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The arrival of the first B-58 Hustler Supersonic Bomber at the Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB

by Till Daisd March 30, 2023

The B-58 Hustler was the first bomber in history to be built with supersonic speeds maintained throughout the mission profile

The beautiful picture in this article, which was taken on February 15, 1958, shows the first Convair B-58 Hustler (55-665) arriving at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) Flight Test Center for Phase IV testing after completing a combined delivery and test flight (the center was renamed the Air Force Test Center on July 13, 2012).

It is noteworthy that this aircraft is currently being stored and is a part of the collection at the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Flight Test Museum.

The four-engine delta-winged aircraft, which made its first flight on November 11, 1956, was the first bomber in history built to maintain supersonic speeds throughout its mission profile. The Hustler stood out for its sophisticated inertial guidance navigation and bombing system, slim “wasp-waist” fuselage, and significant use of heat-resistant honeycomb sandwich skin panels in the wings and fuselage in addition to its delta wing design. A droppable, two-component pod beneath the fuselage held a nuclear warhead along with extra fuel, reconnaissance equipment, or other specialized gear because the thin fuselage disallowed carrying explosives internally.

A pilot, navigator/bombardier, and defensive systems operator made up the B-58 crew. Convair produced 116 B-58s, including 30 test and prototype models and 86 operational aircraft. Between 1960 and 1970, hustlers flew with the Strategic Air Command (SAC). B-58s set 19 world records for speed and altitude while also taking home five separate aviation medals.

Source: U.S. Air Force; Photo by Edwards History Office file photo / U.S. Air Force Base

March 30, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

55th Wing RB-47 Co-pilot downed and captured by Soviets was buried in Arlington National Cemetery

by Till Daisd March 30, 2023

written by Till Daisd

On July 1, 1960, Col. Bruce Olmstead’s RB-47B reconnaissance aircraft was shot down when it was assigned to the 55th Wing

On July 27, 2017, Col. Bruce Olmstead was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, fifty-seven years after being shot down by the Soviet Union and subsequently kept prisoner for seven months. In October, the former RB-47 co-pilot passed away.

When his RB-47B reconnaissance aircraft was shot down on July 1, 1960, Olmstead was serving with the 55th Wing. Over the Arctic Ocean, he was forced to eject from this damaged aircraft. Just he and the navigator John McKone survived the Russian fighter onslaught that claimed the lives of their other four crewmates.

After Olmstead’s plane was shot down but survived, the KGB allegedly sent him to Moscow’s notorious Lubyanka prison and accused him of espionage, according to the Omaha World-Herald. He was confined in isolation in a freezing cell with minimal access to food or rest while being interrogated incessantly.

The young co-pilot actually had a lot of inside information. But, during their seven months in isolation, neither Olmstead nor McKone surrendered anything to the KGB.

“They continued to fulfill the Airman’s Creed, to never surrender,” explained retired Brig. Gen. Reg Urschler of Bellevue, a squadron mate of Olmstead’s, who later commanded the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (SRW). “None of us can imagine what they went through.”

The RB-47H carried a crew of six, with the pilot, co-pilot, and navigator in a pressurized section in the nose. The three electronic warfare officers (EWOs), also known as “Ravens” or “Crows,” were stationed in what would be the bomb bay in a normal B-47. On typical missions, the EWOs spent about 12-14 hours working in this confined, windowless compartment, completely surrounded by electronic equipment.

It is noteworthy because during the burial, an RC-135 from the 55th Wing flew over, and Olmstead’s widow, Gail, received the folded American flag that draped his coffin. Gail attended tea at the White House with President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy after his release with Olmstead and McKone. The pilot would later describe the couple as “very charming” years later.

Olmstead never again flew with the 55th but instead went on to work as a test pilot and then an air attaché in Denmark until retiring as a colonel in 1983. After leaving the service, he became a home remodeling contractor. He traveled to Russia and welcomed ex-soldiers there into his home. Nonetheless, he carried the effects of those months in jail with him for the rest of his life.

“You can’t sit in a cell for 211 days without it affecting you,” he told the Washington Post in 1978. “You don’t forgive and forget. You forgive, and you live with it.”

Capt. Bruce Olmstead and his wife, Gail, left, and Capt. John McKone and his then-wife, Connie, are reunited in January 1961 after Olmstead and McKone were released after seven months in a Soviet prison. (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum)

Olmstead attended 55th Wing Association reunions in his latter years with pals, making multiple trips to Omaha. Once Cold War veterans were granted eligibility for combat medals in 2004, Olmstead and McKone (who passed away in 2013) earned their Silver Star medals belatedly. Olmstead gave him to the 55th Wing two years later.

During the early stages of the Cold War, the RB-47 reconnaissance aircraft was created from the B-47 bomber to gather data on Soviet air defense radar systems, including information on their position, range, and coverage.

In August 1955, the RB-47 officially went into service. The 55th SRW’s RB-47 aircrew flew thousands of perilous “ferret” missions during the ensuing ten years. The Soviet Union and other communist countries’ borders were flown by RB-47s at night while they flew in radio silence, gathering crucial information regarding the extent and power of the Soviet air defense radar networks. The crews of the RB-47 were compelled to spend a large portion of their time away from their homes at Forbes Air Force Base (AFB), Kansas, due to the requirement for this information and the comparatively limited number of RB-47s. The RB-47 was still in use when the more capable RC-135 took its place in the middle of the 1960s.

Photo by U.S. Air Force and John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

Additional source: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

March 30, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

The B-47 Stratojet served as the strategic air command’s backbone throughout the early Cold War

by Till Daisd March 29, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The USAF operated 28 B-47 bomb wings and four RB-47 reconnaissance wings, totaling 1,357 B-47s and 175 RB-47s, during the height of their use in 1958

The Boeing B-47 Stratojet was a turning point in the history of aviation and an innovation in aircraft design. It included a lot of cutting-edge components for the time, like swept wings, underwing jet engines, main landing gear mounted on the fuselage, and automated systems that reduced the crew size to three from the usual four.

Today, every major jet aircraft comes from the B-47. Due to all of these capabilities, the Stratojet became a crucial part of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) of the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s and early 1960s, serving both as a nuclear bomber and a reconnaissance aircraft.

In May 1951, the propeller-driven B-29s and B-50s in the SAC’s medium bomber units started to be replaced by the B-47, which was created to satisfy the demand from 1944.

The RB-47H carried electronic countermeasures (ECM) equipment and electronic sensors in radomes in several locations — in the nose, under the front and rear of the fuselage, under the wing tips, and on some later RB-47Hs like the one pictured here, in a pod attached to the right side of the fuselage.

Notably, the B-47’s top speed was more than 200 mph quicker even though it could carry roughly the same amount of bombs as the aircraft it replaced. Due to the B-47’s limited range in comparison to SAC’s heavy bombers (the B-36 and later the B-52), Stratojet units were frequently sent on temporary assignments to forward air bases all over the world.

These deployments typically lasted three months, but thanks to the Reflex Action program, they were cut down to three weeks starting in 1957.

The Stratojet served as a nuclear strike bomber, but its speed and payload also made it an excellent aircraft for strategic reconnaissance. Photographic reconnaissance B-47s made many overflights of the Soviet Union between 1952 and 1956, giving detailed images of the country’s military and industrial facilities. The Soviet Union’s intercontinental ballistic missile program and air defense systems were the subjects of Stratajet intelligence gathering.

The B-47’s weather reconnaissance models acquired air samples from Soviet nuclear explosions in addition to collecting weather data. These crucial RB-47 missions over and near the Soviet Union’s border were risky; Soviet fighters shot down two reconnaissance Stratojets and damaged one, killing seven USAF personnel and imprisoning two others for a short time.

Though mismatched in speed, the propeller-driven KC-97 became the main tanker aircraft used to extend the Stratojet’s range. During refueling, the B-47 flew just above stall speed while the KC-97 flew at full throttle.

Almost 2,000 Stratojet aircraft were produced by Boeing, Douglas, and Lockheed between 1947 and 1957. The USAF operated 28 B-47 bomb wings and four RB-47 reconnaissance wings, totaling 1,357 B-47s and 175 RB-47s, during the height of their operations in 1958.

According to Robert Robbins, a B-47 test pilot, “the best way to tell about the performance of the Stratojet was to say that any good crew could have flown it. It took no unusual ability or education. […] Rather, the credit should go to the men who carried out these visions on the drafting boards and the factory workers who made the visions a reality.”

The USAF phased out its final B-47 bombers in 1965, and in 1969, a WB-47E Stratojet was retired.

The RB-47E carried one forward-looking camera in the nose and up to six cameras in the modified bomb bay, plus photoflash bombs for night photography and a defensive 20mm cannon in the tail.

Source: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force and Boeing

Photo by U.S. Air Force

March 29, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

NASA YF-12 Blackbirds and their participation in the “Coldwall” project

by Till Daisd March 28, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The NASA YF-12 Blackbird research program was ambitious; the plane, unless it was grounded for extensive maintenance or modification, flew on average once every week

The images in this post taken in 1975 show NASA YF-12s carrying the so-called “coldwall” heat transfer pod on a pylon beneath the forward fuselage.

The Langley Research Center’s coldwall experiment involved a stainless steel tube that was fitted with thermocouples and pressure sensors. The tube was refrigerated using liquid nitrogen and was covered with a unique insulating coating. At Mach 3, the tube might have its insulation pyrotechnically blown away, leaving it immediately exposed to the temperature environment. The experiment had a lot of in-flight issues, like engine unstarts, but eventually, the flight was successful.

The Flight Research Center’s role in the YF-12A, a Lockheed A-12 interceptor, which started in 1967, is noteworthy. Data from the Ames wind tunnel that had been produced in the strictest of secrecy was of interest to the Ames Research Center. Also, the YF-12A was seen by the Office of Advanced Research and Technology (OART) as a way to enhance high-speed technologies that would aid in the development of supersonic transport (SST).

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) offered NASA the use of two YF-12A aircraft, 60-6935 and 60-6936 since the USAF required technical assistance to fully operationalize the SR-71A, the latest reconnaissance variant of the A-12 family. In June 1969, a combined NASA-USAF program was established.

The 935 was prepared for flight for three months by technicians from NASA and the Air Force. Col. Joe Rogers and Maj. Gary Heidelbaugh of the SR-71/YF-12 Test Force completed a successful maiden flight on December 11, 1969, which officially launched the flight program.

During the program, NASA pursued a loads research program that included inflight heating, skin-friction cooling, “coldwall” research, a heat transfer experiment, flowfield studies, shaker vane research, and tests in support of the Space Shuttle landing program, while the Air Force focused on military applications.

The second YF-12A, 936, made 62 flights while 935 eventually took over as the program’s workhorse, flying 146 times between December 11, 1969, and November 7, 1979. On June 24, 1971, this aircraft was destroyed in a non-fatal crash, and it was replaced by the YF-12C SR-71A 61-7951, which had YF-12A inlets and engines and the bogus tail number 06937.

Clarence “Kelly” Johnson created the Lockheed A-12 family, also known as the Blackbirds, which were made primarily of titanium to withstand aerodynamic heating. The Blackbirds could cruise at Mach 3.2 and reach altitudes of more than 80,000 feet when powered by JP-7. The A-12 was the first model, a CIA reconnaissance aircraft that made its maiden flight in April 1962. In 1963, a version for interceptors known as YF-12A was created. The SR-71, a reconnaissance variant used by the USAF, made its first flight in 1964.

The leading and trailing edges of the A-12 and SR-71 designs included high-temperature fiberglass-asbestos laminates.

The NASA YF-12 research program was ambitious; unless the plane was down for extensive maintenance or modification, it flew once every week on average. 3.1 million dollars were spent on the program annually merely to do the flight tests. Pilots Fitzhugh Fulton and Donald Mallick, flight test engineers Victor Horton and Ray Young, and other NASA personnel flew the YF-12. John Manke, William Dana, Gary Krier, Einar Enevoldson, Tom McMurtry, Steve Ishmael, and Michael Swann were among the other NASA test pilots that flew the YF-12A. Only Fulton, Mallick, Horton, and Ray piloted the YF-12C.

Source and Photo by NASA

March 28, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

Francis Gary Powers U-2 shot down

by Till Daisd March 27, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Francis Gary Powers was supposed to have been killed and his aircraft destroyed when he failed to finish his mission. As a result, the U.S. concocted a cover story about an innocent weather plane that had been lost over Turkey

A high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft called the Lockheed U-2 was first introduced in 1957. The first flight of the original U-2A, which Kelly Johnson and the Lockheed Skunk Works built in complete secrecy, took place in August 1955.

Although it is still in use by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) today, the U-2 was a crucial spying instrument controlled by the CIA during the Cold War. The Soviet Union, Cuba, Vietnam, and China were among the targets of intelligence gathering.

As explained by Senior Airman Sean D. Smith, Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs in his article Let’s Learn about the Cold War: Part 12 – The 1960 U-2 Incident, the U-2 could offer surveillance in any weather, and its high operational altitude made it challenging to intercept with fighters

During the Cold War, pictures taken by U-2 aircraft gave the West essential intelligence. The president and other U.S. decision-makers received crucial intelligence about Soviet military capability during the first flights over the Soviet Union in the late 1950s.

Original U-2A Dragon Lady at USAF Museum

On May 1, 1960, an S-75 Dvina (NATO reporting name SA-2 “Guideline”) surface-to-air missile (SAM) shot down a U-2 spy plane being piloted by CIA civilian Francis Gary Powers over the Soviet Union on a mission to photograph top-secret Soviet sites. Indeed, fourteen SA-2s were purportedly launched at his U-2 by the Soviets. Even though none of the missiles hit Powers’ aircraft, one of them exploded behind the U-2 and caused a shock that damaged the delicate plane. In addition, the Soviets accidentally shot down one of their own MiG-19 fighters during the conflict, killing the pilot.

This could have been catastrophic since, throughout the Cold War, espionage was prioritized in order to prevent overt acts of aggression between the US and the Ussr.

The report of an innocent weather plane lost over Turkey was used by the Eisenhower administration as a cover story for the incident after Powers failed to finish his mission, leading the United States to believe he had been killed and his plane destroyed.

Francis Gary Powers, the U-2’s CIA pilot, had been captured by the Soviet Union and had survived the crash without America’s knowledge. Even worse, a large portion of his plane, including secret equipment, was intact.

Kelly Johnson and Gary Powers in front of a U-2

Smith claimed that the Soviets were aware of the spy they had captured and that the United States was lying about it. The U-2 incident also happened right before the Four Powers Summit, which was to be attended by American President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, French President Charles de Gaulle, and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

Eisenhower and Khrushchev had been getting along before the U-2 incident, and this meeting—which would have been the first between the presidents of the United States and the Soviet Union in five years—might have helped bring the Cold War to an early conclusion.

Khrushchev held off on revealing that Powers was still alive in order to enhance America’s humiliation, however, he drew his punches by blaming the CIA more so than the Eisenhower government for the tragedy.

The Cold War continued, there was ongoing tension between the US and Ussr, and the Four Powers Summit failed as a result of the tension brought on by the U-2 incident.

After serving less than two years of his sentence before being brought back to the United States in exchange for a Soviet spy named Rudolf Abel, Powers was convicted of espionage in the USSR and sentenced to three years in jail and seven years of hard labor.

The U-2 nevertheless continued to offer high-altitude, all-weather surveillance and reconnaissance, day or night, in direct support of American and allied forces, even after the accident. The U-2 captured images of the Soviet Union’s offensive nuclear missile buildup in Cuba in October 1962, which sparked the Cuban Missile Crisis. The U-2 has recently supplied intelligence for operations in Korea, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq. In addition, the U-2 offers peacetime reconnaissance upon request to support search and rescue operations as well as disaster relief from floods, earthquakes, and forest fires.

The Powers Incident’s key details are highlighted in the video below.

Additional source: U.S. Air Force and National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

Top Image: From the Powers Family Collection

Photo by Senior Airman Bobby Cummings and Staff Sgt. Robert M. Trujillo / U.S. Air Force

March 27, 2023 0 comment

History

The German teenager Mathias Rust, who landed his Cessna in Red Square

by Till Daisd March 26, 2023

written by Till Daisd

At the height of the Cold War, on May 28, 1987, German teenager Mathias Rust, then 19 years old, flew a risky “peace mission” from Helsinki to Moscow

At the height of the Cold War, on May 28, 1987, German teenager Mathias Rust, then 19 years old, flew a risky “peace mission” from Helsinki to Moscow. In the video in this post, he explains why he did it in his own words.

With only 50 flying hours under his belt, Rust made the bold decision to accomplish what had previously been thought impossible. As you watch the video, it’s unbelievable how low he flew considering all the air defenses you would expect to be in place, particularly knowing how a MiG jet fighter passed him.

“It passed me on my left side so close that I could see the two pilots sitting in the cockpit and I saw of course the red star of the wing of the aircraft.”

Rust was scared, but the aircraft passed past and vanished into the clouds rather than striking him. According to the BBC, Rust’s plane was misidentified as a friendly aircraft due to a combination of extraordinary luck and human error.

Mathias Rust’s Cessna preparing to land in Red Square.

Confusion was present in the air and at control centers due to a plane crash the day before, an ongoing search and rescue operation, training for new pilots, and these factors combined.

Without any more contact from USSR defense forces, Rust nevertheless managed to go hundreds of miles over Soviet airspace to the capital. He wanted to make a big statement by bringing down the aircraft in the heart of Red Square, but it was crowded with people at the time.

Normally, it would have been difficult for him to land there because of nearby cables that would have been in the way; however, by accident, they were down for maintenance. He intended to land where the parades are all held, but there were too many people and he instead chose to land nearby.

You’d think the military would lose control and capture him right away, yet they managed to find him. But, they surrounded him and the aircraft as well as numerous bystanders laughed about it, and praised his bravery.

After making peace, the incident’s pilot, Mathias Rust, spent 14 months in a harsh labor camp. He worked as a financial analyst and a yoga instructor in 2012, 25 years after the incident, and he still had no regrets.

March 26, 2023 0 comment

History

How Ukrainian mercenary pilots fought against separatists

by Till Daisd March 25, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Foreign-piloted Mi-24V helicopters turned out to be the most crucial air asset in use during combat

Fighting continued throughout the former socialist countries of the Balkans after the conflict in Kosovo, which was resolved in the summer of 1999 after several days of airstrikes on Yugoslavia. Unlike the other federal republics, fighting began in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (now known as Northern Macedonia) in January 2001, leaving the previous socialist federacy without a conflict. The Macedonian army and special police conducted a ground operation against Albanian separatists operating in the north of the country, but the air force also participated to a lesser level.

When Macedonia declared its independence from the Yugoslav federation in 1992, its air force—then known as the Air and Anti-Aircraft Forces—had just a weak fleet. When war broke out in Yugoslavia in 1991, the 354th Reconnaissance Squadron and the 241st and 247th Fighter-Bomber Squadrons, equipped with J-21 Jastreb and J-22 Orao ground attack aircraft, respectively, were housed by the Yugoslav Air Force in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia (Skanska Petro vac and Kraljevo airports).

Throughout the years 1991 and 1992, the entire brigade was operationally withdrawn from Macedonia. Organizationally, the Macedonian Air Force was founded in June of that year and received just one Utva-66 training aircraft with four seats and four Utva-75 A21 aircraft with two seats from its inventory.

These aircraft were originally owned by the Macedonian Air Union, not the Yugoslav Air Force, which gave them to the newly established Army Air Force for training. Due to the hostilities in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia had difficulty arming and increasing its military aviation inventory. UN Resolution 713, which was approved in September 1991, imposed an arms embargo on all countries of the former Yugoslavia (including later independent Macedonia). Macedonia said the embargo was unfair because it was the only nation to peacefully secede from the federation.

The government purchased four Antonov An-2 transport biplanes from Ukraine despite the embargo, but because of the international sanctions, they were nonetheless registered as civil aircraft. 1995 saw the acquisition of four Zlin 242L training planes from the Czech Republic.

After being relieved from the embargo in 1996, Macedonia’s air force bought its first new aircraft—four Mi-17 helicopters—from Ukraine. The L-39MS Albatross used F-5 fighter planes from Turkey, used MiG-21bis fighter jets, and Mi-24D attack helicopters from Bulgaria, as well as used Bo-105M helicopters from Germany, which were other potential aircraft for the planned upgrade of the Macedonian Air Force. All of these plans were unsuccessful.

Mi-24K of North Macedonia’s Air Force. The helicopter still has the original Ukrainian camouflage with the Macedonian markings, as during its usage in the 2001’s conflict.

Broke out of the conflict

Since the early 1990s, unrest has risen in the adjacent region of Kosovo. The Albanian population established the paramilitary organization Kosovo Liberation Army in an effort to wage a full-fighting war against the Yugoslav army. This conflict started in 1998.

The Macedonian Air Force Command made the tactical decision to relocate the aircraft deeper into the country in order to prevent it from becoming a potential target for local Albanian groups because a sizable Albanian population was also present in northern Macedonia. The Macedonian Air Force frequently performed reconnaissance flights over the Yugoslav province’s border during the Kosovo War in mountainous regions close to Kumanovo and Tetovo, just a few miles from the capital Skopje, where, according to the 1994 Census, 22,9% of the Albanian population resided.

By delivering food, water, and medical supplies to the refugee camps, the Mi-17 aircraft of the Macedonian Air Force assisted refugees from Kosovo traveling to Macedonia. The Macedonian Air Force did not record any serious incidents, with the exception of one of the Zlin Z242Ls from the Air Force that crashed on April 7, 1999, close to the village of Radoviš.

The Kosovo Liberation Army was disbanded after the Yugoslav army withdrew from Kosovo and KFOR troops took over the country. The Liberation Army of Prešev, Medvedjo, and Bujanovac was founded in the south of Serbia, and the Macedonian National Liberation Army was established in the north. However, its former members founded parallel organizations. Beginning in 2000, it only ever carried out relatively minor assaults on border posts and police stations to the north of Skopje.

The level of conflict peaked in March 2001, when the army and the air force were fully mobilized to combat the terrorist organization. The US Air Force employed MQ-1 Predator drones from the 11th Reconnaissance Squadron in Skopje, which were later replaced by Israeli RQ-5 Hunters from the Task Force Hunter, to monitor the chaotic area because it lacked its own observation aircraft. The survey of the Luna X-2000 was assisted by the German army.

The Macedonian Air Force received two Mi-24V helicopters and four Mi-8MT helicopters from Ukraine as part of a program to modernize its fleet. The Mi-8MT helicopters had previously been used by KFOR in Kosovo. Ukraine provided Macedonia with four additional Mi-24 helicopters in 2001 (two in April and two in September) as well as four Su-25 aircraft (three Su-25Ks and one Su-25UB), the first combat aircraft to enter Macedonian Air Force service. With the arrival of Mi-24Ks meant for artillery guidance and reconnaissance in December of that year, deliveries from Ukraine were completed.

In 2001, Greece shipped two UH-1H helicopters. A Britten-Norman BN2T-4S Defender reconnaissance aircraft from an unspecified country, six J-21 Jastreb fighters from Serbia, six MiG-29 fighters from Ukraine, two Kamov Ka-50 helicopters from Russia, or even an unspecified number of F-16C/Ds from Turkey. The Macedonian Ministry of Defense, however, denied these claims.

The support provided to government troops during their counteroffensive north of Tetovo on Mar. 25 was one of the Macedonian Air Force’s first combat missions. The army deployed the Mi-17 and Mi-8MT helicopters during the counteroffensive to move infantry units more quickly. No helicopters were lost despite the fact that Albanian separatists had a large number of FIM-92 Stinger and Strela-2M anti-aircraft mobile weapons at their disposal. On March 17, one Mi-17 was lost after the rear rotor blades crashed with the flagpole during takeoff from the Popova Šapka ski resort.

Air war over North Macedonia – how Ukrainian mercenary pilots fought against separatists — All three Su-25Ks of the Air Force of North Macedonia.

Macedonian Su-25s in a fight

During a short period of time, the Macedonian Air Force employed its only jet aircraft. In June 2001, Macedonia received four Su-25s from Ukraine (three Su-25Ks and one Su-25UB, originally owned by the Belarusian Air Force). The “Frogfoots” were flown by Ukrainian mercenary pilots since the service lacked trained pilots. On June 23, the Sukhois undertook a reconnaissance flight over the village of Aračinovo, which is close to Skopje, where severe combat was occurring. From the Petrovec air base, Sukhois took off. Later, while serving with the Macedonian Air Force, Su-25s flew just one combat flight. Separatists in Albania were successful in taking a T-55 tank from the Macedonian military in August.

On August 12, three Sukhois conducted a combat flight to try and destroy it. The machines attempted to strike the tank with unguided 57 mm missiles, but they were unsuccessful, according to the data that was available. The Frogfoots had engaged in a number of additional reconnaissance operations by the conclusion of the conflict in November 2001, most of which they carried out with Mi-24 helicopters, but no direct combat activity. The Su-25s were added to the 101st Squadron’s arsenal following the conflict, where they operated until 2003. Due to a shortage of pilots and spare components for the aircraft, the Frogfoots’ brief operation as the only jet fighters in the nation’s air force came to an end.

Macedonian Mi-24s in a fight

The Mi-24s provided to Macedonia were identical to the Mi-8MT, Mi-17, and Su-25 aircraft delivered from Ukraine. Twelve Mi-24s (variant Mi-24D and Mi-24V) were sent to Croatia in 1993 and 1994, hence the fighting in Macedonia was not the first for the Ukrainian Mi-24. Due mainly to the ongoing UN embargo, the equipment was shipped as rescue helicopters, and soon after their arrival in Croatia, the equipment was mounted on the choppers. During Operation Storm in August 1995, Croatian Mi-24s took part in the battle against local Serbian separatists.

When Yugoslavia started to take a less active role in the Kosovo conflict in 1998, several Mi-24Vs that were initially Ukrainian were also delivered to that nation. They only briefly served in the Yugoslav Air Force following the conflict. On March 23, 2001, Macedonia received its first supply of Mi-24 aircraft.

As in the case of the Su-25, the Macedonian Air Force’s “Hinds” were first flown by hired pilots from the post-Soviet republics because there were only two crews qualified to fly the Mi-24. On April 2, a combat flight against the positions of Albanian separatists north of Tetovo served as the Mi-24’s first combat operation. The employment of Macedonian Mi-24s in the conflict in the summer of 2001 was so intense, according to the sources that are available, that they purportedly destroyed all 57 mm missiles that were in the country.

During the conflict, Macedonian Hinds also employed roughly 40 Shturm-V anti-tank missiles, occasionally during night attacks. The Mi-24 also dropped four 250 kg bombs during the fighting for the village of Arainovo, which started on June 21 at 4:30 in the morning. Hinds crews frequently used flares during attacks on ground targets to stop Albanian militants from taking down helicopters with multiple MANPADS. Versions K and V of the Mi-24 joined the 201st Anti-Armor Helicopter Squadron after the conflict. The Mi-24K helicopters were eventually decommissioned, and currently, the Macedonian Air Force is equipped with four Mi-24V helicopters that Israeli company Elbit refurbished.

The dissolution of the Albanian separatist forces was a result of the end of the hostilities in northern Macedonia in November 2001. The only Mi-17 helicopter lost by the Macedonian Air Force during the conflict’s nearly one-year duration was not actively involved in the battle. Unknown is the precise number of flights made by the Macedonian Air Force throughout the conflict. Nonetheless, in a relatively short period of time, the air force of North Macedonia was able to successfully support ground troops in their conflict with nearby Albanian separatists. Foreign-piloted Mi-24V helicopters turned out to be the most crucial air asset in use during the war.

Due to logistical reasons, the Su-25K and Su-25UB attack aircraft were only ever employed once to directly strike ground targets. Smaller skirmishes with the Albanian minority also occurred in Northern Macedonia in 2015, but thankfully they were not as severe as they were in 2001 and the air force did not have to be involved.

Sources

Alexander Mladenov: Mil Mi-24 Hind Gunship. Osprey Publishing, 2010.

Alexander Mladenov: Su-25 Frogfoot Units in Combat. Osprey Publishing, 2015.

Alexander Mladenov: Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot. Osprey Publishing, 2013.

Photo by Mi-24K and Su-25Ks Rob Schleiffert via Flickr and Skopski Petrovac, Own work via Wikipedia

March 25, 2023 0 comment

History

The B-17F strategic bomber that was converted into a a four-engined escort fighter

by Till Daisd March 24, 2023

written by Till Daisd

When compared to a B-17F’s 3,900 rounds of ammunition, the YB-40 could carry nearly triple that amount—11,200 rounds

Before long-range fighters like the P-51D were available, the bombers of the 8th Air Force suffered terribly at the hands of the German fighters during the early years of the Allied Combined Bomber offensive in Europe. The US Army Air Forces (AAF) developed plans to equip bombers with increased defensive armament as a result of those losses. The modified bombers would accompany standard bomber formations and offer protection from the approaching German fighters on the way to the objective and return, according to Jim O’Connell, 92nd Air Refueling Wing Historian, in the article Boeing YB-40 Flying Fortress. The Boeing YB-40 “gun-ships” were only flown in battle by the 92nd Bombardment Group.

The Boeing YB-40: how the B-17F strategic bomber was turned into a four-engined escort fighter — YB-40

The second production B-17F was modified by Vega Aircraft Corporation under a contract with the AAF in August 1942 to become the first XB-40 (‘X’ for experimental) gunship, which was later renamed the YB-40 (‘Y’ for service test) gunship. The AAF initially ordered thirteen YB-40s. More armor plating was added to protect the various crew positions, and the bomb bay was modified to become a magazine for ammo.

When compared to a B-17F’s 3,900 rounds of ammunition, the YB-40 could carry nearly triple that amount—11,200 rounds. Other changes included installing a second manned dorsal turret in the location of the original radio compartment, replacing the single .50 caliber waist gun with two staggered, twin-mounted emplacements, and adding a chin turret with two.50 caliber light-barrel machine guns. In comparison to the ordinary B-17F’s 13 guns, the YB-40 had 18 or more.

In order to conduct operational tests, 12 YB-40s were added to the 327th Bombardment Squadron, 92nd Bombardment Group at Royal Air Force Base Alconbury in May 1943. The thirteenth plane ran out of fuel and came down on an island not far from Scotland. The YB-40s launched their first operational mission on May 29, 1943, attacking the Saint-Nazaire submarine pens and locks. The leadership soon learned that the YB-40s couldn’t keep up with the B-17s, particularly on the flight back from the objective after the formation dropped its bombs. When they fell behind, the YB-40s started to burden rather than aid the formation. Compared to a regular, fully-armed B-17, the YB-40s weighed close to 4,000 pounds more.

The additional gun stations also resulted in a much greater aerodynamic drag for the YB-40. Comparatively, although the YB-40 needed 48 minutes to reach the same height as the B-17F, it only took 25 minutes for the B-17F to do it. The YB-40s were taken out of service in August 1943 after taking part in just ten missions. A few months later, the first long-range fighter escorts with the P-51B and later P-51D Mustang began operations in Europe and eventually neutralized German fighters.

The YB-40 idea was a failure because the aircraft was too heavy and slow, but the 92nd Bombardment Group crews were able to learn some important lessons from the YB-40s’ operational testing. These lessons resulted in noticeable changes to the B-17G, the final production version of the B-17 bomber, as well as to the B-17Fs that were produced later. These B-17s included the chin turret, offset waist gun stations that provided more movement, and an enhanced tail gunner station with significantly larger windows. The B-17F and B-17G aircraft of later manufacturing were therefore better able to defend themselves.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

March 24, 2023 0 comment

History

Koga’s Zero, a captured A6M that assisted in making the F6F Hellcat the most powerful carrier fighter of WWII

by Till Daisd March 23, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The A6M2 Model 21, often known as “Koga’s Zero,” was arguably the most significant Zero captured during World War II and the one that contributed most to the Allied victory in the Pacific

The Mitsubishi A6M Zero, the primary opponent of the Allies in the Pacific air war, is the most well-known representation of Japanese air power in WWII. Mitsubishi, Nakajima, Hitachi, and the Japanese navy manufactured 10,815 Zeros between 1940 and 1945 after the fighter’s maiden flight in April 1939. More Zeros than any other type of aircraft were built. The Zero is a significant machine in the history of air power because of its unique design and historical significance.

The Navy Type Zero Carrier-Based Fighter, also known as Reisen, is what Zero’s official designation is; nevertheless, the Allies gave it the codename “Zeke.” When a proficient Zero piloted by an Allied aircraft like the Curtiss P-40 or Seversky P-35 engaged in a dogfight, the A6M quickly established itself as a well-known and dangerous adversary.

The A6M2 Model 21, sometimes known as “Koga’s Zero,” was possibly the most crucial Zero seized during World War II and the one that contributed most to the Allied victory in the Pacific, as explained by Mark Chambers in his book Wings of the Rising Sun. The history of the airplane is very fascinating. In June 1942, the IJN attacked the Aleutian Islands, which are located off the southern coast of Alaska, as part of its Midway offensive. Vice Admiral Kakuji Kakuta oversaw the Japanese task force that carried out the attack, and on June 3-4, his aviation strike group from carriers bombarded Dutch Harbor, which is located on Unalaska Island.

Tadayoshi Koga, a 19-year-old P01 pilot assigned to the second of these strikes, departed in his A6M2 (construction number 4593) from the carrier Ryujo in the afternoon of June 4. Wingmen CPO Makoto Endo and PO Tsuguo Shikada were with Koga as he flew in a formation of three Zeros. The US Navy PBY-5A Catalina flown by Lt. Bud Mitchell was shot down by the three pilots as they strafed Dutch Harbor. However, an American ground fire afterward caused damage to Koga’s aircraft.

Koga pulled back on the throttle in an effort to keep the engine running long enough for him to reach Akutan Island, 25 miles to the east of Dutch Harbor, as the Zero was releasing oil in its wake due to damage to the fighter’s return oil line. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force (IJNAF) pilots had previously decided that Akutan would be used as an emergency landing site in the event that any of their aircraft were severely damaged, with downed pilots being rescued by IJN I-Boats (submarines) that were patrolling in the waters off the island.

The story of Koga’s Zero, the captured A6M that helped the F6F Hellcat become the most effective carrier fighter of World War II — US military personnel inspect a Japanese Zero aircraft piloted by Tadayoshi Koga that crashed on Akutan Island after bombing Dutch Harbor on June 4, 1942.

Shikada had mistakenly assumed that the grass in a grassy section of Akutan near Broad Bight was solid ground. He told Koga this, and Koga made an attempt at a standard, gear-down landing. As soon as his aircraft’s undercarriage made touch with the swampy ground, it overturned. The Zero took only minor additional damage, but Koga was instantaneously killed due to a broken neck when the fighter came to rest on its back. To keep Zeros from falling into enemy hands, all fighter pilots had been ordered to shoot down any Zero that made an emergency landing in territories controlled by the Allies. However, Koga was thought to have survived the emergency landing, so Endo and Shikada decided against strafing the fighter before leaving the area.

For more than a month, the plane stayed at the crash site preserved. On July 10, a US Navy PBY Catalina piloted by Lt. William “Bill” Thies established visual contact with Koga’s overturned Zero after Machinist’s Mate Albert Knack had first noticed the wreckage from the PBY. The PBY flew back to Dutch Harbor after several circuits around the wrecked Zero confirmed and recorded the location of the disaster. The next day, Thies flew a recovery team to the crash site to inspect the plane.

Thies discovered that the Zero was recoverable and informed his commander at Dutch Harbor of this after removing Koga’s body from the cockpit and hastily burying it close to the wreckage. On July 13, Lt. Robert Kirmse oversaw a mission to recover Akutan.

After burying Koga nearby in a Christian burial, Kirmse and his men started the airplane recovery procedure. The Zero was removed from the mud after bringing in the heavy lift equipment, and it was then transported by land to a barge and sent to Dutch Harbor. The preservation process started as soon as the fighter arrived at the port.

The transport ship USS St. Mihiel (AP-32) was then used to load Koga’s Zero and carry it southeast to Seattle, Washington. On August 12, the aircraft arrived at Naval Air Station (NAS) North Island after being brought there by barge. The vertical stabilizer, rudder, wingtips, flaps, and canopy of the fighter were also fixed here, along with the landing gear and the three-bladed Sumitomo propeller of the Zero. After that, the plane received a fresh coat of paint in the then-standard US Navy colors of Blue-Gray over Light Gull-Gray and was adorned with US national insignia. The A6M2 made its first flight in American hands on September 26 with Lt Cdr Eddie R. Sanders at the controls, under close military police protection.

Preliminary data collected from ground investigation and evaluations of Koga’s Zero were communicated to both the Bureau of Aeronautics and Grumman, and it was the latter company’s Leroy Grumman and his design team who benefited most from this information. Prior to its widespread fleet deployment, they were able to make subtle modifications to their new F6F Hellcat, which helped the Grumman plane turn into the war’s most powerful carrier fighter.

Between September 26 and October 15, Lt Cdr Sanders conducted 24 test flights in the Zero, recording the following in his report:

“These flights covered performance tests such as we do on planes undergoing Navy tests. The very first flight exposed weaknesses of the Zero which our pilots could exploit with proper tactics … immediately apparent was the fact that the ailerons froze up at speeds above 200 knots so that rolling maneuvers at those speeds were slow and required much force on the control stick. It rolled to the left much easier than to the right. Also, its engine cut out under negative acceleration due to its float-type carburetor. We now had the answer for our pilots who were being out-maneuvered and unable to escape a pursuing Zero. Go into a vertical power dive, using negative acceleration if possible to open the range while Zero’s engine was stopped by the acceleration. At about 200 knots, roll hard right before the Zero pilot could get his sights lined up.”

Cdr. Frederick M. Trapnell, the Naval Air Station’s Flight Test Director, conducted a number of test flights after receiving the fighter in late 1942. He conducted simulated dogfights while flying identical flight patterns in the Zero and US fighters to measure their performance. Lieutenant Melvin C. “Boogey” Hoffman of the US Navy was also checked out in the A6M2, and after that, he used the Zero to dogfight with Naval Aviators training in the new F6F Hellcat, F4U Corsair, and FM Wildcat.

The aircraft was tested in 1943 at NACA’s LMAL in Hampton, Virginia, where the Full-Scale Wind Tunnel was used to evaluate the aerodynamic performance of the Zero. It was also exhibited to the public at Washington National Airport the same year during a war booty exhibition. The well-used A6M2 was back in service at NAS North Island by September 1944, when it was employed as a learning aid for “green” Naval Aviators getting ready for service in the Pacific.

On or around February 10, 1945, while being taxied at NAS North Island with Cdr Richard Crommelin at the controls, Koga’s Zero was struck by a Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, which led to the aircraft’s loss. Because of the dive-extremely bomber’s limited forward view, its pilot didn’t notice the Zero until its propeller had begun tearing pieces of its fuselage apart. Except for a wingtip and a few cockpit instruments that are now on display at the Navy Museum at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., the A6M2 was later scrapped.

Wings of the Rising Sun is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by U.S. Navy

March 23, 2023 0 comment

History

The “Phinal Phantom Phlight”, say goodbye to Old Smokey

by Till Daisd March 22, 2023

written by Till Daisd

“The F-4 Phantom was the last plane that looked like it was made to kill somebody. It was a beast. It could go through a flock of birds and kick out barbeque from the back.” Col. Chuck DeBellevue

The F-4 Phantom II took part in the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1963 and served as the USAF’s premier multi-role aircraft throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Bombing, combat air patrol, fighter escort, reconnaissance, and the renowned Wild Weasel anti-aircraft missile suppression missions were all carried out by the F-4.

Thousands of Navy and Marine Corps aviators also flew it.

The final variant of the renowned Phantom II, the QF-4 unmanned aerial target, flew for the last time on Dec. 21, 2016, at Holloman Air Force Base (AFB), New Mexico.

Bennie J. Davis of Airman Magazine recounts the “Phinal Phantom Phlight” in the article F-4 flies for final time.

A surge of emotion washes over Jim Harkins as he slipped his fingertips across the edges of the wings and walked from nose to tail, scrutinizing every detail of the jet.

His weathered features appear calm and determined, but the tears he is pushing back are hidden beneath them.

He greets each maintainer and says, “Thank you,” as he moves around the aircraft. Harkins rubs and taps the QF-4 Phantom II’s bulbous nose, like an old cowboy greeting a faithful stallion, before climbing into the cockpit.

Harkins murmurs, “One final time,” as the canopy closes around him.

This is a day of lasts for Harkins and the F-4. It will be Harkins’ final flight with the Air Force, as well as the Phantom’s final flight. It’s the last flight they’ll ever take.

“It’s not really sad, because in the military you get used to a lot of lasts, but it’s humbling,” Harkins said.

Harkins isn’t the only one who has nostalgic feelings for the plane known lovingly as “Old Smokey.” Hundreds of “Phantom Phixers,” “Phantom Phliers,” and “Phantom Phanatics” congregated on the Holloman Air Force Base flightline to observe the final F-4 flight.

Some used to work on the plane, some are just admirers, and some, like retired Col. Chuck DeBellevue, have actually flown the plane.

DeBellevue flew the F-4 in Vietnam, where he had the most confirmed kills of any American aviator throughout the conflict, with two against the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 and four against the MiG-21. He’s not only bidding farewell to an incredible machine; he’s also said farewell to an old buddy.

“A friend who got me home more times than I care to remember,” DeBellevue said. “Being back on the flightline today brought back a lot of memories, not all are good. I lost a lot of friends, but it was a great airplane. I loved to fly that airplane. It’s very honest and it got me out of a lot of tight spots during the war.”

According to DeBellevue, the F-4 was initially purchased by the Navy as a fleet interceptor, and the Air Force purchased it in 1963 to do everything – and it accomplished everything. It served as the Navy’s and Air Force’s primary air superiority fighters, as well as ground-attack and aerial reconnaissance missions. It was renamed the QF-4 after being retired from active duty and flown as aerial targets.

Throughout the 1990s, the F-4 served as the Air Force’s workhorse weapons system, and it still has the distinction of being the first multi-service aircraft. The F-4 set 16 speed and altitude records during its peak, and it proved its worth time and time again over its long lifetime.

“You didn’t get into the F-4, you put it on, it became you,” DeBellevue said. “It was a manual airplane, not like an F-16 or F-15, they were aerodynamic and designed well. The F-4 was the last plane that looked like it was made to kill somebody. It was a beast. It could go through a flock of birds and kick out barbeque from the back.”

The final flight of four F-4s prepared to take off for the last time on the flightline at Holloman. The engines roar, and smoke billows in the air.

Harkins, dancing in the cockpit, looks out over the audience, revving up the onlookers and applauding those in attendance. As the final four F-4s take off on their final taxi, everyone cheers.

Pilots Eric “Rock” Vold, Jim “Boomer” Schreiner, and Lt. Col. Ronald “Elvis” King, the last active duty F-4 pilot, and leader of Det. 1, 82^nd Aerial Targets Squadron (ATS), are the first to pass through the crowd. Before King formally retires from the QF-4 program during a ceremony following the flight, these men will fly the Phinal Phlight demonstration together.

“I don’t want to sound cheesy, but every time I get into the F-4 I can’t help but think of all the stories of all the pilots and all the maintainers who made this aircraft great,” King said. “The history and the heritage to me is the biggest satisfaction of flying the airplane.”

When King became the squadron commander, he had no idea he would be the last active-duty pilot. It didn’t hit him until last year when he and Harkins began taking the F-4 on a farewell tour to air shows and aviation expos. King felt compelled to take the F-4 on the road one last time, giving fans the opportunity to view, touch, and tell their tales about it. It was then that he knew that flying the F-4 would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“It’s going to be sad to shut those engines down for the last time, but she’s served our country well,” King said of the F-4. “It’s exciting too, because our mission is to provide full-scale aerial targets and we are going to be able to do that now with an airplane that’s better suited, provides higher performance, and is more representative of the threats we face today in the QF-16.”

According to King, keeping the F-4s in the air was becoming increasingly difficult, and the only reason the QF-4 lasted as long as it did was due to the 82nd ATS’s maintainers.

Unfortunately, he claims, the F-4 is no longer required. At Holloman, all remaining planes will be demilitarized and utilized as ground targets at the White Sands bombing range.

Most people don’t want to know about the remaining F-4s, which King understands, but maintaining them as a heritage pieces or preserving them for museums is too expensive.

“At the end of the day, the Air Force isn’t real sentimental,” King said. “It will have a warrior’s death.”

Engines roar and a cloud of dust and smoke warn the crowd that the final four F-4s are about to take off. In a two-ship formation, the first two aircraft, piloted by King and Schreiner, lift off. Harkins is in third place, and Vold is in fourth place. The final two planes rise freely, maintaining low to the ground in afterburner before pulling into a vertical climb towards the runway’s end.

The crowd goes wild. The F-4 has a distinct sound. Harkins’ jet sounds like it’s shredding the sky as it flies over the crowd in a low-altitude maneuver.

Multiple passes are conducted over the gathering of hundreds in four-ship, two-ship, and stacked formations. The sound of camera shutters clicking furiously can be heard all the way down the asphalt.

The sky suddenly bursts wide, causing many booms to shake the ground, buildings, and cars, triggering alarms across the base. The F-4s are going supersonic high above, as indicated by the concussions.

Harkins swoops down from the skies, passing many times over the throng before making his final approach. Harkins becomes the final pilot to fly 1,000 hours in the F-4 as his wheels touch down on the ground.

“I can’t imagine a better way to go out than with the F-4, it’s a special moment and a special jet and then… done,” Harkins said. “Although I flew F-16s and I went down to the F-4, but I consider myself going out on top.”

As he descends from his plane, he is drenched with water and sprinkled with champagne by his pals. King lands his F-4 in the distance, and with the front landing gear contacting the asphalt, the legacy of the airplane is written out of history books.

While the Phantom’s time in the sky may have come to an end, the stories about its escapades are far from ended. There’s always time for waxing poetic about the good ol’days, flying through the vast blue yonder on “Old Smokey” for those who flew the F-4.

Photo by J.M. Eddins Jr. / U.S. Air Force

March 22, 2023 0 comment

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