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Bockscar: The Aircraft and Mission That Almost Didn’t Happen

Bill Walton
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Bockscar: The Aircraft and Mission That Almost Didn’t Happen

The Last Mission to Nagasaki Was In Jeopardy Before It Even Got Off the Ground

Perhaps the second most famous Boeing B–29 Superfortress bomber ever, B-29-36-MO Air Force serial number 44-27927, nickname Bockscar, flew a mission that up until three days earlier had never been flown. 44-27927 was a specially modified block 35 B-29. The aircraft was built, not by Boeing, but by the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Plant in Bellevue, Nebraska.

Martin built a total of 536 B-29s for the US Army Air Forces (USAAF), the first of them being accepted by the USAAF in mid-1944. 44-27927, modified to Block 36 Silverplate standards, was named Bockscar. Bockscar dropped the second and last wartime atomic bomb on 9 August 1945.

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Bockscar at USAFM. Image via SUAF

Silverplate Specials

Silverplate B-29s were modified to enable them to carry the atomic bombs of their day. Revisions to these special Superforts included pneumatically operated bomb bay doors, dual redundant British bomb attachment and release systems, improved Wright R-3350-41 Duplex-Cyclone turbo-supercharged radial engines with revised fuel injection and cooling systems turning reversible propellers, and the removal of the dorsal and ventral remote-controlled gun turrets. A weaponeer crew position was added in the cockpit area.

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Silverplate B-29s. Image via USAF

Bockscar Working Her Way West to Tinian

B-29 44-27927 was accepted by the USAAF on 19 March 1945 and assigned to Captain Frederick C. Bock and crew C-13 of the 393rd Bombardment Squadron (BS) of the 509th Composite Group. However, like all 509th bombers the name of the B-29 was not painted on it until after its 9 August mission. Bockscar was flown to Wendover Army Airfield (AAF) in Utah, arriving in April of 1945.

The aircraft was used for crew training at Wendover until 11 June 1945, when it departed for points west. After arrival in the Marianas Islands after stops in California and Hawaii a few days later, Bockscar received final modifications at Guam and arrived at North Field on Tinian, at the time the world’s largest airport, on 16 June.

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B-29. Image via USAF

Spurious Markings to Confuse Enemy Spies

After arrival at North Field, the USAAF painted the bomber to resemble an aircraft assigned to another Bombardment Group (BG) to confuse any potential spies. Once declared operational, Bockscar flew 10 training missions.

The bomber also flew three combat practice missions, dropping 10,000 pound “pumpkin” bombs on the Japanese cities of Niihama, Musashino, and Koromo. As with all 509th Composite Group Silverplate bombers, several different crews flew missions in Bockscar during these practice missions.

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North Field Tinian. Image via USAF

The Great Artiste and a Big Stink

Bockscar had been flown by 393rd BS commander Major Charles W. Sweeney on three dress rehearsal practice flights leading up to the 9 August mission. For the 9 August mission, Bockscar was flown again by Sweeny and not by Captain Bock. Bockscar was accompanied by two other Silverplate B-29s: The Great Artiste, normally flown by Sweeney but flown by Bock on 9 August and designated as the observation and instrumentation aircraft that day.

The Great Artiste had already been fitted with the instrumentation equipment for the 6 August mission. Also flying with Bockscar on 9 August was The Big Stink, designated the mission photography aircraft and flown by Major James I. Hopkins. Or at least that was the plan…

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Silverplate B-29s. Image via USAF

5,000 Pounds of Unusable Fuel for Bockscar?

After loading the now-live Fat Man atomic bomb aboard Bockscar, routine pre-flight inspection revealed that an inoperative fuel transfer pump made it impossible to use the 640 gallons of fuel carried in a reserve tank.  Replacing the pump was not an option; moving the Fat Man bomb to another aircraft wasn’t either.

The fuel would add two and a half tons of dead weight to the already overloaded bomber. Even with the risks, Group Commander Colonel Paul Tibbets and Sweeney decided to fly the mission in Bockscar.

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Bockscar cockpit. Image via USAF

Improvising, Adapting, and Overcoming

When Bockscar departed runway A North Field at 0349 on 9 August the bomber was bound first for a rendezvous with The Great Artiste and The Big Stink at Yakushima Island. The primary target for the mission was Kokura. The mission’s secondary target was Nagasaki.

The mission was also originally scheduled for 11 August but weather forecasts over Japan were unfavorable so the schedule was moved up. But there they were. Weather reconnaissance bombers Enola Gay and Laggin’ Dragon reported acceptable weather over both primary and secondary targets at that time. Then The Big Stink didn’t show up at the rendezvous.

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509th Composite Group on Tinian. Image via USAF

This Is Why We Have Backup Plans

Mission commander CDR Frederick Ashworth USN urged Sweeney to wait for The Big Stink, thereby burning precious fuel and delaying the mission. After 45 minutes Bockscar and The Great Artiste set course for Kokura without The Big Stink. But Kokura was by then 70% obscured by a combination of cloud cover and smoke from a raid on nearby Yawata the night before.

Bockscar flew three bomb runs with increasing Japanese anti-aircraft fire over Kokura. Concern about the flak over Kokoura and activity on the radio frequencies used by Japanese fighter directors pushed Bockscar to the secondary target: Nagasaki.

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Bockscar after 9 August mission. Image via USAF

By Twist of Fate Nagasaki Becomes the Target

The weather over Nagasaki wasn’t much better but it was free of flak and threats from Japanese fighters. Fuel was becoming a critical consideration too. The decision was made to bomb the secondary target using radar but at the last minute a hole in the clouds opened up.

Bombardier Captain Kermit Beahan dropped the Mark III Fat Man bomb visually at 1058 local time. It exploded 43 seconds later approximately a mile and a half northwest of the aiming point.

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Mark III Fat Man atomic bomb. Image via USAF

That 5,000 Pounds of Unusable Fuel Again

Thanks to the delays at the rendezvous and the three bomb runs at Kokura, Bockscar was unable to make it back to North Field or even to usual alternate Iwo Jima. The aircraft landed at Yontan Airfield on Okinawa on fumes with one engine out from fuel starvation and lost a second engine on the runway.

Even using reverse pitch on the two running engines, the aircraft nearly came to grief at the end of the runway but a last-second 90 degree turn kept Bockscar from the overrun. Remaining fuel was calculated to be less than 5 minutes-worth.

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Bockscar stored at D-M with a B-32. .Image via USAF

Confusion and Mixed-Up Nose Art

Some confusion ensued after the mission due to the spurious markings on the bombers and the lack of nose art. Bockscar was flown back to Tinian but flew no more combat missions. The bomber flew back to the States and took up residence at Roswell AAF with the remaining 393rd BS and 509th Composite Group B-29s.

Not selected for use during Operation Crossroads, Bockscar was instead transferred to the 4105th Army Air Force Unit at Davis-Monthan AAF for storage in August of 1946. For some reason at Davis-Monthan, Bockscar was displayed, but wearing the nose art from The Great Artiste. After a month, 44-27927 was removed from Air Force inventory and transferred to the US Air Force Museum.

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Bockscar. Image via USAF

Bockscar Beautifully Restored and Honored at the USAFM

Bockscar remained in storage, but with the correct nose art applied, at Davis Monthan until 26 September 1961, when the bomber was flown to Wright Patterson Air Force Base (AFB) in Dayton.

As displayed today at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Bockscar wears the proper nose art applied after the 9 August 1945 mission to Nagasaki. Bockscar is often referred to as the aircraft that ended World War II.

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Bockscar crew minus Navy personnel and 2nd LT Jacob Beser. Image via USAF

The Bockscar Crew on That Fateful August Mission in 1945

On 9 August 1945, Bockscar’s crew was pilot Major Sharles W. Sweeney, co-pilot Captain Charles Donald Albury, regular crew co-pilot Second Lieutenant Frederick J. Olivi, Weaponeer and Mission Commander CDR Frederick Ashworth USN, Assistant Weaponeer LT Philip M. Barnes, USN, Navigator Captain James F. Van Pelt, Jr., Bombardier Captain Kermit K. Beahan, Radar Countermeasures officer Second Lieutenant Jacob Beser, Flight Engineer Master Sergeant John D. Kuharek, Assistant Flight Engineer Staff Sergeant Raymond C. Gallagher, Radar Operator Staff Sergeant Edward K. Buckley, Radio Operator Sergeant Abe M. Spitzer, and Tail Gunner Sergeant Albert T. DeHart. Beser was the only crew member to fly on both Enola Gay and Bockscar during their respective atomic bomb missions.

Can’t Get Enough Six: Ultimate Interceptor Trivia for the Delta Dart Fan

Bill Walton
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Can’t Get Enough Six: Ultimate Interceptor Trivia for the Delta Dart Fan

Author’s Note:  Delta Dart trivia certainly doesn’t tell the whole F-106 story. Good thing we did an in-depth Six story appearing right here.

Let’s start with the need for speed. The F-106A Delta Dart interceptor was the world’s fastest single engine jet fighter aircraft. Bar none. Full stop. People tend to forget that in 1959 an F-106A topped out at 1,595 miles per hour flying at 40,000 feet. That’s Mach 2.31 (at that altitude) to you and me.

F-106 Delta Darts served primarily in the continental United States, Alaska, and in Canada. F-106 Fighter Interceptor Squadrons (FIS) did deploy to such garden spots as Osan Air Base (AB) in Korea, Hahn AB in Germany, Keflavik AB in Iceland and Howard AFB in the Panama Canal Zone.

Delta Dart flying chase on a B-1B.
F-106B flying chase on a B-1B. Image via USAF

F-106As and F-106Bs were used as chase aircraft for test flights of aircraft like the Rockwell B-1B Lancer bomber and for other aircraft in development-especially during the 1980s.

F-106Bs did receive the majority of upgrades the F-106A received, but the two-seater never got the 20 millimeter Vulcan cannon mod.

Delta Dart banking left.
F-106A. Image via USAF

The closest an F-106 came to firing a shot in anger was when a Martin MGM-1 Matador cruise missile stopped responding to remote control during a test on 14 May 1960. An F-106A fired a pair of unarmed Falcon missiles at the Matador, bringing the dumb cruise missile down. Delta Dart combat record: F-106A- 1. Enemy- 0. Unless you count the QF-106A drones!

Pilots flying the Dart often cavorted high in the sky, but some of them, involved in the development of high-altitude interception tactics, flew the F-106 at altitudes above 75,000 feet while wearing full pressure suits.

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F-106B. Image via USAF

The two prototype F-106s were equipped with the first side-stick controllers used in American aircraft. Found to be too newfangled for old-school stick-and-rudder men at the time, the production Six was equipped with that awesome dual-grip stick in the real world. Many don’t know the F-16 wasn’t really the first implementation of the side stick controller.

Sixes often rode herd on Soviet Tupolev Tu-95 Bear bombers as they trolled along the east coast while transiting from the USSR to Cuba or back to the USSR from Cuba. Interceptions were usually pretty casual but occasionally they became a little tense. Delta Dart jockeys were treated to all manner of antics from the tail gunners in Soviet Bear bombers too. Sometimes they replied in kind…

Delta Dart intercepting Russian aircraft.
F-106A riding herd on a Bear. Image via USAF

Delta Darts were sometimes used as aggressor simulators for dissimilar air combat training (DACT). The Sixes would usually simulate Soviet Mikoyan MiG-21 Fishbed fighters when used in this manner- which wasn’t very often. On their own merit, F-106s were often able to dogfight as well or better than the other tactical aircraft they went up against, thanks in part to those lightly-loaded delta wings.

There were no foreign operators of the F-106, although efforts were made to sell multi-purpose versions of the Dart to both Japan and Canada. The JASDF chose the McDonnell Douglas F-4EJ Phantom II instead. Canada was interested because of the demise of the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow but the Canada deal went south.

Delta Dart pictured with crew members.
Mercury 7 astronauts in front of an F-106B. Image via NASA

The National Aerospace and Space Administration (NASA) used several F-106 aircraft for testing between 1966 and 1998.The last NASA Dart retired was also the last F-106 flown. NASA also used F-106Bs for Astronaut transport for a time before their T-38s.

F-106 oddities include the F-106C/F-106D which would have had an extended nose housing an advanced radar and several other one-off design studies and concepts. One such concept was a General Electric J93-powered Mach 3-capable Six. Another was an F-106 with forward mounted canards.

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F-106A in a cornfield. Image via USAF

The Cornfield Bomber was actually a cornfield interceptor, but the story goes that a F-106 pilot got himself into a flat spin at altitude. After trying to right the jet, the pilot ejected. Rather than auger in and create a smoking hole in the ground, the Dart righted itself and ended up belly landing in a snow-covered fallow field somewhere in Montana. The aircraft was recovered, repaired, and put back in service- and later flown again by the same pilot who ejected from it. The jet now resides at the US Air Force Museum.

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F-106A with weaponry. Image via USAF

F-106 pilots were fond of telling anyone who would listen that Soviet bomber crews were terrified of the Genie nuclear-tipped missile carried by the Dart. In private moments the F-106 pilots might also admit they were definitely scared of it themselves- the blast radius of the nuclear-tipped weapon probably meant that to fire the missile was to be eliminated by its detonation.

Operation Highspeed was a flyoff between the F-106A and the McDonnell Douglas F4H-1 Phantom II. The obvious conclusion: The F-4 was a capable interceptor (especially with a RIO in it) but could also tote bombs and other things that went boom. The Six went on doing the ADC mission. The Phantom went off to fight in Vietnam- where hundreds of them were lost.

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F-106A. Image via USAF

The first midair refueling of the F-106 was done during emergency deployments of several FIS squadrons to Osan AB in South Korea as part of responses to the 1968 Pueblo Incident and the 1969 VQ-1 World Watchers EC-121M Warning Star shootdown. The 318th FIS Green Dragons was the first squadron to arrive at Osan, but eventually the 95th FIS Mister Bones, 48th FIS Tazlanglian Devils, 71st FIS Ironmen, and 94th FIS Hat in the Ring would all deploy to South Korea.

To sum it all up, The Dart was the fastest of the production Century Series fighters, the last of them to enter service, and the last of them to be retired. Because when you’re out of Sixes, you’re out of interceptors.

Learn anything? Bet you did. Head on over to Part One of our Delta Dart Extravaganza right here.

Watch: Cal Fire S-2T Firefighting Trackers Are Busy Every Fire Season

Bill Walton
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Watch: Cal Fire S-2T Firefighting Trackers Are Busy Every Fire Season

Born to hunt Soviet submarines, Grumman’s S-2 Tracker or Stoof has been adapted to do several jobs over the years. From the C-1A Trader COD to the Stoof with a Roof E-1 Tracer AEW platform and the ubiquitous US-2 utility transport, the aircraft has done everything asked of it. Nowadays a few Stoofs and CODs fly in civilian hands as warbirds. Over the years Trackers were also adapted for use as aerial firefighting tankers. Today, the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection or Cal Fire operates 23 turbine-powered S-2T aerial firefighting, or fire-hunting, tankers.

Leona Valley Crown Fire CDF aircraft Phos Chek drop
By thomas hays from Stillwater, US (crown fire leona valleyUploaded by Matthewedwards) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
During and since the 1970s Cal Fire and others operated Firecats, which were Trackers powered by the original Wright R-1820-82WA radial engines but modified with a raised cabin floor to fit a retardant tank in the bomb bay. Today’s S-2Ts are relatives of those first Tracker Tankers. All Tracker conversions removed the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) mission equipment and faired over the ventral radar housing (radome) and the tail-mounted magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) sensor and extending boom located under the rudder aft. The plumbing for hot loading the retardant tank is connects there now. These modifications removed about 3,300 pounds from the Tracker. There are no more radial engine-powered Trackers in firefighting service.

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Old school S-2 Tracker Tanker. Image via Cal Fire

Built by Grumman Aerospace at their Bethpage plant on New York’s Long Island at least one generation ago, the S-2Ts were mostly S-2E or S-2G variants while operated by the US Navy. Cal Fire acquired the S-2 airframes in 1996 and Marsh Aviation in Arizona converted them to aerial firefighting tankers. The Turbine Trackers are faster than stock S-2s but their Garrett TPE331-14GR turbine engines only put out about 100 more horsepower each than the original Wright R-1820-82WA radial engines did. The S-2Ts are also usually crewed by a single pilot and can haul up to 1,200 gallons of retardant or water.

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By Alan Radecki Akradecki [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons
On 7 October 2014 at 1630 local time, 13-year veteran S-2T pilot Geoffrey “Craig” Hunt was killed when the aircraft he was flying, Tanker 81, struck trees and crashed while flying a retardant drop on the Dog Rock Fire near Yosemite National Park in California. The loss of the S-2T, Navy Bureau Number (BuNo) 152838 and registered as N449DF, left Cal Fire’s fleet of S-2Ts at 22 aircraft. A replacement S-2T, Tanker 79, has now entered service. The tanker tail number 81 was retired by Cal Fire in memory of Hunt, a former Navy P-3 Orion pilot and 20-plus year Reservist.

Leona Valley Crown Fire Phos Chek drop 3
By thomas hays from Stillwater, US (crown fire leona valleyUploaded by Matthewedwards) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
The video Load and Return was uploaded to YouTube by Alan Simmons.

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The video Cal Fire Sonoma was uploaded to YouTube by Ed Whisenant. A Cal Fire Rockwell OV-10 Bronco makes an appearance in the video.

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The First of Many to Arrive in Saudi Were the Entire Shield at First

Bill Walton
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The First of Many to Arrive in Saudi Were the Entire Shield at First

Air Force and Navy Squadrons Got There Fast and Stayed Until the Job Was Done

Operation Desert Shield began on 7 August 1990 when United States military personnel began arriving in Saudi Arabia at the request of King Fahd. From the beginning there was a palpable feel that if Iraq moved on Saudi Arabia the US forces in Saudi would not be able to stop the Iraqis. Slow them down perhaps. Shoot them down, sure; put a hurt on their ground forces, absolutely. But it would take time, and one of the largest mass-movements of American military might ever, before more than a few believed Iraq could be kept out of Saudi Arabia.

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F-15s on the ground in Saudi. Image via USAF

Eagles Out in Front

The first Air Force combat units to arrive in Saudi for Desert Shield were the 27th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) Fighting Eagles and 71st TFS Ironmen from the 1st Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) out of Langley Air Force Base (AFB) in Virginia. Eventually the 1st TFW deployed 48 aircraft to the Persian Gulf. Beginning that first day in the Saudi desert, the 1st TFW flew some 4,207 sorties over the Saudi borders with Kuwait and Iraq by the time Desert Shield became Desert Storm on 16 January 1991.

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Bitburg-based F-15s. Image via USAF

Eagles and Vipers and More Hit the Sandbox

Also flying out of Saudi within days were the 22nd TFS Stingers and the 53rd FS Tigers of the 36th TFW, which had moved to Saudi from Bitburg Air Base in Germany. The 525th TFS Bulldogs flew their F-15s to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey as part of the Proven Force Joint Task Force. The Air National Guard (ANG) sent the 157th TFS Swamp Foxes of the 169th TFW South Carolina ANG and the 138th TFS Cobras of the 174th TFW New York ANG to Saudi as well.

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VF-143 F-14s. Image via US Navy

Ready and Able to Take the Fight to Saddam

The US Navy immediately sent Battle Groups built around the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) with Carrier Air Wing SEVEN (CVW-7) embarked, and the Forrestal-class aircraft carrier USS Independence (CVA-62) with CVW-14 embarked to the Persian Gulf, where they were operationally ready to fly missions against Iraqi forces the next day: 8 August 1991. Also sent to the Persian Gulf were two Iowa-class cruise missile-armed battleships: USS Missouri (BB-63) and USS Wisconsin (BB-64).

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CVW-7 jets. Image via US Navy

The Ike and CVW-7

The Eisenhower’s deployment began on 8 March 1990 and concluded on 12 September 1990 when Ike was relieved by the Forrestal-class aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-60) with CVW-17 embarked. During Ike’s Desert Shield deployment, CVW-7 consisted of VF-142 Ghostriders and VF-143 Pukin’ Dogs flying the Grumman F-14B Tomcat,VFA-131 Wildcats and VFA-136 Knighthawks flying the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A Hornet, VA-34 Blue Blasters flying the Grumman A-6E and KA-6D Intruder, VAW-121 Blue Tails flying the Grumman E-2C Hawkeye, VAQ-140 Patriots flying the Grumman EA-6B Prowler, VS-31 Topcats flying the Lockheed S-3B Viking, and HS-5 Night Dippers flying the Sikorsky SH-3H Sea King.

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VFA-25 F/A-18s. Image via US Navy

Indy With CVW-15 Embarked

The Independence’s deployment began 23 June 1990 and concluded on 1 December 1990 when Indy was relieved by the aircraft carrier USS Midway (CVA-41) with CVW-5 embarked. During Indy’s initial Desert Shield deployment, CVW-14 consisted of VF-21 Freelancers and VF-154 Black Knights flying the Grumman F-14A Tomcat, VFA-25 Fist of the Fleet and VFA-113 Stingers flying the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A Hornet, VA-196 Main Battery flying the Grumman A-6E and KA-6D Intruder, VAQ-139 Cougars flying the Grumman EA-6B Prowler, VAW-113 Black Eagles flying the Grumman E-2C Hawkeye, VS-37 Sawbucks flying the Lockheed S-3B Viking, and HS-8 Eightballers flying the Sikorsky SH-3H Sea King.

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VF-21 F-14 on Indy. Image via US Navy

Speedy Responses Demonstrated Resolve

Of course hundreds of thousands would follow. When Shield turned to Storm, the US military performed brilliantly. But if it weren’t for those first jets and ships to show one country’s resolve, the outcome certainly could have been different.

Watch: Grumman F-14 Tomcat Type Transition Training at NAS Miramar

Bill Walton
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Watch: Grumman F-14 Tomcat Type Transition Training at NAS Miramar

The film “F-14 Tomcat Air Combat Maneuvering” was a promotional film made during the mid-1970s  by Grumman and Aerolog Productions. The Grumman F-14A Tomcat is of course heavily featured and its capabilities explained in detail, but another great thing about the film is the look it gives us of Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar back in the heyday of West Coast fighter squadron activity. Of course Miramar would go on to become the home of TOP GUN, but this film was shot after TOP GUN had begun and during the fleet’s transition to the new jet. It was uploaded to YouTube by PeriscopeFilm.

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The film makes a point of explaining three particular engagements. The first engagement is a VF-124 F-14A going against a VF-126 T-38 Talon. The second engagement is a VF-124 F-14A going against a VF-126 TA-4J Skyhawk. The third engagement is a VF-124 F-14A going against a VF-51 F-4N Phantom II. The VF-124 F-14As are crewed by students; the adversary jets by instructors. So the film gives us a nice overview of what fighter tactics doctrine looked like at the time, as well as how it was likely to be profoundly changed in the not so distant future by the incredible F-14.

VF-126 TA-4Js before the F-14 Tomcat.
VF-126 TA-4Js. US Navy photograph

The film includes great footage of NAS Miramar during the mid-1970s. Aircraft appearing in the film include VF-124 Gunfighters Grumman F-14A Tomcats, VF-1 Wolfpack F-14As, VF-2 Bounty Hunters F-14As, VF-154 Black Knights McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom IIs, VF-96 Fighting Falcons F-4Js, VF-51 Screaming Eagles F-4Bs, VF-21 Freelancers F-4Bs, VF-302 Stallions F-4Bs, VF-24 Red Checkertails Vought F-8J Crusaders, VF-301 Devil’s Disciples F-8Js, VFP-63 Eyes of the Fleet RF-8As, VC-5 Checkertails Douglas A-4E Skyhawks, VC-7 Tallyhoers A-4Es, and VF-126 Bandits Northrop T-38 Talons, Northrop F-5E Tigers, Douglas TA-4J Skyhawks, and A-4Fs. Also included is footage of VF-1 and VF-2 operating from the carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) during the first Tomcat Cruise with Carrier Air Wing ONE FOUR (CVW-14) back in 1974-1975.

F-4N before the F-14 Tomcat.
VF-302 F-4N. US Navy photograph

Richard Ira Bong- World War II American Ace of Aces

Bill Walton
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Richard Ira Bong- World War II American Ace of Aces

Dick Bong Got the Very Most Out of Both His P-38 Lightning and Himself. He became the Ace of Aces

In the history of aerial combat, the highest scoring American pilot, Richard Ira Bong, who scored a total of 40 victories, doesn’t even crack the top several hundred. Five Romanians, six Finns, ten Russians, five Japanese, 373 Germans, and a Croatian outscored him. So why was he called the ace of aces?

Seven other pilots tied Bong with 40 victories, including the top Royal Air Force/Commonwealth ace, Marmaduke “Pat” Pattle, a South African. But he was not at constant war for several years as most of the aces who outscored him were. He was out of combat for months at a time. Between 27 December 1942 and 17 December 1944, Dick Bong shot down 40 Japanese aircraft- the majority of them fighters. He was the American Ace of Aces.

Richard Bong. Image via USAF
Dick Bong. Image via USAF

Your Typical American Youth

Richard Ira Bong was born on 24 September 1920 in Superior, Wisconsin, the eldest of nine children. His parents were Carl Bong, a Swedish immigrant, and Dora Bryce, an American of Scots-English descent. He grew up on a typical Wisconsin dairy farm near Poplar, a small town in the far northwestern corner of the state.

Bong’s interest in aviation began when he observed biplanes flying near the family farm. Richard learned marksmanship at an early age. Bong attended Poplar High School beginning in 1934 and graduated from Central High in Superior in 1938. While in high school Bong built airplane models, played the clarinet in the marching band, and played hockey, basketball, and baseball.

Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Image via USAF
P-38 Lightning. Image via USAF

Learning to Fly

After graduation Bong began studying at Superior State Teachers College. While enrolled there he enrolled in the Civilian Pilot Training Program and also took private flying lessons.

Bong enlisted in the US Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program on 29 May 1941. One of his primary flight instructors was Captain Barry Goldwater. His instructors agreed that Second Lieutenant Bong was a natural pilot.

He earned his wings and was commissioned on 19 January 1942. Bong was assigned to Luke Field in Arizona as an instructor pilot to teach gunnery until 6 May 1942, when he was assigned to the 49th Fighter Squadron (FS) of the 14th Fighter Group (FG) at Hamilton Field in California. There Bong learned to fly the aircraft with which his name would become synonymous- the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.

P-38s. Image via USAF
P-38s. Image via USAF

Bong the Infamous and Kenney’s Rebuke

After a little more than a month at Hamilton, Bong buzzed the house of a fellow pilot who had just been married. He, along with three other pilots who were allegedly flying loops around the center span of the Golden Gate Bridge, was grounded.

Bong was reprimanded by none other than General George C. Kenney, the area commander at the time, for the low level flying, looping the bridge, and blowing laundry off clotheslines in Oakland.. As Kenney himself recalls it he told Bong, “Monday morning you check this address out in Oakland and if the woman has any washing to be hung out on the line, you do it for her.

Then you hang around being useful – mowing the lawn or something – and when the clothes are dry, take them off the line and bring them into the house. And don’t drop any of them on the ground or you will have to wash them all over again. I want this woman to think we are good for something else besides annoying people. Now get out of here before I get mad and change my mind. That’s all!”

Richard Bong. Image via USAF
Richard Bong. Image via USAF

Initial Combat and Initial Victories

Kenney was impressed with Bong but grounded him anyway. As a result, he did not ship out to the UK with the 49th FS. Instead Bong was reassigned to the 84th FS of the 78th FG and shipped out to the Pacific.

General Kenney might have had a hand in that. Temporarily assigned to the 9th FS flying Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, Bong was flying out of Darwin in Australia beginning in September of 1942. While there waiting on delivery of the squadron’s P-38s, Bong flew missions with the 39th FS of the 35th FG out of Port Moresby in New Guinea. Bong’s first aerial victory occurred on 27 December 1942.

He soon rejoined the 9th FS and began flying the P-38 Lightning. He scored many of his aerial victories in bunches. Promoted to First Lieutenant in April of 1943 and to Captain in August, Bong was shipped home on leave at the end of 1943 with 16 aerial victories.

P-38J. Image via USAF
P-38J. Image via USAF

Memorable Marge and Passing Eddie

While on leave back home in Wisconsin attending his former college homecoming event, Bong met homecoming queen Marjorie Vattendahl. The two hit it off and began dating.

When Captain Bong returned to the southwest Pacific, He was issued one of the first bare-metal finish Lightnings. He named his P-38J Marge and had her photo affixed to his aircraft. Now a staff officer unattached to a squadron and able to choose his missions, Bong often flew with fellow P-38 ace Tommy Lynch and continued to score kills.

After another short furlough during which he met General Douglas MacArthur, Bong racked up numbers 26 and 27 on 12 April 1944, thereby surpassing the score of World War I ace Eddie Rickenbacker. General Kenney sent Bong home again on leave, during which time he got engaged to Marge.

Richard Bong showing his kills. Image via USAF
Richard Bong showing his kills. Image via USAF

Defending Himself with Panache and Home for Good

When Major Bong returned to the southwest Pacific, he was made an advanced gunnery instructor with orders to defend himself if attacked but not to seek combat. He continued to score aerial victories anyway. Two victories here, one there; pretty soon Bong was pushing 40.

General Kenney had recommended him for the Medal of Honor and MacArthur concurred. Bong was presented with the Medal on 12 December 1944 with a score of 38. He scored two more victories before being sent home for good after flying 500 combat hours over 200 combat missions. Bong’s war was over. He continued to support the War Bond effort, and he managed to find time to marry Marge. The newlyweds honeymooned in California.

Richard Bong wearing the Medal of Honor
Richard Bong wearing the Medal of Honor

Working on the First Lockheed Jets

The war was not won quite yet. Development of new weapons continued in the knowledge that the war could certainly drag on. One such weapon was the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, the first operational American jet-powered fighter. Getting the P-80 into production was a herculean effort, and like most aircraft development efforts in those days, there were accidents and setbacks.

The P-80 finally went into production in April of 1945. Major Bong, now back at work, was assigned to the Flight Test Section at Wright Field in Ohio to help work out the bugs in the P-80. In June of 1945, Bong began work at Lockheed’s Burbank plant.

Richard and Marge Bong. Image via USAF
Richard and Marge Bong. Image via USAF

Tragedy That Was Overshadowed by Other Events a World Away

Lockheed P-80A serial number 44-85048 took off from Palmdale runway 15 at 1450 hours. The jet was seen to emit some puffs of smoke while being unable to climb to more than 400 feet. The canopy separated and the pilot bailed out but was unable to deploy his parachute- he was too close to the ground.

Bong – Ace of Aces, perished in a crash

The jet pitched down and was destroyed on impact with the ground. The pilot, found not far from the wreck still wrapped in his parachute risers, was Major Dick Bong. He had accumulated about four hours of jet flight time over 12 flights before that 6 August 1945- a date which is often remembered for entirely different reasons. America’s Ace of Aces died the same day the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan.

P-80A Shooting Star. Image via USAF
P-80A Shooting Star. Image via USAF

Bong: Ace of Aces Remembered

Fittingly, over the years since his death Bong has been commemorated by bridges in Wisconsin and in Australia, airports in Wisconsin, streets and theaters named after him on Air Force bases the world over, and enshrinement in the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame.

The Air Force named a an Air Force Base in Wisconsin after him but it was never completed. Today it is the Richard Bong State Recreation Area in Wisconsin. The Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wisconsin is housed in a structure resembling an aircraft hangar and contains a small museum, a film screening room, and a restored P-38J Lightning painted to look just like Marge.

Richard Bong and Marge. Image via USAF
Richard Bong and Marge. Image via USAF

Explosive Wings Over North Georgia to Host Top Military, Aerobatic Performers

Charles Atkeison
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Explosive Wings Over North Georgia to Host Top Military, Aerobatic Performers

ROME, Ga. — The combined power of the Air Force F-22 Raptor and the A-10 Thunderbolt II will headline the Wings Over North Georgia Air Show in October and include the additions of many new key performers in the air and on the ground, JLC Airshow Management announced on Monday.

Top military and civilian aircraft will scream across the north Georgia runway as fighter jets and aerobatic performers demonstrate gravity defying maneuvers. While on the ground, guests will receive an up close look and go aboard a few of the popular planes and helicopters on display.

“We will feature a few new performers while hosting many favorite acts from previous years,” JLC AirShow Management President John Cowman said. “Our line-up of world-class aviators positions our show to be the largest in the state for the 2018 air show season.”

Tickets are now available for the seventh annual autumn air show at Rome’s Richard B. Russell Airport on October 13 and 14. The popular northwest Georgia event will combine aviation, popular music, and great food into one family-fun weekend.

The Langley-based F-22 Raptor Demo Team returns to Rome in October. Major Paul “Loco” Lopez II is in the midst of his first season as the F-22 Raptor demo pilot. Major Lopez is the team’s first African-American pilot and will fly a nearly 30-minute performance at the air show site demonstrating the handling of the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world.

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The Air Force A-10C Thunderbolt II will perform over north Georgia in October. (Atkeison)

The Air Force is also sending two A-10C Warthogs to Russell Airport to demonstrate the crowd favorite warbird. Based at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona, pilot Capt Cody “ShIV” Wilton will perform both low and high level maneuvers to showcase the Warthog’s combat capabilities.

Just added to the performers list is the explosive recreation of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as the Commemorative Air Force’s Tora Tora Tora‘s multi-aircraft performs each day. Their demonstration, using nine World War II-era aircraft dressed as Japanese Zeroes, will keep your attention as they present a historical account of the infamous attack using fireball explosions mixed with the audio of actual radio accounts of that day.

“This years show will be so awesome with the modern day military fighter jet presence and special effect pyrotechnics,” JLC AirShow Management Organizer Tina Talton said on Thursday. “There will be lots of boom, boom, boom and fireballs as these pilots demonstrate their aircraft capabilities”.

Talton acknowledged that last year’s air show hosted record breaking crowds exceeding 80,000 attendees over the weekend.

One performer proud of his team’s excellent safety rating is the industry’s first ground act. “Our team is enjoying our 39th year touring this great nation,” Smoke-n-Thunder Jet Car driver and team owner Bill Braack exclaimed with a smile. “We have more accident free years than all other ground acts combined. Our team is excited and honored to be returning to the North Georgia Airshow this October.”

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The explosive performance of Smoke-n-Thunder’s Jet Truck and Jet Car will return to Rome. (Atkeison)

Aerobatic pilot Scott Farnsworth, 2016 world Air Race Champion and Reno National Air Race performer, will take to the skies each day to demonstrate his own style of aerobatics. A multi-aircraft rated pilot, Scott will perform in the Aero L-39 Albatros.

The power of this air show will also be created by the civilian performers who will take to the autumn sky to pump up the aviation fans. National champion Patty Wagstaff aboard her German-built EXTRA 300XL monoplane and Mike Goulian piloting his EXTRA 330SC will perform hardcore, low-level aerobatics before the crowds.

Wagstaff, a three time national champion who was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame, said she is very focused to make every flight meaningful. “Every low-level performance and every maneuver is styled and executed to demonstrate the precision, artistry, and heart-stopping excitement of a perfectly executed aerobatic maneuver,” Wagstaff states with a nod and a smile.

(Charles Atkeison reports on aerospace and technology. Follow his updates via social media @Military_Flight.)

The Six: Convair’s F-106 Delta Dart Was The Ultimate Interceptor

Bill Walton
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The Six: Convair’s F-106 Delta Dart Was The Ultimate Interceptor

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Because the Delta Dart was the Ultimate Interceptor we couldn’t stop at just one piece about the Six. Part Deux- The Ultimate Interceptor Trivia beckons right here.

First flown on 26 December 1956 at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB), the Convair F-106 Delta Dart was the ultimate all-weather air defense interceptor. Not (usually) equipped with any type of gun armament, the Six carried air-to-air missiles, some of them nuclear-tipped, to take down enemy interlopers. A development of Convair’s F-102 Delta Dagger, the F-106 was similar in design philosophy yet vastly different in practical application. Delta Darts served the Air Force and Air Defense Command (ADC) and Air National Guard (ANG) units between 1959 and 1988- some very hot Cold War years.

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F-106A. Image via US Air Force

Delta wing designs were developed during the 1950s for the Navy and for the Air Force. The Navy flew the manta-winged Douglas F4D-1/F-6A Skyray, but for only a few years until multi-mission aircraft truly became prevalent in Naval and Marine Corps service. Tailless delta wing aircraft designs of that era included the Avro Vulcan strategic bomber, the Convair B-58 Hustler strategic bomber, F-102 Delta Dagger, and F2Y Sea Dart, and the Dassault Mirage I and III among others.

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F-102A. Image via US Air Force

The F-102, though operational, was somewhat of a letdown to both the Air Force and Convair. A chameleon during its development, the Deuce was improved to the F-102A standard. The F-106 would be an improvement of another order of magnitude over the F-102A. Initially referred to as the F-102B, the new aircraft would be powered by a much more powerful afterburning turbojet engine. The first engine considered was a license-built version of the Bristol Olympus engine used in the Avro Vulcan to be built by Wright and designated J67 in USAF service.

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F-106A. Image via US Air Force

Wright fell behind in their development of the J67, so in 1955 Convair switched power plants to the Pratt & Whitney J75 twin-spool, axial-flow afterburning turbojet engine- a proven performer that also equipped the Republic F-105 Thunderchief and was flying the world’s airways as the JT4A. But the larger size and increased airflow requirements of the J75 required larger engine air intakes and internal intake duct modifications. The intakes were equipped with variable intake ramps and were moved back closer to the engines. Equipped with a slightly larger wing, a more elliptical fuselage cross section drawn using the area rule, and a clamshell-type airbrake fitted at the base of the swept vertical stabilizer, the newly designated F-106 prototype took to the skies. Initial flight testing revealed unrealized performance results along with engine and avionics problems that threatened to sink the F-106 program entirely.

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F-106As. Image via US Air Force

Rather than pull the plug on the F-106, the Air Force decided to order substantially fewer of them than originally planned. Convair got busy working the problems, and though the ordered quantity of jets (350) was far fewer than planned (1,000), by the time the F-106A Delta Dart entered service during October of 1959, the jet was much closer to its designed capabilities than it had been during initial test. The single seat F-106A and the tandem twin seat F-106B combat-capable trainer became the country’s primary air defense weapons system and remained so for many years.

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F-106B. Image via US Air Force

The design characteristics of the F-106 included the Hughes MA-1 integrated fire-control system, which when linked to the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) network for ground control interception (GCI) missions, allowed the aircraft to be steered by ground-based controllers. Or at least that was the plan. The MA-1 was plagued by bugs and was updated/upgraded dozens of times. The system also didn’t control engine power settings- that was up to the pilot. The Six wasn’t equipped to carry air-to-ground ordnance internally or externally but could carry a drop tank under each wing. Missile weapons were housed in a ventral weapons bay. Missiles carried by the F-106A usually consisted of four Hughes AIM-4F or AIM-4G Falcon air-to-air missiles. Optional missile armament included a single GAR-11/AIM-26A Super Falcon nuclear-tipped semi-active radar homing (SARH) missile guided by enemy radar emissions or a 1.5 kiloton-warhead Douglas AIR-2 (MB-2) Genie air-to-air rocket for use against formations of enemy bombers.

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F-102A cockpit (left) and F-106A cockpit (right). Images via USAF

In order to operate the MA-1 system the Six was ultimately equipped with a center mounted control column equipped with two grip handles used to control both the aircraft and the radar system- somewhat similar to the arrangement in the F-102. The right-hand grip was used for control of the aircraft and the left-hand grip was used for operation of the radar. A center-mounted button gave the pilot control of the radar antenna. A button on the left-hand grip was used to steer the “pipper” onto the target following steering generated by the radar antenna and displayed on the radar scope. Missile selection was done via a switch mounted on the left-hand cockpit console and the missile launch button was on the right-hand grip. What could go wrong? Task-saturated Six pilots figured it all out while they rode herd on Soviet Bear Bombers transiting (innocently?) back and forth between the Soviet Union and Cuba.

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F-106A riding herd on a Bear. Image via US Air Force

Ejection seats used in the F-106A evolved from the initial Weber catapult seat, which was inadequate for ejections above supersonic speeds or below 120 knots at less than 2,000 feet. The next up was the Convair /ICESC (Industry Crew Escape System Committee) Supersonic Rotational B-seat. Capable of use at supersonic speeds, the ejection sequence was complicated enough that pilots lost their lives using it. The final solution was another Weber seat which was adequate under zero-zero conditions. The end result was that the first twelve pilots to attempt ejection from the F-106A were killed in the attempt, but the final Weber ejection seat solution was adequate.

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F-106A. Image via US Air Force

Development of the F-106A continued after the jet went into service. Modifications made to F-106As during their service life included continuous electronic improvements to avionics, tape-style aircraft systems instrumentation, the Case 29 wing modification yielding a revised airfoil with visible conical camber, an infrared search and track (IRST) system, a revised supersonic drop tank design that was more streamlined and did not degrade the jet’s performance, a fuselage spine-mounted inflight refueling receptacle, and the first arresting hook on an Air Force jet designed for use at Air Force facilities equipped with emergency runway arrestor cables. A new TACAN system using microelectronic circuits resulting in a two-thirds size and weight reduction was installed in 1965.

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F-106As. Image via US Air Force

Convair built a total of 277 F-106As and 63 F-106Bs. The F-106A went into service in May of 1959. The F-106B entered service in July of 1960. There were no dedicated F-106B squadrons. Rather, the Bravos were assigned to each F-106A-equipped squadron. The first F-106As were delivered to the Air Defense Command’s 539th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS) Iron Hand at McGuire AFB in New Jersey, replacing the squadron’s North American F-86 Sabre interceptors on 30 May 1959. The first F-106A-equipped squadron to gain operational status was the 498th FIS Geiger Tigers at Geiger AFB in Washington State. However, the first operational units reported fuel-flow problems (especially in cold weather), generator defects, and starter problems. After a canopy was accidentally jettisoned in flight, December 1959 saw all F-106As temporarily grounded until the issues with the new interceptor were worked out. The F-106 had to be grounded again during late September 1961 after two crashes were caused by lingering fuel starvation issues. The Dart Board modification program finally resolved the fuel problems.

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F-106As. Image via US Air Force

The F-106A, somewhat surprisingly, had excellent maneuverability thanks to low wing loading and was thought to be a potentially good dogfighter. The Air Force considered using the F-106A to provide top cover for bombing missions in Vietnam. In 1972, Project Six Shooter added a frameless canopy for improved visibility, an optical gunsight, and the ability to mount a single M61 Vulcan 20 mm cannon with 650 rounds of ammunition carried in place of the single Super Falcon or Genie missile. Though of course the Six never saw service in Vietnam (unlike the F-102 Delta Dagger) the addition of the frameless canopy, with its much improved visibility, was definitely worthwhile. The gun would have been used as a close-in alternative to the missiles. F-106As equipped with the gun sported a bulged fairing under the weapons bay.

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F-106As. Image via US Air Force

The first ANG unit to operate the Delta Dart was the 186th FIS Vigilantes of the 120th Fighter Wing (FW) Montana Air National Guard (ANG) based at Great Falls Air National Guard Base (ANGB). Their jets began arriving on 3 April 1972. A total of six ANG units flew the F-106A and F-106B as part of the ADC network. F-106As began arriving at the 308th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) boneyard in January of 1982 as they were replaced by F-4 Phantom IIs. The 119th FIS Red Devils of the 177th FW New Jersey ANG based at Atlantic City ANGB was the final F-106A operator. The Red Devils pulled their last ADC F-106A alert duty on 7 July 1988. Shortly thereafter, the Red Devils retired their last Sixes in August of 1988. During its 29 years in service the F-106A had the lowest single-engine aircraft accident rate in Air Force history- even though 95 F-106As and 18 F-106Bs were lost to all causes.

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F-106B flying chase on a B-1B Lancer. Image via US Air Force

Many of the remaining Delta Darts were expended as QF-106 targets during the 1990s. Honeywell and other companies modified the first ten of a total of 194 mothballed F-106 airframes beginning during the late 1980s. The program, designated Pacer Six, produced supersonic drone aircraft that could be used to test the advanced air-to-air missiles now inhabiting weapons bays and wingtip rails. QF-106s carried enhanced IR radiators or burners used to attract IR weapons in the hope that each QF-106 would live to be meat on the table another day. Despite the ersatz conservation attempt, these aircraft were shot down by the score at Eglin AFB, Tyndall AFB, and Holloman AFB until the last QF-106 was shot down at Holloman AFB on 20 February 1997. Since then the Air Force has destroyed hundreds of QF-4 Phantom II drones and is working through the inventory of retired F-16s. But the old saying still goes: When you’re out of Sixes, you’re out of interceptors.

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F-106A drone. Image via US Air Force

Just because the Delta Dart was the Ultimate Interceptor we couldn’t stop at just one piece about the Six. Part Deux- The Ultimate Interceptor Trivia awaits you right here.

Watch: Take a Ride In the Time Machine Back to the Roosevelt and CVW-1

Bill Walton
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Watch: Take a Ride In the Time Machine Back to the Roosevelt and CVW-1

Like a time machine, this footage of Carrier Air Wing ONE (CVW-1) operating from the aircraft carrier USS Franklin D Roosevelt (CVA-42) during the carrier’s 1964 Mediterranean Sea deployment takes anyone who has ever served on a carrier deck back to the days of Phantoms, Crusaders, Scooters, Stoofs with Roofs, and Whales. The film is called “Flight Deck” and is split into three parts. The films are narrated and real world events take place. An F-4B blows a tire after recovering. Catapults are temperamental. The first clip is the deployment preparation portion of the Roosevelt’s Med Cruise. If you were in a similar situation this will certainly take you back!

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The second clip is the launch portion of the ship’s cyclic operations. Watch for those ABMs (Aviation Boatswain’s Mates) who are shown in constant action.

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A 4C Skyhawks VA 12 USS FD Roosevelt
VA-12 A-4Cs US Navy photograph

The third clip is the recovery. This is definitely period stuff. Note the outfit the Landing Signals Officer (LSO) is wearing- it fairly screams 1964! Arresting gear procedures are described in detail along with some excellent shots of the recovery process.

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VF-11 F-8Es. US Navy photograph

During this deployment on board the Swanky Franky, CVW-1 consisted of VF-14 Tophatters flying the McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II, VF-11 Red Rippers flying the Vought F-8E Crusader, VA-172 Blue Bolts flying the Douglas A-4C Skyhawk, VA-12 Flying Ubangis flying the A-4E variant of the Skyhawk, VA-15 Valions flying the Douglas A-1H Skyraider, VAH-11 Checkerboards flying the Douglas A-3B Skywarrior, a detachment from VAW-12 Bats flying the Grumman E-1B Tracer, a detachment from VFP-62 Fighting Photos flying the Vought RF-8A Crusader, and a detachment from HU-2 Fleet Angels flying the Kaman UH-2A Seasprite. These films were all uploaded to YouTube by CriticalPast.

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USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42). US Navy photograph

WATCH: English Electric Lightning Interceptors Performed Like Nothing Else

Bill Walton
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WATCH: English Electric Lightning Interceptors Performed Like Nothing Else

The first prototype of what would become a national symbol, the English Electric Lightning interceptor, flew for the first time on 4 August 1954. Five years later the Lightning began a 29 year service career with the Royal Air Force (RAF) that included a number of firsts. Perhaps most compelling is the fact that the Lightning housed two Roll-Royce Avon turbojet engines in a vertically stacked configuration inside its fuselage. The resultant shape of the fuselage didn’t keep the Lightning from becoming the first and only British designed and built Mach 2 fighter aircraft. This video, entitled “Streaked Lightning” was uploaded to YouTube by Italianboy UK.

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The Lightning’s performance, especially rate of climb, service ceiling, and speed, impressed pilots and made them believers in its capabilities. The Lightning prototypes were the first interceptors capable of supercruise- level supersonic flight without the aid of afterburners. Lightnings were designed and built specifically as interceptors; Soviet Tupelov Tu-16 Badger, Tu-22 Blinder and Tu-95 Bear bombers would have found them formidable opponents. Armed with a pair of 30 millimeter ADEN cannons, 48 unguided 2 inch air-to-air rockets, and/or de Havilland Firestreak or Hawker Siddeley Red Top missiles, Lightnings were as dangerous as they were quick. This video, entitled “Taffy Holden, The Accidental Lightning Pilot” was uploaded to YouTube by The History Guy.

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Other unusual aspects of the Lightning’s design include the configuration of the wings and horizontal tail. Referred to as a notched delta planform, the wings were also almost entirely “wet” meaning they held every drop of the 700 gallons (later 716 gallons) that could be carried, unless the unusual over wing-mounted auxiliary tanks were fitted. The main landing gear had to be designed to be as skinny as possible for complete stowage in those thin wings. The Avon engines were so powerful that one of them was usually shut down after landing to save wear on the brakes; both engines at idle speed would push the jet to 80 miles per hour running at idle.

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Image via BAe Systems

As the Lightning continued development, the jets gained additional fuel storage thanks to ventral fuel tank (which gave the jet its distinctive belly bulge), uprated Avon engines, added and improved avionics and communications gear, upgraded fire control radars, revised vertical stabilizers, aerial refueling probes, ventral strakes mounted under the aft fuselage, and a couple of two seat trainer versions were developed. The trainer versions were fully combat capable and the crew was seated side by side in a widened cockpit containing full dual controls. The video, entitled “1970 Lightning Aircraft” (silent but nice footage) was uploaded to YouTube by British Pathe.

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RAF Lightnings equipped 14 Squadrons, four Flights, and two RAF display teams- the Tigers (74 Squadron) and the Firebirds (56 Squadron). Lightnings were based at a total of ten RAF stations. In addition to the RAF, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia operated Lightnings. Kuwait operated Lightnings for a short time, replacing them with Dassault Mirage F1s and storing them. Those in storage were largely destroyed when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. Saudi Lightnings were replaced by McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagles in 1986. The video “John Nichols flies the EE Lightning” was uploaded to YouTube by George Pollen.

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EE Lightning riding herd on a Bear. Image via RAF

BONUS video. The video “Test Pilot TV Series- 1986 EE Lightning” was uploaded to YouTube by ClassicAviationTV.

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Watch: VAW-124 Bear Aces Just Ace Their 2017 OIR Deployment

Bill Walton
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Watch: VAW-124 Bear Aces Just Ace Their 2017 OIR Deployment

Carrier Airborne Early Warning squadron ONE TWO FOUR (VAW-124) Bear Aces deployed with the rest of Carrier Air Wing EIGHT (CVW-8) aboard the Nimitz-class carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) between 21 January 2017 and 21 August 2017. The Bear Aces put together a cruise video from footage shot during their 2017 deployment. It’s a great look at not only the VAW community but carrier aviation in general. The images are crisp and super-sharp. Great slow-motion effects too. The video was uploaded to YouTube by A.J. N. Enjoy!

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VAW-124 Hawkeye. Image via USN

VAW-124 was originally named the Bullseye Hummers. The squadron, equipped with Grumman E-2 Hawkeyes of one variant or another since their establishment in 1967, picked up the nickname Bear Aces when VAW-124 deployed to Naval Air Station (NAS) Keflavik in Iceland for Christmas 1980. Oh joy! But the Bullseye Hummers ran so many intercepts of Soviet Tu-95 Bear bombers while enjoying the Holidays at Kef that the Bear Aces moniker just stuck to them. That’s the way to get a call sign! The Bear Aces are shore based at NAS Norfolk when not deployed.

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VAW-124 Hawkeye. Image via USN

During their deployment aboard the Bush in 2017, CVW-8 consisted of VFA-37 Bulls flying what might be their last deployment in McDonnell Douglas (Boeing) F/A-18C Hornets, VFA-31 Tomcatters and VFA-87 Golden Warriors flying the single seat Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet, VFA-213 Fighting Blacklions flying the Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet, VAW-124 Bear Aces flying the  Grumman E-2C Hawkeye, VAQ-131 Lancers flying the Boeing EA-18G Growler, HSC-9 Tridents flying the Sikorsky MH-60S Seahawk, HSM-70 Spartans flying the Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk, and VRC-40 Rawhides Detachment 2 flying the Grumman C-2A Greyhound COD.

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VAW-124 Hawkeye. Image via USN

Watch: Mighty C-17 Globemaster III Amazes Crowd at EAA AirVenture 2018

Bill Walton
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Watch: Mighty C-17 Globemaster III Amazes Crowd at EAA AirVenture 2018

C-17A Globemaster III AF serial number 04-4135 (CN F142/P135) is assigned to the 97th Air Mobility Wing (AMW) and based at Altus Air Force Base (AFB) in Oklahoma.  The 97th AMW is part of the 19th Air Force of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). 04-4135 was first flown on 29 April 2005 and was delivered to the US Air Force in May of 2005. The jet was previously assigned to the 6th Airlift Squadron/305th AMW/514th AMW and based at McGuire AFB in New Jersey and the 16th AS/437th AMW/315th AMW out of Charleston AFB in South Carolina. This footage of this workhorse airlifter performing for the Oshkosh crowd was uploaded to YouTube by our good friends at AirshowStuffVideos.

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The Boeing C-17A Globemaster III was actually developed primarily from the McDonnell Douglas YC-15 prototype. When Boeing and McDonnell Douglas merged in 1997, Boeing bought into the YC-15. However, some design elements from Boeing’s own forward-thinking airlifter prototype, the YC-14, were incorporated into the C-17A. The Globemaster III pays homage to two previous Douglas airlifter designs, the C-74 Globemaster and the C-124 Globemaster II. C-17As perform primarily tactical and some strategic airlift missions. C-17As transport troops and trash the world over.

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C-17A. Image via USAF

The airlifter has picked up some notable nicknames, Buddha, Mighty Mouse, Moose, and Barney among them. When required, C-17As are capable of performing medical evacuation and air dropping missions. The C-17A was designed and built to replace the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter transport and to lighten the load on the ultimate USAF hauler- the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy strategic airlifter. The C-17A is also operated by Australia, Canada, Qatar, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, India, Kuwait, and the NATO Heavy Airlift Wing. Production of C-17As ceased on 29 November 2015.

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C-17A. Image via USAF

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