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

August 9, 2018

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.

050317 F 1234P 008 — 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.

ea2988dfc23cf833a9f34e1342030da5 — 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 393^rd Bombardment Squadron (BS) of the 509th Composite Group. However, like all 509^th 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.

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 509^th Composite Group Silverplate bombers, several different crews flew missions in Bockscar during these practice missions.

3684853840 9351b2e75e o — North Field Tinian. Image via USAF

The Great Artiste and a Big Stink

Bockscar had been flown by 393^rd 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…

B 29 Superfortress ventral full — 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.

150817 F IO108 001 — 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.

Agnew HiroshimaAircraft — 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.

NASM NASM 9A14012 — 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.

Screen Shot 2016 08 08 at 22.36.43 — 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.

436a49e8ac0b9e76305c9bc980197af4 — 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 393^rd BS and 509^th 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.

071030 F 1234S 021 — 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.

060712 F 1234S 023 — 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

August 8, 2018

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 318^th FIS Green Dragons was the first squadron to arrive at Osan, but eventually the 95^th FIS Mister Bones, 48^th FIS Tazlanglian Devils, 71^st FIS Ironmen, and 94^th 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

August 8, 2018

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.

5eeed97e8846442c3f1ad79d1abbe1fb — 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.

Fox firebase cdf s2t N436DF 070904 08 24 — 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

August 7, 2018

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.

DF ST 91 04536 5375886274 — 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 1^st Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) out of Langley Air Force Base (AFB) in Virginia. Eventually the 1^st TFW deployed 48 aircraft to the Persian Gulf. Beginning that first day in the Saudi desert, the 1^st 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.

DF ST 92 00196 5375828818 — 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 53^rd FS Tigers of the 36^th TFW, which had moved to Saudi from Bitburg Air Base in Germany. The 525^th 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 157^th TFS Swamp Foxes of the 169^th TFW South Carolina ANG and the 138^th TFS Cobras of the 174^th TFW New York ANG to Saudi as well.

44450b7fda2b209443d909b82069b6e8 1 — 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).

S 3B Viking of VS 31 in flight with VFA 131 F 18C Hornets 1992 — 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.

VFA 25 squadron photo 093 — 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.

F 14A Tomcat of VF 21 aboard USS Independence CV 62 on 1 December 1990 6475678 — 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

August 7, 2018

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.

[youtube id=”7RaMp2r7eWI” width=”800″ height=”454″ position=”left”]

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

August 6, 2018

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 49^th Fighter Squadron (FS) of the 14^th 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.

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!”

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 49^th FS. Instead Bong was reassigned to the 84^th FS of the 78^th FG and shipped out to the Pacific.

General Kenney might have had a hand in that. Temporarily assigned to the 9^th 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 39^th FS of the 35^th FG out of Port Moresby in New Guinea. Bong’s first aerial victory occurred on 27 December 1942.

He soon rejoined the 9^th 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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Charles Atkeison

August 6, 2018

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.

43844743282 4d5535f99a k — 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.”

42084465660 dc4a569762 k — 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.)

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

Bill Walton

August 4, 2018

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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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.

USS Franklin D. Roosevelt CVA 42 Sep 1967 — USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42). US Navy photograph

WATCH: English Electric Lightning Interceptors Performed Like Nothing Else

Bill Walton

August 4, 2018

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.

460488191 933228175512324 5512087729202248600 na — 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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UCMiQOi — 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

August 3, 2018

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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141002 N MW819 021 — 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.

160913 N GI441 086 — 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.

170213 N YL257 020 — VAW-124 Hawkeye. Image via USN

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

Bill Walton

August 3, 2018

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 97^th Air Mobility Wing (AMW) and based at Altus Air Force Base (AFB) in Oklahoma. The 97^th AMW is part of the 19^th 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 6^th Airlift Squadron/305^th AMW/514^th AMW and based at McGuire AFB in New Jersey and the 16^th AS/437^th AMW/315^th 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.

110320 F UI176 278 5550421619 — 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.

CRW Airmen support Hurricane Irma relief efforts 170912 F CJ433 024 — C-17A. Image via USAF

Watch: Heavy Bombers Thunder Over EAA AirVenture 2018

Bill Walton

August 2, 2018

Watch: Heavy Bombers Thunder Over EAA AirVenture 2018

EAA AirVenture 2018 is but a fond memory, but the impressive aerial sights and sounds from the Fly-In are still available to us. The B-29 Doc and the B-17 Yankee Lady participated in the daily warbird show on Friday July 27^th. Our friends at AirshowStuff were there and captured this awesome footage of the two heavy bombers as they thundered over Wisconsin. The clip was uploaded to You Tube by AirshowStuffVideos. Enjoy!

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The B-29 in the clip is Doc, a Boeing Wichita-built B-29A-70-BW (CN 10804, AF serial number 44-69972). Doc served briefly during World War II and was retained after the war as one of a group of seven radar calibration-tasked B-29s named after the Dwarves from the Disney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The B-29 towed aerial targets for a time during 1955. In March of 1956 Doc was flown to the Naval Air Weapons Station at China Lake in California and, along with about 100 other veteran B-29s, was deposited on one of the complex’s many bombing and gunnery ranges for use as a target. There she sat for the next 42 years until she was recently restored.

download 6 — B-17G Yankee Lady. Image via AirshowStuff

The B-17 in the clip is Yankee Lady, a Lockheed-Vega-built B-17G-110-VE (CN 8738-VE, AF serial number 44-85829). This B-17G was accepted by the Army Air Force on 16 July 1945. The bomber spent time at Love Field in Dallas, South Plains in Texas, and Rome Air Force Base (AFB) in New York before being transferred to the US Coast Guard and converted to the PB-1G air-sea rescue configuration at NAS Johnsville in Pennsylvania. The USCG based her in San Francisco before putting her up for disposal in 1959. Bought for the princely sum of $5,887.93 in 1959, the aircraft did aerial survey and photography work until becoming a sprayer in 1965. Between 1966 and 1986 the B-17 was aerial firefighting tanker 34, though she took time off to star in the movie Tora Tora Tora during 1969. Between 1986 and 1995 the B-17 went through an extensive restoration, emerging as the Yankee Lady. Lockheed-Vega built 2,750 B-17 bombers during the war.

Navy’s Blue Angels Announce New Pilots, Officers for 2019 Season

Charles Atkeison

August 2, 2018

Navy’s Blue Angels Announce New Pilots, Officers for 2019 Season

PENSACOLA, Fla. — The U.S. Navy Blue Angels announced the selection of new pilots and support officers on Thursday poised to join the elite flight demonstration squadron for the 2019 air show season.

The announcement occured as the Blue Angels prepared for their performances this week at the Boeing Seafair Air show near Seattle.

Three new F/A-18 Hornet pilots along with several new support officers and enlisted men and women will begin a two to three year tour with the Blue Angels. Nearly 130 sailors and Marines embody a select discipline and character to be selected to join the Navy’s flight demonstration squadron.

LT James Haley (left) pilots the F/A 18E Super Hornet from USS Abraham Lincoln in April. (USN)

Led by Commander Eric C. Doyle in Angel 1, the 2019 Blue Angels diamond pilots will include returning left wing Major Jeff Mullins, LCDR Brandon Hempler who will move up as lead solo pilot, current narrator LT Andre Webb who will graduate up to opposing solo, and new pilots LT James Cox, LT James Haley, and LT Cary Rickoff. Of the three new pilots, two will be selected for the diamond and one will become the new advance pilot/narrator.

LT Cox, from Chesapeake, Virginia, is serving with Strike Fighter Weapons School Atlantic at NAS Oceana, Virginia.

LT Haley, a native of Canadian, Texas, has served as an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet pilot with the Gladiators of Strike Fighter Squadron ONE ZERO SIX (VFA-106). Prior to that he served with VFA-32 as a pilot aboard the USS Harry S Truman (CVN-75).

LT Rickoff of Atlanta is currently serving with the “Golden Eagles” of Training Squadron TWO TWO (VT-22) at NAS Kingsville, Texas — a strike training squadron.

“It was an impressive slate of applicants this year,” CDR Eric Doyle said on Thursday. “Every officer that applied represented the high caliber of personnel serving in our Navy and Marine Corps. It was a hard decision, but one that will ultimately lead to an amazing 2019 show season.”

The three Marine Corps pilots of the Blues hulking C-130 transport aircraft nicknamed Fat Albert will remain on for 2019. Bert will fly with returning Marine Corps pilots Major Mark Montgomery, Major Kyle Maschner, and Captain Beau Mabery.

“Navy and Marine Corps pilot finalists are selected mid-season and interviewed at the Blue Angels’ squadron in Pensacola,” a Blue Angels spokesperson stated. “The new demonstration pilots and support officers are selected by unanimous vote.” According to recent pilots who have served with the Blues, when a pilot finalist is going through the selection process, every current pilot must approve them or they do not make it.

The Blue Angels will welcome a new Executive Officer as current XO Commander Matt Kaslik departs this November and Commander William Schomer takes over for the next two years. CDR Schomer is returning to the Blue Angels where he worked in airframes and paint shop between 1994-97 as an enlisted member. Those three years inspired Schomer to earn his wings of gold in 1998.

3999055 1 — LT Aaron Hicks, shown in 2017, will join the Blue Angels as the team’s new flight surgeon. (USN)

The Blues also selected a new medical doctor to the team to replace outgoing flight surgeon LCDR Juan Guerra. Incoming “Doc” LT Aaron B. Hicks will be poised on the flight line during practices and air shows to provide routine check ups. He has been serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) as a member of Carrier Wing ONE SEVEN (CVW-17).

LT CDR Adam Kerrick was selected as the new events coordinator, and LTJG Kristin Toland will become the squadron’s new supply officer.

581696 o — New officers were selected by the Blue Angels and will support the team for two years. (USN)

The newly selected pilots and support personnel will arrive in mid-September to the squadron’s home at Pensacola Naval Air Station to begin training. They will also travel with the current Blue Angels to air show sites to gain a great experience for life around the show site.

The Blue Angels will depart Pensacola the first week of January for their winter home at NAF El Centro in southern California for six weeks of intense flight and tactical training prior to their first air show of the 2019 show season.

For the pilots, they will perform three to four flight practices each day as they work on the timing and graceful style of each maneuver. Meanwhile, on the ground, the new narrator will learn the lines which will detail each flight maneuver, and later practice the timing of when he delivers each line.

The Blue Angels have performed for over 505 million fans since their first public air show in May 1946. The 2019 season schedule will begin at El Centro on March 16 and conclude 30 show sites later at their home base in Pensacola for the popular Homecoming Airshow in November.

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

The C-5 Galaxy Was an Engineering Triumph

Bill Walton

August 1, 2018

The C-5 Galaxy Was an Engineering Triumph

Lockheed Pulled Out All the Stops on the Way to Making the C-5 Galaxy a Reality

When Lockheed first flew the C-5A Galaxy strategic airlifter on 30 June 1968, the company had already overcome a myriad of engineering challenges to build the jet.

The film “C-5 Galaxy–World’s Largest Aircraft” was made to tell the story of how Lockheed designed, engineered, and built what was indeed (at the time) the world’s largest aircraft. FRED fans will appreciate this flashback to the time when excitement about the C-5A was at a fever pitch. The 1969 film was uploaded to YouTube by Classic Airliners & Vintage Pop Culture.

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The C-5 Galaxy Used to Be the Biggest Ever

The C-5A was the world’s largest aircraft when this film was made. In the 1980s, the Antonov Design Bureau introduced the Antonov An-124 Ruslan, which narrowly surpassed the Galaxy in size. Then, in 1988, Antonov launched the even larger An-225 Mriya airlifter, finally eclipsing the C-5 with two massive airlifters that clearly borrowed heavily from the Galaxy’s design. (Editor’s Note: The An-225 Mriya was destroyed in 2022 during the first weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.)

In terms of wingspan actually flown, nothing has beaten the Hughes H-4 Hercules – better known as the Spruce Goose – with its 320-foot wings. The Scaled Composites Stratolaunch carrier aircraft has longer wings at 385 feet but hasn’t flown. Yet.

C-5 Galaxy in White. Image: US Air Force — C-5As. US Air Force photograph

Longevity and Flexibility: The C-5 Galaxy

The C-5A Galaxy first entered US Air Force service with the 437th Airlift Wing at Charleston Air Force Base (AFB) in South Carolina in June of 1970. The C-5As were replacing Douglas C-133 Cargomaster airlifters.

Today, Air Force, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard squadrons operate C-5 strategic airlifters from Dover AFB in Delaware, Travis AFB in California, Kelly/Lackland AFB in Texas, and Westover Air Reserve Base in Massachusetts. Upgrade programs have enabled the remaining C-5 Galaxy fleet to serve well in the 2040s- when the basic design will be more than 70 years old.

C 5 Galaxy 060505 F 0000J 002 — C-5B. US Air Force photograph

BONUS VIDEO

Enjoy this great color footage of the C-5A undergoing tests back in the day. It was uploaded to YouTube by PeriscopeFilm.

BREAKING: Aeromexico ERJ-190 Jetliner Crash in Durango, Mexico

Bill Walton

July 31, 2018

BREAKING: Aeromexico ERJ-190 Jetliner Crash in Durango, Mexico

On Tuesday 31 July at approximately 1600 local time, an Aeromexico Airlines Embraer ERJ-190AR jetliner, XA-GAL (SN 190-173) and flying as flight AM2431, crashed while taking off from runway 03 at General Guadalupe Victoria International Airport in the northwest Mexican state of Durango. The flight was bound for Mexico City, roughly 550 miles southeast of Durango, with 99 passengers and four crew members on board. Reports coming from the crash site indicate 85 of the 103 souls on board were injured, two of them critically, but relatively few and minor burns and no deaths have been reported.

XA ACC 8024999962 — By redlegsfan21 from Vandalia, OH, United States (XA-ACC) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The airport was closed after the accident occurred. Aeromeico commented, “Our first priority is to ensure the security of our passengers and crew on board this aircraft. We deeply regret this accident and the families of all those affected are in our thoughts. We’re focused on dealing with the situation and are doing everything necessary to assist the families of our passengers and crew during this difficult time.” An investigation into the crash is ongoing.

Aeroméxico Connect XA DAC Embraer ERJ 190LR 20156222526 — By Anna Zvereva from Tallinn, Estonia (Aeroméxico Connect, XA-DAC, Embraer ERJ-190LR) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

A Durango Civil Protection spokesperson indicated that 49 of those onboard the plane have been sent to local hospitals. Some survivors were able to walk away from the crash to a nearby road; some made it back to the airport terminal. The jetliner came to rest just less than 400 yards from the end of runway 03. The aircraft attempted takeoff during a heavy thunderstorm with hail when what has been described as a probable microburst forced the jet to descend. The pilot, Captain Carlos Meyran, is being hailed as a hero because he avoided a total breakup of the aircraft when it contacted the ground in a nose down attitude. Meyran may have been the most seriously injured aboard the jetliner but his injuries are reportedly not life-threatening. The ERJ-190AR was delivered to Republic Airlines in 2008. Since 2014 the aircraft has flown with Aeromexico.

Watch: Perspective Turns Awesome Viper Demo Hop Into Epic Flight

Bill Walton

July 31, 2018

Watch: Perspective Turns Awesome Viper Demo Hop Into Epic Flight

As usual, the USAF F-16C Viper Demonstration Team put on one impressive aerial display after another this airshow season. They were at their very best during EAA AirVenture 2018 at Oshkosh this year. One particular video of an early-week demo flight has been breaking the internet. The clip was shot using a cockpit cam mounted on a free-swiveling universal that turns what are usually awesome perspectives into unforgettable, how-did-they-do-that, so-that’s-what-it’s-like views of a high-G Viper Demo flight! We scoured the interweb and found them (because that’s what we do), so here they are. These full HD clips were uploaded to YouTube by Josh M. The first one is the full clip from which the shorter teases have been pulled and includes a Heritage Flight pass. Check that virtual G meter! Enjoy!

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3 2 — Viper Demo Team pilot Major John “Rain” Waters. Image via US Air Force

This second clip is a longer cockpit cam video with selectable viewpoint shot during a different demo flight (also including a Heritage Flight pass) by the same Viper Team demonstration pilot- Major John “Rain” Waters. Nice vapes!

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The Air Combat Command (ACC) F-16 Viper Demonstration Team is based at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. The Team exists to perform precision aerial maneuvers, thereby demonstrating the unique capabilities of one of the Air Force’s premier multi-role fighters, the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. The team also works with the Air Force Heritage flight, thereby exhibiting the professional qualities the Air Force develops in the people who fly, maintain and support these aircraft. Airshow crowd pleasers for many years- the F-16 Viper Demonstration Team.

2 6 — Viper Demo Team F-16C. Image via US Air Force

Watch: Military Jets Thunder Over EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh

History

Bill Walton

July 31, 2018

Watch: Military Jets Thunder Over EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh

EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh has always been a showcase for military aircraft. In recent years there have been more aerial demonstrations by military aircraft than in days gone by and that’s generally considered to be a good thing. Whether bombers, tankers, fighters, or airlifters, the crowd loves to see the military iron thunder past. This video, uploaded to YouTube by Nigel Woolley, is a smorgasbord of military might. Turn those speakers up to 11 because the sound in this clip is awesome. There are two more videos ready to sneak pass you below the text. Enjoy!

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The sights and sounds begin with US Air Force Lockheed F-35A Lighting II from the 62^nd Fighter Squadron (FS) out of Luke Air Force Base (AFB) in Arizona. Then a C-17 Globemaster III airlifter from the 97th Air Mobility Wing (AMW), Air Education and Training Command (AETC) at Altus AFB in Oklahoma demonstrates what short field landing really means. Then a couple of Carrier Air Wing THREE (CVW-3) US Navy Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets from VFA-32 Fighting Swordsmen out of Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana in Virginia sneak in. They’re followed by a Boeing EA-18G Growler with VX-9 Vampires out of Naval Air Weapons Station (NASW) China Lake joins them in the military aircraft parking area.

U.S. Navy EA 18G Growler breaks away from a U.S. Air Force KC 135 altered — EA-18G. Image via US Navy

After that we see a colorful tanker-configured F/A-18F Super Hornet from VX-23 Salty Dogs out of NAS Patuxent River in Virginia take off. Then a Lockheed Martin C-5M Super Galaxy from the 60th Air Mobility Wing out of Travis AFB in California mikes its presence felt. A piercing takeoff by a General Dynamics F-16C Viper with the Viper Demo team from Shaw AFB is seen and felt by the crowd. We then see a Rockwell B-1B Lancer with the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron Thunderbirds put on an evening burner clinic.

1 2 1 — 107th FS A-10. Image via US Air Force

A Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II with the 107th FS Red Devils from the 127^th Wing of the Michigan Air National Guard (ANG) shows off its special D-Day commemorative paint job. After that a McDonnell Douglas KC-10A Extender tanker from the 32^nd Air Refueling Squadron (ARS) out of McGuire AFB in New Jersey shows off its versatility. Next up is a Lockheed HC-130P/N Combat King variant of the Hercules fitted for long range search and Rescue (SAR). Lastly we see a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor with the 895^th FS Boneheads out of Tyndall AFB in Florida.

BONUS F-22 Raptor thunders over Oshkosh. Turn. It. Up!

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DOUBLE BONUS F-15C Eagles from the from the 122^nd FS of the 159^th Fighter Wing (FW) Bayou Militia out of Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base (NASJRB) New Orleans thunder over Oshkosh. Uploaded to YouTube by our good friends at AirshowStuffVideos.

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WATCH: Boeing Gambled Everything on the 747 Superjet

Vintage Aircraft

Bill Walton

July 30, 2018

The Gamble Certainly Paid Off for the Premiere Jumbo Jet Builder

Boeing commissioned the film “The New Era: Flight Testing the 747 Superjet” for the company’s program management to document what was likely the company’s biggest gamble ever- the design, development, and manufacture of the Boeing 747. The sense of urgency associated with getting the first 5 examples of the 747 tested and delivered is palpable in the film. The footage is in great shape and it looks about as good as film transferred from that era can look. After you watch the film you will almost certainly know things about the 747 test effort you didn’t know before. The film was uploaded to YouTube by PeriscopeFilm.

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Double the Everything

When the 747 was conceived the airline travel industry was in turmoil. In 1964 Boeing had competed for the CX-Heavy Logistics System (CX-HLS) which was eventually won by Lockheed’s C-5A Galaxy. But the design and development effort invested in their CX-HLS entry pushed Boeing to create a new jumbo jetliner powered by the same engines as the company’s CX-HLS design. Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) president Juan Trippe had some influence because he had gone to Boeing and requested an airliner with double the everything of a 707. During the design and development of the 747, supersonic transports were still thought to be the airline travel solution of the future.

Convertible Out of the Gate

The 747 was designed from the outset to be a convertible. That is, to be configurable as a passenger jet or as a cargo hauler. Seating arrangements evolved from a full-length double-deck fuselage (seven-across seating above eight-across seating below) to the wider single deck. But the cockpit stayed up on what would have been the upper deck in order to facilitate a nose-mounted cargo door. Boeing looked at placing the cockpit below the main deck to clear the cargo door but the idea didn’t get out of the design stage. That aircraft would have looked more like the Airbus Beluga.

88336662039371f1df901b4c49cb98d9 — Image via Boeing

New-Tech Thrust Generators

One of the many new technologies in the 747 was those Pratt & Whitney JT9D high-bypass turbofan engines. These power plants were designed and built specifically for the 747. General Electric was working on the CF6 high-bypass turbofan engines for the C-5A Galaxy at the time. The high bypass turbofan concept was aimed at delivering double the power of a turbojet engine while consuming a third less fuel. By the time late 1966 rolled around, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, and Pan Am had agreed to co-develop the JT9D– meaning Pan Am would be able to influence the design of the aircraft to a degree never seen before or since.

Safety Built-In From the Get-Go

Safety concerns, understandably a hot topic with what was to be the world’s largest airliner for years to come, were addressed in multiple ways. The designers built in structural redundancy, redundant hydraulic systems, quadruple main landing gear and dual control surfaces. In order to be able to operate the 747 from existing airports, the designers near-full length leading edge slats and a fairly complex three-part slotted trailing edge flaps. Those flaps would increase wing area by 21 percent and lift by 90 percent when fully extended.

A New Kind of Factory for a New Kind of Airliner

Another aspect of the design and development of the 747 was a facility in which to build them (or the lack thereof). Boeing had to build a new plant to house the 747’s manufacturing and assembly efforts. The company chose a site in Everett, Washington for the 747 plant. Building the plant turned out to be nearly as big a challenge as building the 747. The full-scale mockup of the 747 was built inside the new factory- before the roof was complete above it. In 1968 the 747 assembly plant was the largest building by volume ever built on the planet. Expanded several times over the years, it still is.

Rolling Out 747 #1

The first 747 was rolled out of the Everett assembly building on 30 September 1968. The press and representatives from the 26 pre-ordering airlines were there to greet it, along with justifiably proud Boeing employees who had delivered the jetliner. The 747, named City of Everett, first flew on 9 February 1969 and was unveiled to the public at the Paris Air Show in 1969. The film is about the test and evaluation effort that followed. The 747 received its airworthiness certificate in December of 1969. Boeing went on to build more than 1,500 Superjets. Their $1 billion-plus gamble paid off big time.

BONUS VIDEO

Enjoy “The Outer Limits” by Boeing, made to commemorate the rollout and initial flight testing of the 747. This film was also uploaded to YouTube by PeriscopeFilm.

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Classic MD-87s Still Earning a Living as Aerial Firefighting Tankers

Bill Walton

July 30, 2018

Classic MD-87s Still Earning a Living as Aerial Firefighting Tankers

Aircraft used to fight fire from the air have included old World War II bombers like the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, North American B-25 Mitchell, Douglas A-26 Invader, and others. Consolidated PBY Catalinas and the few huge Martin Mars flying boats have been pressed into service as tankers. Former Navy patrol aircraft like the Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer, Lockheed P-2 Neptune and P-3 Orion have been on the front lines. Airlifters like the Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, and old Douglas propliners like the DC-4, DC-6, and DC-7 have also been used as retardant delivery platforms. Veteran Grumman S-2 Trackers, some of them updated with turbine engines, have been or are in use. Even Grumman F7F Tigercats and TBF/TBM Avengers have gotten in on the action- among many more.

66 EAT — Douglas DC-7B in service as Tanker 66. Image via Erickson Air Tankers

Airliners like the Boeing 747, Douglas DC-10, and Bae 146 are working the wildfires. One of the newer aerial tanker solutions is the Erickson Aero Tanker MD-87. The company already owns seven aircraft with five of them converted for tanker duty (tankers 101, 102, 103, 105, and 107) and hopes to build a fleet of ten tanker-configured MD-87s. Standard retardant capacity for the MD-87 tanker is 4,000 gallons. That’s a far cry from the 19,000-plus gallon capacity of the 747 Global Super Tanker, but the MD-87 is much less expensive to operate and can utilize more austere fields with shorter runways.

103 EAT 1 — Tanker 103 with gear down. Image via Erickson Air Tankers

The MD-87 tanker’s capacity is 1,920 gallons more than the capacity of the Lockheed P-2 Neptune tankers and 1,000 gallons more than Bae-146 tankers. Because the MD-87’s tail-mounted twin Pratt & Whitney JT8D engines could be affected by retardant released from the standard opening in the belly of the aircraft, Erickson has added an external ventral tank which creates an additional four feet of separation between the released retardant flow and the engines.

103 EAT 2 — Tanker 103. Image via Erickson Air Tankers

Tanker drops with the gear down

One interesting aspect of the MD-87 tanker is under certain conditions, the aircraft is flown with the landing gear down during the retardant drop. This reduces airspeed while allowing higher engine RPMs, reducing lag on post-drop climb out- similar to a speed break. This is not unique to the MD-87 tankers though. Douglas DC-7s and some other large tanker-modified aircraft have done the same thing for many years. Occasionally only the main gear are extended with nose gear stowed. When pulling off or up after a retardant drop the pilots of these aircraft simply want as much performance available to them as possible. Here’s a video of a MD-87 dropping retardant uploaded to YouTube by wcolby.

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101 Sabian404 Twitter — Tanker 101. Image via Sabian404 Twitter account

Watch: The Tragic Forrestal Fire Analyzed and Hard Lessons Learned

Bill Walton

July 29, 2018

Watch: The Tragic Forrestal Fire Analyzed and Hard Lessons Learned

The Ship Was Heavily Damaged and Air Wing 17 Was Decimated

July 29^th 1967 dawned like many others aboard the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal (CVA-59) on Yankee Station in the northern Gulf of Tonkin. The carrier had begun her first Western Pacific (WestPac) deployment on June 6th after having deployed to the North Atlantic or the Mediterranean seven times- usually with Carrier Air Wing EIGHT (CVW-8) embarked. CVW-17 was embarked aboard Forrestal that fateful July day. The film “Trial By Fire- A Carrier Fights For Life” was made to expose some of the mistakes made by the crew as a training tool using footage shot largely by pilot’s landing air television (PLAT) cameras. The film was uploaded to YouTube by PeriscopeFilm.

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The Sequence of Events

The fire began when a Mark 32 five inch Zuni unguided folding fin aerial rocket (FFAR) was accidentally fired from a LAU-10 four shot rocket pod due to an electrical power surge during the switch from external to internal power. The LAU-10 was mounted to a pylon under the wing of VF-11 Red Rippers F-4B Phantom II side number 110. The Zuni punched a hole in a full drop tank hung on A-4E Skyhawk side number 405 from VA-46 Clansmen. The Zuni rocket motor ignited the spilled fuel. From there the combination of burning fuel on deck and live ordnance hanging on fully fueled jet aircraft fed a nightmarish fire punctuated by bombs cooking off.

Watch: The Tragic Forrestal Fire Analyzed and Hard Lessons Learned 77 — US Navy photograph

20/20 Hindsight

Over the years since this tragedy much has been made of the type and age of the bombs hung from the Forrestal’s strike package that day. The ship was supposed to receive recently manufactured 1,000 pound bombs but received 1950’s-vintage ordnance instead. The bombs were in bad condition and were believed to be potentially unstable if handled improperly. When the Zuni hit 405 two of the old bombs were dislodged and fell into the burning jet fuel. The first bomb cooked off less than two minutes later. Training (or the lack thereof) was also an issue. The Forrestal had been on Yankee Station just four days before the fire erupted on her flight deck aft. By the time the fire was finally extinguished nearly 14 hours later, 132 crewmen were dead, two were missing, and 162 were injured.

USS Repertus assists USS Forrestal — US Navy photograph

CVW-17 Aboard the Forrestal

CVW-17 at the time of the fire consisted of VF-11 Red Rippers and VF-74 Bedevilers flying the McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II, VA-46 Clansmen and VA-106 Gladiators flying the Douglas A-4E Skyhawk, VA-65 Tigers flying the Grumman A-6A Intruder, RVAH-11 Checkertails flying the North American RA-5C Vigilante, VAW-123 Screwtops flying the Grumman E-2A Hawkeye, VAH-10 Vikings Detachment 59 flying the Douglas KA-3B Skywarrior, VAP-61 World Recorders Detachment 59 flying the RA-3B variant of the Skywarrior, and HC-2 Fleet Angels Detachment 59 flying the Kaman UH-2A Seasprite helicopter.

Forrestal fire RA5C nose 67 — US Navy photograph

Heavy Losses and a Year on the Sidelines

26 of CVW-17’s aircraft were destroyed or jettisoned, among them A-4E Bureau Numbers (BuNos) 149996, 150064, 150068, 150084, 150115, 150118, 150129, 152018, 152024, 152036, and 152040; F-4B BuNos 153046, 153054, 153060, 153061, 153066, 150069, and 150912; and RA-5C BuNos 148932, 149284, and 149305. As many as 40 additional CVW-17 aircraft were damaged. Forrestal put into Naval Air Station Cubi Point in the Philippines to make initial repairs and returned to the United State where the heavy damage to the carrier was repaired over 204 days in Norfolk. Forrestal made 14 more deployments (none to WestPac) before being retired in 1993.

USS Forrestal about one month after 1967 fire — Forrestal with what is left of CVW-17 on her patched deck. US Navy photograph

Bonus: Print Two of Trial By Fire

This version of the film was also uploaded to YouTube by PeriscopeFilm. There r enough subtle differences to make this version worth a look.

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Editor’s Note

This story, perhaps more than any other I’ve written for Avgeekery.com, always generates commentary that disagrees with, indeed often diametrically opposes, the historical facts. Here is a link to the first part of the official US Navy accident investigation report. The entire report (and many more accident investigation reports) can be reviewed at and downloaded from the US Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps page.

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AvGeekery.comAviation News, Insights, and History

AvgeekeryAviation News, Insights, and History

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

Silverplate Specials

Bockscar Working Her Way West to Tinian

Spurious Markings to Confuse Enemy Spies

The Great Artiste and a Big Stink

5,000 Pounds of Unusable Fuel for Bockscar?

Improvising, Adapting, and Overcoming

This Is Why We Have Backup Plans

By Twist of Fate Nagasaki Becomes the Target

That 5,000 Pounds of Unusable Fuel Again

Confusion and Mixed-Up Nose Art

Bockscar Beautifully Restored and Honored at the USAFM

The Bockscar Crew on That Fateful August Mission in 1945

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.

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

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

Eagles Out in Front

Eagles and Vipers and More Hit the Sandbox

Ready and Able to Take the Fight to Saddam

The Ike and CVW-7

Indy With CVW-15 Embarked

Speedy Responses Demonstrated Resolve

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

Your Typical American Youth

Learning to Fly

Bong the Infamous and Kenney’s Rebuke

Initial Combat and Initial Victories

Memorable Marge and Passing Eddie

Defending Himself with Panache and Home for Good

Working on the First Lockheed Jets

Tragedy That Was Overshadowed by Other Events a World Away

Bong – Ace of Aces, perished in a crash

Bong: Ace of Aces Remembered

Lockheed Pulled Out All the Stops on the Way to Making the C-5 Galaxy a Reality

The C-5 Galaxy Used to Be the Biggest Ever

Longevity and Flexibility: The C-5 Galaxy

BONUS VIDEO

The Gamble Certainly Paid Off for the Premiere Jumbo Jet Builder

Double the Everything

Convertible Out of the Gate

New-Tech Thrust Generators

Safety Built-In From the Get-Go

A New Kind of Factory for a New Kind of Airliner

Rolling Out 747 #1

BONUS VIDEO

Tanker drops with the gear down

The Ship Was Heavily Damaged and Air Wing 17 Was Decimated

The Sequence of Events

20/20 Hindsight

CVW-17 Aboard the Forrestal

Heavy Losses and a Year on the Sidelines

Bonus: Print Two of Trial By Fire

Editor’s Note

**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.**