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Flight Journal July/August 2024 (Digital)

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14 Articles

1 min.

The Warrior Spirit

YOU WOULD BE HARD-PRESSED to find a more iconic warrior figure in history than the fighter ace—except maybe commanding generals or Old West gunfighters. The difference is that all of the aces have lived in the past century and some still walk among us. Their status is usually defined by enemy aircraft destroyed but, when you go deeper, it’s apparent there is much more to the man than just aerial victories. Take for example Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader, one of the RAF’s top fighter aces of World War II with 20 confirmed kills. His ace status is known to many but besides his combat accomplishments, he had to continually overcome unimaginable adversity: debilitating leg injuries, a fanatical fight to regain his flying status, exhaustive and perilous dogfights during the…

15 min.

KEEPING ’EM FLYING!

NEARLY 80 YEARS after the end of World War II, the fighters, bombers, and trainers that defended freedom continue to enthrall and inspire audiences at airshows, thanks to generations of warbird pilots, maintainers, restoration specialists and collectors. In our September, 2022 issue we introduced you to the young warbird pilots, maintainers and restorers who are already beginning to displace more “experienced” warbird fliers and fixers. Their participation is vital for the warbird community, injecting new blood into a tradition reliant on people even more than aircraft to remind America of its proud history. Introducing the men and women who will fly history into the future is the goal here, and we hope to inspire more of you get involved. With that in mind, here are three more members of the…

20 min.

BADER’S HURRICANES

“Like all pilots who flew and fought in the Hurricane I grew to love it. It was strong, highly maneuverable and it could turn inside the Spitfire and the Me 109. Best of all it was a marvelous gun platform. The sloping nose gave you a splendid forward view, while the eight guns were set in blocks of four in each wing, close to the fuselage. The aeroplane remained rock steady when you fired.”—(Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader, CBE, DSO and Bar, DFC and Bar) Douglas Bader was one of the Royal Air Force’s best-known fighter aces of World War II, during which he became a national hero in Britain. He is, perhaps, one of the most famous RAF pilots ever, and his story is well known to aviation enthusiasts.…

1 min.

HURRICANE AE977

Hawker Hurricane AE977 was built as a Mk 1 at Fort William, Ontario, Canada, in the spring of 1940. After delivery to the UK by sea in April 1941, it was designated as a Mk X to differentiate it from UK-built versions. In July 1941, AE977 was issued to the Royal Navy and from August it flew from Yeovilton as a shore-based aircraft with a unit of the Fleet Fighter School, training RN pilots. As a result of its service with the Navy, AE977 is sometimes referred to as a “Sea Hurricane,” but it never received any of the naval carrier modifications and remained a Mk 1/X. In December 1942, it was involved in a mid-air collision with another Hurricane and crashed. AE977 was written off, although the pilot survived.…

2 min.

BADER AFTER THE BATTLE

Wing Commander Douglas Bader led the three Spitfire squadrons of the Tangmere Wing from March 24 to August 9, 1941. During that time, he flew 62 fighter sweeps over enemy territory and was credited with eight further aerial victories and one shared, all against Bf 109s. He also claimed several other Bf 109s as “probables” or damaged in combat. He was awarded a Bar to his DSO and a Bar to his DFC. On August 9, 1941, Bader’s Spitfire Mk Vb W3185 D-B was brought down over enemy territory and he was forced to bail out when the tail broke off. The exact cause of the crash is uncertain. He may have been shot down by a Bf 109, but he was probably either the victim of a collision or…

4 min.

WACO YKC

BETWEEN THE IMPLEMENTATION of the Air Commerce Act of 1926 and December 31, 1948, all U.S. registered flying machines sported an N-number, much as they do today, the “N” being an internationally recognized identifier for the United States. During that period, however, an additional letter-identifier followed the “N.” Depending on their category, they were registered in the NC (Commercial), NG (Glider), NL (Limited), NR (Restricted, usually meaning race airplanes), NS (State government), and, finally, NX (eXperimental). Airplanes registered in the NC category are seldom seen today, but the others, including NS (State) registrations, are all but unknown. One of those “S” category rarities is Dave and Jeanne Allen’s WACO YKC N14137 (c/n 4223). A superb piece of work, it has even won the Antique Grand Champion award at EAA’s AirVenture.…

16 min.

“SATAN’S ANGELS” ACE

“AS A KID GROWING UP on the bow of my father’s tugboat, hauling oil from Seattle to Alaska, I had a lot of time on my hands. I used to read the pulp magazines about the aces of WW I, such as the Red Baron. That’s probably how I became interested in flying. But when I became a fighter pilot, I didn’t care about flying straight and level; I was more interested in the fighter aspects of pursuing and attacking an enemy. It was the aggressive instinct of being a fighter pilot in combat, hunting and attacking other airplanes as opposed to being the hunted, that intrigued me the most.” Earning my wings My initial exposure to the military was in 1939. At the ripe old age of 17 I…

1 min.

P-38 COMBAT STATS

The P-38 Lightning was one of the few American aircraft that was produced before Pearl Harbor and continued in service after the victory over Japan (VJ Day). In all, 10,003 P-38s were built by Lockheed at a typical cost of $97,100 apiece. In the Pacific Theater of Operations, the P-38 was credited with downing nearly 1,700 Japanese fighters, transports, bombers, sea planes and Kamikazes from 1942-1945. About 160 American pilots were able to proclaim themselves “ace” while flying and fighting in the twin-engine, twin-boom fighter around the globe. In April of 1943, 16 P-38s flew almost 450 miles (one way) over open ocean at wave-top height on a sneak attack mission to intercept a pair of Betty Bombers, one of them containing the “architect” of the bombing of Pearl Harbor,…

3 min.

The Corsair Maker

BRINGING THE VOUGHT CORSAIR to the fleet was a daunting challenge that spanned nearly three years. Key behind those efforts was the talent of Vought test pilot Boone T. Guyton. Like many of his 1930s contemporaries, Guyton was enamored with the exploits of Charles Lindbergh but felt that pursuing a career in aviation was an economic hardship his family could least afford. Fortunate to attend college in St. Louis, Guyton arrived in the 1935 job-deprived Depression with little opportunity other than a local teaching position. Fortune arrived in his mailbox just in time to redirect his entire career as the Navy was sending out packets to new graduates about the recently instituted Aviation Cadet Program. With a strong academic and athletic background, the Pensacola training was a perfect fit for…

13 min.

KC-46A PEGASUS

“LIVE FREE OR DIE” is the motto of New Hampshire, one of the 13 original U.S. colonies. New Hampshire’s 157th Air Refueling Wing (ARW) was chosen as the first Air National Guard (ANG) unit to field the new Boeing Pegasus. The KC-135R was a major success for the unit, and New Hampshire was instrumental in maintaining solid mission readiness rate performance. With the demise of the KC-10A and now with the stalwart Stratotanker entering the sunset years, the KC-46A has become a welcome addition to the U.S. inventory. New Hampshire actually has two flying squadrons that fall under the 157th ARW umbrella, those being the 133rd ARS “Wildcats” and the 64th ARS “Phoenix.” While the 133rd ARS is an ANG unit, the 64th is an active-duty associate unit: it stood…

2 min.

Flying the Pegasus

After takeoff, the KC-46 is flown with finesse, with the pilots turning knobs to achieve headings and altitudes. Throughout most of the flight, aside from performing an AR, turning knobs remains the theme, until landing. It flies smoothly, is incredibly comfortable compared to the KC-135, has a robust air conditioning system, and inside is very quiet. Pilots do not need the legacy standard sealed ear speakers. They basically use a mic and simply talk to each other within the low ambient noise. Lt. Col. Gregg Van Splunder is the commander of the 260th Air Traffic Control Squadron and a KC-46A evaluator/senior pilot, with over 4,000 flight hours and 18 years of military aviation experience. He previously flew the C-5A/B, the C-17A, and was an instructor pilot in the T-6A. When…

2 min.

Training Mission

BY THE TIME THIS TRAINING SCENE WAS RECORDED in Canne, Italy, in July 1944, Allied Yugoslavian airmen had several years of experience working side by side with the RAF. Following the dissolution of the Yugoslav Kingdom in April 1941, surviving members of the country’s air force migrated to British protectorates in the Middle East for service against the Axis. Training issues delayed their immediate service to the cause until well into late 1942, with their pilots initially being relegated to ferry service in the North African campaign. In September 1943 a “B” Flight of No. 94 Squadron RAF, based initially at Bu Amud, Libya, brought Yugoslavian pilots their first combat experience. Flying Hurricane IIcs and Spitfire V/IXs uniquely decked out with red stars over the British cockades, they operated primarily…

13 min.

STARFIRE Over Korea

FOR THE FIRST FEW MONTHS of the Korean War, there was very little need for a nocturnal interceptor because the North Korean Air Force had been obliterated by U.S. fighters. In November 1950, this situation changed drastically. The sweptwing MiG-15 began flying south of the Yalu River, which put the airspace over friendly troops at risk along with the jampacked airbases south of the 38th parallel. Up until this time, the nightly alerts were manned by the F-82 Twin Mustangs and the Marines’ F7F-3N Tigercats. These two World War II types would be no match for the MiG-15. For the U.S. and England, the all weather interceptor business began to gain momentum in March 1948, when it became known that the Russians were producing a long-range bomber that had the…

2 min.

STARFIRE’S RADAR

The “B” model Starfire that we flew in the Korean War was a very able and reliable aircraft and with the E-1 fire control system, including the AN/APG-33 radar, it became, for its time, a formidable all weather/night interceptor! The Dash-33 radar had three modes of operation: search, hand control and lock-on. The scope had two displays; target azimuth/elevation and target range/azimuth that was activated by a console switch. An intercept was initiated in the search mode using the azimuth/elevation display. Once the target was observed in the search mode, the R/O spotlighted the target using the hand control and a cursor locked on to the target, which was then automatically tracked by the radar. At this time, the R/O was visualizing the intercept setup, locking on the bogey and…

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