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NEW-AGE NAVAL WARFARE & WEAPONS THE AVIATION ADVENTURE — PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

ICONS, ACES & CONTRACT KILLERS FROM WW II TO TODAY

HISTORIC REUNION Paul Tibbets Flies FIFI RAID ON TRUK Destroying the Pacific Gibraltar

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ON THE COVER: The B-29 is the icon that is seen as the end of the war and the near-ending of a nation. FIFI, the CAF’s B-29, was joined by “Doc” to double the world’s supply of flying B-29s. (Photo by Scott Slocom) THIS PAGE: The very image of a simpler time. Scott Glover’s WACO 9, in the Mid America Flight Museum, reminds us of what the pioneering days of general aviation looked like.

(Photo by Tyson Rininger) FLIGHT JOURNAL (USPS 015-447; ISSN 1095-1075) is published bimonthly

by Air Age Inc., 88 Danbury Rd., Wilton, CT 06897 USA. Copyright 2018, all rights reserved. Periodicals postage paid at Wilton, CT, and additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40008153.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Go to FlightJournal.com. U.S., $29 (1 yr.); Canada, $35 including GST (1 yr.); international, $41 (1 yr.). All international orders must be prepaid in U.S. funds; Visa, MC, Discover, and AmEx accepted. EDITORIAL: Send correspondence to Editors, Flight Journal, 88 Danbury Rd., Wilton, CT 06897 USA. Email: flight@airage.com. We welcome all editorial submissions but assume no responsibility for the loss or damage of unsolicited material.

All material contained herein is protected under the terms of U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction in any form, including electronic media, is expressly prohibited without the publisher’s written permission. Copyright 2018 Air Age Inc. All Rights Reserved. ADVERTISING: Send advertising materials to Advertising Dept., Flight Journal, 88 Danbury Rd., Wilton, CT 06897 USA; 203431-9000. Email: advertising@airage.com. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: To ensure that you don’t miss any issues, send your new address to Flight Journal, P.O. Box 420134, Palm Coast, FL 32142-8685 USA, six weeks before you move.

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CONTENTS FLIGHT JOURNAL | APRIL 2018

FEATURES

10 ‹ Jet-Age Naval Warfare Not Your Granddad’s Surface Combat

COLUMNS

4 ‹ Editorial

by Lon Nordeen

6 ‹ Airdrop

22 ‹ A Reunion of Icons

58 ‹ Gallery

Paul Tibbets’s 1976 Requalification on the B-29

Still Flying after All These Years

by Budd Davisson

by Randy Sohn

64 ‹ Review Runway

34 ‹ Rental Bad Guys The USAF’s Contract Killers

by Brick Eisel

66 ‹ Tailview Dave Aiken’s Airplanes

by Sam Tipton

46 ‹ Destroy Truk!

Raid on Japan’s “Gibraltar of the Pacific”

by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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EDITORIAL

The EA-6B has been the tactical eyes and ears of the U.S. Navy battlefield since the 1970s and is being replaced by the EA-18G Growler. (Photo by Check Six/GNH)

Looking for the Unusual

O

BY BUDD DAVISSON

nce in a while, we run across a subject that is seldom discussed and that we think we should let readers in on. Of the four feature articles in this issue, three of them fall into that category.

First, when was the last time you read a pilot narrative describing the sinking of a ship when the pilot was flying a jet, not something swinging a huge propeller up front? Antiship missions did not die with V-J Day. In fact, Lon Nordeen’s piece, “Jet-Age Naval Warfare,” takes us out over the waters around Iraq, Iran, and Libya and puts us in A-6s, A-7s, and Hornets while naval aviators do what they’re trained to do.

It’s interesting stuff that most of us have forgotten ever happened.

In “Rental Bad Guys,” Brick Eisel gives us an inside peek on how our air forces, specifically the U.S. Air Force, are renting faux Russians to play bad guys during air-combat training.

Various contractors are supplying jet fighters flown by former military instructor-pilots to increase the number of aggressor training aircraft available without having to pay tax dollars for combat birds that will never actually defend the United States. This is a worldwide trend that has given rise to mini air-forces-for-hire, which replicate the performance and tactics of the forces our guys are likely to face.

For a decidedly different editorial approach to the B-29, we are running the feature “A Reunion of Icons,” written by Randy Sohn, an old friend who is universally recognized as

one of the premier warbird-checkout pilots in the world. He tells the tale of requalifying Enola Gay pilot, Paul Tibbets, in the Commemorative Air Force’s B-29 FIFI for a 1976 airshow.

It’s an interesting perspective on a pilot who made history and an airplane that helped him do it.

The war in the Pacific is often described as “island hopping,” which oversimplifies the Pacific Theater of Operations. In some areas, such as the Truk Atoll, the Japanese had been building facilities for 20 years, giving the atoll the nickname “Gibraltar of the Pacific.” The name signified both its importance and the impregnable nature it presented as a target. Being an atoll, it was not simply an island but a ring of large and small islands on which the Imperial Japanese Navy had built a number of airfields and harbors from which they could launch attacks throughout the Pacific. As such, the U.S. Navy was tasked with taking it out of the war, which was seen as being a major offensive. The deep-water-lagoon anchorage alone covered 800 square miles. Tom Cleaver’s article, “Destroy Truk!,” takes us through the initial attacks, named “Operation Hailstone” in February 1944, using the words of the pilots who were involved.

The back-page column, Tailview, is different in this issue, if only because I tell of a recent unusual personal experience that centers around WW II. It is literally a tale about a message in a bottle and an unexpected conclusion.

Have at it and enjoy.

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Editor’s note: As predicted, Barrett Tillman’s “Ten Aviation Myths of WW II” (February 2018) generated a number of “likes” and “don’t likes.” All myths have their supporters and their detractors, and we’ve presented views from both sides below.

10 Myths: Like

We welcome your comments and suggestions. Letters may be edited for brevity and clarity.

Barrett, your article in the latest Flight Journal on the myths of World War II was outstanding.

I particularly liked your intro about the Marines’ top ace being Joe Foss and putting Pappy Boyington in his proper place on the USMC ace list.

Hopefully, some readers will pick up a copy of your book on WW II USMC squadrons to read your lengthier writing on the topic. Bravo Zulu!

Cmdr. Skip Vaughn, USN, Retired

EMAIL

flight@airage.com

Thanks for your service and your comments, Skip.—BD

FACEBOOK

facebook.com/FlightJournal

understandings. However, I was troubled by the editorial choices made to retain the partisan and judgmental remarks in myth number 6 about strategic bombing assessments from “agendadriven historians.”

Louis Lavoie We agree. We should label opinions as “opinions” or leave them out.—BD

10 Myths: Don’t Like

I’m neither a “liberal or a pacifist,” whom Barrett Tillman obviously despises, but I believe, as do many eminent historians, that strategic bombing in Europe was not nearly as effective as Tillman believes. Nor has it anything to do with his idiotic claim that these historians suffer from “collective guilt.” He really needs to do some reading about World War II. And he should start with the postwar Strategic Bombing Survey, which found that something like one American bomb out of 10 landed within a mile of the intended target. The Soviet Army overran the Romanian oilfields. Our air raids on Ploieşti did almost no long-term damage to production.

Richard Warrick, Lawrence, Kansas The strategic bombing survey showed that the complex’s production was reduced nearly 90 percent before the Soviets arrived.—Barrett Tillman

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10 Myths: Don’t Like

10 Myths: Like and Agree

Nice job! Thoroughly enjoyed (and agreed with) your assessments. I’ve presented talks on a few of the topics you included (strategic bombing in Europe, Midway, Hiroshima/Nagasaki, etc.) and completely agree with your position.

And some of your myths were just plain “duhs.”

When I thought about what you concluded, the result was a resounding “Of course!”

Herb Zinn, military historian Thanks, Herb. It’s nice to hear from a professional historian.—BD

10 Myths: Mostly Like

After more than eight decades as an Air Force vet, nuclear physicist, and historian, I look forward in my geezerhood to every issue of Flight Journal. Of special value are the first-hand accounts of systems performance and of aviation events. I was particularly attracted to the “Ten Aviation Myths of WW II” piece, which, for the most part, I found consistent with my own

The article was informative, generally. However, I do think the job of debunking the myths was inadequate in that there is little support for the various arguments. For example, you state the Tuskegee Airmen had no ace. From my research and talks with some of the Tuskegee Airmen here in San Diego, they confirm that Lee Archer had five victories.

Major King, Lake Elsinore, California Archer claimed four and was credited with four.

He was made an honorary member of the American Fighter Aces Association.—Barrett Tillman

10 Myths: Really Don’t Like

With all due respect to Mr. Tillman the number 1 debunking portion of his myths article is, and rightfully should be, offensive to many readers. His comparisons to create his view are patent nonsense—which, in my opinion, brings his credulity and judgment as a genuinely objective author into question.

The entire myth piece is based on non-issues, especially the number 1 so-called myth. To compare the undeniable and honored courage and integrity of a few hundred citizens during the origins of the United States to a massive, worldwide campaign involving a hundred nations and millions of men and women against a genuinely

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Memories of Sabre Ace Harold Fischer

I thoroughly enjoyed the article

EDITORIAL

“Captured” about Capt. Harold Fischer, which appeared in the most recent issue of Flight Journal. In 1959, I was a student at Iowa State University and was a cadet in the Air Force ROTC program.

Capt. Fischer was assigned to the staff of the AFROTC detachment and taught classes to the incoming freshman AFROTC students. Those of us who were aware of his background were in awe of him—a double jet ace in Korea, POW, and survivor.

He made quite an impression on us cadets and gave us an outstanding example of what a U.S. Air Force officer should be.

Capt. Thomas E. Lowe, USAF, Retired

Editor-in-Chief Budd Davisson Executive Editor Debra Cleghorn Editor Gerry Yarrish Copy Editor Suzanne Noel CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Walter Boyne, James P. Busha, Ted Carlson, Robert S. DeGroat, John Dibbs, Jim Farmer, Paul Gillcrist, Phil Haun, Randy Jolly, Frederick Johnsen, Geoffrey P. Jones, Ron Kaplan, Peter Lert, Rick Llinares, John Lowery, George Marrett, Peter Mersky, Dan Patterson, Steve Pace, Stan Piet, Alfred Price, Warren Thompson, Barrett Tillman, David Truby, Barnaby Wainfan ART

Creative Director Betty K. Nero Designer Alan J. Palermo DIGITAL MEDIA

Web Producer Holly Hansen ADVERTISING

Thanks. We really enjoy personal memories like that.—BD

ruthless and aggressive evil is beyond ridiculous and begs belief.

I enjoy most of the factual stories, especially those with great photographs. But this issue was not one of your better efforts.

Ernest Bradford, CFI, ME, IFR, c/s “Bones,” Active 1965–1985 Thanks for letting us know how you feel, Ernest.—BD (CFI, CFII, ME, Typed P-38/B-25, Active 1958–present).

APRIL 2018 | VOLUME 25, NO. 2

photos I’ve never seen before. Awesome!

Bob Arnold, Lockport, New York

Buzz Job: Super Like

Just finished reading “Buzz Job” in the

latest issue of Flight Journal. Wow, what a rush! Roy Stafford really has a way with words. I felt like I was in the cockpit doing the flying. I enjoyed the article so much that I went right back and read it a second time.

Keep up the great work!

Terry Chamberlain Not a recommended activity, but the statute of limitations has run out, so he’s safe. —BD

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Yes! More cockpit photos!

Buzz Job: Like

I have been a long-time subscriber of Flight Journal. It was great to read about something funny in the article “Phantom Buzz Job.” I laughed the entire time regarding the dialogue between the crew and the trucker. As a former U.S. Air Force veteran, I appreciate the great stories. This was one of the best.

Bob Bowers, USAF, 1958–62

Buzz Job: Like

What a great story! What a great maga-

zine! How about more stories like “Buzz Job” (if you can find them)? And [it had] great

Loved reading Budd Davisson’s opening piece titled “The Pilot’s Perch and Other Neat Stuff” in the February 2018 issue. In it, he mentions that the issue will include many “cockpit photos,” and I had to cheer.

No doubt, the vast majority of your readers are either pilots, like myself, or Walter Mitty pilots, so to read all about an airplane, see several photos, and not have a cockpit photo is like watching a football game from the parking lot. Put us in the cockpit, please. All was great in that issue until you guys fumbled the ball. In “Buzz Job,” the article about an F-4 Phantom, you proudly show us an F-4 cockpit photo, but you show us the back-seat cockpit! Please keep the cockpit photos coming. Your fans will love you even more for it.

Gary Moline, Fort Lauderdale, Florida Good catch, Gary! Dunno how we let that one sneak past us.—BD

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Jet-Age Naval Warfare

Not Your Granddad’s Surface Combat

by Lon Nordeen

F/A-18A Hornet of VFA-113. The Hornet replaced the venerable A-6 and A-7 in the light and medium strike roles, 1985–2000, and became the primary ship, land strike, and air combat fighter of the U.S. Navy aircraft-carrier air wings. (Photo by Check Six/TRT)

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When you think of U.S. Navy (USN) aircraft attacking ships, often the WW II Battle of Midway comes to mind, when Dauntless dive-bombers sank four Japanese aircraft carriers. Most readers may not know, however, that in the modern jet era, U.S. Navy strike aircraft fought several successful anti-ship battles using various types of missiles, guided munitions, and free-fall bombs. The technical term is “anti-surface warfare� (ASUW), which is the suppression and/or destruction of surface ships. These USN ship-strike actions included the 1986 Gulf of Sidra operations versus Libya (Operation Attain Document), the 1988 attacks on Iranian ships (Operation Praying Mantis), and strikes on Iraqi vessels during the 1991 Gulf War.

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Jet-Age Naval Warfare

Anti-Ship Training Continues

Note the interesting sideby-side seating for the pilot on the left and bombardier/ navigator on the right in the A-6E Intruder medium attack aircraft. (Photo by Check Six/TRT)

For decades, USN attack squadrons have been training for ASUW operations. Capt. Don Watkins, Retired, comments, “In regard to ASUW tactics, I believe I have a fairly interesting perspective. Very early in my career, I had flown older A-6E aircraft, which were radar-only bombers. I was assigned to VA-85 operating off the USS Forrestal (CV-59) in the late ’70s when we employed ASUW combat tactics that, in some respects, were not much different than those of WW II. However, the defensive capabilities of modern warships had advanced with the advent of highly capable surface-to-air missiles and close-in-weapons systems that throw a literal wall of lead in the sky.”

Watkins continues, “As I arrived at VA-34 for my second A-6 squadron tour in the early ’80s, the A-6 (and A-7) fleet of aircraft had all been upgraded with new inertial navigation systems and equipped with FLIRs [forward-looking infrared cameras] and lasers, and the Harpoon and high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARM) were being introduced into the fleet. Though still only a senior lieutenant, I was tasked with planning and leading an ASUW strike against a simulated Soviet combatant during one of the day’s cyclic operations. I planned the mission such that the A-6s would ingress at low altitude to get close enough to launch our Harpoon missiles, while the A-7s would stand off at high altitude just outside of surface-to-air missile range and launch their HARM missiles such that they would arrive on target as the Harpoons came over the enemy’s radar horizon. The EA-6B would be used to also jam the enemy’s radars. This would require the enemy to make a lose-lose decision. The mission was quite successful. My commanding officer, Cmdr. Garth Van Sickle, said, ‘You know—this

may be the future of ASUW warfare.’ So I at least like to believe that in a very small way, I may have been one of the forerunners of modern naval air ASUW tactics.”

Operation Attain Document III— Battle of Sidra, 1986

The USN sent a series of task forces into the Mediterranean Sea off Libya early in 1986— Operation Attain Document I–III—to reassert freedom of the seas. In March 1986, three carrier battle groups—USS Coral Sea (CV-43), Saratoga (CV-60), and America (CV-66)—deployed to the Mediterranean during these operations.

Watkins comments, “On the night of March 24, 1986, VA-34 launched two A-6E Intruders, each armed with an AGM-84 Harpoon missile and two MK-20 Rockeye cluster bombs off the USS America, to conduct ASUW missions. About half an hour into the flight, I was vectored toward a surface contact by our E-2C aircraft and tasked with identifying the contact. Using our FLIR, we were able to identify the surface vessel as a La Combattante fast-attack patrol boat and reported its position, heading, and speed back to the E-2C. “Our instructions were to ‘bird-dog’ (maintain contact) with the ship. After approximately 20 minutes, we received coded orders to attack the ship. I began to maneuver around to the north, which would enable us to fire with a clear shot to the south. As we circled back to the north, our sister aircraft, piloted by Lt. Mike Dowty and his Bombardier/Navigator (BN) Lt. Cmdr. Larry Schofield, attacked from a more northeast to southwest approach and were able to execute the first clear shot. This was the first firing of the Harpoon missile in combat. Their Harpoon clearly struck the La Combattante, and they continued their attack, dropping their Rockeye. As they cleared the target, Lt. Serex and I were then in position to fire.

Our Harpoon struck the Libyan craft, which was left totally dead in the water. I decided not to drop our remaining Rockeye in case it might be needed against any other threats in the area. As our fuel began to run low, we then returned to the ship, landed, and underwent extensive debriefing.”

Lt. j.g. Ben Loyola comments, “On 25 March 1986, I was on the USS Saratoga with VA-85 right out of training. My pilot, Lt. Keith “Rat” Retterer

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The crew of an A-6E drop 1,000-pound Mk 83 bombs during a training mission. The A-6E Intruder served as the medium attack element of the U.S. Navy carrier air wing from the 1960s to the 1990s. (Photo by Check Six/TRT)

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JET-AGE NAVAL WARFARE

On March 25, 1986, a Libyan Navy Nanuchka–class corvette challenged U.S. Navy forces in the Mediterranean Sea off Benghazi. A-6E intruder crews from VA-85 flying off the USS Saratoga (CV-60) hit the ship with Harpoon antiship missiles and Rockeye bombs. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy)

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and I were on the flight schedule for a very early launch with a SUCAP [Surface Combat Air Patrol] lead, which included a Harpoon, several 500-lb. LGBs [laser-guided bombs], Rockeye, and a fuel tank. While we were on the catapult, we got a call from tactical and were told, once you come off, go into action. I asked Rat, ‘Is this usual?’ And he said, ‘No way!’ So, we launched and pressed on to the coordinates, and I picked up the (Libyan) ship on radar. There was another A-6 out there, I think from the USS Coral Sea, and he was senior, so he took the lead. They attacked with Rockeye, but the ship kept going.

“We had looked at the ship on the FLIR and ID’d it as a Nanuchka corvette, which has four ASMs [anti-ship missiles], a SAM [surface-to-air missile], and multiple guns. Now it was daylight. We called our ship, and they replied ‘weapons free,’ so we set up for a Harpoon shot. As we came toward the ship, he lit us up with his fire-control radar for the SAM and guns. Our radar warning was going crazy with visual and audio indications, and that got our attention! We dropped down, popped chaff and flares and started jinking back and forth but still headed in. We wanted to get the radar on the Harpoon to see the target, so we popped up and when we got that indication, we launched. The Harpoon is a seaskimming missile, so we followed it down. The missile bored in and hit the ship just behind the stack and caused a big explosion. I had a couple cameras with me, and we flew around the ship. One of these was on the cover of Time or Newsweek soon after.”

Operation Praying Mantis, 1988

The EA-6B is a four-seat special-mission tactical aircraft, which supported U.S. Navy aircraft-carrier deployments from the 1970s to 2016. U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Prowlers also frequently forward-deployed at land bases to provide jamming and electronic warfare support for air operations. (Photo by Ted Carlson/fotodynamics.net)

Most people are not aware that during the Iran-Iraq War (1980– 88), Iraqi and Iranian forces made more than 600 attacks on oil and cargo ships, and some 80 were destroyed. U.S. and coalition warships faced attack by both Iraqi and Iranian forces while escorting oil tankers. The USS Stark was hit by two Exocet ASMs fired by April 2018 15

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Jet-Age Naval Warfare an Iraqi jet on May 17, 1987, which led to the death of 37 sailors. Also, the destroyer USS Samuel B. Roberts was badly damaged by an Iranian mine on April 14, 1988. After the mine attack, USN ships and aircraft initiated Operation Praying Mantis and fought with Iranian forces.

A-6 Intruders flew cover for American ships.

Rear Adm. Bud Langston, Retired, says, “I was serving as Deputy Commander Air Group (CAG) of CVW-11 on the USS Enterprise (CV-65) in 1988. We got a warning order to target and sink the Iranian Vosper-class frigate Sabalan. Around 1:00 p.m., 18 April 1988, we detected an Iranian frigate coming out of Bandar Abbas, which was thought to be our target. I launched and flew one of the fully armed A-6Es prepared for the ASUW mission. We took off with two F-14s and one EA-6B, and we had E-2C support. I was flying with Lt. Bob Papa­ dakis as my bombardier/navigator. The surface action group led by Capt. Dyer on the USS Joseph Strauss was also deploying to engage the contact; we were in the air and following our orders.

“I flew over the Gulf at around 15,000 feet and

we saw the ship’s wake, and my BN looked with the FLIR and it looked like the Sabalan. However, at this time of year, the visibility is mixed with sand and haze, and I also knew that the Royal Navy was also operating in the region with ships that looked similar. So I decided we needed to take a closer look and made sure we had the right ship. We dove down, and I passed behind and alongside the ship at 500+ knots and less than 50 feet, so low I was looking up at the mast of the ship. I could clearly see the Iranian sailors on the ship and the blinking of antiaircraft gunfire and tracers of the shells passing by. The ship’s crew also launched several SAM at us!

“We set up for a Harpoon attack with the AGM84C missile we carried. We fired it from around 2,000 feet altitude in a dive at a range of about eight miles from the ship. The missile worked as planned and hit just aft of the bridge; the warhead caused a serious explosion. The ship went dead in the water, and we saw fire behind the bridge.

After the Harpoon strike, we followed up with two AGM-123 Skipper LGBs. One of the Skippers hit,

ASUW Weapons Harpoon AGM-84 Weight—1,145 pounds (519kg) Length—Air-launched, 12.6 feet (3.8m) Diameter—13.5 inches (34cm) Warhead—488 pounds (221kg) Range—67 nautical miles (127km) Guidance—Radar

Walleye II AGM-62 Mk 5 Glide Bomb Weight—2,340 pounds (1061kg) Length—13.2 feet (4.02m) Diameter—18 inches (46cm) Warhead—2,000 pounds (900kg) Range—24 nautical miles (85km) Guidance—TV/data link

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causing additional damage and smoke. After this, we called the Enterprise via the E-2C and passed the ship location for the rest of the alert ASUW force.”

Cmdr. Tad Chamberlain, Retired, commanding officer of VA-94, remarks, “I was the CO [commanding officer] of VA-94 on the Enterprise.

This was during the tanker escort operations, and the primary threat we were worried about were Iranian Silkworm missiles. There were a number of sites south of Bandar Abbas, and these were a threat to tankers and warships. We worked out tactics to deliver Walleye IIs and hard-nose bombs into the tunnels the Iranians used to shelter the Silkworm missiles. I had Walleye on my mind for a long time.”

Chamberlain adds, “One night, the CAG came down and asked, ‘Do you want to lead a strike tomorrow?’ I said, ‘Yeah, sure,’ thinking it was another practice mission. He added, ‘No, this is real! We are going to sink an Iranian ship under orders from the president!’

“The CAG had various teams within the air wing develop tactics. We got tapped to hit this

The missile worked as planned and hit just aft of the bridge; the warhead caused a serious explosion. The ship went dead in the water. frigate, and we decided to use Walleye IIs, which had a lot of explosives and also precision guidance with the data link. The glide weapon had a 2,000-pound Mk 87 shaped-charge warhead. We were assigned six A-7s—three from my squadron and three from VA-22. The first group of aircraft carried Walleye and data-link pods, plus Mk 83 1,000-pound bombs, and the others just Mk 83s.

We had the ASUW mission to follow up after the A-6s attacked. Our flight formation was like a ladder, flying line abreast, so we had time to evaluate the target and attack sequentially. We knew the ship would be damaged by the time we got there, so there was not much of a threat.

“The guy ahead of me was Cmdr. Rich Roberson, skipper of VA-22, as first in line, and then

Mk 20 ROckeye Weight—490 pounds (222kg) Length—7.7 feet (2.2m) Diameter—1.1 feet (31cm) Warhead—326 pounds (148kg) Range—4 nautical miles (6.4km) Guidance—None (free fall)

GBU-12 Laser-Guided Bomb Weight—660 pounds (300kg) Length—10.7 feet (3.27m) Diameter—10.7 inches (27cm) Warhead—510 pounds (231kg) Range—9 nautical miles (14.8km) Guidance—Laser

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The A-7E served as the primary U.S. Navy light attack strike aircraft from the 1960s to the 1990s, when it was replaced by the F/A-18 Hornet. This A-7E served with VA-72 on the USS America (CV-66) in 1986. A-7E pilots from VA-22 and VA-94 flew anti-ship strikes from USS Enterprise (CV-65) on April 18, 1988, using the Walleye II glide bomb and Mk 83 bombs to sink the Iranian frigate Sahand off Bandar Abbas.

(Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy)

there was another VA-22 jet with Walleye IIs and a data-link pod. When we flew in, they carried the weapon and I had the data-link pod. As we came in to attack, I had the cursor locked right on the bridge area of the radar TV display in my cockpit, and I kept tweaking the seeker with the controller as it flew to the target. The Walleye hit the bow and caused a big explosion. After the Walleye strike, all of the aircraft came in and bombed one at a time in a shallow dive with Mk-83s.”

Chamberlain continues, “In the A-7 light attack community, both land targets and war at sea missions were our bread and butter. However, this is the first and, to my knowledge, only time the A-7 ever performed a real strike mission against a ship with the Walleye II.”

Gulf War, 1991

During the 1990–91 conflict, the Iraqi Navy and Air Force posed a serious threat to coalition naval

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forces. The Iraqi Air Force had proven its antiship skills by hitting 100+ ships, including the USS Stark, and the Iraqi Navy included 13 missile boats armed with a mix of Styx and Exocet ASMs. Iraq also had 50 land-based Chinese-made Silkworm ASMs with a range of 68 miles.

USN A-6 Intruders, F/A-18 Hornets, Royal Air Force Jaguars, and armed helicopters worked together to knock out the Iraqi Navy. Cmdr.

Richard Cassara, Retired, who flew as a BN with

VA-145, comments, “We had two A-6 squadrons on the USS Ranger (CV-61), and we were assigned the night-strike role. I recall a mission to strike a Silkworm site at Umm Qasbah, a quay area south of Kuwait City on the evening of 29 January 1991. We had two airplanes, a VA155 A-6E and our VA-145 jet, and we each had four 500-pound LGBs. Our job was to expend a few bombs on the Silkworm site and then to go look for Iraqi ships along the coast.

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Jet-Age Naval Warfare

A Strike Weapons Test Center, NAS China Lake Hornet fires 0.5-inch Zini rockets on a test mission. U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aircraft and weapons are developed and tested at ranges to ensure that upgrades are successful and weapons will perform as designed. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy)

“We flew up to the northern Gulf, and I saw a big radar return. When we got closer, the return turned into four smaller targets. We called it into the Alpha Sierra ASUW lead. Usually we would be above 15,000 feet to stay above antiaircraft and SA-7–type SAMs, but we knew we would have to go down and take a look. We made a few high-speed passes over the four ships and even videotaped the images with the FLIR. They were running lights out in a line-astern formation evenly spaced, but they did not shoot at us.”

Cassara continues, “My primary concern was that they were coalition or U.S. Navy warships on a mission we were not aware of, so we were worried about a blue-on-blue situation. Using the FLIR, we identified the trailing vessel as an Iraqi fast patrol boat. We made a pass on the last ship in line and got a good hit with a 500-pound LGB, and the ship immediately went dead in the water. Then the other three ships separated, and we followed and got a good hit on the next ship in line. Now we were out of

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One of my squadron mates nailed a small ship that was hiding under an oil platform.

He used a Skipper, which came in low over the water, whereas a regular LGB flew a much steeper flight profile and would have hit the oil platform.

bombs, and we called our wingmen and had them come over and attack. Canadian Hornets were directed in by an E-2 and strafed a ship, but I think he got away. Later, we heard that three Iraqi patrol boats—identified as FPB-57, FPB-70, and TNC-45—were knocked out.

“In terms of our missions, land strike, and ASUW, we usually carried a mix of LGBs and Rockeye. I think we never carried Harpoon ASM as we figured we did not need that much standoff range against Iraqi ships with their lim-

ited AAA [antiaircraft artillery] and SA-7–type SAMs. Also, do we really need to use expensive Harpoons against these threats? There were a lot of potential targets in the water—oil tankers, oil platforms, friendly ships, etc.—and we were concerned that when the Harpoon seeker turned on it, it might see the wrong target. We did carry Skippers, which had about a seven-mile standoff range. In fact, one of my squadron mates nailed a small ship that was hiding under an oil platform.

He used a Skipper, which came in low over the water, whereas a regular LGB flew a much steeper flight profile and would have hit the oil platform.

“A week later, we flew a SUCAP mission with two aircraft and an EA-6B escort. Again, our wingman as a VA-155 jet. I got a call from the battle-group staff officer who said, ‘Let’s meet up.’ He handed me a recent TARPS [Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System] photo of an Osa attack craft that was sitting in port in Kuwait near where we were planning to fly this patrol. The photo was a few hours old, and I was told by the captain, ‘If you see this, go hit it.’ We flew up and found it still there. We set up a racetrack pattern and dropped an LGB, but for some reason, my bomb missed 100 yards from the ship. On my second run, my LGB hit the target, and soon after, there was a secondary explosion. So we had done some good work!” J April 2018 21

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A Reunion of Icons

BY RANDY SOHN

PAUL TIBBETS’S 1976 REQUALIFICATION ON THE B-29 It’s difficult to know just where I should start retelling this story of many years ago. Probably I should begin somewhere back when the then-Confederate Air Force (CAF) brought Boeing B-29 #44-62070 to Harlingen, Texas, from nearly 20 years of abandonment on the desert at the U.S. Navy’s ordnance testing facility at China Lake, California. There, she had endured the desert’s tender mercies until we finally obtained title to the relic. Ninety days of work on it made her airworthy enough to ferry to her new home in August 1971. Of course, the addition of the classic warbird represented the culmination of Lloyd Nolen’s vision that the CAF’s collection should include one of each aircraft that had significantly participated in World War II combat.

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Paul Tibbets (left) with his grandson, now Brig.

Gen. Paul Tibbets IV, also a USAF command pilot.

(Photo by Bill Crump)

For decades, until joined by “Doc” in 2017, the CAF’s FIFI was the world’s only flying B-29. It took a herculean effort on the part of the CAF to recover her from the U.S. Navy’s China Lake target range and an even bigger effort to get permission to fly her and then keep her flying for 47 years. (Photo by Scott Slocum)

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A REUNION OF ICONS

Paul Tibbets, in the pilot’s seat, receives instructions from Randy Sohn during his requalification flights in 1976.

(Photo by Bill Crump)

Several years later, largely due to the efforts of Victor Agather and Senator Barry Goldwater in removing the “no-fly” clause the U.S. Air Force (USAF) had imposed as a condition of transferring the bomber to us, we were able to fly her in our CAF activities. We should also recognize that, at this time, this aircraft had not yet acquired a name. After we started the nationwide summer tours, the B-29 was named for Vic’s wife, Josephine “Fifi” Agather. During preparations for our annual airshow in 1976, Lloyd felt that we should contact retired Brig.

Gen. Paul Tibbets, easily the most noteworthy of everyone ever associated with the B-29s. We invited him to Harlingen to fly a B-29 once again. This reunion of the man and the machine would represent a truly remarkable story that the CAF could tell for many years to come.

Tibbets Meets FIFI

Many people have heard that only one flight took place with Tibbets. Actually, we made two flights with the airplane: a training sortie one morning and an airshow flight the following afternoon.

Lloyd wanted the training flight to be thoroughly documented, so he made certain that his premier photographer, Bill Crump, was with us. Ronnie Garner and Ray Kirkpatrick were also along as the flight engineers. I’m fairly certain

that Vic made both flights. Fortunately, some of those old photos are still in existence and also some accounts say that Dick Reinhart, a longtime friend and Minnesota Air National Guard flight surgeon, went along on the second flight.

Another friend, Roger Baker, who’d been with me on the original ferry flight, was also along.

I can still recall Roger’s exclamation when he found out who was flying the airplane. “Wow, Paul Tibbets himself!”

After climbing up into the cockpit, settling into the left-hand pilot’s seat and adjusting it and the rudder pedals, Paul turned to me and quietly confided, “You know, Randy, I haven’t been in a 29 since I took the Enola Gay to Orchard Field [now O’Hare International] back in 1949.” That may have been an attempt on his part to absolve himself of any rust on his flying ability. However, once we started the flight, I quickly became aware this was not so in this case. Paul flew it extremely well and (my words here) “took to it like a duck to water.”

Lighting the Fires

I’d imagine that most readers would find themselves disappointed to find how little the pilot actually does during the B-29’s starting process.

Once he issues the order to the flight engineer (F/E) to “start engines,” no further actions by the pilot are required. The engineer performs all the

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procedures regarding counting prop blades, throttles, priming, mixtures, and all that other stuff. On four-engine airplanes, I’ve always advocated starting an inboard engine first, then the outboard, to assure that the person manning the fireextinguisher cart on the ground will never have an engine running behind him. That fire guard is in constant interphone communication with the F/E during the starting process and he’s the one who can inform the F/E that the area is “clear to start.”

The F/E can visually count the propeller blades as he rotates the engine with the starter and, after eight blades to permit him to check for a hydraulic lock, turns the ignition switch to “on.”

During the years that I spent checking out pilots on various airplanes, I’d found that every checkout process differs in some respects. I’ve never been smart enough to write a “one-size-fitsall” syllabus or program for the flight maneuvers that need to be accomplished during their familiarization and checkout in a pilot new to the aircraft. I’ve found that everyone seems to be different regarding what needs to be emphasized and what he requires. Due to the traffic and winds, I’d decided to proceed down to the airport in Brownsville, Texas, for Paul’s takeoffs and landings that morning.

While flying the short distance to Brownsville, I had Paul do a series of approaches to stalls, steep turns, and various maneuvers. His abilities quickly convinced me that any further time spent on those type of maneuvers would largely be wasted; he was well coordinated and did fine. I gave Paul a couple of simulated engine failures by retarding a throttle on one of the outboards and having him demonstrate how he’d deal with it. While instructing on four-engine airplanes, I’ve The B-29’s all-glass nose makes it difficult for new B-29 pilots to keep the airplane aligned on final approach.

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A REUNION OF ICONS

PAUL TURNED TO ME AND QUIETLY CONFIDED, “YOU KNOW, RANDY, I HAVEN’T BEEN IN A 29 SINCE I TOOK THE ENOLA GAY TO ORCHARD FIELD [NOW O’HARE INTERNATIONAL] BACK IN 1949.” always advocated never to actually feather an outboard propeller, just in case it couldn’t later be unfeathered/restarted. Therefore, I’ve always simulated the failure of an outboard and only do an actual feather on an inboard. We did one of these full-feathered engine shutdowns and restarts, and by that time, it was necessary to begin descending for the approach and landing.

Putting It on the Runway

I first demonstrated a landing. The reason was that experience had shown me that most pilots would have a problem aligning themselves with the runway during their first attempt to land the B-29. On their first landing, nearly all would make their final approach with the airplane’s left main gear slightly off toward the left of the runway, which (if continued) would have resulted in a touchdown with that wheel in the grass.

Doubtless, this could be attributed to the B-29’s design, which included many glass panels in the fuselage’s nose. I guess that almost all pilots ini-

tially have problems determining which window to look through. In the end, I just told them to “not look through only one window panel.

Move your head around as a ‘shadow boxer’ would while looking through all of them.”

Looking back now, I believe that Paul would not have experienced that particular problem since he’d previously flown the airplane. We did several approaches, landings, and go-arounds in various configurations, and they all satisfied me as being within our established criteria. After finishing those, we returned to Harlingen, where we did a simulated two-engine-out landing, and again, it was fine. Following the parking and engine shutdown, we engaged in an extensive debriefing of the many items and procedures that had been covered and performed during the training period.

It’s Showtime

The next day, after attending a general briefing of all airshow pilots and aircrew members, our

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flight crew again gathered for a quick roll call near the B-29’s nosewheel. I remember that the people on that flight included a photographer from a well-known Japanese magazine. I’m unable now to recall his name, only that he remained close to our left scanner’s side blister/ window during that flight. The CAF’s annual airshow was already in progress, having been started by the always popular iconic “Tora! Tora!

Tora!” group’s re-enactment of the Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor.

We were scheduled to fly several acts during the show; our first one was to do a flyover with the B-29 leading a V formation of the two other heavy bombers in the CAF’s fleet: the B-17 and the B-24. Then, as the concluding event of the airshow (as it also had been in WW II), we flew the Hiroshima reenactment. Col. Eddie May, the airshow’s public-address-system announcer, took advantage of the brief moment that the show lacked any aerial activity to deliver a verbal description of the upcoming event and how it

had changed world history.

Obviously, we made this pass alone, just one aircraft making a single north to south overhead pass above the airshow. As we overflew the airshow area, a military practice “shaped-charge” smoke bomb was detonated on the airport’s surface across from the runway. It resulted in a mushroom-shaped puff of white smoke that then rose into the atmosphere. We continued across the airport and then entered a left turn when we were past the end of the runway. I can still remember leaning across the cockpit toward Paul while looking past him at that rising column of white smoke at the airport. I asked Paul if that was how it had really looked; he replied out of the side of his mouth without turning to look at me, “Good grief, no!”

The Media Makes Hay

Within a few days, that final act of the show received a great deal of attention in the newspapers, on TV and in radio broadcasts, and in

With 8,800hp pushing her, the B-29 could reach 350mph in a maximum effort. Its normal internal tankage gave a total range of approximately 3,200 miles. “Silverplate” nuclear-capable B-29s had their turrets removed for speed and efficiency. (Photo

by Bill Crump)

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A REUNION OF ICONS

The audience at Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture 2017 was the first in several generations to see two B-29s in the air, when “Doc” (top), having been rescued from China Lake and restored, joined FIFI. (Photo by Scott Slocum)

other media. I recall getting a phone call from a United Airlines crewmember who was in Manila at the time. He told me that the incident had been published in the local newspaper. All kinds of other communications were sent to CAF headquarters in Harlingen. At that time, I was astounded that a reenactment of that WW II moment in history would precipitate such a worldwide commotion.

After giving thought to the ensuing uproar after the bomb act, we decided that probably as much of a sobering effect could be evoked by a B-29 flyover at traffic-pattern altitude with our bomb-bay doors open, thus providing the audience the opportunity to stare upward into what I’d describe as “eternity.” When performing that act, I’d usually get up a good “head of steam” and then slightly retard the throttles

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while calling for the rpm to be reduced to approximately 1,600 or so, which makes it very quiet during that pass overhead.

Hollywood Wants a Faster Turn

In 1980, the film company Viacom decided to make a movie of Paul’s life and the B-29: Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb. The filmmakers utilized both FIFI and an unflyable

I remembered that Paul had told me, during one of our conversations, how he’d made that sudden turn with the Enola Gay in an effort to avoid the effects of the blast.

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A REUNION OF ICONS

INSIDE THE ENOLA GAY

Above: This is the actual aircraft in which Paul Tibbets sat when over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. This is where history was made. (Photo by Brian Silcox) Left: The 2,200hp Wright R-3350 had serious teething problems in combat. (Photo

by Brian Silcox) Below: The flight engineer controlled and monitored many complex systems. (Photos by Brian Silcox)

B-29 on the ramp at Tucson, Arizona, during the filming. Patrick Duffy starred as Paul.

One of our long-time members, Joe Davis, had made a dummy display bomb that was used in the movie. The filmmakers filmed it being dropped in flight from FIFI somewhere near Tucson over the desert. During the later stages of making that movie, Clay Lacy, who was filming from his Astrovision Learjet, called to

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Above: The space between the pilot and copilot made it easy for the bombardier to climb down into his “office.” (Photo by Brian Silcox)

inform me that people at Viacom were frustrated because they were unable to film FIFI making a rapid turn. Clay said that they really needed me to come out and “quicken up” that turn for the movie because the guy flying it (one of our volunteers) was insistent upon making only well-coordinated turns. He convinced me that it wouldn’t take long to accomplish the task, and I was soon California bound.

I remembered that Paul had told me, during one of our conversations, how he’d made that sudden turn with the Enola Gay in an effort to avoid the effects of the blast. I went out to Burbank, California, where FIFI was located and, with Clay filming from above, made a bomb run on the coastal city of San Luis Obispo, California, in the afternoon. The sun was behind us on that afternoon’s easterly run, which matched

Above left: The bombardier’s control panel was located just to the left of his position at the bombsight. (Photo by Brian Silcox) Above right: The tail-gunner position in a B-29 was much roomier than in other WW II bombers. (Photos

by Brian Silcox)

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A REUNION OF ICONS

The B-29 flew all her missions in the Pacific Theater, most of them covering immense distances. (Photo by Scott Slocum)

the sun in the morning being behind the bombers at Hiroshima. I made the turn exactly as Paul had told me, used full aileron and an uncoordinated full rudder. Without the input of full rudder, the airplane will ponderously enter a bank—but far too slowly! With full rudder, it acts much as if you’d sawed off a wing it enters a steep bank and turn so rapidly. I did this that day, and Clay radioed me from his filming position above us: “That was great. The director says it was fine—all done.”

Remembrances

Several years later, Paul was to appear at a local airport in St. Paul, Minnesota, to sign copies of his book, The Tibbets Story. I made the short drive to say hello. As I neared his table, he looked up and motioned me to come over behind him. He reached under the table, grabbed a new book, wrote a line in it, and then handed it to me. He’d written on the front page, “Here’s to the guy who checked me out in the B-29” and then autographed it. He then glanced at his watch and said, “Randy, I’m getting hungry. Let’s go next door to the restaurant and get something to eat.”

The two of us were in a separate room, eating lunch and just talking about some of those long-gone days. I gazed for second time at the book that he’d given me and said to him, “Paul,

you know, that’s BS. I never checked you out in the B-29. All I did was requalify you.” He chuckled and said, “Randy, you tell the story and I’ll swear to it!”

While we were eating, a local guy walked past and looked through the door at us. I was later told that, not knowing either one of us, he’d listened for a short period and then asked another person that knew us, “Are those two guys in that room mad at each other?”

“Don’t think so. Why?” “Well, they were yelling at each other!”

“Oh, yeah. Well, neither one of them hears very well, and they’re just talking with each other.”

Several years ago, Paul and his grandson, now a USAF brigadier general about to get his second star, visited us at the CAF Midland Airshow, and we had a chance to renew our acquaintance in the B-29’s cockpit while talking about the “old days.” I have a photo of those two in the pilots’ seats of FIFI. Paul IV tells me that it is his favorite photo of the two of them together. He added that it’s also the photo of his grandfather that he likes to show the audience during the many speeches that he gives each year. In it, it’s obvious the admiration and respect the grandfather has for the grandson.

And a grand tradition of service to their country is carried on.

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The Aviation Adventure Past, Present, and Future

AT E R G I F T! G

Includes digital edition

Flight Journal is like no other aviation magazine in the world.

Gripping accounts of flights and combat missions put the reader in the cockpit with pilots, engineers, gunners and eyewitnesses. The leader in the field of aviation photojournalism, Flight Journal captures what it’s like to pilot aircrafts that inspire fear and awe, from the historic B-17 Flying Fortress to today’s F-16 fighters.

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RENTAL

BAD GUYS “K

The USAF’s Contract Killers

BY BRICK EISEL

ill the F-16, right-hand turn, 18 thousand feet, over the Farms.” And so another victory is claimed in the perpetual war occurring in the Nevada skies north of Las Vegas.

It is not part of some separating-a-tourist-from-his-money aircombat experience but the deadly game of “good guy” Blue Air jets fighting the “bad guy” Red Air forces of a professional adversary-forhire serving the needs of America’s military.

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You can almost hear “The Ride of the Valkyries” as these Alaska-based 18th AGRS F-16s form up prior to a merge.

(Photo by U.S. Air Force/TSgt James Harper Jr.)

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RENTAL BAD GUYS

While “speed is life” is another cliché that directly relates to dogfighting, it isn’t everything. Tactics, practice, and good equipment are other vital components in keeping the sharp end of the spear pointy.

A ramp full of Draken’s ex-New Zealand Air Force A-4Ks. (Photo by Jose M. Ramos)

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Combat Training Is Expensive but Necessary

Some automotive writers have said, tongue in cheek, that the fastest car in the world is an airport rental car due to the indifference toward said car by most of its drivers. The same cannot be said, however, when it comes to renting a professional “bad guy” to train an air force in modern air combat. While “speed is life” is another cliché that directly relates to dogfighting, it isn’t everything. Tactics, practice, and good equipment are other vital components in keeping the sharp end of the spear pointy.

However, the costs of buying and maintaining good equipment and zealously practicing said tactics continue to skyrocket (pun intended).

For the U.S. Department of Defense as well those for other Kevin “Flash” GorWestern nations, those escalatdon, the commander of the Nellis AFB ing costs result in drastic cuts 64th AGRS, during in the numbers and types of his days as a “MiG-1.” combat aircraft, including (Photo courtesy of those dedicated to providing Kevin Gordon) realistic, thinking adversary training to fighter pilots who might face the real thing one day.

Following the Vietnam conflict, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and Navy studied the problems their pilots faced flying against what should have been considered a “second-string” adversary: the Vietnam People’s Air Force (VPAF).

The VPAF, however, gave a good accounting of itself by reaching parity of kills to losses during some periods of the war—the final kill ratio of USAF/VPAF being 2:1 versus a claimed 12:1 U.S. kills/losses during World War II and about 8:1 in Korea.

Practice Is the Name of the Combat Game

One of many lessons learned from that sobering statistic was the need for the good guys to practice against a force that could realistically simulate the most likely adversaries the United States might face in future conflicts. The Air Force formed “the Aggressors,” which by the mid1980s included squadrons of specially trained pilots flying the light, nimble Northrop F-5.

The Aggressors lived, breathed, and flew expected Soviet-style tactics and maneuvers. By studying the latest intelligence reports, interApril 2018 37

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RENTAL BAD GUYS Stick forward, houses get bigger. Here, an L-159 screams down vertically.

(Photo by Jose M. Ramos)

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viewing other nations’ pilots who flew against Soviet-trained proxy clients, and constantly practicing such tactics, the USAF built a robust, highly effective simulated “enemy” force. The adversaries trained American and other Allied forces in Europe, the Pacific, and the birthplace of the Aggressors: at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, home of the famous Red Flag exercises.

Being an Aggressor pilot was a highly coveted mark of professional excellence within the unforgiving world of military aviation. It still is today.

Then the Soviet Union collapsed and defense budgets fell as well. One casualty of the cuts was the deactivation of those Aggressor units in Europe and the Pacific. Only Nellis’s 64th Aggres­ sor squadron (64 AGRS) remained. Unfortu­ nately, the expected peace among mankind didn’t remain, and today, the world remains a dangerous place. Reconstituting a much larger professional Aggressor force was deemed too expensive after the military drawdown. An addi­ tional squadron, the 18th AGRS, was formed in Alaska, but today, only the two squadrons, flying the oldest F-16s in the Air Force’s inventory, are expected to meet the training needs of not only the USAF but also many allies. Buying, operating, and maintaining an active-duty fighter squadron isn’t inexpensive. Necessity, therefore, opened up some commercial business opportunities.

In a recent speech, a senior Air Force general noted that the need for a larger, dedicated Adversary Air capability is only going to increase. Thousands of sorties to train today’s young tigers are desperately needed in both air-

to-air and air-to-ground missions. Those sorties simply can’t be filled by the Aggressor forces wearing a uniform. The annual dollar amount estimated to fill this shortfall is in the range of $400 million per year. Despite the staggering dollar amount, it is still less expensive to rent the service than buy more military jets and hire people for only a training role.

The small, compact size of the A-4K is illustrated, along with showing the engineering challenge of shoehorning a modern APG-66 radar into the Scooter’s tiny nose. The A-4 is a worthy adversary.

(Photo by Ted Carlson/ fotodynamics.net)

Aggressors for Hire

Numerous companies formed to fill the need (see sidebar on page 42). To meet the requirement of providing high-performance aircraft capable of simulating any expected adversary, these companies scoured the world for retired or surplus fighters and attack aircraft. Indeed, one military aircraft manufacturer is offering its current fighter as a solution to this particular problem.

The civilian-owned aircraft aren’t just part of the warbird airshow circuit. They are, in fact, small air forces complete with squadrons of pilots, maintenance professionals, and the support staff required to operate such a fleet.

Although under stringent military and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules, they also aren’t neutered, demilitarized aircraft. They have potent onboard radars, can—and do—drop

Buying, operating, and maintaining an active-duty fighter squadron isn’t inexpensive. Necessity, therefore, opened up some commercial business opportunities.

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RENTAL BAD GUYS

A fine side view of the “family model” of the A-4K. (Photo by Jose M. Ramos)

ordnance, and operate in the swirling mix of dogfights with current military jets.

One (but not the only) such company is Draken International. Although it is based in Florida, it has detachments across the country and with other nations. With equipment ranging from subsonic ground attack jets to supersonic fighters, Draken works with clients around the world. Other companies operate equipment ranging from turboprop light attack aircraft as well as former military fighters. One company, Airborne Tactical Advantage Company, also provides instruction to national air forces using the clients’ Sukhoi Su-27 and Lockheed Martin’s F-16. Companies in the United Kingdom and

“Sure, I could be making more money if I’d gone airline and been with them for several years, but that kind of flying isn’t for me. Nothing wrong with it and I’m not knocking it, but flying the A-4K and the L-159 here at Nellis lets me still fly fast and help train the new guys coming along.

That means a lot to me.”

Europe are also entering the competitive adversary market.

It’s a Formal, Regimented Operation

Kevin “Flash” Gordon is a Draken pilot and representative of the small yet growing field of professional commercial adversary-air business.

The former commander of the 64th AGRS, Gordon brings thousands of hours of F-16 experience to the problem, teaching combat skills to less-experienced aircrews. Those hours would have been lost to training the next generation if he’d gone to the airlines.

Says Gordon, “Sure, I could be making more money if I’d gone airline and been with them for several years, but that kind of flying isn’t for me. Nothing wrong with it and I’m not knocking it, but flying the A-4K and the L-159 here at Nellis lets me still fly fast and help train the new guys coming along. That means a lot to me.”

As would be expected, a contract Red Air unit operates very much like the customers’ fighter unit. The pilots train in their jets, maintain FAA currencies, study emerging tactics and weapon systems, and interact nearly seamlessly with their active-duty counterparts.

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“When it’s a big mission and the 64th is part of the Red side, they lead the mission as MiG One. We attend the mass brief where both sides, Blue and Red, discuss the overall mission— weather, NOTAMS, airspace, frequencies—all the admin stuff. Then the Red Air side breaks off for their own briefing, and we discuss the training objectives desired and the tactics and equipment we are supposed to be emulating. We present different ‘looks’ to the other side, depending on what they are training against.

“We aren’t just ‘unthinking’ training aides, however. Our job—both the active-duty Aggressors and those supporting them—is to replicate what an adversary might be expected to do.

Different countries fly different equipment and operate differently tactically, and we have to be able to handle all those different facets.

“From there, we suit up and step to the jets, take off, and head to the airspace.”

Defend the Target!

When interviewed, Gordon had just finished a mission where 16 Red Air—eight 64th AGRS F-16s, four Draken A-4Ks, and four Draken L-159s—had gone against two F-22s and four

One (but not the only) such company is Draken International. Although it is based in Florida, it has detachments across the country and with other nations. With equipment ranging from subsonic ground attack jets to supersonic fighters, Draken works with clients around the world.

F-15s, which were practicing a defensive counter-air mission. In other words, the “good guys” had to defend their turf against the Red Air bombing their flag on the ground.

For 30 furious minutes, the 22 jets swirled over the bleak, brown desert landscape of the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) from low level to way up high. Although Red Air took many losses, an A-4K eventually did get through to call “bombs away” over the target. So despite the Blue Air forces killing many of the Red Air forces, that one mistake deemed their mission a failure.

And that is exactly the point, as those failures lead to learning the lessons needed to ensure that those mistakes don’t happen when the bombs are real and the stakes are for keeps.

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RENTAL BAD GUYS

Adversary Air Companies and Their Fleets Draken International

› › › › › ›

Aero Vodochody L-159E ALCA Aero L-39 Albatros Douglas A-4K Skyhawk Aermacchi MB-339CB Dassault Mirage F1 Atlas Cheetah (upgraded Mirage III)

Adversary Tactical Advantage Company

History of Adversary Aircraft Ever since humans began fighting with airplanes, they have studied the ways of the enemy to increase their chances of survival and, ultimately, mission success. Today, national militaries still study likely adversaries, still practice against what is believed will be the likely threats, and strive to stay alive and successful.

World War II Germany had “Zirkus Rosarius.” Formed in 1943, it used captured Allied aircraft to teach Luftwaffe fighter pilots the best way to defeat the growing hordes of American heavy bombers and fighters as well as the night bomber force of the Royal Air Force (RAF). With flying examples of aircraft ranging from P-38s, P-51s, and Spitfires to B-24s and B-17s, the “Circus” used its resources to help the dwindling Luftwaffe forces fight more effectively.

The British had No. 1426 Flight, nicknamed the “Rafwaffe,” to operate and study captured German and Italian aircraft. Like their counterparts in Germany, RAF pilots and scientists used nearly 70 various Luftwaffe aircraft to learn how to best fight against them and to design countermeasures against some of their advanced electronic features, such as the airborne radars used by German night fighters.

When they entered the war, the Americans also learned from the British trove of captured aircraft. Probably the most famous example of studying the secrets of a captured enemy aircraft was the discovery of a crashed Mitsubishi A6M “Zero” in the Aleutian Islands in July 1942. Recovering and repairing the Zero to flyable condition, the military and the rapidly expanding aviation industry wrung all the performance secrets from the near-mythical fighter, discovering that the secret to its famed maneuverability came at the cost of armor protection for the pilot and the fuel tanks.

It could dance, but it couldn’t take a punch. The aerodynamic lessons were swiftly incorporated into war-winning fighters and the tactics used with them.

Even the WW II Luftwaffe’s markings and paint scheme can’t disguise the beautiful lines of this captured Supermarine Spitfire. All sides of all wars evaluated captured enemy aircraft and used them to train their pilots in fighting them. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

› › › ›

F-21 Kfir (different version of upgraded Mirage III) Dassault Mirage F1 Hawker Hunter Mk 58 Aero L-39

Discovery Air Defence

› › ›

Douglas A-4 Skyhawk Dornier Alpha Jet IAI Westwind 1124

Saab

›

Saab Gripen Aggressor

S3 International

›

Mil Mi-24 attack helicopter

Postwar During the Korean War, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 also achieved “bogeyman” status. Heavy-hitting with 23mm and 37mm cannon, it took a fearsome toll on B-29s and on various Allied fighter-bombers. Finally, in 1953, a defector flew one to South Korea, where it was flown by, among others, famed test pilot Chuck Yeager. The secrets, good and bad, of the MiG-15 were squeezed out and distributed to NATO pilots worldwide.

During the rest of the Cold War, by means both classified and by paying in cash, a secret unit of USAF pilots operated a squadron of Soviet aircraft. Starting with MiG-17s and MiG-19s to the vaunted MiG-21, which took such a toll of American jets in Vietnam, to nearly modernera jets like the MiG-23/27, Sukhoi Su-22 and Su-27 fighters were flown by “The Red Eagles.” The unit flew the former Soviet fighters to learn everything about them but also flew them in classified sessions against new American fighter pilots. For example, a new F-15 pilot would be told to be at Point X at time Y. Upon arrival, he would be met by a MiG-21, where the fledgling F-15 pilot would fly against the MiG until he learned it was not King Kong. This exposure to “buck fever” of seeing one’s first MiG in the air was a vital part of the Cold War training regimen.

In recent years, American and allied crews have flown openly against the latest MiG-29s and others as third-party nations, like India, fly such equipment and participate in the many military exercises held around the world.

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On another mission, Gordon was flying low in the L-159, nicknamed the “Honey Badger” (looks innocent and slow, yet is ferocious in a close fight), at the NTTR. Gordon says, “My wingman and I were fragged to be the lowaltitude strikers hitting a target defended by Weapons School F-16 students. We’re at 300 feet at about 400 knots and cruise in unobserved for nearly 50 miles and only about 20 miles until the target.

“It was then that I heard the radio call, ‘Badger Two, you’re dead.’ Obviously, we weren’t quite so unobserved. I look up high at my 10 o’clock and see the F-16 who’d just smoked my wingman trying to find me.

“I started a climbing conversion to at least negate any shots he might attempt so I can survive press to the target. I merged with Captionand 5 him high-aspect (nearly nose-to-nose) and start a turn to get across his 6.

“I hit the training rule of no more than 180 degrees of turn at low altitude, so I separate for 5 miles, then turn back towards the target.

I’d climbed during the fight, so I duck back down to 300 feet AGL, do one last radar air-toair sanitization of the target area before going into air-to-ground mode, and I get lock on my nose for about 13 miles.

“I take the shot and kill the F-16 point- defending the target, and I have an unimpeded run into the target, simulate release, and call ‘Target destroyed.’ I look up and I see another F-16 trying to find me. I again turn to make it a highaspect merge, yank hard to get on his 6, and again hit the low-altitude training restriction, but

I was definitely offensive when I hit that limit.

“I turn for home and start my flow back to the Motherland after a successful mission on the Red side. Final score: one F-16 ‘killed,’ one target ‘destroyed,’ two offensive merges with Vipers— that’s a good day!” And more important, the F-16 students learned some lessons for the next time.

Just as a war can—and usually does—occur in bad weather, so too does the training for it.

Here, two 18th AGRS Vipers taxi under less-than-great conditions. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Air Force)

What Happened? Winners and Losers Because…

A critical part of those lessons is the all-important debriefing following a mission. Just as the activeduty crews do, Draken pilots go over any aircraft problems with their maintenance personnel and review their radar and sensor tapes to ensure that any simulated kills called or bombs dropped were valid. Then both Red and Blue forces gather for the mass debriefing, where the mission is replayed on a computer display that presents a god’s-eye view of the fight.

From the debriefing, both sides learn what went right and what went wrong. Long gone are the days of claiming a practice kill, and it being a case of “Yes, I did” versus “No, you didn’t.”

The data is gathered by the computer and laid out for all to see. But better to be embarrassed in a debriefing than turn into a fireball in some future conflict where the stakes are the highest.

And that is the point. Draken, along with other companies serving this small but growing industry, is a for-profit company. But Gordon is representative of them when he says, “I still want to contribute to the mission. This is my way of doing so. And flying fighters is still cool, so it’s a win-win.” J April 2018 43

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DESTROY TRUK! RAID ON JAPAN’S “GIBRALTAR OF THE PACIFIC”

BY THOMAS MCKELVEY CLEAVER

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As the sun rose over Pearl Harbor on New Year’s Day 1944, few who saw that spectacular sunrise could have known that it was the harbinger of the war’s decisive year. Roger Bond, who served as a quartermaster on USS Saratoga (CV-3) for most of the war, recalled afterward that there was a dividing line in the experience of the Pacific war. “I think that, for anyone who participated in the war, there were actually two wars. If you went out to the Pacific—say, after January 1944—you had a completely different experience and viewpoint than those before, because it really was two different operations.”

At the time of the Truk raids, the post-1944 Pacific “new” Navy included nine carriers, including USS Yorktown (CV-10).

The TBM proved to be everything Grumman and the Navy hoped it would be. At Truk, its torpedoes proved lethal to anchored shipping. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet) April 2018 47

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DESTROY TRUK!

The fleet was now so strong that the earlier carrier strategy used as recently as the Rabaul strikes of “hit and run” no longer made strategic sense.

A New War in the Pacific

VF-9 Hellcats land aboard USS Essex, with aircraft touching down every 20 seconds, in a choreography of catching the wire, taxiing forward, and folding the wings, each step caught in this photograph.

(Photo courtesy of Thomas McKelvey Cleaver)

With the arrival in Pearl Harbor on January 10, 1944, of the brand-new USS Intrepid (CV-11), the Central Pacific Force had five fleet carriers—Enterprise, Yorktown, Essex, Intrepid, and Bunker Hill—and four light carriers—Belleau Wood, Cabot, Monterey, and Cowpens— embarking more than 500 Hell­ cats, Dauntlesses, Helldivers, and Avengers. Supporting them were seven battleships with numerous cruisers and destroyers, 217 ships in all, the greatest

armada that had yet been seen in U.S. Navy history. The new navy was far stronger than the navy that had fought Japan to a stop in 1942, and almost twice the size of the fleet that led the invasion of the Gilberts less than 60 days earlier. The fleet was now so strong that the earlier carrier strategy used as recently as the Rabaul strikes of “hit and run” no longer made strategic sense. The fleet could take position off any enemy location and maintain air and naval superiority for as long as it was needed. The aspirations of naval aviators over the 20 years preceding the war were now reality.

Following the successful invasion of Kwajalein Atoll, the Navy looked beyond the Marshalls. A thousand miles to the west lay the unknown, mysterious main Japanese naval and air base in the Pacific: Truk Atoll, which, in the 20 years since Japan had taken control, had taken on the name “Gibraltar of the Pacific,” an indication of its

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The Phantom was pre-glass cockpit and relied on steam gauges and the pilot to do its job. There were no computers to help the pilot. (Photo by Ted Carlson)

importance to Japanese ambitions. Although the name was correctly pronounced “Trook,” it would be universally known by Americans as “Truck.”

To the U.S. Navy, seeing Truk as the Gibraltar of the Pacific was no exaggeration. It appeared impregnable, and sailors spoke the name in awestruck tones. Dangerous long-range reconnais-

sance flights by B-24s from bases in the Gilberts in December 1943 had brought back photos that allowed intelligence officers to map out the air bases and the various anchorages in the lagoon.

Analysts began to realize that there was not as much there as expected.

Navy planners were not aware of the Japanese

Overhead aerial view of beleaguered Eten Island shows the pockmarked 3500-foot runway and built-up massive cut-stone seawall. Beginning in 1934, half the island was leveled to fill the seawall and construct the 260-foot-wide runway.

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B-24 units, operating from the recently taken Palau island group, were a regular sight over the Truk archipelago island chains, striking mainly runways and reinforced embattlements. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)

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decision to sacrifice the Marshalls, and they expected a possible naval response from Imperial Japanese Navy units at Truk. Thus, it was imperative that the Gibraltar of the Pacific be neutralized. The attack was set for February 16–17, 1944. In terms of audacity, the strike demonstrated how far the fast carrier task force had come since the Rabaul attack only 97 days earlier.

A Battle a Long Time in the Making

When the fliers of Task Force 58 got the word of the proposed attack on Truk, aptly code-named “Operation Hailstone,” they were eager but apprehensive. As VB-10’s executive officer, Lt. James D. Ramage recalled, “For the previous two years of the war, the very thought of approaching Truk seemed fatal.” VF-9’s Lt. j.g.

Hamilton “Mac” McWhorter remembered that when he was informed of the coming operation, “My first instinct was to jump overboard.” The Buccaneer, the Essex’s shipboard newspaper, published a cartoon of the captain announcing the attack, followed by a panel in which the entire crew abandoned ship.

Truk Atoll is composed of dozens of islands surrounded

F4U-2s, of VF(N)-101, take off from USS Enterprise against Truk. (Photo courtesy of Thomas McKelvey Cleaver)

by a great barrier reef—although only seven islands, each marked by a volcanic peak (the tallest of which is nearly 1,500 feet above sea level), were of any size. The triangular barrier reef is roughly 140 miles around, forming a vast deep-water lagoon of more than 800 square miles.

With abundant rainfall and sunshine and an average year-round temperature of 81°F, the islands are green and lush, making Truk a Pacific paradise.

As a result of the Spanish-American War, the United States assumed control of Micronesia, including the Caroline Islands and Truk. American ambitions, however, focused on the Philippines. Micronesia—with the exception of Guam, the site of the one good harbor in the Marianas—was sold by Spain to Germany in 1899 for $4.2 million. German rule was little remarked and short-lived.

The Imperial Navy arrived in Truk in September 1914, following Japan’s declaration of war with Germany on August 23, 1914, as per a secret treaty with Great Britain that July, allowing Japan to take control of German territories in China and the Pacific in return for Tokyo April 2018 51

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VB-16 SBD-5 over Dublon Island, the site of Imperial Japanese Navy headquarters at Truk. (Photo courtesy of Thomas McKelvey Cleaver)

declaring war and joining the Allies. Japan proceeded to take all of Micronesia, including the Marshall Islands, which Spain had granted to Germany in the 1880s, and the Marianas other than American-controlled Guam. The seizure was finally recognized internationally by the League of Nations in 1919, when Japan was granted control of the South Pacific Mandate.

Although the mandate prohibited fortification or colonization, Tokyo settled thousands of Japanese throughout Micronesia beginning in 1921, when the Imperial Navy established its Pacific headquarters on Dublon Island at Truk. When work was finished in the late 1930s, the atoll was the site of Japan’s greatest fleet anchorage outside of the home islands. It was not, however, the great fortified bastion implied in the reference to it being the “Gibraltar of the Pacific.” This fact was unknown outside the Japanese Navy.

Adm. Raymond Spruance’s planners estimated a total of 185 Japanese aircraft at Truk, but the real number was 365; however, there were no pilots for all those aircraft, and many planes were under repair. Task Force 58 carried 276 F6F-3 Hellcat fighters, 140 SBD-5 Dauntless and 27 SB2C-1 Helldiver dive-bombers, and 126 TBM-1C Avenger torpedo-bombers, totaling 569 aircraft.

The Americans had no way of knowing that the Japanese were even more apprehensive than they were. When word was received that Kwajalein had fallen, the leaders of the Imperial Navy feared that their American opponents were now in a position to launch a strike at Truk. The

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As the golden light of the tropic dawn brightened the sky over Truk atoll, the biggest air battle in the history of the Pacific war to that time broke out. majority of the Combined Fleet was ordered to leave the atoll on February 10. While a dozen cruisers and destroyers remained behind, the carriers and battleships sailed for Palau.

Target: Truk

The U.S. task force reached the launch point, 90 miles east of Truk, two hours before dawn on February 16, 1944. VF-6, which had been reunited as a squadron after the Gilberts campaign, had gone aboard Intrepid when she arrived in Pearl Harbor.

Lt. j.g. Alexander Vraciu, the squadron’s leading ace after the Gilberts campaign, recalled the morning was “clear, cool and beautiful as we launched.”

The first of 72 Hellcats launched at 0645 hours. Leading VF-10’s 12 Grummans alongside 12 from VF-6 was Air Group 10’s Commander Air Group (CAG), Cmdr. William “Killer” Kane. A member of the Annapolis class of ’33 that would

provide so many of the Navy’s midlevel leaders during the war, Kane’s nickname was the result of his record as a football player and wrestler at the Naval Academy. He had been at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked and had entered combat later at Guadalcanal.

As the golden light of the tropic dawn brightened the sky over Truk atoll, the biggest air battle in the history of the Pacific war to that time broke out.

At 0800, Kane’s strike force arrived over Moen Island and spotted Japanese fighters already aloft. The Hellcats fell on some 50 Japanese fighters, shooting the “Zekes” out of the sky by twos and threes. Kane and his wingman, Lt. j.g.

Vern Ude, shot down five Zekes in five minutes before turning their attention to strafing planes on the ground.

As the rest of VF-6 dived after Kane’s Hellcats,

An aerial torpedo dropped by a Task Force 58 TBM Avenger hits a Japanese cargo ship anchored off Dublon Island.

(Photo courtesy of Thomas McKelvey Cleaver)

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DESTROY TRUK! section leader Vraciu spotted Zekes 2,500 feet overhead. When no one responded to his warning call, he and wingman, Ensign Lou Little, broke into the enemy formation, which scattered in the attack.

In a series of quick fights, Vraciu gunned down two Zekes and a “Rufe,” while Little also nailed a Zeke. Vraciu then spotted another Zeke that ducked into a nearby cloud. After several inconclusive moments chasing the enemy in and out of the clouds, Vraciu climbed up-sun and waited for the Zeke to reappear. When it did, he dropped on it from six o’clock and set it afire with two bursts.

He had nearly doubled his score, to nine. “At that moment, I was the leading Navy ace of the war.

The fighting over Truk was the wildest action I participated in, Turkey Shoot included.”

Yorktown’s CAG, Cmdr. Joe Owen, remembered, “As we started to strafe airfields, quite a melee developed as the Japs began getting into the air. Actually, there were so many Jap airplanes

AAM 1/c A. B. Baxter mans the twin Browning AN/ M2 machine guns on his SBD-5 in 1944. A lightweight, rapid-fire version of the standard M2 .30-caliber gun, it had a blistering rate of fire of 1350rpm, giving the Dauntless excellent rearward protection. Baxter flew as gunner for VB-16’s well-known “wild man,” Lt. j.g.

Cook Cleland. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook)

moving that it was almost confusing to select a target and stay with it until it was shot down, without being lured to another target just taking off or apparently attempting to join up in some kind of formation. After a few minutes, it was difficult to find uncluttered airspace. Jap aircraft were burning and falling from every quarter, and many were crashing on takeoff as a result of strafing them on the ground. Ground installations exploded and burned—all this in the early golden glow of dawn. At times, it all looked like it might have been staged for the movies.”

A Fight Like No Other

A total of 47 Hellcats from five squadrons were quickly engaged as more Japanese fighters clawed their way into the sky. Some American pilots claimed that they saw Japanese parachuting in colorful pajamas, which was claimed as evidence of how complete the surprise was. The fighting was so intense that Vraciu reported seeing one Hellcat shoot down another Hellcat.

At the moment Killer Kane’s Hellcats appeared

over Moen, a Japanese “Betty” bomber touched down after a flight from Rabaul. Aboard was Marine Maj. Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, who had been shot down and captured several weeks earlier. The Betty was on the first leg of a trip to Japan, transporting Boyington there for interrogation and torture. As the bomber slowed and turned off the runway, Kane and his Hellcat pilots began strafing.

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Boyington and several other American prisoners were quickly hustled off the plane. A Hellcat screamed over low, “spraying .50-calibers all through the Nip aircraft standing there in front of us,” Boyington later wrote. “The piece of transportation we had just crawled out of went up before our eyes in flame and smoke, and so did nearly every other plane we could see around there.”

The Americans scrambled into a slit trench,

just in time to avoid being blown up by an American bomb. Japanese planes up and down the airstrip burned furiously. As their ammunition exploded, lead and shrapnel filled the air.

During a lull, a Japanese pilot landed his Zeke and ran for cover. Suddenly, he found the Americans in the slit trench. “He was wearing one of those fuzzy helmets with the earflaps turned up, and he looked at us, as surprised as we were,

Deck crews manhandle an F6F aboard a busy Essex-class flight deck. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)

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DESTROY TRUK! so that he gave the appearance of a jackrabbit getting off the highway.”

The Hellcat in its Element

VF-9’s Lt. j.g. William J. Bonneau, with three victories in the Rabaul strike on November 11, was covering a division of Hellcats making a strafing run when a gaggle of Zekes fell on his division.

In the ensuing action, he shot down four in flames. His Hellcat was damaged, with flap control and hydraulic pressure shot away; still, he managed to get back and land aboard Essex.

Bonneau’s wingman, Lt. j.g. Eugene Valencia, got separated and was chased out to sea by six Zekes firing at him without result. Valencia finally decided, “They couldn’t hit an elephant if it was tied down for them,” and made a headon pass, knocking down one. Hauling around tighter, he shot down two more, and the surviving three dived away. Back aboard Essex, Valencia was questioned by the Grumman tech rep about his feelings regarding the Hellcat. Grumman’s publicity department ensured that Valencia’s answer was widely quoted: “I love this airplane so much that if it could cook, I’d marry it.”

VF-5’s Lt. Robert Duncan, who scored his first victories in the October 1943 fight over Wake Island, when he downed nine-victory ace Warrant Officer Toshiyuki Sueda and his wingman, became a six-victory ace while escorting Yorktown’s Dauntlesses and Avengers. “We saw about 15 to 20 Zekes above, and they came down to engage us. Their With three victories scored then composed himself and said in English, ‘I front man came head-on at me, which was unusuover Truk, VF-9’s Lt. j.g. am a Japanese pilot. You bomb here, you die,’ al because Japs usually didn’t like to make head-on Hamilton McWhorter, who and patted the gun on his hip.” Boyington shots.” Duncan proceeded to shoot down both the became the first Hellcat ace during the Gilberts invasion burst out laughing, stopping long enough to leader and his wingman. “The third man took off in December 1943, became say, “With all the God damned trouble we got, to run away, and I went after him. I got so close the first Hellcat double ace. ain’t you the cheerful son of a bitch, though.” on his tail that when I fired he just blew up right (Photo courtesy of Thomas More Hellcats arrived, and the enemy pilot took in my face. I thought I was going right through McKelvey Cleaver) off running. “The last we saw of him, his short that explosion, and I jerked back on the stick and legs were busy hopping over obstructions, the blacked out in the process.” As he climbed back to earflaps of his fur helmet wobbling up and down the fight, a fourth Zeke rolled inverted and bored in. Duncan fired head-on, though only the three guns in his right wing still worked.

He banked around in time to see the Zeke strike the hills of Dublon Island.

Vraciu’s status as leading ace didn’t last an hour.

McWhorter and wingman Lt. j.g. Bud Gehoe were escorting an Avenger on a photo mission when McWhorter spotted three bogeys approaching in the distance. Turning into the strangely marked orangeand-black aircraft to get a closer look, they turned out to be Zekes. “I truly couldn’t believe it when they came at SB2C Helldivers aboard USS Intrepid (CV-11) initially scored two destroyers and several merchant ships in Truk Lagoon until a us head-on and never fired Japanese torpedo jammed her rudder and forced her retreat to Pearl Harbor. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet) 56 FlightJournal.com

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a shot. I don’t see how they could have failed to spot us.� With economical bursts, McWhorter downed two, while Gehoe got the third. Later, McWhorter saw another Zeke, came in behind it, fired, and it went down in flames. With that, McWhorter was the first Hellcat double ace.

Air Superiority Redefined

At dawn, there were 365 aircraft at Truk. By 1400 hours, the Hellcats had claimed 204 destroyed in the air and on the ground, and 130 in aerial combat.

The Fighting Nine claimed top honors with a total bag of 36. The Hellcats owned the air over the Gibraltar of the Pacific from midafternoon on through the final strikes the following day.

There would be hard fighting to come, but with the losses sustained at Truk, combined with attrition at Rabaul, the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force (IJNAF) was a shadow of the force that had swept the Pacific in 1942. By February 1944, most U.S. Navy fighter squadrons in the Pacific were led by men with combat experience, while their most junior pilots had more than 600 hours in their logbooks by the time they entered combat. There were almost no experienced leaders in the IJNAF, and the average pilot came to his squadron

by February 1944 with no more than 200 hours of training. Most were barely able to take off from and land on an aircraft carrier. The Truk strikes reduced the IJNAF pilot population by so much that they put the Japanese carrier force out of commission until the Marianas invasion, while they tried to train replacement pilots to make up for the losses sustained at Truk.

Not all Gibraltars are impossible targets. J

Lt. j.g. Jake Jacobsen of VB-10 in the landing pattern of the USS Enterprise (CV-6) in March 1944. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook) SBD-5s of Bombing Squadron 10 (VB-10) in formation prior to landing aboard USS Enterprise (CV-6) during 1944. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook)

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GALLERY

STILL FLYING AFTER ALL THESE YEARS OX-5 Powered WACO 9

BY BUDD DAVISSON PHOTOS BY TYSON V. RININGER

I

t could be argued that a major factor in the birth of civilian aviation was the Curtiss OX-5, 90hp, liquid-cooled V-8 engine. That wasn’t because it was such a wonderful engine. In fact, it was heavy for its power and crude in every design detail, and it took some tinkering to keep it running. Reliability wasn’t its strong suit. Pilots of the day, many of whom were barnstorming from farm fields, said that they flew OX-5s from emergency landing to emergency landing. It was the seed of 1920s’ aviation simply because thousands were available on the military-surplus market for next to nothing at a time when aircraft manufacturing was in its infancy.

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Pioneering civil-aviation manufacturers like Advance Aircraft (soon to be WACO) used the inexpensive WW I–surplus Curtiss OX-5 engines as one of the seeds to start an industry.

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Above: The WACO 9 used an abundance of wing area to make up for a lack of horsepower.

Left: Cruising at a leisurely 65mph, the “9” could barely get the rudimentary airspeed indicator off the peg.

How available was the engine? It was designed and built

by Glenn Curtiss and company for the original JN series, culminating in the JN-4 “Jenny” in 1915. By 1919, Curtiss had built more than 6,800 Jennys, with approximately two engines for every airplane. The Jenny and the surplus engines were the backbone of 1920s’ barnstorming, and the OX-5 engine powered many new designs. Iconic aviation companies, such as WACO (Weaver Aircraft Company), Travel Air, and many others, all of which were working on shoestring budgets, got their start building affordable airplanes around that engine.

WACO, which began business under the banner of Advance Aircraft Company and was renamed in 1929, fielded its first mass-production airplane as the OX-powered WACO 9 in 1925. In the best WW I Fokker D.VII fashion, it had a welded tube and fabric fuselage, with the wing structure being rag-covered wood. The slowturning (1,400rpm) OX-5 swung a big 8-foot-plus prop, which, only having 90hp to work with, produced enough thrust—barely! Combined with the nearly 30-foot wing panels and light wing loading (1,320 pounds empty; 2,100 pounds gross), the WACO 9 could haul a pilot and two passengers out of a wheat field—barely!

By the mid-1920s, the OX-5’s days were severely

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Above: The rocker arms of the 90hp, water-cooled OX-5 had to be hand-lubricated every few hours.

Below: A biplane in the sunset: American aviation, circa 1925, captured in a single frame.

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Above: The WACO 9 pictured was one of the very first aircraft manufactured by the legendary company.

Right: Working his way through an early-morning fog, a barnstormer sets up his approach to a field in hopes of attracting enough passengers to pay his expenses for the day.

Below: The life span of an OX-5 was often as short as 50 hours. Gilmore was an early oil company that sponsored many racing and airshow airplanes in the 1920s and ’30s.

numbered. It had estab­ lished the aviation market as being a viable source of revenue, so a number of companies, including Pratt & Whitney and Wright, were formed to manufacture radial engines that produced two and three times the horsepower for the same weight. Equally as important, the new engines didn’t have the irritating habit of depositing pilots in remote fields or in the trees when they quit. Still, approximately 270 OX-powered WACO 9s were built before the WACO 10 superseded it, of which an incredible 1,600 were built. Only the first WACO 10s were powered by OX-5s. Production had barely begun before they were replaced by Wright J-5s and similar, now-legendary, radials. General aviation now had reliability on its side.

Only a small number of OX-5 powered aircraft of any kind still ply the airways. Most are Jennys, but a few WACOs still sport the wonderfully streamlined nose that cleaves the air aside, letting the usually blunt OX-5 through. One is WACO 9, NC1536, owned

by Scott Glover as part of his private collection, Mid America Flight Museum in Mt. Pleasant, Texas. As serial number 9, it is one of the very first aircraft to be built by Advance Aircraft/WACO. It is also flown regularly, often with Kelly Mahon at the controls.

Kelly says, “This airplane was originally restored

by Frank Pavliga. He started with a fuselage and three

wings that were good only for patterns. It is essentially a new airplane. But it is a true antique in every way. It has no normal airspeed indicator, no brakes, a tailskid, no carb heat, only one mag, a rudder bar rather than pedals, and on and on. The way it handles in the air is pretty well summed up by a line in the handwritten pilot’s handbook that says, ‘The ailerons are only a suggestion to the airplane.’ It is leisurely in the extreme.

“Mechanically,” he continues, “it is, shall we say, ‘unique.’ Rigging the wings, for instance has more to do with the phases of the moon than angles and measurements. The engine has to be constantly monitored and pampered. The valve train has no internal lubrication, so we grease it every day or every 45 minutes of flight time. You can see the rocker arms jiggling around out there while they are throwing grease back over the airplane. It cruises at 65mph while turning 1200rpm.”

NC1536 keeps company in Glover’s museum by aircraft that show how quickly airframe design progressed in the ’20s and ’30s. They include the first DC-3 taken into the U.S. Army Air Corps (a heavily documented C-41), a Mustang, a Corsair, an A-26, a Grumman Duck that survived Pearl Harbor, and a wide variety of other historic aircraft.

The WACO 9, however, shouldn’t be denigrated for its shortcomings. It was a pioneer in the birth of civil aviation and was in production only seven years after the end of WW I, a time when civilian aero design and manufacturing were just getting on their feet. Given its historical importance, it’s a wonderful thing to see one of the breed still in its element. 

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REVIEWRUNWAY

Rabaul 1943–44: Reducing Japan’s Great Island Fortress

art of the new Osprey Air Campaign series, Rabaul 1943–44: Reducing Japan’s Great Island Fortress by Mark Lardas is an excellent read, filled with original artwork, maps, illustrations (by Mark Postlethwaite), and historical photographs. For readers interested in the aircraft and strategies used in the South Pacific theater of World War II, this 96-page paperback lays out the events and engagements between the U.S. Navy air combat units and the Japanese air forces. Specifically during 1942, when the massive Japanese naval base and airfield at Rabaul, on the island of New Britain, were a fortress standing in the Allies’ path to Tokyo. Impossible to invade Rabaul, the United States began an innovative, hard-fought two-year air

campaign avoiding a ground assault, allowing them to bypass the island completely. Their use of air power eliminated the need to occupy ground objectives in order to control them. As it turned out, the siege of Rabaul proved to be more just than a successful demonstration of air power—it provided the road map for conducting the rest of the war in the Pacific.

Lardas has been fascinated his entire life by things related to the sea and sky. From building models of ships and aircraft as a teen, his maritime interest led him to study naval architecture and marine engineering. But his interest in aviation led him to take a job with the space shuttle program, where for more than 30 years, he worked as a navigation engineer. Currently, he works developing commercial aircraft systems as a quality-assurance manager. He has written extensively about aircraft and warships and is the author of 25 books, all related to military, naval, or maritime history.—Gerry Yarrish

1001 Aviation Facts

Angels in the Sky

by Mike Machat (ed.)

Robert Gandt

(Specialty Press, 336 pages, $24.95)

(W. W. Norton & Co., 464 pages, $15.54)

by Mark Lardas (Osprey Publishing, 96 pages, $20.00)

P

E

dited by Mike Machat and published by Specialty Press, 1001 Aviation Facts includes the works of many talented experts in their fields, including John Lewis, Craig Kodera, Nick Veronico, Jim Keeshen, Hank Caruso, Mark Frankel, and Jon Proctor. This book is a must-read for anyone wanting to be the king of aviation trivia. It provides an insightful and in-depth look at aviation history, filled with amazing and little-known information and facts about all aspects of aviation.

Although individual aircraft have interesting technical histories, there are many small details that are vital to that aircraft’s success or failure. This 336-page book brings those types of facts into focus, giving readers a plethora of compelling data and information that will broaden their understanding and appreciation of aviation in general, plus the aircraft and the people who make them fly. From the Wright Brothers and the Spirit of St. Louis pilot Charles Lindbergh to military and experimental world records for altitude and speed, the stories are organized by category, such as military, commercial, and sport aviation, and include topics such as pilots and personalities, aviation movies, TV shows, and model building.—Gerry Gerry Yarrish

P

icture the 1948 Arab-Israeli War as The Magnificent Seven (the original with Yul Brynner), but in this version, the horses are ersatz Messerschmitt Bf 109s and the hired guns are a wildly varied—and slightly motley—group of volunteer pilots. Now, instead of thrusting them into the battle between a beleaguered small town in Mexico and an overwhelming number of banditos, place them into the fiery gap between the newly formed country of Israel and most of the Arab world. That is the background of Bob Gandt’s newest piece of highly accurate tale telling, Angels in the Sky. It is the best, most detailed telling of one of the least known yet most gripping survival tales of modern times. Winston Churchill’s famous quote about so many owing so much to so few absolutely applies to this conflict.

When they began planning their independence, Israel had no air force, and the United States made it technically illegal for Americans to support, or engage in, any of the “activities” foreseen between Israel and everyone else. So the flow of a few dozen pilots and airplanes was underground and soaked in the intrigue worthy of any spy novel. It’s compelling reading as David fights Goliath.

Gandt is the reigning king of what some call “faction”: the detailed recounting of factual history in a way that makes it feel like fiction. This is a story that desperately needed telling and Bob Gandt, an ex-U.S. Navy fighter/attack pilot, was the guy to tell it.

Nicely done, sir!—Budd Davisson

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FLYBUYS

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation (Required by 39 U.S.C. 3685). 1. Title of Publication: FLIGHT JOURNAL. 2. Publication no.: 015-447. 3. Date of Filing: December 26, 2017.

4. Frequency of Issue: Bimonthly. 5. Number of Issues Published Annually: 6. 6. Annual Subscription Price: $29. 7.Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: Air Age, Inc. 88 Danbury Rd., Wilton, CT 06897-4423.

8. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher: Same.

9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Address of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor: Publisher: Louis V. DeFrancesco, 88 Danbury Rd, Wilton, CT 06897-4423. Editor: Budd Davisson, 88 Danbury Rd, Wilton, CT 06897-4423. Managing Editor: None. 10. Owners: Louis V. DeFrancesco and Yvonne M. DeFrancesco, 88 Danbury Rd, Wilton, CT 06897-4423. 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgages, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or more of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages or Other Securities: None. 12.

Does not apply. 13. Publication Name: FLIGHT JOURNAL. 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: October 2017. 15. Extent and Nature of Circulation: Average Number of Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: A. Total Number of Copies (Net Press Run): 62,654. B. Paid and/ or Requested Circulation. (1) Paid/Requested Outside-County Mail Subscriptions Stated on Form 3541: 28,094 (2) 0 (3) Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors and counter Sales: 8,872 (4) 0. C. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 36,966. D. Free Distribution by Mail, Samples, Complimentary and Other Free: (1) 1,005 (2) 0 (3) 0. (4) Free Distribution outside the Mail: 92. E. Total Free Distribution: 2,378. F. Total Distribution: 40,349. G. Copies Not Distributed 22,305. H. Total: 62,654. I. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 91.6%. 16. Electronic Copy Circulation: A. Paid Electronic Copies: 8,172. B. Total Paid Print Copies + Paid Electronic Copies: 45,138. C. Total Requested Copy Distribution + Paid Electronic Copies: 48,521. D. Percent Paid (Both Print & Electronic Copies): 93% Actual Number of Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date. A. Total Number of Copies (Net Press Run): 59,227. B. Paid Circulation.

(1) Paid/Requested Outside-County Mail Subscriptions Stated on Form 3541: 26,558 (2) 0 (3) Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors and counter Sales: 8,387 (4) 0. C. Total Paid Distribution: 34,945. D. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution by Mail, Samples, Complimentary and Other Free: (1) 950 (2) 0 (3) 0. (4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail: 2,249 E. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution: 3,198. F. Total Distribution: 38,143. G. Copies Not Distributed 21,084. H. Total: 59,227. I. Percent Paid: 91.6%. 16. Electronic Copy Circulation: A. Paid Electronic Copies: 8,222 B. Total Paid Print Copies + Paid Electronic Copies: 43,167. C. Total Requested Copy Distribution + Paid Electronic Copies: 46,365. D. Percent Paid (Both Print & Electronic Copies): 93.1% This statement of ownership will be printed in the April 2018 issue of this publication. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete.

Yvonne DeFrancesco, Publisher.

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WW II Fighters: From the Cockpit

WW II Fighters: From the Cockpit is an exciting compilation of iconic pilot reports from Flight Journal’s 22 years of publishing. These rare first-person narratives are written by some of the most famous test pilots of all time, including Corky Meyer and Capt. Eric Brown. Meyer, a Grumman test pilot as well as an incredibly humorous writer, puts his readers in the cockpits of Zeros, Spitfires, and Hellcats. Brown, the Royal Navy test pilot who flew a greater variety of aircraft than anyone in history, tells us what it’s like to fly a Bf 109, an Me 262, and a FW 190, among other historic aircraft. Don’t miss these fantastic tales, direct from the pilot’s seat. item: WW2FC AirAgeStore.com

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TAILVIEW

Dave Aiken’s Airplanes Big Ones to Lots of Little Ones

BY SAM TIPTON

D

ave Aiken is a typical airplane guy. OK, maybe not so typical. How many Cessna 180 owners have thousands of model airplanes? (Actually, tens of thousands.) And a 1,600-foot grass-strip runway in their backyard? Dave does, and in his case, it’s easy to see where the passion for aviation comes from; it appears that it was coded in his DNA. During World War II, his father, Bennet Aiken Sr., flew the Hump in C-46s and C-54s. Shortly after, he began what would become a 39-year career for Eastern Air Lines, where he piloted DC-3s and L-1011s, and eventually trained new pilot hires.

Decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross in WW II and then presented with a diamond pin from Col. Frank Borman himself, Bennet Aiken clearly left an impression. Dave says that he and his siblings were “raised in an airplane environment.” Dave adds, “In one way or another, all of us gravitated to aviation in our own lives.”

Dave’s own career mimicked that of so many others who worked their way into an airliner left seat: first as an instructor and then as a pilot of corporate charters. When FedEx called him in for an interview in 1983, his life took a long-term turn for the better.

Fast-forward to the latter part of his career: Based in Memphis, Tennessee, he flew as a senior captain of the A300 and saw the perks that come with that.

“Eventually,” he says, “I was so senior that I was bidding trips that gave me three- and four-day layovers, which gave me a lot of time to think about what I would like to do besides flying airliners.”

Around that time, he says, “One of my brothers gave Dad one of the very first diecast model airplanes, which were part of a Texaco promotional program that featured iconic flying machines. In this case, it was a red Stearman, and it was so cool! Everyone was loving it, and a lightbulb went off in my head.” Dave had found what he refers to as his “hobby business.”

In early 1997, he reorganized his on-property hangar by his grass-strip runway and, from there, began stocking and selling diecast model airplanes on eBay. Ranging from jet fighters to prop bombers, various scales and paint schemes, he says things “took off like crazy.” Before long, he had a website and an enthusiastic following. The entire Aiken family joined in and became part of the business, traveling to airshows across the country for 12 consecutive years, pro-

Left: Distributed by Aiken’s Airplanes, this Flight Wing 1/18 static display model is a replica of the TBF Avenger flown by Lt. j.g. George Bush. Below: No, this isn’t Dave Aiken showing off his biggest model. He’s just trying P-51D “Old Crow” on for size.

moting the business and meeting those who would become lifelong customers and friends.

Aiken’s Airplanes was one of the first diecast model retailers on the scene and is now celebrating its 20th anniversary, with more than 50,000 pieces of inventory, multiple buildings, and a number of full-time employees, including his oldest daughter, Laura Aiken-Andrey.

Dave and Laura say that they are constantly looking for new products and areas for expansion. At one point early on in the business, Dave met his brother Bennet Aiken Jr. at a restaurant next to the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, and saw giant 1/18-scale WW II airplanes hanging from the ceiling.

“It was jaw-dropping!”

Dave exclaims. “I’d never seen anything like them.

I asked the owner where he got them and instantly ordered $20,000 worth.”

Laura says that it was a turning point for the business. “We had so many collectors who were diecast purists, but once they got their hands on these detailed, 2-foot resin winged beauties, the customers quickly converted and adapted. And as a business, we did too.”

Dave adds, “The whole model thing keeps expanding. I have 4-foot jets, including F-16, F-18s, and Harriers. I even have 8-foot, silk-covered Sopwiths. It’s actually hard to believe what’s being manufactured out there and the quality they’re producing.”

Dave says that the most important part of his business is that it’s still fun after 20 years. Since Dave’s retirement from FedEx in 2013, Laura has taken over the day-to-day operations, but Dave still has plenty to keep him busy; he’s adding aviation-apparel lines, children’s toys, and aviation art to the ever-expanding website. Of course, that is when he isn’t sailing his 48-foot catamaran in the Caribbean or flying his Cessna 180, known as “The Redbird,” with his children.

Laura says, “This business, although stressful at times, is deeply rooted in our family and is reflective of my dad’s unparalleled work ethic, good business sense, and (more important) his love for aviation and family.” Laura continues, “His unofficial nickname is ‘Peter Pan.’ I write in his Christmas card every year, ‘You are the Pan,’ because, to us, he embodies such a genuinely youthful spirit and love of flying. He is the definition of ‘an awfully big adventure.’”

Passion for aviation takes shape in many forms, but regardless, it never seems to die. And with the Aiken family, it probably never will.

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