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military

Robert Powell, the first SR-71 Blackbird pilot to log 1,000 hours, passed away

by Till Daisd May 24, 2023

Robert Powell, the first SR-71 pilot to clock 1,000 hours of flight time in the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB, passed away on August 27, 2021, at the age of 90

Robert Powell, the first SR-71 pilot to log 1,000 hours of flight time, who was a member of the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base (AFB), passed away on August 27, 2021, at the age of 90. Powell carried out missions over Korea, Vietnam, and Cuba as well.

The Appeal Democrat reported that he received 17 aviation medals in addition to three Distinguished Flying Crosses. Powell’s wife, Marlene Powell, said he remained humble and considered himself extremely fortunate to have had the chance to serve his nation and accomplish some good.

“He was proud to be a part of the history of missions in Cuba,” said Dan Powell, his son. “It was a big deal in American history.”

In 1948, Powell joined the US Air Force (USAF), and during the missile crisis, he performed more than 55 missions in Cuba. Over the course of his lifespan, he flew for more than 5,520 hours on various types of aircraft.

Robert Powell, the first pilot to clock 1,000 hours in the SR-71 Blackbird, passed away — Left- Maj. Robert M. Powell- Pilot; Right- Capt. William J. Kendrick- RSO

He was raised in Plant City, Florida, graduated from cadet school with his pilot training, and started his career as a fighter bomber.

One of the first pilots to fly the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft was Powell in 1957. He flew the plane for about 2,000 hours in total. Powell arrived at Beale AFB in 1966 where he began flying the SR-71. His favorite planes to fly were the SR-71 and U-2, according to his wife. Powell also logged 2,000 T-33 flying hours and 800 T-38 flight hours.

Bob Powell was at the center of a terrifying incident on May 30, 1972. Paul F. Crickmore and Gary Coleman were flying SR-71#978 in a front door entry as they were approaching Hanoi when the aircraft’s Stability Augmentation System (SAS) failed, posing a risk of a double-engine flameout, according to Crickmore’s account in Lockheed Blackbird: Beyond the Secret Missions (Revised Edition). As the SR-71 began porpoising, they had just entered a 30° bank at Mach 3.2 and 81,000 feet.

Powell discovered that he needed to slow down and descend to a point where the aircraft would be easier to control while he battled to grasp the destabilized flight characteristics. Coleman radioed the tanker with a postponed rendezvous time because they would be approaching at subsonic speed. Powell accomplished a ragged aerial refueling, trailed a spare tanker to Vietnam’s east coast, filled the tanks, and slogged their way back to Kadena at 0.9 Mach (logging 6.5 flying hours).

A devoted family man who enjoyed spending time with his 12 great-grandchildren and seven grandchildren, he was also a well-respected veteran. Dan Powell, one of Robert Powell’s three children, always saw him as a hero and understood how his passion for flying aircraft never faded.

“He was my hero growing up,” said Dan Powell. “I looked up to him. I remember when I went on a field trip and he was there in his uniform and everyone was like ‘woah is that your dad’ and I said yes. We took field trips to the flight line to watch them suit up.”

Dan Powell vividly remembers how his father appeared to be an astronaut in the early flight suits. Robert Powell achieved more flying time at almost three times the speed of sound than any other non-astronaut in history in addition to having the appearance of one.

He joined the Beale Aero Club and carried on flying after retiring. He would hire a plane from Beale AFB and fly it for three to four days, generally to pick up his granddaughters for a visit in Parker, Arizona, or Eureka, according to his wife.

Photo by U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin

May 24, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

When a C-5 driver performed a high-speed flyby over Joe Biden’s house

by Till Daisd May 23, 2023

written by Till Daisd

To find out who the hell tried to tear the roof off Senator Biden’s house with a C-5, a call to the Pentagon was followed by calls to the MAC headquarters at Scott AFB and the Dover wing commander

Author of two books and a former C-5 pilot with 12,500 hours of flight time, Jay Lacklen, Flying the Line: An Air Force Pilot’s Journey and Flying the Line: An Air Force Pilot’s Journey Volume Two: Military Airlift Command. He is currently working on the trilogy’s last volume.

Wilmington Air Show

One of my first stateside missions took me just up the road to Wilmington, DE as a copilot on an airshow crew. The C-5 aircraft commander, “Johnny Smooth,” had a high-powered job in Washington, DC, that paid very well. His work only allowed him to complete brief missions, and this would be one of them.

Air shows are the most dangerous missions crews will experience, excluding combat sorties. The risk increases not because of difficult flying, but rather because the crew is less cautious. With their guard down, the unit and crew run the risk of incurring the wrath of the command for terrible, embarrassing procedure violations. The crew believes in error that no one is looking because it is on vacation. Everyone is observing, including retired military personnel who collectively keep a careful eye on those that are now on duty.

Some retirees believe they handled things properly, whilst others believe the present force has laxed in terms of discipline and order as compared to the veterans. They’ll keep a tight eye on the crew’s behavior and report any inconsistencies they see as supporting their pessimistic assessment of the current state of military operations.

Old-timers unconsciously attempt to attract attention to their former accomplishments by criticizing current crew members for lack of discipline while the crew prances around to the admiration of the audience.

Johnny would provide a spectacular example of this air show syndrome before we even landed and would pay an embarrassing price for doing so. Years later, I would be a similarly hapless victim of the syndrome, but this day belonged to Johnny.

I had no inkling the syndrome was about to break out as we flew the fifteen minutes or so from Dover to Wilmington IAP about 40 miles north of the base. We canceled our IFR clearance and contacted Wilmington Tower for our VFR (visual flight rules) arrival. Johnny made the call to the tower himself.

“Tower, MAC 4017, request high-speed pass down the runway for a 5,000-foot right closed pattern to a full stop.” Tower cleared him as requested. I should have suspected trouble when he asked for 5,000-foot clearance for the closed pattern, but I did not.

About eight miles out on the final, Johnny pushed up the throttles and our speed rapidly increased from our 220-knot cruise speed. I thought he would stop accelerating at the 250-knot speed limit for flights below 10,000 feet, but he did not. Since neither he nor the tower had defined high speed, he defined it himself. As we descended toward the trees surrounding the airport our airspeed climbed to 300 knots. I looked down at tree-lined neighborhoods flying by in a blur with barely enough time for me to mentally register them before they were gone.

Low-altitude flying at high speed can be problematic. The pilot’s actions can make over-controlling pitch commands a problem, leading to a porpoise motion that is made worse by the pilot’s attempts to control it. The airflow across the control surfaces is significantly more than typical or expected. Fortunately, we did not experience this problem, but it should have been considered prior to accelerating to 300 knots. One misstep at that speed descending toward the ground could have been catastrophic.

Johnny pulled the throttles back as we approached 300 knots, mercifully, and we smoked down the runway at 200 feet in relative silence. The silence came to an end when Johnny accelerated the throttles to almost full power, raised the nose to 15 degrees, and made a right turn toward our 5,000-foot closed pattern. He set the throttles to idle after reaching 3,000 feet in order to slow the plane down for the last 2,000 feet of the climb. From there we made a normal landing. Afterward, he stated that he intended to offer an advertisement for the air show the next day.

The story of the stall and fall experienced by a C-5 Reserve crew on approach to Diego Garcia

With one exception, Johnny probably would have gotten away with this maneuver using the considerable latitude he had given himself. When he launched the large power burst from the runway’s departure end, he did so over the home of Joseph Biden, a recently elected congressman, and potential vice president.

Senator Biden was not impressed. To find out who the hell tried to tear the roof off Senator Biden’s house with a C-5, someone called the Pentagon, then the MAC headquarters at Scott AFB, IL, and finally the Dover wing commander. Before we turned off the engines, the base operations’ phone started ringing.

Johnny’s punishment for the incident was inspired by a Chinese Communist confessional, in which the offender is forced to publicly and harshly criticize himself for his mistake. The following month, Johnny addressed the audience that had gathered for drill weekend, including the wing staff, to explain how he could have been such an idiot to have done such things.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

May 23, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

Ex Tomcat RIO explains how a trained F-14 crew could face 5 F-4 Phantoms

by Till Daisd May 22, 2023

written by Till Daisd

“As the Phantom neared the end of twenty-five years as a front-line fighter with the U.S. Navy, its aircrews wanted to show they still had it. Meanwhile, we Tomcat crews wanted to demonstrate the superiority of our still-new fighter,” Dave “Bio” Baranek, a Tomcat RIO with twenty years of experience

F-14 Tomcat Vs F-4 Phantom.

Early in the 1980s, US defense analysts were seriously concerned about the Soviet-built MiG-23 Flogger. The MiG-23 outperformed the MiG-17 and MiG-21 in a number of crucial areas, including radar, missiles, and top speed. The Flogger was a very capable interceptor, and because it was among the first threat aircraft types that could fire missiles against American aircraft while being tracked by radar, the threat it posed was significantly increased.

Its somewhat limited maneuverability was a drawback. Yet, throughout the 1980s, the MiG-23 was starting to appear more frequently in the air forces of possible American enemies, and because it was the first time fighter pilots faced that possibility, their capacity to fire missiles at American aircraft prior to the merging generated significant worry.

Former Tomcat RIO explains how a well trained F-14 crew could face alone 5 gutsy F-4 Phantoms — MiG-23 Flogger

West Coast F-14 Tomcat squadrons (at the time based at the Naval Air Station Miramar) undertook a series of flights for the “Rising Fighter” research effort to combat the danger posed by MiG-23s. Project Rising Fighter was designed to investigate strategies for combating the new Flogger.

Rising Fighter consisted of 2vUNK scenarios: two Tomcats doing intercepts versus an unspecified (UNK) number of F-4 Phantoms from regular Navy Squadrons, according to Tomcat RIO with twenty years of experience Dave “Bio” Baranek in his book Before Topgun Days: The Making of a Jet Fighter Instructor. All of the jets could use their radar to simulate firing missiles during the intercepts; successful launches would result in kills. The opposing formations would meet, and any remaining aircraft would engage in a dogfight.

In December 1982, Bio participated in a number of flights for Project Rising Fighter.

He recalls: “I’d been in the Fleet (VF-24 Fighting Renegades) for twenty months and had about 800 flight hours in the F-14 – a good amount of experience. More importantly […] it was only two months after completing the Topgun class. […] My pilot would be the same one I flew within Topgun: Jaws. We had honed our crew coordination to a sharp edge during challenging scenarios fighting the Topgun instructors. Now we would get another chance to practice our craft. […] It was an all-out, aggressive scenario that would require Jaws and I to use all of our skills.”

All of the sorties were conducted on the instrumented TACTS (Tactical Aircrew Combat Training System) Range near Yuma, with superior intercept control, and in real-time kill removal, as stated by Bio: “That meant that a good missile shot by either the fighters (Tomcats) or the bogeys (Phantoms) resulted in an aircraft being called ‘dead’ and immediately disengaging. Based on tactical thinking at the time, we Tomcats used only Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles, the same as the Phantoms. These missiles were roughly similar to a Flogger’s missiles, so our F-14s had little advantage in this category.”

At least for Project Rising Fighter, Baranek said that F-4 Phantoms offered a good simulation of several MiG-23 characteristics. “No restrictions were placed on tactics used by either side, so we were facing well-trained U.S. Navy pilots and RIOs. The missiles that both sides launched would be simulated, but as the Phantom neared the end of twenty-five years as a front-line fighter with the U.S. Navy, its aircrews wanted to show they still had it. Meanwhile, we Tomcat crews wanted to demonstrate the superiority of our still-new fighter.”

Tomcat crews were typically outnumbered in Project Rising Fighter sorties; their main advantages were the F-14’s superior radar, which allowed them to establish situational awareness (SA) during the intercept, and the Tomcat’s superior maneuverability “once we got to the merge. The hard part was getting there. These guys could shoot us in the face and kill us,” Bio points out.

The odds were 2v4, 2v5, or 2v6 for at least two intercepts to engagements in the majority of flights. Nonetheless, as Bio notes, “that was only how the intercept started. With the aggressive pre-merge shots and kills, both sides suffered casualties. […] Seared into my memory forever are snapshot images from a flight that started as a 2v6 and turned into a long 1v5 engagement.”

That time, during the intercept, the Tomcats killed one Phantom, but just before the merging, the F-14, which was being piloted by Cowboy and Ice (the other VF-24 aircrew that, along with Jaws and Bio, was participating in Rising Fighter), was also kill-removed.

Five Phantoms were left to be fought by Jaws and Bio alone. The furball’s most thrilling moments are relived in Bio. “It was a day with a high layer of thick clouds, softening the browns and grays of the desert during those microseconds I registered the terrain for orientation. We were flying about 450 knots when we merged with the Phantoms, and they were the same, maybe faster. I had used my radar effectively to describe their formation, and Jaws started seeing them at eight miles. ‘Tally two F-4s. Looking for the others.’

“As we flashed past their formation at 1,000 knots closing speed, Jaws immediately cranked our jet into a crushing 6.5-g left turn to get into position to take the first shots. He said, ‘Watch the guys on the right!’ The Phantoms scattered out of their formation. ‘Tally three. No threat,’ I replied.

“Through my visor, I noticed our wings sweep forward automatically as our speed decreased due to the hard turns. The high-lift leading-edge slats deployed, trembling under high g forces and turbulent airflow while we stressed our fighter in max-performance turns. At that fuel state, we weighed more than twenty-five tons.

“It wasn’t easy, but Jaws and I were in our element. We had refreshed the ‘contracts’ we developed when we went through the Topgun class, such as who looked forward and who looked back. Our weapons system use and inter-cockpit comms (ICS) were spot-on, based on practice, candid debriefs, and constant improvement. We used every system available on our Tomcat. In my general experience, the use of radar warning equipment had not been emphasized, but it was a priority for Jaws and me. I used a ‘bypass’ function so it would alert us if an F-4’s radar – which was categorized as friendly, not a threat – locked us up in preparation for a missile shot.

“We pulled more than 6 g almost constantly in the fight, but this wasn’t a problem after all of the dogfighting I had done in the past few months. Jaws called an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile shot on one Phantom and the controllers declared him killed, so he climbed away from the fight.

“A moment later Jaws called an AIM-7 Sparrow on another Phantom. Another kill. We were now 1v3.

“This memorable contest was a tight turning engagement approaching two minutes’ duration. I had to suppress my inclination to watch the ‘dogfight action’ over Jaws’s shoulder; my responsibility was the defensive lookout, behind us. Over my right shoulder, I picked up a Phantom slicing through a descending turn, a few seconds from becoming a threat, as we pursued another Phantom through a left turn. Over the ICS I told Jaws, ‘Approaching, right four (o’clock) high. Okay, hard right.’

“As Jaws broke off his attack on the jet in front of us, the irritating screech from our warning equipment announced that the Phantom had taken a radar lock. He was about to launch a missile. I made an awkward reach with my right hand to launch a few rounds of decoy flares and chaff in anticipation of the shot. We used simulated missiles, but real chaff and flares. The chaff broke his radar lock as our hard right turn neutralized his approach. We traded updates on the F-4s remaining in the fight and Jaws returned to pursuing our original target. In a few more seconds he called another missile shot and we notched another kill.

“Checking our fuel, we realized we needed to leave the area, to bug out. No Phantoms were threatening, so we headed to the southwest and extended out of their missile range. With radio calls of ‘Knock it off,’ the engagement was over.”

Bio concludes: “In the contest of Rising Fighter, it was just another event, a series of data points. When we returned to Miramar we reported the usual information – range of first radar detection, the range at initial missile launch, etc. – and objectively debriefed the engagement.

“But for me personally it has remained one of the more memorable missions from more than 3,000 hours of flying fighters.”

Photo by Dave “Bio” Baranek; MiG-23 photo: U.S. Air Force

May 22, 2023 0 comment

History

Heavy maintenance is helping the legendary BUFF to remain in service forever

by Till Daisd May 20, 2023

written by Till Daisd

‘We do heavy maintenance to the B-52. I mean heavy,’ Darren Dennis, Aerospace Propulsion Apprentice at US Air Force.

The B-52 Stratofortress has served as the backbone of the US-manned strategic bomber force ever since it entered service. The B-52 is known as the “Big Ugly Fat F****r” by its aircrews, and it is equipped to drop or launch the most varied lineup of US arsenal weaponry. This includes joint direct attack munitions (JDAMs), precision-guided missiles, cluster bombs, gravity bombs, and such.

The US Air Force (USAF) has actually decided that the B-52 will continue to be used until at least 2040 when it intends to retire all B-1B and B-2 bombers. In order to operate alongside the newest Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider, a proposal to re-engine the fleet of 76 B-52H aircraft was made in 2018. The goal of this project, known as the Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP), is to equip the illustrious aircraft with current-model, commercially available business jet engines.

Impressive photos prove that the Mighty B-52 Stratofortress is still kicking ass 50 years after Operation Linebacker II — A weapons load crew from the 2nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron transports a GBU-10 munition to be loaded onto a B-52H Stratofortress during Combat Hammer at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., Mar. 10, 2021. Top image: An Air Force crew chief helps prepare a B-52H Stratofortress for takeoff during training operations at Royal Australian Air Force Base, Darwin, Australia, Apr. 3, 2018.

But how did the recognizable BUFF manage to continue operating for so long?

‘We do heavy maintenance to the B-52. I mean heavy,’ says Darren Dennis, Aerospace Propulsion Apprentice at US Air Force, on Quora.

‘I work on the engines of the B-52 and I can tell you that anything that even looks broken, from everything from clamps to major components gets replaced or repaired by the good ole maintenance folk.

‘Not to mention the Air Force has very strict guidelines of how our parts and components are maintained and kept serviceable.

‘Think about it this way. Imagine you buy a car and as the years wear on it, eventually you can’t drive it anymore because the parts are too worn out. Even if you change the fluids and do every simple maintenance thing you could to it.

‘Now imagine if every 1,000 miles on your car, mechanics are going in and changing out everything from your tires, wiring, body paneling, AC, fluids, lights, and car seats. Essentially your car will last forever.

‘Same concept with the B-52. Also, it’s just a reliable aircraft.’

Dennis concludes;

‘The Air Force isn’t getting rid of them any time soon cause there isn’t anything good enough to replace it yet. Much like the A-10 Warthog.’

The classic BUFF will likely continue to fly for at least another 25 years, proving that old soldiers don’t die; they only fade away, until a new aircraft is created to replace this legendary model.

Photo by Staff Sgt. Alexander W. Riedel and Airman 1st Class Jacob B. Wrightsman / U.S. Air Force

May 20, 2023 0 comment

History

Why the B-58 Mach 2 had the most controversial designs in the history of aviation

by Till Daisd May 19, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Despite several flaws, the B-58’s pilots and crews were in awe of it. The Hustler represented the apex of a bomber pilot’s career

The B-58, the US Air Force’s first operational supersonic bomber, flew for the first time on November 11, 1956. 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 for the Strategic Air Command. B-58s set 19 world records for speed and altitude while also getting five different aviation trophies. Nonetheless, the B-58 was the product of one of the most divisive designs in aviation history, despite its amazing features and accomplishments.

‘The B-58 Hustler, the supersonic bomber of the early Cold War had an appalling accident rate, was a maintenance nightmare, terrible flight characteristics, and the basic mission was obsolete before the aircraft was fielded,’ said David Tussey former US Navy A-7 pilot on Quora. ‘I think over ~1/4 of the aircraft were lost in accidents. The Hustler retired quickly from service serving less than a decade. The “bomb pod” — the combination centerline fuel tank + nuclear bomb dispenser — was a horror show. The plane looked sexy and was visually striking with that huge delta wing and four jet engines, but what a disaster.

‘One of my Navy colleagues’ father had flown the B-58 out of Carswell, I believe. He told us of one particular fuel transfer failure that the aircraft had and that if this failure occurred during supersonic flight, it would result in trapped fuel that would shift the CG of the aircraft and make it uncontrollable when you slowed below supersonic flight.’

Tussey concludes;

‘So… if this emergency were to happen (and it did), you had two equally horrific choices — 1) eject while supersonic, which was likely to kill everyone, or 2) slow the aircraft to subsonic speed, allow the aircraft to go uncontrollable, and then eject—which was equally likely to kill everyone. ‘Unbelievable.’

Yet, despite the B-58’s flaws, pilots and crews were in awe of it. The B-58 aircraft represented the apex of a bomber pilot’s career. All of them were volunteers, the best of the best, and they only wanted to fly. On the B-58 Hustler website, Lt. Col. Strank, a former B-58 pilot, provides a summary;

‘The delta wing made the aircraft handle differently than straight-wing aircraft, but the B-58 was firm, responsive, and was a joy to fly–although you were “flying” it even when you taxied. You had to pay attention to detail at all times, and you couldn’t really relax from the time you climbed on board until you parked and cut the engines.’

Convair Thought to Transform the B-58 into a Supersonic Airliner. And to Store 5 Passengers in Hustler’s MB-1C Pod.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

May 19, 2023 0 comment

History Military

5 of the worst designed planes of WWII

by Till Daisd May 17, 2023

written by Till Daisd

It’s simple to forget that airplanes had only been there for around 30 years before the beginning of the Second World War. Since the science of airplane design was still in its infancy, no one was certain how future aircraft would look. There were countless failures for every Supermarine Spitfire, B-29 Superfortress, and Messerschmidt 262 victory. These are the worst aircraft of the Second World War—completely unmanageable, incredibly slow, and prone to explosion.

Blackburn Botha

The British government issued a request for proposals in 1935 for a three-man, twin-engined aircraft that would serve as both a recon and torpedo bomber. The Bristol Beaufort and the Blackburn Botha were the two designs that were approved. Nevertheless, the government changed the specifications before everything could be put into place. They now desired a four-man airplane. This required stronger engines, but they weren’t readily accessible. The designers attempted to cancel the project but were rejected.

The Blackburn Botha had to be content with its resources. Its two 930-horsepower Perseus engines and incredibly massive airframe were all it had. It had no rear windows, little side visibility, and lumbered around the sky at slightly over 180 knots. The Botha was as far away from a swift recon plane as it was possibly possible to be. However, in 1936, 442 were ordered. The Botha had earned a reputation as a deathtrap by the time the air war over Britain had started in 1940.

Even seasoned pilots had trouble controlling it, and a string of catastrophic crashes solidified its bad reputation. Despite being returned to training squadrons, Bothas caused much more harm there. 145 of the 478 dispatched to training squadrons crashed on land, and 24 were lost at sea due to engine failure. Many novice pilots and crew members perished while attempting to land the lumbering beast. The design was abandoned by 1944.

Messerschmitt Me-210

The Luftwaffe was facing its own design issues across the Channel. They were developing a new aircraft to take the place of the obsolete Messerschmitt Bf-110. The Me-210, the pinnacle of German engineering, was the outcome. On paper, it had all the right components: two powerful engines, a bomb bay to lessen drag, and cutting-edge remote-control weaponry. Yet as soon as the Me-210 took flight, the issues started. The experimental plane trembled violently in the air. It had a bad propensity of stalling out in turns and then entering a fatal spin. It was completely unsteady. This is how the second prototype was lost; the test pilot bailed off after concluding that the spin couldn’t be recovered.

Pilots eventually despised flying the Me-210 as more prototypes and design changes made no difference. Fritz Wendel, the chief test pilot at Messerschmitt, went so far as to say that it possessed all the least desirable characteristics an airplane could have. The project was hurriedly completed, and by April 1942, brand-new Me-210s were being delivered to Luftwaffe troops. The airmen detested the aircraft and usually thought that boarding one was about as safe as using a Panzerfaust to play Russian roulette. Production was stopped and a redesign was in motion within a month. In an effort to deceive the Luftwaffe crews, the Me-410 designation was given to the rebuilt aircraft.

Blackburn Roc

It appears that the Royal Air Force’s problems with the aircraft maker Blackburn during World War Two were endless. One of their fighters on the carriers, the Roc, proved to be so ineffective that it only brought down one enemy aircraft. In 1936, while British interest in so-called “turret fighters” was surging, the Blackburn Roc was created. These were fighter aircraft with a fixed mobile turret facing the rear that was located behind the pilot’s seat. Squadrons of turret fighters intercepting bombers and shooting them down with interlocking machinegun fire were how the air marshals pictured it happening.

For soldiers who had learned to fight in the static trenches of World War One, it made sense, but by the 1930s, the theory had become antiquated. Roc’s development nevertheless continued. It made its first flight in 1938, but it soon became too heavy, slow, and sluggish in maneuvers.

Alexander Ramsay, the Chief of Naval Air Services, attempted to halt the project right away, but he was overridden. As work went on, the Blackburn Roc was completed and prepared for battle in time for the Allied Campaign in Norway. German bombers were being intercepted by Rocs, which was flying out of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. But it was here that a fatal design defect was found. The Blackburn Roc was substantially slower than German aircraft and lacked forward-facing guns, allowing it to only fire sideways or backward.

Combined, both factors made it impossible to engage in combat effectively. It was useless. A Roc was never successful in shooting down an enemy aircraft on its own. By the end of 1940, the Roc had been taken out of active use and dedicated to target towing and training. Some had their turrets removed, and when they were secured into the ground, they were very effective at defending against aircraft.

Breda 88

Yet, not every aircraft that performed poorly during the conflict had a poor design from the outset. In fact, the Italian Breda 88 held the world record for speed. What went wrong, then? In order to meet what many at the time saw to be completely irrational expectations from Fascist Italy’s Regia Aeronautica, the Breda 88 Lince was created in 1936. The men working for Mussolini desired a fighter bomber with a 530 kph top speed and a 2,000-kilometer range. This was quicker than any existing aircraft. The Italians were successful, and their prototype, which averaged 554 kilometers per hour over a 100-kilometer stage, broke the world speed record in 1937.

Later on in the same year, it set a new record by traveling over a 1000-kilometer stage at an average speed of 530 kilometers per hour. The Breda 88 was slated to be the next development in aerial warfare, according to fascist propaganda, which praised the accomplishments of Italian designers and engineers. And then it horribly failed. The plane needed to be laden with more than a ton of auxiliary gear in order to meet military specifications. The weight of the aircraft was significantly boosted with radios, weaponry, and ammo. This weight gain was catastrophic for a fast racing machine.

To make matters worse, when the aircraft landed in North Africa, Italian technicians added sand filters to the air intakes. This reduced the planes’ power by more than half, and some of them were so heavy that they were unable to take off. Italian ground crews disassembled their aircraft since they were practically unable to fly, then dispersed the parts throughout decoy airfields. An unfortunate finish for the engineering brilliance of fascism.

Me-163 Komet

The Germans were having trouble landing, especially with the Messerschmidt Me-163, also known as the Komet, while the Italians were having trouble getting their wonder plane airborne. It’s interesting to note that Hermann Goring’s 1944 Emergency Fighter Program, a desperate attempt to reclaim their skies from the menace of Allied bombers, did not produce this pocket rocket. Actually under development since 1937, the Komet made its first flight in 1941. It accomplished 1,004 kilometers per hour in October of that year, setting a record that wouldn’t be broken until long after the war.

A liquid-fueled rocket engine and the Komet’s lightweight design were responsible for its amazing speed. The “T-stoff” rocket fuel, invented by engineer Hellmuth Walter, was so reactive that it exploded when it came into touch with organic material. The Komet’s fuel alone caused numerous pilots and ground crew members to suffer severe injuries or lose their lives. Yet, Goring was prepared to pay this price in the closing stages of the conflict. Due to the Komet’s speed, Allied fighters were unable to stop it, making bombers vulnerable.

The Komet had just approximately seven seconds of fuel left before it turned into a glider. The pilot had only this amount of time to shoot down an enemy. As the fuel was used up, the Komet became a much simpler target. For the whole conflict, Komet pilots only claimed nine victories. Walter designed the Komet to glide exceptionally well. Maybe even too well, as a slight breeze might easily carry it out of its landing approach and into trees, a hill, or a structure. Around 80% of Komet pilots died while attempting to land their snub-nosed rocket aircraft.

May 17, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

Gil Bertelson, the SR-71 pilot who saw three sunrises during a single mission

by Till Daisd May 17, 2023

written by Till Daisd

“You know the part in the ‘High Flight’ poem where it talks about putting out your hand to touch the face of God? Well, when we were ‘at speed and altitude’ in the SR we had to slow down and descend in order to do that,” Gil Bertelson, former SR-71 Blackbird driver

The following story appears in John Altson’s book The Black Line.

Before the United States entered World War II, young American John Magee, Jr., who was flying with the RAF, wrote a famous aviation poem titled “High Flight.”

The poem reads as follows:

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I’ve climbed and joined the tumbling mirth

Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,

I’ve chased the shouting wind along and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air….

Remembering Gil Bertelson, the SR-71 driver that saw three sunrises on one particular Blackbird mission — Gil Bertelson and Frank Stampf

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue

I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace

Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —

And, while with the silent, lifting mind I’ve trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

Gil Bertelson, a former SR-71 Blackbird pilot, responded to the queries saying, “I can’t give you exact numbers, but I can give you something to relate to… you know the part in “High Flight” where it talks about putting out your hand to touch the face of God? Well, when we were “at speed and altitude” in the SR we had to slow down and descend in order to do that.”

The SR-71’s limiting factor

Unbelievably, Compressor Inlet Temperature was, according to Bertelson (who passed away on December 7, 2017), what limited the SR-71’s speed. The highest CIT that could be used was 427 degrees Celsius. The engines would start to burn up at that point. The outer air temperature at the SR-71’s operating altitudes would be minus 56 ° Centigrade on a “standard lay” (temperature-wise). On one of those “standard temperature” days, as the aircraft was driven to Mach 3.2, the CIT would reach the limiting 427 degrees.

The CIT would hit 427 degrees before reaching Mach 3.2 if the outside air temperature was warmer than usual (let’s say minus 52 degrees). On the other hand, the 427-degree CIT would be attained at a higher Mach number if the outside air temperature were lower than usual (let’s say minus 60 degrees). There were times when the outside air temperature was noticeably warmer than usual, particularly when flying out of Okinawa. Missions might need to be canceled if it was too warm because of fuel considerations. The plane’s fuel efficiency was lower in the warm air than it was in the cold air.

Gil recalls a mission over the Barents and Arctic Seas that was flown when the outside air temperature was minus 90 centigrade or 34 degrees below normal. The aircraft climbed to a height of 90,000 feet due to that incredibly cold air, and the slowest speed he could hold was 3.15 Mach. To avoid coming too close to the landmass of the Soviet Union, turn starting points and bank angles must be manually changed. He and Frank Stampf, his Reconnaissance Systems Officer or RSO, had 12,000 pounds (almost 2,000 gallons) more fuel on board than the flight plan intended for when they reconnected with the tankers for their subsequent in-flight refueling. The J-58 engines loved the cold.

Gil also recalls a mission that was carried out in the late afternoon and early evening. There were numerous climbs to altitudes of roughly 85,000 feet and in-flight refuelings. Owing to the mission’s trajectory, they were able to climb out of the darkness on two occasions and go toward the West, where they caught up with the sun and saw sunrises. As a result, he saw three sunrises on that specific day: one in the east as the day began and two in the west as he was surpassing the sun.

The Black Line is available to order here.

Photo by Lockheed Martin, U.S. Air Force

May 17, 2023 0 comment

Military

First aviation delivered ground refueling by the F-35 conducted by VMFA-121

by Till Daisd May 16, 2023

written by Till Daisd

When alternative resources aren’t available, the ADGR gives VMFA-121 F-35s the option to refuel by C-130 aircraft in remote areas

At Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, on April 11, 2017, American Marines from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 152 and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 performed aircraft delivered ground refueling (ADGR).

The ADGR marks the first evolution of this type of refueling for the F-35B Lightning II stealth jets operated by VMFA-121, as detailed by Lance Cpl. Joseph Abrego in his article VMGR-152, VMFA-121 fuel capabilities.

The purpose of the training was to determine the fuel flow rates in gallons per minute from the KC-130J Hercules to the F-35B Lightning II aircraft in order to gauge how quickly the procedure would go in a practical setting.

“It felt great to be a part of today’s refueling, it was surreal,” said U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) Lance Cpl. Keon Willingham, a powerline mechanic with VMFA-121. “Being able to participate in the first ADGR with the F-35 is something I can look back on and be eager to tell stories about.”

The accomplishment of the ADGR boosts the unit’s capabilities by enabling C-130 aircraft to refuel in remote regions when other resources are not available.

“I’m going to take away how multi-face this operation was,” explained USMC Cpl. Matthew Schoon, ordnance technician with VMFA-121. “We had to deal with different components from the pilot in a running F-35, to a running KC-130 and Marines from VMGR 152. There was a lot of communication, and I had to keep my head on a swivel the whole time. That’s something I’ll be able to apply in any situation.”

Even though the weather caused problems for the Marines in both squadrons, it didn’t prevent them from completing their responsibilities.

“The weather played a big factor in the training today with safety, visibility and communication,” pointed out Schoon. “Training with the engines on the aircraft still running made it very hard to hear so we had to use hand signals. The rain made visibility with eye protection difficult, so we had to ensure we were being thorough and making safety a priority.”

Willingham claims that the ADGR has been essential to enhancing the VMFA-121’s deployment capability: “Completing this training is a huge confidence boost for us. Being the first to successfully complete this training and being able to do so safely, gives everyone involved the state of mind that they can accomplish anything. We will continue to train, and we will improve anywhere we can.”

As previously said, the first U.S. Lightning II to be transferred to Japan was VMFA-121 F-35Bs on January 18, 2017. At the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, the unit has now deployed 10 F-35Bs, and six more are expected to arrive this year.

Photo by Lance Cpl. Joseph Abrego / U.S. Marine Corps

May 16, 2023 0 comment

Military

After 20 years of war, the withdrawal from Afghanistan is now officially over.

by Till Daisd May 16, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The last US service member to leave Afghanistan was Major General Chris Donahue, who is also the commander of the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division

The photograph in this article was taken on August 30, 2021, at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, and depicts Major General Chris Donahue, commander of the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps, boarding a C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft. The US mission to evacuate American citizens, Afghan Special Immigrant Visa applicants, and vulnerable Afghans came to an end with Maj. Gen. Donahue’s departure from Afghanistan. Ross L. Wilson, the US’s acting ambassador to Afghanistan, was present in addition to Donahue.

According to US Central Command boss Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the final US Air Force (USAF) C-17, with the call sign Moose 85, actually cleared Afghan airspace on August 30. This effectively ended the American military’s presence in Afghanistan and put an end to the nearly 20-year conflict.

The last American military flight out of Afghanistan reportedly departed at 3:29 p.m. Eastern time, or 11:59 p.m. locally, according to Air Force Magazine, McKenzie said.

“I’m here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens, third-country nationals, and vulnerable Afghans,” he said in a press briefing.

The massive evacuation effort, which began following the shockingly quick collapse of the Afghan government, evacuated 123,000 people out of the country in the previous two months, including around 6,000 Americans, according to The New York Times. An early Monday morning statement from a White House official revealed that in the previous 24 hours, about 1,200 individuals had been flown from Kabul.

With last American Soldier boarding a C-17 Afghanistan Withdrawal is Officially Complete after 20 Years of War

According to McKenzie, there were no more evacuees in the airport when US troops boarded the final flight out of Kabul. Less than 200 Americans were still in Afghanistan as of Monday night, and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken stated that the US would assist those who wished to depart. He claimed that it was challenging to provide an accurate estimate because some dual citizens are torn between staying in Afghanistan, where they have family and lived there for years, and leaving.

“If an American in Afghanistan tells us they want to stay for now, and in a week or month or year they reach out and say, ‘I’ve changed my mind,’ we will help them leave,” Mr. Blinken said.

The State Department has at various points advised Americans not to enter particular gates near the airport because of security threats (not from the Taliban but from the Islamic State-Khorasan branch).

ISIS-K, as the group is often referred to, carried out a horrific attack on August 26 that left 13 US service members and a large number of Afghans dead outside an airport gate. In response, the US conducted an airstrike that hit a truck carrying explosives in Kabul and killed two ISIS-K planners.

Equipment had to be destroyed as American troops left in order to prevent it from falling into Taliban hands. 73 aircraft were also destroyed in addition to several armored vehicles and Humvees by the military—“most of them were non-mission-capable, to begin with, but certainly they’ll never be able to be flown again,” McKenzie said.

Photo by Jack Hol US Central Command

May 16, 2023 0 comment

History

The “Top Gun from Down Under,” Clive Robertson “Killer” Caldwell, is the most Australian thing ever

by Till Daisd May 15, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Clive Robertson “Killer” Caldwell, a flying ace, merciless killer, bootlegger, mutineer, prosperous businessman, and national hero, embodies all that is uniquely Australian

The most successful Australian air ace of World War II was Clive Robertson Caldwell, DSO, DFC & Bar. In the North African Campaign, Caldwell piloted Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks and Kittyhawks, and in the South West Pacific Theater, Supermarine Spitfires. He was the highest-scoring Allied pilot in North Africa and the highest-scoring P-40 pilot from any air force. In addition, Caldwell commanded two wings of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and a squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF).

‘Clive Robertson Caldwell. Better known by his nickname, “Killer” Caldwell,’ says Andrew T. Post, an aviation expert, on Quora.

‘He was Australia’s highest-scoring ace of World War II. The “Top Gun from Down Under.” Credited with 28.5 kills (throughout 300 sorties). Became an ace in a day. Fought in the Middle East, North Africa, and the South Pacific. Shot down Germans, Italians, and Japanese. Earned his nickname “Killer” in 1941, because he had no compunction about machine-gunning German pilots who’d bailed out of their stricken aircraft and were parachuting down to the ground. As he said:

“There was no bloodlust or anything about it like that. It was just a matter of not wanting them back to have another go at us. I never shot any who landed where they could be taken, prisoner.”

‘(For what it’s worth, shooting parachuting enemy pilots were fairly common among both German and Allied forces during WWII. Caldwell witnessed a close friend of his get shot by a German pilot in North Africa while descending to the ground on a parachute, and this may have hardened him to the grim realities of total war.)’

Post continues;

‘After serving with distinction in several different theaters of the Second World War, Caldwell was court-martialed in January of 1946 for allegedly smuggling liquor to US troops in the Dutch East Indies. He was demoted and left the service in February of 1946. He was also apparently involved in a mutiny shortly before the war’s end after he and several other officers resigned in protest at RAAF squadrons being assigned to strategically worthless missions. (He was cleared of all charges.)

‘After the war, he joined a cloth import/export firm in Sydney and later became a managing director. He died in 1994, being mourned by many Australians as a national hero.

‘I don’t think you could get much more Australian than that. Flying ace, ruthless killer, bootlegger, mutineer, successful businessman, a national hero.’

Post concludes;

‘He’s certainly always been one of the World War II aviators I admired the most.

‘Godspeed, Killer Caldwell.’

Photo: Marked with his initials, Wing Commander Clive ‘Killer’ Caldwell, poses beside his Spitfire at Strauss Airstrip in Australia’s Northern Territory. (AWM NWA0309) via HistoryNet

May 15, 2023 0 comment

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