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When the BEA C-47 that crashed onto the roof of a house near Northolt Airport

by Till Daisd February 18, 2022

The house was re-christened ‘Dakota’s Rest!’

Bill Innes, a retired airline pilot with more than 40 years of flying experience, had the seemingly impossible dream of becoming a pilot as a young boy growing up in the Outer Hebrides. His book Flight from the Croft tells how that dream came to pass.

After gaining his RAF wings in Canada, Innes started to learn his trade by flying pre-war C-47 Dakotas for British European Airways (BEA) around the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

According to Innes, the C-47’s durability throughout the war saved many airmen’s lives. It is effectively demonstrated by a remarkable incident that took place on December 14, 1946. BEA’s services between Northolt and Scotland were initially run by Railway Air Services in collaboration with Scottish Airways when it became a crown corporation on August 1 of that year.

The Dakota G-AGZA was scheduled to fly to Glasgow on the day in question under the leadership of Captain W.J. Johnson, with co-pilot “Bing” Crosby, radio officer Hugh Murdoch, and Robina “Bobbie” Christie, Scottish Airways’ first stewardess. All passengers had been discouraged by the blizzard, which also prevented landings, with the exception of John Livingstone, a staff member who had work in Glasgow waiting for him.

The aircraft had been cleared of snow and ice, but as they taxied out, the temperature dropped again, and the longer they waited to take off, the more snow may have frozen onto the wings. The direction of departure was to the east, and it was soon apparent that ZA was having difficulty ascending. It swung to the left and came to rest perched precariously on the ruins of the roof of the nearby 46 Angus Drive after colliding with the roof of a new semi-detached house with its port wing.

The Rooftop Dakota: the story of the BEA C-47 that crashed onto the roof of a house near Northolt Airport — *Flight from the Croft is published by Whittles Publishing and is available to order here.*

When the radio officer and the stewardess moved to the back to try to unlock the passenger door, ZA started to lean. They hastily abandoned that plan and instead escaped through the emergency windows above the wing. From there, they navigated the wreckage of the loft before descending the stairs and leaving by the front door.

Surprisingly, no one was harmed. Mr. and Mrs. Levene, a newlywed couple, had not yet moved in, so the home itself was vacant. Despite ZA’s load of aviation gasoline, the Northolt fire crew responded quickly to put out any raging fires. A four-month-old infant was unharmed and is thought to have slept through the commotion in the upstairs bedroom of Number 44.

The most incredible escape, however, was made by Radio Officer Hugh Murdoch. He had a bad habit of standing between the pilot seats during takeoff to look out the windshield on those more laid-back occasions. Not only did he escape the collision unharmed, but when he turned to check at his own seat, a port propeller blade was poking through. It is quite improbable that he would have lived if he had been restrained as required by the rules.

Despite holding a senior training position in BEA, Captain Johnson continued to be referred to as “Rooftops” Johnson for the remainder of his professional life. Even when repairs were finished in six months, oil stains kept resurfacing in the ceilings for the following 10 years, suggesting that the removal of ZA may have caused more damage than the collision itself. The residence was given the new name “Dakota’s Rest”!

Photo by Whittles Publishing

February 18, 2022 0 comment

History

Joe “Hoser” Satrapa, an F-14 pilot who successfully scored two simulated gun kills on USAF F-15s

by Till Daisd February 17, 2022

written by Till Daisd

As he moved through missile ranges to get close enough to fire his 20 mm cannon, Hoser soon scored two gun kills. He completely outmaneuvered the F-15 pilots in round two, resulting in two additional gun kills

Announcing Joe “Hoser” Satrapa’s passing “after a Simple, Honest and Brave Life,” veteran F-14 Tomcat Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) David “Hey Joe” Parsons posted on Facebook on March 17, 2019, that Satrapa was a legendary figure in naval aviation.

No dissertation on modern section tactics or naval aviation in general, according to George Hall’s Top Gun – The Navy’s Fighter Weapons School could be deemed complete without a pair of Hoser stories. A few renowned gonzo maniacs bubbled to the surface in the micro-world of maybe 400 Tomcat pilots. Joe “Hoser” Satrapa, a young and utterly fearless F-8 pilot who frequently carried a good forty pounds of lethal ammo, leaning toward small automatic weapons and hand grenades, in case he was suddenly compelled to leave his aircraft and carry the battle directly to the small bad guys in the jungle, was already well-known in Vietnam.

In the air, Hoser preferred using guns; he piloted the four-gun Crusader in Southeast Asia, which many Navy pilots still consider to be the [deleted] machine of all time, and he had never been forced to exclusively use missiles like his Navy Phantom colleagues. Hoser was forced back into the front seat of the Tomcat as a RAG guns instructor after a series of talks that would put the NFL draft to shame. This came about as a result of personal appeals from the highest echelons of government, among them Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, a Reserve naval aviator.

Many active pilots and RIOs well remember Hoser’s delivery of manic harangues to fuzzy-cheeked newcomers from the RAG. In his patented Yosemite Sam voice he would whip the lads, and invariably himself, into a lethal frenzy: “Pull on the pole till the rivets pop and the RIO pukes! No kill like guns kill! A Lima up the tailpipe is too good for any Gomer! Close with the miserable Commie [deleted] and put a few rounds of twenty-twenty-mike-mike through his canopy! If he hits the silk, gun his ass while he swings!” Hoser would then pace the corridor, bumping into hapless petty officers, muttering oaths, and trying to re-align his internal INS.

Hoser also knew a thing or two about the element of surprise. During the much-maligned AIMVAL-ACEVAL fighter trials of a decade ago, Hoser was put in a 1v1 against a Navy Aggressor flying an F-5. As the two combatants sat side-by-side on the Nellis runway, awaiting tower clearance for a second takeoff, Hoser looked over at his opponent, reached his hand up over the control panel, and mimicked the cocking of machine guns in a World War I Spad. A thumbs-up came from the other cockpit- guns it would be, the proverbial knife fight in a phone booth, forget the missiles. Both jets blasted off.

No Kill like a Guns Kill! Remembering Joe “Hoser” Satrapa, the F-14 Driver who scored two simulated gun kills on USAF F-15s for two times in the same mission

In the area, the fighters set up twenty miles apart for a head-on intercept of underground control. Seven miles from the merge, with closure well over 1000 knots, Hoser called “Fox One” – Sparrow missile away, no chance of a miss. As they flashed past each other, the furious F-5 driver radioed, “What the hell was that all about?” “Sorry.” said Hoser, “lost my head. Let’s set it up again. Guns only, I promise.”

Remember Charlie Brown, Lucy, and the football? Again the two fighters streaked towards the pass, again at seven miles Hoser called “Fox One.” The Aggressor was apoplectic; he was also coming up on bingo fuel state, a common situation in the short-legged F-5.

Hoser was first back to the club bar, nursing an end-of-the-day cold one as the flushed Aggressor stomped in. “Hoser, what the hell happened to credibility?” fumed the F-5 jock. Said Hoser, with accompanying thumb gestures, “Credibility is DOWN, kill ratio is UP!” It’s a popular Top Gun story, and its moral isn’t lost on students or teachers. From 1v1 to forty-plane furball, expect anything. But never expect your enemy to be a sweet guy.”

According to Alvin Towley’s book Fly Navy: Discovering the Extraordinary People and Enduring Spirit of Naval Aviation, Hoser was scheduled to engage in two-versus-two combat with two U.S. Air Force (USAF) F-15 Eagles on another occasion. Hoser’s wingman encountered mechanical problems and was unable to fly while they were on the tarmac, but Hoser made the decision to fly anyway and take advantage of the situation. Hoser and his Tomcat NFO (a backseat Radar Intercept Officer, or RIO, as they were known in the F-14 community) took off. They began impersonating two airplanes on the radio. The F-15 Eagles, who expected two adversaries, became distracted as they searched for the “other” Navy jet on their radar screens. Hoser quickly bagged two gun kills, maneuvering through missile ranges until he was close enough to trigger his 20 mm cannon. In round two, he flat-outmaneuvered the air force pilots for two more gun kills. And as he always said, “There’s no kill like a guns kill.”

Lt. Commander Satrapa pretended to be a junior-grade lieutenant during the mission debrief, which was conducted over the phone, to further add insult to his opponents’ injury. The air force pilots believed a student pilot had beaten them up.

To read the entire account of Joe “Hoser” Satrapa’s famous F-15 kills, click here.

Photo by U.S. Navy

February 17, 2022 0 comment

History

Until the F6F Hellcat pilot was shot down over Indochina, he and his puppy were inseparable

by Till Daisd February 12, 2022

written by Till Daisd

Before “Rabbit” Moranville was shot down over Indochina in January 1945, he and “Gunner” were inseparable

On January 12, 1945, VF-11 “Sundowners” F6F Hellcats attacked Tan Son Nhut airport in French Indochina from the USS Hornet (CV-12). Using 5-inch High-Velocity Aerial Rockets (HVARs) and 0.50-cal machine guns, F6F pilots strafed Japanese aircraft that were parked and fired their projectiles into buildings and hangars. Lt. (JG) H. Blake Moranville was in charge of Lt. James S. Swope’s division’s second section.

Because of the similarities between his last name and that of a well-known pre-war baseball star, Moranville earned the nickname “Rabbit.” He was a 21-year-old ace with six wins under his belt.

According to Barrett Tillman and Henk Van der Lugt in their book VF-1 1/111 ‘Sundowners’ 1942-95, Moranville joined VF-11 as its junior pilot in July 1943 after receiving his U.S. Navy wings.

In October 1943, the unit traded its F4F-4s for F-6F-3s. Not long after acquiring Hellcats, the ‘Sundowners’ also acquired a mascot. All pilots had to qualify on the pistol range, and the small-arms instructor gave Lt. Gordon Cady one of a litter of Boston Bull Terrier pups. The dog was given the name “Gunner,” and Cady assigned Blake Moranville, the squadron’s newest pilot, to take care of him.

Before the mission of January 12, 1945, Blake and “Gunner” quickly grew close.

Moranville F6F-5 BuNo 70680, call sign “Ginger 30,” was struck by ground fire while making a low-level pass over the target. Hey “Rabbit,” you’re on fire! called Moranville’s wingman as he pulled off the target.

Oil was leaking from the fighter’s Pratt & Whitney R2800, and it caught fire before quickly burning out. Moranville felt he had only a few minutes left in the air because his engine gauges showed falling oil pressure and rising temperature. He was flying 75 miles before his engine gave out as he departed from Tan Son Nhut in the southwest. ‘I saw a big rice paddy and decided to belly in there’, Moranville recalled. ‘I set up a landing pattern and locked my canopy back, tightened my shoulder harness, and dropped my tailhook – the latter would tell me when I had gotten down to within a few feet of the water. I kept my flaps up until I’d cleared a row of trees’.

After successfully landing, Moranville was led by helpful villagers to temporary safety. A Vichy official was summoned, and he took the aviator to Saigon’s main prison, where American pilots were kept separate from the Japanese. Moranville’s squad eventually made it to Dien Bien Phu and was airlifted to safety in China after walking to safety with a regiment of the French Foreign Legion.

The fact that “Rabbit” was spotted walking around his airplane on the day that Moranville went down helped allay some fears, and five days later Hornet learned that he was with the French. However, the school’s mascot “Gunner” was dejected over the death of his owner. They happily met up again in Nebraska a few months later. The aviator discovered that “Gunner” was actually his dad’s dog when he got home.

The following video tells the tale of H.B. “Rabbit” Moranville, a VF-11 fighter ace, and his dog “Gunner.”

VF-11/111 ‘Sundowners’ 1942-95 is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

February 12, 2022 0 comment

History

Germany’s Lancaster Operations

by Till Daisd January 18, 2022

written by Till Daisd

Heavy destruction of German industrial resources was achieved during the Battles of the Ruhr and Hamburg in 1943, but only at the cost of a steadily increasing loss ratio, especially due to Luftwaffe night fighters

British and Commonwealth citizens have a special place in their hearts for the Lancaster bomber, where pride and fondness coexist. These sentiments may be similar to those Americans have for the B-17 Flying Fortress. The evening sight and sound of streams of Lancasters “heading out” toward the heart of the German Reich was the ultimate expression of a war-weary people’s will to see the Nazi military and industrial machine — the source of colossal suffering for so much of the world — battered into oblivion, just as the Spitfire epitomized the Commonwealth’s supreme spirit of defiance in the face of seemingly irresistible defeat.

The Lancaster gave the RAF its first bomber with which to attack Germany.

According to R.S.G. Mackay in his book Lancaster in action, the introduction of H2S in 1943—first to Pathfinder Force aircraft, then to Main Force—led to the Lancaster undergoing its first consistent and noticeable change in shape. The set scanners required a half-pear-shaped fairing because they reached below the rear fuselage. The perspex rear piece was left unpainted to make it easier to see the enclosed identification lights.

H2S was a downward-looking radar set based on a high-power magnetron valve that received echoes more strongly from built-up areas than from flat countryside. The echoes received by the rotating aerial system were displayed on a cathode-ray tube that traced a representation of the countryside below, very nearly a map that could be traced on the cathode-ray tube right through cloud cover.

Heavy destruction of German industrial resources was achieved during the Battles of the Ruhr and Hamburg in 1943, but only at the cost of a constantly rising loss ratio that was principally brought on by Luftwaffe night fighters. An aerial in the shape of an arrow was installed below the rear turret to aid the rear gunner’s sight search. This brand-new system, code-named Monica, was a rearward-looking radar set intended to warn of fighter aircraft at a 45-degree angle.

A notable event during the Battle of Hamburg was the complete paralysis of German night defenses by “Window,” an originally very efficient method of obscuring Luftwaffe radar on the ground and in the air. The defenders’ eyes were covered by the window, and the target was located using H2S. Over 50,000 people were killed, half the city’s structures were destroyed, and nearly a million people were left homeless as a result of the city being the target of four major strikes, 3,095 sorties, and 9,000 tons of explosives. British losses totaled 87 aircraft, or 2.8%, which was far less than the 6% losses that Bomber Command often experienced when assaulting Hamburg.

The window was made of aluminum foil strips that were 1.5 millimeters wide and 30 centimeters long, reinforced with a black paper backing. Lampblack was applied to the silvery side so that the aluminum foil clouds would not be seen in searchlight beams but would still reflect radar waves. The window was first dispersed through any available opening in the aircraft, but within a few weeks, Lancs were equipped with a louvered box structure on the lower starboard side of the nose through which the Window was distributed by either the Flight Engineer or the Bomb Aimer.

By the end of 1943, Bomber Command had made the decision to conduct frequent deep penetration raids, the majority of which were carried out by Lancasters, which were thought to be the only heavy aircraft capable of striking targets with acceptable loss ratios. The choice to equip British bombers with .303 machine guns early in the war put Lancasters at a significant disadvantage when engaged in combat with night fighters armed with cannons.

Unknown to Bomber Command, the Luftwaffe’s Night Fighter division had created devices to home on both H2S and Monica as well as Schrage Musik, an upward-firing armament. During the winter and spring of 1944, this new German weapon severely damaged Lancaster aircraft, culminating in the tragic raid on Nuremberg on March 30, which resulted in the loss of no less than 96 bombers out of an attacking force of 795 aircraft.

Aircrews were instructed to turn off H2S when not in use after Bomber Command learned about the Luftwaffe’s new homing devices. Monica was also taken out of service. The new upward-firing weaponry of the Luftwaffe was not met with any general defensive action by Bomber Command, giving the night fighters complete freedom to employ Schrage Musik. The majority of the ventral turrets on Mk I/III Lancasters had been removed, and starting with LM522, under-turrets had to be moved to make room for H2S equipment.

New defensive turrets were added, and the ones that already existed were improved. Several FN20 rear turrets were equipped with an automatic gun-laying system (A.G.L.T. ), which the 49 Squadron first used in combat operations in late 1944. Wartime distribution was restricted to a few units, including 101, 460, and 635 Squadrons, despite being shown to be relatively successful.

The A.G.L.T. turrets carried .303 guns, whereas the updated FN82 turret bore a pair of .50s. From Rose Rice came to a new .50 armed turret which was less cluttered internally and whose open-ended canopy offered much better escape for the gunner who, unlike his FN20 colleagues, could carry his parachute inside the turret. No similar improvements were made to the nose or upper turrets of Mk I/III aircraft before 1945.

Bomber Command switched from nighttime raids on German industry to daylight attacks on German Ground forces in France as a result of the invasion of Occupied Europe. Colored fins were selectively applied to Lancasters of the 5 Group, which served as the formation leaders of their affiliated units. Similar facilities were used by 1 Group, however, they were confined to 460 Squadron.

The introduction of G-H, a precise blind-bombing aid pioneered in late 1943 on Mk IIs, on 3 Group aircraft during late 1944 was made possible by its full-scale manufacture. Even with a 10/10 cloud cover, G-H enabled incredibly precise assaults. The two parallel yellow bars on the fins of G-H-equipped Lancs during daylight raids served as bombing and formation leaders for non-G-H aircraft. When there were 10/10 clouds, No. 3 Group conducted numerous successful attacks both during the day and at night, using G-H aircraft to provide their own Pathfinder services.

The Lancaster’s dominance within Bomber Command peaked in April 1945, the final month of active combat, when no fewer than 56 Squadrons were outfitted with the model. Nos. 1, 3, and 5 groups were fully equipped with Lancs. Additionally, the No. 8 (PFF) Group, which began operations in August 1942 with mixed Halifax, Wellington, and Lancaster Squadrons, exclusively used the Lanc as the heavy bomber element within its total ranks. Apart from the all-Halifax equipped No. 4 Group only the Canadian No. 6 Group operated both heavies, and even here the Lanc equipped 10 of the 17 Squadrons in the Group.

Photo credit: SAC Jack Welson / Crown Copyright

January 18, 2022 0 comment

History

Butch O’Hare, the F4F Wildcat pilot who shot down 5 Japanese bombers

by Till Daisd January 18, 2022

written by Till Daisd

O’Hare rejected the Congressional Medal of Honor recommendation made by Frederick Sherman, the captain of the Lexington, saying that any one of his squadron members would have taken the same action

For the American public, the first six months following the attack on Pearl Harbor were dark days. With the loss of Singapore, Burma, and the Philippines, the Japanese war machine appeared to be unstoppable. Solomons and the Dutch East Indies would also fall. Darwin, Australia, has already experienced Japanese air strikes. Even a Japanese submarine was able to surface off the coast of California and shell targets on the coastline. Rommel’s Afrika Corps was steadily making progress in the direction of the Suez Canal. The German U-boat assault in the Atlantic was severely impacting shipping.

With the building of a significant base in Rabaul in the Solomon Islands and the Japanese landing on New Guinea, Australia’s populous east coast might come within striking distance. The carriers Enterprise and Yorktown had already carried out a diversionary raid in the Marshall Islands, and it was left to the carrier Lexington to carry out a diversionary raid against Rabaul several weeks later, as JP Santiago explains in an intriguing article that appeared in his website, Tails Through Time. A Kawanishi H6K “Mavis” flying boat that had sighted the carrier attack force on February 20, 1942, was intercepted by Grumman F4F Wildcats from Fighter Squadron 3 (VF-3) under the command of Lt. Commander John Thach as the Lexington steamed 400 miles to the northeast of Rabaul.

The Lexington had been exposed despite shooting down the flying boat, and later that afternoon, a formation of nine Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” bombers flew toward the carrier at 11,000 feet. Despite Lexington’s combat air patrols shooting down four of the bombers, five of the aircraft made a level bombing run against the carrier. The Lexington avoided damage by delaying rapid turns until the bombs had dropped. Unfortunately, only two of Lexington’s F4F Wildcat fighters were able to intercept the incoming Bettys as the second flight of nine G4M bombers approached. Lt. Edward H. “Butch” O’Hare piloted one of the Wildcats.

The Story of Butch O’Hare, the F4F Wildcat Pilot that shot down 5 Japanese Bombers Expending only 60 Rounds of 0.50-caliber ammunition — Two U.S. Navy Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat Fighting Squadron 3 (VF-3) were in flight near Naval Air Station, Kaneohe, Oahu, Hawaii, on Apr. 10, 1942. The planes are BuNo 3976 (F-1, foreground), flown by VF-3 Commanding Officer Lieutenant Commander John S. Thach, and BuNo 3986 (F-13), flown by Lieutenant Edward H. O’Hare.

A bomb run on the Lexington was about to begin when O’Hare firewalled his Wildcat and headed straight toward the bomber formation. The Betty has four machine gun defensive stations and a 20mm cannon tail gun. Known for his accuracy, O’Hare took down two bombers during his initial pass over the V-shaped formation. Then, while the sailors on board the Lexington could see it, he pulled the Wildcat into a tight turn for another run at the formation and shot down three additional bombers.

John Thach, O’Hare’s commanding officer, entered the battle and downed some additional bombers before dispersing the formation as it hastily retreated from Lexington. Butch O’Hare saves the Lexington in just four minutes, becoming the first ace in the US Navy.

O’Hare had only used sixty rounds of 0.50-caliber ammo, according to Thach! O’Hare was nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions that day by the Lexington captain, Frederick Sherman, as detailed by Michael O’Leary in his book The United States Naval Fighters of World War II in Action. Still, he turned it down, telling his captain that any one of his squadron mates would have done the same thing.

But with the raid on Rabaul abandoned due to the loss of the element of surprise and the never-ending stream of bad news from the Pacific and Europe, O’Hare instantly rose to fame because he was young, attractive, and the naval aviation branch’s recruiting poster boy. President Franklin D. Roosevelt invited him to the White House in April 1942 to receive the Medal of Honor.

O’Hare replaced Thach as the skipper of VF-3 in June 1942, and the squadron changed its name to VF-6 the following spring as O’Hare upgraded to the more powerful Grumman F6F Hellcat. O’Hare set out aboard the USS Independence with future ace Alexander Vraciu as his wingman, and during operations against Wake Island, he added three more victories to his score. O’Hare was elevated to become the new CAG (commander air group) for Air Group 6 onboard the USS Enterprise after the battle over Wake Island.

When a carrier battle group’s defenses were most vulnerable, at night, single or dual aircraft strikes were a concern for the Navy at the time. O’Hare had the brilliant idea to use a Grumman TBF Avenger equipped with radar that was orbiting the carrier at night. Grumman F6F Hellcats would be stationed on each wing of the Avenger and would be alerted to nighttime intruders by the Avenger’s crew.

On November 26, 1943, O’Hare flew one of the Hellcats over the Enterprise together with the radar-equipped Avenger and a second Hellcat. Butch O’Hare’s Hellcat would drop out of the formation that night and vanish after some initial trouble coordinating the formation with incoming bombers seen on radar. For years, it had been assumed that he had unintentionally been struck by the Avenger’s gunner after becoming caught in the crossfire between the Betty bomber and Avenger.

O’Hare, however, was most likely downed by a lucky shot from a Betty gunner, according to a later study that comprised interviews with the crew members of that formation. He was listed as missing in action but was later found dead. Chicago’s Orchard Depot Airport was renamed O’Hare Airport in his honor in 1947, and it is because of this change that O’Hare’s three-letter code is ORD. The restored Grumman F4F Wildcat from Butch O’Hare’s Medal of Honor mission is displayed in Chicago O’Hare’s Terminal 2.

O’Hare’s father, “Easy Eddie” O’Hare, was renowned as Al Capone’s lawyer in the 1920s, which is an intriguing historical side note. According to urban legend, the senior O’Hare turned informant on Capone after having a moral crisis while teaching his son Butch about right and wrong, which resulted in the gangster’s imprisonment for tax evasion.

The older O’Hare, however, may have been more concerned with his own survival because he had already agreed to meet with the IRS following the 1929 St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, which saw rival gang members brutally murdered. O’Hare provided extensive records, which assisted in Al Capone’s 1933 conviction. Eddie O’Hare was shot and killed in his car in November 1939 while returning from the dog track; the crime is still unsolved to this day.

The following is an excerpt from Butch O’Hare’s Medal of Honor citation:

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in aerial combat, at grave risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, as section leader and pilot of Fighting Squadron 3 on February 20, 1942. Having lost the assistance of his teammates, Lieutenant O’Hare interposed his fighter between his ship and an advancing enemy formation of 9 attacking twin-engine heavy bombers. Without hesitation, alone and unaided, he repeatedly attacked this enemy formation, at close range in the face of intense combined machine gun and cannon fire. Despite this concentrated opposition, Lieutenant O’Hare, by his gallant and courageous action, his extremely skillful marksmanship in making the most of every shot of his limited amount of ammunition, shot down 5 enemy bombers and severely damaged a sixth before they reached the bomb release point. As a result of his gallant action—one of the most daring, if not the most daring, single action in the history of combat aviation—he undoubtedly saved his carrier from serious damage.”

Photo by U.S. Navy

January 18, 2022 0 comment

History

How the mighty Phantom II broke a new absolute altitude record

by Till Daisd January 4, 2022

written by Till Daisd

CDR Lawrence E. Flint piloted the second Phantom II prototype (BuNo 142260) for Project Top Flight between October and December 1959 in a series of twelve ballistic zoom climbs from 50,000ft at maximum power

One of the most versatile fighters ever created was the McDonnell two-place, twinjet, all-weather F-4 Phantom II, with top speeds exceeding twice the speed of sound. More Western air forces used it than any other plane in the front line. The F-4 was the fastest, highest-flying, and longest-range fighter in the U.S. Navy’s arsenal just 31 months after its initial flight. On May 27, 1958, it had its maiden flight; it went into service in 1961.

The twelfth aircraft off the line (BuNo 145311) was officially devoted to Aircraft and Engine Performance. In practice, this meant the World Speed Record program. Spurred by the results of the second stage of NPE (Navy Preliminary Evaluation) in July 1959, the Navy naturally wanted to put the F4H-1’s spectacular performance in the record books.

Gerald Huelsbeck, a company test pilot, tragically lost his life during the first attempt at a world altitude record, Project Top Flight, when the first prototype lost its engine access door during a high altitude zoom climb beyond Mach 2, causing the aircraft to catch fire and crash. Unbearable g-forces forced “Zeke” Huelsbeck into the cock pit where he was held captive.

The second prototype (BuNo 142260) was fitted with water injection and flown by CDR Lawrence E. Flint in a series of twelve ballistic zoom climbs from 50,000 feet at maximum power between October and December 1959, according to Peter E. Davies’ explanation in his book Gray Ghosts, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps F-4 Phantoms. Radar and other non-essentials were removed from the plane, along with the back seat. Higher thrust was achieved by adjusting the afterburner nozzle settings, fuel flow rates, and engine speed. Just before entering Edwards AFB airspace and pulling up for the 3.5g, fifty-degree zoom climb to be measured, CDR Flint attained speeds as high as Mach 2.41.

Fuel flow was reduced to avoid overheating as the afterburners “blew out” from a shortage of oxygen over 65,000 feet toward the top of each vertical climb. Darkness was so thick in the clean, unpolluted air that Flint could not see the dials at all when his shadow fell on the instrument panel. At the peak of the zoom, the aircraft’s engines were turned off, its speed decreased to about 45 mph, and it started a dive to a height of 45,000 feet before pulling out into controlled flight.

The heat produced on Flint’s low-altitude run-in had peeled off much of the aircraft’s orange paint by the time it touched down. The heat also warped the outer windscreen panels.

Project Top Flight: how the Mighty Phantom II set a New Absolute Altitude record

On one flight, CDR Flint was unable to turn off the right engine until it had reached 120 percent of its rpm and the TOT had gone off the scale. Luckily it held together, and on post-flight inspection, it was found that up to half an inch had melted off the outer end of each turbine blade.

The Project’s maximum altitude was 98,557 feet on December 6, 1959, but a USAF F-104C broke this record before the year was out.

These amazing flights served as dramatic evidence of the new aircraft’s capability as a high-altitude interceptor to a potential opponent.

Since 1944, Larry Flint has been a test pilot. He later rose to the position of chief test conductor for the Apollo space program and manager of the F-14 Tomcat Aircrew Training Program for the USN and Iranian Air Force. Flint also served as the commander of VF- 11 Red Rippers during the Korean War.

Photo by U.S. Navy

January 4, 2022 0 comment

History

The GLIP bombing technique and the B-25 “Bridge Busters”

by Till Daisd December 25, 2021

written by Till Daisd

It was difficult to land a direct shot at a target that was only 15 feet wide from a medium altitude. Experience taught us that even close calls would not significantly harm a bridge with sturdy construction

The sole American medium bomber to fly in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theatre was the B-25 Mitchell. Starting operations in India and China, respectively, in July 1942, until the conclusion of the war, the B-25 was continuously in the air. One medium bomber group was assigned to each of the Tenth and Fourteenth Air Forces, while the Fourteenth Air Force also had a medium bomber group in the Chinese American Composite Wing (CACW). The Mitchell was flown by the B-25 units in the CBI Theatre, who employed the plane for a variety of missions.

The Fourteenth Air Force’s medium bomber units switched to low-level strafing of land, transportation, and shipping targets as aerial opposition decreased during the course of the B-25 operations in China.

The B-25 ‘Bridge Busters’ and the GLIP bombing technique — A 490th BS B-25 pulled up after making a low-level ‘GLIP’ bombing attack on the Mu River bridge in March 1944. On this run, the 1000-lb bomb has just missed the center of the bridge and has fallen alongside, in all likelihood doing no damage to the structure.

The 341st BG launched a campaign against road and rail bridges in southern China and French Indochina in 1945 by employing the low-level bridge-busting strategies used by the B-25 squadrons deployed in India.

Getting a direct shot on a target that was only 15 feet wide from a medium altitude was difficult, as Edward M. Young explains in his book B-25 Mitchell Units of the CBI. Experience taught us that even close calls would not significantly harm a bridge with sturdy construction. The problem was made worse by the fact that Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) engineers were able to create bypass bridges next to destroyed structures in addition to performing quick repairs to even the worst damage.

For instance, the Myitnge bridge was the target of 39 sorties by the B-25s and B-24s of the 7th BG, during which the Liberators dropped 1219 bombs and scored 18 hits. This indicated that only 1.5% of all dropped bombs actually hit their intended target. The average for the medium bombers was better, with one hit occurring every 15 missions. The bombers tried 500-, 1000-, and even 2000-lb bombs, but the results were much the same.

17 percent of all the bombs landed on Burma by the USAAF in 1943 were directed toward the country’s railway system’s six main bridges, although the campaign was largely ineffective. A bridge could only be seriously damaged by a direct hit, and using the techniques used, the chances of doing so were statistically next to zero.

The members of the 490th BS understood they were in charge of carrying out the bridge-busting campaign in Burma since their squadrons were headed for China. Lt Col Robert McCarten, the squadron commander, was confident that the team would solve the issue. The 490th made an effort to create strategies that would be effective in the final months of 1943. After failing to bomb from medium altitudes, the unit shifted to low-level strikes, employing skip bombing techniques pioneered in the Pacific. However, once dropped, the bombs frequently bounced over or under a bridge to explode beyond, causing little damage at all. A failed effort to dive-bomb the B-25 only served to highlight how unprepared it was for such an assault.

Ironically, on January 1, 1944, a glide-skip (GLIP) bombing was the only way to solve the problem. One of the six crucial bridges in Burma’s railway system, the Mu River bridge, was to be bombed that day by squadron operations officer Capt. Robert Erdin. He made the decision to take a new approach to the target. Before delivering their bombs, the B-25s flew at a diagonal or right angle to the bridge in the majority of attacks. Before launching his bombs, Erdin decided to follow the line directly to the bridge.

Coming in at a low level, he was abruptly compelled to lift up just before launching his explosives in order to avoid a large dead tree that was directly in front of him. Erdin quickly pushed his B-25 down one more and then hit the bomb release button, fully anticipating seeing his bombs bounce off the bridge. Two of the bridge’s spans collapsed into the river, stunning him and his team. His bombs were dropped in a slight descent, and because of the angle at which they landed, instead of bouncing off the bridge, they struck it and quickly exploded. This method turned out to be the solution. The 490th BS would set an astounding destruction record in the months to come with some improvements and further training.

B-25 Mitchell Units of the CBI is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by U.S. Army Air Forces, Air Force Historical Research Agency, and NARA

December 25, 2021 0 comment

History

An Operation Bolo hero honored with a new bridge over Pensacola Bay

by Till Daisd December 24, 2021

written by Till Daisd

In Southeast Asia,
Gen. Chappie James served as deputy commander for operations and later vice wing commander of the 8th TFW. Along with Robin Olds, James formed a strong leadership and combat team, inevitably dubbed “Black Man and Robin.”

The Gen. Daniel Chappie James Memorial Bridge is the name of the new Pensacola Bay bridge, according to the Pensacola News Journal.

The campaign to rename the bridge in honor of the illustrious U.S. Air Force (USAF) general was led by former congressional candidate Cris Dosev, who presented the idea to the Escambia County legislative delegation in December 2019 at a local public hearing ahead of the legislative session.

The idea was well received by local legislators, and Sen. Doug Broxson proposed that Dosev schedule a meeting with his office.

James was the first African American four-star general in the U.S. Air Force. James was appointed as the Commander in Chief of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) on September 1, 1975, a position he held until his retirement on February 1, 1978. In 24 days, he passed away.

James, a veteran of World War II, the Korean War, and the Southeast Asia War, described his feelings on his experience as an American serviceman as follows: “I’ve fought in three wars and three more wouldn’t be too many to defend my country. I love America and as she has weaknesses or ills, I’ll hold her hand.”

His son, Claude James, stated that the family was in favor of renaming the bridge in the general’s honor.

“It’s a perfect acknowledgment of one America’s greatest leaders and defenders who never forgot where he came from,” the son said. “And throughout his history-making career, he gave credit to his mother’s little school on Alcaniz Street that prepared him to succeed in and love and defend his country.”

Dosev, a former pilot with the United States Marine Corps, claimed that he had always admired James.

“Everyone is talking about the fact that we no longer have heroes to emulate,” Dosev said. “Well, we do. We do, and that hero is Gen. Chappie James. And I think that the community in a large part has forgotten who this man was, and what he did, and that’s sad.”

New Pensacola Bay bridge could be named after Operation Bolo Hero Gen. Daniel Chappie James — *General Daniel “Chappie” James, Jr. in front of his McDonnell-Douglas F-4C Phantom in Thailand during the Vietnam War.*

“A statue of James will be erected in the new park near the bridge landing on the Pensacola side,” Dosev added, in addition to renaming the bridge in the general’s honor. Dosev intended to place a static display of an F-4 Phantom II fighter jet behind the statue.

During Operation Bolo in the Vietnam War, James piloted an F-4.

He served in Southeast Asia as the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing’s vice wing commander and deputy commander for operations when he met Robin Olds, an ace pilot, and wing commander, whom he had already known during his time at the Pentagon. The two guys inevitably earned the nickname “Black Man and Robin” for their effective leadership and combat abilities.

Perhaps the pinnacle of their professional collaboration was Operation Bolo. It was an aerial trap designed by Olds for adversary MiGs that had been hitting heavily laden F-105 fighter bombers flying to their targets while dodging US fighter escorts.

Beginning the operation in January 1967 was a force of F-4 fighters posing as an F-105 flight. The F-4s made use of F-105 refueling altitudes, approach routes, airspeeds, radio call signs, and more distinctive indicators. According to Aces and Aerial Victories, the official history of the USAF in Southeast Asia, the F-4s were also given ECM pods for the first time to deceive the enemy’s missile and flak tracking and acquisition radars.

This deception force had four F-4C aircraft per flight. At 3:00 p.m. local time, Olds piloted the first flight and arrived right on target over Phuc Yen, northwest of Hanoi. No MiGs.

Unbeknownst to Olds, enemy ground control had forced a 15-minute delay in MiG takeoffs owing to cloudy conditions.

Then James led Ford Flight, the second group of F-4s. It emerged from the clouds five minutes after Olds, on schedule. The MiGs emerged at that same moment. The subsequent melee may have been the biggest fighter engagement of the Vietnam War.

Three MiGs attacked James’ flight right away. One came from the 6 o’clock low and two from the 10 o’clock high. James unexpectedly found himself flying very next to his opponent as he transitioned from a steep right break to a left bank, in what he subsequently described as a “strange encounter.”

“For a split second, [he] was canopy-to-canopy with me. I could clearly see the pilot and the bright red star markings,” James said in an after-action report. James barrel-rolled to gain separation for attack and fired one Sidewinder. It missed as the MiG broke hard left. But the North Vietnamese pilot had evaded James only to put himself in the flight path of Ford Flight’s No. 2 aircraft, flown by Capt. Everett T. Raspberry Jr. A few more maneuvers, and Raspberry put a Sidewinder up the MiG’s tailpipe.

By the time it ended, 12 F-4s had engaged 14 MiGs, winning seven confirmed battles without losing any.

One of the Vision Pensacola organizers, Pensacola urban planner Alan Gray, supported the idea and created renderings of what the memorial at the base of the Bay Bridge would look like. Alan Gray also submitted the winning design for the new bridge.

The bridge already had a name under Florida law, the Philip D. Beall Sr. Memorial Bridge, thus, it presented one of the remaining obstacles to designating it after James.

After being chosen as the Senate’s president in 1943, Pensacola state senator Beall passed away while still in office. Kirke Beall, his grandson, has fought to maintain the name on the bridge.

Beall did not object, nevertheless, to the bridge sharing a name.

“As long as it’s a good person and they are deserving of it, I am glad to have my grandfather’s name next to it,” Beall said.

“My motivation is to promote Gen. Chappie James,” Dosev said. That’s my motivation… I don’t want the memory of Chappie James to be forgotten.”

Photo by Pensacola News Journal and U.S. Air Force

December 24, 2021 0 comment

History

Mike Adams, the only Pilot who died during the X-15 Flight-Test Program

by Till Daisd December 20, 2021

written by Till Daisd

At a height of around 62,000 feet and a speed of roughly 3,800 feet per second, the X-15-3 aircraft broke up because the weights on it increased above their structural limits

A well-known and important figure in aviation history is the X-15. Its goal was to fly quickly and high, testing the aircraft and putting the pilots through challenges that might later face astronauts. In addition to being the first piloted aircraft in the world to reach hypersonic speeds, or more than five times the speed of sound, it made the first manned flights to the farthest reaches of space. In the 1960s, the X-15 was a crucial tool in the development of spaceflight, and X-15 pilots who flew at altitudes greater than 50 miles were awarded astronaut wings.

In total, 199 flights were made by the three X-15 aircraft between 1959 and 1968. It was a collaborative project between the US Air Force, US Navy, and US NASA.

Almost every X-15 flight experienced some sort of technical issue or malfunction; occasionally, there were many issues on a single flight. It is remarkable that during the 199 flights of the whole X-15 program, just one pilot, Mike Adams, perished.

Mike Adams was the twelfth (and last) pilot in the X-15 program, according to John Anderson and Richard Passman’s book X-15 The World’s Fastest Rocket Plane and the Pilots who Ushered in the Space Age.

The Story of Mike Adams, the only Pilot to lose his life during the X-15 Flight-Test Program

Michael Adams, a veteran pilot with six prior X-15 flights, boarded the machine on November 15, 1967, for a mission intended to test a guidance display and carry out several experiments. He had practiced the specifics of this flight in the simulator for more than 21 hours. He descended to 45,000 feet at about 10 a.m. as usual and then climbed to 266,000 feet. After takeoff, an electrical disturbance caused the MH-96 dampers to trip out as the plane rose to a higher altitude.

The dampers were reset by Adams. To more precisely manage the experiments, he then changed the sideslip indicator’s mode to a vernier attitude control mode. In order to see his sideslip during the approach to landing, he intended to reset this back to indicate the yaw angle when returning to base. However, he was unable to see the airplane yawing at a crucial point in the flight as a result of this equipment shift.

After burnout, he experimented with wing-rocking while soaring, and as he neared his max altitude of 266,000 feet, the rocking became extreme. His instrument was accidentally adjusted to show pitch attitude rather than yaw, thus he was unaware that his yaw had drifted to 15 degrees. The aircraft began to yaw violently around 15 seconds later, and Adams informed Pete Knight that “the airplane seems squirrelly.”

He soon after claimed that he was spinning and experiencing strong accelerations. The ground crew was unable to provide assistance since they were mostly unaware of the airplane’s hypersonic spin characteristics. When Adams recovered, he was yawed 90 degrees, flying upside down, and descending at supersonic speed, according to the ground data that was later correlated with the flight data.

The Minneapolis-Honeywell adaptive flight control system (MH-96), which is on and locked in, causes the aircraft to oscillate between its limits, up and down, preventing Adams from correcting his attitude and flying his way home. Adams pulled out of the spin, and he probably would have had a successful landing, but for the fact that the MH-96 was on and locked in. The X-15-3 aircraft broke up at a height of around 62,000 feet and a speed of roughly 3,800 feet per second because the weights on the aircraft increased above their structural limits. In close proximity to Johannesburg, California, it struck the desert floor. There was talk about Adams having slight vertigo; this may have prevented him from seeing the yaw buildup or from resetting the yaw indicator to the yaw setting.

Adams’s death shows the dangers of flight testing a new aircraft in previously untested regions of flight, and of flying experiments in which certain research-data measuring instruments may have caused an electrical disturbance that affected the MH-96 from operating at its top quality and in conditions it was not designed for. All of these factors could have had an impact on the disaster.

Because his flight was above 50 miles high, Adams was posthumously awarded an astronaut rating. Despite being the only accident in 199 flights, the tragedy was a setback for the X-15 program. The disaster had a significant role in the decision to end the X-15 program because the goals for the aircraft had been met. Only seven more flights were scheduled after that.

Photo by NASA

December 20, 2021 0 comment

History

Why the Intruder was the ideal CAS aircraft according to ex USMC A-6 pilot

by Till Daisd December 12, 2021

written by Till Daisd

“During Operation Desert Storm the B-52s heavily involved in CAS missions flew ten-hour missions from Diego Garcia. None had the external racks they used in Vietnam. They carried only 56 500-lb bombs. Two A-6s did more damage than a B-52” Capt Tom Uryga, former USMC A-6 pilot

During the Vietnam War, the Grumman A-6 Intruder served as the “Main Battery” of carrier aviation, and it was still in use by the US Navy and US Marine Corps (USMC) in 1996. The A-6 was still the most effective USMC strike aircraft during Operation Desert Storm (ODS) in 1991 because it was a true all-weather, day/night precision bomber.

Capt. Tom Uryga joined the VMA(AW)-224 “Bengals” in the early spring of 1990. He was an Eastern Washington University graduate. Uryga participated in the early ODS strikes as one of the USMC A-6 pilots;

`In the first part of the Gulf War, we started out with deep strikes on Basra, Shaibah, and Tallil. We’d use a mix [of ordnance], since the weather was shitty; 2000-lb LGBs and 2000-lb “steel nose cone”. We’d try to pickle the LGBs right in the middle of the basket. On the first night of the war we came back with better BDA [Bomb Damage Assessment] than the F-117s had.

`My first mission was with a guy named Rob McCarthy, an RAF Exchange officer, and Tornado navigator. He had absolutely no fear of death — he had flown in the airshow demo team for the Tornado where they do the 100-ft inverted near-supersonic pass. Nothing scared Rob.

`First night we flew, we’re heading into Iraq, and we’re heading into Shaibah airfield. This was the first time we had actually flown with the [navigation and formation] lights out and relied on the green formation lights instead – the lights on every jet were different. Some lights had burned out, which meant you couldn’t tell what was what. You thought you were rendezvousing on Battlestar Galactica because of all the different lights.

`Off to the left side, as we’re crossing the Gulf, you could see the SAM launches and AAA in Kuwait City – huge, holy shit, look at this stuff. Rob’s got his head in the boot, doing updates. We’re getting up there over the salt marshes, and little stuff – red tracers – was arcing below us, with bigger stuff, white tracers, reaching up higher to about 20,000 ft. Then you had some big AAA, big white bursts up at our altitude, but it was less frequent. I think the red stuff was ZSUs – it was disturbing enough, but you knew they weren’t all radar-guided because you didn’t have a lot of radar warning about everything.

`About this time Rob pulled his head out and said, in typical British fashion, “I say, Tom, it appears those blokes are shooting at us.” “No shit, Rob. Put your head back in the boot.”

After weeks of deep strikes and related operations, according to Rick Morgan’s description in his book A-6 Intruder Units 1974-96, on February 20 Marine units switched to Battlefield Air Interdiction (BAI) as their primary function in order to prepare for the ground assault. The employment of “Kill Boxes,” which were latitude and longitude grids where FACs, familiar with their assigned zone, would call in aircraft to target Iraqi army units as they were located, was crucial to the success of this mission. As the enemy forces realized they had little chance of escaping the Allied air force, the process proved lethally effective and contributed to their eventual mass capitulation.

Former USMC A-6 Pilot explains why the Intruder was the perfect CAS Aircraft — A U.S. Marine Corps Grumman A-6E Intruder from Marine all-weather attack squadron VMA(AW)-224 Fighting Bengals on the flight line at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina

During the last several days of Desert Storm, Capt. Uryga piloted a number of BAI sorties;

`The Air Force called the Kill Box missions CAS – what we Marines called CAS the Air Force called crazy!

`The B-52s [heavily involved in Kill Box operations] flew ten-hour missions from Diego Garcia. None had the external racks they used in Vietnam. They carried only 56 500-lb bombs. Two A-6s did more damage than a B-52. They just salvoed the entire load in one pass. Their BDA pictures showed mile-long strips of closely spaced craters, usually laterally displaced from their targets [largely due to 100-knot high-altitude winds]. Carpet-bombing made a lot of noise but didn’t hit much.

‘The typical Hornet load was four or six Mk 82s or Rockeyes. Without tankers, they had about ten minutes of time-on-station [TOS] in Kuwait. They made one pass, dropped two bombs, and then went feet wet to a tanker, gassed up, came in, and dropped the rest, before going home and getting credit for two combat missions on one flight. Pretty cheesy way to earn air medals. No [Marine] A-6 ever saw a tanker, yet we had more than 40 minutes TOS, even in northern Kuwait.’

The Intruder’s outstanding endurance made it a firm favorite amongst the Marines fighting the war on the ground. One FAC attached to the infantry was an EA-6B NFO, who stated post-war; `Our first three choices for CAS aircraft were, No 1, the Intruder, No 2, the Intruder, and No 3, the Intruder. It had plenty of bombs and enough gas to stick around. The Hornets had less of each, and as for the Harriers, if we didn’t have a target ready for them when they checked in they almost always went right back to the tanker.’

Photo by U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy

A-6 Intruder Units 1974-96 is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

December 12, 2021 0 comment

Newer Posts

Older Posts

AW

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O’Hare rejected the Congressional Medal of Honor recommendation made by Frederick Sherman, the captain of the Lexington, saying that any one of his squadron members would have taken the same action

CDR Lawrence E. Flint piloted the second Phantom II prototype (BuNo 142260) for Project Top Flight between October and December 1959 in a series of twelve ballistic zoom climbs from 50,000ft at maximum power

It was difficult to land a direct shot at a target that was only 15 feet wide from a medium altitude. Experience taught us that even close calls would not significantly harm a bridge with sturdy construction

In Southeast Asia, Gen. Chappie James served as deputy commander for operations and later vice wing commander of the 8th TFW. Along with Robin Olds, James formed a strong leadership and combat team, inevitably dubbed “Black Man and Robin.”

At a height of around 62,000 feet and a speed of roughly 3,800 feet per second, the X-15-3 aircraft broke up because the weights on it increased above their structural limits

“During Operation Desert Storm the B-52s heavily involved in CAS missions flew ten-hour missions from Diego Garcia. None had the external racks they used in Vietnam. They carried only 56 500-lb bombs. Two A-6s did more damage than a B-52” Capt Tom Uryga, former USMC A-6 pilot

In Southeast Asia,
Gen. Chappie James served as deputy commander for operations and later vice wing commander of the 8th TFW. Along with Robin Olds, James formed a strong leadership and combat team, inevitably dubbed “Black Man and Robin.”