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u-boat downs blimp? mysterious loss of K-14

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bat out of hell the me-163 komet rocket fighter’s brief, explosive combat career

HistoryNet.com

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Broken Arrow: B-52 crashes in greenland with four H-bombs skywriting: instant messaging with quarter-mile-high letters

MIAMI, FL/EAST COAST JEWELRY · BOCA RATON, FL/ECJ LUXE · CHARLOTTE, NC/DIAMOND DIRECT · BEVERLY HILLS, CA/DAVID ORGELL · SAN FRANCISCO, CA/SHAPUR MENLO PARK, CA/CECI WONG JEWELERS · LOS ANGELES, CA/FELDMAR · COSTA MESA, CA/WATCH CONNECTION · NEW YORK NY/KENJO · COLTS NECK, NJ/J. VINCENT ENGLEWOOD, NJ/TIMEPIECE COLLECTION · GAMBRILLS, MD/LITTLE TREASURE · CHICAGO, IL/NEW YORK JEWELERS · DENVER, CO/RIGHT TIME · HOUSTON, TX/STYLE JEWELERS TORONTO, ON/MYLES MINDHAM · VANCOUVER, BC/TIME & GOLD · ST THOMAS, USVI/TRIDENT · JAMAICA, WI/HOUSE OF DIAMONDS · ST MARTEEN, DWI/BALLERINA

34 AMERICAN HISTORY

TURBINE PILOT Manufacture caliber. Turbine Technology.

48 mm stainless steel case. Screw-down crown at 3 o’clock.

Bidirectional inner dial ring, circular aviation slide rule.

Black 12-blades revolving Turbine. Black calfskin strap.

Ref. A1085/1A

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NOvEMBER 2017 DEPARTMENTS 5 MAILBAG 6 BRIEFING 12 AVIATORS Joe Engle is the last living X-15 pilot and the only man to manually fly the space shuttle from orbit to landing.

By Mark Carlson

14 RESTORED

14 16

One of just two Avro Lancasters flying today honors the memory of a Canadian Victoria Cross recipient.

By Bob Gordon

features 28 BAT OUT OF HELL

The rocket-powered Me-163 Komet interceptor was the hottest airplane in World War II skies, but many who flew it paid the ultimate price. By Don Hollway

38 THE SKY’S THEIR CANvAS

A new form of advertising emerged in the early 1920s when skywriters began creating commercial messages in smoke for all to see. By Stephan Wilkinson

46 THE LAST FLIGHT OF HOBO 28

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In January 1968, a B-52 carrying four hydrogen bombs caught fire and plummeted toward icy Greenland.

By Timothy Karpin and James Maroncelli

54 THE REMARKABLE MRS. MARKHAM

Although little-remembered today, Beryl Markham outdid her contemporary Amelia Earhart by flying the Atlantic solo from east to west. By Derek O’Connor

16 EXTREMES In his quest to build the world’s safest airplane, designer Fred Weick pioneered several familiar features on an unfamiliar prototype.

By Robert Guttman

18 STYLE Showcasing products of interest to aviation enthusiasts and pilots.

26 LETTER FROM AVIATION HISTORY 66 REVIEWS 71 FLIGHT TEST 72 AERO ARTIFACT

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60 CONTROvERSIAL CRASH OF K-14

Was the loss of a patrol blimp off Maine in 1944 the result of pilot error, or was it brought down by a German U-boat?

By Chuck Lyons

ON THE COVER: A Messerschmitt Me-163B-1 Komet of Jagdgeschwader 400 streaks through a formation of 91st Bombardment Group B-17Gs, setting one of the bombers afire with its cannons. Jack Fellows’ illustration depicts a rare victory for the rocket fighter, which killed many of its own pilots. Cover: ©2017 Jack Fellows, ASAA.

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: DAVID HANDSCHUH/NY DAILY NEWS/GETTY IMAGES; NASA; NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM; COURTESY OF WOLFGANG MUEHLBAUER

38

The Skytypers create a message in smoke with their T-6s over a New York area beach.

MICHAEL A. REINSTEIN CHAIRMAN & PUBLISHER DAVID STEINHAFEL ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER DOUG NEIMAN ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER ALEX NEILL EDITOR IN CHIEF

Aviation History

Online You’ll find much more from Aviation History on the web’s leading history resource: HistoryNet.com

ACROSS THE HYPERSONIC DIVIDE The North American X-15 constituted a remarkable achievement that made possible an astonishingly productive research program, bridging the age of flight and the space age.

JACK NORTHROP’S “FLYING RAM” When the Messerschmitt Me-163 Komet began attacking Allied bombers late in World War II, American aircrews marveled at the rocket plane’s technology, unaware that since 1942 something similar had been secretly under development in their own country.

HITLER’S FEMALE TEST PILOT One of the best-known test pilots of the Third Reich, Hanna Reitsch set more than 40 flight records, but a turn in an Me-163 nearly ended her life.

ONLINE BONUS Follow our step-by-step instructions to build this issue’s “Modeling” project, the Bachem Ba-349 Natter rocket interceptor featured in “Bat Out of Hell” (P. 37).

Let’s Connect Like Aviation History Magazine on Facebook Digital Subscription Aviation History is available via Zinio and other digital subscription services

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NOVEMBER 2017 / VOL. 28, NO. 2 CARL VON WODTKE EDITOR PARAAG SHUKLA SENIOR EDITOR JON GUTTMAN RESEARCH DIRECTOR CONTRIBUTING EDITORS WALTER J. BOYNE, STEPHAN WILKINSON ARTHUR H. SANFELICI EDITOR EMERITUS

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CORPORATE ROB WILKINS DIRECTOR OF PARTNERSHIP MARKETING ROXANNA SASSANIAN FINANCE TOM GRIFFITHS CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT GRAYDON SHEINBERG CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT

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POSTMASTER, send address changes to Aviation History, P.O. Box 422224, Palm Coast, FL 32142-2224 List Rental Inquiries: Belkys Reyes, Lake Group Media, Inc. 914-925-2406; belkys.reyes@lakegroupmedia.com Canada Publications Mail Agreement No. 41342519, Canadian GST No. 821371408RT0001 The contents of this magazine may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of HistoryNet, LLC

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The first X-15 is on display at the National Air and Space Museum.

mailbag

MISS DONNA LEE CREWMAN

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have read Aviation History for years and I always enjoy the articles. Imagine my surprise when I opened up the September issue and saw a photo of my great-uncle Lorin Budd Low in the opening spread of “Fifty Years in the Air,” about the pilot John Hug. My Uncle Budd was a gunner >

> on the B-29 Miss Donna Lee, and he is the tall blond young man in the back row.

He once proudly told me the name of the aircraft he served on as well as the numbers of his bomb group and squadron. From his information, I was able to do some research and finish an oil painting of the aircraft he flew on [above]. I was fortunate to be able to show it to him before he passed away.

It was a thrill to see that aircraft in your magazine and read about the experiences and trials faced by the pilot and crew.

David Meikle Salt Lake City, Utah

ABOVE: DAVIDMEIKLEART.COM; TOP RIGHT: COURTESY OF LT. COL. JOHN BESSETTE; BOTTOM RIGHT: U.S. AIR FORCE

BOMARC’S FLAW The Bomarc missile [“Extremes,” September] was indeed an extraordinary aircraft, but its guidance system had a fatal flaw. My dad, Lt. Col. John Simon, was U.S. Air Force liaison to Systems Development Corporation in the early 1960s, helping computer programmers develop the Bomarc’s software. The system’s fatal flaw was in the SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment) computer system that guided the missile.

The SAGE computers, which used vacuum tubes instead of transistors, were the larg-

est, heaviest computers ever built. They processed data from radar sites (primarily the Distant Early Warning Line), and a complete radar sweep took a minute. My dad was sure the Russians knew how SAGE and the Bomarc worked. All the bomber pilots would have to do is alter course every minute or so, and the missiles would surely miss. He attended a meeting with the Air Force brass and told them the system would not work. An Air Force general stood up and hotly contradicted him. My dad offered to go up into Canada with a T-33 and penetrate the North American air defense zone. He said they could fire a live Bomarc at him, and they would miss. Needless to say, he did not endear himself to the generals at the conference.

Frank Simon Plano, Texas

SPOOKY STORIES The July issue’s article about AC-47 “Spooky” operations [“Log of The Leper”] struck two chords. The first: I was a Spooky navigator in the same detachment that author Steve Birdsall visited in 1967 at Bien Hoa. He tells his tale with verve and accuracy. I arrived in

the same unit in the same location in May 1968. A lot had changed, and little had. Between his time and mine the USAF considerably increased Spooky’s strength, requiring two squadrons with 16 aircraft each. This increased strength enabled Spooky to respond more effectively to the Tet Offensive and related actions in early 1968.

The second chord: During my 15 months in Spooky the missions continued to be “interesting.” A lot of routine orbiting in our area, awaiting the call to defend a Special Forces outpost, a Vietnamese village or GIs needing help at night. Once in a while we’d have intense action. But the most important mission was one I was not a part of: the firefight

that led to Airman 1st Class John Levitow, a loadmaster in our unit, receiving the Medal of Honor. The photo on the cover of your July issue depicts a “Gooney Bird” modified to resemble Levitow’s AC-47 (though its tail code should be EL, not EN) on the night of February 22, 1969, when he saved the airplane and crew at a moment

of deadly peril. I took the attached photo of Levitow’s aircraft [below, top; detail of holed wing at bottom] the afternoon after it was hit and barely escaped crashing with all hands onboard.

Lt. Col. John Bessette U.S. Air Force (Ret.)

“NAKED FANNY” MEMORIES Your July article on the restored B-26K Special Kay [“Restored”] brought back memories of my two years as an officer with the U.S. Information Agency living in the town of Nakhon Phanom, Thailand. The Thai airbase, NKP, was 10 miles away, and I was there frequently, either to give lectures to incoming troops on the insurgency in that part of the country, or to hop rides to the interior of the province on either the U-6 Beavers or U-10 Helio Couriers stationed there.

But the main attraction for me, the son of an Air Force pilot, were the A-26 Invaders and A-1E Skyraiders (and later, Navy P2V Neptunes) that dominated the flight line. The amount and variety of ordnance they carried was impressive.

I once got a hop to Udorn in an A-1E. Midway through the flight the pilot asked if I had been told that he was on alert to divert to Laos if needed to participate in a rescue of a downed American pilot.

Well, no, I hadn’t, but if it happens, carry on. I’m just a bit sad that I didn’t score any “combat time.”

Thomas Calhoun Bethesda, Md.

SEND LETTERS TO

Aviation History Editor, HistoryNet 1919 Gallows Road, Suite 400, Vienna, VA 22182-4038 703-771-9400 OR EMAIL TO aviationhistory@historynet.com

NOVEMBER 2017

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gateguards’ Full-Scale Model Warbirds

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full-sized facimilies Gateguards (UK) Ltd. shows off its new full-scale model of a Messerschmitt Me-109E (above) and its Westland Lysander (inset), which was used in the recent film Allied.

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here are warbird restorations, replicas and reproductions, and then there are full-scale models, or FSMs. The distinction is important, JMKI][M .;5[ _QTT VM^MZ Æa 1V[\MIL \PMa IZM QV\MVLML NWZ KWUUMZKQIT LQ[XTIa MV\P][QI[\ KWTTMK\QWV WZ UW^QM L]\a 1V ÅTU[ KWUX]\MZ OMVMZI\ML QUIOMZa _WZS[ _MTT NWZ JIKSOZW]VL[ WZ LWOÅOP\[ J]\ QN aW] _IV\ \W X]\ *ZIL 8Q\\ QV\W I KWKSXQ\ ]X KTW[M aW] JM[\ J]QTL PQU WVM W]\ WN ÅJMZ-

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/I\MO]IZL[ KZMI\ML I ¹4QbbQMº \PI\ \I`QML WV \PM MVL WN I PQLLMV cable, with an electric motor \]ZVQVO \PM XZWX _PQTM \PM [W]VL\ZIKS UILM [TMM^M ^IT^M *ZQ[\WT JIZS[ IVL QV WVM 0WTTa_WWL UIOQK [KMVM M^MV ÆWI\ML LW_V W]\ WN

\PM LIZS IVL TIVLML WV I French meadow. <PM KWUXIVa¼[ VM_M[\ project is a Messerschmitt Me-109E, created for a *ZQ\Q[P KWUXIVa \PI\ ZMV\[ FSM warbirds to reenactUMV\ OZW]X[ KWZXWZI\M and civic functions, and W\PMZ PIXXMVQVO[ \PI\ VMML I ?WZTL ?IZ 11 ÅOP\MZ [\IVLQVO Ja <PM ! _I[ KZMI\ML NZWU UWTL[ ][QVO I ^IZQM\a WN ZMIT 5M[[MZ[KPUQ\\ components. It has a steel internal structure to support

OPPOSITE: GATEGUARDS (UK) LTD.; TOP RIGHT: JAMES RAEDER; BOTTOM RIGHT: ALAMY

back from the depths After years of work by Vintage Airframes, the only combat veteran Republic P-47D still ďŹ&#x201A;ying takes off from Caldwell Industrial Airport in Iowa.

I Ă&#x2026;JMZOTI[[ W]\MZ [PMTT 7VKM XIQV\ML LM\IQTML _MI\PMZML IVL [\IVLQVO WV Q\[ ZMIT +WV\QVMV\IT \QZM[ Q\ XI[[M[ \PM WVM aIZL \M[\" ;\IVL \PZMM NMM\ JIKS IVL \MTT UM Q\ Q[VÂź\ ZMIT /I\MO]IZL[ PI[ J]QT\ M^MZa\PQVO NZWU \PM 8 , PIVOQVO QV \PM <][SMOMM )QZUMV 6I\QWVIT 0Q[\WZQK ;Q\M QV )TIJIUI \W NW]Z 4WKSPMML 5IZ\QV . *[ \PI\ \PM :WaIT 6I^a Q[ ][QVO I[ \ZIQVQVO IQL[ NWZ KIZZQMZ LMKS XTIVM PIVLTMZ[ 6W\ []ZXZQ[QVOTa \PM KWUXIVa [XMKQITQbM[ QV ;XQ\Ă&#x2026;ZM .;5[ IVL I[ \PQ[ _I[ JMQVO _ZQ\\MV Q\ _I[ KWUXTM\QVO NW]Z ;XQ\[ NWZ W_VMZ[ QV \PM =3 IVL I 0]ZZQKIVM NWZ IV ]XKWUQVO *I\\TM WN *ZQ\IQV XZWL]K\QWV /I\MO]IZL[ IT[W J]QT\ \_W ;XQ\Ă&#x2026;ZM[ NWZ \PM ZMKMV\ Ă&#x2026;TU Dunkirk ?IV\ [WUM\PQVO OZIVLMZ' <PMaÂź^M PIL QVY]QZQM[ IJW]\ I " )^ZW 4IVKI[\MZ J]\ VMML [M^MZIT UWZM J]aMZ[ QV WZLMZ \W IUWZ\QbM \PM M`XMV[M WN []KP P]OM UWTL[ <PMa PI^M IT[W PIL QVY]QZQM[ IJW]\ J]QTLQVO I >QKSMZ[ ?MTTM[TMa \_W ?MTTQVO\WV[ IVL I 0IVLTMa 8IOM 0IUX LMV IVL IZM IJW]\ \W [\IZ\ I 2] ;\]SI )\ \PM W\PMZ MVL WN \PM .;5 [XMK\Z]U /I\MO]IZL[ Q[ QVKZMI[QVOTa LMITQVO QV [UITTMZ JQ\[ NWZ _IZJQZLMZ[Âź UIV KI^M[ []KP I[ 5M ! Z]LLMZ[ XIQV\ML _Q\P aW]Z NI^WZQ\M ExperteÂź[ SQTT \ITTa 8 IVL ;XQ\Ă&#x2026;ZM XZWX JTILM[ WV [\IQVTM[[ [\MMT [\IVL[ ^IZQW][ KWKSXQ\[ 0]ZZQKIVM M`PI][\ [\IKS[ IVL \PM TQSM 5WZM QVNW I\ OI\MO]IZL[]S KWU Stephan Wilkinson

Last Lost p-47 Resurrected

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;NO HORIZON IS SO FAR THAT YOU CANNOT GET ABOVE IT OR BEYOND IT.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C;BERYL MARKHAM

Republic P-47D Thunderbolt recovered from an Austrian lake has recently undertaken its ďŹ rst post-resurrection ďŹ&#x201A;ight. With 93 combat missions, the destruction of three enemy planes on the ground and several patches over bullet holes in the course of its career, P-47D serial no. 42-29150 of the 511th Squadron, 405th Fighter Group, Ninth Air Force, was regularly ďŹ&#x201A;own by Lieutenant Larry A. Kuhl, who named it Dottie Mae after his wife.

However, on May 8, 1945â&#x20AC;&#x201D;the day Germany surrenderedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;2nd Lt. Henry G. Mohr Jr. was at the controls in a low-level ďŹ&#x201A;ight to the Ebensee prisoner of war camp to airdrop a cargo of medicine and food. On the way to his objective, Mohr veered to avoid a chimney, and as he turned to rejoin his formation, his P-47â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s propeller struck the water and Dottie Mae went into the Traunsee at 230 mph. Austrian boaters ďŹ shed Mohr from the lake, and that seemed to be the end of the last P-47 lost in Europe during the warâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that is until June 2005, when the ďŹ ghter was found and recovered from the lake.

Since then, the P-47 was returned to the United States and underwent years of restoration by Vintage Airframes in Caldwell, Idaho. Most of the interior was in surprisingly good shape and the cockpit canopy is original, but corrosion took its toll on the skin, which had to be replaced.

The company used authentic components wherever they could be found, and reconstructions whenever they could not. The P-47 ďŹ nally returned to ďŹ&#x201A;ight at Caldwell Industrial Airport on June 22. Purchased by a private owner in California, it is the only Thunderbolt with a combat record still ďŹ&#x201A;ying.

Jon Guttman

NOVEMBER 2017

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Mustang Mayhem at Duxford

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igh achievement and high drama marked the 25th annual Flying Legends airshow at Duxford in Britain.

It began with a 5,470-mile re-creation of a typical ferry ďŹ&#x201A;ight from Texas to England during World War II. Over six days, pilot Lee Lauderback of the USAF Heritage Flight delivered Berlin Express (above), a restored North American P-51B Mustang in the markings of William B. Overstreet Jr. of the 357th Fighter Group, to Duxford on July 4.

For the airshow on July 8, Berlin Express joined The Horsemen Flight Team, the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only formation aerobatic group made up entirely of Mustangs. During its ďŹ rst pass, however, the planeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s canopy disintegrated, causing damage to the tail surfaces. Aborting his intended loop, the pilot quickly landed safely. The show went on until July 9, when P-51D Miss Velma suffered engine failure. The pilot was compelled to make a wheels-up landing, but he emerged unhurt and the ďŹ ghter suffered only minor damage.

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Siberian Sturmovik

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but their Il-2 broke through \PM QKM IVL [IVS <PM KWTL water helped preserve it ]V\QT Q\ _I[ LQ[KW^MZML IVL ZIQ[ML QV ,MKMUJMZ :M[\WZQVO \PM XTIVM JMKIUM I RWQV\ TIJWZ WN love for several organizations: the Siberian :M[MIZKP 1V[\Q\]\M WN )^QI\QWV ;QJ61) \PM Ilyushin Foundation NWZ \PM 8ZWUW\QWV WN 8ZM[MZ^I\QWV WN 5QTQ\IZa 0Q[\WZQKIT )QZKZIN\ \PM Ilyushin Aviation Complex IVL \PM ?QVO[ WN >QK\WZa .W]VLI\QWV .]VLQVO KIUM NZWU \PM ?QVO[ WN >QK\WZa Foundation and relatives of Skopintsev. SibNIA LQZMK\WZ >TILQUQZ *IZ[]S had the honor of taking the XTIVM ]X NWZ Q\[ Ă&#x2026;Z[\ Ă&#x2020;QOP\ QV aMIZ[ <PM 1T UILM M`PQJQ\QWV Ă&#x2020;QOP\[ IKZW[[ :][[QI \PQ[ XI[\ []UUMZ QVKT]LQVO IV IXXMIZIVKM QV 2]Ta I\ \PM 5)3; IQZ[PW_ W]\[QLM 5W[KW_ Jon Guttman

TOP & INSET: WINGS OF VICTORY FOUNDATION; BOTTOM: JOE GIDDENS/AP PHOTO

frozen in time Recovered from a Russian lake (inset), an Ilyushin Il-2M awaits its wings before making its ďŹ rst ďŹ&#x201A;ight in 74 years in Siberia.

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briefing

back in familiar skies A restored Mitsubishi A6M3 makes the ďŹ rst ďŹ&#x201A;ight by a Zero over Japan since 1945.

Japanese Zero Comes Home

X-15 Reaches the Edge of Space

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ifty-four years ago, on August 22, 1963, NASA test pilot Joseph A. Walker (right) ďŹ&#x201A;ew a North American X-15 to the highest altitude reached during the hypersonic X-plane program: 67.08 miles (354,182 feet).

It was his second suborbital X-15 ďŹ&#x201A;ightâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;making Walker the ďŹ rst person to reach space twiceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and set an altitude record that stood until the 1981 ďŹ&#x201A;ight of the space shuttle Columbia. Walker, who in 1960 had become the ďŹ rst NASA pilot to ďŹ&#x201A;y the X-15, ďŹ&#x201A;ew the rocketpowered aircraft a total of 24 times. He also became

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the ďŹ rst test pilot of the Bell Lunar Landing Research Vehicle, completing 35 ďŹ&#x201A;ights in the tricky craft. Walkerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s storied and accomplished career came to a tragic end on June 8, 1966, when his F-104 StarďŹ ghter collided with a XB-70 Valkyrie during a publicity photo ďŹ&#x201A;ight over Southern California, killing him instantly.

TOP: KYODO/AP PHOTO; BOTTOM: NASA

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apanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surrender on September 2, 1945, grounded all of the once-mighty Axis powerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aircraft. After a NM_ M^IT]I\QWV Ă&#x2020;QOP\[ _Q\P )UMZQKIV[ QV \PM KWKSXQ\ the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, once among the most QVVW^I\Q^M KIZZQMZ JI[ML Ă&#x2026;OP\MZ[ WN Q\[ LIa _I[ VM^MZ IOIQV [MMV QV 2IXIVM[M [SQM[¸]V\QT VW_ 7V 2]VM ) 5 5WLMT [MZQIT VW Ă&#x2020;M_ L]ZQVO \PM :ML *]TT )QZ :IKM I\ +PQJI VMIZ <WSaW _Q\P aMIZ WTL 3Ib]ISQ AIVIOQLI I\ \PM KWV\ZWT[ *]QT\ QV ! \PM Zero operated from Babo Island in Western Papua New Guinea until it was disabled, possibly in May 1944. The wings and center section were rediscovered in 1970, and in !! *Z]KM .MV[\MZUISMZ ZMUW^ML \PMU ITWVO _Q\P \PM _ZMKSIOM WN W\PMZ XW\MV\QITTa ZM[\WZIJTM 2IXIVM[M IQZKZIN\ \W \PM =VQ\ML ;\I\M[ ;WUM PW]Z[ WN _WZS XMZformed both in Russia (1993-94) and California (1994-97), M^MV\]ITTa ZM\]ZVML \PM ) 5 \W Ă&#x2020;aIJTM [\I\][ \PW]OP few components other than its landing gear are original.

1V XTIKM WN Q\[ WZQOQVIT ! PX 6ISIRQUI ;ISIM MVOQVM a Pratt & Whitney R-1830 was installed.

Since then, the Santa Monica Museum of Flight owned \PM IQZKZIN\ _PQKP Ă&#x2020;M_ QV \PM Ă&#x2026;TU Pearl Harbor.

The Zero is currently owned by entrepreneur Masahide 1[PQb]SI J]\ Q\ PIL VM^MZ TMN\ \PM = ; ]V\QT 1[PQb]SI UIVaged to get it registered in Japan in time for the Red Bull ZIKM š*a XZM[MZ^QVO Q\ QV I Ă&#x2020;aIJTM KWVLQ\QWV IVL Ă&#x2020;aQVO Q\ QV ^IZQW][ XIZ\[ WN 2IXIV 1 _IV\ \W UISM \PW[M Ă&#x2020;QOP\[ OWWL WXXWZ\]VQ\QM[ \W \PQVS IJW]\ XMIKM Âş PM [IQL

T UE RS S FI IS AR

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aviators

The Last Rocket Pilot JOE ENGLE FLEW EVERYTHING FROM SUPER SABRES TO THE SPACE SHUTTLE, BUT IT IS AS AN X-15 PILOT THAT HE IS PERHAPS BEST KNOWN

BY MARK CARLSON

T

he last human footprints on the moon were left by Apollo 17’s Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt in December 1972.

Had things worked out as originally planned, however, those last prints would have been made by Cernan and U.S. Air Force pilot Joe Engle. But while he never set foot on the moon, Engle reached space long before Apollo even UILM Q\ W‫\ ٺ‬PM LZI_QVO JWIZL Born in Kansas in 1932, Engle graduated from the University of Kansas at Lawrence in 1956 with a degree in aeronautical engineering. From the start he set his sights on the sky,

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joining Air Force ROTC and earning his wings in 1958.

Engle’s timing was perfect, as it was one of the most dynamic periods in aviation history—the “Blowtorch Era,” when the skies were ÅTTML _Q\P \PM KWV[\IV\ ZWIZ of jet engines.

Engle served with the 474th Fighter Day Squadron (later re-designated the 309th Tactical Fighter Squadron) at George Air Force Base in California. Tactical Air Command’s job was to protect SAC bombers on airborne alert. Flying the supersonic North American F-100 Super Sabre, the squadron deployed to Europe at the height of the Cold War. But there were other enticements for an eager pilot like Engle.

He wanted to reach the peak WN \PM XaZIUQL" ÆQOP\ \M[\

ROCKET MAN Captain Joe Engle stands beside one of the X-15s he flew a total of 16 times. Opposite: Engle exercises aboard the space shuttle Columbia during its second mission in 1981.

At Wright-Patterson and Edwards AFBs, the Air Force was testing the fastest and most advanced airplanes in the world. Knowing he needed 1,500 hours of stick \QUM \W Y]ITQNa -VOTM ÆM_ everything he could. Asked about his favorite airplane, Engle replied, “My favorite _I[ _PI\M^MZ 1 _I[ ÆaQVO I\ the moment.”

After graduating from the Air Force Test Pilot and Aerospace Research Pilot schools, Engle found himself on the threshold of not only ÆQOP\ \M[\ J]\ WN [XIKM <PM

ALL PHOTOS: NASA

United States was about to go head-to-head with the Soviet Union in the race to send a man into space. Engle applied to join NASA, but watched as other Air Force and Navy pilots were selected \W JM \PM ÅZ[\ \W KTQUJ QV\W rockets. However, with his extensive piloting experience, he was chosen for the next best thing: the North American X-15 hypersonic rocket plane. One of only eight men selected to pilot \PM JTIKS @ -VOTM ÆM_ it 16 times, surpassing the 50-mile altitude boundary that the Air Force recognized as “space” three times, and earning his astronaut wings.

Engle said he felt the X-15 was “the ultimate airplane I KW]TL XW[[QJTa Æa º The X-15 pilots, who included the soon-to-befamous Neil Armstrong, pioneered and proved many of the techniques and hardware that would be invaluable to the future of space exploration. Even after Engle _I[ [MTMK\ML \W RWQV \PM ÅN\P astronaut group in 1966, he _W]TL ÅVL PQ[ M`XMZQMVKM QV the X-15 played a major role during his time at NASA. With the Gemini Program winding down, NASA had its sights squarely on the moon. Engle was ready, having been selected as the Lunar Module pilot for the Apollo 14 backup crew and the prime crew of Apollo 17, commanded by Cernan.

During the triumphant days after the success of Apollo 11 and Neil Armstrong’s “one small step,” however, NASA found public support and congressional funding for the Apollo program waning.

Apollo 18, 19 and 20 were cancelled. The last manned moon landing would be on Apollo 17, with Engle slated to pilot the Lunar Module.

But he would not get the chance. NASA, under pres-

“We proved that a shuttle could be brought in from a speed of Mach 25 to a landing with thrusters and aerodynamic control alone.” []ZM NZWU \PM [KQMV\QÅK KWUU]VQ\a \W PI^M I Y]ITQÅML OMWTWOQ[\ WV \PM TI[\ ÆQOP\ replaced Engle with Harrison “Jack” Schmitt. “I was very disappointed,” Engle admitted, “but as any test pilot will say, you don’t always get the ÆQOP\ aW] _IV\ 1 ]VLMZ[\WWL what had to be done.”

Yet it wasn’t the end of -VOTM¼[ LZMIU[ WN ÆaQVO QV space. He conferred with Deke Slayton, head of the I[\ZWVI]\ W‫ٻ‬KM IJW]\ PQ[ future in manned spaceÆQOP\ ;TIa\WV I NWZUMZ Air Force test pilot himself, was considering astronauts for the Apollo Applications Program, genesis of the Skylab space station. But another program was then under development, a reusable space shuttle slated \W JMOQV ÆaQVO QV \PM MIZTa 1980s. “When I was talking

to Deke,” Engle said, “the shuttle kept coming up in the conversation. Deke said my stick-and-rudder time in the X-15 was a valuable skill for the shuttle program.”

In fact, one of Engle’s X-15 ÆQOP\[ LM\MZUQVML \PI\ I space shuttle would not need air-breathing engines, i.e., jets for control during re-entry from orbit. “We proved that a shuttle could be brought in from a speed of Mach 25 to a landing with thrusters and aerodynamic control alone,” he said.

Thus in late 1977 Engle found himself at the controls of the space shuttle Enterprise, commanding one of the two test crews. Carried by a UWLQÅML *WMQVO \W IV altitude over 20,000 feet and released, the shuttle glided to a landing at Edwards. As the shuttle Columbia made its UIQLMV [XIKMÆQOP\ QV !

Engle was in training to command the second orbital mission, STS-2, with pilot Dick Truly. After testing the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System “CanadArm,” Engle IVL <Z]Ta ÆM_ Columbia from orbit to touchdown totally under manual control—the ÅZ[\ IVL WVTa \QUM IV IMZWspace vehicle was manually ÆW_V NZWU 5IKP \W

landing. This was the legacy of Engle’s pioneering X-15 ÆQOP\[ ITUW[\ aMIZ[ MIZTQMZ “Personally for me the highlight of the mission was to be able to look out of the windows at the Earth hanging overhead,” Engle said.

“It was an awesome experience.” He also commanded the 1985 STS-51-I mission, during which Discovery’s crew launched three satellites and retrieved and repaired another. In the end, Engle had spent more than 200 hours in space. Now an adviser for the International Space Station, Engle continues to lend his expertise and experience to further NASA’s space exploration goals.

On his retirement from the Air Force in 1986 as a major general, Engle had amassed a remarkable career in the air, logging nearly 15,000 hours in more than 185 different aircraft types. While at the controls of the X-15, he participated in one of the most successful high-speed, high-altitude research programs in history. Today he is the last living X-15 pilot.

BOLDLY GOING Engle pilots Enterprise during a glide test from a modified Boeing 747 on September 13, 1977.

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restored Living Lanc Avro Lancaster FM213 ďŹ&#x201A;ies at EAA AirVenture 2015. Below: Andy Mynarski (third from right) earned a posthumous Victoria Cross for trying to save rear gunner Pat Brophy (far left). Opposite below: The rear gun turret.

Mynarski Memorial Lancaster ONE OF ONLY TWO AVRO LANCASTERS FLYING TODAY HONORS THE MEMORY OF A CANADIAN CREWMAN WHO WON THE VICTORIA CROSS

BY BOB GORDON

O

n the evening of June 12, 1944, Avro Lancasters of No. 419 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), began taxiing down the runway at RAF Middleton St. George. Their target was the railroad marshaling yards at Cambrai, France. In the early hours of Friday \PM \P 4IVKI[\MZ 3* KIUM ]VLMZ Ă&#x2026;ZM NZWU I 2]VSMZ[ 2] + <PM VQOP\ Ă&#x2026;OP\MZÂź[ UU KIVVWV [PMTT[ LM[\ZWaML JW\P WN \PM JWUJMZÂź[ XWZ\ MVOQVM[ IVL QOVQ\ML \PM XWZ\ _QVO N]MT \IVS )VW\PMZ [PMTT PQ\ IUQL[PQX[ [M^MZQVO \PM PaLZI]TQK[ \W \PM \IQT \]ZZM\ IVL QOVQ\QVO I [MKWVL Ă&#x2026;ZM <PM XQTW\ .TQOP\ 7â&#x20AC;ŤŮťâ&#x20AC;ŹKMZ )Z\ LM *ZMaVM WZLMZML \PM KZM_ \W JIQT W]\ )[ UQL ]XXMZ O]VVMZ 8QTW\ 7â&#x20AC;ŤŮťâ&#x20AC;ŹKMZ )VLa 5aVIZ[SQ XZMXIZML \W R]UX PM VW\QKML \PI\ PQ[ KTW[M[\ NZQMVL 8QTW\ 7â&#x20AC;ŤŮťâ&#x20AC;ŹKMZ 8I\ *ZWXPa _I[ \ZIXXML QV \PM ZMIZ \]ZZM\ <PM PaLZI]TQK[ _MZM ][MTM[[ IVL QV PQ[ XIVQK *ZWXPa PIL JZWSMV \PM UIV]IT KWV\ZWT[ 5aVIZ[SQ KZI_TML \PZW]OP \PM Ă&#x2020;IUM[ IVL ]V[]KKM[[N]TTa [\Z]OOTML \W NZMM PQU ?Q\P PQ[ Ă&#x2020;QOP\ []Q\ QV Ă&#x2020;IUM[ 5aVIZ[SQ ZM\]ZVML \W

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\PM M[KIXM PI\KP IVL R]UXML 5aVIZ[SQ []Z^Q^ML PQ[ landing but succumbed to severe burns within hours.

0M _I[ I_IZLML I XW[\P]mous Victoria Cross, the *ZQ\Q[P +WUUWV_MIT\PÂź[ highest award for valor. :MUIZSIJTa *ZWXPa []Z^Q^ML _PMV \PM ZMIZ \]ZZM\ ZQXXML free of the fuselage before the 4IVK M`XTWLML š1ÂźTT IT_Ia[ JMTQM^M \PI\ I LQ^QVM XZW^Qdence intervened to save me because of what I had seen,â&#x20AC;? *ZWXPa TI\MZ [IQL š[W \PI\ \PM _WZTL UQOP\ SVW_ WN I OITlant man who laid down his life for a friend.â&#x20AC;?

Today the Canadian WarXTIVM 0MZQ\IOM 5][M]U I\ John C. Munro International )QZXWZ\ QV 0IUQT\WV 7V\IZQW

Q[ K][\WLQIV WN \PM 5aVIZ[SQ 5MUWZQIT 4IVKI[\MZ 1\Âź[ WVM of only two airworthy Lancasters surviving, and carries \PM UIZSQVO[ WN 3* <PM U][M]UÂź[ 4IVK FM213, was manufactured at Victory Aircraft in Malton, 7V\IZQW IVL ZWTTML Wâ&#x20AC;Ť\ Ůşâ&#x20AC;ŹPM assembly line in July 1945, WVM WN 4IVKI[\MZ 5IZS @[ XZWL]KML \PMZM ?Q\P \PM _IZ QV -]ZWXM W^MZ Q\ _I[ XZWUX\Ta KWV^MZ\ML \W I 5S 5: \PM UIZQ\QUM ZMKWVVIQ[[IVKM IVL XI\ZWT ^MZ[QWV <PM UW[\ [QOVQĂ&#x2026;KIV\ UWLQĂ&#x2026;KI\QWV _I[ KWV^MZ[QWV WN XMZKMV\ WN \PM JWUJ JIa \W PW][M ILLQ\QWVIT N]MT \IVS[ for increased range. The UQL ]XXMZ \]ZZM\ _I[ IT[W eliminated to reduce weight

OPPOSITE TOP & RIGHT: GUY ACETO; OPPOSITE BOTTOM: DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENCE ARCHIVES; ABOVE RIGHT: CANADIAN WARPLANE HERITAGE MUSEUM

and further extend range.

FM213 served with No. 405 Squadron based at Greenwood, Nova Scotia, and No. :M[K]M =VQ\ Ã&#x2020;aQVO W]\ WN <WZJIa 6M_NW]VLTIVL 1V TI\M ! Q\ _I[ LMKWUUQ[[QWVML NZWU \PM :+).# X]ZKPI[ML Ja \PM /WLMZQKP 7V\IZQW JZIVKP WN \PM :WaIT +IVILQIV 4MOQWV# IVL XTIKML WV W]\[QLM LQ[XTIa¸M`XW[ML \W \PM MTMUMV\[ IVL ^IVLIT[ 1V ! I TWKIT XPQTIV\PZWXQ[\ X]ZKPI[ML \PM 4IVK IVL LWVI\ML Q\ \W \PM +IVILQIV ?IZXTIVM 0MZQ\IOM .W]VLI \QWV 8TIV[ _MZM UILM NWZ I *WMQVO +0 +PQVWWS PMTQKWX\MZ \W UW^M \PM IQZKZIN\ Ja [TQVO \W \PM U][M]U UQTM[ MI[\ WN /WLMZQKP J]\ \PM QVQ\QIT I\\MUX\ WV 2]VM ! ! NIQTML .W]Z UWV\P[ TI\MZ _Q\P Q\[ _QVO[ ZMUW^ML to reduce weight, a second I\\MUX\ []KKMMLML )\ \PM \QUM \PM WVM PW]Z \ZQX [M\ I record for both distance and _MQOP\ WN XIaTWIL UW^ML Ja I +PQVWWS )\ \PM U][M]U \PM ZM[\W ZI\QWV XZWRMK\ _I[ W^MZ[MMV Ja \PM TI\M ¹;\WZUQV¼º 6WZ UIV -\PMZQLOM IV IQZKZIN\ MVOQVMMZ NZWU +ZWaLWV -VOTIVL _PW PIL MUQOZI\ML \W +IVILI QV ! ¹1 _I[ \PM XZWRMK\ MVOQVMMZ _PW[M ZM[XWV[QJQTQ\a Q\ _I[ \W ]\QTQbM \PM [UITT IUW]V\ WN ZM[W]ZKM[ \PI\ 1 PIL I\ Ua LQ[XW[IT \W UISM IV QUXW[[QJTM LZMIU QV\W I ZMITQ\a º -\PMZQLOM [IQL 1VQ\QITTa \PM XZWRMK\ UW^ML I\ I [VIQT¼[ XIKM ) [MZMVLQXQ\W][

OZIV\ NZWU \PM +IVILQIV OW^MZVUMV\ ITTW_ML -\PMZQLOM \W PQZM I[ IXXZMV\QKM[ Ã&#x2026;^M ZMKMV\ OZIL]I\M[ NZWU KWTTMOM IQZKZIN\ MVOQVMMZQVO XZWOZIU[¸+IZWTaV ;I_aMZ ?M[ :IOQV[SQ <QU 5WT[ 5QSM :W[[ILI^Q\I IVL *QTTa :W\P ,M]\KP¸IVL \PM XZWRMK\ UW^ML QV\W PQOP OMIZ ?PQTM _WZSQVO N]TT \QUM QV \PM IQZKZIN\ QVL][\Za -\PMZQLOM [XMV\ PQ[ ;I\]ZLIa[ W^MZ[MMQVO \PMU IVL TIaQVO W]\ \PMQZ ZM[XWV[QJQTQ\QM[ NWZ \PM _MMS IPMIL 5WT[ VW\ML \PI\ -\PMZQLOM PIL WVTa WVM PIZL IVL NI[\ Z]TM" ¹AW] KIV LW \PQVO[ IVa_Ia aW] _IV\ R][\ I[ TWVO I[ Q\ Q[ LWVM Ua _Ia º <PM [\Z]OOTM \W M`\ZIK\ \PM _QVO [XIZ JWT\[ \aXQÃ&#x2026;ML \PM KPITTMVOM[ \PM ZM[\WZI\QWV XZM[MV\ML 5WT[ ZMKITTML" ¹<PM NWZ_IZL JWT\[ _MZM M[XMKQITTa LQâ&#x20AC;«Ù»â&#x20AC;¬K]T\ IVL UIVa ideas had been exhausted, QVKT]LQVO PaLZI]TQK ZIU[ PMI\QVO KWWTQVO JQO PIUUMZ[ IVL OZW]X XZIaMZ[¸ITT _Q\P VW ZM[]T\[ <PM Ã&#x2026;VIT [WT]\QWV _I[ \W J]a ^MZa M`XMV[Q^M LQIUWVL LZQTT JQ\[ IVL [\IZ\ LZQTTQVO NZWU MIKP MVL IVL UMM\ QV \PM UQLLTM <PMV _M _W]TL OM\ \PM VM`\ [QbM \PQKSMZ IVL WXMV \PM PWTM I TQ\\TM JQ\ UWZM º <PM UW[\ ZMKITKQ\ZIV\ JWT\ \WWS [Q` _MMS[ WN LIQTa TIJWZ IVL ITT \WTL \PQ[ [UITT [\MX QV \PM ZM[\WZI\QWV XZWKM[[ KWV[]UML \_W UWV\P[ ¹8TMI[M ]VLMZ[\IVL \PI\ LIUIOM \W IVa WN \PM PWTM[ WZ \PM [\Z]K\]ZM

IZW]VL \PM PWTM[ _W]TL PI^M TMN\ .5 I XMZUIVMV\ PIVOIZ Y]MMV VM^MZ \W Ã&#x2020;a º 5WT[ [IQL :M KZMI\QVO \PM KIUW]Ã&#x2020;IOM [KPMUM WN :). *WUJMZ +WUUIVL IVL \PM UIZSQVO[ WN 5aVIZ[SQ¼[ IQZKZIN\ KWV[]UML ! OITTWV[ WN XIQV\ aIZL[ WN UI[SQVO \IXM IVL PW]Z[ WN TIJWZ 7V ;MX\MUJMZ !

R][\ [PWZ\ WN VQVM aMIZ[ IN\MZ Q\ IZZQ^ML I\ \PM U][M]U \PM ZM[\WZML 4IVKI[\MZ ZW[M I NM_ NMM\ Wâ&#x20AC;«\ Ùºâ&#x20AC;¬PM Z]V_Ia L]ZQVO I PQOP [XMML \I`Q \M[\ IQZJWZVM NWZ \PM Ã&#x2026;Z[\ \QUM QV I Y]IZ\MZ KMV\]Za )N\MZ I \M[\ Ã&#x2020;QOP\ \PM VM`\ LIa \PM 4IVK \WWS Wâ&#x20AC;« Ùºâ&#x20AC;¬WV Q\[ Ã&#x2026;Z[\ X]JTQK Ã&#x2020;QOP\ WV ;MX\MUJMZ _Q\P \PM []Z^Q^QVO UMUJMZ[ WN 3* ¼[ _IZ\QUM KZM_ QV I\\MVLIVKM ;QVKM \PMV \PM 5aVIZ[SQ 5MUWZQIT 4IVKI[\MZ PI[ LMTQOP\ML P]VLZML[ WN thousands of visitors to the U][M]U IVL \W]ZML \PM KWV\QVMV\ ^Q[Q\QVO U][M]U[

heavy load A CH-47 Chinook delivers FM213 to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in 1979.

IVL IQZ[PW_[ .TQOP\ MVOQVMMZ +ZIQO *ZWWSPW][M M[\QUI\M[ Q\ \ISM[ PW]Z[ WN _WZS Ja \PM OZW]VL KZM_ NWZ M^MZa PW]Z \PM KTI[[QK _IZJQZL [XMVL[ QV \PM IQZ 1V \PM []UUMZ WN \PM 4IVK KZW[[ML \PM )\TIV\QK \W RWQV [Q[\MZ [PQX 8) NZWU \PM *I\\TM WN *ZQ\IQV 5MUWZQIT .TQOP\ <PM _WZTL¼[ WVTa \_W IQZ_WZ\Pa 4IVKI[\MZ[ Ã&#x2020;M_ \WOM\PMZ M[KWZ\ML Ja ;XQ\Ã&#x2026;ZM[ IVL 0]ZZQKIVM[ \PZQTTQVO IQZ[PW_ attendees throughout the *ZQ\Q[P 1[TM[ .ZWU 2]VM \W 6W^MUJMZ ^Q[Q\WZ[ \W \PM +IVILQIV ?IZXTIVM 0MZQ\IOM 5][M]U KIV X]ZKPI[M I [MI\ NWZ I Ã&#x2020;QOP\ QV \PM 5aVIZ[SQ 5MUWZQIT 4IVKI[\MZ ;MM _IZXTIVM KWU NWZ QVNW

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EXTREMES safety first Fred Weick and other NACA engineers built the W-1A to address the needs of private pilots. Below: The original W-1, featuring auxiliary airfoils on the wing leading edges, is tested in Langley’s full-sized wind tunnel.

Fred Weick’s Innovative W-1 IN HIS QUEST TO BUILD THE WORLD’S SAFEST AIRPLANE, THE DESIGNER PIONEERED SEVERAL FAMILIAR FEATURES ON AN UNFAMILIAR PROTOTYPE

BY ROBERT GUTTMAN

O

f the many pioneers in the history of aircraft design, Fred Weick may not be immediately familiar to most aviation enthusiasts. But for anyone involved in general aviation, he should be. Weick made major contributions to aircraft LM[QOV JMNWZM PM M^MV J]QT\ PQ[ ÅZ[\ IQZXTIVM <PM IQZKZIN\ that he eventually did design were supremely successful, built QV TIZOM V]UJMZ[ IVL UIVa WN \PMU IZM [\QTT ÆaQVO \WLIa Born in Berwyn, Ill., in 1899, Fred Ernest Weick graduated with an engineering degree from the University of Illinois in 1922 and turned his attention to aviation. Employed by the U.S. Airmail Service as a pilot, he helped establish a system of

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MUMZOMVKa TIVLQVO ÅMTL[ NWZ use by mailplanes. In 1925 he went to work for the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA, the predecessor of NASA) at 4IVOTMa >I <PMZM PM PMTXML design propellers as well as the facility’s full-sized wind tunnel. He also designed the famous NACA cowling,

_PQKP MVIJTML M‫ٻ‬KQMV\ TW_ drag installation of air-cooled radial engines that were aerodynamically competitive with heavier and more complicated, but lower-drag, liquid-cooled power plants.

Weick’s greatest interest, however, was in the develWXUMV\ WN [INM M‫ٻ‬KQMV\ IVL inexpensive aircraft for the

OPPOSITE PHOTOS: NASA; RIGHT NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM

general aviation market.

He sought to produce an airplane that could take the place of the family car, a sort WN šĂ&#x2020;aQVO 5WLMT < Âş <W \PI\ end he designed the W-1 to serve as a testbed for a number of novel features that he had in mind. <PM ? QVKWZXWZI\ML innovations in four areas. <PM Ă&#x2026;Z[\ ?MQKS [IQL _I[ I tricycle landing gear arrangement, â&#x20AC;&#x153;to eliminate many of \PM XZM[MV\ TIVLQVO \ISM Wâ&#x20AC;Ť Ůşâ&#x20AC;Ź IVL OZW]VL PIVLTQVO LQâ&#x20AC;ŤŮťâ&#x20AC;ŹK]T\QM[ Âş <PMV \PMZM _MZM â&#x20AC;&#x153;means of obtaining positive lateral stability and control I\ TW_ [XMML _Q\PW]\ LIVOMZ WN [\ITTQVO Âş <PQZL _I[ š\PM QVKT][QWV WN Ă&#x2020;IX IZZIVOMments for positive control of the glide path at steep angles in order for the pilot to land QV \PM M`IK\ [XW\ QV\MVLML Âş <PM NW]Z\P QVVW^I\QWV _I[ â&#x20AC;&#x153;a means of combining the rudder and aileron controls into a single control in order to simplify the control system from three elements to WVTa \_W XIZ\QK]TIZTa ]VLMZ adverse conditions such as those of precision landings in I KZW[[ _QVL Âş ?MQKS JMTQM^ML that combining the rudder IVL IQTMZWV KWV\ZWT[ _W]TL also prevent the pilot from accidentally crossing the controls, causing the aircraft to stall and enter a spin.

Constructed in a garage QV PQ[ [XIZM \QUM _Q\P \PM PMTX WN I NM_ WN PQ[ 4IVOTMa KWTTMIO]M[ ?MQKSÂź[ ? _I[ I ]VQY]M TWWSQVO IQZKZIN\ _PMV Ă&#x2026;Z[\ Ă&#x2020;W_V QV ! IVL Q\ [\QTT TWWS[ ]V][]IT \WLIa 1\ _I[ I PQOP _QVO [QVOTM MVOQVM \_QV JWWU X][PMZ UWVWXTIVM _Q\P \_QV Ă&#x2026;V[ IVL Z]LLMZ[ <PM MVKTW[ML \_W [MI\ KWKSXQ\ _I[ [Q\]I\ML NWZ_IZL WN \PM _QVO _PMZM \PM WKK]pants enjoyed an excellent Ă&#x2026;MTL WN ^QM_ 1\[ \ZQKaKTM landing gear incorporated a [\MMZIJTM VW[M _PMMT¸I ^MZa unusual feature at that time.

weick sought to produce an airplane that could take the place of the family car, a sort of â&#x20AC;&#x153;flying Model T.â&#x20AC;? to that end he designed the w-1 to serve as a testbed for a number of novel features.

1V NIK\ \PM ? _I[ WVM WN \PM Ă&#x2026;Z[\ IQZXTIVM[ \W QVKT]LM steerable tricycle gear.

As originally built, the _QVO PIL KWV^MV\QWVIT ailerons and large auxiliary airfoils mounted ahead and above the leading edge, forming a sort of slot. A later version, the W-1A, featured I LQâ&#x20AC;ŤŮşâ&#x20AC;ŹMZMV\ _QVO _Q\PW]\ \PM leading-edge airfoils, but _Q\P TIZOM \ZIQTQVO MLOM Ă&#x2020;IX[ and unusual slotted ailerons mounted at mid-chord.

8W_MZML Ja I *ZQ\Q[P 85-hp Pobjoy Niagara aircooled radial, the W-1 had a top speed of 110 mph and cruised at 80 mph. It demonstrated good stability and control, and, according to Weick, _I[ šI]\WUI\QKITTa VWV [XQVVQVO Âş <PM IQZKZIN\ IT[W M`PQJQ\ML M`KMTTMV\ [PWZ\ \ISMWâ&#x20AC;Ť Ůşâ&#x20AC;Ź and landing characteristics.

Wieck said that it could clear a 50-foot obstacle after only a NWW\ \ISMWâ&#x20AC;Ť Ůşâ&#x20AC;ŹZWTT 1UXZM[[ML _Q\P ?MQKSÂź[ airplane, the Department of Commerce bought it from him for further research. It _I[ ZMXWZ\MLTa LIUIOML QV

! IN\MZ KZI[P TIVLQVO QV a schoolyard due to engine NIQT]ZM *a \PI\ \QUM ?MQKS had moved on to a job at the Engineering and Research Corporation of Riverdale, 5L NWZ _PWU PM LM[QOVML I [UITT \_W [MI\MZ JI[ML ]XWV the lessons he had learned NZWU \PM ? .QZ[\ Ă&#x2020;W_V QV ! \PM VM_ IQZXTIVM [\QTT NMI\]ZML I \_QV \IQT [\MMZIJTM tricycle landing gear and combined aileron and rudder KWV\ZWT[ <PQ[ \QUM PW_M^MZ those features appeared on I UWZM I\\ZIK\Q^M TW_ _QVO \ZIK\WZ UWVWXTIVM 5IZSM\ML as the ERCO Ercoupe, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the _WZTLÂź[ [INM[\ IQZXTIVM Âş Q\ _I[ I P]OM []KKM[[ _Q\P XZWL]KML JM\_MMV ! IVL ! !

1V ! ?MQKS RWQVML \PM MVOQVMMZQVO NIK]T\a I\ <M`I[ ) 5 =VQ^MZ[Q\a ?PQTM \PMZM he designed and built the )/ \PM _WZTLÂź[ Ă&#x2026;Z[\ [XMcialized agricultural airplane (previous crop dusters had JMMV UWLQĂ&#x2026;ML NZWU IQZKZIN\ designed for other purposes).

Although only one prototype _I[ J]QT\ IN\MZ JMKWUQVO director and chief engineer NWZ 8QXMZ QV ! ?MQKS incorporated the AG-1â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

innovations into the highly []KKM[[N]T 8) 8I_VMM IOZQK]T\]ZIT XTIVM WN _PQKP _MZM J]QT\ JM\_MMV ! ! IVL ! ?MQKS IT[W co-designed an economical, all-metal, four-place cabin monoplane for Piper, the PA-28 Cherokee. Since its QV\ZWL]K\QWV QV ! UWZM \PIV +PMZWSMM[ PI^M been manufactured.

After retiring from Piper QV ! ?MQKS ZMUIQVML an active participant in the annual Experimental )QZKZIN\ )[[WKQI\QWV IQZ[PW_ at Oshkosh, Wisc., until his death from heart disease on 2]Ta !! 8MZPIX[ WVM ZMI[WV _Pa PQ[ VIUM Q[ VW\ as familiar as those of other aeronautical pioneers is that ?MQKS _I[ UWZM KWVKMZVML _Q\P Ă&#x2020;QOP\ [INM\a \PIV _Q\P speed, size or military potential. Another reason may be that none of the aircraft he designed actually bore his nameâ&#x20AC;Śapart from the very Ă&#x2026;Z[\ WVM â&#x20AC;&#x153;worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s safest planeâ&#x20AC;?

The ERCO Ercoupe, Weickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s follow-on design to the W-1, incorporated many of that testbedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design features.

NOVEMBER 2017

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Photo courtesy of Breitling

STYLE

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STYLE We take to the air on the Breitling DC-3 as it nears the end of its around-the-world tour; ďŹ&#x201A;y into ski slopes of Aspen; check out Hondaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s innovative new business jet; and more. november 2017

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The Breitling DC-3 traveled to 55 cities—16 within the U.S.

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Image courtesy of Breitling

The Breitling DC-3 flies above Mount Aso in Aso Kuj National Park, Kumamoto Prefecture, on the island of Kyushu in Japan—one of the largest active volcanoes in the world.

Photos courtesy of Breitling

Soaring by 14,410-foot Mount Rainier, in Washington state. The most glaciated peak in the contiguous U.S., it spawns six major rivers.

AIRSHOW

Tour de Force Breitling demonstrated its commitment to its aeronautical heritage by restoring a twin-engine Douglas DC-3 prop plane and sending it on a 55-city, around-the-world tour. The aircraft, one of fewer than 150 DC-3s remaining in flightworthy condition, initiated its trip from Geneva in March and concluded at the Breitling Sion Airshow 2017 in September. On board: 500 limited-edition Breitling Navitimer aviation chronographs, each engraved with the Breitling DC-3 World Tour logo and authenticated with a certificate signed by the flight captain. For more information visit breitling.com. november 2017

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STYLE

Soft Landing Flying right to the ski slopes (or darn near to them) is possible if you’ve chosen Aspen, Colorado, as your wintertime getaway. Land your airplane at Aspen/Pitkin, the closest tarmac-to-ski-slopes airport in the United States—a mere three miles to Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk (host of the Winter X Games).

Book a stay at Little Nell, the only five-star, five-diamond, ski-in/ski-out resort on Aspen Mountain. The hotel’s crack concierge team will assist with your ski- or snowboard-related needs.

For hotel information, visit thelittlenell.com.

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Photos courtesy Little Nell

TRAVEL

Little Nell is the only five-star, five-diamond resort in Aspen.

STYLE

TRAVEL

Suite Dreams This uniquely reimagined jet, once an Avianca Boeing 727 airliner based in Colombia, is now a hotel suite perched 50-feet above a national park in Costa Rica. It features two bedrooms (each with a private bath), a kitchenette and stunning 360-degree views of the surrounding gardens.

The furnishingsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from the cockpit to tailâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;are made of hand-carved teak. Decks built above each wing are excellent vantage points for observing the neighboring sloths, toucans and curious monkeys. For more information, or to book a stay, visit costaverde.com/727.htm. november 2017

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STYLE

A HondaJet flies high above Lake Powell in Utah.

AIRCRAFT

After more than 20 years of extensive R&D, Honda unveiled its first aircraft, the HA-420 HondaJet, featuring innovative over-the-wing engine mount technology. An aeronautical breakthrough, the engine placement reduces noise, improves fuel efficiency and enables a larger cabin and lavatory size.

The jet has a top speed of 486 mph and uses a Garmin® G3000 next-generation all-glass avionics system with touch-screen technology. The dual touch-screen controllers and three 14-inch high-resolution displays offer enhanced navigation, flight planning and permit single- or dual-pilot operation. This year, Honda plans to produce 55 to 60 of the jets. For more information visit hondajet.com.

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Photos courtesy HondaJet

Jet Dream

Specifications Crew: 1 or 2 Capacity: 4-6 Length: 42.6 ft.

Wingspan: 39.8 ft.

Height: 14.9 ft.

Empty weight: 7,203 lbs.

Max takeoff weight: 10,600 lbs.

Powerplant: 2 × GE Honda HF120 turbofan, 2,050 lbf thrust each Bypass ratio: 2.9

Performance Maximum speed: 486 mph Cruise speed: 423 mph Range: 1,388 mi. (1,206 nmi) Service ceiling: 43,000 ft.

Rate of climb: 4,000 ft./min.

Fuel consumption: 1.46 lbs./mi.

Takeoff distance: 3,934 ft.

Landing distance: 3,047 ft.

Fuel capacity: 2,850 lbs.

Cabin altitude: 8,000 ft.

WATCH

Back in Time The Bremont limited-edition Boeing 100 timepiece is manufactured from Boeing aviation-grade Ti 6-4 titanium, a unique metal that is significantly stronger than commercial titanium and widely used in aerospace airframes and engine components. The distinctive “Boeing Brown” color of the watch was often used in older Boeing aircraft, reportedly designed to make the cockpits feel more relaxing. The watch also has a vintage Bakelite look and aesthetic of the older controls.

The Bremont Boeing 100, $7,595, bremont.com/watch/boeing

GOODS

Eyes Have It The RŌKA Phantom aviator sunglasses with titanium frame are available with ultra-premium nylon lenses by Carl Zeiss Vision® or Barberini® glass lenses with anti-scratch, anti-fog and anti-reflectance coatings. Patented GEKO pads on the nose and temples for optimal support and comfort. Spot and fingerprint resistant. $275, roka.com november 2017

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LETTER FROM AvIATION HISTORY

REAL “FAKE NEWS”

BY CARL VON WODTKE

T

he news was splashed across newspaper headlines and on TV broadcasts in July: “Shocking new evidence” had been found supporting the theory that Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan had crashlanded in the Marshall Islands during their 1937 around-the-world bid and were taken prisoner by the Japanese. The evidence, a fuzzy photograph purportedly showing Earhart and Noonan on a dock in the Marshalls’ Jaluit Atoll, served as the lynchpin of a History Channel documentary alleging “the U.S. government knew that she was in the custody of a foreign power, and may have covered it up.”

Two days after the documentary premiered, however, Japanese military history blogger Kota Yamano posted pages from a 1935 Japaneselanguage travelogue containing the same photo.

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Yamano had found the book online in Japan’s VI\QWVIT TQJZIZa IN\MZ I PITN PW]Z [MIZKP ¹1 ÅVL it strange that the documentary makers didn’t KWVÅZU \PM LI\M WN \PM XPW\WOZIXP WZ \PM X]JTQcation in which it originally appeared,” he told The Guardian British daily.

The History Channel responded that it “has a team of investigators exploring the latest developments about Amelia Earhart, and will be transparMV\ QV W]Z ÅVLQVO[ =T\QUI\MTa PQ[\WZQKIT IKK]ZIKa is most important to us and our viewers.” But since then, crickets. Meanwhile, the channel has removed the documentary from streaming services and says it is not re-airing it “at this time.”

What’s most disturbing about this episode, other than the History Channel’s evident failure to follow basic historical research principles, is the lack of follow-up by the media outlets that trumpeted \PM KPIVVMT¼[ KTIQU[ QV \PM ÅZ[\ XTIKM <PMa [I_ I good story—“new information” about Earhart’s perennially captivating disappearance—and latched onto its sensational aspects, but when it appeared to have been debunked, they didn’t bother to inform their viewers and readers that there wasn’t a story here after all. As a result, many casual aviation enthusiasts are likely to continue to believe the History Channel narrative.

7N KW]Z[M \PQ[ Q[V¼\ \PM ÅZ[\ \QUM \PI\ X]ZXWZ\ML new evidence has come to light about Earhart’s disappearance. Ric Gillespie, executive director of The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), has made a cottage industry out of it, going all the way back to 1992, when he announced at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., that the mystery “is solved.” Gillespie based that assertion on artifacts—primarily a shoe in Amelia’s size—that TIGHAR recovered on the tiny island of Nikumaroro, where he believes she perished after ditching her Lockheed Electra.

More recently, he spoke at the U.S. State Department in 2012 to explain that a 1937 photo of Nikumaroro taken by a British survey ship might show a piece of the Electra’s landing gear sticking out from the island reef ’s waters—another claim that got massive media coverage. To Gillespie’s credit, in that speech he stressed the need to follow sciMV\QÅK UM\PWL[ WN QVY]QZa IVL VW\ML ¹+ZQ\QKIT thinking and peer review and debate is an essential part of what we do.”

Amid the ongoing hoopla about Earhart, one thing seems certain: We’ll continue to be intrigued by her mysterious disappearance until someone X]TT[ PMZ -TMK\ZI NZWU \PM 8IKQÅK 5MIV\QUM aW] can read about another accomplished female aviator—a contemporary of Earhart’s who’s now largely forgotten—on P. 54.

PHOTOS: NATIONAL ARCHIVES

looks can be deceiving A History Channel documentary claimed this photo shows Amelia Earhart (sitting) and her navigator, Fred Noonan (far left). Below: Earhart continues to fascinate.

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A watch with these features would easily cost you thousands if you shopped big names. But overcharging to justify an inflated brand name makes us blue in the face. Which is why we make superior looking and performing timepieces priced to please. Decades of experience in engineering enables Stauer to put quality on your wrist and keep your money in your pocket.

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BAT OUT OF HELL

THE ROCKET-POWERED ME-163 KOMET INTERCEPTOR OUTPERFORMED EVERY OTHER WORLD WAR II COMBAT AIRCRAFTâ&#x20AC;¦ IF ITS PILOTS LIVED TO FIGHT BY DON HOLLWAY

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SLASH AND BURN A Messerschmitt Me-163B-1 Komet of Jagdgeschwader 400 shoots down a 91st Bomb Group B-17G, in an illustration by Jack Fellows.

IN LATE JULY 1944, P-51 MUSTANG PILOTS WHO THOUGHT THEY FLEW THE BEST FIGHTER AIRCRAFT OVER GERMANY RECEIVED A RUDE SURPRISE.

PROMISING PROTOTYPE One of five V-series Me-163 test aircraft makes a lowlevel powered flight at the Peenemünde-West field near Germany’s Baltic Sea coast.

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Colonel Avelin P. Tacon Jr. of the 359th Fighter Group reported: “My eight ship section was furnishing close support to a Combat Wing of B-17s that had just bombed Merseburg....Someone called in contrails high at six o’clock.” From more than a mile above the Americans, two stubby, sweptwing single-seaters rocketed to the attack. As they slashed through his formation, Tacon recalled, “I estimate, conservatively, they were doing between 500 and 600 mph.” One dived away; the other climbed into the sun, as another 359th pilot put it, “like a bat out of hell.” That quickly, they were gone. “Although I had seen them start their dive and watched them throughout their attack,” Tacon admitted, “I had no time to get my sights anywhere near them.”

A loophole in the Versailles Treaty ending World War I had XZWPQJQ\ML /MZUIVa NZWU J]QTLQVO ÅOP\MZ[ J]\ VW\ [IQTXTIVM[ or rockets. In the 1920s and ’30s, designer Alexander Lippisch perfected tailless, delta-wing gliders, and engineer Helmuth Walter developed rockets burning 80-percent-pure hydroOMV XMZW`QLM <PQ[ ¹< ;\W‫ٺ‬º [XWV\IVMW][Ta QOVQ\ML IVa\PQVO WZOIVQK IVL LQ[[WT^ML P]UIV ÆM[P ¹1N aW] [\QKS aW]Z ÅVOMZ

in it,” Lippisch warned, “then you get only the bone out.”

Lippisch’s Messerschmitt Me-163A Komet was part rocket, part glider. Its plywood bat wings were swept back not so much for streamlining (transonic airflow being still little understood), but to put their control surfaces suffiKQMV\Ta ZMIZ_IZL TQSM ÅV[ WV I dart. “It just won’t spin,” declared test pilot Heinrich ,Q\\UIZ ¹) KPQTL KIV Æa Q\ º And it was fast. During one WN \PM ÅZ[\ ]VXW_MZML OTQLM tests, Dittmar hit 528 mph in a dive. On October 2, 1941, he was towed up over 13,000

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I

PREVIOUS SPREAD: ยฉ2017 JACK FELLOWS, ASAA; OPPOSITE & ABOVE RIGHT: NATIONAL ARCHIVES: RIGHT: HISTORYNET ARCHIVE

V TI\M ! \M[\ ]VQ\ KWUUIVLMZ +IX\IQV ?WTNOIVO ;Xq\M I XZM_IZ OTQLQVO KPIUXQWV IVL ^QK\WZa IKM ร M_ \PM ร Z[\ XZWL]K\QWV 5M * VW\QVO ยน6W_ 1 _I[ IJW]\ \W ร VL W]\ _PI\ \PM ?IT\MZ MVOQVM IVL Ua TQ\\TM 5M IK\]ITTa PIL QV \PMU ยบ 1V รป UQV]\M[ \PM Komet KW]TL PQ\ NMM\ ยน<PQ[ _I[ I [XMKQIT SQVL WN IQZXTIVM ยบ ;Xq\M ZMITQbML ยนยฐIV M`\ZMUMTa OWWL NMMTQVO IQZKZIN\ IV MTMOIV\ TQOP\VQVO NI[\ MI[QTa KWV\ZWT TIJTM LIZ\ AW] ZMITTa KW]TL QV\MZKMX\ IVa W\PMZ IQZKZIN\ _Q\P \PQ[ JQZL ยบ 0W_M^MZ Q\[ ?IT\MZ UW\WZ _I[ VW_PMZM VMIZ XMZNMK\ML ;Xq\M _I[ VMIZTa SQTTML _PMV PM Z]X\]ZML I N]MT TQVM WV \ISMWโ ซ ูบโ ฌTW[\ XW_MZ IVL IJIVLWVML [PQX QV UQL ZWTT \]UJTQVO Wโ ซ ูบโ ฌQ\[ _QVO ยน1\ _I[ ]V\PQVSIJTM ยบ PM _ZW\M ยน\W KWV[QLMZ [MVLQVO I [QVOTM IQZ XTIVM \PI\ PIL []KP IV ]VZMTQIJTM MVOQVM QV\W KWUJI\ TM\ ITWVM LMXTWaQVO IV MV\QZM [Y]ILZWV ยบ 6M^MZ\PMTM[[ \PI\ [XZQVO \PM \ZIQVQVO ]VQ\ _I[ ZMLM[QOVI\ML

IF, IN A CRASH, LEAKING T-STOFF TOUCHED C-STOFF, DETONATION WAS INSTANTANEOUS AND TOTAL. Jagdgeschwader 2/ <M[\ XQTW\ +IX\IQV :]LWTN ยน:]LQยบ 7XQ\b LMTQ^MZML WVM WN \PM ร Z[\ KWUJI\ IQZKZIN\ \W \PM ร OP\MZ _QVO ยน?PMV 1 bMZWML QV WV C\PME NQMTL NWZ I PQOP [XMML TW_ XI[[ TWVO [\ZQVO[ WN \ZIKMZ J]TTM\[ KIUM I\ UM NZWU ITT [QLM[ ยบ PM [IQL 4WKIT ร IS KZM_[ PIL VM^MZ [MMV IVa \PQVO TQSM \PM Komet IVL \PMa NW]VL Q\ I PIZL \IZOM\ ยนยฐ?M \WWS Q\ I[ I OWWL WUMV \PI\ \PMa PIL VW\ IKPQM^ML I [QVOTM PQ\ I\ \PM IQZKZIN\ ยบ 1V 5Ia ;Xq\Mยผ[ OZW]VL KZM_ XZM[MV\ML PQU _Q\P I ZWKSM\ NQOP\MZ XIQV\ML KWU XTM\MTa QV :QKP\PWNMV ZML 0M _I[ VW\ IU][ML" ยน?PMV 1 \ZQML \W UISM Q\ JIKS \W \PM IQZ ร MTL OTQLQVO _Q\PW]\ I LZWX WN N]MT TMN\ 1 _W]TL JM MI[a

HANDLE WITH CARE A ground crewman pours C-Stoff into an Me-163Bโ s fuel tank. Though the Kometโ s fuel was extremely volatile, Heinrich Dittmar (below left) said, โ A child can ๏ฌ y it.โ Rudi Opitz (below right) was lucky to survive an Me-163 mishap.

\W [MM NZWU UQTM[ I_Ia ยบ )[ T]KS _W]TL PI^M Q\ MIZTa \PI\ IN\MZVWWV NW]Z )TTQML ร OP\MZ[ IXXZWIKPML 1V UQV]\M[ ;Xq\M ZW[M ]X ]VLMZ \PMU J]\ I[ PM ILR][\ML PQ[ KTQUJ IVOTM PM ILLML I \W]KP WN VMOI\Q^M O 0Q[ ZWKSM\ XZWUX\Ta K]\ Wโ ซ ูบโ ฌ ) UQLIQZ ZMTQOP\ ZMY]QZML \_W UQV]\M[ )[ \PM LZQN\QVO ZWKSM\ XTIVM [TW_ML \PM )UMZQKIV[ PI^QVO IXXIZMV\Ta VW\ [XW\\ML \PM TQ\\TM ZML JI\ _QVO JMPQVL \PMU X]TTML I_Ia *a \PM \QUM ;Xq\M ZM ร ZML \PM J]ZVMZ PM PIL \W P]ZZa \W KI\KP ]X [W U]KP [W \PI\ PQ[ Komet KIUM ]X IOIQV[\ \PM [W]VL JIZZQMZ NWZKQVO PQU \W JZMIS WNN PQ[ I\\IKS ยน1ยผU UWZM \PIV K]ZQ W][ \W SVW_ ยบ PM TI\MZ U][ML ยน_PI\M^MZ PIXXMVML \W \PW[M XQTW\[ _PW XW[[QJTa W_M \PMQZ TQ^M[ \W \PM NIK\ \PI\ \PMZM _I[ VW 5IKP _IZVQVO LM^QKM CQV \PM 5M E ยบ <W XZW\MK\ KZQ\QKIT [aV\PM\QK N]MT IVL Z]JJMZ XTIV\[ 2/ ร M_ W]\ WN *ZIVLQ[ I JWUJMZ

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TECH NOTES MESSERSCHMITT ME-163B-1 TRIM TAB

FABRIC-COVERED ELEVON PILOTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SEAT

MAIN UNPROTECTED T-STOFF TANK

HEADREST 8MM BACK ARMOR AMMUNITION FOR MK 108 CANNONS C-STOFF FILLER CAP

MECHANICALLY JETTISONABLE CANOPY WITH VENTILATION PANEL T-STOFF FILLER CAP

REVI 16B GUNSIGHT FUG 25A RADIO PACK

MAIN C-STOFF WING TANK

GENERATOR DRIVE PROPELLER

PITOT HEAD

COMPRESSED AIR BOTTLE BATTERY AND ELECTRONIC PACKS TAKEOFF TROLLEY HYDRAULIC AND COMPRESSED AIR PORTS

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LANDING SKID

PORT 30MM MK 108 CANNON

TAILFIN CONSTRUCTION

RUDDER

RUDDER HORN BALANCE

SPARTAN COCKPIT The instruments in a captured Me-163 include on its central panel (top row, from left) airspeed indicator, artificial horizon/turn and bank indicator and variometer; and (bottom row, from left) altimeter, tachometer and fuel gauge.

SPECIFICATIONS ENGINE Walter HWK 509A-1 or A-2 bi-fuel rocket motor with a maximum thrust rating of 3,748 lbs.

WINGSPAN 30 feet 7¹/³ inches STEERABLE TAILWHEEL

WING AREA 199.13 square feet LENGTH 19 feet 2¹/³ inches

ILLUSTRATIONS BY STEVE KARP; PHOTO: ALAMY

WEIGHT 4,206 lbs. (empty) 9,502 lbs. (maximum takeoff)

HWK 509A-1 MOTOR TURBINE HOUSING

MAXIMUM SPEED 593 mph at 9,850 feet CLIMB 2.6 minutes to 29,500 feet 3.35 minutes to 39,370 feet CEILING 39,698 feet COMBAT RADIUS 22 miles at 497 mph MAXIMUM POWERED ENDURANCE 7.5 minutes ARMAMENT Two forward-firing 30mm Rheinmetall Borsig MK 108 cannons with 60 rounds per gun

ROCKET MOTOR COMBUSTION CHAMBER

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BASE OF OPERATIONS Top: An Me-163B-1 taxis for takeoff from JG.400โ s base at Brandis, a bomber ๏ฌ eld east of Leipzig. Above: A Komet undergoes maintenance at Brandis. The Walter rocket engine was easily accessed by removing the one-piece rear fuselage and tail๏ฌ n.

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ร MTL MI[\ WN 4MQXbQO )\ \PI\ XWQV\ QV \PM _IZ NM_ JWUJMZ ZIQL[ XZM[[ML [W LMMX QV\W /MZUIVa ?PMV \PMa LQL Komet XQTW\[ Y]QKSTa TMIZVML \PM WVM UIVM]^MZ \PMa PILVยผ\ []โ ซูปโ ฌKQMV\Ta XZIK\QKML" IQZ \W IQZ KWUJI\ QV\MZKMX\[ -^MV I \IQT KPI[M UMIV\ KTW[QVO [XMML[ WN VMIZTa UXP IVL R][\ I [XTQ\ [MKWVL \W X]TT \PM \ZQOOMZ ยน<PMZM R][\ _I[Vยผ\ MVW]OP \QUM \W OM\ Wโ ซ ูบโ ฌI _MTT IQUML [PW\ ยบ ;Xq\M TMIZVML ยน?PMVM^MZ W]Z XQTW\[ OW\ I KPIVKM \W ร ZM \PMa _MZM MQ\PMZ [\QTT W]\ WN O]V ZIVOM WZ _MZM ITZMILa \WW KTW[M ยบ )VL IOQTM I[ Q\ _I[ \PM Komet _I[ \WW NI[\ NWZ LWOร OP\QVO ) ZWKSM\ XQTW\ยผ[ JM[\ \IK\QK _I[ \W LMVa KWUJI\ <PM LIa IN\MZ +WTWVMT <IKWVยผ[ QVKWVKT][Q^M 2]Ta ! \IVOTM +IX\IQV )Z\P]Z 2 2Mโ ซูบโ ฌZMa WN \PM !\P .QOP\MZ /ZW]X TMILQVO NW]Z 8 2 4QOP\ VQVO[ [XW\\ML I Komet I\\IKSQVO I KZQXXTML * I\ NMM\ ยน1 KTW[ML _Q\P PQU IVL WXMVML ร ZM WJ[MZ^QVO [\ZQSM[ WV \PM 5M ยบ 2Mโ ซูบโ ฌZMa ZMXWZ\ML ยนยฐ0M ZWTTML W^MZ IVL _MV\ [\ZIQOP\ LW_V _Q\P UM ร ZM _ITTML JMPQVL PQU ยบ 0Q[ _QVOUIV 4QM]\MVIV\ :QKPIZL / ;QUX[WV KWVร ZUML" ยน<PM 5M _MV\ QV\W \PM KTW]L[ _PQKP _MZM I\ IZW]VL N\ [\QTT QV I LQ^M WN LMOZMM[ WZ JM\\MZ 0M U][\ PI^M JMMV QVLQKI\QVO UXP IVL [PW_ML VW [QOV[ WN X]TTQVO W]\ 1 LWVยผ\ [MM PW_ \PM /MZUIV KW]TL PI^M OW\\MV W]\ WN \PI\ LQ^M ยบ 2Mโ ซูบโ ฌZMa KTIQUML I XZWJIJTM IVL _I[ NIUW][Ta I_IZLML \PM ร Z[\ ZWKSM\ ร OP\MZ SQTT WN \PM _IZ \PW]OP \PMZM IZM VW []Z^Q^QVO /MZUIV[ ZMKWZL[ WN I Komet JMQVO TW[\ \PI\ LIa -^MV _Q\P Q\[ MVOQVM Wโ ซ ูบโ ฌIVL \IVS[ MUX\a \PM [TMMS KW]TL W]\ XT]UUM\ )TTQML ร OP\MZ[ LQ^QVO WV N]TT XW_MZ IVL _Q\P Q\[ JQO JI\ _QVO[ X]TT W]\ TI\MZ \WW )[ 4QM]\MVIV\ 0IZ\U]\ :aTT X]\ Q\" ยน7]Z JQZL PIVO[ QV \PMZM [\MILa I[ I ZWKS <PM )UMZQKIV[ JZMIS Wโ ซ\ ูบโ ฌPMQZ I\\IKS ZMTI\Q^MTa MIZTa )VL Ja \PM \QUM \PM IQZ[XMML LQ[[QXI\M[

JIKS W]\ WN \PM ! SU P C UXPE IZMI aW]ยผZM IT ZMILa JIKS QV \PM TWKIT IZMI IVL ]VLMZ \PM XZW\MK\QWV WN W]Z W_V ร IS ยบ 7V )]O][\ :aTT [W JILTa [PW\ ]X I \P *WUJMZ /ZW]X * \PI\ \PW]OP Q\ _W]TL [\Z]OOTM JIKS \W -VOTIVL PM _I[ KZMLQ\ML _Q\P I SQTT 6M`\ PM PWUML QV WV I TWVM .WZ\ZM[[ WN \PM ! [\ */ J]\ \PM M[KWZ\QVO !\Pยผ[ 4\ +WT 2WPV * 5]ZXPa K]\ PQU Wโ ซ ูบโ ฌยน1 WXMVML ร ZM NZWU IJW]\ NMM\ IVL PMTL Q\ ]V\QT 1 W^MZ[PW\ ยบ 5]ZXPa ZMXWZ\ML ยน1 [KWZML I NM_ PQ\[ WV \PM TMN\ [QLM WN \PM N][MTIOM ยบ ?QVOUIV 4QM]\MVIV\ +aZQT ? 2WVM[ 2Z OW\ QV I J]Z[\ \WW ยน<PM MV\QZM KIVWXa [MMUML \W LQ[[WT^M WV \PM MVMUa IQZKZIN\ยฐ\PM XQTW\ _I[ []ZMTa SQTTML ยบ )[ \PM Komet [XQZITML LW_V 5]ZXPa \]ZVML JIKS QV[QLM Q\ ยน[MMQVO KWV\QV]W][ [\ZQSM[ \PM N]TT TMVO\P WN \PM N][MTIOM 8IZ\[ JMOIV NITTQVO Wโ ซ ูบโ ฌNWTTW_ML Ja I JQO M`XTW[QWV IVL UWZM XIZ\[ NITTQVO Wโ ซ ูบโ ฌ 1 KW]TL [UMTT I [\ZIVOM KPMUQKIT N]UM QV Ua KWKSXQ\ I[ 1 NWTTW_ML \PZW]OP \PM [UWSM NZWU \PM M`XTW[QWV ยบ :aTT LQL VW\ []Z^Q^M -QOP\ LIa[ TI\MZ ;MZOMIV\ ;QMONZQML ;KP]JMZ\ IVL 4QM] \MVIV\ 0IV[ *W\\ TML \_W XIQZ[ WN Komets ]X XI[\ NMM\ [P]\ Wโ ซ\ ูบโ ฌPMQZ ZWKSM\[ IVL LQ^ML I UQTM \W I\\IKS I OZW]X WN UWZM \PIV * [ IVL * [ ;KP]JMZ\ \IZOM\ML \PM TMILMZ WN I ! VL */ NWZUI\QWV [PWW\QVO ]X Q\[ TMN\ _QVO 1\ NMTT W]\ WN NWZUI\QWV IVL _W]TL VW\ ZM\]ZV \W JI[M *W\\ \WWS WV IVW\PMZ .WZ\ZM[[ VW\QVO" ยน)[ [WWV I[ 1 JMOIV ร ZQVO Ua 5/ UIKPQVM KIVVWV[ WVM WN \PMU RIUUML J]\ \PM W\PMZ KWV\QV]ML \W ร ZM IVL 1 [I_ Ua [PMTT[ PQ\ \PM IQZKZIN\ ยบ .TIS KZM_[ _Q\VM[[ML \PM JWUJMZยผ[ KZI[P *W\\ PIL JMMV IQZJWZVM R][\ [M^MV UQV]\M[ 5MIV_PQTM ;KP]JMZ\ยผ[ LQ^M PIL X]\ PQU QV \PM KZQ\QKIT 5IKP bWVM <W JTMML Wโ ซ ูบโ ฌ

speed, he pulled up in front of the 457th BG and came back down from 12 oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;clock high. His head-on pass produced few hits, but Schubert looped back again for a tail attack, and with just \PZMM ZW]VL[ ZMXWZ\MLTa [PW\ Wâ&#x20AC;Ť Ůşâ&#x20AC;ŹI * Âź[ \IQT [MK\QWV 1\ _W]TL JM \PM ZWKSM\ Ă&#x2026;OP\MZ[Âź Ă&#x2026;VM[\ PW]Z š)N\MZ \PI\ _M experienced a series of failures and aircraft losses,â&#x20AC;? remembered ;Xq\M š°<PM \P WN 7K\WJMZ _I[ I \MZZQJTM LIa WN LM[XMZI\QWV Âş )\ VWWV WV \PI\ LIa ;KP]JMZ\ IVL *W\\ TML I[ UIVa I[ Komets QV I UI[[ [KZIUJTM *W\\ JTM_ I Ă&#x2026;^M NWW\ [MK\QWV W]\ WN I ! \P */ .WZ\ZM[[Âź ZQOP\ _QVO IVL _W]TL KTIQU Q\ I[ I SQTT <PMV Schubert made another head-on pass, and with time for just one J]Z[\ PM UILM Q\ KW]V\ ) * [X]V LW_V [PMLLQVO [Q` XIZIKP]\M[ ;KP]JMZ\Âź[ \PQZL SQTT UILM PQU \PM TMILQVO ZWKSM\ Ă&#x2026;OP\MZ pilot of the war.

0M IVL *W\\ TIVLML I\ *ZIVLQ[ \W \ISM Wâ&#x20AC;Ť Ůşâ&#x20AC;ŹQV NZM[P Komets. š0ITN_Ia ITWVO \PM Z]V_Ia \PM MVOQVM QV ;KP]JMZ\Âź[ IQZKZIN\ K]\ W]\ Âş ZMUMUJMZML IVW\PMZ XQTW\ šIVL PM ZWTTML WV\W \PM grass to get out of the way of the other aircraft which were folTW_QVO PQU 7VM WN PQ[ _QVO[ \W]KPML \PM OZW]VL IVL PQ[ IQZKZIN\ [WUMZ[I]T\ML IVL \PMV M`XTWLML R][\ I[ \PM IQZKZIN\ Ă&#x2020;W_V Ja *W\\ XI[[ML PQU Âş <_W UWZM 5M [ KZI[PML WV TIVLQVO with another pilot killed.

-â&#x20AC;ŤŮşâ&#x20AC;ŹWZ\[ _MZM WVOWQVO \W [WT^M \PM ZWKSM\ Ă&#x2026;OP\MZÂź[ TIKS WN MVL]ZIVKM IVL Ă&#x2026;ZMXW_MZ <PI\ UWV\P I [XIZM ) ZMKMQ^ML ]VLMZ_QVO ZIKS[ _Q\P \_W LWbMV ]VO]QLML : 5 ZWKSM\[¸I ZWKSM\ Ă&#x2026;ZQVO ZWKSM\¸J]\ \PMa Wâ&#x20AC;ŤŮşâ&#x20AC;ŹMZML VW QUXZW^MUMV\ QV ZIVOM \ZIRMK\WZa WZ M`XTW[Q^M XW_MZ W^MZ UU KIVVWV[ 5WZM XZWUising was the Jägerfaust \PM šĂ&#x2026;OP\MZ Ă&#x2026;[\ Âş ZMKWQTTM[[ UU wing cannons automatically firing upward when the Komet XI[[ML ]VLMZ I JWUJMZ <PM NWZKM WN \PM [QU]T\IVMW][ ^WTTMa QVQ\QITTa JTM_ Wâ&#x20AC;Ť\ Ůşâ&#x20AC;ŹPM *Âź[ KIVWXa [W I [MY]MV\QIT LMTIa _I[ J]QT\ QV\W \PM \ZQOOMZ [a[\MU 5MIV_PQTM ?IT\MZ _I[ _WZSQVO WV I VM_ ZWKSM\ _Q\P KWUXIZI\Q^MTa TWVO ZIVOM KZ]Q[M KIXIJQTQ\a 1\ _I[ \W JM Ă&#x2026;\\ML QV\W \PM [\ZM\KPML N][MTIOM 5M + J]\ \PI\ _I[ XI[[ML W^MZ QV NI^WZ WN \PM M^MV UWZM IL^IVKML 5M , _Q\P ZM\ZIK\IJTM _PMMT[ IVL Ă&#x2026;VITTa \PM 5M _Q\P KZ]Q[M ZWKSM\ TIVLQVO OMIZ IVL XZM[[]ZQbML KWKSXQ\ 0W_M^MZ only three prototypes were complete by warâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s end.

FINALLY, THE TOLL IN PILOTS HAVING FAR OUTWEIGHED THEIR RESULTS, GERMANY CEASED KOMET PRODUCTION AFTER 364 HAD BEEN BUILT.

motor explosion and another killed in a crash when he lost control near the sound barZQMZ <PM *1 VM^MZ [I_ KWUbat. Like the Germans, the PMV /MZUIVa QV^ILML :][[QI \PM ;W^QM\[ [\MXXML Russians became more enam]X \PMQZ W_V ZWKSM\ NQOP\MZ XZWOZIU <PMQZ ored of jets. *MZMbVaIS 1[IaM^ *1 _I[ WN UWZM KWV^MV\QWVIT TIaRo c k e t f i g h t e r s a l s o out than the Komet, but its rocket, burning kerosene appealed to Germanyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s B-29and red fuming nitric acid, was no more reliable and contrib- beset allies, the Japanese. ]\ML \W IQZNZIUM KWZZW[QWV 7VM XQTW\ _I[ [TQOP\Ta QVR]ZML QV I <PW]OP ^IZQW][ XTIV[ IVL components were lost in transit aboard sunken U-boats, \PMa LM^MTWXML \PMQZ W_V license-built Komet \PM 5Q\[] JQ[PQ 2 5 Shusui š8W_MZN]T ;_WZLÂş 7V Q\[ Ă&#x2026;Z[\ XW_MZML \M[\ QV 2]Ta ! PW_M^MZ \PM prototypeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s engine cut out and it crashed, killing the pilot. ?QV\MZ ! [I_ TQ\-

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OPPOSITE TOP & RIGHT PHOTOS: NATIONAL ARCHIVES; OPPOSITE BOTTOM: BUNDESARCHIV BILD I101-1965-011

HIGH PRICE Hartmut Ryll (left) was among JG.400â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s earliest combat casualties.

Siegfried Schubert (below left) scored three victories in the Me-163, but was killed in an explosion on takeoff.

\TM IK\QWV NWZ 2/ <PM )UMZQKIV[ PIL TMIZVML \PI\ \W I^WQL ZWKSM\ Ă&#x2026;OP\MZ[ \PMa UMZMTa PIL \W I^WQL *ZIVLQ[ ;Xq\M LMXTWaML [Y]ILZWV[ \W outlying bases, but they were [WWV W^MZZ]V Ja IL^IVKQVO )TTQML OZW]VL NWZKM[ )VL /MZUIVaÂź[ [WTM + ;\Wâ&#x20AC;Ť Ůşâ&#x20AC;ŹXTIV\ PIL JMMV WJTQ\MZI\ML š7]Z WVTa []XXTa°Q[ _PI\Âź[ TMN\ QV storage at the different airĂ&#x2026;MTL[ IVL LMXW\[ Âş ;Xq\M _I[ \WTL š?M PI^M MVW]OP PMZM I\ *ZIVLQ[ NWZ IJW]\ IVW\PMZ N]TTa TWILML Ă&#x2020;QOP\[ Âş 4Q\\TM N]MT UMIV\ TQ\\TM Ă&#x2020;aQVO WZ \ZIQVQVO 7V .MJZ]IZa ! UWZM \PIV JWUJers pounded targets around *ZIVLQ[ J]\ WVTa [M^MV Komets _MZM I^IQTIJTM \W KW]V\MZ the threat. None of their pilots so much as engaged \PM MVMUa +WUJI\ UQ[[QWV[ _MZM []J[MY]MV\Ta TQUQ\ML \W TWVM )TTQML ZMKWVVIQ[[IVKM IQZKZIN\# \PM 5M * was one of the few German planes that could, and did, KI\KP :). 5W[Y]Q\W[ QV TM^MT Ă&#x2020;QOP\ .QVITTa \PM \WTT QV XQTW\[ PI^QVO NIZ W]\_MQOPML \PMQZ ZM[]T\[¸IVL _Q\P UIVa UWZM planes and pilots lost to acciLMV\[ \PIV \W MVMUa IK\QWV¸ Germany ceased Komet proL]K\QWV IN\MZ PIL JMMV J]QT\ 4M[[ \PIV I Y]IZ\MZ M^MZ [I_ Ă&#x2026;OP\QVO Before the end, Lieutenant .ZQ\b 3MTJ LIZML \W Ă&#x2020;a I Komet MY]QXXML _Q\P \PM UU Jägerfaust 7V \PM M^MVQVO WN )XZQT *ZIVLQ[ XMZ[WVnel watched him speed up ]VLMZ JWUJMZ[ I\\IKSQVO

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LAST DAYS Above: Fritz Kelb was the only pilot to use a Jägerfaust 50mm cannonequipped Komet in combat.

Right: A surviving Me-163B-1 and its rocket engine are displayed at the National Air and Space Museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Udvar-Hazy Center. Below: Lacking fuel for a tractor tug, ground crewman use whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on hand to pull a Komet onto the runway late in the war.

Leipzig. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Kelb approached the lead aircraft of the bomber forUI\QWV IVL Ã&#x2020;M_ Ja ]VLMZVMI\P \PM JWUJMZ I\ ^MZa KTW[M ZIVOM º ;Xq\M ZMUMUJMZML ¹)\ \PI\ QV[\IV\ \PM JWUJMZ LQ[IXXMIZML QV I KTW]L WN [UWSM IVL Ã&#x2020;IUM[ º 2]UXML Ja 5][\IVO[ 3MTJ X]\ \PM Komet¼[ VW[M LW_V IVL ZIV NWZ PWUM ¹0M PIL ZMKMQ^ML I TW\ WN PQ\[ WV \PM \WX [QLM WN \PM IQZXTIVM°[PZIXVMT NZWU \PM OQIV\ M`XTW[QWV _PQKP PIL JTW_V PQ[ \IZOM\ \W JQ\[ <PQ[ _I[ \PM WVM IVL WVTa \QUM \PI\ \PQ[ _MIXWV[ [a[\MU _I[ ][ML QV \PM IQZ »<WW TI\M ¼º <PI\ UWV\P 2/ _I[ LQ[JIVLML <W \PQ[ LIa \PMQZ 5M Komet ZMUIQV[ \PM WVTa ZWKSM\ XW_MZML KWUJI\ IQZKZIN\ 1\[ XQTW\[¸\PW[M _PW []Z^Q^ML¸PIL \PM [I\Q[NIK\QWV WN SVW_QVO \PMa Ã&#x2020;M_ \PM PW\\M[\ JQZL QV \PM [Sa 1V \PM Ã&#x2026;VIT _MMS[ WN \PM _IZ * XQTW\ -L_IZL . :MQJWTL _I[ [\IZ\TML \W Ã&#x2026;VL I ZWKSM\ Ã&#x2026;OP\MZ Ã&#x2020;aQVO Wâ&#x20AC;« Ùºâ&#x20AC;¬PQ[ _QVO R][\ W]\ WN UIKPQVM O]V ZIVOM

¹?Q\PW]\ KPIVOQVO LQZMK\QWV PM [TQL QV\W _Q\PQV I NM_ NMM\ WN W]Z TMN\ _QVO \QX º \PM bomber pilot remembered. ¹?M _MZM I\ \PM \QUM \ZI^MTQVO I\ IV IQZ[XMML WN IXXZW`QUI\MTa UXP <PM XQTW\ WN \PM /MZUIV XTIVM PM[Q\I\ML Wâ&#x20AC;« Ùºâ&#x20AC;¬W]Z _QVO VWLLML \PZM_ ][ I »0QOPJITT ¼ X][PML PQ[ \PZW\\TM NWZ_IZL IVL IKKMTMZI\ML NWZ_IZL QV Ã&#x2020;QOP\ TMI^QVO ][ »[\IVLQVO¼ QV UQL IQZ º ¹<PMa _MZM ITT Ã&#x2026;TTML _Q\P IV QV\ZIK\IJTM ]ZOM \W [MZ^M \PMQZ .I\PMZTIVL QV I [XMKQIT _Ia º ZMUMUJMZML ;Xq\M WN PQ[ XQTW\[ ¹°<PMa _MZM ZMILa \W OQ^M \PMQZ TQ^M[ QV WZLMZ \W N]TÃ&#x2026;TT \PMQZ LZMIU WN Ã&#x2020;aQVO QV I ZWKSM\ º For additional reading, frequent contributor Don Hollway recommends: 3WUM\" <PM 5M[[MZ[KPUQ\\ Ja 2Mâ&#x20AC;«Ùºâ&#x20AC;¬ZMa L. Ethell; and 2IOLOM[KP_ILMZ " /MZUIVa¼[ -TQ\M :WKSM\ .QOP\MZ[, by Stephen Ransom and Hans-Hermann Cammann.

More info, images and video at donhollway.com/me-163.

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FATAL FLIGHT A Ba-349 is readied for a test flight (left) and Lothar Sieber climbs into the cockpit (above) before rocketing to his death.

OPPOSITE (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): NATIONAL ARCHIVES; NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM; COURTESY OF WOLFGANG MUEHLBAUER; RIGHT PHOTOS: NATIONAL ARCHIVES

ROCKET-POWERED SNAKE

F

acing a critical shortage of C-Stoff fuel for JG.400, Colonel Wolfgang Späte was informed by General of Fighters Adolf Galland that “because of a special SS initiative, a defensive surface-to-air rocket aircraft is supposed to be forced into production. And they will be propelled by C-Agent as well. That is the height of stupidity, but it’s also fact.”

With the Me-163 in perpetual development, in July 1944 the Luftwaffe established an emergency program to come up with a quick and dirty solution to the Allied bombers pummel-

ing Germany. Engineer Erich Bachem’s Ba-349 Natter (Adder) would operate more like a guided missile: a verticaltakeoff, semi-disposable manned rocket. The Luftwaffe rejected the concept, so Bachem put it in front of Heinrich Himmler. The Reichsführer-SS, desiring to give his personal army some air power, approved the idea.

The Natter was to be built by unskilled laborers using wood, glue and nails. The wings were simple wooden blades, with all control surfaces on the cruciform tail. Because the Walter rocket motor wasn’t powerful enough to launch a fully load-

ed Natter straight up, four solid-fuel boosters would provide 10,500 extra pounds of thrust for 10 seconds, until the main engine built up enough thrust to climb at 37,000 feet per minute. At first the idea was to ram enemy bombers with a concrete nosecone, but eventually that became a Perspex cap over as many as two-dozen R4M rockets. After firing them, the pilot would release the disposable nose section and a brake parachute. The sudden deceleration would separate the cockpit from the rocket, and they would descend under separate parachutes.

The Natter required no landing gear, no runways, no huge manufacturing commitment and hardly any development time. The first prototype was ready in October 1944, towed glide tests were flown in November and an unmanned test launched three days before Christmas. A second test in January 1945 with a dummy pilot was also successful, though the rocket’s leftover

T-Stoff and C-Stoff exploded on touchdown. As the pilot would have landed safely clear of the blast, plans went ahead for a manned test.

Experienced Arado Ar-232 pilot Lothar Sieber signed on for the first vertical-takeoff manned rocket flight. On March 1, the Natter rose from its launch tower on a pillar of smoke and steam, but before it passed 500 feet something went wrong. It pitched over backward and its canopy flew off. Climbing inverted, it disappeared into the clouds. Less than a minute later it came hurtling back down, still under full power, to hit the ground about five miles away with Sieber still inside. He may have been pinned in the cockpit by G forces, knocked unconscious or killed when the canopy flew back.

The SS figured that if a veteran test pilot couldn’t control the Natter, no inexperienced pilot could, so it cancelled the project. But like the Komet, the Natter broke new ground, if at a high cost.

D.H.

EARLY SUCCESS A Natter blasts off on an unmanned flight circa January 1945.

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THE SKYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S THEIR CANVAS LONG BEFORE THE ADVENT OF SOCIAL MEDIA, SKYWRITERS CREATED EPHEMERAL MESSAGES WRIT LARGE IN THE ATMOSPHERE FOR ALL TO SEE BY STEPHAN WILKINSON

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NO GECKO REQUIRED The GEICO Skytypers release smoke from their North American T-6s to get their message across to a wide audience.

POSTWAR PIONEER An S.E.5a modified

by Cyril Turner turns Major John Savage’s smoky pipe dream into reality shortly after World War I. G-EBIA, restored to its wartime guise, still flies in the Shuttleworth Collection.

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Just as there are diehard airship fans and those who would like to see Pan Am Clippers still carving wakes across San Francisco Bay, skywriting continues to have its boosters.

Skywriting can be traced back to the beginning of World War I, when Royal Flying Corps Major John “Jack” Savage developed a mechanism to pump an oily smokescreen out of an airplane’s exhaust pipe to help hide ships at sea. Some historians date the inception of such smoke to 1910, used “as an alternate means of communication,” in the words of one source. To imagine a 1910 Bristol Boxkite carving smoky letters in the sky is laughable, however, as is the concept of communicating military messages quite so openly.

Disregard as well claims that West Coast stunt

pilot Art Smith invented skywriting in 1915, when PM ÆM_ [XMK\IK]TIZ VQOP\ IQZ[PW_[ _Q\P I ÆIZM attached to the tail of his Curtiss pusher. Many spectators swore that Smith closed every show by “writing” GOOD NIGHT _Q\P PQ[ ÆIUQVO \IQTTQOP\ but time-exposure photographs make it obvious \PI\ PM [QUXTa ÆM_ I [MZQM[ WN [XQZIT[ IVL TWWX[ )N\MZ \PM _IZ ;I^IOM¼[ NZQMVL IVL NMTTW_ W‫ٻ‬KMZ +aZQT <]ZVMZ UWLQÅML I :WaIT )QZKZIN\ .IK\WZa ; - I ÅOP\MZ \W UISM ][M WN ;I^IOM¼[ KWVKMX\ NWZ skywriting. He installed a smoke-oil tank and valve to inject the potion into the exhaust, extended the big Hispano-Suiza V8’s pipes all the way to the tail, asbestos-wrapped them to keep the gases hot and split the rudder to allow the pipes to be joined into one big smoke outlet.

PREVIOUS SPREAD: GEICO SKYTYPERS; LEFT, BOTTOM RIGHT & RIGHT: RAF MUSEUM, HENDON; TOP RIGHT: SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM ARCHIVES

AVIATION HAS GIVEN US MANY HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW MOMENTS—PASSENGERCARRYING DIRIGIBLES, MAILPLANES, MILITARY GLIDERS, ENORMOUS FLYING BOATS—AND AMONG THEM IS THE CRAFT OF SKYWRITING.

Skywriting as an advertising medium had its debut above the famous English racetrack Epson Downs, on Derby Day in 1922. Turner had made a deal with an aviation-friendly London newspaper to smokestream the words DAILY MAIL in the sky above tens of thousands of bemused bettors and most of the country’s peerage.

A few months later, realizing where the big bucks were, Turner boxed up his warbird, shipped it to New York and introduced himself with the smoky message HELLO USA spelled out over Manhattan.

The next day, he wrote CALL VANDERBILT 7200— the phone number of his hotel—and, legend has it, elicited 47,000 calls in less than three hours…“legMVLº JMKI][M \PI\ _I[ \PM ÅO]ZM ZMTMI[ML Ja \PM hotel press agent, and the New York Telephone Company doubted that tally was possible.

Nonetheless, the American Tobacco Company was impressed. Makers of America’s favorite brand, 4]KSa ;\ZQSM \PM KWUXIVa JMKIUM \PM ÅZ[\ major corporate sponsor of skywriting. It’s said that sales of Luckies jumped 60 percent immediately after a skywriting demo over Philadelphia. Many claim that American’s early messages consisted of LSMFT—“Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco”— but that acronym didn’t appear until the mid1940s. It’s more likely that skywriters wrote IT’S TOASTED, the brand’s meaningless catchphrase.

2IKS ;I^IOM MVLML ]X W_VQVO \PM TIZOM[\ ÆMM\ of skywriting aircraft in Britain, and he sent them all over the world with Turner as his chief pilot.

Turner’s original skywriting airplane, the S.E.5a / -*1) [\QTT ÆQM[ I[ XIZ\ WN \PM NIUW][ ;P]\\TM worth Collection, though restored in its original wartime olive-drab paint scheme. Skywriting, IXXIZMV\Ta _I[ \WW ZI‫[ٻ‬P I XZWNM[[QWV NWZ I XZWXMZ warbird to have been involved in. Commercial skywriting, in fact, is today banned in the UK.

I

t took awhile for skywriting to become an important commercial advertising medium.

Initially, the capability was used to broadcast personal messages, political rants, birthday wishes and marriage proposals, and for such frivolQ\QM[ I[ ÆI\\MZQVO KMTMJZQ\QM[ LMJIZSQVO NZWU WKMIV

SKYWRITING AS AN ADVERTISING MEDIUM HAD ITS DEBUT ABOVE EPSON DOWNS IN 1922.

CAPTIVE AUDIENCE Top: A long-exposure photo reveals spiral “writing” created by Art Smith over a San Francisco exposition in 1915.

Above: Jack Savage and staff pose before skywriting S.E.5a G-EBIB in April 1927. Below left: Spectators marvel at a skywriting show.

liners by writing their names, and even simply to post goofy phrases and greetings—a kind of 1920s Twitter. But the potential was unmistakable. In the mid-1920s, city-dwellers would rush to a window at the mere sound of an airplane, and a simple TW_ IT\Q\]LM Æa Ja KW]TL []UUWV IV I]LQMVKM easily in the tens of thousands.

Skywriting became so popular that in June 1923 a New York Times essay by poet and critic Benjamin De Casseres complained that “Above \PM 0QUITaI[ \PM )TX[ IVL \PM -Q‫ٺ‬MT <W_MZ _QTT be soap, cigarette and pickle ads…the competition for airspace may become so keen someday that I can quite conceive of devastating aerial battles between rival advertising concerns. A war between the pickle planes and soap Capronis....”

7\PMZ[ NMIZML \PI\ \PM [SQM[ _W]TL JM LMÅTML Ja what they called “celestial vandalism”—smoky scrawls of every sort and color. Skywriters were NOVEMBER 2017

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“HELLO USA” The Skywriting Corporation of America’s S.E.5as await their next job at Curtiss Field (top).

Turner (above) served as the company’s chief pilot. A 1922 illustration (right) depicts a skywriter in action.

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working on developing palettes of colored smoke as well as glowing smoke for nighttime use. Neither ever came to pass, though of course aerobatic teams have used colored smoke. The expense of scrubbing dye-stained fuselages has always led skywriters to avoid it.

The Germans saw skywriting as another means to circumvent the Versailles Treaty, which forbade their country to develop any form of military aviation. So besides training its pilots through [XWZ\ OTQLQVO KT]J[ IVL KWVÅO]ZQVO N]\]ZM JWUJers as airliners, the Germans formed several Reklamestaffeln, or “publicity and advertising” squadrons. These specialized units did commercial skywriting work that screened what was in fact practice for target-marking and reconnaissance missions. Among the many pilots initially trained I[ [Sa_ZQ\MZ[ _I[ N]\]ZM OMVMZIT WN ÅOP\MZ[ )LWTN Galland, and the :MSTIUM[\I‫ٺ‬MTV actually became \PM ÅZ[\ WXMZI\QWVIT \IK\QKIT ]VQ\[ WN \PM VM_Ta KWV[\Q\]\ML 4]N\_I‫ٺ‬M Hermann Dibbel, a Junkers Ju-87 sergeant pilot, _I[ IVW\PMZ 4]N\_I‫ٺ‬M [Sa_ZQ\MZ \ZIQVML QV \PQ[ fashion. Dibbel used his Stuka to spell out surrender appeals above Soviet units and, later, Yugoslav partisans. Perhaps because they were amazed by such displays of technical prowess, some troops _W]TL QVLMML ÆMM \PM NZWV\ TQVM[ )N\MZ \PM _IZ Dibbel reinvented himself as Europe’s only skywriting instructor. Without access to an airplane, he had his students pedal a bicycle equipped with a container of limewater and a spigot that could be triggered open or closed, to make upside-down and backward letters on the ground just as a skywriter would in the air. The Dibbel dribble method disappeared into the mists of 1950s history, and

whether it created any actual skywriters remains a mystery.

By the late 1930s, the big dog in the U.S. had become the Skywriting Corporation of America, operating out of Curtiss Field, on Long Island.

Cyril Turner was their chief pilot. The company made much of holding all the patents necessary to create “the writing gas.” According to The New Yorker magazine, this involved “injecting a chemical into some kind of oil, the exact nature of these ingredients being a secret.”

Secrecy has always been an important element of skywriting. The profession even today labors like a White House press secretary to dissemble and hide any clues to its operation. It has long been hinted that only those who have the talent within

their DNA can become skywriters, and that like the Flying Wallendas, unless youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re born into the craft youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll never gain entry. When Pepsi-Cola became the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best-known skywriting user, its contracts with company skywriters forbade them to reveal IVa LM\IQT[ WN PW_ \PMa Ă&#x2020;M_ \PMQZ [UWSa XI\\MZV[ Granted, skywriting is not easy, since the letters must be formed without the pilots having any perspective over what theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing. Though the letters look vertical from the ground, they are in fact horizontal, facing the ground, and a skywriting pilot can only see what he or she has done when the message is complete, if it hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t already been tattered by the wind. <PQ[ PI[ TML \W [WUM QVNIUW][ OIâ&#x20AC;ŤŮşâ&#x20AC;ŹM[ ;Sa_ZQ\MZ Louis Meyer, working on a commission from Loft Candies, wrote ;-1,6)+ <.74 in full view of Loftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s president. Meyer immediately saw his mistake and redid the message correctly. Another pilot wrote )1: ;7? to promote a New York airshow, and another scrawled --41*=2 A6 to publicize 6M_ AWZS +Q\aÂź[ \P IVVQ^MZ[IZa R]JQTMM ;WUM [Sa_ZQ\MZ[ PI^M \]ZVML IZW]VL IVL Ă&#x2020;W_V I TWVO straight strikeout line through a botched word or phraseâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;an aerial â&#x20AC;&#x153;my bad.â&#x20AC;? ;WUM\QUM[ M^MV KWZZMK\Ta [XMTTML UM[[IOM[ KIV be misinterpreted. Modern-day skywriter Wayne Mansfield touted a rock band over Cape Cod beaches by writing 2)A )6, <0- )5-:1+)6; )< 76 <0- :7+3;, but winds at altitude soon turned the words into what seemed to spell )5-:1+) 76 <0- :7+3; 0WZZQNQML ^QM_MZ[ KITTML 7\Q[ )QZ .WZKM *I[M \W KWUXTIQV Mansfieldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best-known commissions came NZWU U][QKQIV[ 2WPV 4MVVWV IVL AWSW 7VW 1V December 1969, the couple commissioned one of the longest skywritten messages ever: ?): 1;

OPPOSITE TOP: RAF MUSEUM, HENDON; OPPOSITE BOTTOM: BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES; LEFT: CHRONICLE/ALAMY; ABOVE RIGHT: EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY COLLECTIONS

7>-: 1. A7= ?)6< 1< 0)88A @5); .:75 2706 )6, A737, written over Toronto and then New

AWZS +Q\a 5IV[Ă&#x2026;MTL PI[ IT_Ia[ KIZZQML ^MZa TIZOM smoke-oil tanks in his skywriting airplanesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in \PQ[ KI[M OITTWV[ QV PQ[ )O +I\ -TM^MV aMIZ[ TI\MZ 5IV[Ă&#x2026;MTL [XMTTML 0)88A *1:<0,)A 2706 ;-)6 47>- A737 over Manhattan, repeated eight \QUM[ 2WPV 4MVVWV _W]TL JM LMIL QV \_W UWV\P[

O

VM ZM\QZML [Sa_ZQ\MZ _PW Ă&#x2020;M_ IV )O +I\ gave Aviation History a few clues as to how \PM OIUM Q[ XTIaML š;Sa_ZQ\QVO IMZWJI\QK[ Q[ WVTa NWZ 0WTTa_WWL Âş PM _ZW\M š1 LQL everything level at 9,500 to 10,500 feet. Count to six-Mississippi and maintain a constant airspeed for any straight part of a letter. Count higher for bigger letters. Maintain a constant angle of bank NWZ \PM K]Z^ML [\]â&#x20AC;ŤŮşâ&#x20AC;ŹÂ°IVL \Za \W SMMX \PM K]Z^ML [\]â&#x20AC;Ť\ Ůşâ&#x20AC;ŹW I UQVQU]U 7 Q[ \PM PIZLM[\ TM\\MZ M[XMcially at the beginning of a word. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Determine the winds aloft and start waaaay upwind. Write upside down and backward, so the XMWXTM WV \PM OZW]VL KIV ZMIL Q\ 0I^M \_W MI[-

â&#x20AC;&#x153;IF YOU CANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T HOLD A HEADING AND AN ALTITUDE, YOU WONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T BE ABLE TO SKYWRITE.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;DRINK PEPSI-COLAâ&#x20AC;? Pilots Steve Oliver and Suzanne Asbury-Oliver do some preďŹ&#x201A;ight planning next to PepsiCoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Travel Air D4D.

QTa QLMV\QĂ&#x2026;IJTM XWQV\[ WN ZMNMZMVKM W]\[QLM¸WVM [\ZIQOP\ IPMIL IVL WVM [\ZIQOP\ Wâ&#x20AC;Ť Ůşâ&#x20AC;ŹaW]Z _QVO â&#x20AC;&#x153;We would draw our pattern on a 5-by-8 card IVL KTQX Q\ WV \PM XIVMT QV NZWV\ WN ][ 1\ TWWSML essentially like an aerobatic-routine card, showing how we maneuvered through each letter to the VM`\ WVM 8ZMĂ&#x2020;QOP\ XTIVVQVO _I[ QUXWZ\IV\ M[XMcially if it was windy at altitude, as letters donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t last long then. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d keep writing the word or phrase over and over until we ran out of smoke oil. We could do about 25 to 30 letters on an 80-gallon \IVS WN WQT AW]Z UM[[IOM[ TWWSML \MZZQJTM \PM Ă&#x2026;Z[\ few times you tried to write, so we would videotape them and critique. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about itâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;no magic or mystery, just an old airplane with a big, fat exhaust and a semiKWUXM\MV\ >.: XQTW\ Âş ;]bIVVM )[J]Za 7TQ^MZ \WLIa \PM KW]V\ZaÂź[ UW[\ IK\Q^M [Sa_ZQ\MZ [Ia[ š1N aW] KIVÂź\ PWTL a heading and an altitude, you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be able to [Sa_ZQ\M Âş ;PM IOZMM[ \PI\ I JQO XIZ\ WN [Sa_ZQ\QVO Q[ KW]V\QVO š1 KW]V\ Wâ&#x20AC;Ť[ Ůşâ&#x20AC;ŹMKWVL[ R][\ TQSM I LIVKMZ _W]TL KW]V\ Wâ&#x20AC;Ť\[ Ůşâ&#x20AC;ŹMX[ Âş [PM [Ia[ š<QUQVO is essential. Lose count, no matter what the distraction, and you can count on failing at skywriting.â&#x20AC;?

Another challenge is that each letter in a skywritten UM[[IOM Q[ JM[\ LWVM I\ I [TQOP\Ta LQâ&#x20AC;ŤŮşâ&#x20AC;ŹMZMV\ IT\Q\]LM like stepping down a staircase, so the skywriter doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t blow away the previous letter.

7VM ZMKMV\ [Sa_ZQ\QVO MXQ[WLM OI^M [M^MZIT KQ\QM[ a good look at the skills of occasional skywriters.

7V >ITMV\QVMÂź[ ,Ia \PM ZQLM [PIZQVO KWUXIVa =JMZ PMTL I XZWUW\QWV" .WZ =JMZ ][MZ[ could have 12-character romantic messages sky_ZQ\\MV W^MZ 4 ) ;IV ,QMOW ,ITTI[ WZ 6M_ AWZS <PM ZM[XWV[M _I[ []J[\IV\QIT¸Ă&#x2026;Z[\ KWUM Ă&#x2026;Z[\ NOVEMBER 2017

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servedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;but with more cities on the list than there are skilled skywriters in the U.S., the results were about what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d expect. Numerous â&#x20AC;&#x153;failsâ&#x20AC;? were posted on social media, though Uber was happy with the publicity.

Skywriters used to insist smoke oil was an exotic witchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brew, but it is in fact sold by the barrel (about $900, or $16-plus a gallon) as Chevron/ Texaco Canopus 13, which used to be called Corvus oil. It is also used by the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds and by civilian airshow aerobats as well as radio-control modelers. Aviation applica\QWV[ IZM IK\]ITTa _PI\ LWK\WZ[ _W]TL KITT IV Wâ&#x20AC;Ť Ůşâ&#x20AC;Ź label use, for Canopus 13 was originally intended to be a quenching oil for fresh-rolled steel and a T]JZQKIV\ [a[\MU Ă&#x2020;][P It takes one to three gallons of smoke oil to skywrite a typical quarter-mile-high letter, depending on the size of the skywriting airplaneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s engine, so messages are limited in length by oil tank size, usually running from 15 to 80 gallons. (One of a skywriterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most embarrassing situations is to run out of oil before a message is complete.)

airplanesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;often Stearmansâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to work all over the U.S., Mexico and Central America.

This continued until 1953, when TV advertising turned skywriting from the coolest form of advertising into a niche industry whose time had come and gone. No longer did the drone of a radial bring people racing to the nearest window, and Madison Avenue was learning the lessons of audiencedirected advertising: Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just throw an expensive cigarette ad out there for a hundred thousand people to see even though most of them donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t smoke, buy a time slot on a TV show watched by middleaged pack-a-day guys.

In 1973, in what has been called â&#x20AC;&#x153;a burst of nostalgia,â&#x20AC;? PepsiCo decided to get back into the skywriting business, encouraged by one of its corporate pilots, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Smilinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Jack Strayer. Strayer located Andy Stinisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; original Travel Air, and Pepsi bought it. In 1980, needing an assistant, Strayer advertised for a skywriting pilot and found none. *]\ PM LQL Ă&#x2026;VL I aMIZ WTL KWUUMZKQIT XQTW\ IVL Ă&#x2020;QOP\ QV[\Z]K\WZ ;]bIVVM )[J]Za ?Q\PQV _MMS[ he had her skywriting, and within a year, Asbury (today Asbury-Oliver) was Pepsiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chief skywriting n 1931 the Pepsi-Cola Company set forth pilot, following Strayerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death from pneumonia. to become the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foremost skywriting Before Strayer died, Pepsi combined the might user. At the time a distant contender in the of television with the nostalgic appeal of skywritcutthroat cola warsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a 1940 New Yorker car- ing to create a classic TV commercial. A scarfedtoon depicts an antiaircraft gun crew in Coca- IVL OWOOTML ;\ZIaMZ \ISM[ Wâ&#x20AC;Ť Ůşâ&#x20AC;ŹNZWU I NIZU Ă&#x2026;MTL QV Cola shirts taking aim at a Pepsi skywriterâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Pepsi the Travel Air, resplendent in its swoopy red-whitehired skywriter Andy Stinis and his classic 1929 and-blue Pepsi livery, and writes MARRY ME SUE Travel Air D4D biplane to spread its message, and far above the heads of a farmboy and his girlfriend.

Stinis would limn DRINK PEPSI-COLA often eight It helped turn the Travel Air into a national icon, times a day over various cities. Pepsi eventually and today the airplane hangs in the National Air W_VML WZ KWV\ZIK\ML NWZ I Ă&#x2020;MM\ WN [Sa_ZQ\QVO and Space Museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Udvar-Hazy Center.

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ABOVE: AP PHOTO; OPPOSITE TOP: SCIENCE MUSEUM, LONDON; OPPOSITE BOTTOM: DAVID L. MOORE, CALIFORNIA/ALAMY

OLYMPIC RINGS Skywriters perform during the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, on October 10, 1964.

PepsiCo got out of the skywriting business for good in 2000. During the fat years, Suzanne and her husband, aerobat Steve Oliver, were on the road for nine months every year, skywriting for Pepsi several times a week. Today Suzanne estimates that their company, Olivers Flying Circus, [\QTT LWM[ UM[[IOM[ I\ LQâ&#x20AC;ŤŮşâ&#x20AC;ŹMZMV\ TWKI\QWV[ each year, â&#x20AC;&#x153;from marriage proposals to commerKQIT [\]â&#x20AC;Ť Ůşâ&#x20AC;ŹÂş -IKP RWJ XIa[ NZWU \W

most of which is eaten up by travel and other exXMV[M[ )[J]Za 7TQ^MZ Ă&#x2020;QM[ I PQOPTa UWLQĂ&#x2026;ML ! de Havilland Super Chipmunk.

Other than Asbury-Oliver, perhaps the most widely seen skywriter active today is 74-year-old Jerry Stevens, a retired corporate pilot who frequently traces religious messages over Orlandoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theme parks with an Ag-Cat logoed â&#x20AC;&#x153;Holy ;UWSM Âş ) PMI^MVTa \M`\MZ PM PI[ JMMV SVW_V \W write not only the standard 2-;=; .7:/1>-; IVL /7, 1; /:-)< but = /7, % " .

Today, most skywriting is done by a company KITTML ;Sa\aXMZ[ Ă&#x2020;aQVO /Z]UUIV )) <QOMZ[ on the West Coast and North American SNJ-2s QV \PM MI[\ ;Sa\aXQVO QV^WT^M[ Ă&#x2026;^M IQZXTIVM[ Ă&#x2020;aQVO a perfect line-abreast formation, their smoke-oil valves controlled electronically. The technique has been called dot-matrix skywriting, since the mes[IOM Q[ X]T[ML W]\ QV [PWZ\ J]Z[\[ WN [UWSM 1\Âź[ NI[\ Mâ&#x20AC;ŤŮťâ&#x20AC;ŹKQMV\ IVL NI]T\TM[[¸\PM KWV\ZWTTQVO KWUX]\MZ Q[ XZWOZIUUML _Q\P \PM UM[[IOM JMNWZM Ă&#x2020;QOP\ and all the pilots need to do is maintain a perfect straight-and-level formation.

Some sources claim that Sidney Pike, a pilot who had become president of the Skywriting Corporation of America, began developing the XZMLMKM[[WZ WN [Sa\aXQVO QV \PM TI\M ! [ \PW]OP \PM [a[\MU LQLVÂź\ [MM IK\]IT ][M ]V\QT \PM TI\M ! [ A formation of seven airplanes pumped smoke oil through valves radio-controlled by a â&#x20AC;&#x153;mother [PQXÂş QV \PM UQLLTM WN \PM Ă&#x2020;WKS /ZMO ;\QVQ[ \PM [WV WN 8MX[Q [Sa_ZQ\MZ )VLa ;\QVQ[ [Ia[ \PI\ KTIQU Q[ VWV[MV[M" š;QL \WWS KZMLQ\

SKYTYPING INVOLVES FIVE PLANES FLYING A PERFECT LINE-ABREAST FORMATION.

COMPUTERIZED SMOKE Skytypers write a message above the 2016 Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, Calif.

SURVIVING SKYWRITER G-EBIB, sister ship to the ďŹ rst skywriting airplane, is preserved with its original equipment at Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Science Museum.

for inventing the system, but it was actually QV^MV\ML Ja Ua NI\PMZ 1 _I\KPML Ua LIL _WZS WV \PI\ [a[\MU NWZ UIVa aMIZ[ _PQTM 1 _I[ OZW_QVO ]X He told me Sid didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even know how to turn it WV Âş 1V ! )VLa OW\ I XI\MV\ NWZ I ^MZ[QWV WN \PM Skytyper technology controlled by punched tapes, IVL PM \WWS W^MZ \PM XMVVQM[ WV \PM LWTTIZ Ă&#x2020;MM\ WN ;62 [ IVL *< [ \PI\ ;QL 8QSM PIL JW]OP\ QUUMLQI\MTa IN\MZ ?WZTL ?IZ 11 /ZMO ;\QVQ[ NWZUML ;Sa\aXMZ[ 1VK QV ! ! and today holds his late fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s patents as well I[ PQ[ WZQOQVIT Ă&#x2020;MM\ WN 2 *QZL[ 1V /ZMOÂź[ [WV Stephen and cousin Curtiss Stinis developed the present-day computerized, all-digital, wirelessnetwork skytyping system.

The appeal of classic skywriting has always been the lazy, what-comes-next unpredictability of a barely visible airplane, its message slowly scrollQVO NWZ\P NZWU _PI\ [MMU[ \W JM /WLÂź[ W_V NMT\ \QX XMV -IKP TM\\MZ \ISM[ I\ TMI[\ \_W UQV]\M[ \W NWZU Skytypers, on the other hand, seem to move as fast I[ I +66 VM_[ \QKSMZ¸IK\]ITTa \_W [MKWVL[ XMZ TM\\MZ¸IVL \PMZMÂź[ TQ\\TM LIVOMZ WN \PM Ă&#x2026;Z[\ TM\\MZ LQ[IXXMIZQVO JMNWZM \PM TI[\ Q[ \aXML 1\Âź[ IV MUWtionless, paint-by-numbers approach to skywriting, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perfect for our text-and-talk, face-in-aphone millennials audience. =VTQSM BMXXMTQV[ IVL JQO Ă&#x2020;aQVO JWI\[ [Sa_ZQ\ing will be around forever, even if only on a rare, occasional, amateur level. The sky is a canvas so enormous that there will always be a painter-pilot or two waiting to challenge it.

Contributing editor Stephan Wilkinsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest book, with Bruce McAllister, is 4QVLJMZOP" ) 8PW\WOZIXPQK *QWOZIXPa WN \PM 4WVM -IOTM. For more on Olivers Flying Circus, see skywriter.info; for more on Skytypers Inc., see skytypers.com.

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THE LAST FLIGHT OF HOBO 28 IN ONE OF AMERICA’S WORST “BROKEN ARROW” INCIDENTS, A B-52 CARRYING FOUR HYDROGEN BOMBS CRASHED ON THE ICE OFF GREENLAND BY TIMOTHY KARPIN & JAMES MARONCELLI

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COLD WARRIOR On January 21, 1968, the crew of a Boeing B-52G like this ejected over Greenland after a ďŹ re broke out in their bomber.

MAJOR ALFRED D’AMARIO THOUGHT THE WORST WAS OVER AFTER HIS VIOLENT EJECTION FROM THE DARK AND SMOKY COCKPIT OF HIS BOEING B-52G STRATOFORTRESS.

ARCTIC AIR BASE A B-52 delivers personnel to Thule Air Force Base on January 23 to participate in the “Broken Arrow” cleanup operation.

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<PM JWUJMZ PM PIL IJIVLWVML _I[ LQ^QVO QV ÆIUM[ \W_IZL \PM VMIZJa QKM KW^MZML *aTW\ ;W]VL W‫< ٺ‬P]TM )QZ .WZKM *I[M QV VWZ\P_M[\MZV /ZMMVTIVL ,¼)UIZQW SVM_ \PI\ \PM WVM XWQV\ [INM JWUJ[ _W]TL VW\ OW ¹V]KTMIZº QV I KZI[P )[ PM LM[KMVLML \PM UIRWZ [QOP\ML IV WZIVOM ÅZMJITT MQOP\ UQTM[ \W \PM _M[\ ;]LLMVTa IV QV\MV[MTa JZQOP\ _PQ\M TQOP\ W]\[PWVM \PM WZIVOM RM\ N]MT JTIbM I[ \PM PQOP M`XTW[Q^M[ QV NW]Z PaLZWOMV JWUJ[ QV \PM JWUJ JIa LM\WVI\ML NZWU \PM [PWKS WN QUXIK\ ) []XMZ[WVQK JTI[\ _I^M \WZM W]\_IZL QV ITT LQZMK\QWV[ QV\W \PM []JNZMMbQVO IZK\QK IQZ 1V [M^MZIT [MKWVL[ ,¼)UIZQW¼[ MI[a LW_V_IZL LZQN\ _I[ QV\MZZ]X\ML )[ PM ZMKW]V\ML QV PQ[ JWWS Hangar Flying" ¹1 _I\KPML Q\ C\PM JZQOP\ TQOP\E NWZ I NM_ [MKWVL[ IVL []LLMVTa ITT 0MTT JZWSM TWW[M 5a XIZIKP]\M IVL \PM TQNM ZIN\ JW\P \WWS

WNN \W Ua ZQOP\ TMI^QVO UM _PI\ TWWSML TQSM \MV WZ NQN \MMV NMM\ \W \PM TMN\ WN \PMU <PMV 1 [\IZ\ML [_QVOQVO JIKS IVL NWZ\P JM\_MMV \PMU º ,¼)UIZQW IVL Å^M WN PQ[ NMT TW_ KZM_UMV UILM Q\ [INMTa \W \PM OZW]VL 7VM KZM_ UMU JMZ LQL VW\ <P][ JMOIV WVM WN \PM = ; )QZ .WZKM ;\ZI\MOQK )QZ +WUUIVL¼[ _WZ[\ ¹*ZW SMV )ZZW_º V]KTMIZ QVKQLMV\[ WN \PM +WTL ?IZ

As the Cold War evolved, SAC developed technologies to detect and counter a Soviet surprise nuclear attack. When SAC LMXTWaML \PM ร Z[\ QV\MZKWV\QVMV\IT JITTQ[\QK UQ[[QTM[ QV ! ! Q\[ XZQUIZa LM\MK\QWV IVL [\ZQSM NWZKM KWV[Q[\ML WN \PM ,MNMV[M -IZTa ?IZVQVO TQVM WN ZILIZ[ [M^MZIT *ITTQ[\QK 5Q[[QTM -IZTa ?IZVQVO ;a[\MU[ *5-?; IVL LWbMV[ WN * JWUJMZ[ IZUML _Q\P \PMZUWV]KTMIZ _MIXWV[ /MVMZIT <PWUI[ ; 8W_MZ KWU UIVLMZ WN ;)+ QVQ\QI\ML [M^MZIT ITMZ\ XZWOZIU[ \W ZML]KM \PM ZM[XWV[M \QUM NWZ JWUJMZ[ \W \ISM Wโ ซ ูบโ ฌIVL UISM \PMQZ Z]V[ QV\W \PM ;W^QM\ =VQWV 1V ! ;)+ * [ JMOIV ร aQVO ยน+PZWUM ,WUMยบ UQ[[QWV[ _PQKP \WWS \PM KZM_[ \PZW]OP IV IZK\QK ZW]\M KTW[M \W \PM ;W^QM\ JWZLMZ 1V \PM NITT WN ! \PM UQTTQWV *5-?; NIKQTQ\a I\ <P]TM ).* JMOIV WXMZI\QWV[ Q\[ LI\I [MV\ Ja ]VLMZ[MI KIJTM[ IVL TI\MZ _QZMTM[[Ta \W \PM 6WZ\P )UMZQKIV )MZW[XIKM ,MNMV[M +WUUIVL +WVKMZVML \PI\ <P]TM ยนJTIKS W]\[ยบ KW]TL QVLQKI\M \PI\ \PM NIKQTQ\a MQ\PMZ PIL JMMV PQ\ Ja \PM ;W^QM\[ WZ PIL M`XMZQMVKML I JMVQOV \MKPVQKIT NIQT]ZM QV )]O][\ ! ;)+ JMOIV [MKZM\ ยน0IZL 0MILยบ <P]TM UWVQ\WZQVO UQ[ [QWV[ \W UIQV\IQV KWV[\IV\ ^Q[]IT []Z^MQTTIVKM <PM[M PW]Z UQ[[QWV[ PIL KZM_[ ร aQVO QV I ยนJ]\\MZ SVQNMยบ PWTLQVO XI\\MZV [QUQTIZ \W I ร O]ZM I\ NMM\ VMIZ \PM IQZ JI[M <PM JWUJ MZ[ _MZM N]TTa IZUML IVL \PM KZM_ PIL ITT \PM UQ[[QWV XTIVVQVO LWK]UMV\[ \PMa ZMY]QZML \W [\ZQSM \PM ;W^QM\ =VQWV *a ! ;)+ PIL I[[QOVML Q\[ \P ;\ZI\MOQK *WUJIZLUMV\ ?QVO I\ 8TI\\[J]ZOP ).* \W \PM 0IZL 0MIL UQ[[QWV[ 6MIZ \PM +IVILQIV JWZLMZ IVL MVKWUXI[[QVO \PM \P *WUJIZLUMV\ ;Y]ILZWV \PM _QVO ร MTLML \PM TI\M[\ * / UWLMT[

PREVIOUS SPREAD: ยฉBOEING; OPPOSITE: KEYSTONE ALAMY; ABOVE RIGHT: U.S. AIR FORCE

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IV]IZa _I[ I JZQOP\ IVL KTMIZ ;]VLIa UWZVQVO QV VWZ\PMZV 6M_ AWZS I[ I ZMNZM[PML KZM_ WN \PM \P XZM XIZML \W \ISM \PMQZ KZIN\ ITWN\ \W <P]TM WV I UQ[[QWV KWLML 2]VSa KITT [QOV 0WJW +IX\IQV 2WPV 0I]O \PM XQTW\ IVL KWUUIVLMZ \WWS PQ[ KZM_ WN [Q` W]\ \W \PM ร QOP\ TQVM \W JMOQV XZMร QOP\ KPMKS[ IVL TWILQVO +IX\IQV 4MWVIZL ;^Q\MVSW KWXQTW\ _I[ PQ[ ZQOP\ [MI\MZ )T[W WV \PM \WX LMKS WN \PM KWKSXQ\ NIKQVO JIKS_IZL _MZM \PM MTMK\ZWVQK _MIXWV[ Wโ ซูปโ ฌKMZ -?7 +IX\IQV :QKPIZL 5IZ` IVL IMZQIT O]VVMZ ;\Iโ ซ; ูบโ ฌO\ +IT^QV ?ITLZMX ;VIXX =VTQSM WV MIZTQMZ * [ \PM / UWLMT ZMXW[Q \QWVML \PM \IQT O]VVMZ QV \PM KWKSXQ\ 5IVVQVO \PM ยน*TIKS 0WTMยบ WV \PM TW_MZ LMKS _MZM ZILIZ VI^QOI\WZ JWUJIZLQMZ 5IRWZ .ZIVS 0WXSQV[ IVL +IX\IQV +]Z\Q[ : +ZQ[[ _PW _I[ I[[QOVML \PI\ LIa \W []J[\Q\]\M NWZ \PM VWZUITTa [KPML]TML VI^QOI\WZ <PM UQ[[QWV \W <P]TM IVL JIKS _W]TL M`KMML PW]Z[ IVL ZMO]TI \QWV[ \P][ ZMY]QZML I \PQZL XQTW\ WVJWIZL <PI\ ZWTM NMTT \W 5IRWZ ,ยผ)UIZQW \PM [INM\a Wโ ซูปโ ฌKMZ NZWU \PM _QVOยผ[ PMILY]IZ\MZ[ 7V \PM ร QOP\ TQVM 0I]Oยผ[ QVQ\QITTa I[[QOVML * PIL QV[\Z] UMV\I\QWV XZWJTMU[ [W \PM KZM_ UW^ML WV \W \IQT V]UJMZ _PQKP _I[ N]TTa N]MTML IVL IZUML 0IZL 0MIL UQ[ [QWV[ _MZM TWVO IVL KWTL ZMY]QZQVO M`\ZI []XXTQM[ )TWVO _Q\P \PM KZM_ยผ[ ) XMZ[WVIT ร QOP\ JIO[ \PM OZW]VL KZM_ Y]QKSTa TWILML \PM IQZKZIN\ _Q\P NWWL TWKSMZ[ I [TMMXQVO J]VS IVL IV MTMK\ZQK W^MV ;QVKM \PM[M TWVO ร QOP\[ IT[W \M[\ML \PM KZM_ยผ[ LMZ ZQvZM[ ,ยผ)UIZQW TWILML \PZMM XWTa]ZM\PIVM K][PQWV[ ]VLMZ \PM NWTL I_Ia R]UX [MI\ WV \PM TW_MZ LMKS TWKI\ML ILRIKMV\ \W \PM ZMIZ J]TSPMIL LWWZ \W \PM MTMK\ZQK XW_MZ []XXTa LMKS IVL \PM _PMMT _MTT[ WN \PM UI[[Q^M NZWV\ TIVLQVO OMIZ ?PMV VW\ QV ][M \PQ[ [MI\ KW]TL JM ร QXXML ]X_IZL IOIQV[\ \PM J]TSPMIL 7V \PQ[ ร QOP\ ,ยผ)UIZQW TI\MZ ILLML I NW]Z\P K][PQWV \W \PM XQTM IVL UW^ML I UM\IT NWWL TWKSMZ IOIQV[\ Q\ \W XZWX ]X PQ[ NMM\ )ZK\QK _MI\PMZ [\ZM[[ML \PM * PMI\QVO [a[\MU )[ ,ยผ)UIZQW

A SUPERSONIC BLAST WAVE TORE OUTWARD IN ALL DIRECTIONS INTO THE SUBFREEZING ARCTIC AIR. XWQV\ML W]\ ยน)\ UI`QU]U endurance throttle settings, the heating and air condi \QWVQVO [a[\MU KIVVW\ LMTQ^MZ enough heat to keep the cock XQ\ _IZU ยบ .TQOP\ KZM_[ PIL I UM\PWL NWZ PIVLTQVO \PQ[ -IZTa WV \PM KWXQTW\ IXXTQML \PM VWZUIT PMI\QVO IVL IQZ KWVLQ\QWVQVO [a[\MU )[ \PM KWKSXQ\ JMKIUM KWTLMZ PM ZMIKPML LW_V \W I KWV\ZWT XIVMT ILRIKMV\ \W PQ[ ZQOP\ KITN IVL OZIL]ITTa \]ZVML \PM PMI\ ]X \W UI`QU]U ?PMV \PQ[ ยนVWZUITยบ [a[\MU KW]TL VW\ UIQV\IQV []โ ซูปโ ฌKQMV\ KWKS

APOCALYPTIC PAYLOAD Crewmen load a โ clipโ of four B28 thermonuclear bombs aboard a B-52 prior to a Cold War mission.

XQ\ PMI\ \PM KWXQTW\ UW^ML \W \PM KMV\MZ KWV[WTM \W [_Q\KP WV \PM MVOQVM IQZ JTMML [a[ \MU <PM NQVIT KWUXZM[[WZ [\IOM[ WN ITT MQOP\ RM\ MVOQVM[ NWZKML LMOZMM IQZ QV\W QVKP XQXM[ I\ XW]VL[ XMZ [Y]IZM QVKP ;WUM WN \PQ[ PW\ IQZ _I[ ZW]\ML QV\W UIVQNWTL[ LM[QOVML \W KWWT Q\ LW_V NWZ PMI\QVO \PM KWKSXQ\ )\ WX\QU]U KWKSXQ\ PMI\ \PM KWXQTW\ _W]TL X]TT JIKS WV \PM IQZ JTMML ]V\QT [_Q\KPQVO JIKS \W \PM VWZUIT [a[\MU <PM _PWTM KaKTM _W]TL \PMV [\IZ\ W^MZ IOIQV <PQ[ []XMZPMI\ML air also drove the electrical IT\MZVI\WZ[ UIQV\IQVML KIJQV XZM[[]ZM IVL XW_MZML W\PMZ ^Q\IT MY]QXUMV\ *WMQVO LM\IQTML TQ\\TM QV Q\[ * ร QOP\ UIV]IT ZMOIZLQVO \PM PMI\QVO XW\MV\QIT WN \PM IQZ JTMML [a[\MU 7VM KZM_ TI\MZ ZMXWZ\ML \PI\ I NTQOP\ RIKSM\ PIL ITUW[\ KI]OP\ ร ZM _PQTM

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THE H-BOMBS ON BOARD HAD YIELDS OF UP TO 1.45 MEGATONS, ENOUGH TO OBLITERATE A CITY AND ITS SUBURBS. EXTENDED RANGE A B-52G refuels from a KC-135 tanker, allowing it to ï¬&#x201A;y missions in excess of 24 hours. Above: The manual temperature control on a B-52 couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t compensate for arctic air.

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resting against a heating vent. Another account described the stink of burned dust in vent pipes after a bomber had sat idle in a maintenance depot. In other cases, superheated air released from damaged air bleed pipes had destroyed onboard equipUMV\ IVL ITUW[\ KWWSML Wâ&#x20AC;«\ Ùºâ&#x20AC;¬PM _MIXWV[ QV \PM JWUJ JIa 8ZQWZ \W \ISMWâ&#x20AC;« Ùºâ&#x20AC;¬0I]O¼[ KZM_ KPMKSML \PM KWVLQ\QWV WN \PMQZ XZQUIZa XIaTWIL NW]Z * .1 \PMZUWV]KTMIZ _MIXWV[ \PM WVTa model that SAC bombers carried in 1968. The FI, or â&#x20AC;&#x153;Full .]bQVO 1V\MZVITº UWLMT ITTW_ML \PM ZILIZ VI^QOI\WZ \W [M\ \PM _MIXWV NWZ MQ\PMZ IV IQZ J]Z[\ ZM\IZLML IQZ J]Z[\ OZW]VL J]Z[\ WZ I XIZIKP]\M ZM\IZLML TIaLW_V <PM NWW\ TWVO QVKP LQIUM\MZ XW]VL 5WL 0 JWUJ[ WV JWIZL PIL aQMTL[ WN up to 1.45 megatons, enough to obliterate a city and its suburbs. <PM OZW]VL KZM_ KTQXXML NW]Z WN \PM[M _MIXWV[ I[ I Y]IL WV\W I KZILTM QV \PM NWZ_IZL XIZ\ WN \PM * ¼[ KI^MZVW][ JWUJ JIa 0WJW ¼[ \ISMWâ&#x20AC;« Ùºâ&#x20AC;¬IVL Ã&#x2026;^M PW]Z Ã&#x2020;QOP\ \W \PM <P]TM IZMI _MZM relatively uneventful. Prior to entering its 100-mile-long butter SVQNM Ã&#x2020;QOP\ XI\\MZV \PM KZM_ ZMVLMb^W][ML _Q\P I 3+ \W \WX Wâ&#x20AC;«\ Ùºâ&#x20AC;¬PMQZ N]MT \IVS[ )N\MZ ZMN]MTQVO ,¼)UIZQW OI^M KWXQTW\ Svitenko a break for a snack and a nap on the bunk.

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[ 0WJW [M\\TML QV\W Q\[ Ã&#x2020;QOP\ XI\\MZV 0I]O IVL ,¼)UIZQW ZML]KML \PM \PZW\\TM[ NWZ UI`QU]U MVL]ZIVKM IVL TM^MTML Wâ&#x20AC;« Ùºâ&#x20AC;¬I\ IV IT\Q\]LM R][\ IJW^M feet. The minus-55-degree outside air penetrated the \PQVTa QV[]TI\ML KZM_ KIJQV KI][QVO \PM QV\MZQWZ \MUXMZI\]ZM \W LZWX XZMKQXQ\W][Ta .ZWU \PM TW_MZ LMKS ;^Q\MVSW ZMY]M[\ML UWZM PMI\ IVL ,¼)UIZQW JMOIV \PM KIJQV PMI\QVO XZWKM[[ Y]QKSTa UI`QUQbQVO \PM VWZUIT PMI\QVO [a[\MU 0M \PMV brought in hot air from the air bleed manifolds. Several minutes QV\W \PI\ KaKTM _MZM ITT \PI\ _I[ VMKM[[IZa \W KZMI\M \PM Ã&#x2020;QOP\¼[ subsequent emergency.

The B-52 heating distribution system consisted of a series of XQXM[ _Q\P ZW]VL PWTM[ X]VKPML \PZW]OP \PMU QV ZMO]TIZ QV\MZ^IT[ 7VM WN \PM[M XQXM[ ZIV QV\W I ^MV\ JW` XW[Q\QWVML LQZMK\Ta JMVMI\P \PM R]UX [MI\ ;]XMZPMI\ML IQZ X][PML ]X_IZL IOIQV[\ \PM NW]Z [\W_ML XWTa]ZM\PIVM K][PQWV[ +WV[QLMZML ¹[WTQL OI[WTQVMº Ja Ã&#x2026;ZM UIZ[PIT[ PMI\ML XWTa]ZM\PIVM _QTT Ã&#x2026;Z[\ JMOQV \W

smolder, generating charac\MZQ[\QK _PQ\M [UWSM IVL \W`QK combustible gases, before N]Z\PMZ JZMISQVO LW_V IVL QOVQ\QVO I\ [WUM_PMZM IJW^M 600 degrees.

The pilots on the upper LMKS LQLV¼\ ]VLMZ[\IVL _Pa \PMa _MZM [_MT\MZQVO _PQTM \PM TW_MZ LMKS ZMUIQVML KWTL )KKW]V\[ ^IZa WV _PW LQL _PI\ J]\ KTMIZTa ;^Q\MVSW _I[ WV JZMIS IVL I^IQTIJTM to respond to the emergency.

Some report Criss as searching for and finding the fire, but this interpretation may be a result of his staying in his seat initially and updating the XQTW\ ^QI QV\MZKWU 0WXSQV[ most likely stayed focused on the instruments monitoring \PM V]KTMIZ _MIXWV[ At 4:22 p.m. local time, 90 miles south of Thule AFB, 5IZ` [UMTTML J]ZVQVO Z]JJMZ IVL [WUM WN \PM KZM_ JMOIV I [KZIUJTM \W Ã&#x2026;VL \PM [W]ZKM Spotting smoke coming from ]VLMZ \PM R]UX [MI\ 5IZ` Ã&#x2026;Z[\ M`XMVLML \PM TW_MZ LMKS ) Ã&#x2026;ZM M`\QVO]Q[PMZ IZW]VL \PM [MI\ \W VW Mâ&#x20AC;«Ùºâ&#x20AC;¬MK\ 0M \PMV retrieved the second and last M`\QVO]Q[PMZ NZWU JM\_MMV the EWO and gunner positions on the upper deck, and emptied it onto the rear bulkhead. As the polyurethane smoldered, burned and disintegrated, pieces of it most TQSMTa NMTT LW_V QV\W \PM ^MV\ JW` JMTW_ \PM K][PQWV[ UISQVO Q\ QUXW[[QJTM NWZ \PM KZM_ \W ZMIKP \PM Ã&#x2026;ZM Q\[MTN -^MV \PMV burning polyurethane is best M`\QVO]Q[PML _Q\P _I\MZ KIZJWV LQW`QLM WZ LZa XW_LMZML KPMUQKIT[ VWVM WN _PQKP _MZM I^IQTIJTM \W \PM KZM_ As the smoke continued to pour, Svitenko pulled the UM\IT NWWL JW` I_Ia NZWU \PM [MI\ IVL Ã&#x2020;IUM[ MZ]X\ML NZWU \PM [\W_ML K][PQWV[ *W\P TM^MT[ WN \PM KIJQV [WWV Ã&#x2026;TTML _Q\P LMV[M _PQ\M [UWSM +ZQ[[ called into the pilot that they KW]TLV¼\ KWV\ZWT \PM Ã&#x2026;ZM IVL \PM TW_MZ LMKS _I[ JMKWU-

TECH NOTES The fire started under the fold-away jump seat on the B-52’s lower deck, where Major D’Amario had stowed four polyurethane cushions. The crew then ejected in sequence (1-3), after which Captain Svitenko bailed out (4).

HOBO 28 EJECTION SEQUENCE PILOT: CAPTAIN JOHN HAUG COPILOT: MAJOR ALFRED D’AMARIO

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2 ELECTRONIC WEAPONS OFFICER: CAPTAIN RICHARD MARX AERIAL GUNNER: STAFF SGT. CALVIN WALDREP SNAPP

RADARNAVIGATOR/ BOMBARDIER: MAJOR FRANK HOPKINS NAVIGATOR: CAPTAIN CURTIS R. CRISS

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1 EJECTION SEAT EGRESS

OPPOSITE BOTTOM: ©BOEING; OPPOSITE TOP AND RIGHT PHOTOS: COURTESY OF TIMOTHY KARPIN; ILLUSTRATION BY STEVE KARP

MANUAL BAILOUT

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COPILOT: CAPTAIN LEONARD SVITENKO

Superheated engine air flowing through a perforated pipe in the vent box under the jump seat—intended to help warm the crew cabin—caused the cushions to smolder and ignite.

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DANGER ZONE The U.S. Air Force wasted little time in setting up Camp Hunziker (top) to clean up the crash debris and radioactive bomb components. The burning bomber left a half-mile-long black scar on the sea ice (above). Hobo 28â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pilot Captain John Haug meets with the press (top right).

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OPPOSITE: (TOP LEFT & BOTTOM) U.S. AIR FORCE, (TOP RIGHT) KEYSTONE/ALAMY; RIGHT: (TOP) GETTY IMAGES, (BOTTOM) U.S. AIR FORCE

S

AC immediately activated the Broken Arrow Control Group, and assigned Major General Richard O. Hunziker to Project Crested Ice. Construction of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Camp Hunzikerâ&#x20AC;? on the ice began the next day. To prevent breaking through the ice, cleanup crews dispersed their temporary buildings, storage piles and heavy earthmovers. Stormy weather on the 24th and 28th blew plutonium and uranium dust at least four miles northwest to Saunders Island.

Within days, the Air Force, Atomic Energy Commission and two national laboratories were assisting with the crash site cleanup.

On any given day, between storms, from one to three dozen U.S. personnel and up to a dozen Inuits worked on the ice, while another 25 to 250 personnel at the base transported, moni\WZML QLMV\QĂ&#x2026;ML IVL KWV\IQVMZQbML XTIVM XIZ\[ IVL KWV\IUQnated snow and ice. Project Crested Ice ultimately drew in about 565 Americans and 85 Danish citizens, who searched some 30 square miles of sea ice for debris and radioactivity. By April 10, Danish and Air Force crews had completed the cleanup operations on the sea ice. Afterward, Thule AFB personnel spread â&#x20AC;&#x153;carbonized sandâ&#x20AC;? over 6.2 acres of slightly contaminated sea ice to accelerate springtime melting and to bind the remaining fuel and radionuclides so they would sink rather than wash onto the beach.

Denmark required the U.S. government to remove all of the radioactive debris and contaminated snow and ice from Greenland. Thule AFB ultimately amassed an incredible colTMK\QWV WN _I[\M QVKT]LQVO OITTWV \IVS[ Ă&#x2026;TTML _Q\P cleanup debris and contaminated snow and ice. Alongside were 14 large â&#x20AC;&#x153;engine containers,â&#x20AC;? 192 drums of aircraft debris and OITTWV \IVS[ Ă&#x2026;TTML _Q\P KWV\IUQVI\ML TQY]QL <PM largest piece of aircraft recovered was only desk-sized, though larger forged pieces, such as landing gear struts, remained at \PM JW\\WU WN *aTW\ ;W]VL <PM )QZ .WZKM Ă&#x2020;M_ \PM ZMKW^MZML hydrogen bomb fragments to three facilities in the U.S. Spring ice melt allowed U.S. Navy cargo ships to remove the melted ice and snow to the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina.

In August the research submersible STAR III arrived at Bylot Sound, ostensibly to document the debris that had fallen through the sea ice, but more important to search for and, if pos[QJTM ZM\ZQM^M \PM [\QTT UQ[[QVO ]ZIVQ]U Ă&#x2026;TTML NW]Z\P [MKWVLIZa While the three Air Force submariners did identify during their 11 dives several small pieces that had been parts of one or more of the H-bombs, along with thousands of plane fragments, they LQL VW\ Ă&#x2026;VL \PM UQ[[QVO [MKWVLIZa <PMa KWVKT]LML \PI\ Q\ PIL settled into an 800-foot-deep unsurveyed portion of the sound.

Of the four H-bombs, cleanup crews recovered most of the uranium from three secondaries, but none from the fourth.

Crews could not recover any of the plutonium, uranium and tri\Q]U \PI\ J]ZVML IVL JTM_ I_Ia QV \PM QVQ\QIT Ă&#x2026;ZM VWZ I KWV[QLerable amount of radioactive material that either sank or refroze QV \PM QKM I\ \PM QUXIK\ [Q\M 1V \PM Ă&#x2026;VIT IKKW]V\QVO IJW]\ percent of the total plutonium (4.8 of 13 pounds) and at least one-third of the total uranium (roughly 19 of 53 pounds) was lost, mostly from the weapon in the lower left of the bomb bay, _PQKP TQSMTa LM\WVI\ML Ă&#x2026;Z[\ As a consequence of this Broken Arrow event, SAC discontinued Chrome Dome and instead kept its bombers on high alert, with engines cold on the pad. The Air Force continued to send B-52s up to Thule on Hard Head missions, but with empty bomb bays. Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Amario rejoined those crews on at least one mis-

TO THIS DAY DEEP IN BYLOT SOUND, FRAGMENTS OF HYDROGEN BOMBS REMAIN BURIED IN THE SOFT SEDIMENT. sion, though presumably with no extra seat cushions. Boeing provided alerts to crews to warn of the high heat from the air bleed system. The national laboratories also began to design nuclear weapons with insensitive high explosives to prevent reoccurrence of this

CLEANUP Top: Inuit dogsled teams transported personnel to the crash site (top left in the distance). Above: A crane removes contaminated ice.

kind of catastrophe. To this day deep in Bylot Sound, clas[QĂ&#x2026;ML IVL UW[\Ta ]VZMKWOVQbable fragments of hydrogen bombs remain buried in the soft sediment.

Timothy Karpin and James Maroncelli are the authors of The Travelerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Guide to Nuclear Weapons: A Journey Through Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cold ?IZ *I\\TMĂ&#x2026;MTL[, available at atomictraveler.com. Further reading: Hangar Flying, by Alfred J. Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Amario; and Thule: Nuclear Weapon Accident Near Thule Greenland, by John Taschner and James Oskins.

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THE REMARKABLE MRS. MARKHAM LITTLE-REMEMBERED TODAY, THE ADVENTUROUS KENYA BUSH PILOT OUTDID HER CONTEMPORARY AMELIA EARHART BY FLYING THE ATLANTIC SOLO THE HARD WAY BY DEREK Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;CONNOR

PRELUDE TO CELEBRITY Beryl Markham poses at RAF Abington with the Percival Vega Gull in which she would cross the Atlantic from east to west on September 4-5, 1936.

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THE SMALL SINGLE-ENGINE MONOPLANE EMERGED FROM THE ATLANTIC SKY AND, NEARLY OUT OF FUEL, FLEW LOW OVER THE INHOSPITABLE, BOULDER-STREWN NOVA SCOTIAN LANDSCAPE.

BATTERED BUT SAFE In spite of a gashed forehead, Markham (above) is elated to have made it to Nova Scotia, where her Vega Gull nosed over in a peat bog (below).

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Desperately seeking a place to land and weary after more than 21 hours at the controls, the pilot set the monoplane down on what appeared to be a solid surface. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a soggy peat bog. Seconds later, the plane nosed W^MZ \PM XQTW\ []â&#x20AC;ŤŮşâ&#x20AC;ŹMZQVO I OI[P \W PMZ NWZMPMIL -`\ZIK\QVO PMZ[MTN _Q\P LQâ&#x20AC;ŤŮťâ&#x20AC;ŹK]T\a NZWU \PM KWKSpit, the tall blonde aviator promptly found herself up to her shins in glutinous mud. No matter. She was safe, if desperately short of sleep and ravenous after eating only a packet of chicken sand_QKPM[ L]ZQVO \PM MV\QZM Ă&#x2020;QOP\ 1\ _I[ ;MX\MUJMZ ! IVL [PM PIL R][\ JMKWUM \PM Ă&#x2026;Z[\ _WUIV \W Ă&#x2020;a \PM )\TIV\QK [WTW \PM PIZL _Ia¸NZWU MI[\ \W west, against the prevailing winds. She was also the Ă&#x2026;Z[\ XMZ[WV \W Ă&#x2020;a LQZMK\Ta IKZW[[ \PM )\TIV\QK NZWU England. Her name was Beryl Markham and, as a bush pilot from Kenya, she was well outside her equatorial comfort zone.

Born Beryl Clutterbuck on October 26, 1902, QV \PM -VOTQ[P ^QTTIOM WN )[P_MTT [PM PIL UW^ML _Q\P PMZ NIUQTa \W KWTWVQIT *ZQ\Q[P -I[\ )NZQKI

(Kenya from 1920) at the age of 4. Unlike her mother who, disliking the isolation, soon headed back to England, young Beryl thrived amid the hardships and challenges of settler life. Often left to her own devices while her ex-soldier father developed their farm and horse-racing stable, she NWZUML NZQMVL[PQX[ _Q\P \PM )NZQKIV NIZU _WZSersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; children, learning to speak their tribal lanO]IOM[ IVL JMKWUQVO Ă&#x2020;]MV\ QV ;_IPQTQ *IZMNWW\ and clutching a spear, she joined hunting parties as they scoured the bush for game. The fearless and strongly independent youngster even opted to sleep in her own mud hut. Like the father she hero-worshipped, she was an accomplished rider IVL QV PMZ TI\M \MMV[ JMKIUM 3MVaIÂź[ Ă&#x2026;Z[\ NMUITM licensed racehorse trainer.

Three times married and divorced, in later life she used the surname of her second husband, 5IV[Ă&#x2026;MTL 5IZSPIU _Q\P _PWU [PM PIL PMZ WVTa KPQTL I [WV /MZ^I[M )[ [WUMWVM _Q\P I LMKQLedly relaxed attitude toward her wedding vows, \PM _PQâ&#x20AC;Ť Ůşâ&#x20AC;ŹWN [KIVLIT [MMUML \W NWTTW_ \PM ^Q^IKQW][ 5Z[ 5IZSPIU IZW]VL TQSM I KWUM\Âź[ \IQT )V I_ML 3MVaIV KWV\MUXWZIZa LM[KZQJML PMZ I[ š) UIOVQĂ&#x2026;KMV\ KZMI\]ZM ^MZa NMTQVM 1\ _I[ TQSM _I\KPQVO I golden lioness when she walked across the room.â&#x20AC;?

But it was not until 1931, after making several flights with the renowned professional hunter Denys Finch Hatton, that Markham caught the Ă&#x2020;aQVO J]O ;PM I[SML .QVKP 0I\\WV \W \MIKP PMZ \W Ă&#x2020;a J]\ I[ I ZMTI\Q^M VW^QKM PQU[MTN PM [MV[QJTa declined. Markham then turned to another friend, the debonair Captain Tom Campbell Black, a :WaIT 6I^IT )QZ ;MZ^QKM :6); IVL :WaIT )QZ .WZKM :). ^M\MZIV \PMV _WZSQVO I[ \PM UIVIOing director and chief pilot of the Nairobi-based ?QT[WV )QZ_Ia[ =VLMZ PQ[ XIQV[\ISQVO QV[\Z]K\QWV in a de Havilland DH.60 Gipsy Moth biplane, she soon began to show a precocious natural ability QV \PM IQZ ;W KTW[M LQL \PM Ă&#x2020;aQVO JWVL JM\_MMV Markham and Campbell Black become that she would always regard him as her mentor and guide in all aviation matters. They even talked of emuTI\QVO *ZQ\Q[P ZMKWZL [M\\MZ[ )Ua 2WPV[WV IVL 2QU 5WTTQ[WV I[ I _Ia \W NIUM IVL NWZ\]VM )T\PW]OP still married, Markham soon became involved in a TWVO \MZU Iâ&#x20AC;ŤŮşâ&#x20AC;ŹIQZ _Q\P +IUXJMTT *TIKS <W J]QTL ]X PMZ Ă&#x2020;aQVO PW]Z[ 5IZSPIU JW]OP\

PREVIOUS SPREAD & OPPOSITE PHOTOS: BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES; TOP RIGHT: KEYSTONE; BOTTOM RIGHT: HISTORYNET ARCHIVE

PREFLIGHT Christened The Messenger, the Vega Gull is rolled out for a test ďŹ&#x201A;ight.

Below: Markham during her East Africa bush pilot days.

an Avro Avian IV two-seater biplane, soon to be repainted in her blue-and-silver horse-racing colors. In April and May 1932, with only 127 hours QV PMZ TWOJWWS [PM Ă&#x2020;M_ \PM \QVa IQZXTIVM miles by stages, with several forced landings, via the Sudan and Egypt across the Mediterranean IVL -]ZWXM \W -VOTIVL 5WV\P[ TI\MZ [PM Ă&#x2020;M_ back to Kenya, completing an astonishing feat of airmanship and navigation for someone so relatively inexperienced. As a token life-preserver while crossing the Mediterranean, she wore an QVĂ&#x2020;I\ML QVVMZ \]JM Markham obtained her commercial license in September 1933 with just under a thousand hours in her logbook. Her early commercial work included taking joyriding tourists in the Avian along the Mombasa coastline. She delivered mail and supplies to the goldmines of Kakamega in western Kenya, often using tiny airstrips hacked from the featureless bush by the miners themselves.

5IZSPIU IT[W Ă&#x2020;M_ QV LWK\WZ[ IVL UMLQKIT []Xplies to isolated farms and bush outposts. Although it was a hazardous way of earning a living, she thrived on the daily challenges.

By late 1933 she had started to work as an aerial big-game spotter for hunting safaris, a technique pioneered by Finch Hatton and Campbell Black, but taken to new levels of precision by Markham. <PM[M P]V\QVO [INIZQ[ _MZM JQO J][QVM[[ QV ! [ East Africa, attracting wealthy clients, including royalty, from Europe and America. )[ \PM Ă&#x2026;Z[\ XQTW\ \W Wâ&#x20AC;ŤŮşâ&#x20AC;ŹMZ IMZQIT OIUM [KW]\QVO on a commercial basis, Markham specialized in Ă&#x2026;VLQVO MTMXPIV\[ IT\PW]OP [PM _I[ IT_Ia[ XZMpared to search for any game animals on a clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s \ZWXPa TQ[\ QVKT]LQVO TQWV J]â&#x20AC;ŤŮşâ&#x20AC;ŹITW IVL ZPQVW 0MZ

â&#x20AC;&#x153;IT WAS LIKE WATCHING A GOLDEN LIONESS WHEN SHE WALKED ACROSS THE ROOM.â&#x20AC;?

directional instructions, dropped to the hunters in leather message bags, were meticulous in the extreme, detailing the animal and herd size, the density of the surrounding bush, the distance away from the hunting party and a precise compass bearing to follow. More often than not, she worked for safaris led by her professional hunter friend, the Swedish Baron Bror von Blixen-Finecke, former husband of Karen Blixen, author of the classic Out of Africa. Markham herself was never interested in big-game trophy hunting, preferring to photograph the animals.

When the safari season ended, Markham used her Avian as an aerial taxi for upcountry residents. Later, to increase her operating capacity, she acquired a three-seater DH.85 Leopard Moth high-wing cabin monoplane.

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n October 1934, Markham received news that Campbell Black and Charles Scott had won the prestigious Mildenhall-to-Melbourne 5IK:WJMZ\[WV )QZ :IKM Ă&#x2020;aQVO \PM ,0 Comet Grosvenor House. This was one of the contests that she had hoped to enter with Campbell Black. Not long after she learned that he had married actress Florence Desmond.

Deeply upset, Markham determined to demonstrate that her piloting skills were the equal of Campbell Blackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and his record-setting contemporaries. She wanted to set a record that would resonate around the world, conceivably the Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;London route, or some form of transatlantic record.

These ambitions began to crystallize in February ! _PMV 5IZSPIU [WTL PMZ )^QIV \W Ă&#x2026;VIVKM another trip to England. Once there she hoped to NOVEMBER 2017

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PASSIONATE RIVALS Tom Campbell Black stands beside his wife, actress Florence Desmond, prior to his record-breaking ďŹ&#x201A;ight to Cape Town, South Africa, in 1935.

Campbell Black and Markham carried on a long-term affair.

Opposite: Reporters swarm Markham as she arrives at Floyd Bennett Field in a Beech Staggerwing.

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persuade Campbell Black to join her in a record attempt on the Cape Town route or, failing that, \W OW Q\ ITWVM Ja Ă&#x2026;VLQVO I ZQKP JIKSMZ \W Ă&#x2026;VIVKM I solo record attempt.

But it was not until March 1936 that, accompanied by Bror Blixen, Markham left Kenya in PMZ 4MWXIZL 5W\P \W ZMXZQ[M PMZ ! Ă&#x2020;QOP\ \W -VOTIVL )T\PW]OP +IUXJMTT *TIKS PIL Wâ&#x20AC;ŤŮşâ&#x20AC;ŹMZML to arrange interviews for several flying jobs in Britain, she sought something more than that: an objective that would make the headlines of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s newspapers.

Ironically, when eventually she found a wealthy patron, it turned out to be an old Kenya settler friend, John C. Carberry, who had been a member of Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1914 Schneider Trophy team and later served in the RNAS. Carberry was in England at that time, awaiting the completion of a Percival Vega Gull he was having built to compete in the Schlesinger African Air Race between Portsmouth and Johannesburg, scheduled for late ;MX\MUJMZ ! 1UX]T[Q^MTa PM Wâ&#x20AC;ŤŮşâ&#x20AC;ŹMZML \PM >MOI Gull to Markham for an east-west solo transatlantic attempt, conditional on her getting it back to England in time for him to compete in the Schlesinger. She readily agreed.

2QU 5WTTQ[WV PIL UILM \PM Ă&#x2026;Z[\ _M[\_IZL [WTW crossing of the North Atlantic, on August 18-19, ! Ă&#x2020;aQVO JM\_MMV 1ZMTIVL IVL +IVILI QV I DH.80A Puss Moth. Mollison had been aiming for 6M_ AWZS IVL [W R]LOML \PM Ă&#x2020;QOP\ I XIZ\QIT NIQT]ZM Markham also decided to head for New York but, on Carberryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advice, chose to start from England.

The Vega Gull, dubbed The Messenger, was an elegant low-wing, fabric-covered, four-seater monoplane, powered by a 200-hp de Havilland Gipsy Six II engine driving a Ratier variable-pitch XZWXMTTMZ 1V [\IVLIZL KWVĂ&#x2026;O]ZI\QWV Q\ PIL I mph maximum speed, 150-mph cruising speed and a range of about 660 miles. For Markhamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s \ZIV[I\TIV\QK Ă&#x2020;QOP\ [M^MZIT M`\ZI N]MT \IVS[ _MZM Ă&#x2026;\ted, including two in the cabin, to take on the 255 gallons of gasoline needed to reach New York, giving a theoretical range of about 3,800 miles. The Ă&#x2026;`ML ]VLMZKIZZQIOM _I[ [XMKQITTa [\ZMVO\PMVML \W

carry the extra load. All the supplementary tanks were controlled by hand-operated petcocks. The cabin tanks had no gauges, but each contained enough fuel for about four hours. Markham was cautioned that proper use of the petcocks to con\ZWT \PM Ă&#x2020;W_ WN N]MT _I[ ^Q\IT ?MZM [PM \W WXMV WVM _Q\PW]\ Ă&#x2026;Z[\ [P]\\QVO \PM W\PMZ IV IQZTWKS UQOP\ ZM[]T\ JTWKSQVO \PM N]MT Ă&#x2020;W_ <PMZM _I[ VW ZWWU in the Gullâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cabin for a radio.

Campbell Black spent many hours helping Markham with her training regime and detailed XZMĂ&#x2020;QOP\ XTIVVQVO <W WJ\IQV Ă&#x2026;Z[\PIVL SVW_TMLOM of the conditions she was likely to encounter along the route, he also introduced her to Jim Mollison, who soon became a close friend. They chose RAF Abingdon, with its mile-long runway, as the departure point.

Adverse North Atlantic weather delayed the departure until 1850 hours (BST) on September 4, 1936, when Markham, in the pilotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seat for only \PM \PQZL \QUM \WWS Wâ&#x20AC;Ť Ůşâ&#x20AC;ŹQV The Messenger and headed west toward Ireland and the vast Atlantic. Among the onlookers, Mollison and airplane designer Edgar Percival watched approvingly as she coolly held the Gull down until it gathered sufficient speed to lift its heavy load. Campbell Black was I_Ia IXXIZMV\Ta JMKI][M PM LW]J\ML [PM _W]TL Ă&#x2020;a QV []KP ]VNI^WZIJTM _MI\PMZ š?MTT \PI\Âź[ \PM TI[\ weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see of Beryl,â&#x20AC;? quipped Mollison to Percival.

Nonetheless, as an optimistic token, Mollison had loaned Markham the cherished wristwatch he had ][ML WV PQ[ []KKM[[N]T \ZIV[I\TIV\QK Ă&#x2020;QOP\[ Nothing was heard of the Gull until 2225 BST, when it was observed overflying Castletown, Ireland, 328 miles from Abingdon. In her autobiography, West With the Night, Markham recalled of \PQ[ \QUM QV \PM Ă&#x2020;QOP\" š?M IZM JW]VL NWZ I XWQV\ thirty-six hundred miles from here â&#x20AC;&#x201C; two thousand of it unbroken ocean. Most of it will be by VQOP\ 1 IU Ă&#x2020;aQVO ITWVO \PM /ZMI\ +QZKTM +W]Z[M for Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, into a forty mile headwind at a speed of 130 mph.â&#x20AC;? ;PM PIL JMMV Ă&#x2020;aQVO WV I KIJQV \IVS M[\QUI\ML to last four hours when suddenly, she wrote, â&#x20AC;&#x153;My motor coughs and dies and the Gull is powerless.â&#x20AC;?

For some 30 heart-stopping seconds, while the monoplane sank toward the waves, Markham grappled frantically with awkward petcocks until at last â&#x20AC;&#x153;the motor explodes into life again.â&#x20AC;? )[ 5IZSPIU Ă&#x2020;M_ WV QV\MZUQVIJTM LIZS IVL monotonous hours of instrument flying in the cramped cockpit were at last ended when she sighted â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lighted ship â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the daybreak â&#x20AC;&#x201C; some steep KTQâ&#x20AC;Ť< [Ůşâ&#x20AC;ŹPM UMIVQVO WN \PM[M _QTT VM^MZ KPIVOM NWZ I pilot....I felt the elation I had so long imagined.... ?M PIL Ă&#x2020;W_V JTQVL NWZ VQVM\MMV PW]Z[ Âş 1\ _I[ I UIOVQĂ&#x2026;KMV\ NMI\ WN VI^QOI\QWV <PM [PQX _I[ \PM SS Spaarndam, which reported sighting the Gull at 1400 BST, some 200 miles from Newfoundland, headed west.

OPPOSITE: AP PHOTO; TOP RIGHT: NY DAILY NEWS ARCHIVE VIA GETTY IMAGES; BOTTOM RIGHT: EVERETT COLLECTION/ALAMY

Soon after the Gull was spotted circling the Cape Race lighthouse on the southeastern tip of Newfoundlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Avalon peninsula before heading for the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. â&#x20AC;&#x153;After a while there would be New Brunswick, Maine and then New York,â&#x20AC;? Markham wrote. â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;ŚFour hundred miles of water, but then again land at Cape Breton.

I would stop at Sydney to refuel and go on....New York was my goal.â&#x20AC;?

Fate, meanwhile, had another card to play. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My engine began to shudder before I saw the land.

It died. It spluttered, it started again and limped along. Airlock, I thought.â&#x20AC;? Hoping she might clear \PM IQZTWKS Ja \]ZVQVO \PM MUX\a \IVS[ WV IVL Wâ&#x20AC;Ť Ůşâ&#x20AC;Ź she cut her hands on the sharp metal petcocks, blood dripping onto her maps and clothes, to no avail. The engine ran on intermittently until at last, over Nova Scotiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cape Breton, an estiUI\ML UQV]\M[ NZWU ;aLVMa IQZĂ&#x2026;MTL Q\ K]\ W]\ completely, leading to that tail-up landing in the Baleine Cove peat bog. (The â&#x20AC;&#x153;airlockâ&#x20AC;? was later attributed to ice lodged in the air intake of the last XM\ZWT \IVS XIZ\QITTa KPWSQVO \PM N]MT Ă&#x2020;W_ \W \PM carburetor.) Since departing England, Markham had covered an extraordinary 2,612 miles in 21 hours and 35 minutes. :M[K]ML Ja TWKIT Ă&#x2026;[PMZUMV [PM _I[ \ISMV \W a telephone, from which she reported to Sydney IQZĂ&#x2026;MTL 6M`\ LIa PMZ NWZMPMIL JIVLIOML [PM _I[ Ă&#x2020;W_V \W 0ITQNI` IVL I KQ^QK ZMKMX\QWV ?IQ\QVO I\ \PM IQZĂ&#x2026;MTL _I[ I = ; +WI[\ /]IZL *MMKPKZIN\ _PQKP Ă&#x2020;M_ PMZ \W .TWaL *MVVM\\ .QMTL _PMZM a rapturous crowd welcomed her. Over the following packed days, the glamorous, party-loving Markham delighted in New Yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s generous hospitality and tickertape welcome. But then came

THE GLAMOROUS MARKHAM DELIGHTED IN NEW YORKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GENEROUS HOSPITALITY.

the shattering news that Tom Campbell Black was dead, killed on September 19 at Liverpool Airport in a ground collision between the Percival Mew Gull he was intending to pilot in the Schlesinger Race and an RAF Hawker Hart light bomber.

The trusting John Carberry, of course, never did OM\ \W Ă&#x2020;a PQ[ >MOI /]TT QV \PM ;KPTM[QVOMZ )N\MZ Q\ was extracted from the Nova Scotian mud, it was shipped back to England and then East Africa, where it was sold to Dar-es-Salaam Airways.

Markham returned to England where, over the ensuing years, she was frequently reported as entering races or seeking sponsorship for record attempts. But nothing ever came of it. Nor did she [PW_ IVa QV\MZM[\ QV ZM\]ZVQVO \W J][P Ă&#x2020;aQVO 1\ _I[ as if Campbell Blackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tragic death had deprived her of a vital motivational sparkâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;as if she no longer had anything to prove. ;PM _MV\ JIKS \W \PM =VQ\ML ;\I\M[ QV ! ! TQ^ing there until 1950, when the siren call of Africa drew her back to Kenya and, eventually, to another period as one of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most successful racehorse trainers. She died in Nairobi on August 3, 1986, aged 83.

Today, Beryl Markham and her epic transatTIV\QK Ă&#x2020;QOP\ IZM ITT J]\ NWZOW\\MV .M_ KIV LW]J\ however, that had this extraordinary woman so KPW[MV _Q\P PMZ KW]ZIOM OZQ\\a [MTN KWVĂ&#x2026;LMVKM and flying skills, she could have ranked alongside such aviation greats as Amelia Earhart, Amy Johnson and Jean Batten.

RAF veteran Derek Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor writes from Britain. For further reading, he recommends: ?M[\ ?Q\P \PM 6QOP\,

by Beryl Markham; and Straight on Till Morning: The Life of Beryl Markham, by Mary S. Lovell.

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GASBAG DOWN The small coastal transport APc-94 takes part in the recovery of U.S. Navy blimp K-14 off Mount Desert Island, Maine, on July 3, 1944.

CONTROVERSIAL CRASH OF K-14 WAS THE LOSS OF A PATROL BLIMP OFF MAINE IN 1944 THE RESULT OF PILOT ERROR, AS THE U.S. NAVY MAINTAINS TO THIS DAY, OR WAS IT DUE TO A BATTLE WITH A GERMAN U-BOAT? BY CHUCK LYONS

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WHEN THE U.S. NAVY BLIMP K-14 WENT DOWN IN THE GULF OF MAINE IN JULY 1944, IT LEFT BEHIND A SERIES OF UNANSWERED QUESTIONS. The most controversial of these was whether K-14 had accidentally crashed, as a Navy inquiry concluded, or had been shot down by a German submarine. That question has never been []‫ٻ‬KQMV\Ta ZM[WT^ML The blimp was conducting an anti-submarine patrol on July 2 when it radioed a routine check-in call around 9:20 p.m. K-14 was not heard from again, and is believed to have crashed into the ocean at about 10 p.m. Six of its 10 crewmen perished in the KZI[P IVL \PM []Z^Q^WZ[ KT]VO \W \PM \IQT ÅV[ WN \PM _ZMKS NWZ more than six hours before being located and rescued. Evidence found on K-14’s salvaged gas envelope and in its gondola indiKI\ML \PI\ [PW\[ PIL JMMV ÅZML JW\P NZWU IVL TQSMTa I\ \PM IQZship. Meanwhile military and civilian witnesses reported hearing O]VÅZM IVL M`XTW[QWV[ IZW]VL \PM M[\QUI\ML \QUM WN \PM KZI[P Following the incident, the surviving crew members were ordered not to talk about it, orders the Navy has never rescinded. <W \PQ[ LIa \PM _ZMKS Q[ W‫ٻ‬KQITTa KZMLQ\ML \W ¹XQTW\ MZZWZ º That German U-boats were in the area has never been disputed. U-233 _I[ WV I UQVMTIaQVO UQ[[QWV W‫ ٺ‬VMIZJa 6W^I Scotia at the time, and was sunk by American destroyer escorts three days after K-14 went down. By June 1942 alone, six months after the United States entered the war, 171 American vessels PIL JMMV \WZXMLWML W‫\ ٺ‬PM -I[\ +WI[\ IVL Ja \PM MVL WN \PM aMIZ = JWI\[ PIL []VS )UMZQKIV [PQX[ )[ XIZ\ WN Q\[ M‫ٺ‬WZ\ to counteract this submarine threat, the Navy began launching 62

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lighter-than-air craft to patrol \PM QUUMLQI\M W‫[ٺ‬PWZM _I\MZ[ <PM[M IQZ[PQX[ KW]TL Æa TW_MZ and much more slowly and silently than airplanes. When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and launched the U.S. into the war, the only airships then in service—mostly trainers—included four K-type blimps that Goodyear had built between 1938 and 1941.

They were quickly transferred to patrol duties.

The K-type blimps were 251 feet long and were powered by two 425-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp aircraft engines. They carried a crew of nine or 10 men and were armed with one .50-caliber M2 Browning machine gun and up to four 350-pound Mark 47 depth charges. They could reach a maximum speed of 78 mph and had a range of 2,025 miles. The blimps’ mission was to locate enemy submarines and then call for help; their limited armament was considered too light to directly engage a U-boat.

On the morning of July 2, 1944, Earnest and Merrill Stanley, two lobstermen working out of Southwest Harbor on Mount Desert Island, Maine, sighted a submarine

ALL PHOTOS: NATIONAL ARCHIVES

WARSHIPS OF THE AIR Goodyear’s K-type blimps (left) were armed with depth charges (below) and pressed into service early in the war.

at about 10:45 some 13 miles southeast of nearby Baker Island.

They said they had spied a periscope sticking out of the water several hundred yards away, moving south. The weather at the time was clear and the seas calm with little or no wind. When \PM UMV ZM\]ZVML \W XWZ\ \PI\ IN\MZVWWV \PMa VW\QĂ&#x2026;ML \PM +WI[\ Guard station in Southwest Harbor of the sighting.

To search for the sub, the Navy sent surface vessels and launched K-14 at 5 p.m. from the naval air station in South Weymouth, Mass. The blimp arrived in the search area around 9 p.m. and dropped to an altitude of between 100 and 200 feet, where it deployed a magnetic anomaly detector that it pulled through the water to sense any large mass of steel such as a submarine. After its check-in call around 9:20, all attempts to contact K-14 failed, and at 4 a.m. surface vessels and aircraft in the area were alerted to keep an eye out for the missing blimp. <PM NW]Z []Z^Q^QVO KZM_UMV TI\MZ ZMXWZ\ML \PI\ 3 _I[ Ă&#x2020;aing at 250 feet when it suddenly lost altitude, did not respond to I\\MUX\[ \W ZQOP\ Q\ IVL KZI[PML QV\W \PM _I\MZ +WXQTW\ -V[QOV -ZVM[\ ;PIZX [IQL PM _I[ I\ \PM MTM^I\WZ KWV\ZWT[ I\ \PM \QUM š1 reached up to dim the lights, sat down, and saw the indicator at NMM\ Âş PM ZMXWZ\ML š1 OI^M Q\ \PM \PZW\\TM IVL \PM VW[M KIUM ]X I JQ\°CJ]\E \PM Ă&#x2026;Z[\ \PQVO 1 SVM_ [PM _I[ OWQVO QV Âş According to the survivors, the airshipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gondola quickly JMOIV \W Ă&#x2026;TT _Q\P [MI_I\MZ IVL \PM LMĂ&#x2020;I\QVO OI[ MV^MTWXM [IOOML and settled over the gondola on the oceanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surface. The shipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s engines dipped below the surface, choked and died. As water XW]ZML QV\W 3 Âź[ OWVLWTI \PM \ZIXXML KZM_ [\Z]OOTML \W Ă&#x2026;VL an exit. Most of the windows did not open, and the main hatch was sealed with a metal bar on the outside to protect crewmen from accidently falling out. Five members of the crew were nonetheless able to escape and reach the surface. Among them _I[ )^QI\QWV 5M\IT[UQ\P ZL +TI[[ -L_IZL 2 ,ZbM_QMKSQ _PW _I[ š_MIS IVL ]VZM[XWV[Q^MÂş IVL LQML TI\MZ \PI\ VQOP\ <PM Ă&#x2026;^M remaining crew members never cleared the wreck and drowned. <PM []Z^Q^WZ[ KT]VO \W \PM KZIN\Âź[ \IQT Ă&#x2026;V[ IVL \PM [\QTT Ă&#x2020;WI\QVO section of its envelope, trying to stay warm in the 55-degree water. Finally, at 4:55 a.m., the Navy patrol craft Patriot spot\ML \PM LW_VML JTQUX MI[\ WN 5W]V\ ,M[MZ\ :WKS IVL IJW]\ 25 miles south of Bar Harbor. The survivors were rescued and taken to the hospital at Bar Harbor, allegedly with orders not to talk to anyone about what had happened.

The airshipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s remains were towed onto the shore at Bunker +W^M WV 1[TM[NWZL IVW\PMZ WN \PM UIVa Q[TIVL[ LW\\QVO \PM IZMI <PM KW^M PIL JMMV KTMIZML WN [UITT JWI\[ IVL Ă&#x2026;[PMZUMV JMNWZMhand, but the islandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residents were allowed to remain. There

AS WATER POURED INTO K-14â&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GONDOLA, THE TRAPPED CREW STRUGGLED TO FIND AN EXIT.

SEARCHING FOR CLUES Seamen detach K-14â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gas envelope from its gondola during salvage operations.

Below: The German sub U-233 was sunk nearby three days after K-14 went down.

ened, a naval reserve lieutenant who had been on patrol at the time of crash reported \PI\ šPM IVL ITT PIVL[ WV PQ[ ship heard the explosion of two depth charges to seawardâ&#x20AC;? about 40 minutes before the estimated time of the blimp the blimpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gondola was found crash. Warrant Officer W. to be 95 percent wrecked, Meytrott was aboard a ship with the bodies of two dead [\I\QWVML Wâ&#x20AC;Ť; Ůşâ&#x20AC;ŹKPWWLQK 8WQV\ crewmen still aboard. (The when he and three other bodies of the two other crew- UMV šLQ[\QVK\Ta PMIZL _PI\ men were never found.) Pre- sounded like six pom-pom liminary examination of the shots, possibly from a 20mm wreckage also revealed two gunâ&#x20AC;? at about 9:52 p.m. He depth charges missing and 15 recalled seeing the blimp a to 20 .50-caliber shell casings half-hour earlier, heading in the gondola. There were from Schoodic Point toward also what appeared to be bul- the area where it crashed. He let holes in the underside of estimated K-14 would have the K-14 gas bag near the gon- been in the area from which dola, which were consistent PM PIL PMIZL \PM O]VĂ&#x2026;ZM with the caliber of anti-airLocal fishermen reported KZIN\ IUU]VQ\QWV Ă&#x2026;ZML NZWU they had seen flashes in the German submarines. It was distance and heard two also discovered during the sal- explosions, while three men vage operation that the entire stationed on another nearby rear portion of the blimpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gas island also reported hearing bag was missing, something gunfire and an explosion, not known to have happened as did some area residents. before to a K-type blimp.

Arlene Spurling, who had As the investigation wid- grown up in Southwest Har-

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RECOVERY K-14’s gondola is hoisted aboard a salvage vessel (left), and sailors help one of the surviving crewmen onto a motor launch (below).

bor and was a teenager at the time, told the Mount Desert Islander newspaper, which in 2012 ran a series of articles on the K-14 incident, that she was sitting on the front porch of her home _PMV \PMZM _MZM ÆI[PM[ \W \PM MI[\ IVL ¹_M PMIZL [PW\[ IVL \PM thuds of large explosions.”

1V ITT I [MKZM\ 6I^a WXMZI\QWVIT QV\MTTQOMVKM ZMXWZ\ ÅTML WV 2]Ta TQ[\ML MQOP\ _Q\VM[[M[ _PW ZMXWZ\ML O]VÅZM IVL M`XTW[QWV[ around the time of the crash, and concluded the loss of K-14 ¹KW]TL PI^M JMMV I[ I ZM[]T\ WN MVMUa IK\QWV º The Mount Desert Islander also reported in its 2012 series that unbeknown to the four K-14 survivors, a stenographer had been hidden in proximity to the room where they were receiving medical aid to record anything they said among themselves—an ]V][]IT [MK]ZQ\a UMI[]ZM ¹6W ZMKWZL WN \PW[M KWV^MZ[I\QWV[ PI[ M^MZ []ZNIKML º \PM VM_[XIXMZ VW\ML ¹IT\PW]OP \PM *IZ 0IZJWZ base’s commander at the time said in his memoir that ‘nothing’ LQ‫ٺ‬MZML NZWU \PM W‫ٻ‬KQIT \ZIV[KZQX\ º <PM ITTMOML ¹J]TTM\ PWTM[º QV \PM JTQUX¼[ OI[ JIO \PM 6I^a suggested, were probably caused by grappling hooks used in the salvage operation, and the missing depth charges could have been jettisoned in the moments before the crash as a safety preKI]\QWV 1\ PI[ W‫ٺ‬MZML VW M`XTIVI\QWV NWZ \PM [PMTT KI[QVO[ NW]VL in the K-14 gondola or for the eyewitness reports of gunshots and explosions. <PM 6I^a¼[ ÅVIT M`XTIVI\QWV NWZ \PM KZI[P _I[ \PI\ \PM JTQUX _I[ ÆW_V QV\W \PM _I\MZ L]ZQVO TW_ TM^MT WXMZI\QWV[ )T\PW]OP 64

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into the accident. Researchers have also pointed to a menu NZWU \PM W‫ٻ‬KMZ[¼ KT]J I\ \PM *IZ 0IZJWZ VI^IT JI[M \PI\ was taken by one of K-14’s surviving crewmen as a souvenir.

7VM WN \PM ZM[K]M XMZ[WVVMT signed the menu with the nota\QWV ¹?Q[PQVO aW] \PM JM[\ WN everything although you’re the only one that surprised a *W[KP []J º IV QVLQKI\QWV \PI\ the Navy blamed pilot error, both the K-14 crew and its none of K-14’s survivors was rescuers knew the blimp had ever court-martialed or disci- been attacked and shot down. plined for the alleged error. It The shell casings in the is generally accepted that the gondola, the missing depth incident was swept under the charges and the damaged rug to prevent panic among gas envelope, plus at least the public and to maintain the eight eyewitness reports and morale of blimp crews. an unverified claim by one That explanation made of the surviving crew memsense in 1944, but it’s now 73 bers make a strong case that years later.

K-14 was attacked that July Fred Morin of Plymouth, night and brought down by a Mass., who has been research- German submarine. So why, ing the K-14 incident for more more than seven decades than a decade, is among the later, Morin and other invesinvestigators who insist that tigators ask, is the Navy still the available evidence clearly clinging to an explanation shows the blimp was shot that—almost from the time down. Morin has interviewed Q\ _I[ ÅZ[\ UILM¸PIL UWZM survivors of the crash, and holes than were found in the claims that copilot Carl Levine K-14 gas bag? admitted to him that K-14 ¹C<PM 6I^a¼[E M`K][M[ LW had been attacked. When the not hold water and can be two men were alone during an refuted relatively easily,” interview, Morin said he asked 5WZQV [IQL ¹1\ _W]TL JM \W Levine to tell him outright their credit to give out a few _PI\ PIL PIXXMVML ¹7N 8]ZXTM 0MIZ\[ IVL KTW[M \PM course we were shot down,” matter.”

Morin said Levine replied. ¹0W_ LW aW] \PQVS _M MVLML Chuck Lyons is a retired newspaper up in the water?” That quote, editor and a freelance writer whose however, cannot be independ- articles have appeared in numerous periodicals. Further reading: MV\Ta ^MZQÅML Morin has questioned the Forgotten Weapon: U.S. Navy Navy’s refusal to release the )QZ[PQX[ IVL \PM = JWI\ ?IZ, results of several inquiries Ja ?QTTQIU . )T\PW‫ ٺ‬

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REvIEWS

NORTH AMERICAN X-15

by Peter E. Davies, Osprey Publishing, 2017, $20.

DANGEROUS BUSINESS Major Michael J. Adams was killed in this X-15, the third one built, in November 1967.

Purely experimental aircraft tend to stand out for one trait or another, but the North American X-15 might justly be called unique, both for its built-for-speed appearance and for its long service record. On November 6, 1961â&#x20AC;&#x201D;only 14 years after Chuck Yeager exceeded the speed of [W]VL QV I *MTT @; ¸*WJ ?PQ\M Ã&#x2020;M_ IV @ XI[\ 5IKP UXP 1V []J[MY]MV\ Ã&#x2020;QOP\[ @ [ _W]TL M`KMML 5IKP \PZMM UWZM \QUM[ and Mach 5 no less than 108 times. > & ;XMML PW_M^MZ _I[ only one of the X-15â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s achievements in a series of Ã&#x2020;QOP\[ \W M`XTWZM IVL KW]V\MZ the extreme heat, pressure and numerous other factors involved in achieving spaceÃ&#x2020;QOP\ 7V 2]VM !

L]ZQVO I Ã&#x2020;QOP\ \W UMI[]ZM \PM IQZXTIVM¼[ [\IJQTQ\a _Q\P \PM 66

AH

NOVEMBER 2017

ventral stabilizer removed, I[ _MTT I[ \PM MIZ\P¼[ JIKSground ultraviolet radiation and the infrared signature of the liquid-oxygen-andammonia-fueled rocket motors, Major Bob Rushforth ZMIKPML NMM\¸I threshold of space that required the ballistic control

system to maintain control of \PM @ IVL Y]ITQNaQVO him as an astronaut.

In the third of Ospreyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s X Planes series, Peter E. Davies, XMZMVVQIT _ZQ\MZ WV \PM RM\ IOM¼[ Ã&#x2026;Z[\ NM_ LMKILM[ []U[ up the development of this ZMUIZSIJTM ZWKSM\ XW_MZML IQZKZIN\ KWUXIZM[ Q\ _Q\P Q\[

KWUXM\Q\WZ[ IVL NWTTW_[ Q\[ ZM[MIZKP Ã&#x2020;QOP\[¸[WUM WN _PQKP QV^WT^ML KTW[M KITT[ J]\ WVTa WVM WN _PQKP MVLML in fatal tragedy. At ultraPQOP IT\Q\]LM \PM @ _I[ literally a hot plane, and it took hot pilots such as Scott +ZW[[Ã&#x2026;MTL IVL 2WM ?ITSMZ \W handle it. The data and techVWTWOa Q\ aQMTLML _W]TL PMTX another of those test pilots, Neil Armstrong, to reach the moon. All that summarized history adds up, the author convincingly concludes, to make the X-15 the most successful X-plane of them all.

Jon Guttman

ON WAVE AND WING

The 100-Year Quest to Perfect the Aircraft Carrier

by Barrett Tillman, Regnery History, 2017, $29.99.

Noted naval aviation historian Barrett Tillman soars to new heights with his QV[QOP\N]T KPZWVQKTM WN \PM Ã&#x2026;Z[\ KMV\]Za of aircraft carriers, making the case that air power delivered from the sea has changed the nature of warfare. In emotive prose the book covers all the great carriers, from USS Langley through Nimitz _Q\P I UMV\QWV WN \PM ZMKMV\Ta commissioned Gerald R. Ford. And like a Dauntless in a powered dive, the draUI\QK VIZZI\Q^M VM^MZ [TIKS[ Wâ&#x20AC;« Ùºâ&#x20AC;The genius of this book is that the historical material comes IKZW[[ QV IVQUI\ML [\aTM I[ QN \PM I]\PWZ _I[ QV I PIVOIZ I\ the Pensacola naval air station free-streaming his vast storePW][M WN QVNWZUI\QWV JMNWZM I ZIX\ I]LQMVKM 0Q[ MVKaKTWXMLQK SVW_TMLOM IVL [\WZa\MTTQVO [SQTT[ MVIJTM PQU \W ZMTI\M QV IV MI[QTa IKKM[[QJTM NI[PQWV \PM KWUXTM`Q\QM[ WN UIRWZ KIZZQMZ JI\\TM[ []KP I[ 5QL_Ia QV 2]VM ! )[\]\M KPIX\MZ []J[MK\QWV[ [MZ^M ]X SMa NIK\[ QVKT]LQVO \PM KWV\ZQJ]\QWV[ WN W]\[\IVLQVO XMZ[WVITQ\QM[ TQSM :WaIT 6I^a +IX\IQV -ZQK 5 ¹?QVSTMº *ZW_V _PW TWOOML I ZMKWZL [PQXJWIZL TIVLQVO[ IVL ,W]OTI[ )QZKZIN\¼[ -L_IZL 0 0MQVMUIVV _PW _I[ SVW_V I[ ¹5Z )\\IKS )^QI\QWVº NWZ LM[QOVQVO KTI[[QK KIZZQMZ XTIVM[ <PM JWWS¼[ TQ^MTa \M`\ Q[ X]VK\]I\ML _Q\P QV\ZQO]QVO IZKPQ^IT XPW\W[ QVKT]LQVO I *WMQVO . * \ZIXXQVO IJWIZL Saratoga and the nuclear-powered Enterprise KIV\QVO [\MMXTa L]ZQVO [MI \ZQIT[ <PMZM Q[ IT[W I N]TT KWTWZ QV[MZ\ XIKSML _Q\P VMIZTa \PZMM LWbMV MaM KI\KPQVO QUIOM[ ZMÃ&#x2020;MK\QVO \PM JWWS¼[ JZWIL QV\MZ national scope.

Rounding out the volume are appendices on celebrities _PW [MZ^ML IJWIZL Ã&#x2020;I\\WX[ ??11 Ã&#x2020;QOP\ LMKS WXMZI\QWV[ IVL aircraft carrier movies. This is the perfect ending to a splendid book that deserves to be on the shelves of all lovers of navair.

Philip Handleman

JU 52/3m BOMBER AND TRANSPORT UNITS 1936-41

NASA

by Robert Forsyth, Osprey Publishing, 2017, $23.

<PQ[ VM_ MV\Za QV 7[XZMa¼[ ¹+WUJI\ )QZKZIN\º [MZQM[ starts out with the evolution, much of it clandestine, that TML \W 8ZWNM[[WZ 0]OW 2]VSMZ[ IVL -ZV[\ BQVLMT¼[ KWZZ]gated duralumin trimotor IQZTQVMZ )â&#x20AC;«Ùºâ&#x20AC;¬MK\QWVI\MTa KITTML ¹Tante Juº )]V\ 2] \PM 2] _I[ ILIX\ML \W UQTQ\IZa [MZ^QKM J]\ Q\[ ZWTM _MV\ JMaWVL \ZIV[XWZ\ UMLQKIT evacuation and paratroop KIZZaQVO ,]ZQVO \PM ;XIVQ[P

+Q^QT ?IZ UIVa 2] [ _MZM KWV^MZ\ML QV\W ¹M`XMLQMV\ JWUJMZ[º \PI\ \WWS XIZ\ QV numerous combat operations, including the notorious

VC10: ICON OF THE SKIES

BOAC, Boeing and a Jet Age Battle

by Lance Cole, Pen & Sword Books Ltd., 2017, $44.95. ?PMV Q\ Ã&#x2026;Z[\ Ã&#x2020;M_ QV ! the beautiful and impressive >QKSMZ[ >+ _I[ _QLMTa M`XMK\ML \W KPITTMVOM \PM *WMQVO IVL ,W]OTI[ ,+ NWZ LWUQVI\QWV WN \PM TWVO PI]T RM\ IQZTQVMZ QVL][\Za <PM [\WZa WN PW_ Q\ NMTT [PWZ\ of that goal is told in detail in VC10: Icon of the Skies. <W UMM\ ZMY]QZMUMV\[ LQK\I\ML Ja \PM *ZQ\Q[P 7^MZ[MI[ )QZ_Ia[ +WZXWZI\QWV IVL \PM :WaIT )QZ .WZKM¸\PI\ \PM IQZKZIN\ JM KIXIJTM WN Ã&#x2020;aQVO NZWU ZW]OP ¹PW\ IVL PQOPº IQZÃ&#x2026;MTL[ QV )NZQKI IVL )[QI¸ >QKSMZ[ Ã&#x2026;\\ML PMI^a L]\a landing gear for operation from unimproved Third ?WZTL Z]V_Ia[ IVL UW]V\ML four engines in a distinctive KWVÃ&#x2026;O]ZI\QWV WV I \ \IQT \W reduce the danger of ingesting debris. The result was I KTMIVMZ _QVO _PQKP \PMa Ã&#x2026;\\ML _Q\P XW_MZN]T PQOP TQN\ Ã&#x2020;IX[ IVL [TW\[ NWZ JM\\MZ \ISMWâ&#x20AC;« Ùºâ&#x20AC;¬IVL KTQUJQVO XMZNWZmance in tropical conditions. )QZKZM_ _PW Ã&#x2020;M_ \PM >+ I[ _MTT I[ Q\[ XI[sengers, held the aircraft in

\PM PQOPM[\ M[\MMU¸Q\ LQL M^MZa\PQVO Q\ _I[ LM[QOVML \W do, and did it well. However, WVTa M`IUXTM[ _MZM J]QT\ )[ \PM I]\PWZ M`XTIQV[ \PM >+ _I[ ]VLMZUQVML Ja \PM ^MZa PW\ IVL PQOP LM[QOV characteristics demanded of it, which, at least in the case of the commercial operI\WZ []J[MY]MV\Ta XZW^ML QZZMTM^IV\ )LLQ\QWVITTa TQSM UIVa W\PMZ XZWUQ[QVO *ZQ\Q[P XW[\·?WZTL ?IZ 11 IMZW[XIKM XZWRMK\[ \PM UIOVQÃ&#x2026;KMV\ >+ _I[ \PM ^QK\QU WN \PM machinations of politicians.

The result of a decade of historical research, VC10: Icon of the Skies will be a must for those interested in airliners.

Robert Guttman

bombings of Guernica in ! IVL ?IZ[I_ QV ! !

It was as a transport, howM^MZ \PI\ \PM 2] U [I_ Q\[ UW[\ [QOVQÃ&#x2026;KIV\ UQTQ\IZa ][M 1V NIK\ 2]VSMZ[ PIL R][\ begun production when the Bolivian air force pressed QV\W [MZ^QKM \PZMM 2] [ NWZ Q\[ +PIKW ?IZ IOIQV[\ 8IZIO]Ia 1V ! /MZUIV []XXTQML 2] [ XTIaML I KZQ\ical role in rushing soldiers from Morocco to Spain to support General Francisco Francoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s revolt against the ;XIVQ[P :MX]JTQK 2] [ XTIaML IV MY]ITTa ^Q\IT ZWTM QV KIZZaQVO /MZUIV \ZWWX[ \W ,MVUIZS IVL 6WZ_Ia as well as paratroopers and glider troops over Belgium

IVL \PM 6M\PMZTIVL[ QV ! <PQZ\a KWTWZ XZWÃ&#x2026;TM[ MVPIVKM .WZ[a\P¼[ KWUXZMPMV[Q^M KW^MZIOM WN ITT \PM 2] ¼[ IK\Q^Q\QM[ ]X \W 5Ia !

QVKT]LQVO \PM KWVY]M[\[ WN Yugoslavia and Greece and the muddled German inter^MV\QWV QV 1ZIY The author saves the cliUIK\QK 7XMZI\QWV 5MZK]Za \PM \ISQVO WN +ZM\M Ja IMZQIT invasion, for his upcoming [MY]MT )T\PW]OP ]T\QUI\MTa []KKM[[N]T \PM PMI^a KI[]IT\QM[ []â&#x20AC;«Ùºâ&#x20AC;¬MZML L]ZQVO 5MZK]Za constituted a tipping point in \PM 2] ¼[ NWZ\]VM[ [M\\QVO the stage for the decline and NITT \PI\ _QTT ]VLW]J\MLTa JM the focus of part two.

Jon Guttman

NOVEMBER 2017

AH

67

254 PAGES | H A RD CO V ER | $39.95 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Laslie expertly brings into focus perhaps the least known of the major Air Force personalities of World War II and the early Cold War. . . . This book fills an indispensable gap in our understanding of the people and ideas that propelled the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s air arm to independence and prominence.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Thomas Alexander Hughes, author of Over Lord: General Pete Quesada and the Triumph of Tactical Air Power in World War II 416 PAGE S | PA PER B ACK | $29.95 â&#x20AC;&#x153;One of the more interesting and better books on military aviation to appear in the last few years.â&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Journal of Military History

UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY 800-537-5487 www.kentuckypress.com

REvIEWS HURRICANE

Hawkerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fighter Legend

by John Dibbs, Tony Holmes & Gordon Riley, Osprey Publishing, 2017, $45.

While the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain recently passed in 2015, the number of books about the iconic confrontation between the Royal Air Force and \PM 4]N\_Iâ&#x20AC;ŤŮşâ&#x20AC;ŹM KWV\QV]M[ \W OZW_ )UWVO \PM[M IZM \_W TI^Q[PTa QTT][\ZI\ML ^WT]UM[ NZWU 7[XZMa IJW]\ \PM Ă&#x2026;OP\ers that defended the British homeland, coauthored by <WVa 0WTUM[ IVL I^QI\QWV XPW\WOZIXPMZ 2WPV ,QJJ[ <PMQZ Ă&#x2026;Z[\ ZMTMI[M ;XQ\Ă&#x2026;ZM" <PM 4MOMVL 4Q^M[ 7V, has now JMMV RWQVML Ja I VM_ JWWS WV \PM ;XQ\Ă&#x2026;ZMÂź[ [\IJTMUI\M the Hawker Hurricane, coauthored with researcher /WZLWV :QTMa A transplanted Australian, Holmes is an authority on \PM JI\\TM IVL LWM[ VW\ TQ^M NIZ NZWU IQZĂ&#x2026;MTL[ \PI\ [I_ U]KP IK\QWV QV \PM J][a LIa[ WN ! ?Q\P UIVa IQZ_WZ\Pa M`IUXTM[ WN JW\P Ă&#x2026;OP\MZ[ [\QTT Ă&#x2020;aQVO \PM JWWS[ JMVMĂ&#x2026;\ NZWU I TIZOM V]UJMZ WN UWLMZV KWTWZ XPW\W[ Ja ,QJJ[ [PW_QVO \PMU QV \PMQZ MTMUMV\ IVL UIVa M`KMTTMV\ JTIKS IVL _PQ\M XMZQWL XPW\W[ XZM[MV\QVO \PMU QV \PMQZ XZWXMZ PQ[\WZQKIT KWV\M`\ 7VM KPIX\MZ IJW]\ \PM ;MI 0]ZZQKIVM NWK][M[ WV I [PWZM JI[ML +IVILQIV 5S @ \PI\ _I[ UWLQĂ&#x2026;ML \W ;MI 0]ZZQKIVM KWVĂ&#x2026;O]ZI\QWV *MI]\QN]TTa ZM[\WZML B Ă&#x2020;QM[ IKZW[[ \PM XIOM[ QV Q\[ XIQV\ [KPMUM \aXQKIT WN .TMM\ )QZ )ZU IQZKZIN\ WN \PM UQL _IZ XMZQWL Q\[ \IQTPWWS [V]OOTML QV\W \PM ZMIZ N][MTIOM NWZ_IZL WN \PM \IQT_PMMT 6I\]ZITTa \PM 0]ZZQKIVMÂź[ MIZTa _IZ [MZ^QKM QV .ZIVKM JMNWZM \PM *I\\TM WN *ZQ\IQV XZW^QLM[ OZMI\ JIKSOZW]VL NWZ \PM \M`\ IVL _IZ\QUM PQ[\WZa WN \PM \_W OZMI\ Ă&#x2026;OP\MZ[ <PM PQOPTa LM\IQTML KWKSXQ\ ^QM_[ WN MIKP IQZKZIN\ _QTT XTMI[M IVa UWLMTMZ )\ MIKP \PM[M JMI]\QN]T JWWS[ ZMITTa IZM VW\ \PI\ M`XMV[Q^M M[XMKQITTa QN aW] _IV\ \W ILUQZM \_W WN \PM _WZTLÂź[ UW[\ PQ[\WZQK IQZKZIN\ XZM[MV\ML QV TQ^QVO KWTWZ Peter Mersky

FIGHTER!

Ten Killer Planes of World War II Ja 2QU 4I]ZQMZ >WaIOM]Z 8ZM[[ 2016, $40.

Great military aviation artists make viewers feel like they are in the cockpit, Ă&#x2020;aQVO ITWVO[QLM KWUJI\ PIZLMVML IKM[ WV LIVOMZW][ UQ[[QWV[ QV [UWSM Ă&#x2026;TTML [SQM[ <PQ[ Q[ M`IK\Ta _PI\ 2QU 4I]ZQMZ PI[ []KKMMLML QV LWQVO NWZ UIVa aMIZ[ I[ I JWWS IVL UIOIbQVM QTT][\ZI\WZ 6W_ PQ[ JM[\ XIQV\QVO[ WN ?WZTL ?IZ 11 Ă&#x2026;OP\MZ[ PI^M JMMV I[[MUJTML QV I PQOPTa LM[QZIJTM KWâ&#x20AC;ŤŮşâ&#x20AC;ŹMM \IJTM JWWS The focus is on 10 iconic German, *ZQ\Q[P 2IXIVM[M IVL )UMZQKIV IQZcraft: the Bf-109, Fw-190, Me-262,

0]ZZQKIVM ;XQ\Ă&#x2026;ZM BMZW 8 8 8 IVL 8 -IKP Q[ KW^MZML QV I dedicated chapter that includes a crisp \PZMM ^QM_ KWTWZ XZWĂ&#x2026;TM I LM\IQTML KWKSXQ\ TIaW]\ ZM^MITQVO JTIKS IVL _PQ\M IZKPQ^IT XPW\W[ \PM IZ\Q[\Âź[ UI[\MZN]T XIQV\QVO[ WN \PM IQZXTIVM QV IK\QWV IVL IV M`KMTTMV\ M[[Ia \PI\ X]\[ \PM Ă&#x2026;OP\MZ QV PQ[\WZQKIT KWV\M`\ <ISMV \WOM\PMZ \PM XIKSIOM KWV[\Q\]\M[ I [I\Q[NaQVO [TQKM WN IQZ _IZNIZM PQ[\WZa <PM \MKPVQKITTa M`IK\QVO IZ\_WZS MUIVI\M[ NZWU \PM IZ\Q[\Âź[ aMIZ[ WN \WQTQVO I\ \PM MI[MT IVL PQ[ QV\QUI\M SVW_TMLOM WN \PM []JRMK\ UI\\MZ )[ I XZQ^I\M XQTW\ he understands how airplanes work, and that translates into such minute details QV PQ[ XIQV\QVO[ I[ [K]â&#x20AC;Ť Ůşâ&#x20AC;ŹUIZS[ WV KIVWXa ZIQT[ MVPIVKQVO \PM [MV[M WN ZMITQ[U 0W_M^MZ 4I]ZQMZÂź[ IZ\Q[\QK OMVQ][ UIVQNM[\[ Q\[MTN UW[\ \MTTQVOTa QV PQ[ IUJQ\QW][ compositions that portray vast aerial IZUILI[ IKKMV\]I\ML Ja I LQ^QVO ;XQ\Ă&#x2026;ZM WZ M[KWZ\QVO 5][\IVO 6W\ ITT Q[ [UWSM IVL Ă&#x2020;IUM[ <PMZM IZM IT[W [\QZZQVO XIQV\QVO[ WN \PM Ă&#x2026;OP\MZ[ IVL \PMQZ PMZWQK XQTW\[ MUJIZSQVO WV UWUMV\W][ UQ[[QWV[ <PQ[ JWWS KIX\]ZM[ \PM LZIUI WN ?WZTL ?IZ 11 Ă&#x2020;aQVO TQSM NM_ W\PMZ[ Philip Handleman

B Bu igg tt er on s

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REvIEWS

CLASSICS THE WAR LOVER

by John Hersey

Written in 1959, The War Lover is one of the almostforgotten great novels about World War II. Perhaps the thing that hurt the book’s reputation over the years is the rather poorly received 1962 movie very loosely based on the book—even though it starred Steve McQueen.

Despite the movie, it is a book that deserves to be better remembered.

Along with 12 O’Clock High and Command Decision, The War Lover rounds out a trilogy of novels about America’s daylight bombing campaign in Europe. While 12 O’Clock High focuses on the command problems of a bombardment group, Command Decision deals

with the higher-level leadership problems of a bombardment division. The War Lover is about a single B-17 crew, as the airmen struggle to survive their 25 missions. But this is not the stereotypical “band of brothers” crew. All four W‫ٻ‬KMZ[ IVL [Q` [MZOMIV\[ IZM portrayed as very distinct individuals, each with his own unique foibles, fears and personal demons. They only coalesce once they are in the air, purely as a matter of survival. Back on the ground \PMa NWZU I KWUXTM` [M\ WN friendships, rivalries and antagonisms. <PM LWUQVI\QVO KWVÆQK\ is between the pilot and his copilot. The pilot, a major,

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has the reputation of being the hotshot in the group.

But as the book’s title implies, he is also a war lover who actually thrives on the adrenaline rush of death and destruction. The copilot, a second lieutenant, Q[ I KWUXM\MV\ ÆQMZ J]\ he is cautious and hates killing people. Thus he is continually overshadowed by his seemingly largerthan-life pilot, who never misses an opportunity to ridicule him. But it’s all a façade. As they continue to rack up missions, the crew slowly realizes that the copilot is the safer pair of hands. Finally, on their 24th mission, the infamous 1943 Schweinfurt Raid, the pilot breaks down into a catatonic state, and the copilot is forced to take over.

The bomber gets badly shot up, and barely manages to get back far enough to ditch in the English Channel. <PIVS[ \W \PM KWXQTW\ [Q` WN the crew members survive.

The hotshot pilot is not one of them.

One of the most remarkable things about this book is its level of technical and tactical detail. Without gumming up the narrative, the crew’s dialogue during missions covers the many QV\ZQKIKQM[ WN ÆaQVO I * MVMUa ÅOP\MZ IVL ÆIS artillery tactics, the defensive tactics of individual gunners, and squadron and group defensive measures.

Nothing in Hersey’s biography indicates that he had XMZ[WVIT M`XMZQMVKM QV []KP matters, but he certainly did his homework. The result is a comprehensive compilation of the human, tactical and technical elements of America’s bomber war.

David T. Zabecki

FLIGHT TEST

AIR VCS 1. William Rhodes-Moorhouse, William Leefe Robinson and Frank McNamara all earned the Victoria Cross flying which airplane type?

A. Sopwith Tabloid B. Morane-Saulnier L C. B.E.2 D. Armstrong-Whitworth F.K.8

>

2. From whose clutches did Richard Bell Davies land to rescue downed comrade Gilbert Smylie on January 23, 1915, earning a VC?

MYSTERY SHIP

Can you identify this experimental testbed?

See the answer below.

A. Austro-Hungarians B. Bulgarians C. Germans D. Turks 3. James B. Nicolson was the only pilot of which RAF command to win the VC in World War II? A. Army Cooperation B. Bomber C. Coastal D. Fighter 4. Arthur Stewart King Scarf’s posthumous VC was earned uniquely over what country?

Burgess-Dunne D.5

A. Wright Model III B. Lippisch Delta IVC C. S.E.5a D. Burgess-Dunne D.5 E. Douglas C-47 F. B.E.2c G. Etrich Taube H. Martinsyde G.102 Elephant I. LVG C.IV J. Fauvel AV-36

1. Flying-wing sailplane noted for ease of handling 2. British two-seater flown 40 miles hands-off in 1914 3. Stable enough for a glider version to be considered 4. Stable single-seat reconnaissance-bomber of 1916 5. Last of a glider series leading up to the Me-163 6. Stable and reliable German workhorse of 1917 7. First of the brothers’ Flyers with long-distance stability 8. Birdlike model of stability in 1912 9. First tailless plane with natural stability in 1910 10. Fighter capable of hands-off flight in 1917

5. VCs were awarded to Roderick Learoyd in 1940 and George Thompson in 1945 for bombing missions over the same location.

Which was it?

A. Antwerp B. Eder dam C. Brest D. Dortmund-Ems Canal

ANSWERS: MYSTERY SHIP: Saab 210 Lilldraken. Learn more about it at HistoryNet.com/aviation-history SAFETY FIRSTS: A.7, B.5, C.10, D.9, E.3, F.2, G.8, H.4, I.6, J.1 AIR VCS: 1.C, 2.B, 3.D, 4.A, 5.D

TOP: SAAB; BOTTOM: GETTY IMAGES

SAFETY FIRSTS Match the famously stable aircraft with its description.

A. Thailand B. Syria C. Italy D. Tunisia

NOVEMBER 2017

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AERO ARTIFACT

these are the voyages

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test shuttle rollout Above: The two crews for the space shuttle approach and landing tests, including Joe Engle (second from right), pose with Enterprise on September 17, 1976.

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NOVEMBER 2017

TOP: NASA; BOTTOM: NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM/GIFT OF MAJ. GEN. JOE H. ENGLE

-15 pilot and astronaut Joe Engle’s illustrious career (story, P. 12) included comUIVLQVO WVM WN \_W KZM_[ \PI\ ÆM_ \PM space shuttle Enterprise during its 1977 approach and landing tests. The engine-less WZJQ\MZ UW]V\ML I\WX I UWLQÅML *WMQVO 747, was taken above 20,000 feet and released, with Engle and astronaut Richard <Z]Ta \M[\QVO \PM [P]\\TM¼[ ÆQOP\ KPIZIK\MZistics as they glided down to a landing at -L_IZL[ )QZ .WZKM *I[M -VOTM _WZM \PQ[ helmet and oxygen mask during the three of MQOP\ [P]\\TM \M[\ ÆQOP\[ PM KWUUIVLML

ANTHONY SAUNDERS ‘One of the World’s most collected Aviation Artists’

LONG HAUL TO BERLIN Mustangs of the 332nd Fighter Group – the Tuskegee Airmen – defend B-17s from the 483rd Bomb Group during a raid on the Daimler-Benz factory in Berlin, 24 March 1945.

The edition is personally signed by iconic veterans.

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