“HAPPY LANDINGS”
Newsletter of the Florida Aviation (AeroSpace) Historical Society
“KEEP THE BLUE SIDE UP”
WRITE TO US!
250
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“It’s not who is right; it is what is right.
Vol. 37, No. 6 Edition No. 250 , Nov., 2016
P.O. Box 127, Indian Rocks Beach, Florida,
THE GOLDEN AGE OF AVIATION, 1919-1939
DURING THIS TIME FRAME THE AIRPLANE
CHANGED FROM A SLOW, WOOD-AND-WIREFRAMED & FABRIC-COVERED BIPLANE TO A
FAST, SLEEK, ALL-METAL MONOPLANE.
Immediately after WWI ended, many European countries began to
look at the airplane for its commercial value Germany started passenger
airline service between Berlin, Leipzig, and Weimar. The British and French
both began passenger service in 1919, using modified military bombers to
carry passengers between London and Paris. In the U.S., passenger service
began in earnest in the late 1920s, following the advent of the 1914 St. Petersburg (Florida)-Tampa Airboat Line.
The greatest challenge faced by aviation after WW I was to demonstrate
to the nonflying public the capabilities of the airplane. The first natural
barrier to be challenged was the Atlantic Ocean, and it was conquered in
1919. The first aircraft to cross the Atlantic was a US Navy flying boat the
NC-4. On May 16, 1919, three Curtiss flying boats, the NC-1, NC-3, and
NC-4 left Newfoundland bound for England. The NC-1 and NC-3 were
soon forced down, and the NC-4 , piloted by Lt.Cdr. Albert C. Read, completed the flight after a stop in the Azores and in Lisbon, Portugal. Commander Read reached Plymouth, England on May 31, 1919, after a 3,925mile flight.
Two weeks later, two Englishmen, Capt. John Alcock and Lt. Arthur
Brown, made the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic. The 1,890 mile
flight from Newfoundland to Ireland required 16 hours, 27 minutes—an
average speed of 118 mph.
As these record-breaking flights continued, people in many nations became “turned on” by aviation. The main exception was the U.S. In its rush
to return to normal after the war, the American people turned their backs to
anything military, particularly the airplane. Surplus airplanes were dumped
on the market, causing the aviation industries to lose the small market they
did have. These industries, which had built up slowly during the war, now
closed at an alarming rate. Military aviation was cutback, and the pilots,
who had taken so long to train, were unemployed. Military airfields were
closed, which created a shortage of landing fields for those airplanes which
were flying. In fact, aviation in the US might have died completely except
for two groups of men—the “barnstormers” and the Army aviators led by the
outspoken Gen. William “Billy” Mitchell.
The barnstormer were, for the most part, former military pilots who flew
war-surplus aircraft such as the DH-4 and the Curtiss Jenny. Living and
working in their airplanes, these “aerial gypsies” moved around the nation
from town to town putting on air shows at fairs and carnivals. They performed daring feats of wing walking, stunt flying, and parachute jumping to
attract the attention of the American public to aviation. For a small fee, they
also took customers for short sightseeing flights at these air shows, and thousands of Americans flew in an airplane for the first time. People soon
learned that the airplane was not a weapon of destruction but simply a machine with a bright future.
ARMY AVIATION….Gen William Mitchell returned home after WW
“Shoot me down & I’ll
Give you 20 bucks!”
I hope you guys are
still looking for me
LATE BREAKING NEWS
Dec. 7th, 1941, Let’s remember Pearl Harbor, 75 years later,
President Herbert Hoover’s notes appear in a relatively new book
shedding new light on the influence of Winston Churchill on our
President Roosevelt’s provocative actions back then—see page 5
for the possible consequences!.
Glenn Pendergrass, Vice Cdr. American Legion Post #139, Tampa, FL. (Phone 813 466 9163) is looking for any information pertaining to the B-29 called Miss Tampa. The Post is apparently
wanting to sponsor the plane as its guiding light—something new?
If you crewed or know someone who served aboard, notify Glenn.
A worthy idea..
`
FLORIDA AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY
“It is not who is right, it is what is right.”
Published every odd-numbered months.
“When the followers lead, the leaders will follow.”
The FAHS listens to its members
There are no paid employees in the FAHS. All services
Rendered are performed by volunteers.
BECOME A VOLUNTEER
I convinced that in any future war military air power would decide the
winner. He strongly supported using the airplane for strategic warfare
(destroying military and industrial targets deep inside an enemy’s
homeland).
He was a very vocal advocate of an air service separate from but
equal to the Army and Navy. He also spoke of the superiority of the
airplane as a military weapon. Mitchell decided that the only way to
overcome the official indifference toward aviation, both within the
Army and Congress, was to demonstrate the capability of the airplane
as a military weapon. Since it was widely agreed that America’s first
line of defense was the Navy with its battleships, Mitchell chose to
prove that the airplane could sink a battleship. By 1921 Mitchell had
created such an uproar that the Navy agreed to allow him to perform
his demonstration. Confident that he could not succeed, the Navy provided several captured German ships as targets, including the battleship
Ostfriesland. Mitchell’s pilots sank and damaged several of the targets. The most impressive was the sinking of the “unsinkable”
Ostfriesland. Unfortunately, the lesson taught by this demonstration
was not learned by the Army. The same was true of Congress, who
controlled the purse strings; therefore, Mitchell did not get any additional money for aircraft. However, several Navy admirals did learn
the lesson, and within eight months, the Navy had its first aircraft carrier.
Determined to gain public recognition for the Army Air Service,
Mitchell planned many spectacular flights. In May 1923, two Army
pilots, Lt. John A. MacReady and Oakley G. Kelly, made the first nonstop transcontinental flight across the US This 2,500-mile flight from
N.Y. to California took 27 hours at an average speed of 93 mph
In August of 1923, the Army performed the first air-to-air refueling.
On June 23, 1924, Lt. Russell H. Maughan flew a Curtiss PW-8 pursuit
from coast to coast in a dawn-to-dusk flight. The 2,850-mile trip was
completed in 21 hours 47 minutes at an average speed of 156 mph.
This flight demonstrated that Army aircraft located anywhere in the US
could be alerted and flown to any location in the country.
The greatest demonstration of the ability of the airplane was the first
round-the-world flight. The Army perfumed this flight in 1924 using
aircraft built by Douglas Aircraft. The four airplanes—the Boston,
Chicago, Seattle, and New Orleans—were named for the cities that
sponsored each of them. The flight originated in Seattle and ended in
Seattle. The entire flight took 176 days and only two of the aircraft
(Chicago and New Orleans) completed the entire flight.
Other noteworthy accomplishments by Army fliers during this time
were the 22,065 mile tour of Central and South America in 1927, the
first nonstop flight from California to Hawaii which was accomplished
in 1927, and the long duration flight in 1929 of the airplane Question
Mark which stayed aloft for over 150 hours. The airplane was refueled
in flight and food and water were transferred between aircraft..
These flights gained wide national and world acclaim but still did
not result in success. In the outcome Mitchell sought a separate air
service and more money for military aviation. Following a world tour
of foreign military aviation, Mitchell criticized the defense of the US,
particularly at the Navy Base at Pearl harbor, Hawaii. He stated that a
surprise attack on Pearl Harbor would destroy the Pacific Fleet.
Mitchell’s verbal attacks on America’s defense systems led him to
being court-marshaled, & reduced in rank to colonel, and relieved of
(Continued on Page Three)
Your membership renewal date
Appears on your Mailing Label..
Curiosity—Interest—Insight—Action !
2
COMMERCIAL AVIATION MATURES...All of the technology was
present in the 1930s to develop modern commercial airliners. What was
needed was a reason. This was provided in 1930, when Congress passed
the McNary-Watres Act as an amendment to the Kelly Act. Under the
Kelly Act, the airmail carriers were paid according to the weight of the
mail carried. The new law changed this so the contractors would be paid
according to the available cargo space. In addition, a bonus would be paid
to operators flying multiengine aircraft equipped with the latest instruments. This was clearly an incentive for the operators to fly larger aircraft.
It was also an attempt to provide a subsidy (a monastery government grant
to a person or company to assist an enterprise advantageous to the public)
to the airlines for carrying passengers as well as mail.
The McNary-Watres Act also authorized the Postmaster General to
extend or combine airmail routes. The effect of the McNary Act on aviation was not long in coming. United Airlines contracted with Boeing Aircraft to build a modern two-engine airplane. In 1932, Boeing brought out
the 247, a twin-engine, all –metal, low-wing monoplane. It was constructed with stressed skin and a retractable landing gear and could carry ten
passengers and 400 pounds of mail. The 247 had a cruising speed of 189
mph which made possible the first “same-day service” between N.Y and
San Francisco.
TWA soon responded by contracting Douglas to build them an airplane
better than the Boeing 247. In 1933, Douglas began tests in this new aircraft which they called the DC-1. Only one DC-1 was built for test flights.
When the production aircraft came out it was called the DC-2. It had a
cruising speed of 192 mph and carried 14 passenger and several thousand
pounds of mail.
While United was flying its Boeing and TWA its Douglas, American
Airways was losing money flying foreign-built aircraft. Again Douglas
was approached—this time to build an airplane bigger than its own DC-2.
Douglas already had more orders for DC-2s than it could handle, but
American agreed to buy 20 of the new aircraft, with an option for 20 more.
Douglas agreed to build it. On Dec. 14, 1935, the first of these new aircraft, called the DC-3, was finished. The DC-3, larger than the DC-2,
carried 24 passengers or 5,000 pounds of cargo a distance of 1,200 miles.
This aircraft became the standard commercial airliner for all airlines. It
was also one of the most successful aircraft ever built.
In 1927, Pan American Airways was formed to fly the first airmail
route between Key West and Havana. This route was extended from island to island throughout the Caribbean. It was eventually extended into
Central America and down to South America.
Since most of this route was over water, and because seaplane bases
were easier to build in remote areas than airports, PAA wanted a large
advanced seaplane. Igor Sikorsky built a large four-engine flying boat
called the S-40. It could fly at 125 mph and carry 40 passengers. Sikorsky
also developed a larger flying boat , the S-42, which had a range of 3,200
miles. This seaplane became known as the Pan American Clipper and
made the first commercial airline crossing of both the Pacific and Atlantic
Oceans.
In 1934, PAA took delivery of an even larger flying boat, the Martin
130, called the China Clipper. On Nov. 22, 1935, the China Clipper took
off from California for the first transpacific service. Eventually by 1937
the China Clipper was making one round-trip flight across the Pacific
every seven days. The ultimate flying boat was the Boeing 314 which was
delivered in 1938 only later to be replaced by large land planes.
3
command. These actions led him to retire shortly thereafter.
Some things changed because of his court-martial—the Army
Air Service was changed to the Army Air Corps, the post of Asst.
Sec. of War for Aeronautics was created, and additional funds for military aviation were provided.
NATIONAL AIR RACES...Almost from the beginning of aviation,
air shows and air races became very popular. Not only did these air
races create great interest in flight but they also provided the incentive
for manufacturers to build better and faster airplanes.
Air racing got its start in the US when newspaperman Ralph
Pulitzer offered a trophy to promote high speed flight. He did this
because American aircraft were making such a poor showing in European air races. The first Pulitzer Trophy Race was held at Mitchel
Field, Long Island, New York, on Nov. 27, 1920. By 1924, the air
races had grown so large that the name was changed to the National Air
Races.
In 1930, Charles E. Thompson, President o the Thompson Products, Inc., established a trophy to encourage faster land-based aircraft.
The Thompson Trophy Race became the feature event of the National
Air Races. This race, like the Pulitzer Trophy Race, was a pylon race,
meaning that it was flown around a closed circuit marked by towers or
pylons.
In 1931, the Bendix Trophy Race a transcontinental speed race, was
added to the National Air Races. Florida’s Jacqueline Cochran’s career
in aviation had its beginning in this race. She won the 1938 competition and is known to have set more speed, altitude and distance records
than any other pilot in aviation history.
During the 1920s and 1930s, the National Air Races were the prime
sporting event in the nation. The races grew into a ten-day event and
crowds of over a million were commonplace. Today the National Air
Races are held annually at Reno Nevada
COMMERCIAL AVIATION...While Mitchell was creating such
controversy in military aviation, progress was being made in commercial aviation. The Post Office started airmail service in the US on May
15, 1918, using aircraft and pilots borrowed from the Army. Three
months late, the P.O. took over the operation completely, hiring its
own pilots and buying its own airplanes. The first airmail route was
between Washington D.C and New York City. In 1919, airmail service
was extended from New York to Chicago via Cleveland and in 1920
from Chicago to San Francisco.
Many were opposed to the development of the airmail service, especially the railroads. They viewed government-subsidized mail service
as unfair competition. The Post Office justified the airmail service as
experimental in nature therefore requiring federal funds. By 1925, the
airmail service had developed to the point that it was no longer considered experimental, and the Post Office was ready to turn it over to private enterprise
The legislation which made possible the private carrying of mail
was the Kelly Act of 1925. This act authorized the P.O. to contract for
airmail service. Among other provisions in the act was one which allowed the contradictor to be paid 80% of the airmail revenue for carrying it. This was the incentive needed to get big business into the aviation field and really marked the beginning of commercial aviation in
America. This was also a “shot in the arm” for the aviation industries,
since the awarding of these airmail contract created a demand for newer
and larger aircraft. As airmail contracts were let and airmail service
spread out across the county, a few commercial passengers were carried
by the mail planes However, it was much more profitable to carry mail
than passengers. Except for some foreign-built aircraft such as the
Fokker trimoter, most mail plane were small and could carry only two
or three passengers.
In 1926, the first attempt to standardize and regulate commercial
aviation was made when Congress passed the Air Commerce Act. This
act created an Aeronautics Branch in the Dept. of Commerce. The
Aeronautics Branch was authorized to license all planes and pilots,
establish and enforce air traffic rules, investigate accidents, and provide
aviation safety through assistance and guidance to civil aviation.
Progress in aviation in America was being made but very slowly.
What was needed was something that would excite the American people and unite them in support of aviation—and it was not long in com-
ing. Many of the accomplishments in flight following WW I were made
because of prizes. These accomplishments included most of the long-range
flights, flights over the poles and many of the flights leading to speed and
altitude records. By 1927, only one of these prizes remained to be
claimed—the $25,000 prize offered in 1919 by Raymond Ortieg to the “first
aviator to cross the Atlantic nonstop from N.Y. to Paris.” Many famous
pilots had attempted this crossing, but all had failed.
In 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh approached a group of businessmen in St.
Louis seeking sponsorship for an attempt at flying the Atlantic. The money
was raised and Lindbergh contacted the Ryan Aircraft Company in San
Diego to build an aircraft. Ryan built the airplane which Lindbergh named
the “Spirit of St. Louis.” On May 20,1927, Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field in New York and headed east. Thirty-three and one half hours
after takeoff, he landed at Le Bourget Airport in Paris..
Lindbergh instantly became a world hero. Never before had so many
people throughout the world given so much admiration and affection to a
single individual. The response from the American public was explosive!
Here was a symbol the public could identify with and respond to, and Lindbergh was equal to this hero role. Following his return to the US, he became a promoter of civil aviation, traveling to every state in the Union.
He, more than any other individual, was responsible for thousands of people
entering pilot training, for hundreds of cities building airports, and for millions of Americans accepting aviation as important.
Another individual, who would rival the fame of Lindbergh, flew across
the Atlantic in 1928. Although only a passenger on this flight, Amelia Earhart was the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air. Four years later she
became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. She would gain
fame as the world’s greatest aviatrix prior to her disappearance during a
round-the-world flight in 1937.
GENERAL AVIATION...It was during the “golden years” that general
aviation came into being. It was easy for people to learn to fly during the
years following WW I. Individuals could buy a war-surplus airplane and
ether teach themselves to fly or find a former Army aviator to teach them.
During this time, there were no licenses or government regulations and
aircraft did not have many instruments. In the 1920s, new companies were
formed to build small, private aircraft for a growing market of pilots.
Among the earliest of these was a company called Travel Air Manufacturing, which was formed in 1925 in Wichita, Kansas. This company was
formed by Lloyd Stearman, Clyde V. Cessna and Walter Beech They
built small biplanes which were very successful. In 1927, Cessna left the
company to run his own and Walter Beech formed his own company in
1932.
In 1929, another partnership was formed which would lead to more
world-famous aircraft. The two men were G. C. Taylor and William T.
Piper. Mr. Taylor was building aircraft on a very small scale. In 1929, the
stock market crash bankrupted him, and Piper, a wealthy oil man, bought
the company for $600. He reorganized the Taylor Aircraft Company, keeping Taylor as president. In 1935, Piper bought out Taylor’s share of the
company and renamed it the Piper Aircraft Corporation. Taylor moved to
Ohio and started the Taylorcraft Company.
AERONAUTICS...The late 1920s also saw the science of aeronautic take
its place as a true and recognized science. In 1915, President Wilson
formed an organization named the national Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Its purpose was to “supervise and direct the scientific
study of the problems of flight with a view of their practical solution.”
During the 1920s, this federal agency performed valuable basic research in
aeronautics and solved many of the problems that plagued early aircraft. In
1926, Daniel Guggenheim, an air-minded New York philanthropist, founded the School of Aeronautics at New York University. He also established
a $2.5 million ”Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics.”
The results were many improvements and changes in the aircraft built during the
late 1920s and 1930s. In efforts to reduce drag, the biwinged aircraft finally gave
way to the more efficient monoplane. More efficient wing shapes and cowlings to
enclose the engine were developed by NACA scientists, and the retractable landing
gear came into existence. Pressurized cabins permitted higher altitude flights, and air
-cooled radial engines replaced the heavier water-cooled ones. Other refinements
included the development of wing flaps to increase lift and allow slower takeoff and
landing speeds and deicing equipment for safer all-weather flying. Lt. James H.
Doolittle did a lot of research on aircraft instruments to make flying at night and in
bad weather safer. As a result of his research, instruments for night and navigation
and two-way radios were installed in aircraft. With the development of an all-metal
aircraft by Hugo Junkers, a German builder, and the stressed-skin principle by another German, Adolph Rohrbach, the airplane began to resemble today’s modern airplanes. .
CLASSIFIED
*************************************
The FAHS encourages you t use this column to advertise.
There is no charge to Society members
AMELIA EARHART, The Truth at Last, 2nd Edition, by FAHS’ Mike Campbell. The long held secrets exposed. A must read. 370 pages filled with top-secret
information. Contact www.sunburypress.com, or amagon.com, price, $19.95.
AVON PARK Air Force veterans...Kathy Couturier is writing a book on the
history of the Avon Park AF Range in Florida, and she would like to interview you.
Her phone: 863 452 4288, email: [email protected]
Several original, limited prints by famed artists (Taylor, Trudigan, etc.) Me109, The
Battle of Britain, framed, signed, $300, negotiable. Paul Leaser, 1829 Foxboro Ct.,
Oldsmar, FL. 34670, phone: 727 781 6569.
“Letters From the Cockpit,” by FAHS’ Neil Cosentino. 110 pages of sheer
delight (?) from Vietnam to the Bahamas, interesting tidbits of a man who’s experienced the life you wished you had spent. Contact Neil for details, 813 784 4669.
“ON GOD’S WINGS,” A daughter’s inspirational story of her Dad and his miracle,
by Teri Louden, $24.95, call 619 894 8374.
Bill Dyer Jr., would like to purchase Book 3 of “CLOUD COUNTRY by Jimmie Mattern. It was written about 1936. Bill Dyer, Jr., 1607 Cambridge Dr., Kinston,
NC 28504.
FROM CROP DUSTER TO AIRLINE CAPTAIN, The biography of FAHS’ and
the Florida Aviation Hall of Fame’s Capt. LeRoy Brown assisted by FAHS member
Dr. Leo F. Murphy. Hard cover, 218 pages, ISBN 10-1-60452-076-0, price $34.
Order on line at www.bluewaterpress.com/captain.com or autographed by Capt.
Brown at P.O. Box 144, Zellwood FL., 32798.
LAND OF THE MORNING CALM...A story of a war that could have been
but wasn’t. All about a cable set in motion by the firing of Douglas MacArthur that
attempts to reignite a conflict in Korea 20 years later. The plot is foiled by an unlikely
love affair. $13.95, email [email protected]
NEW BOOK “The Making of St. Petersburg, Florida,” by Will Michaels.
Includes Chapters on the First Airline, Babe Ruth in St. Pete, The Pier, and many
more. For a signed copy contact [email protected] $25 (includes post)).
THE TRUE STORY OF CATCH 22, by Patricia Meder, daughter of the final
commander of the 340th Bomb Group, fictional setting of Joseph Heller’s book, Catch
22. Any resemblance to persons living or dead in Meder’s book is in fact actual. . 240
pages, available from Amazon.
“375 YEARS OF THE AMERICAN CITIZEN SOLDIER“....published by FAHS’
Britt Borchiardy. The story of America’s militia, the “National Guard.“ 178 pages.
Contact Smyrna Media Group, P.O. Box 1061, Clearwater, FL. 33757, This is a must
for history buffs— book available FREE on the internet by downloading: http://
www.SmyrnaMediaGroup.com/#links
FORT WAYNE AVIATION, Baer Field & Beyond,” by FAHS’ Roger Myers,
130 photos. Price $24 includes P & H. Phone: 260 747 4775; E-mail [email protected]. Roger is a former WW II bombardier.
“BEFORE THEY WERE THE BLACK SHEEP” By Carl Dunbar,
Univ. Press of Florida, ISBN 978-0-8130-3725-7, 305 pgs., hardback, $32., “”A must
read for young Navy officers as they enter aviation training.”
“TONY, AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE,” By FAHS member Patrick Lemmon.
The story of Tony Jannus as it should have happened. The book uses historical data
and puts them into a story-book form. Should be able to pick up at Amazon.com:
ISBN 978 0 9814956 0 6, or by writing “Fiction Publishing, 5626 Travelers Way, Ft.
Pierce, FL. 34982 or email: fiction [email protected].
“COME UP AND GET ME,” FAHS’ own Col. Joe Kittinger’s new book, available from Amazon.com for about $25. For details: [email protected].
ANGEL ON MY WING by FAHS’s Lt.Col. Richard B. Lewis—memoirs of
missions during 8th AF, 493rd BG,. 862nd BS during WWII (35 missions). Newly re
-published—6 x 9, 122 pages, color, personally signed, $14.95 + shipping. Email:
[email protected], www.angelonmywing.com, check to 9211 Spyglass Court, Jacksonville, FL. 32256, Also Ebay.
JACKIE COCHRAN, soft cover now available, $24.95 by Doris Rich. 288 pages, ISBN 978-0-8130-3506-2. Jackie is a member of the Florida. Aviation Hall of
Fame. Orders 800 226 3822 or www.UPF.com
“Hagler Field, A History of Pensacola’s Airport,” A new book by FAHS’ Leo F.
Murphy. Full color soft book chronicles the history of military & civilian landplane
operations in Pensacola.. Available at $29.95 (no shipping charge to FAHS members)
or by writing Leo at P. O. Box 7176, Daytona Beach, FL. 32116; email: [email protected] or phone 850 341 6400..
HEDGEHOPPING AVIATION, A Book For Pilots By a Pilot...by FAHS’
Clyde E. Roach, ISBN: 978-1-4389-6137-8, also “Confessions of an Airline Pilot”
37 years with Eastern Airlines….contact: [email protected]
SMILIN’ JACK BOOKS by creator Zack Mosley “Brave Coward Jack” “Hot
Rock Glide,” “& “De-Icers Galore.” $40 each.. Website: smilinjackart.com To order
contact Jill Mosley, P.O. box 140294, Gainesville, FL. 32614. Email: [email protected]
“THE GOLDEN AGE OF FLYING”, Frontier Air Lines 1946-1986, by Capt.
Tex Searle. E-mail: [email protected], available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
and former PAA Captain David McLay, P.O. Box 7170 Safety Harbor, FL., 34695..
4
EXTRAORDINARY PLANES, EXTRAORDINARY PIOTS...softbound,
128 pages depicting unique flight test aircraft and flight test techniques. Descriptions & photos of the aircraft and tests and some of the test pilots. Fundraiser
for the charitable arm of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. Order by
phone: 301 769-4881, email [email protected]. Price not given.
‘BORN TO FLY”... by Capt. Pete Vandersluis. Soft cover 314 pgs. With over
50 photos. Book covers pilot from a high school drop-out to 757 Eastern Captain
who worked 6 airlines and was involved in 4 hijackings. Includes experience as
an air show pilot and tells about the misleading actions of the unions representing
employees. Send $25 to Captain Pete Vandersluis, 1791 Earhart Court, Daytona
Beach, FL 32128, email: www.authorstobelievein.com
MILITARY MEMORIES 1949-1969, by FAHS’ Bob Widner. Photo
story of duty at Lackland, Scott, Stoneman, Clark, Johnson, Wallace Air Station,
Craig and MacDill AFB. $11.95, soft cover. Contact: [email protected]
FIRST FLIGHT SOCIETY in Kitty Hawk, NC is looking for new members. You will receive 4 newsletters covering society events plus other interesting articles. Send check $35 to FFS, PO Box 1903, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949.
“SEA DART,” by FAHS member B.J. Long, the story of the experimental
supersonic seaplane interceptor. 73 pages soft cover. ISBN 0-942612-23-X.
Details: Steve Ginter, 1754 Warfield Cir., Simi Valley, CA 93063.
‘MY LIFE IN THE SKY,” by FAHS’ Capt. Ed. Mitchell. His story
of flying in the first B-29 raid over Japan since the Doolittle raid, through his
experiences flying for Seaboard World Airlines. To order, send check for $18.00
(postage included) to Ed Mitchell, 742 Arbordale Court, Englewood, FL., 34223.
“FLORIDA’S AVIATION HISTORY,” 2nd edition. 350 pages, includes databank chronology, by FAHS News Editor, Warren Brown. $15,
to P.O. Box 127, Indian Rocks, FL., 33785.
“IT’S BEST TO BE LUCKY,” the combat experiences of FAHS member Curtis C. Truver in Korea flying F-80s and F-86s and in Vietnam flying the
F4Cs. Send $10.50 to the author at 4152 Prima Vista Circle, Jacksonville, Fl.,
32217.
“GEORGE PREDDY, TOP MUSTANG ACE,” is sold out in both hard &
soft cover editions. However, it has been placed on Kindle and Nook. Also
placed there is the first book on Preddy: Wings God Gave My Soul. They are
priced at $4.99 each. The DVD Preddy The Mustang Ace is still available at
$19.95. Call Joe Noah, 434 374 2781 or write Joe at [email protected].
FORD In The Service of America, ISBN 978-0-7864-4485-4, soft cover,
70 photos. $40, including postage & taxes. Relates the entire story of Ford’s
contribution to winning both WW I and WW II. Tim O’Callaghan, P.O. Box
512, Northville, MI 48167. Web page: www.fordatwar.com
THE BLIMP GOES TO WAR,” 90 minute VHS video documentary produced by FAHS member, Richard G. Van Treuren. $35, to Atlantis Productions,
P.O. Box 700, Edgewater, FL. 32132.
“AMERICAN AIRSHIP BASES AND FACILITIES,” a book by
James R. Shock. Write: Atlantis Productions, P.O. Box 700, Edgewater, FL.
32132, $35.
PAN AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAYS relics, insignias, timetables,
posters, flight manuals, postcards, labels, photos. Trades available. Contact
FAHS member and former PAA Captain David McLay, P.O. Box 170 Safety
Harbor, FL., 34695..
HISTORIC FLIGHTS...quality photos of Space Shuttle launches and landings and close-up static pad photos by FAHS’ “Man at the Cape,” John Salisbury.
Write John at 461 Vihlen Rd., Sanford, FL., 32771 or phone 407 322 1085.
“ THE B-26 MARAUDER HISTORICAL SOCIETY, To insure This
Aircraft’s Rightful Recognition . $45/Yr. or $80/2Yrs...Send to MHS HDQTRS
3900 E. Timrod St., Tucson, AZ 85711-4170. E-Mail [email protected]
VALIENT AIR COMMAND. Preserving history for the future . Membership available, donations welcome. Warbird Museum open, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
daily. Contact Lloyd Morris, 407 268 1941 or write 6600 Tico Rd., Titusville,
FL., 32780.
THE FLORIDA AIR MUSEUM AT SUN’N FUN is looking for members
and volunteers to help maintain Florida’s official “Air Museum.” To become a
member, send $35 to P.O. Box 7670, Lakeland, FL. 33807-7670; phone 863 648
9264. The Museum is located on Lakeland’s Airport. This is the cousinorganization of the FAHS, since we both have a joint-relationship with the Florida Aviation Hall of Fame and Florida aviation archives, both located in the Museum.
“AVIATION IN FLORIDA,” by FAHS member Keven M. McCarthy.
174 pages, hardback, $18.95 plus postage. ISBN 1-56164-281-9. Write Pineapple Press, P.O. Box 3889, Sarasota, FL., 34230.
“FLYING MACHINES OVER PENSACOLA,” by FAHS’ retired USN
CDR, Dr. Details the early history of Naval Aviation in Pensacola to 1929.
ISBN 0-9743487-0-8. Price $19.95 + free shipping.. Priority mail, $4. Write,
P.O. Box 7176, Daytona Beach, FL. 32116; Phone: 850 341 6400; email: [email protected]
Like WW I flying? Try FAHS Editor’s ChildYank Over the Rainbow, 1918,
the true story of American pilot Col. Joe Boudwin, 5 victories, flying over the US
42nd Rainbow Division in 1918. Price: $15, postage included, P.O. Box 127,
Indian Rocks Beach, FL., 33785.
LET’S REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR
Did FDR Provoke Pearl Harbor?
On Dec. 8, 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt took the rostrum before a
joint session of Congress to ask for a declaration of war on Japan. A
day earlier, at dawn, carrier-based Japanese aircraft had launched a
sneak attack devastating the U.S. battle fleet at Pearl Harbor. Said exPresident Herbert Hoover, “We have only one job to do now, and that is
to defeat Japan.”
Today, a remarkable secret history, written from 1943 to 1963, has
come to light. It is Hoover’s explanation of what happened before,
during and after the Second World War.
Edited by historian George Nash, “Freedom Betrayed: Hoover’s
History of WW II and its Aftermath” is a searing indictment of FDR
and the men around him as politicians who lied prodigiously about their
desire to keep America out of war, even as they took one deliberate step
after another to take us into war.
The 50-page run-up to the war in the Pacific uses memoirs and documents from all sides to prove Hoover’s indictment. And, perhaps the
best way to show the power of this book is the way Hoover does it—
chronologically, painstakingly, week by week.
Consider Japan’s situation in the summer of 1941. Bogged down in
a four-year war in China she could neither win nor end, having moved
into French Indochina, Japan saw herself s near the end of her tether.
Inside the government was a powerful faction led by Prime Minister
Prince Konoye that desperately did not want a war with the U.S. The
“pro-Anglo-Saxon” camp included the navy, whose officers had fought
alongside the U.S. and Royal navies in WW I, while the war party was
centered on the army, Gen. Tojo and Foreign Minister Matsuoka, a
bitter anti-American.
On July 18, 1941, Konoye ousted Matsuoka, replacing him with the
“pro-Anglo-Saxon” Admiral Toyoda. The U.S. response: On July 25,
we froze all Japanese assets in the U.S. ending all exports and imports,
and denying Japan the oil upon which the nation and Empire depended.
Stunned, Konoye still persuaded his peace policy by winning secret
support from the navy and army to meet FDR on the U.S. side of the
Pacific to hear and respond to U.S. demands. U.S. Ambassador Joseph
Grew implored Washington not to ignore Konoye’s offer, that the
prince had convinced him an agreement could be reached on Japanese
withdrawal from Indochina and China. Out of fear of Mao’s armies
and Stalin’s Russia, Tokyo wanted to hold a buffer in North China.
On Aug. 28, Japan’s ambassador in Washington presented FDR a
personal letter from Konoye imploring him to meet. Tokyo begged us
to keep Konoye’s offer secret, as the revelation of a Japanese prime
minister’s offering to cross the Pacific to talk to an American president
could imperil his government. On Sept. 3, the Konoye letter was
leaked to the Herald Tribune. On Sept. 6, Konoye met again at a 3hour dinner with Grew to tell him Japan now agreed with the four principles the Americans were demanding as the basis for peace.
No response.
On Sept. 29, Grew sent what Hoover descries as a “prayer” to the
president not to let this chance for peace pass by. On Sept. 30, Grew
wrote Washington, “”Konoye’s warship is ready waiting to take him to
Honolulu, Alaska or any place designated by the President”
No response. On Oct. 16th, Konoye’s cabinet fell.
In November, the U.S. intercepted two new offers from Tokyo: a
Plan A for an end to the China war and occupation of Indochina and, if
that were rejected , a Plan B, a modus vividness where neither side
would make any new move. When presented, these, too, were rejected. At a Nov. 25 meeting of FDR’s war council, Sec. of War Henry
Stimson’s notes speak of the prevailing consensus: “The question was
how we should maneuver them (the Japanese) into...firing the first shot
without allowing too much danger to ourselves.” We can wipe the
Japanese off the map in three months,” wrote Navy Secretary Frank
Knox.
As Grew had predicted, Japan, a “Hara-kiri nation,” proved more
likely to fling herself into national suicide for honor than to allow herself to be humiliated. Out of the war that arose from the refusal to
meet Prince Konoye came scores of thousands of U.S. dead, Hiroshima,
Nagasaki, the fall of China to Mao, U.S. wars in Korea and Vietnam,
and the rise of a new arrogant China . Mr. Churchill smiled……..
NEWSENSE…
5
Tantalizing News
Originated by Gossip’s Founding Father,
Columnist Walter Winchell
************************
EDITOR’S NOTE: Walter Winchell
began broadcasting in 1933 to an audience of 25 million people. The Winchell
style was unmistakable. He talked rapidly at 197 words per minute...the voice
was high-pitched and not pleasant to
the ear, but it was distinctive. The staccato quality made every item compelling. He claimed he talked so fast because if he talked more slowly people
Walter
Winchell
would find out what he was saying...he
began his radio program with a series
of dots and dashes operating the key himself. Telegraphers
throughout the country complained that what Winchell tapped out
made no sense. He realized he hadn’t the faintest knowledge of
Morse code but he refused to have an experienced telegrapher provide the sound effects for him. He wrote like a man honking in a
traffic jam.
July 26, 1916—European war clouds have a silver lining for Florida
farmers. Pinellas County-grown castor beans are being tested for oil
producing potential. The vegetable oil is the preferred substitute for
scarce petroleum based aviation products. Profitable at $3.00 per bushel
the beans grow quickly but pose a poisoning threat to farm animals..
(World War I pilots said the girls in the bars could always spot a pilotby his smell of castor oil—used in the Sopwith Camel’ rotary engines.)
Did you hear about the adult man who grew 2” in height in less
than a year? Scott Kelly while circling the Earth in the Space Station.
(no gravity—he just expanded!)
Submarine stats...The U.S. submarine force sunk half the enemy
ships sunk by our Navy during WW II. The U.S. lost 52 subs and thirty
five hundred men in steel coffins. Average age for a sub skipper was
35, for his crew 23. Booze, not allowed on surface ships, was tolerated
after each enemy sinking. All crews were volunteers. Meanwhile the
German U-boats sunk over 8,000 merchant ships and lost over 11,000
men—a 50% mortality rate.
Motorcycle crash crew at Carlstom Field, near Arcadia, FL. 1918.
The donor, Michael J. Drake, received this photo from Dale AylGALAXIES SEEN BY HUBBLE
ward of Sarasota, FL. Carlstom was utilized in both World Wars.
.
6
Kudos from: Joe Vulgamore, St. Petersburg, FL., Dick Allison, Ken
Samuelson, Neil Brady & Duncan McDonald.
From Hal D. Cusick...regarding “A Provocative Story” that appeared in the last edition of Happy Landings: Regarding the mythic tale
of the Volksdeutchers, I believe the writer is regurgitating a fatigued red
herring designed to obfuscate the reality of NAZI aggression. In the thirties, Germany placed or established hundreds if not thousands of Nazi
sympathizers in neighboring countries. Just as the Japanese did in Hawaii, if not the US Pacific Coast before Pearl Harbor. It is a common
political practice to create what WWII journalist termed “Fifth Columns,” (Trojan horses) we are certainly aware of several very public similarities here in the USA during the Cold War. In Norway, Herr. Quisling
was the most open and immediately took over the government upon Hitler’s conquest. Such actions occurred in several over-run countries. The
writer's thesis alleging mistreatment of Germans is painfully similar to the
tune they played immediately before occupying the Sudetenland belonging to the then Czechoslovakia. These are historical facts. Similar truths
exist regarding high-level support of Hitler’s goals for fascism in England
and France. All of the Volksdeutschers may not have been saboteurs and
such, but surely they were present. Currently ISIS clearly slipped terrorists into and amongst the rivers of migrating Mid-Eastern refugees. Germany planted their Fifth Column, and no sympathizers wish to mislead by
generalization by alleging these “Volks” were all just simple bakers and
farmers. (excuse me while I gag). Face it, the Nazi leader Hitler wrote
about his intent in Mein Kampf, testified to it in speeches. He had all the
navy he needed in the U-boat. Power leadership achieved by conquering
Europe and Western Russia as far as the Urals would have given him all
the supremacy and political power he needed to dominate. World dominance does not necessarily require geographical possession.…..Don’t fly
too close to the edge of air and keep Happy Landings coming. (Ed. Note:
What Hal states is true—will we ever learn to study the past to understand the future.)
More on Earhart….submitted by Mike Campbell, Jax., FL...A
letter from Gen. Vandergrift USMC to historian Fred Goerner, dated 10
Aug. 1971. ….”Gen. Tommy Watson, who commanded the 2nd Marines
during the assault on Saipan...on one of my seven visits of inspection of
his division told me that it had been substantiated that Miss Earhart met
her death on Saipan. That is the total knowledge that I have of this incident. Having known Gen. Watson for many years, I naturally accept this
information as being correct.” Like Nimitz and Gen. Graves Erskine,
two other major flag offices who revealed the information to Goerner in
clandestine ways, the General must have wanted to encourage Goerner,
though he was still sworn to silence in the top-secret case. All of the
above are now deceased.
From Elon Musk, who plans to launch an unmanned craft to Mars in 2018 and
transport people after that (at least $200,000 a head), says, “The probability of
death is quite high on the first mission,” though that likely won’t wind up in the
brochure.
From D.G. “Hi—I know that I am late in renewing my subscription
but there is a good reason for that—I’ve been out of work for a very long
time. Money is extremely tight so I have to make cuts everywhere. I was
wondering if you offer any kind of hardship subscriptions for someone in
my situation. I hate to see your fine newsletter disappear from my mailbox. A. Yes, you will be kept on the roster as long as needed.
NEW MEMBERS* & RENEWALS
Allison, Richard M
Barnes, Bill
Biancur, Col. Andi
Bie, Billy
Blazeard, Dennis
Brady, Neil
Bronk, Ray
Brothers, Karl
Chana, Howard
Clyde, Earl
Eckert, John
Falcone, A. N.
Fallon, Roger W.
Freeman, Darryl
Furr, Col. W. Fuzzy
Hanson, Hal C.
Hernandez, Albert
Herold, Robt. D.
Houghton, Walter
Hull George G.
Johnson, Axil
Kickliter, Howard
Kluender, Doug
Florida
Palm Harb. Fl.
Colorado
Ind.Rocks, FL.
Utah
Wellington, FL
Texas
Ohio
Orange City, FL.
Utah
Utah
Virginia
Utah
Idaho
Utah
Utah
Tampa, FL
Tallahassee, FL
Brandon, FL
Utah
Dunedin, FL
Clearwater, FL.
Utah
Kone, Connie
Lester, Morton
Liller, Charles
May, Farnsworth
McDonald, Dunc
Meyer, Mervin
Moore, Richard
Morrison, Clint
Mulholland, Fred
Muszynski, B.C.
Newcomb, Clive
Peck, Gen. Earl
Pender, Bowles
Preysz, Laszio
Samuelson, Ken
Scheublein, Anita
Seslar, Robt. V.
Skaggs, Ed
Symmes, Fred
Yonge, Jr. Laurie
Fiore, Chris
Ziegler, Zig
Prior, Doug
LOST MEMBERS, UNABLE TO DELIVER
Anderson, Renita
St. Pete, FL
Dedman, Ty
Carlton, MD, Leffie
Tampa, FL
Wolf, Leroy
St. Pete
VA
Florida
Florida
Utah
Calif.
Florida
Florida
Tampa
Florida
Florida
Florida
VA
Utah
NC
St. Pete
Florida
Florida
Utah
Florida
Largo, F
Tampa
Spg Hill,
Florida
Florida
NEW ADDRESSES
Fisher, Wm. L.
St.Augustine, FL Twait, Frank
Florida
Loudin, Teri
Coronado, CA.
Vulgamore, Jos. St.Pete
Nelson, John T.
Tampa, FL.
Adams, Adm. C. Texas
Simonds, Joseph Raleigh, NC
GONE WEST
Stevens, Peter
Utah
Webb, Joseph P. Largo, FL.
Bellini, Frank
Pottstown, PA
GIFTS TO THE SOCIETY
Lester, Morton
Martinsville, VA
Peck, Earl Clearwater, FL.
Mulholland, Fred Tampa, FL.
McDonald, Duncan Utah
BENEFACTOR SOCIETY MEMBERS FOR 2016 (donations of $100+)
Baron, Joe
Clearwater, Fl.
Harrison, Dan
Florida
Edwards, Thomas Alabama
Mulholland, Fred Tampa, FL
Ettinger, Emily
Calfornia
Nelson, Alan
Florida
Gorman, James Ohio
Peck, Gen. Earl
Florida
Green, John C.
Georgia
Wright, Jr. Peter Floirid
*****************************************************************************************
HELP NEEDED FOR THE ‘HALLOF FAME”
The Florida Aviation Hall of Fame has outgrown it’s own space at the State Aviation Museum at Sun
’n Fun, Lakeland, FL. and needs $1,200 for remodeling.
If you would like to help, send your donation to Florida Aviation Hall of Fame Fund, FAHS, P.O.
Box 127 Indian Rocks Beach, FL. 33785
Those donating include: Ron Streicher, Bill Buston, Dennis Cole,
Warren Brown, Bill Barnes and Dave Wilgus. Clive Newcomb
**********************************************************************
FLORIDA’S AVIATION HALL OF FAME
Located at the Florida Air Museum at Sun ‘n Fun, Lakeland, FL.
Douglas Baker, test pilot (2003); George “Ted” Baker, founder of National Airlines (2004); Thomas
W. Benoist, pioneer aircraft builder (2011); Jacqueline Cochran, pioneer aviatrix (2003); Leroy Brown,
native pioneer Floridian, crop-duster, airline pilot and leader in the U.S. Airline Industry Museum project
(2009). Merion C. Cooper, military pilot & film director (2015); Glenn Curtiss, pioneer pilot, inventor and
founder of three Florida cities (2006); Jimmy Doolittle, pioneer pilot and war hero (2007); Amelia Earhart,
Pioneer aviatrix lost on round-the-world flight in 1937 (2010). Percival Fansler, founder of the World’s First
Airline (2003); Chalmers H. Goodlin, fighter pilot WW 2 and test pilot (2005); George Haldeman, test pilot
and holder of numerous records (2006); Billy Henderson, founder of Sun ‘n Fun (2015); Ed Hoffman Sr.
(2008), pioneer pilot; Mary France Housley, Flight Attendant, for saving lives following a plane crash
(2016); ; Howard Hughes , pioneer pilot and movie producer (2007) ; Jack Hunt, Navy blimp record holder
& founding president Embry-Riddle University (2011); Antony H. Jannus, pilot of the 1st Airline (2003);
Howard “Scrappy” Johnson, test pilot (2015); Colin Kelly, 1st WW II hero (2011);
Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., balloonist and test pilot (2003); William Krusen, pioneer Florida airman (2011)
Col. & Mrs. Charles A. Lindbergh, pioneer pilots (2004); Lewis Maytag, CEO of National Airlines (2007) ;
David McCampbell, USN pilot, Medal of Honor winner with 34 victories over the Japanese (2010). A.B.
McMullen, builder of many of Florida's airports (2004); Zack Mosley creator of “Smilin’ Jack;” (2008); Dick
Merrill, airmail-airline pilot (2014); Curtis Pitts, aircraft designer (2014); James C. Ray, B-17 pilot &
philanthropist (2016) Charles E. Richbourg, Navy test pilot (2006); Edward Vernon Rickenbacker, CEO
of Eastern Air Lines (2003); John Paul Riddle, founder of Embry-Riddle University (2005); Betty Skelton,
acrobatic champion (2014); Lawrence Sperry, Inventor of the auto-pilot, turn & bank indicator and artificial horizon (2011); Nicole Stott, Astronaut (2011); Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., pilot of the B-29 which dropped
the Hiroshima atomic bomb (2005); Juan Terry Trippe, founder of Pan American World Airways (2003);
Phillip Waldman, ferry pilot (2016); Kermit Weeks, Curator of “Fantasy of Flight” air museum (2008);
Robert M. White, fighter pilot WW 2 and test pilot (2006).
THE JOCK (airborne) & KIWI (ground-locked) 7
SHORT-SNORTER PAGE.
Discovered unread reader, required to buy one round of
drinks for fellow members...JOCK jokes inverted.
Tragedy + time = Comedy
This morning I was sitting on a bench next to a homeless man, I
asked him how he ended up this way. He said, “Up until last week, I still
had it all!!! I had a roof over my head, a cook, my clothes were washed
& pressed, I had TV, internet, I went to the gym, the pool, the library,
school if I wanted…” I asked him, “What happened? Drugs? Alcohol?
Divorce??? Oh, no, nothing like that,” he said, “No, no...I got out of
prison.”
*******************************************************
A sign in a shoe repair store, “We will heel you, We will save your
sole, We will even dye for you.”
*******************************************************
Mark Twain: “If you don’t read the newspapers you are uninformed; If
you do read the newspapers you are misinformed!”
An Irishman’s first drink with his son….While reading an article
last night about fathers and sons, memories came flooding back to the
time I took me son out for his first pint. Off we went to our local pub
only two blocks from the cottage. I got him a Guinness. He didn’t like
it, so I drank it. Then I got him a Kilkenny’s, he didn’t like that either,
so I drank it. Finally, I though he might like some Harp Lager? He didn’t. I drank it. I thought maybe he’d like whiskey better than beer so I
tried a Tullamore Dew. Nope! In desperation, I had him try that rare
Redbreast, Ireland’s finest. He wouldn’t even smell it. What could I do
but drink it? By this time I realized he just didn’t like to drink, I was
so fouled up I couldn hardly push his stroller back home!
********************************************************
The Woman Marine Pilot...The teacher gave her fifth grade class an
assignment….get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end
of it. The next day, the kids came back and one by one began to tell their
stories. These were all the regular type of stuff: spilled milk and pennies
saved. But then the teacher called on Jamie…”Jamie, did you have a
story to share? “Yes Ma’am. My daddy told me a story about my Mommy. She was a Marine pilot in Desert Storm, and her plane got hit. She
had to bail out over enemy territory, and all she had was a flask of whiskey, a pistol, and a survival knife. She drank the whiskey on the way
down so the bottle wouldn’t break, and then her parachute landed her
The very first thing I can remember is that I went to the picnic with my
father and came home with my mother.
right in the middle of 20 Iraqi troops. She shot 15 with the pistol, until
she ran out of bullets, killed four more with the knife, till the blade broke,
and then she killed the last Iraqi with her bare hands.. “Good heavens,”
said the horrified teacher, “What did your Daddy tell you was the moral
to this horrible story?” “”Stay away from Mommy when she’s been
drinking!”
*****************************************************
In a train from London to Manchester, an American was berating
the Englishman sitting across from him. “The trouble with you English is
that you are too damn stuffy, you set yourselves apart too much. You
think your ’stiff upper lip’ makes you better than the rest of us! Look at
me...I’m me! I have a little Italian in me, a bit of Greek blood, a little
Irish and some Spanish blood, what do you say to that? The English gent
lowered his newspaper, looked over his glasses and replied, “How very
sporting of your mother!”
********************************************************
The Department of the Navy is now assigning females to quarters
on submarines. Addressing boat sailors at Gronton, COMSUBLANT
advised: The female sleeping quarters will be out-of-bounds for all
males. Anybody caught breaking this rule will be fined $20 the first time
and $50 the second time. Being caught a third time will cost you a fine of
$100. Are there any questions?” At this point a Master chief stood up
and inquired, “How much for a seasons pass?”
FAHS LEADERSHIP TEAM, 2016
*********************
President:……………………………………….Mary Fletcher
Vice President……………………………….…..Ron Streicher
Treasurer, News Editor………………..Dr. Warren J. Brown
Secretary…………………………………….…Clive Newcomb
DIRECTORS
Capt. Bill Barnes, 727 938 9690 [email protected]
(Benoist Models & Photographer, Retired Airline Captain)
Dr. Warren Brown, 727 595 2773
[email protected]
(Historian, FAHOF Chairman, F, PP, (Retired Flight surgeon)
Bill Buston,
727 323 2029
[email protected]
(EAA, Young Eagles)
Chris Fiore, 727 581 0622
[email protected]
(Fantasy of Flight Liaison , Education Liaison)
Mary Fletcher, 727 781 5949,
[email protected]
V.P FAHS, , Brochure/Graphics Design, Laison, “99ers”)
Terri Griner, 727 409 6474, [email protected]
Historian
Capt. David “Mac” McLay,
727 725 2569/Mobile 488-7406
Public/media Relations, TJDAS Liaison, FAHOF, PP)
Former PAA Captain, [email protected]
Clive Newcomb
727 804 1614,
[email protected] Secretary FAHS
Joe Rubin, 727 821 7260 Home
[email protected]
727 465 4072 Cell
(Ex Mayor, Aviation Research)
Ron Streicher, 727 445 9756
[email protected]
(EAA Chapter 282 Liaison, Young Eagles)
David Wilgus, 727 367 2929, [email protected]
Capt. Ed Slattery 727 581 7484 (Airline Advisor, former
USAir Captain.), [email protected]
ADVISERS TO THE BOARD
Bill Akins, Warbird Recover Team.
Britt Bochiardy, 386 679 2813………………..Publisher.
J. Paul Finley, 727 391 5908.….....F, PP, President Emeritus
Al Hollonquist………………………………..….Aviation Historian
Joan Karins…..Planning Board Consultant
Gerry Martas…………………………………......Military & Airlines
Nicole Stott…….NASA Astronaut-Mission Specialist
Orford, Eric……………..Technical Consultant
Rui Farius, [email protected]……….Flight Safety
Robert “Bob” Widner……..Warbird Recovery/Florida Airfields
727 286 0887, [email protected]
Siena Gaenicke……………………………...Outreach
[email protected]
F—Founding Member PP—Past President.
MEMBERS OF THE THULE, GREENLAND CLUB
(Qualifications for membership: Having set foot in Thule.)
Hi Price, Bradenton, FL. C.P. 931st Sqd. L-20, C-47, C-54 (1964-65)*
Warren Brown, Largo, FL. (Operation BlueJay, 1951).
Walt Houghton , Melbourne, Florida (1960).
Charley Liller, Riveriew, FL. (1957).
(* Gone West)
Bess (Balchen) Urbahn, Maine (1952).
Cdr.Leo Murphy, Gulf Breeze, F. (1981 ?)
Bob Gates, Ft. Walton, FL. (1956)
Bob Koch, Bellaire, FL., (1951-52), VP-23 Navy*
Borchik, Jr. Albert S., Shalimar, FL., (1953-54), Thule, Ice Island.*
Bornhoeft, Jack H., Mt. Prospect, IL (1945-1951)
***************************************************************************
AMAZING WORD LESSON
Do you know “listen” and “silent” use the same letters? Do you
know that the word “racecar” spelled backwards still spells
“racecar?” Do you know that “eat” is the only word that if you take
the first letter and move it to the last, it spells its past tense “ate?”
PLAYING “DEAD BUG”
“LIAH OT GNORW YAW NAGIRROC
88
BACKGROUND: A fighter pilot tradition that is a little more than a
drinking game is that of “Deceased Insect” the proper name for “Dead
Bug.” At the phrase “Dead Bug” everyone is supposed to fall on the
ground and put their hands and feet in the air, imitating the look of a
dead bug. The initiator remains standing to catch the slowest person
to assume the position. That person is then liable for whatever the bad
deal is for the moment, whether drinking from a grog bowl or buying
the next round.
My wingman and I—in our trusty Marine Vought F-8 Crusaders—
were clawing our way back to home base after another one of those highly
unsuccessful night dive bombing missions—under the Blind Bat’s flares
somewhere around a place called Tchepone.
These missions were labeled “Special” since they were out of country”
in either Laos or Cambodia. We were directed to divert to either Ubon or
Udorn. I never could remember the difference even when I was in Vietnam. So we got a vector, picked up by Ground Controlled Approach and
made a sterling end of the runway landing. But there were no Air Force
types near the runway to observe our superior landing skills. It must have
been raining too hard.
After checking in with Wing Ops back at Da Nang, our Wing Ops Officer told us to stay where we were until morning. Da Nang was under
another one of those semi-irregular mortar attacks. I didn’t argue. It was
about 0300 and I was already working on a 20-hour day. It had been a
long one. We were given directions to the Transient Pilots quarters.
En route, I heard loud noises, which only are made by genuine U.S.
Fighter Pilots. There was a party going on somewhere and I was determined to find it. My wingman elected to hit the sack, so I continued solo.
I finally found the noise in this sorta blacked out tent/building. I opened
the door/flap and entered into what could only be a Fighter Pilot's bar.
Guys in sweaty flight suits, laughing loud and drunk as “L.”. There were
squadron patches and pictures of airplanes all around. My kinda place! I
was still in full flight gear, torso harness open and carrying my navigation
bag and hard hat.
I sauntered over to the end of the bar. “What’ll’ you have?” asked the
bartender. I remember my exact words. “Gimme the strongest thing
you’ve got, in a tall glass-with ice, if you’ve got it.” By this time, the
place was mostly quiet. All attention was on me. It was sorta like a John
Wayne movie when the new gunfighter comes to town and walks through
the swinging doors of the saloon for the first time. The bartender gave me
a water glass full of mostly ice and some vodka. I put it away in a couple
of gulps, reached into my bottom G suit pocked, got some MPC(?) and
tossed it on the bar., Whoops went up. I was a hero. Fighter pilots gathered around me. I was in fighter Pilots heaven!
They introduced themselves, asked me about where I had been that
night, what was the target, what was the weather where I had been, why I
got diverted, etc...all good questions. Then realizing I was a Marine, they
decided to introduce me to an Air Force game called “Dead Bug.” I was
drunk and I was among friends. Why not?
Now the game of Dead Bug doesn’t have a lot of rules. It goes like
this. A bunch of people are gathered around the bar, some sitting on
stools. Someone yells “Dead Bug” and the last guy to fall off his stool
(backwards) and on to the floor, has to buy the next round.
Well, as the night went on—they always seemed to distract me just
before someone said “Dead Bug”—I was usually the last to hit the floor,
but hit the floor I always did. They were hospitable and never let me pay
for a drink—encouraging me to do better.
My only real memory of that night, after making my order at the bar,
was that of great fun among a great bunch of guys and drinking drinks that
had real ice. The Air Force knows how to live. This was a 24-hour operation base, and these guys had just finished their “work day.” Night Fighter
Pilots, my kinda guys.
My wingman woke me the next morning with, “Captain, the Colonel
just called and he wants us back at Da Nang—Pronto!” When I tried to
get up, I took the pillow with me. The bloody back of my head had stuck
to the pillow. I was still in flight gear, and had no idea how I got there.
For weeks after that, my wingman thoroughly enjoyed telling the troops
about the Captain in the shower in full flight gear, with his head under the
water, trying to get that damned pillow off his head. For the flight back, I
told my wingman to take the lead—good combat navigation training for a
junior officer. I was in no condition to drive. If any of you Air Force
types read this, thanks for a great night!
“Hail to Wrong Way Corrigan” printed backwards was headlines of
the Brooklyn Daily Eagle & N.Y. Post in July 1938 as green Irish ribbons flew in the breeze from telephone poles in the N.Y. suburbs. Earlier, the airman stated, “I guess I made a mistake,” as he stepped from his
tiny second—hand 1929 Curtiss Robin
airplane near Dublin, Ireland. Just 28
hours, 13 minutes earlier he had taken off
from Floyd Bennett Field, N.Y. supposedly headed for California.
Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan, 88,
died in California, Dec. 9th 1996. His
later years spent as a recluse with his
famed Curtiss Robin reported in his garage.
On July 16, 1938, the FAHS editor
was hanging around Floyd Bennett Field,
just after Howard Hughes returned from
his famous round-the-world flight when
he stumbled
across Corrigan refueling his plane with
gas cans. “Need any help” he inquired?
“No kid,” Corrigan replied, “just finishing
up, but thanks.” The next day, armed with
two compasses, a turn-and-bank indicator
and an engine rebuilt by the late FAHS
member Ed Stavely, Corrigan took-off in
his “crate,” the cabin door held shut with
baling wire.
The very audacity of Corrigan’s venture,
coupled with his steadfast contention that he had
simply flown in the wrong direction, made the
intrepid young flyer an international hero of the
Golden Age of Aviation.
He claimed it was all an accident up until the
very end
Perhaps the fact that he had helped build Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St.
Louis earlier in a San Diego fish cannery had something to do with his
“mistake!.”
.******************************************************
FLORIDA AVIATION HALL OF FAME FOUNDED IN
2000
The Florida Aviation Hall of Fame (FAHOF) was founded by the Florida Aviation
Historical Society in 2000, after considerable study into other state's experiences notably,
Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Virginia, Minnesota, Iowa and Oklahoma. It was decided that
SUBIC
nominees did not have to be citizens of Florida—their achievements and activities contributing to the advancement of aviation would be primary. Their association with the state of
would be secondary since aviation has no barriers.
By-laws were drawn and it was determined nominees would be chosen by a non-binding
straw vote of aviation enthusiasts and this would be submitted to a selection committee,
made up of 10-15 pioneer aviation-historians from various regions of Florida. The first
meeting of the selection committee was held on Clearwater Beach on 25 May 2002.
A simplified statement of selection criteria was agreed upon as follows: “The Florida
Aviation Hall of Fame will recognize and honor individuals who have made significant
contributions and/or achievements in aviation, including space flights.”
The Aerospace Center for Excellence at Sun ‘n Fun in Lakeland, Florida was chosen as
the home for the new organization.
Since the first induction ceremonies held in 2003, the FAHS has inducted 40 honorees
into this place of honor.
Those interested in submitting a candidate should send a bio, photo, a second, & permission (if living) of their candidate to the FAHS, P.O. Box 127, Indian Rocks Beach,
FL. 33785.
MILITARY ADVANCEMENTS, 1919-1939
The developments made in commercial aviation during the 1930s provided
the business necessary to maintain a
healthy aviation industry. These same
industries were also making advances in
military aircraft, although not as rapidly
as in the commercial field. During the
1920s and 1930s, America’s national
policy regarding military aviation was
that the airplane was primarily a defensive weapon used to protect America..
Many Army Air corps officers understood the offensive potential of the airplane, and it was only because of their
efforts that some progress was made in the development of fighter and
bombers during the 1930s. A prime example of this was the development of the B-17—a bomber which would gain great fame during WW
II
When Douglas aircraft built the DC-2 and DC-3 airliners, the Boeing 247 became obsolete. This was a blessing in disguise for the Boeing company, because it allowed them to respond to an Army design
competition for a new multi-engine bomber for use in coastal patrol.
On July 28, 1935, the four engine giant, designated the Boeing 299
made its first flight test. The 299 was flown to Wright Field in Dayton, for competition against two competitors, both twin engine aircraft.
Not only did the 299 win the competition, but it proved it could out-fly
any fighter airplane flying during this period. The Army Air Corps
made an initial order for 13 of these B-17s and soon after these were
delivered ordered 39 more..
The Army Air corps now possessed its first long-range bomber, but
Cooper
during its trials, the B-17 proved that the US was lackingHarry
in fighter
aircraft. Contracts were let for the Seversky P-35 and the Curtiss P-36,
both modern, low-wing monoplanes and believed by the Air Corps
leaders to be equal to any fighter in the world. However, as the US
made these small advances in military aviation, other countries of the
world were testing their aircraft in the area of aerial combat and developing aircraft which they would use during WW II..
It was not until the arrival of the American Boeing P-26 Peashooter
in 1932—nearly fifteen years after the first low-wing fighter to enter
limited military service, the all-metal airframed Junkers D-1 had entered service with the Luftstreitkrafte in 1918—that the low-wing
monoplane began to gain favor, reaching its classic form in such designs. These were pioneered in late 1933 by the Soviets with the
Polikarpov 1-16 fighter, powered initially with an American Wright
Cyclone nine-cylinder radial engine. Within only a few yeas after the I
-16’s first flights, the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 of 1935 and the
British Supermarine Spitfire of 1936 were also flying, powered by new
and powerful liquid-cooled vee-twelve engines respectively from
Daimler-Benz and Rolls–Royce. The rotary engines common in the
First World War quickly fell out of favor, being replaced by more
powerful air-cooled radial engines such as the Pratt and Wasp series.
In the 1930s development of the jet engine began in Germany and in England. In England Frank Whittle patented a design for a jet engine in 1930 and
towards the end of the decade began developing an engine. In Germany Hans
von Ohain patented his version of a jet engine in 1936 and began developing a
similar engine. The two men were unaware of the other’s work, and both Germany and Britain would go on to develop jet aircraft by the end of World War
II. .
Hindenburg over N.Y
9
AIRSHIPS—IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF AVIATION
A number of nations operated airships between the two world wars,
including Britain, the U.S., Germany, Italy, France, the Soviet Union
and Japan.
This period marked the great age of the airship. Before the First
World War, pioneers such as the German Zeppelin company had begun
passenger services, but the airships constructed in the years following
were altogether larger and more famous. Large airships were also experimented with for military purposes, notably the American construction of two airborne aircraft carriers, but their large size made them
vulnerable and the idea was dropped. This period also saw the introduction of non-inflammable helium as a lifting gas by the US, while the
more dangerous hydrogen continued to be used since the US had the
only sources of the gas at that time, and would not export it.
In 1919, the British airship R-34 flew a double crossing of the Atlantic and in 1926 the Italian semi-rigid airship, Norge was the first aircraft
confirmed to fly over the North Pole.
The first American– built rigid airship, the USS Shenandoah, flew in
1923, The Shenandoah was the first to use helium, which was in such
short supply that the one airship contained most of the world’s reserves.
The US Navy explored the idea of using airships as airborne aircraft
carriers. Whereas the British had experimented with an aircraft
“trapeze” on the R-33 many years before, the Americans built hangars
into two new airships and even designed specialist airplanes for them.
The USS Akron and Macon were the world’s largest airships at the time,
with each carrying four P9-C Sparrowhawk fighters in its hangar. Although successful, the idea was not taken further By the time the Navy
started to develop a sound doctrine for using these airships, both had
been lost in accidents. More significantly, the seaplane had become
more mature and was considered a better investment.
The Empire State Building, then the tallest building in the world,
was completed in 1931 with a dirigible mast, in anticipation of passenger airship service.
The most famous airships today are the passenger-carrying rigid
airships made by the German Zeppelin company, especially the Graf
Zeppelin of 1928 and the Hindenburg of 1936.
The Graf Zeppelin was intended to stimulate interest in passenger
airships, and was the largest airship that could be built in the company’s
existing shed. Its engines ran on blau gas, similar to propane, which
was stored in large gas bags below the hydrogen cells. Since its density
was similar to that of air, it avoided any weight change as fuel was
used, and thus the need to vent hydrogen. The Graf Zeppelin became
the first aircraft to fly all the way around the world.
Airship operations suffered a series of highly publicized fatal accidents, notable to the British R-101 in 1930 and the German Hindenburg
in 1937. Following the Hindenburg disaster, the age of the great airships was effectively over.
AERONAUTICAL ADVANCES...During the late 1920s and early
1930s the available power from aero engines increased significantly,
making possible the adoption of the fast cantilever-wing monoplane,
originally pioneered as far back as late 1915. The high mechanical
stresses required by this design suited the all-metal aircraft construction
techniques pioneered by some earlier designers, and the increasing
availably of high strength-to-weight aluminum alloys—first used by
Hugo Junkers in 1916-17 as duralumin for his all-metal airframe designs—made it practicable allowing the earlier all-metal airliners like
the Ford Trimotor designed by William Stout, and Junkers’ own pioneering airliners like the Junkers F-13 to be built and accepted into
service. When Andreai Tupolev likewise used the Junkers firm’s techniques for all-metal aircraft construction, his designs ranged in size to
the enormous, 206 ft wingspan eight-engine Soviet Maksim Gorki, the
largest aircraft built anywhere before WW II.
The de Havilland DH.88 Comet racer of 1934 was one of the first
designs to incorporate all the features of the modern fast monoplane,
including, stressed –skin construction, a thin, clean, low-drag cantilever
wing, retractable undercarriage, landing flaps, variable-pitch propeller
and enclosed cockpit. Unusually for such a highly stressed wing at that
time it was still made of wood, with the thin stressed-skin design made
possible by the appearance of new high-strength synthetic resin adhesives.
THE F-8 CRUSADER ONCE SCARED A MiG PILOT INTO
EJECTING BEFORE A DOGFIGHT.
Although it was anything but easy to fly, the F-8 Vought Crusader was actually a very well-liked fighter. By 1975 when the US completely pulled out of Vietnam, it had the highest kill ratio of any American fighter in the conflict: a staggering 19.3 Vietnamese MiGs downed for 3 Crusaders lost.
In late May 1967, Lt (j.g) Gerald Tucker and his wingman, LCDR Frank
Bachman, flying F-8s, bored because of inaction received word of a lone MiG17 heading back to base.
The MiG’s pilot maintained a low altitude, and Tucker readied his Sidewinder
for a shot. The instrumentation in the cockpit indicated the missile was already
seeking out its prey, and within seconds, it would be ready to be mailed towards
its hapless target. But Tucker would never get that chance to fire, since all of a
sudden, the MiG’s canopy flew off and barreled away, while a flash indicated that
the pilot had opted to eject rather than face Tucker.
Understandably upset at the fact that he came so close to engaging an enemy
fighter but couldn't, Tucker pulled back on the throttle and made a few passes by
the visibly anxious MiG driver, now gently floating down to earth under his parachute’s canopy.
While we don't’ know what his reasons were for ejecting, many former F-8
pilots love to say the he would have probably stayed in his cockpit if he faced the
Phantoms instead of the Crusader. What attests to this is the fact that after most
enemy pilots engaged Crusaders head-on, they’d generally attempt to leave the
fight after F-8 pilots fired a burst from their cannons. This would put them in
solid positions for a missile kill for the F-8s.
The Navy, at first, refused to count it as a kill for Tucker, though historians
and fellow naval aviators argued in his favor. It was mighty reassuring to Tucker
that he was flying jets so fearsome that enemy plots would rather punch out than
face them in air-to-air combat.
*****************************************************************
EVERY JERSEY ON A NAVY FLIGHT DECK HAS A MISSION
If you ever have the opportunity to visit a U.S. Aircraft Carrier, you will
note the deck crew have different colored jerseys. Here is the what each
color stands for: RED: Loads & unloads bombs & missiles. GREEN: Handles catapults & wires. PURPLE: Delivers fuel to aircraft. WHITE: Ensures
safe operation aboard flight deck. YELLOW: Helps control chaos all around.
BROWN: Handles maintenance & inspections. BLUE: Moves aircraft
around.
******************************************************************************************
UNSUNG HEROIN—AMY JOHNSON
English aviator 1903-1941,
Amy was one of the first women to gain a pilot’s
license. She won fame when she flew solo from Britain
to Australia in 1930.
Her dangerous flight took 17 days. Later she flew
solo to India and Japan and became the first woman to
HI...I’m
fly across the Atlantic East to West.
Amy!
During WW II she volunteered to fly for the Women’s
Auxiliary Air Force but her plane was shot down over
the River Thames in England and she was killed.
*****************************************************************
U.S. CARRIERS SEEKING RECRUITS...as the country faces a shortage of 15,000
aviators in the U.S. by 2026. Jet Blue’s Gateway Select program is the first of its kind in
the US, although similar efforts have successfully been used in Europe and Asia. The initial
Jet Blue program consists of six recruits who began the second phase of training on Oct. 3,
after a three weeks ground course. They’ll spend 7 months at an aviation academy and
should become first officers by2020 if they can foot the bill of $125,000.
10
...TO THE SHORES OF TRIPOLI
Thus, the birth of the U.S.
Navy. Beginning in 1784, 17
years before he would become
president, Thomas Jefferson
became America’s Minister to
France. That same year, the
U.S. Congress sought to appease its Muslim adversaries by
following in the footsteps of
European nations who paid bribes to the Barbary States rather then
engaging them in war.
In July of 1785, Algerian pirates captured American ships, and
the Dye of Algiers demanded an unheard-of ransom of $60,000. It
was a plain and simple case of extortion, and Jefferson was vehemently opposed to any further payments . Instead, he proposed to
Congress the formation of a coalition of allied nations who together
would force the Islamic states into peace. A disinterested Congress
decided to pay the ransom.
In 1786, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams met with Tripoli’s
ambassador to Great Britain to ask by what right his nation attacked
American ships and enslaved American citizens, and why Muslims
held so much hostility towards America, a nation with which they
had no previous contacts.
The two future presidents reported that Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdul
Rahman Adja had answered that Islam “was founded on the Laws of their
Prophet, that it was written in their Quran that all nations who would not
acknowledge their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to
make war upon them wherever they could be found and to make slaves of all
they could take as prisoners, and that every Musselman (Muslim) who
should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise.”
Despite this stunning admission of premeditated violence on non-Muslim
nations, as well as the objections of many notable American leaders, including George Washington, who warned that caving in was both wrong and
would only further embolden the enemy, for the following 15 years the
American government paid the Muslims millions of dollars for the safe
passage of American ships or the return of American hostages. The payments in ransom and tribute amounted to over 20% of the U.S.’s annual
revenues in 1800.
Jefferson was disgusted. Shortly after his being sworn in as the third
President of the U.S. in 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli sent him a note demanding the immediate payment of $225,000 plus $25,000 a year for every year forthcoming. That changed everything.
Jefferson let the Pasha know, in no uncertain terms, what he could do
with his demand. The Pasha responded by cutting down the flagpole at the
American consulate and declared war on the U.S. Tunis, Morocco, and
Algiers immediately followed suit. Jerrerson, until now, had been against
America raising a naval force for anything beyond coastal defense, but,
having watched his nation be cowed by Islamic thuggery for long enough,
decided that it was finally time to meet force with force.
He dispatched a squadron of frigates to the Med and taught the Muslim
nations a lesson he hoped they would never forget. Congress authorized
Jefferson to empower U.S. ships to seize all vessels and goods of the Pasha
of Tripoli and to “cause to be done all other acts of precaution or hostility
as the state of war would justify.”
When Algiers and Tunis, who were both accustomed to American cowardice and acquiescence, saw the newly independent U.S. had both the will
and the right to strike back, they quickly abandoned their allegiance to Tripoli. The war with Tripoli lasted for four more years and raged up again in
1815. The bravery of the U.S. Marine Corps in these wars led to the line
“….to the shores of Tripoli” in the Marine Hymn, and they would forever be
known as “leathernecks” for the leather collars of their uniforms designed to
prevent their heads from being cut off by the Muslim scimitar when boarding enemy ships.
Islam, and what its Barbary followers justified doing in the name of their
prophet and their god, disturbed Jefferson quite deeply. America had a
traditional religious tolerance , in fact Jerrerson, himself, had co-authored
the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, but fundamentalist Islam was
like no other religion the world had ever seen. A religion based on supremacy, whose holy book not only condoned but mandated violence against
unbelievers, was unacceptable to him. His greatest fear was that someday,
this band of Islam would return and pose an even greater threat to the United
States.
Now you understand why we have the highest respect for
our U.S. Marines!
ROBIN OLDS, Fighter Pilot
11
BOOK REVUE: Excerpts from Robin’s biography “Robin Olds,
Fighter Pilot,” by Christina Olds, his daughter, and Ed Rasimus, a
friend, (ISBN 978-0-312-56951-8) is a great book and sells for around
$16. For details contact Amazon.com or St. Martin’s Griffin, 175 5th
Ave., N.Y., N.Y., 10010.
***********************************************************************************
THE EARLY YEARS
Robin Olds was born at Luke Field Hospital on July 14, 1922 to
Army Air Corps Capt. Robert Olds & wife. When he was 4, his mother died and Robin became an “Army Brat,” contemplating becoming
a fly boy like his Dad. Moving to Virginia he became the captain of
the high school football team at 6’2” 190 lbs and tried to join the
RAF in 1939 at age 17. His father refused to sign the papers and he
then returned to the Millard Military Prep contemplating an assignment to West Point. Robin was accepted to the class of 1944 at
West! Point and during the ensuing years made All-American as a
line-man.
With the advent of Pearl Harbor he was sent to the Sparc
tan School of Aviation in Tulsa, OK for flight training. Basic training
ended by Christmas of 1942 & Robin was back at West Point hoping
to graduate early due to the war, in June 1943. Just before graduation Robin lost his Dad. With graduation and new 2nd Lt. bars on
his collar he is sent to Chandler, AZ for P-38 fighter training & then
on to Muroc Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert. Further training at Glendale resulted in 1st Lt. bars and a frustrating extensive looking for a
place to send a West Pointer for a flight commander position. He is
finally shipped overseas and arrives in Scotland and is now newly
arrived at Wattisham, England and has finally seen action on D-Day.
Aug. 1, 1944 comes and Robin is still frustrated with zero victories.
Robin is now on patrol in France when he suddenly sees an opportunity…..resulting in downing his first two kills—Focke-Wulf 190s.
Two weeks later. On Aug. 25, 1944, 11 days after Robins first two
victories the fighter group was destined to a sweep in front of a
bomber group. Robin was attempting to aid a fellow pilot when his
plane went into compressibility and started a downward dive….the
day ended with Robin scoring three more victories to make him the
squadron’s first ace. They were now transitioning from Lightings to
Mustang fighters….
`Eventually we knew the Lightings inside and out, but how would
the P-51 transition go? Formal schooling? Was there going to be a
flying syllabus? Or would it be an ad hoc transition with some quick
briefing from some experienced Mustang drivers?
Col. Zemke made the official P-51 announcement on Sept. 7. The
news was ho-hum by then, but we sat up when he said the first batch of
new fighters would arrive the next day. There were some mixed emotions. All of us had been weaned on the P-38. We loved it like a first
love, maybe more. Hemingway had written about it. A pilot loves his
first fighter and it is never replaced in his affection. As for me, as much
as I loved the P-38, I couldn't wait to get into the Mustang. No more
compressibility, better range, and some pilots claimed better maneuverability. We hoped so,. In an event, it was coming and I was excited.
The 479th FG was overdue. P-51s had been introduced to the ETO
in mid-1943, and their range and performance let the Allies reach out to
bring the battle to the enemy’s backyard. Compressibility didn't seem
to hamper the Mustang. There was no beating it with the P-38. Like all
aircraft, the faster it went, the more the airflow was accelerated over the
curved surfaces. When it accelerated too much, portions of the airframe
approached supersonic and a shock wave formed there that stood up
perpendicular to the wing, canopy, or fuselage curves. In the P-38, that
shock wave from the nose and leading edges blocked the airflow over
the elevators. With no pitch control, there was little the pilot could do.
At that point bailing out was impossible, and a pilot only got lucky if
the denser air at low altitude and flat-blading the props caused enough
drag to slow the aircraft down before he ran out of altitude. The P-51
with a new airfoil design they called laminar flow was supposed to help
avoid the situation.
We were told all three squadrons would convert half a unit at a time,
and that we’d be flying split missions, a couple of flights in P-38s, a
couple in the new Mustangs. We glanced at one another at that news,
but, what the hell, how about the training program? “Later,” we were
told. How much later could they get? The next morning , when the first
new bird arrived?
Most of the group pilots were on the flight line the next day when the
first flight of four sparkling, Merlin-growling P-51s entered the traffic
pattern, pitched out, and executed impressive landing patterns. They
Robin, in his proudest moment—being
lifted on his Sqd.’s
shoulders after completing his 100th mission in Vietnam at
age 44.
Col. Robin Olds ...AllAmerican at West
Point, 16 aerial victories in WW II & Vietnam & married to a
Hollywood movie star.
All-American football player at West Point, 16 victories in
WW II & VietnamHe
&destroyed
married to
a Hollywood
movie
30%
of the enemy’s
MIG-star.
17s..”He was the bravest Man I
have ever met!” …..
Ralph Wetterhahn, wingman.
taxied up to flight control like an acrobatic team. They swung
around in unison, the engines shut down, and the canopies opened.
Then came the shocker. The pilots pulled off their leather helmets and shook their heads, and long, feminine blond and brunette
hair swirled in the breeze. We looked like a bunch of idiots with our
mouths open and our eyes popping out. The female ferry pilots
climbed out laughing and came over to us with big grins to shake our
outstretched hands. It was obvious they’d done this at other bases, but
that didn’t detract a bit from the impression they made. I couldn't help
wondering if the show had been deliberately planned for any of us
who might’ve had doubts about flying the Mustang. Never mind. We
were duly impressed, with most of the guys hoping the girls would
stay overnight.
I went looking for Major Herren. “Sir, when do I get to fly one?”
Herren grinned at me and said, “I’ll tell you what, Olds. You’ll be
among the first, just as soon as the engineers and crew chiefs have
had a chance to look them over. Give it a week.” Knowing I had
never flown a single-engine fighter before, the good major added,
“And watch out for the torque. Lots of rudder on takeoff.”
Being among the first to fly was good news. Waiting for maintenance and crew chiefs was bad as far as I was concerned. A week
seemed like an eternity, but I had an idea where I could focus my interests of at least the next eighteen hours. There were new girls on
base and new airplanes on the flight line, and no one could fault a
fighter pilot for wanting to talk about technique with the pilots who’d
delivered the birds. Purely professional interest.
It felt like ages before the crew chiefs finished fussing and signaled
that the birds were ready to go. In the meantime, I kept flying missions in my P-38 and passed my 200-hour mark. Some other pilots
got off in the P-51 before I did, and I urged my crew chief to hurry.
Finally, Glen gave me the thumbs up. I knew so little about the airplane that I didn't’ know how to mount the wing to get at the cockpit.
The chief had to show me the kick step and recessed handgrip. Once
shown, I clambered aboard quickly and buckled up.
What an office! Compared to the P-38s, this cockpit provided
plenty of leg, shoulder, and headroom. All the knobs and switches
were right at my fingertips. None of the instruments were hidden
behind a control yoke. The mustang had a proper stick grip. Everything in the cockpit felt just right, I was falling in love all over again
with a new girl.
Not knowing what half of the switches were meant to do, I turned
to the crew chief crouched on the left wing by the cockpit and asked,
“How do you start this thing, Chief?”
“OK, Captain. Put mixture in idle-cutoff. That’s all the way up.
No, you’ve got to squeeze the little latch on the mixture control handle
to get it to move. Right, that’s it. But don’t move it yet, it’s already in
position. Now, prop control full increase, and crack the throttle just a
bit, about an inch. Got that? Don’t open it any more than that.
Something happens in the carb and the engine will run away when you
start her. “
(Continued next edition.)
YESTERDAY’S FLORIDA AVIATION HISTORY
134 years ago...Feb. 23, 1882, Jacksonville...Prof. T. F. Burton’s hot air
balloon dropped 1/4 mile from lift-off into the river mud at the 7th annual State
Fair.
110 years ago, Jan. 17, 1906, Ormond Beach, FL….The entire town
closes shop and lines the beach to watch Charles K. Hamilton be towed in his
biplane glider from a car. The flight goes only 150’ before a wing rib breaks and
a minor crash occurs leaving the pilot uninjured. He repairs the glider, makes
another flight and crashes into a flag pole and bruises a knee.
100 years ago, Nov. 6, 1916, St. Petersburg, FL….Part-owner McLain of
the Florida II airboat dies. The plane was stored at 2nd Ave., North and 2nd St.,
St. Petersburg. It’s present whereabouts remains a mystery.
90 years ago, November 1926, Eustis, FL….A new airport is opened in
Eustis. On November 25th in St. Petersburg, FL. A crowd of 10,000 watch as
the new “Million Dollar Pier” is dedicated.
80 years ago, , December 1936, West Palm Beach, FL...Eastern Air Lines
begins passenger service out of Morrison Field. In Pensacola, Chevalier Field
(old Station field) is dedicated (no longer active.)
70 years ago, 1946, Orlando, FL...The Orlando AFB gives Military Air
Transport Service training and becomes a logistics base and HQ for Air Force
Photo Services. In Miami, Mackey Airlines, a non-scheduled airlines is founded
by Joe Mackey, with flights to Cuba, the Bahamas and Jamaica. The State reports 250,000 Floridians served in the Armed Forces during WW II with 3540
deaths in the Army and 2308 in the Navy and Marines.
60 years ago, 1957, St. Petersburg, FL., Alden “Bobo” Hayes becomes
manager of the St. Petersburg Pinellas Airport. The new terminal building is
dedicated by Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, Jay Dee Smith, mechanic on the
World’s First Airline, George Ted Baker, founder of National Airlines, Joe
Mackey, founder of Mackey Airlines and Byrd Latham, early pioneer who
learned to fly with the Jannus brothers in 1914.
50 years ago, Dec. 31, 1966, Miami...Delta grows to be the 5th largest airline
carrier in the world and one of the safest. Eastern Air Lines has grown to the
second largest inter-city carriers in the world. Eastern carried over 14 million
passengers in 1966.
FLORIDA AVIATION (AEROSPACE)
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Membership Application Form
*********************
Membership: Individual $20; Gift Subscriptions $10
Contributing Member, $25; Benefactor, $100 and up.
Those with Winter-Summer (2) addresses, must notify the
FAHS when they change residencies.
ENCLOSED FIND________dollars to cover my membership.
NAME……………………………………………………………
….
ADRESS………………………………………………………….
.
Nine number ZIP Code……………………………..
Internet Address:
Phone:
Comments:
FAHS Address:
P.O. Box 127, Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, 33785
Email: [email protected] Phone 727 542 4158
—————————————————————————VOLUNTARY QUESTIONAIRE: Are you a pilot? Y___N___;
Are you a Veteran? Y___ N___; If yes, which war: WW II___, Korean
War___? Vietnam War?___Cold War?___Iraq Wars?_______;
Flying Hours____________Highest rating or rank?_______________.
What is the Month & Day of your birth?_________Year optional___
Vol. 37 No. 6 Edition No. 250, Nov. 2016
1st Saturday Nov.5th, 10:30 am Monthly meeting of the
FAHS at AWAPs, 4511 8th Ave., SE, Albert Whitted Airport, St.
Petersburg, FL, all invited.
1st Saturday, Dec. 3rd, 10;20 am, Monthly meeting of the
FAHS at AWAPs, Albert Whitted Airport—all invited.
Informal Luncheon “Hangar Flying” each Wednesday noon
at the Largo Family Restaurant, 788 N. Missouri Ave., Largo,
FL., 33770, Phone: 727 584 7330.
Follow your dreams
FAHS’ MEETINGS FOR
250
FORWARDING
SERVICE
REQUESTED
(Our 39th Year)
FLORIDA AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY
P.O. Box 127, Indian Rocks Beach, FL., 33785
NONPROFIT
ORG
US POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT NO. 8067
TAMPA FL