One of the unit’s favorite past times is representing the Air Force during flyovers. These outreach events serve as an excellent recruitment tool and show support for our local community and nationwide partnerships. The Reapers flew over many outstanding games this season to include Pittsburgh Steelers and Nebraska Cornhuskers games. Lt Col Nichola “Rogue” Polidor was the first female to fly a B2 Stealth over the 2020 Rose Bowl along with having the first Latina female Tournament of Roses president.

The unit again stepped up and assisted the Missouri Girls Town by donating a set of corn-hole boards to auction off for a fundraiser and virtually donating Christmas gifts via the internet due to the pandemic.

2021 will be another very busy year as we are receiving several new pilots for Initial Qualification Training. They will be the next rotation to become “The Best Bomber Pilots in the World”!

Pictured Left (left to right): Capt Joshua Bradley, 13th Bomb Squadron,and Missouri Girls Town Executive Director, Jenny Preiss.

Pictured Right: JTAC from Ft Hood, Texas working a UH-60 pickup for exercise Talon Fury 21.1.

Pictured below (left to right): Capt Jordan Tencati, Stephanie Vollmer (MGT Director of Development), A1C James Madsen, Lt Col Michal “Ox” Polidor, Lt Col Nichola “Rogue” Polidor, A1C Elisa Jent, A1C Joshua Chesler, SSgt Jonathon Barrow, SrA Mackenzie Zipfel, MSgt (Ret) Amy Pringle, SrA Chardarius Alex, Civ Angel Arnold, Mr. Tony Roop, Mr. Joe Scallorns and Mrs. Fran Scallorns.

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Col Vincent R. LaBerge (Ret USAF)

by Robert LaBerge

The photo to the right is my father, Vincent R. LaBerge on his 101st birthday last year (2019) with one of his great granddaughters.

The second photo below shows my dad and my mother at Finchhaven, New Guinea (proper spelling is Finschhafen in Papua, New Guinea) during WWII. This picture was taken after their wedding.

The following photos three photos are from his time with the 13th Bomb Sq in Korea 1952/53The photo at the bottom was labeled “orderly room Jan 1953.” The last photo is from the Vietnam War, taken at Danang in 1965. The following is his obituary:

must have been a pretty good pilot—as well as lucky. To my knowledge he only crash-landed one aircraft in his career.

That was a P-47 that he belly-landed on a PSP [pierced steel planking] runway….”

In 1944, while in the Pacific, LaBerge met and married his wife, Dorothy, a U.S. Army operating room nurse, who was serving in New Guinea.

They had two sons, and had been married for sixty-five years, prior to her passing in 2009.

A veteran of both the U.S. Army Air Corps and the United States Air Force, LaBerge saw action in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam during his twenty-nine-year career, and flew over fifty different aircraft, from biwing trainers to the F-100 and F-4.

OBITUARY Colonel Vincent R. LaBerge, USAF Ret. and former Commander of the 13th Bomb Squadron (19521953), took his last flight— on angels’ wings—April 29, 2020, two months shy of his 102nd birthday on June 19th.

In conversations with Robert about his father’s tour in Korea with the 13th Bomb Squadron, thenMajor LaBerge commented that, “The night flying was difficult, but satisfying.”

Vincent R. LaBerge enlisted in 1942 with the Army Air Corps (AAC) during WWII. After completing pilot training, he served more than two years in the Pacific, both as a Depot Test Pilot and flying planes from Australia to New Guinea.

His son, Robert LaBerge, commented, “…He

During Vietnam, LaBerge was the senior advisor to the Vietnamese Air Force A-1-E (Skyraider) Wing at Da Nang, and flew numerous missions in 6

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the newspaper, “… [he] enjoys meeting up with fellow pilots at weekly ‘Bagels and Bologna’ events.” In later years, LaBerge would use his cell phone to keep in touch with family and friends around the country—one of his regular calls was to his friend and 13th Bomb Squadron gunner, CMSGT Carl E. Bryant USAF Ret. in Nashville, Tennessee. The chats were usually brief, and ended with his signature sign off, “God Bless.”

(Note: Carl Bryant, passed away on October 15, 2009.)

May God Bless You—Vincent R. LaBerge—hero and defender of peace worldwide.

the A-1-E throughout I Corps. (Note: Located in the northern part of South Vietnam, the I Corps Tactical Zone was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), the army of the nation state of South Vietnam.)

In notifying the 13th about his father’s death, Robert said that LaBerge had enjoyed his retirement—hunting, fishing and traveling in his truck and trailer throughout Mexico, Canada and the USA. LaBerge has spent the last 52 years living in Rancho Bernardo in San Diego, California, where on his 100th birthday, he was celebrated in the local paper. At that time, he told

At K-8 with the 13th Bomb Squadron during the Korean War.

Back row: Capt Michael W. Burr, Capt Kenneth B. ‘Ken’ Beaird, Capt Peter M. Hegseth, Maj Robert F. C. Winger. Front row: Maj JC Mayers, Lt Henry ‘Butch’ Viccellio Jr., Col VR Laberge.

From Official USAF A-1 Skyraider Training Class Photographs website. https://skyraider.org/skyassn/classpics/hurlphot.htm

During the Vietnam War at Danang in 1965

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Red Birds

-Johnathan Clayborn, Invader Historical Foundation

The story of Project Redbird is one that is not well technology to find trains on moonless or overcast known, even now, nearly 70 years later. Much of nights using a unique set of sensors in the nose. The onthe general details of this project come from the the-scene project officer, whose name is lost to history, late, great, Charly Hinton. A lot of the specifics that gave his name to the only aircraft to have a two letter tail fill in the gaps have come from months of personal identifier - “Mc”. What is interesting, and confuses many research on the subject. people at first glance, is that all three of the Redbirds bore the The story of Project tail letters Mc. Redbird begins in the summer of 1952. One During normal nighttime B-26 Invader is sent operations when the moon to Hill Air Force Base was out the B-26 Invader to undergo Top Secret pilots could get low and modifications to turn hug the ground to find the it into a specialized trains by sight. But in bad hunter. By 25 July 1952 weather or moonless nights the Redbird plane had prevailed the trains could run the initial conversions all night without fear of being complete and were tested Jerry Neville poses beside the 13th Bomb Squadron’s Redbird. Note obliterated by the air crews at Hill AFB in the US overhead. the unusual frame of the nose. before being deployed Obviously the enemy couldn’t be permitted to get to Korea. In November 1952 the planes arrived material to the front and the trains had to be stopped in Kunsan, Korea and were attached to the 3rd no matter what. Hence the need to be able to hunt Bombardment Wing. the trains in the dark. And that specific problem was Ultimately there would end up being one Redbird addressed by this project. aircraft assigned to each squadrons in the 3rd Bomb The Pathfinder Variants, as they were called, were Wing, but efforts to ID these planes have been equipped with an infrared detection device in the nose frustrating because, apparently, they were not all converted at the same time, or even converted at the that could find the train in the dark from the locomotive heat emission. Immediately before each mission the same base. For example, while the 13th’s Redbird plane’s specialized sensors had to be packed with (41-39401) was definitely converted at Hill AFB in frozen CO-2 - dry ice – which cooled down the infrared July of 1952, the 90th Bomb Squadron’s Redbird was converted at McLellan AFB in October of 1952. equipment and garnered the best results.

Bell Telephone Labs of New Jersey was tasked with the Of note, and somewhat unusual – despite the unusual nose and unusual tail letters – was the project and assigned the mission of using new Infrared crew compliment for these planes. Typical Invader 8

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crews in Korea no paperwork in were almost always regard to the success three man crews: a of the tests except a pilot, a navigator/ two-page checklist. bombardier, and a There were no gunner. The Redbird tech reps from the planes had a crew manufacturer on the of 4 with the extra scene and apparently man being the no debriefings in sensor operator, also regard to determining a Navigator, who the success of the rode in the nose of mission or tactics. the aircraft. Riding Even the various in the nose was Monthly Squadron typically against History Reports are A 13th Bomb Squadron crew member packs the nose of the Redbird with dry ice standard operating sparse in their details procedures. Even on prior to the mission. Note that the nose tip is a wire frame and there is a socket for a of the planes, or their glass-nosed Invaders, large spotlight visible. missions and there the Navigator/Bombardier rode in the cockpit during exists no overall project report that I have been able takeoff and landings due to the danger of nose gear to locate in the United States Air Force Archives to collapse or the plane flipping over – a problem which date. was not infrequent. These secondary navigator had It is appropriate to remember that this device was no choice but to ride in the nose despite the risks. new technology at the time. Finding a train was On the missions the second navigator observed a only the first step in the mission. Although the new 3-inch scope to indicate the presence of a high heat sensors could find the train it was severely limited. source. The tactics were to fly a two-ship mission; For example, it could not determine the speed of with a Redbird plane flying low along the railroad the train, nor could it determine in which direction and the other plane circling high overhead armed the train was moving. The firebomb would mark and prepared to attack the train when located. As the the spot where the train was when located but in a Redbird passed over a locomotive the equipment matter of minutes the train would be someplace else, operator would see his scope become “spindly”, i.e., which meant the “killer” plane of the hunter-killer the scope would flash like the spokes on a wheel. pair often had nothing to shoot by the time it arrived Immediately upon recognizing the high heat source, where the firebomb was. The train would then the Redbird would fire off a firebomb to mark the require re-locating. Even when they did manage to spot. The train, having been marked by the Redbird, find the train’s general speed and direction the killer would then be attacked by the accompanying killer plane still had to contend with his inability to see and B-26. At least, that’s how the plan was supposed to attack the train while avoiding the surrounding hills work on paper. In and obstacles. practice, it was not as The Redbird Project clear cut. was highly classified.

Despite the When not in use or importance and being prepped for a sensitivity of the mission the nose was mission, the overall to be kept covered at project appears all times and photos to have not been of the plane were well managed. expressly prohibited.

Mac, the project That restriction was officer, completed sure to guarantee his missions and that someone would rotated back to the photograph it. In US in the midst of A technician works on the IR equipment aboard the 13th’s Redbird. Note the nose is fact, photos of all 3 the project, leaving now a night radar version.

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plane and of the 3rd Bomb painted up as Wing’s Redbirds “Whistler’s exist. The plane Mother” and from the 13th was set to star Bomb Squadron in a Hollywood in particular movie that never being highly got finished. It photographed. made a career Col. Sigmund on the Airshow Alexander was Circuit and a navigator that was eventually flew many of the purchased by 13th’s plane’s test The 13th Bomb Squadron’s Redbird # 41-39401 the Fantasy of missions.

Flight Museum During the year or so that Project Redbird was in Florida. It was damaged by Hurricane Andrew in carried out the planes underwent some slight Aug of 1992 and is currently being rebuild in Chino, changes. Initially, in late 1952 the planes had wire CA by Aerotraders. The plane recently completed cages on the ends of the nose. These cages covered a searchlight that was mounted in the nose. The idea a test run of the engines and can taxi. It is nearing completion. The owner, Kermit Weeks, intends to was that the second navigator in the nose could turn paint the plane in a fictional WWII paint scheme. it on when the train signal was detected and try to get a visual of the target. It was largely ineffective. In The plane from the 90th Bomb Squadron had no known name. Only 1 photo of it exists that I have 1953 the spotlight was replaced with a night fighter radar that had a solid dome cover. The idea was that been able to locate. It was serial number 44-35991. the train would be big enough to track with the radar. It was a glass-nosed C model and was converted to the Pathfinder variant. It was dropped from the It is unclear how successful this effort was.

USAF Inventory in February 1954 and loaned to The specific sensor package in the Redbird planes the French Air Force on 16 Feb 1954 for service in were the AN/AAS-1, which are classified as Airborne Infrared Search and Detection Equipment. Indochina. There it served with the 1/19th Bomb Group, “Gascogne”, and was based out of Tourane Version 1 of this technology is the Redbird Project.

(Da Nang). It was returned to the USAF on 10 Nov They have produced 52 versions to date, many of 1955 and was scrapped. them produced by Raytheon. They were used in The plane from the 8th Bomb Squadron was called the B-57G flown by the 13th Bomb Squadron in “We Go Pogo”. In his Invader book, Aviation Vietnam and they have also been used in platforms such as the F-18 Hornet and the RQ/MQ-1 Predator Historian Scott Thompson asserts that this plane is serial number 44-34153. However, the photographs drone. of the plane seem to show it to begin with 44-356, The Redbird plane assigned to the 13th Bomb 44-358, or 44-359. The 8th Bomb Squadron monthly Squadron was simply called “Redbird”. It had no summaries for 1952 make no specific mention of nose art. It was serial number 41-39401. It started this plane. We out as an A-26B do know the model and was plane was a converted to glass nosed the glass nose C-model. If the C model. The plane is 44plane still exists 34153 then it today, although was scrapped at without the Davis-Monthan special nose. in 1958.

After Korea it Aside from the was converted squadron color into a regular differences, glass-nosed Another view of the 13th Bomb Squadron’s Redbird 41-39401 10

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The 90th Bomb Squadron Redbird, as denoted by the white trim, was serial number 44-35991. Unlike the other two Redbirds, this one was SHORAN equipped aircraft.

The 8th Bomb Squadron Redbird, “We Go Pogo” getting an engine change.

the planes also had a few other slight differences. The planes from the 8th and 13th Bomb Squadrons had gun turrets, but the plane from the 90th Bomb Squadron was a SHORAN plane. Additionally, the “C” on the Mc for the 8th and 13th planes had a single line under the letter, but the 90th plane had two lines under the C. For more information on the Redbirds, or to follow our progress documenting the B-26 Invader, please visit: www.InvaderHistoricalFoundation.com

Nose Art of the 8th Bomb Squadron’s Redbird, “We Go Pogo”. Pogo was a popular newspaper comic strip by cartoonist Walt Kelly. Pogo was syndicated to American newspapers from 1948 until 1975. Set in the Okefenokee Swamp in the southeastern United States, Pogo depicted the adventures of a cast of funny animal characters, including the title character Pogo the opossum. The strip played to both children and adults, with layers of social and political satire aimed at the adult audience.

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NIGHT BOMBER: THE B-57G Ad Thompson

First Jets to Vietnam In the early 1960s, the US government was gravely concerned about communist aggression in South East Asia, specifically in Vietnam.

U.S. advisors were assisting the military forces of South Vietnam (SVN), but after the Tonkin Gulf incident in late 1964, America’s involvement escalated quickly. A mad scramble to send U.S. jet aircraft to SVN and bolster the South Vietnamese air force also served to expand U.S. combat operations.

The first U.S. jet to initially see combat was the Martin B-57 Canberra. Two squadrons of B-57Bs stationed in Japan (with a nuclear mission) were moved to Clark Air Base in the Phillipines and converted to a conventional role. A few days after the Tonkin Gulf incident, the 13th Squadron was ordered to Bien Hoa, SVN. At first, the aircraft were merely a show of force, flying reconnaissance and courier missions. However, they suffered considerable damage from VC attacks on the base. Finally, in early 1965, the 8th and 13 th were cleared to begin offensive operations.

Take Back the Night Many effective daytime ground attack missions were conducted by 8 th and 13th air crews. However, the U.S. needed a capability to prevent North Vietnamese regulars and Viet Cong guerillas from moving troops and supplies at night and during bad weather.

Consequently, several new projects were soon underway, developing high-tech systems to “take back the night.” One of the more promising was Project Tropic Moon.

As a pod fitted with Low Light Level Television (LLLTV) and laser range-finder, Tropic Moon initially was carried under the wings of four A-1E Skyraiders. Encouraging results led to a Tropic Moon II project, with units mounted on the wings of three B-57Bs. These projects demonstrated a potential for single-aircraft, armed reconnaissance at night. A decision was made to convert a full squadron of B-57s to a new model, the B-57G. This variant incorporated the LLLTV and laser rangefinder taken from Tropic Moon systems, as well as a new Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) and forward-looking radar with a moving target indicator (MTI) feature. Sixteen B-57s were pulled from service and sent to Martin Marietta in Baltimore, MD, for modification. Meanwhile, other B-57B, C and E models also were being converted for duty in South Vietnam to replace combat losses and the sixteen jets being modified to G-models.

The 13th Sq. was inactivated in SVN, due to losses, and reestablished at MacDill AFB, FL. The unit started flying the new B-57 G, equipped with FLIR, LLLTV, MTI radar and laser systems mounted under a new, bulbous nose radome. G-models also included state-of-the-art ejection seats, foam-filled fuel tanks

and additional armor plating around the cockpit. None of these modifications improved the look, gross weight or aerodynamics, and greatly reduced the B-57’s range, due to increased weight and drag.

One of the more innovative mods was a dispenser installed in the weapon bay.

This modular unit resembled a huge egg crate with 21 square holes containing 21 cases of bomblets. Intended to be the primary weapon for interdicting operations on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, it proved to be of little use and was soon abandoned.

I joined the newly reestablished 13th Squadron, one of only two pilots with the rank of captain. Because the B-57 community was somewhat inbred, “you couldn’t go unless you’d already been.”

Consequently, most of the 13th pilots were majors and lieutenant colonels, many with previous combat experience in the B-57. Soon after I checked out in the B-57G, I was made an instructor pilot and sent TDY to the Tactical Air Warfare Center at Eglin AFB, FL, to conduct operational testing of the modified jet and its sensor systems.

Not long before the squadron moved to Southeast Asia, someone wondered if Tropic Moon’s laser range finder had the correct frequency and signal strength to serve as a target illuminator for newly developed Paveway LaserGuided bombs (LGB). If it was, a single jet could carry both the bombs and the target illuminator. So, several of us flew over sensors designed to detect our lasers. Successful results from that one-night test mission set in motion plans for a new and better weapon system.

After the jets were tested at Eglin AFB—and a lot of planning, training and testing by the “new” 13th Squadron completed—we launched a two-week, island-hopping journey across the Pacific to Ubon Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand. Now assigned to the USAF’s Tactical Air Command (TAC) 8th Fighter Wing, we reinstalled equipment that had been removed for the ferry flights and began combat operations.

The first sorties were flown in daylight, familiarizing us with the terrain over which we would be operating at night. We flew the entire length of Eastern Laos, from the Plain of Jars in the north to Pakse in the south. No one fired at us, during daytime flights, but that changed when we started night missions. Soon, being shot at by 23mm, 37mm, 57mm, and larger caliber guns became routine.

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Funny Bomb in B-57G bomb bay

New Bombs For An Old Jet

Veterans of earlier B-57B missions in South Vietnam flew the first night combat sorties, carrying the modular dispenser. Thanks to a poor bomblet dispersal pattern, seven of the system’s 21 containers had to be delivered on each pass to have a reasonable probability of hitting a targeted truck. Even with a solid hit, bomblets generally didn’t cause sufficient damage to destroy the truck. Coinsequently, those dispensers were removed from all the jets and replaced by the tried-and-true M-36 “Funny Bomb,” which had proven to be the most successful truck-killer. Developed to ignite fires in Japan, this WW2 weapon was a canister bomb similar to Cluster Bomb Units (CBU). Nicknamed “funny bombs,” the 900-lb. M-36 was a combination of incendiary devices and CBUs—182 thermite bomblets that burned so intenesely that one might believe they could ignite dirt. A single bomblet could set a truck afire and destroy it.

The downside for night operations was the brilliantly white blaze lasted 20-30 minutes, destroying our night vision and overloading the aircraft’s sensors. To avoid these issues, I would drop on a suspected target, and, if there was no secondary explosion of ammunition or POL, look for other targets.

Later, we’d return to count burning or burned-out hulks.

Since the B-57G operated as a single-ship, and all ordnance dropped in Laos had to be controlled by a forward air controller (FAC), all 13th pilots also were certified to serve as our own FACs.

The laser range-finder testing we had done at MacDill started paying off, when new laser-guided Mk 82 bombs started arriving.

I much preferred these to the M-36s, because the 500-pounders exploded with no residual thermite fires to destroy night vision. Our sensors also enabled adjusting aim-point crosshairs, while a guided bomb was in flight.

The new system was optimized for level, ballistic deliveries from 3,000 to 5,000 feet. Our sensors weren’t gimbaled beyond 90 degrees—looking straight down—but the LGBs required keeping our laser focused on the target, until impact. This meant the bomb often exploded well behind the jet. I found that starting a shallow dive, after bomb release, enabled holding crosshairs on-target until impact. Soon, we were successfully nailing convoys by dropping an LGB on the lead truck, then using M-36s to finish off the others.

USAF & Navy Combat Fire Power Demonstration For mission-planning purposes, Laos was divided into several geographic work areas to prevent interference. Our missions were fragged to a specific area, ensuring we were the only bird working that zone. One night, a Navy aircraft requested clearance into my work area to strike a target its crew had spotted on its moving target indicator (MTI) radar. The Navy A-6 had an excellent MTI radar—much better than we had on the B-57G. We hadn’t spotted any targets, so I got out of his way and cleared him in hot. Because Navy crews were banned from taking ordnance back to the boat, the A-6 pilot said he’d salvo his entire load. I asked what he was carrying. He calmly reported having 24 Mk 82s (500-lb. bombs) and four Rockeyes (500 lb. armor-piercing cluster bombs).

Whoa! “Wait until I get back over there,” I radioed. “I want to see this!” He did, and it was like watching a mini-B-52 bomber strike—a storm of violent explosions. He thanked me for the target and prepared to depart. Since I was close to bingo fuel and hadn’t seen anything worth hitting, I told the Navy jock I was going to drop my bombs on his target.

“What do you have on board?” he asked.

“Four funny bombs.” He immediately asked me to hold up, so he could swing back and watch. That was the only time I dropped four funny bombs at the same time. It was spectacular! And it definitely impressed our Navy brethren.

A Civilian Flying A Combat Mission As previously mentioned, the MTI radar on our B-57s never performed as well in Vietnam as it did, during testing in the US. The integrated system’s radar was supposed to detect a moving target at sufficient range to get cross hairs on it, use the LLLTV or FLIR to refine the aim point, and deliver the weapon. It never really worked, despite tweaking at the manufacturer’s factory and in our avionics shop. Finally, a Texas Instruments technical representative showed up at Ubon with orders to fly a combat mission and figure out why the radar didn’t work in the field.

I was selected to fly the experienced tech rep, probably because I was the most junior instructor pilot (IP) in the squadron. Amazed that a civilian was authorized to fly on an actual combat mission, I briefed him thoroughly, emphasizing what to do, if we didn’t make it back to base. Luckily, the mission concluded without incident, and the rep took his data back to the factory. All to no avail. The radar never did work.

Awards “Ceremony” In a Combat Zone After about a month of flying combat missions, my roommate, Dave, and I were in our room, resting up for that night’s mission.

Joe M., our squadron’s Awards and Decorations Officer, came into the room, carrying a stack of blue leather boxes under one arm.

Wearing shorts, sandals and no shirt—standard squadron-area garb in Ubon’s hot, humid climate—Joe asked if we had received our Air Medals yet. No, we hadn’t. He casually tossed one to Dave and a second to me. “Here’s yours and here’s yours. Congratulations.”

Then he was off to conduct an equally memorable ceremony for another crew. Typical for our squadron. In sharp contrast, a general officer awarded my final Distinguished Flying Cross, during a stint at Air Command and Staff College, with more than 500 fellow officers in attendance, all in Class-A blue uniforms.

Emergencies One night, when making a max-gross-weight takeoff, a right-engine fire warning light illuminated. Since we were 10 knots below the chart-predicted refusal speed, and the B-57 can be a handful to fly on one engine, I made an instant decision to abort the takeoff. The end of the runway was coming up fast, and brakes were applied as firmly as I dared to avoid locking up the wheels—but we weren’t slowing down. I stomped harder to blow the tires and stop short of the airfield lighting stanchions.

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Winter 2020-2021 Damn! No matter how hard I hammered the brake pedals, the wheels wouldn’t lock up and the tires wouldn’t blow. We rolled through the light stanchions—under-wing bombs and full tip tanks somehow missing them all—and finally stopped in the runway overrun. As I stop-cocked the engines, I ordered my GIB (Guy in Back, the sensor systems operator) to prepare for egress. As the canopy started coming up, I glimpsed one-each highly motivated GIB running past my cockpit! How he squeezed through that small gap between the barely open canopy and rail is still a mystery.

Turns out that the fire warning light was illuminated by a short in the fire-warning circuit. Further, we later learned the flight manual refusal speed was optimistic. The charts were based on estimates, not flight test data, thanks to fast-track modifications to the G model.

Another night, Dave and I suffered a complete hydraulic system failure, while flying over Laos. The B-57 can be flown without hydraulics, but there’s no hydraulic boost for the rudder, and the landing gear and brakes rely on emergency back-up systems. We headed for home and alerted the ground crew that we would be stopping on the runway, using emergency braking. Bombs were jettisoned, we landed and rolled out, slowing on the left side of the runway, after emergency brake pressure was depleted.

Because the B-57 canopy is very heavy, it either could be jettisoned or opened hydraulically with an exterior hand pump. Replacement canopies were not readily available, so I opted for the hand-pump routine. While the ground crew frantically pumped and pumped, the cockpit was heating up smartly— and the canopy wasn’t budging. Did I mention that it was getting really hot? Finally, after about the third manual pumper took over, the canopy unlocked and sloooowly opened. The night air wasn’t exactly cool, but far better than our B-57 oven.

I never did learn what caused our problem. A postflight maintenance inspection said that we hadn’t taken any ground fire.

G-model gremlins….

Dodging Bullets At Night Anti-aircraft artillery was always prevalent throughout our operating area. Since the enemy typically used tracer rounds at night, it was relatively easy to maneuver clear of the five or sevenround bursts. Even though Dave, my GIB, didn’t like his sensoraiming efforts being disrupted, he conceded that my wild gyrations were necessary to keep the jet in one piece.

Of course, to execute those life-saving maneuvers, we first had to spot the bad guys’ tracers. The closest I came to being nailed was over several major road intersections near Tchepone, Laos.

The first clue that I was being targeted was the entire cockpit suddenly glowed bright red. No, we weren’t on fire. A stream of seven 57-mm tracers was streaking almost straight up, directly in front of my right wing. That got my attention! And the ensuing violent maneuver to avoid a gunner’s subsequent burst got Dave’s attention. And it seriously hacked us off. We came back around and did precisely what we’d been cautioned not to do: look for those guns. Dave spotted them with his FLIR, I delivered a message in

the form of a funny bomb, and we dutifully departed the area.

Another close call was logged right after we entered our work areas from the west, around 20,000 feet. There were a lot of aircraft inflight every night, and with no air traffic control in that region, see-and-avoid was the rule. Consequently, I normally kept the jet’s exterior lights and anti-collision beacons on, until we were below 10,000 feet. One night, as we descended through 8,000 feet, over an area that had always been completely benign, four 57-mm guns—two on each side of our nose—opened up. I instantly rolled inverted, frantically flipping off light switches.

Dave was head-down, eyeballing his system’s scope to locate a prominent curve in a river and tweak his sensors. “What the heck are you doing?” he yelled. I was too busy to answer, intent on diving under those flaming rounds. Fortunately, the enemy gunners didn’t fire a follow-up salvo.

Yet another valuable lesson was logged between my ears: Do NOT imitate a Christmas tree, when flying into enemy territory!

However, those gunners had a few more lessons awaiting unsuspecting flight crews. Throughout most of my combat tour, our enemy typically fired tracer rounds. Thus, AAA (anti-aircraft artillery) was visible and generally avoidable. That is, until the night a smaller-caliber 23-mm changed tactics. I hated those 23-mm monsters. They consisted of four co-mounted guns, each capable of an eye-watering rate of fire. They could put considerably more iron into the sky with each burst than did larger-caliber guns. Again, I normally could deal with them, because their tracers were visible.

That warm-and-fuzzy aspect evaporated, when we were fragged to a traditionally quiet area in southern Laos.

Cruising at about 3,000 feet over pitch-black jungle, with Dave scanning for targets, 23-mm rounds suddenly exploded all around us. No tracers! That got my attention, and we hauled out of there immediately, if not sooner.

During our post-strike debriefing back at Ubon, I reported being engaged by tracerless 23 mm AAA. Intelligence officers said I must have imagined that, because nobody had ever reported the enemy firing tracerless 23 mm. Two nights later, though, the pre-mission intel briefer cautioned that “You might encounter tracerless 23 mm in that area of Laos.” Apparently, I was the first to report it, but not the last. Luckily, I never saw the nasty stuff again.

My Only Mission Working With Another FAC In the late winter of ’71, Dave and I headed for our designated work area in central Laos, a zone that had been devoid of targets recently. As I checked in with Moonbeam, our ABCCC (Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center), I heard a Covey FAC (an O-2 from Pleiku AB) requesting ordnance on a target he had located in southern Laos. Since few targets were in our assigned work area, I called Moonbeam and volunteered our services. Such an on-the-fly mission-area change was rarely approved by Moonbeam, but they said “go for it” and passed the Covey’s coordinates and a contact frequency.

The FAC said he’d located a suspected truck park and storage facility near the Mekong River. For weeks, Covey FACs had been monitoring truck traffic going into an area obscured by

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Winter 2020-2021 heavy jungle canopy, but saw none coming out. They suspected the NVA were stockpiling ammunition, POL and supplies there, because the river was too high to easily cross, due to winter storms.

As we approached the designated area, I discussed the situation with the Covey. Locked onto his scope, Dave suddenly yelled that he’d found a batch of trucks on a valley trail, “running like cockroaches, when someone turned on the lights!” We immediately went to work. The Covey FAC orbited over a nearby ridge, calling out AAA sites, as we made multiple attacks on the frantic ‘roaches. An LGB dropped on the lead truck bottled up the trail, halting the caravan. A series of funny bombs on the other trucks and the storage area triggered huge explosions and widespread fires. We soon called “Winchester” (all weapons expended) and prepared to depart. However, that Covey kept calling in additional strikes, which continued for another full day. The Covey’s subsequent BDA (Bomb Damage Assessment) report of our mission was six trucks destroyed, fifteen major secondary explosions and small secondary explosions “too numerous to count.”

An interesting small-world element from this mission: After telling Moonbeam we were checking-out and heading for home, a familiar voice came over the air. “Is that you Ad?” A pilot that I’d been stationed with two years prior had recognized my voice. He later came to Ubon for an enjoyable mini-reunion.

A few days after that successful mission, a post-strike BDA photo was posted in our Wing briefing room, labeled “SECRET.” It clearly showed truck hulks, burned out fuel drums and all manner of debris from the destroyed storage area.

But since it was classified Secret, I couldn’t have a copy of the photo. A few weeks later, I was flipping through a magazine that someone had left in our squadron lounge. There was the identical picture, without classification markings, that had been posted in our intel shop. A simple caption stated: “USAF aircraft destroyed a major NVA storage area.” Assuming I could keep that one, I ripped it out.

Nevertheless, a plan to stagger our departures was needed. In the early spring of ’71, the commander convened a meeting to execute a high-tech process for deciding who went home and when: drawing numbers from a hat. I drew number two, which meant I would be the second guy to leave, despite being on-site only nine months. Still, I had logged more than 100 missions, and replacement crews were starting to show up in the squadron.

Shortly thereafter, I boarded a big, beautiful C-130 and took off from Ubon as a passenger, not a combat pilot. The jet I’d flown to the base months before stayed behind, waiting for another crew to continue the battle. It had served me well.

About the Author

Time to Leave As the end of our combat tour approached, commanders were confronted with a dilemma. The B-57G’s unique capabilities were still in demand, but, technically, the entire squadron was eligible to rotate back to the States. Everybody had flown in at the same time, so we supposedly could all fly out at the same time. Some had to stay, though. Cambodia was heating up and the B-57Gs ultimately saw action there.

Addison Thompson graduated in the U.S. Air Force Academy’s third class (1961). After pilot training, he was assigned to Air Defense Command, Air Training Command and Tactical Air Command. He flight tested the B-57G Tropic Moon system at MacDill and Eglin AFBs, Florida, before deploying to Ubon RTAB, Thailand, and flying 105 combat missions. Later, he attended Air Command & Staff College, then USAF Test Pilot School. He spent the remainder of his USAF career as a test pilot and flight test project manager on myriad development programs, including two prototype jets. He headed several combined test forces and commanded a remote detachment of Edwards AFB. After retiring from the USAF, he spent 20 years as a civilian test pilot, ultimately serving as chief B-1B test pilot and Director of Flight Test for Rockwell International.

Following Rockwell’s merger with Boeing, he was named Director of Flight Test for Boeing’s X-32 Joint Strike Fighter candidate.

B-57 Canberras en route to Vietnam.

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Winter 2020-2021

THE 20MM CANNON EXPERIMENTJohnathan Clayborn, Invader Historical Foundation

If you ask most A-26 Invader experts what kind of armament the plane carried you would invariably get all sorts of comments about the machine guns that the planes carried, including the fact that it bristled with more machine guns than the veritable B-17. Fewer people know that the early designs of the Invader included a nose mounted 75mm Cannon (which was quickly abandoned after the first 40 planes were constructed). A handful of people may know that they also experimented with 37mm cannons during the A-26’s early days. But one thing everyone will agree on is that the cannons were never used operationally against an enemy target. And that’s right, and it’s also very wrong.

It would be more accurate to say that the 75mm and 37mm cannons were never used operationally.

However, the Invaders did use cannons against targets.

My grandfather was a gunner in Korea. He flew mostly with pilot Emil Pindzola and navigator Roy Compton.

In the handful of stories he told me about Korea he mentioned a plane with a cannon. He said that the Koreans got smart and used all kinds of tactics to protect the trains, including stretching wire across the tracks to take the wings off our planes, and hiding the trains. He said that they used to hide the trains in the tunnels

where the Invaders couldn’t reach them, then wait for the planes to run out of fuel, then venture forth when it was safe. To counter that they used a cannon to blow the locomotive engine while it was still in the tunnel, effectively trapping the train and maybe collapsing the tunnel.

Sadly, my grandfather passed away in 2011.

I am kicking myself for not asking more questions and taking better notes while he was alive. I had always assumed that the cannon he mentioned was one of the big ones – the 75mm or the 37mm. I always imagined a tank shell obliterating a railway engine. But try as I might I could never find any records of this.

Then, as I was reviewing the Unit History for 1951 something caught my eye – a listing for ammo expended during the month included 20mm rounds – a lot of them. I went back and looked and found some photos from July 1951 where an Invader had 2x 20mm cannons installed in the nose. The document didn’t list the serial number of the plane, all I could tell was that it started out as a 6-gun version. It also wasn’t clear if the 13th was the only unit to have such a plane or if every squadron received them. To date, I have not found any references of any other 20mm versions, so this seems to be the only plane equipped as such.

For about a year I pored over the records and tried to find the 18

Cont. Pg 19

Winter 2020-2021 identity of this ship, but I was never able to do so. And then a friend shared some more photos I had never seen before and I was able to make out the tail letter, which led me to a serial number and more details about the plane. Knowing what to look for I also found the plane hidden in plain sight in several other photos as well.

Some of the monthly squadron history reports are completely illegible, having faded due to time and not being preserved when scanned into the computer at the archives, but from the numbers we do have the 20mm cannons fired an average of 2,500 rounds per month while they were operational.

The photo to the right shows 2 Generals inspecting the 20mm Cannon plane during a visit to Kunsan Air Base. Note that the installation photos show the plane as being all black – and in later photos it is. I had initially overlooked this photo because the plane was silver, but then I noticed that the nose was all black and the plane had mis-matched guns and I knew that it was the 20mm Cannon plane, but I did not have any details that could ID the plane from this photo.

In the fall of 1951, a few months after the guns were installed, the A-26s of the 13th Bomb Squadron switched from a silver paint scheme to a black paint scheme to better align with their task of night-time attacks against enemy shipping and supplies.

This photo was the one that allowed me to ID the plane.

Clearly visible in the foreground is the unusual nosegun arrangement. I noted that it was parked next to a 90th Bomb Squadron plane and that there was some kind of ordnance display laid out in front of the plane.

This was an image I had seen before, but it took some digging to find the match.

These two photos above were taken on the same day as photo on the top of the page. It was some kind of display for another inspection. There was an 8th Bomb Squadron plane, this plane from the 13th, and the 90th’ Bomb Squadron’s venerated oldtimer “Fly-By-Night” with more than 250 missions to her credit. The first photo showed what was laid out in front of the plane and confirmed the strange nose guns. I also found the second photo, which showed that the 13th 20mm plane was Hotel Tail. That yielded me two additional photos of H-Tail, in color.

In one photo she is the first plane in the row, serial number 44-34689. The 19

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Winter 2020-2021 unusual nose guns are clearly visible in this photo.

Having the serial number allowed me to research what became of this plane. On 8 July 1952, almost a year exactly after getting the 20mm guns, the plane was lost on a night mission. The briefed mission was a night intruder operation targeting the main supply route between Kangdong and Singye, known as Red 7. Approximately one hour before midnight, the crew made radio contact with an air controller

(call sign Shirley) on Kunyonp-yong do (island), reporting they were over the inbound checkpoint and proceeding on course without difficulty. However, the crew made no further contact and failed to return to base. The next morning on July 9, the aircraft was reported missing. All searches yielded no results and were discontinued that evening. Nothing beyond that is known to this day and the crew still remains missing.

IN MEMORIUM

CPT. Earl Oswald Ruhlin b. 26 Dec 1918 From Bangor, ME

CPT. Holman Calvin Rawls, Jr b. 5 May 1919 From Norfolk, VA

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A1C Robert Raymond Mase b. 12 Dec 1932 From Blossburg, PA

Winter 2020-2021

Whiteman AFB Graduates 10th ever Female Stealth Bomber Pilot

By Chelsea Ecklebe, 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --

“Seeing more female pilots in places such as the airport and grocery store helps the public realize being a pilot isn’t only a male profession,” Kram said.

Capt. Lauren Kram graduated from Initial Qualification Training, making her the tenth woman to become a B-2 Spirit pilot.

This “normalization” has come a long way, and most recent female pilots are grateful for those who have come before them.

In the B-2’s 30-year history, only 498 pilots have qualified to fly the longrange stealth bomber aircraft.

“You need to see someone The first female pilot to fly who looks like you to know the B-2 was retired Lt. Col. you can do it,” said Capt.

Jennifer “Wonder” Avery.

Lauren “Switch” Kolod, She was the 278th pilot assigned to the 393rd Bomb to qualify and is the only Squadron. “I never had, but female who has flown the that’s changing. When I put stealth bomber in combat.

Capt. Lauren Kram, a B-2 Spirit pilot, stands for a photo at Whiteman Air that helmet on, I become Force Base, Missouri, Sept. 30, 2019. Kram was the 10th female pilot to Out of the 10 female B-2 graduate from the B-2 pilot training program. This photo is edited for graphic just another pilot, which is pilots, three currently fly with design purposes. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ashley Adkins) the best thing in the world. I the 393rd Bomb Squadron so appreciate these women for paving the way and making and one is the commander of Detachment 5, 29th Training it just a little easier for me.”

Systems Squadron, at Whiteman AFB. This is the highest Paving the way was not easy for the early female B-2 number of female B-2 pilots that have been assigned to pilots, but that did not stop them from excelling in their Whiteman AFB at one time. careers, from pilot training to holding leadership positions Every B-2 pilot is a graduate of a rigorous six-month in the Air Force. training program. The Initial Qualification Training “We stuck out like sore thumbs,” Lt. Col. Jennie “Dixie” program includes 266 hours of academics, 30 exams, 46 Swiechowicz recalled. simulator missions and 10 flights in the B-2 Spirit. After graduation, the newly minted stealth pilots continue with She said it was hard for her to find her place because she Mission Qualification Training, a program designed to train wasn’t exactly one of the guys, but did not quite fit in with aviators in tactically employing the aircraft. their wives either.

The culture in the 13th and 393rd Bomb Squadrons at Whiteman AFB is ever-evolving and seeing women in the squadrons is not as unusual as it once was.

“I feel like the culture has changed dramatically from when women were first allowed to become pilots to when I went through pilot training,” Kram said. “I’m lucky because I am a female pilot at a time when it has become normalized.”

She says it is more surprising to see the public’s reaction when she is in her flight suit, because many people are not accustomed to seeing a female pilot.

“It didn’t deter me,” Swiechowicz said. “If anything, it made me want it more.”

In the bomb squadrons at Whiteman AFB, these women no longer stick out like sore thumbs. They are not characterized as “female pilots,” but are seen as the same as their male counterparts. They are all aviators who bring their talents and strengths to the most lethal aircraft in the Air Force’s arsenal.

“The airplane doesn’t care who’s flying it,” Swiechowicz says. “Flying is the great equalizer.”

For more information, visit https://www.whiteman.af.mil/ About/Whiteman-Warriors/Pilot-Vignettes/

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Winter 2020-2021

Locator’s Radar

if we can get current information. To be a little blunt, given that the last 20th century assignment to the 13th was in 1972, I figured most updates would be notification of their passing, but that’s still better than what we’ve got. Again, bluntly, since the 21st century Are you on people (B-1 & B-2) will be responsible, our Radar? shortly, for the continued existence of the Please contact Association, the hope is that contact from us Charlie Breitzke at might generate a desire to sign on.

Charlie Breitzke, Locator info@13thbombsquadron.net The major reason I didn’t start with this issue is the overwhelming number of folks I was going to use this issue to try and purify in the categories. We have roughly 1333 the database a bit and perhaps recruit some Inactives and 1166 Unknowns. I figured that new members. Unfortunately, because of the minimum information for you to see if my Covid-induced lethargy, I got started too you know anyone would be their name and late. We have a lot of folks in an Inactive or Unknown status, and I can’t help but think that the dates they were in the 13th. Their rank association members might know one or more then and duty title might be useful but would take additional room. And, I’ve got to see of those through other connections.

I was surprised this year by having more than how many Don Henderson can squeeze into a particular issue of the Invader and how I’d one person approach me to join or re-activate prioritize. their membership after many years away, so Other than that, I’m ready to go. :-) If you’ve I’m hoping we might find more folks that got any helpful hints or any thoughts on would be inclined to do so but don’t know interesting things to do with our database, let how to reach us. me know.

Thus, I was going to list those we haven’t The 13th Bomb Squadron Association wants you! heard from or about in many years to see Lt Col Belser wanted the 13th to have its own flag and he got it! We flew it at the Squadron Headquarters.

One night, one of the other squadrons took the flag and put on top of a building in Downtown Iwakuni.

A detachment of the squadron including the CO went to retrieve it. As you might guess, a good fight ensued. Needless to say the Grim Reapers got their flag back & retuned it to its rightful place!

Earl Brooks and Lt Col Joseph H. Belser display the 13th Bomb Squadron flag.

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(Photo & caption from the Earl Brooks Collection, 13th Bomb Squadron Association archives)

Winter 2020-2021

The Hot SEAT

Also if you care to donate your collection to the Editor’s Comments Association, I can facilitate that as well. I have the ability By the time you read this, we will be into the new to scan 35 mm, Negatives year. To say 2020 was a train wreck, would be an understatement. I really don’t want to look back on and slides, medium format 120 and 620 negatives as well 2020 except to mark it as a point in time that we as actual color and Black & got past and to hope for a better 2021.

White prints, printed material Every issue of the INVADER brings with it new and art. challenges and new adventures. It’s an honor for Don Henderson, Editor me to not only learn more of the squadron’s history, While looking for a cover photo to use for this issue, I turned to the 13th but to share it with all of you as well.

Bomb Squadron Association’s archive. I searched With each issue I try to come up with a theme to through both the digital and analog archives. The weave into the bigger picture that is the 104 year cover photo of Col Fortney was from one of the history of the 13th Squadron. analog collections donated to the Association by From primitive wood, metal and cloth covered biEarl Brooks. Earl not only provided us with a planes on the dirt air fields of Camp Kelly, Texas wealth of great photos, but some of his excellent in 1917 to the modern high tech environment at pen and ink illustrations as well. The 13th Bomb Whiteman AFB, Missouri with the B-2 Stealth Squadron Association’s digital archives contain Bomber, this squadron has come a long way. Soon scanned images and info that date back to 1917. the squadron will be flying the next generation Sadly a lot of the digital images were not scanned Stealth Bomber, and who knows what the future at high resolution, making them difficult to use will bring beyond that? The rich history and except as small images in the INVADER. To use legends of this squadron is like no other in the as a research tool for identifying aircraft, these low history of aviation. I feel so lucky to be a small resolution digital images are not much use since in part of that history as editor of the INVADER. If most cases you can’t make out aircraft numbers. you want to add to that history and tell your story For printing purposes to use in the INVADER, I or share your photos, the INVADER is here to help need high resolution images that are at least 300 you do it. dots per inch or higher at 100% of the size they are going to be used, for instance, the cover photo was In the last issue Perry Nuhn told the story of his a 8x10 B&W official Air Force print, probably shot training. In this issue Ad Thompson shared his with a Speed Graphic camera or other comparable B-57 experience. Your stories are an important large format camera. piece of history that should be preserved.

The technology for scanning and storage as well as I want to thank Johnathan Clayborn from the Invader Historical Foundation for joining our team the power and speed of the computers has improved dramatically between when Charley Hinton started and supplying some interesting and informative scanning member’s collections and what I have articles for the INVADER. If you or someone you I can do today, it is almost light years apart by know would like to be a part of the INVADER, comparison. This gives me a huge advantage in please let me know, I’m always looking for new building the existing digital archive and improving content from any era. the quality of the images for use in the INVADER. If you want to share your story, there are any Photo editing has improved too, not to mention my number of ways you can do it, you can hand write skills over a 45 year career can improve the quality it or type it and send by U.S. Mail, or send it in a of the scans. From a researchers perspective, the e-mail or in an attached Word document. ability to access high resolution image can easily As far as photos, slides and negatives, if you make the difference between a question don’t have the ability to scan them yourself, I and an answer. Little tidbits of can scan them for you and return them to you. information gleaned from clear high resolution scans can help bridge the 23 gaps in the history of the 13th Bomb Squadron.

13th Bomb Squadron Association

Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID West Press 85726

Charlie Breitzke 8 Hobkirk Drive Bella Vista, AR 72715-3404 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

13th Bomb Squadron’s B-26C, Redbird, #41-39401 at K8 during the Korean War. This specially equipped aircraft assigned to the 13th Bomb Squadron was simply called “Redbird”. It had no nose art. It started out as an A-26B model and was converted to the glass nose C model. The plane still exists today, although without the special nose. After Korea it was converted into a regular glass-nosed plane and painted up as “Whistler’s Mother” and was set to star in a Hollywood movie that never got finished. It made a career on the Airshow Circuit and was eventually purchased by the Fantasy of Flight Museum in Florida.

It was damaged by Hurricane Andrew in Aug of 1992 and is currently being rebuild in Chino, CA by Aerotraders. The plane recently completed a test run of the engines and can taxi. It is nearing completion. The owner, Kermit Weeks, intends to paint the plane in a fictional WWII paint scheme.