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aviation

The first SR-71 RSO tells why the USAF refused to purchase the SR-71 unless the reconnaissance systems officer cockpit was rearranged before the Blackbird’s maiden flight

by Till Daisd November 30, 2023

‘Airspeed indicators were on one side, attitude indicators were on the other, altimeter gauges were in the middle, and we couldn’t even tell what time it was. It was a nightmare,’ said Richard “Butch” Sheffield, first SR-71 Blackbird RSO

The SR-71 Blackbird collected intelligence during its service in some of the most dangerous locations on Earth. The SR-71 was designed to capture images and use its sensors to detect electronic surveillance to fly close to the enemy’s border in a safe manner. All of that and more were managed by the Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO).

The officer running the pilot’s checklist in the SR-71 was known as the RSO. He had to know his job and the Pilot’s job. He handled the navigation in the SR-71 in the event that the pilot needed to make an emergency landing, which occurred more frequently than you could imagine. He would question his RSOs, “Where am I landing?” and get precise coordination from them.

The SR-71’s cockpit was rearranged prior to the aircraft’s maiden flight. This cockpit’s arrangement was quite costly, and it still wasn’t functional.

Captain Richard “Butch” Sheffield, at the time, was the first person selected for the SR-71 program. He was hired by Colonel Doug Nelson outside of the B-58 program. After five years in the B-58, he had a perfect bomb-run record.

Captain Sheffield was then sent down to Southern California after departing from Little Rock Air Force Base (AFB) and arriving at Beale AFB in California. In Palmdale, California, at Skunk Works, he attended flight test school. The class was taught on the top floor by a Lockheed employee, Kelly Johnson, and Ben Rich.

The RSO Cockpit was modified because Captain Sheffield, Coz Mallozzi, and Tom Schmittou—the first three RSOs selected for the program—did not like what they saw in it. It was very expensive to rearrange the cockpit, but simply wasn’t functional. In order to avoid the program failing, Scheffield, Schmittou, and Mallozzi insisted that the cockpit be redone, which they did.

This is a short story by Colonel Richard “Butch” Sheffield from one of his unpublished books.

‘While attending class at the Skunk Works, I saw the insides of the Navigators’ (later the RSO cockpit) of the SR-71. I asked one of the Lockheed SW engineers who designed the layout, and his response was, “NO ONE.” He went on to say that Kelly told us to put the instruments “anywhere they would fit.” What a mess! Airspeed indicators were on one side, attitude indicators were on the other, altimeter gauges were in the middle, and we couldn’t even tell what time it was. It was a nightmare. We, the first three SAC Navigators who were headed for Edwards, Beale, and back to Strategic Air Command (SAC) went to see test force personnel who could see we were upset at the lack of design for the RSO human factors layout.

‘They said that it would cost money to rearrange the RSO backseat. We said that the SAC crews would not sign off on this type of cockpit arrangement. When they saw that we were serious and would hang tough, they gave us a phone number in Washington, D.C., to ask for help obtaining the funds to rearrange the cockpit. We made a classified call, and the person on the other end of the line listened and said, “I will tell the Skunk Works (SW) to do as you say”.

‘The person I was talking to was Tom Jones, and he was in the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) program “D” office in Washington.

‘NOTE: IN 1976–1979, TOM AND I WORKED TOGETHER IN THE PENTAGON WHEN I WAS CHAIRMAN OF THE SPECIAL RECONNAISSANCE GROUP (SRG). THE SRG HAD REPLACED THE NRO PROGRAM “D”.’

Check out the Habubrats Facebook page and Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

November 30, 2023 0 comment

History

F-86 pilot Robbie Risner pushed his wingman’s crippled Sabre for 60 miles to keep him out of enemy hands

by Till Daisd November 29, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Robbie Risner attempted to push 1st Lt. Joseph Logan’s F-86 toward Kimpo by having Logan turn off his engine and sticking his own Sabre’s nose into Logan’s tailpipe

Prior to “Pardo’s push” on March 10, 1967, there was a similar event.

Robbie Risner is renowned for his bravery throughout his 7.5 years of imprisonment and torture in North Vietnam. His eight confirmed victories as a jet ace in Korea are less well known.

On September 15, 1952, a chemical plant on the Yalu River close to the East China Sea was attacked by F-84 Thunderjet fighter-bombers, escorted by Risner’s F-86 Sabre aircraft. Risner’s flight passed over the Chinese MiG base at Antung Airfield while they were defending the bombers. Risner pursued one MiG along a dry riverbed and across low hills to an airbase 35 miles (56 km) inside China, fighting it at nearly supersonic speeds at ground level. After hitting the MiG multiple times, shooting off its canopy, and setting it on fire, Risner pursued it through the Communist airbase’s hangars before shooting it down into parked fighters.

During the return flight, anti-aircraft fire over Antung struck 1st Lt. Joseph Logan, Risner’s wingman, in his fuel tanks. Risner tried an unprecedented and untried maneuver, having Logan shut down his engine and stick his own jet’s nose into Logan’s tailpipe, in an attempt to push Logan’s aircraft and help him reach Kimpo. The object of the maneuver was to push Logan’s aircraft to the island of Cho Do off the North Korean coast, where the Air Force maintained a helicopter rescue detachment.

“A typical fighter pilot,” said Risner in a beautiful article by John L. Frisbee appeared in Air Force Magazine, “thinks less about risk than about his objective.”

Logan’s engine was nearly out of fuel when Risner ordered him to shut it down. The upper lip of his air intake was then carefully placed into Logan’s F-86’s tailpipe. “It stayed sort of locked there as long as we both maintained stable flight, but the turbulence created by Joe’s aircraft made stable flight for me very difficult. There was a point at which I was between the updraft and the downdraft. A change of a few inches ejected me either up or down,” Risner recalled.

The film of hydraulic fluid and jet fuel covering his windscreen and impairing his eyesight meant that every time Risner made contact again with the battered nose of his F-86 and Logan’s aircraft, there was a far greater chance of disaster. It seemed like trying to move a car at eighty kilometers per hour through dense fog on a corduroy road.

Risner’s F-86, piloted by Joe Logan, somehow nudged all the way to Cho Do while flying at 190 knots and high enough to avoid automatic weapons. Logan bailed out close to the island, ending up in the water close to the coast. However, Risner’s heroic attempt was unsuccessful. Logan was a skilled swimmer, but before rescue could reach him, he drowned after getting tangled in his chute lines. But the measure of a heroic act lies not in success. It lies in the doing.

Robbie Risner’s career in the Air Force after Korea was characterized by both moral and physical bravery, which culminated in his leadership of American POWs during those arduous years in Hanoi’s prisons. Generations of airmen to come would aim to reach the standards of bravery, devotion, and hard work he set for himself and brilliantly fulfilled throughout his time in uniform.

Photo by U.S. Air Force and DCS

Robbie Risner in front of an F-86 — Robbie Risner in front an F-86 Sabre

November 29, 2023 0 comment

History

Vulcan XH558 fired up her engines one last time before being put to sleep forever

by Till Daisd November 28, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The famous “howl” of the Vulcan engine was heard for the last time and anyone who wanted to hear it could stand on a road outside Doncaster Airport where it was clearly audible

November 2022 marked the last time the venerable Vulcan XH558 strategic bomber flew, following the decision to “put the plane to sleep forever.” The famous “howl” of the Vulcan engine went to an end. If you wanted to hear it for the final time, you should have gone outside Doncaster Airport and stood where you could hear it well.

The last operational example of the 134 Avro Vulcan jet-powered delta-winged strategic nuclear bomber aircraft used by the RAF in the Cold War is Avro Vulcan XH558, “The Spirit of Great Britain.” She was the final Vulcan to serve in military service and the final one to take off after 1986. Her last flight was to her current home at Doncaster Airport on October 28, 2015. Even though the plane was supposed to serve as an educational resource, her future is now in doubt once more due to the possible closure of the airport where she resides.

GloucestershireLive claims that because of the ancient bomber plane’s unique engine noise—which many refer to as a howl—it became a popular attraction at several airshows. The Vulcan produces this intense, piercing noise just before takeoff when her intake is limited to 90%.

KEEP XH558 Flying Forever Facebook Page says;

‘With a heavy heart…

‘On 20th November 2022 at 10am-2pm

‘You will be able to view the last engine testing ever of XH558 before she is put to sleep forever.

‘This is to make the public aware that they can view this from Old Bawtry Road, opposite the airport.

‘If you wanted to hear that last howl, be there for the last time.

‘Such a sad end to the very finest example of the Vulcan Bombers remaining.

‘Time to cry because it’s ended.’

According to the Royal Air Force Museum, the Vulcan was the second of the Royal Air Force’s “V bombers” and, along with the Valiant and Victor, contributed to Great Britain’s nuclear deterrent force for fifteen years, until the Royal Navy’s Polaris submarines assumed control of it in 1969.

On August 30, 1952, prototype B1 made its first flight; four years later, development of an improved B2 design started. The Vulcan B2 was a perfect candidate for modification to carry the Blue Steel nuclear stand-off bomb because of its increased performance. This weapon increased the effectiveness of the Royal Air Force’s airborne deterrence by enabling the aircraft to begin its attack from outside the immediate missile defenses of a target.

By 1966, Vulcans were using low-level penetration instead of high-level because Soviet missile defenses were so successful. When Vulcans left the nuclear deterrent in 1970, they began supporting NATO forces in Europe by flying as a conventional bomber.

The long-range attacks on the Falkland Islands from Ascension Island in 1982 demonstrated the effective use of in-flight refueling, which could significantly increase the Vulcan’s range. In 1984, the final Vulcans were removed from operational service.

Photo by John5199 via Wikipedia

November 28, 2023 0 comment

History

The F-117 Nighthawk was one thousand times less visible than the D-21 with an RCS of an Eagle’s Eyeball

by Till Daisd November 27, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The least visible shape produced at the Skunk Works was a thousand times more visible than the F-117A Nighthawk shape

The first operational aircraft in the world built to take advantage of low-observable stealth technology is the F-117A Nighthawk. This precision-strike aircraft employs laser-guided weapons against critical targets while infiltrating areas of high risk.

The decision to produce the F-117A was made in 1978, and Lockheed Advanced Development Projects, also known as the “Skunk Works,” in Burbank, California, was given the contract. Just thirty-one months following the full-scale development decision, on June 18, 1981, came the first flight over the Nevada test ranges.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio’s Aeronautical Systems Center used streamlined management to quickly field the aircraft by combining advanced stealth technology with concurrent development and manufacture.

Deliveries of the F-117A began in 1982 and ended in the summer of 1990. October 1983 saw the 4450th Tactical Group—now the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico—achieve operational capability as the only F-117A unit under Air Combat Command.

As the following story from Ben Rich’s book “Skunk Works” demonstrates, the F-117A program proved that stealth aircraft could be conceived, designed, and developed.

As small as an eagle’s eyeball.

Rich, who served Kelly Johnson as the second vice president of Lockheed’s Skunk Works, remembers talking to Denys Overholser, an engineer and radar specialist, about the F-117, the company’s first completely stealthy airframe.

“Boss,” he said, handing me the diamond-shaped sketch, “Meet the Hopeless Diamond.”

“How good are your radar-cross-section numbers on this one?” I asked.

“Pretty good.” Denys Overholser grinned impishly. “Ask me, ‘How good?’”

I asked him and he told me. “This shape is one thousand times less visible than the least visible shape previously produced at the Skunk Works.”

“Whoa!” I exclaimed. “Are you telling me that this shape is a thousand times less visible than the D-21 drone?”

“You’ve got it!” Denys exclaimed.

“If we made this shape into a full-size tactical fighter, what would be its equivalent radar signature… as big as what—a Piper Cub, a T-38 trainer… what?”

Denys shook his head vigorously. “Ben, understand, we are talking about a major, major, big-time revolution here. We are talking infinitesimal.”

“Well,” I persisted, “what does that mean? On a radar screen, it would appear as a… what? As big as a condor, an eagle, an owl, a what?”

“Ben,” he replied with a loud guffaw, “try as big as an eagle’s eyeball.”

The F-117 has been in the news as a newly refurbished airframe is on display at the Palm Springs Air Museum in California. Frank Martinez was kind enough to let us share the photo below that he took at Palm Beach.

Despite being officially retired, a large number of F-117s are still in service and are employed for specific research and training missions (like conducting different air combat training sorties with USAF and US Navy aircraft) because of their overall cost-effectiveness and ability to provide special capabilities.

Maybe Ben Rich is smiling down from heaven, knowing that his baby is still active.

Check out the Habubrats Face page, and Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder for further Blackbird photos and stories

Photo by Lockheed Martin and Frank Martinez

November 27, 2023 0 comment

History

The story of the USAF B-52 Stratofortress Strategic Bomber’s fly-by below the USS Ranger Aircraft Carrier’s flight deck

by Till Daisd November 26, 2023

written by Till Daisd

In 1990, five miles off the USS Independence, a USAF B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber requested permission to do a fly-by. The carrier accepted the request but stated that there was no visual on the aircraft.

The images included in this post were taken in 1990 when the USS Ranger (CV-61) was five miles away from the US Air Force (USAF) B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber, which requested permission to fly by. The carrier agreed to the request but stated that there was no visual on the aircraft. The B-52 instructed them to look down before flying past the Independence below the flight deck level.

This is how the story unfolded. When two B-52s wanted to do a fly-by of the USS Ranger, the carrier air controller approved it. The carrier controller stated he had not seen the B-52s when they indicated they were nine kilometers away. The carrier crew was directed to look down by the B-52s.

B-52 Pilot: “Ranger, we’re 5 miles out.”

USS Ranger: “We do not have visual…”

B-52 Pilot: “Look down”

The Tailhook Association website states that although the B-52’s paint scheme made it difficult to detect from above, sailors were able to make out the aircraft and the water that the B-52 jets were causing to spray out as they approached.

As we have already explained B-52s usually practiced low-level flights during Cold War years to come in under Soviet radar. In this case, the B-52 pilots asked the carrier controller if they would like the bombers to come around again. The carrier guys said yes, and a lot more sailors had their cameras out this time.

While low fly-bys by USAF aircraft below a carrier’s flight deck are extremely uncommon, sometimes B-52s perform low fly-bys over US Navy flattops. In fact, two B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers stationed in Guam carried out a low flyby over the aircraft carrier USS Midway (CV-41) during the winter of 1981.

Note: The carrier in the images is unquestionably the USS Ranger, despite the fact that one of the pictures shows an F-14 with tail markings from VF-154 and an E-2C with tail markings from VAW-115 parked on the flight deck, with NK in the tail of the aircraft at the time not assigned to USS Ranger.

However, as a reader explained: “Top photo is definitely Ranger CV-61. As for CAG-5 or CVW-5, they were not deployed on Independence until August 1991 after Indy relieved Midway. I was ship’s company on Indy from 1989-1992 and I definitely do not remember ever seeing or hearing of this happening.”

Another added: “VF-154 didn’t joke CAG-5 until 1991/1992. NK is the tail letter for CVW-14. Judging by the few aircraft on the flight deck this looks like a 2 week carrier quals. During carrier quals, the squadrons will go to whatever carrier is available not necessarily the one they deploy on.”

Photo by U.S. Navy

November 26, 2023 0 comment

History

The US Navy A-1H Skyraider attack aircraft that during the Vietnam War, dropped a toilet bomb

by Till Daisd November 24, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Yes, this really happened. Once more, truth is way funnier and stranger than fiction

The pictures in this post show the US Navy Douglas A-1H Skyraider (NE-572, BuNo 135297) of Attack Squadron 25 (VA-25), “Fist of the Fleet,” being prepared for a mission over the Mekong Delta aboard the aircraft carrier USS Midway (CVA-41), on November 4, 1965. The temporary name “Paper Tiger II” was used for this one flight. VA-25 was deployed to Vietnam from March 6 to November 23, 1965, and was assigned to Attack Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2) on the Midway.

To commemorate the mark of delivering 6,000,000 lbs (2721.56 tons) of ordnance, NE-572 was equipped with a unique “bomb”—a toilet!

According to Eugeneleeslover.com, the US Navy flattops in Vietnam were so short on ordnance that missions were frequently launched with only a half load in order to maintain the sortie rate and prevent blistering messages from the Rear Echelon Mother M****r F****r’s (REMF) in Washington, DC, regarding the failure to support the war effort, etc.

Since the loss rate approached, and sometimes exceeded, one aircraft a day, all will understand that there was a degree of reticence to launch with less than a full load. However, in certain rather strange ways, the unwavering spirit of the US Naval Aviators and their squadron-mates triumphed. Yes, this really happened. That’s right, this actually did happen. History is, as always, way funnier and stranger than fiction.

This story was provided by USNR Ret. Captain Clint Johnson, one of the two VA-25 A-1H Skyraider pilots who have been credited for downing a MiG-17 on June 20, 1965.

That time a U.S. Navy A-1H Skyraider dropped a

“I was a pilot in VA-25 on the 1965 Vietnam cruise.

572 was flown by CDR C. W. ‘Bill’ Stoddard. His wingman in 577 was LCDR Robin Bacon, who had a wing station-mounted movie camera (the only one remaining in the fleet from WWII).

The flight was a Dixie Station strike (off South Vietnam) going to the Delta. When they arrived in the target area and CDR Stoddard was reading the ordnance list to the FAC, he ended with ‘and one code name, Sani-flush’.

The FAC couldn’t believe it and joined up to see it. It was dropped in a dive with LCDR Bacon flying in a tight wing position to film the drop. When it came off, it turned hole to the wind and almost struck his airplane.

It made a great ready-room movie. The FAC said that it whistled all the way down. The toilet was a damaged toilet, which was going to be thrown overboard.

One of our plane captains rescued it, and the ordnance crew made a rack, tail fins, and nose fuse for it. The squadron flight deck checkers maintained a position to block the view of the Captain and Air Boss while the aircraft was taxiing onto the catapult. Just as it was being shot off, we got a 1MC message from the bridge: ‘What the hell was on 572’s right wing?’

There were a lot of jokes with air intelligence about germ warfare. I wish that we had saved the movie. CDR Stoddard was later killed while flying 572 in October 1966. He was hit by three SAMs over Vinh.”

Russell Falb got the footage below, which features Paper Tiger II carrying the toilet bomb, through Ken Young, James E. Young’s son and NE 572’s plane captain.

Photo by U.S. Navy and Bayou Renaissance Man

November 24, 2023 0 comment

History

F-8 Crusader Vs F-4 Phantom II: the “Last of the Gunfighters” and the first “All-Weather Interceptor”

by Till Daisd November 23, 2023

written by Till Daisd

In contrast to the F-4’s “all-weather interceptor” role, the Phantom made many of its early cruises as paired squadrons with F-8 units, which were considered “day fighter” (or, in the opinion of the F-8 pilots, “fighter”) units

A sleek design with a gaping jet intake beneath the fuselage and a variable-incidence wing that could be raised to enable the aircraft to land and take off at slow speeds while maintaining excellent visibility for the pilot made the F-8 Crusader one of the most capable fighters of the post-World War II era. The Crusader’s pilots dubbed it the “Last of the Gunfighters” because it carried a 20mm cannon during a time when fighter pilots depended more and more on missiles.

Rather, the Navy’s need for a high-altitude interceptor to protect carriers equipped with long-range air-to-air missiles from attacking aircraft led to the development of the F-4 Phantom II. McDonnell Aircraft Company provided the F4H (later renamed the F-4) Phantom II in answer to these requirements. The aircraft had its first flight in 1958, with deliveries to Navy and Marine Corps squadrons beginning in 1960. It became one of the most frequently used aircraft in aviation history when its performance and adaptability eventually drew the attention of not only the US Air Force but also the air forces of 10 other countries.

In contrast to the F-4’s “all-weather interceptor” role, many of the Phantom’s early cruises were paired squadrons with F-8 units, which were considered “day fighter” (or, in the F-8 pilots’ estimation, “fighter”) units, as explained by Peter E. Davies in his book Gray Ghosts, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps F-4 Phantoms. When the F-4 started to outnumber the Crusader and F-8 drivers began switching to the Phantom, the antagonism between the two communities grew more intense. Before making the switch, Jerry B. “Devil” Houston, who piloted Crusaders with a VF-11, summed up the situation as follows:

“The F-8 stole your heart from the get-go with its beauty and, for its time, power (God, an afterburner!), but it quickly earned an ensign-killer reputation, rightly or wrongly. In the long run, that reputation contributed greatly to fighter pilot development in the Navy; only the top ten percent of pilot graduates were even considered for the F-8 pipeline—the créme de la créme. And as luck would have it, a damn solid base of mid-level stick-and-throttle talent groomed the hungry youngsters into frothing-at-the-mouth tacticians. Without experiencing it, anyone would be hard-pressed to understand the aura that surrounded that early F-8 Crusader community. An ensign in F-8s took no crap from a Lieutenant Commander who flew anything else. Period.

“Among that small but growing privileged group, anyone in the first few squadrons knew damn near exactly where they stood in the overall tactics ladder. Killing, capability meant everything: King of the Mountain, in spades. Gunnery, tactics, gunnery, tactics, just enough intercept training to get you into the sky with another victim. F-8s didn’t bomb then—hell, the plane didn’t even have hard points on the wings. In other words, everything funneled the best pilots and the best airplanes through a narrow training spout and out-popped the world’s best fighter pilots. They all ate, breathed, thought, and dreamed about fighting airplanes. All the time.

“The F-4, on the other hand, was an ugly, two-seated, gas-hog monster that hit the Fleet with a bunch of F3H Demon interceptor pilots. Consequently, the F-4s got off to a horrid start when running into F-8s. Their reputation was dog-s**t, and the ex-Demon drivers didn’t have a clue about changing it. So they practiced intercepts, avoided tactics, and groomed follow-on clods in their own image. All the while, that lovely top-ten percent advantage kept aircrew infusing the Crusader community with superior talent, which rapidly molded into long-clawed killers. The rich got richer—and even richer. Better people, better training, frightful competition. Crusader pilots didn’t have to brag; they owned the sky. So it remained, until finally an F-8 jock got into an F-4, screaming and dragging his heels all the way. The rest is history.”

F-8 pilots and tactics, which were initially transferred from their squadrons to the Phantom, undoubtedly contributed to the rapid advancement of F-4 ACM training. Jerry Houston described his VF-51 squadron as a “double-barreled Crusader squadron with an extra set of eyeballs in each plane” as late as 1971 when the squadron transitioned from the F-8J to the F-4B. However, the need for ACM was recognized far earlier than then, and it was even recognized before the late 1960s initiatives that led to the development of the Top Gun ACM training program.

Gray Ghosts, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps F-4 Phantoms is published by Schiffer Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by U.S. Navy

November 23, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

Without fighters on alert, the RC-135 spy plane was forced to intercept a Soviet Tu-95 bomber

by Till Daisd November 23, 2023

written by Till Daisd

‘The RC-135 was diverted to do the intercept. The RC snuck up on the Bear from low rear and then pulled up alongside. It was a surprise to the Soviets,’ Roberto Benitez, working on USAF RC-135 aircraft

Since 1962, the pool of -135 aircraft has undergone several modifications resulting in the current RC-135 fleet. Originally used by Strategic Air Command to meet national intelligence collection requirements, the RC-135 fleet has participated in all significant armed conflicts involving US assets during its time in service.

Support operations in Vietnam, the Mediterranean (Operation El Dorado Canyon), Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury), Panama (Operation Just Cause), and Southwest Asia (Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom) were all carried out with the help of RC-135 aircraft. Since the early 1990s, RC-135s have been a constant presence in Southwest Asia.

Roberto Benitez, who worked on USAF RC-135 aircraft, recalls on Quora that once an RC-135 was even diverted to intercept a Soviet Tupolev Tu-95 Bear strategic bomber.

‘One day, a Soviet Tu-95 Bear recon bomber overflew the Alaska mainland. It wasn’t the first time.

‘The radar station notified Alaskan Air Defense Command (AADC) of the intrusion. There was only one minor problem: AADC was asleep at the wheel and had no fighters on alert.

‘So AADC called SAC at Eielson AFB in Fairbanks to see if they had any aircraft available to respond. Well, it just so happened that they had a Boeing RC-135 training in the area (close enough to give backend specialists a chance to monitor the Soviets for training), but over the Alaskan mainland.

‘The RC was diverted to do the intercept. The RC snuck up on the Bear from low rear and then pulled up alongside. It was a surprise to the Soviets. They were even more surprised when the RC backend crew asked them in Russian if they were lost. Of course they were (uh huh). So, in Russian, they were told where they were from, their unit, where they were, how to get home, and cheerfully escorted out of US airspace.’

Benitez concludes;

‘Once got home, our unit painted a red star on the nose area and renamed the RC-135 (reconnaissance) to an FC-135 (fighter/interceptor).’

Photo by Crown Copyright and U.S. Air Force

November 23, 2023 0 comment

History

US Navy F6F Hellcat pilots remember their first experience with the formidable N1K1-J Shiden fighter

by Till Daisd November 22, 2023

written by Till Daisd

On November 6, 1944, US Navy F6F Hellcat pilots encountered a Japanese fighter they could not identify while conducting a fighter sweep over the airfields north of Manila

The F6F Hellcat squadrons entered the Pacific in late 1943 and quickly proved their superiority against their Japanese adversaries, which culminated in the historic “Marianas Turkey Shoot” in June 1944 during the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The fighter proved to be an aircraft pilot’s dream, enabling both inexperienced and seasoned Naval Aviators to win large-scale aerial combat.

Lt. Elvin Lindsay, CO of VF-19, Lt. Albert Seckel, and Lt(jg) Lachlan McLaughlin came upon a Japanese fighter they could not identify on Nov. 6, 1944, during a fighter sweep over the airfields north of Manila, according to the story provided by Edward M. Young in his book F6F Hellcat Philippines 1944.

The Aircraft Action Report for VF-19 stated:

“The six who went up to Clark ran into 15 enemy planes, of which they destroyed 13 without losing themselves. They were led by Lt. Lindsay, the new squadron commanding officer, who shot down two “Tojos” and one “Oscar.” The group was attacked first by five “Oscars,” but when our planes turned into them, they climbed into the overcast, where Ens. Tatman got onto the tail of a straggler and shot it down in flames. Then singles and pairs of enemy planes came down out of the overcast, and several other enemy planes joined in from the side. All fights took place under the overcast and from 5,000ft down to the ground. A “Tojo” came in on Lt. Lindsay, firing both 7.7 and the two 20mm guns in his wings from above. He was a poor shot, missing, and Lt. Seckel pulled up a bit, centering him with a 60° deflection shot, and he burst into flames, crashing.”

Lt. Seckel says:

“We encountered 12 to 15 enemy planes, in groups of three to five planes. Lindsay’s division and my section kept weaving, covering each other, and by aggressively climbing and turning right into the enemy we kept the initiative, scaring off all but one or two of the planes in the group we attacked. Thus, all of us would gang up on a single plane or two as their pals fled, and we would take turns knocking them down. In a long chase, McLaughlin damaged a single-engine fighter of unknown type, and as he pulled out I hit him with a burst and he crashed. This plane was very fast – I was doing 290 knots indicated at 100ft and gaining only a very little. Its wing was a low mid-wing, and the plane resembled a P-47, with a heavy belly below the wing. Carried bombs or tanks under the wings.”

Lt. Lindsay added the following observations:

“We all stayed together in excellent fashion and supported each other with no strain. One “Oscar” approached Ens Sassman head-on, then suddenly whipped around and was on Sassman’s tail in amazingly short time. He began firing but broke away when he saw my tracers pass him. A few short bursts set his center section afire, and he crashed without bailing out. The “Tojos” pressed their head-on attacks to a very dangerous collision range, where we broke away. One “Tojo,” after making such a run on another F6F, tried to pull up sharply into the overcast but burst into flame from my gunfire just before entering the cloud. The sight of a burning “Tojo” spinning out of an overcast is beautiful indeed. I found another “Tojo” (or unidentified plane) in my sights soon after, and a short burst sent him flaming to the ground.”

The powerful new N1K1-J Shiden fighter, code-named “George,” of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force (IJNAF) matches the pilots’ description. It had been flying over the airfields of Luzon for a few weeks, but it didn’t seem to have been recognized as a new type of Japanese fighter until then.

F6F Hellcat Philippines 1944 is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by Jim Laurier and Gareth Hector via Osprey

November 22, 2023 0 comment

History

U-2 Vs SR-71: why the Blackbird was retired while the Dragon Lady still flies Spy missions

by Till Daisd November 21, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The US Air Force (USAF) retired its fleet of SR-71s on January 26, 1990, although the U-2 is still in use today

Before Gary Power’s U-2 was shot down, development on a breakthrough spy plane had already started at Lockheed’s famed Skunk Works in Burbank. This unique aircraft had to fly higher, faster, and with a minimal radar cross section (RCS) than any other aircraft.

The SR-71, also called the “Blackbird,” was developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft. It made its first flight on December 22, 1964, and the 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, California, received the first SR-71 to enter service in January 1966.

Throughout its nearly 24-year career, the SR-71 maintained its position as the fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft in the world, reaching a maximum speed of Mach 3+. It could cover 100,000 square miles of the Earth’s surface per hour from 80,000 feet. The U-2 Dragon Lady, on the other hand, can reach a top speed of 410 mph and fly above 70,000 feet. Nevertheless, the US Air Force (USAF) retired its fleet of SR-71 aircraft on January 26, 1990, but the U-2 is still in use today.

Why is that? What is so special about the U-2?

‘Mostly expense,’ Damien Leimbach, former USAF Avionics Technician, says on Quora.

‘The SR-71 was insanely expensive to fly.

‘For a mission over a target in the Middle East with the planes based in England, it needed to have multiple airliner-size aircraft in the air to support it. ‘It was not capable of taking off with a full load of fuel (or rather, not advisable for many reasons), so in order to take off, there had to be a tanker waiting in the air to top it off once it got airborne. It would then make a high-speed run to the target zone, where it would meet up with another tanker before doing its Mach 3 run over the target. It would then need to tank up again once the recon run was done for the trip home, and then there would still be a tanker in the air on standby in case it needed gas before landing or in case it needed to divert for weather or something. So that’s a minimum of four airliner-sized support aircraft, including all of their parts, fuel use, and crew, flying out of a minimum of two different bases just to make a single SR-71 operational mission happen. And that’s on top of all the crew, fuel, parts, and mechanics just to operate the SR-71.

‘This is true for operational missions and usually true just for training runs back home as well. The planes were stationed at Beale AFB in California, and there was an entire squadron of tankers stationed there just to support the SR-71.

‘(Notice all the tankers in the back? They were there just for the SR-71)

‘They also had a squadron of T-38s there so the pilots could get their minimum training hours (night, instrument, supersonic, cross-country) in each month without having to fly the more expensive SR-71.’

Leimbach continues;

‘So that’s TWO ADDITIONAL squadrons of aircraft that have to exist just to support SR-71 training operations back at home station, complete with all the parts, fuel, mechanics, housing, etc., etc. for those extra planes. And that’s not even taking into account the specially formulated radioactive jet fuel it used. The list of special oils, lubricants, and tires the SR-71 needed to be able to operate in those flight regimes (Mach3.2 at 80K feet) alone made the SR-71 ruinously expensive to fly per hour.

‘(Aluminum mixed with latex so the tires could take the 400 °F temperatures in the wheel wells.)

‘Contrast that with the U-2, which only needs a crew of one, could easily be forward-based, and could take off on a single load of fuel good enough to keep it in the air for 14 hours. For training missions back home, just put less gas in it and let the pilot take it for a spin. A refueling plane does not need to be up just for the thing to take off. A U-2 would use less fuel on a 14-hour mission than the SR-71 did just taking off.

‘There really was no technology gap between the SR-71 and other planes like the U-2 as far as cameras, sensors, or EW suppression. The U-2 has been upgraded many, many times since the 1990s, when the SR-71 was retired. Cockpit, sensors, cameras, and anti-missile systems have all been upgraded. But they would have been upgraded in the SR-71 if it had been kept in service as well.

‘The SR-71 never directly overflew Soviet territory, and the MiG would have had to come out into international airspace to take a shot at the Blackbird.

‘The Russian SAM threat is not an issue. The SR-71 was fired on over 800 times by Warsaw Pact SAMs and was never downed. And that was when our ECM was in its infancy.

‘Speaking as a U-2 electronics guy, we fly in warzones covered by all of Russia’s latest and greatest, including the S-200, -300, and -400. The SR would have been upgraded with the same EWS suite the U-2 has.’

Leimbach concludes;

‘Satellites and drones aren’t the answer either. Drones didn’t exist then (when the SR-71 was retired) the way they do now, although the satellites are much better. However, we still fly the U-2 around the clock, despite SAMs, satellites, and drones, because it can do stuff on call in a way drones and satellites just can’t. But the SR-71 would have been useful for the same reason.

‘Like I said, it was mostly cost.’

Photo by Lockheed Martin and U.S. Air Force

November 21, 2023 0 comment

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