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WWII

2 North Vietnamese MiG-17 pilots bombed the first US Navy ships damaged by airstrikes since the end of WWII

by Till Daisd July 26, 2023

On April 19, 1972, the threat of an enemy aerial attack on US Navy ships off the coast of North Vietnam really materialized

US Navy ships operating off the coast of North Vietnam became actively engaged in the air war as combat operations heated up in the spring of 1972.

The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver claims that on April 19, 1972, the threat of an enemy aerial strike on Navy ships off the coast of North Vietnam actually materialized. As part of Operation Sea Dragon fire mission against transportation targets on Highway One ashore, USS Higbee (DD-806) was five miles off the coast near Dong Hoi with USS Lloyd Thomas (DD 764), USS Sterett (DLG-31), and the Commander of the Seventh Fleet (Com7thFlt) flagship USS Oklahoma City (CLG-5), when radar detected two bogeys emerging from the mountains and flying low over the gulf waters.

When the Higbee was attacked by a special force that the Vietnam People’s Air Force (VPAF) had established the year prior to participating in shipping strikes, the crew of the ship had no idea that they were about to become the first US Navy ship bombed by an enemy air force since 1945. North Vietnamese leaders realized that the Seventh Fleet would probably reactivate Sea Dragon, in which surface ships had shelled the North Vietnamese coast throughout the years of Rolling Thunder, and they instructed the VPAF to build a strike force that could counter these operations when preparations for the 1972 offensive began.

A military advisor known as “Ernesto” from the Cuban Air Force, a specialist in anti-shipping attack, had selected and trained ten pilots of the MiG-17-equipped 923rd Fighter Regiment in anti-shipping maneuvers in preparation for an invasion of the island nation by the United States following the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Nguyen Van Bay, a MiG-17 pilot, and ace, served as the special force’s commander. Six pilots were deemed capable of carrying out maritime attack missions by March 1972. The 28th Technical Brigade built a special hidden airfield at Gat in Quang Binh Province that was expertly camouflaged to avoid being discovered by US photo reconnaissance missions. Some MiG-17s were modified so they could deploy a 250-kilogram (550-pound) bomb under each wing instead of the fighters’ usual underwing drop tanks. In front of the port of Nhat Le, the 403rd Radar Unit established its position close to the Dinh River, where it monitored US warships off the coast.

USS-Higbee — The U.S. Navy destoryer USS Higbee (DD-806) at sea.

In order to throw off US radar surveillance, VPAF pilots Le Hong Diep and Tu De flew two of the special attack aircraft to Gia Lam and then Vinh before bringing them to the secret airfield at Gat the day before the scheduled attack. Tu De recalled then: “We flew just above the ground after taking off from Vinh, to stay below the enemy radar.” That night, the 403rd Radar Unit picked up four US ships off the coast of Quang Binh Province as they took up station five to seven miles to sea from the villages of Quang Xa and Ly Nhan Nam.

Later, Nguyen Van Bay recalled the attack:

“Le Xuan Di and I were preparing for the attack. At 0930 hours, the 403rd radar unit reported four ships 40 kilometers [25 miles] from Le Thuy and 120 kilometers [75 miles] from Dinh, and three ships 80 kilometers [50 miles] from the Sot River. However, due to the foggy weather, we could not take off. At noon the radar unit reported the ships had moved to the south and only two remained in position. By 1500 hours the first group of four ships was 15 kilometers [nine-and-a-half miles] from Ly Hoa and the second two-ship formation was seven kilometers [two-and-a-half miles] from Quang Trach, while three more warships were 18 kilometers [11 miles] from Ly Hoa. At 1600 hours, a new group of ships was spotted 16 kilometers [nearly four miles] from Nhat Le.

“At 1605 hrs we received our orders to take off. When we were over Ly Hoa, we saw the ships and noted puffs of smoke, that they were firing on the shore. We received the order to attack.”

Le Xuan Di made a left turn toward the fleet, flying over the other ships as he targeted Higbee and picked up speed. The crew of the destroyer had just evacuated to the fantail after one of the two 5-inch guns in her aft mount fired a “hot round,” when a MiG-17 came low overhead and dropped two bombs on the ship before breaking to the left. His bombs both impacted the destroyer:

MiG-17-US-Navy-Ships — A preserved Vietnamese MiG-17. It was used in the “Air Battle of Dong Hoi” on Apr. 19, 1972. Pilot Nguyen Van Bay B flew this aircraft and bombed the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Higbee (DD-806).

“While Le Xuan Di was attacking his target I flew on, and upon reaching the Dinh River I spotted two ships to the northeast. I was too close and did not have time for a proper attack, so I overshot them. I had to return for a second pass. Le Xuan Di asked me on the radio: “All right?” I answered “Not really,” since I thought I had missed my target. After returning to base at 1622 hrs, I was told that a 30 meter [99-foot]-high column of smoke was seen out at sea, and later something burst into flames.”

Le Xuan Di severely damaged Higbee’s superstructure and completely destroyed the aft 5-inch mount while injuring four crew members with his two bombs. The attackers were only over the task force for 17 minutes. The fact that Oklahoma City barely suffered modest damage supports Nguyen Van Bay’s critique of his performance. Sterett allegedly used two Terrier missiles to bring down Bay’s MiG after getting a radar lock on it, but Bay was able to land at Gat airfield. Also, the task force claimed to have engaged in a firefight with two North Vietnamese torpedo boats, however, the North Vietnamese ultimately denied sending any of their ships to take part in the incident.

The airfields at Dong Hoi and Vinh were attacked the following day in response. A 30-aircraft Alpha strike was launched a few days later in an attempt to take down the secret airfield at Gat. Despite a damaged rudder, Higbee was still able to sail on her own to Da Nang, where she anchored next to the USS Hector (AR-7). Don Davis, an AP war journalist who had recently completed a mission aboard the similarly-tied-to-Hector USS Buchanan (DDG-14), boarded Higbee. Davis later recalled that the ship’s fantail “looked like a junkyard floating in a pool of dirty oil.”

The photograph Davis took of the damage would be widely published in US newspapers. The local naval authorities weren’t happy that a reporter was there, he recalled as well. The incident was briefly described in the official history of the USS Higbee in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS) as late as 2017, however as of 2019, both the DANFS record and the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) record for the ship contain no reference of the incident. NHHC responded that there was no “official record” of such an event when questioned. Aerial Battles in the Skies of Vietnam, the official history of the VPAF, contains a detailed account of the raid.

The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by Bình Giang via Wikipedia, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy

US-Navy-destroyer-USS-Higbee — USS Higbee under repair following her bomb hit.

July 26, 2023 0 comment

History

Jimmy Abbotts, a Canadian pilot in WWII, bailed out of his damaged Spitfire, and his parachute was stuck on the radio mast

by Till Daisd July 25, 2023

written by Till Daisd

It was not uncommon for airmen to strike or become hooked on their aircraft during the Second World War

It was not uncommon for airmen to strike or become hooked on their aircraft during the Second World War. It’s possible that H. J. Marseilles, a Luftwaffe “expert,” struck his aircraft’s tailplane or fin and died or was rendered unconscious. In any case, he was killed because he failed to deploy his parachute.

‘There is a remarkable story of Pilot Officer J.E. Abbotts, a Canadian who had an almost unbelievably lucky escape,’ Steven Rusling, an aviation expert, says on Quora.

Abbotts would later recollect reading a piece by Stephen M. Fochuk that appeared on the Vintage Wings of Canada website, as Rusling recounts.

‘My Squadron was 403 but I was flying No. 3 with 421 Sqn (short of pilots). After checking the Forts out North of Amsterdam, we were sweeping up and down at 30,000 feet.

‘I spotted 2 – ME 109s below. Winco ‘Johnny’ Johnson told me to keep an eye on them; finally, he said ‘Go after them’. I rolled out of the formation and was just coming up nicely through the odd puff of flak when something hit me; lots of oil and smoke. I fired anyway but was out of range.

‘I started towards the North Sea but the engine quit, and a 109 was rolling over above to attack – I spun away to about 4,000 or 5,000 feet and decided to bale out. I rolled over and came out but hit the fuselage and was knocked out. When I regained consciousness, the shoulder strap of my parachute was around the aerial mast. I was hanging on the right-hand side of the a/c, the a/c was right side up, wings level and in a nice glide. I held on with one hand and tried to tear the chute out, but I was getting too close to the ground. I decided that it was all over. And thought ‘I’ve had it’. I passed out. I woke up 3 hours later safe in the arms of – Germans.’

So how did he survive? His Spitfire made an autonomous landing. We are aware of what happened thanks to Mr. Albert Phillipps, a Dutch witness who wrote to the Canadian Department of National Defence for Air in London and whose witness is posted on the Vintage Wings of Canada website.

‘Dear Sir: Herewith I let you know that I would be very pleased to come into conversation with a Canadian pilot who landed on one of our bulb fields in Hillegom, Holland on the 29th of July, 1943 […]

‘Suddenly however a plane came down circling around with its engine heavily smoking. We noticed at once when it came out of the damp that it was a British fighter. The lower it came the more scared we got because we didn’t know where it should come down, because of its circling around. You should have seen the workers in the fields, they were also running a circle. When the plane came lower we saw the pilot was hanging beside the plane near the tail. His parachute was hooked on the little radio mast, behind the aviator’s seat. He was a lucky fellow, because the plane came on the ground all by itself with not too much speed, after flying over the roof of a little house with it missing by a few inches. The aviator was dirty and black from sand and mud and injured not severely. I asked what he was, and he said a ‘Canadian’. Then I had to shut my dirty mouth, so as the German soldiers said to me, which showed up by that time.’

You can tell how lucky Abbott was when you look at the condition of his Spitfire.

Photo by Vintage Wings of Canada and rcaf403squadron

July 25, 2023 0 comment

History

The first significant Japanese combatant ship sunk during WWII was submarine I-70, sunk by two SBD Dauntless aircraft from USS Enterprise

by Till Daisd July 14, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Enterprise had shed her first blood in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

On the evening of December 8, 1941, the USS Enterprise CV-6 (The Big E) arrived back in Pearl Harbor, and by that point the entire American Strategic situation in the Pacific was a complete mess. While Oahu, the center of the US military in the Pacific, saw the majority of its air power decimated, the Pacific Fleet Battle Line was all but destroyed. The Wildcats Enterprise that had just been given to Japanese Land Based Naval Bombers from the Japanese-occupied Marshall Islands was lost at Wake Island, farther to the west across the International Dateline, with 8 of the 12 aircraft being lost.

Half of the bomber strength and a third of the fighter strength of the US Forces in the Philippines had already been lost. The American war effort was essentially like a boxer who entered the ring expecting a battle but received a knockout blow just before the bell rung.

Vice Admiral Halsey’s resentment at what had been done to His Navy boiled like a pressure cooker aboard Enterprise, turning into a fierce hatred of the Japanese that would fester for the rest of his life. Halsey embodied the US Navy’s spirit of retribution, a burning determination to exact revenge, and a deep-seated contempt for the guilty.

Halsey had lost close friends, classmates, and men he had taught to an assault he was powerless to stop. His Enterprise Air Group and his troops had also suffered losses from both hostile and friendly fire. Last but not least, he would have been aware of the significant personal cost incurred by Admiral Kimmel, a classmate from the Naval Academy whom he had known for close to fifty years.

By ordering an all-hands drill and staying on board only long enough to take on more supplies, Enterprise was capable of resupplying within 7 hours and resume its journey before dawn. Nowadays, Enterprise would serve as the Hawaiian Islands’ Guardian, once more patrolling as a moving airbase and dispatching armed scout planes to every quadrant.

The pilots of Enterprise’s aircraft were equally eager for a fight because they had lost other pilots and because many of them had heard the startled final transmissions of those pilots as they were shot down as they approached Oahu on that morning of December 7. Halsey’s rage served as a conduit for the rage of everyone in his task force, and as time passed, it eventually permeated the whole war effort.

There was no doubt as to what would happen when two SBD Dauntless aircraft led by the VS-6 pilots sighted the Japanese Submarine I-70 on the surface. The loss of HMS Courageous in comparable circumstances in 1939 and following occurrences in 1942 established that the Sub posed a clear threat. I-70, a ship that took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor, was the first significant Japanese military ship sunk during World War Two.

Japanese-Submarine-I-65 — Japanese Submarine I-65, sister sub of the I-70 sank by Enterprise.

I-70 was one of a series of submarines dispatched to patrol off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, according to the Battleship Cove Facebook Page. It didn’t respond to a radio call that day. The submarine’s last radio transmission, on December 9, 1941, described seeing the USS Enterprise close to Naval Station Pearl Harbor.

A Douglas SBD-2 Dauntless aircraft from VS-6 observed it on December 10, 1941, after 6:00 AM. The aircraft scored a near-miss with a 1,000-pound bomb which damaged its hull and prevented it from diving. The SBD was able to climb to 5,000 feet and strike the ship amidships with a bomb, blowing numerous gunners overboard despite the submarine’s attempts to maneuver and even its ability to fire its 13 mm deck machine gun. About 45 seconds after the sub stopped, it vanished underwater.

The war was on, and in reaction to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Enterprise had shed her first blood. First to respond was the infamous BIG E.

Photo by U.S. Navy; Facebook Page Pensacola Aerospace Museum

SBD-VS-6-1 — An oft shown photo, but still historic view of the SBDs of Scouting Six over the Enterprise immediately prewar in October of 1941.

July 14, 2023 0 comment

History

Germans mounted a DB 605A engine to a Spitfire during WWII and was superior to the Merlin version

by Till Daisd July 11, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Compared to the Merlin version, Spitfire’s performance with the DB 605 was excellent

Among British aircraft, the Supermarine Spitfire is arguably the most well-known. The aim to provide higher performance than had been previously accomplished by the F.7/30 design heavily affected Spitfire’s design, which was created by Supermarine Aviation Works (Vickers) Ltd initially on a private venture basis. Their concurrent development became an essential element of the Supermarine Spitfire tale as a result of this, along with a further drive to maximize the capabilities of the Rolls-Royce Merlin and Griffon engines.

Did German engineers ever install a German engine in a captured Spitfire during World War II?

‘Yes, and they tested it at Rechlin – where it was found to be better than the Merlin version!’ Charles McDevitt, an aviation historian, explains on Quora.

‘In November 1942, Spitfire VB EN830 NX-X of 131 Squadron made a forced landing in a turnip field in German-occupied Jersey. The plane was repaired by German forces and re-engined with a DB 605A, amongst other modifications.

‘When the Merlin engine was removed it was discovered that the fuselage cross section was virtually identical to that of the engine nacelle of a Messerschmitt Bf-110G. Consequently, a new engine support structure was built onto the Spitfire’s fuselage, and the DB 605 engine and cowling panels added. A propeller unit and supercharger air intake from a Bf 109 G completed the installation.

‘Other changes made were to replace the Spitfire instruments with German types and to change the 12-volt electrical system to the German 24-volt type. In this form, the Daimler-Benz Spitfire started flying in early 1944.

‘The ease of switching between upright and inverted V12s should come as no great surprise since the first Bf 109 flew with a Rolls Royce Kestrel engine.’

McDevitt concludes;

‘The ‘mule’ retained the sweet handling of the original Spitfire and was popular with German pilots more used to the wilful landing performance of the Bf-109.

‘Performance with the DB 605 was superb – significantly better than the Merlin version – but then it had had all armament removed and was a lot lighter!

‘It was flown regularly until destroyed in a USAAF bombing raid on 14 August 1944.’

Photo by WW2aircraft.net

July 11, 2023 0 comment

History

P-47 Thunderbolt pilot says why it was risky to strafe German trains during WWII

by Till Daisd June 30, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Trains were never safe from roaming P-47 Thunderbolts on armed reconnaissance missions. Yet German strategies quickly made strafing them a difficult and risky task

Late in December 1944, as Col. Leo Moon, CO of the 404th FG, climbs away after bombing a German train carrying supplies and reinforcements to the Ardennes front, 3.7cm tracer rounds from carriage-mounted FlaK 43 batteries whiz past P-47D-27-RE 42-27221. Despite weather impeding low-level operations over the Ardennes for the first few days following the start of the German offensive on December 16, according to Jonathan Bernstein in his book P-47 Thunderbolt vs German Flak Defenses, by December 23 the clouds had cleared and the Ninth Air Force’s fighter-bombers started operating from before sunrise to well after sunset, attacking any motor or rail transport headed toward the frontline.

While Thunderbolts went out on armed reconnaissance missions, trains were never secure. But, German strategies swiftly increased the difficulty and risk of strafing them. The Wehrmacht started installing flak guns on wagons for point defense, protecting rolling stock, and transporting supplies to the front. German trains started to come standard-equipped with 2 cm and 3.7 cm guns. Assaulting Thunderbolts typically chose them as one of their first targets after destroying the locomotive. Following that, the remaining rail cars would be strafed.

The Thunderbolt pilots were caught off guard by the mobile flak defense. For instance, when 404th FG CO Col Leo Moon attempted to rocket and strafe two trains on March 12, 1945, he received a harsh lesson:

P-47 Thunderbolt pilot explains why strafing German trains during World War II was a dangerous business — Strafing trains was a dangerous business, as 404th FG CO Col Leo Moon discovered for himself on Mar. 12, 1945. His Thunderbolt took several direct hits to its left wingtip from 2cm rounds, nearly severing the aircraft’s pitot tube (seen here in the right hand of the ground crewman) and damaging the bomb pylon.

‘I first saw a train with a number of cars on it and fired my four rockets into it, damaging the locomotive and setting two tank cars on fire. Then I saw a plume of smoke some distance away and fired my guns at the base of it. As I got nearer, I saw that the smoke was coming out of a short tunnel, and a train was protruding from the other end. As I swung around to make an attack on it, I saw a little red ball flash past my wing, and I wondered what it was. I soon found out.

‘I saw some smoke coming up from the middle of the train and thought that was a funny place for a train to be smoking. I suddenly realized it was gun-smoke from a flak car, banging away at me. I had already committed myself, however, and I banked around and sprayed the cars, and pulled up into the overcast. The flak sounded like hail on a tin roof as it hit my plane. My brake was shot out, and there was just a hole in my wing where my pitot tube had been.’

Moon was lucky in that his Thunderbolt only sustained a couple of 2cm damage to the left wing. Without a P-47 bearing down on them, a more skilled gun crew would have likely altered their fire and brought his aircraft down. Within a few days, the 404th FG groundcrews had fixed his damaged aircraft, and it was once again flying.

P-47 Thunderbolt vs German Flak Defenses is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by Jim Laurier via Osprey

June 30, 2023 0 comment

History

Why the B-36 Peacemaker would have been a great strategic bomber in WWII

by Till Daisd June 25, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Three months after V-E Day, on August 20, 1945, the B-36 Peacemaker strategic bomber was presented. Its first flight took place on August 8, 1946

Before the US entered World War II, in early 1941, the Convair B-36 Peacemaker was first developed. A strategic bombing campaign by the US Army Air Corps (USAAC) against Germany at the time would have been difficult with the aircraft available due to the possibility that Britain may succumb to the German “Blitz” menace.

The US would require a new class of bombers with a combat range of at least 5,700 miles (9,200 km), or the distance between Gander, Newfoundland, and Berlin, in order for them to reach Europe and return to bases in North America. Since the German Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) was developing an ultralong-range bomber called the Amerikabomber, which was the subject of a 33-page proposal given to Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering on May 12, 1942, the USAAC desired a bomber with genuinely intercontinental range.

The B-36’s development was restarted in earnest as the Pacific War went on because the US needed a bomber that could reach Japan from its bases in Hawaii more and more.

In consultations with high-ranking US Army Air Forces (USAAF) officers, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson decided to forgo standard army procurement procedures, and on July 23, 1943 – the USAAF sent a “letter of intent” to Convair, ordering an initial production run of 100 B-36s before the completion and testing of the two prototypes, some 15 months after the Germans’ Amerikabomber proposal made it to their RLM authority, and coincidentally, on the same day that, in Germany, the RLM had ordered the Heinkel firm to design a six-engined version of their own, BMW 801E powered Amerikabomber design proposal.

August 1945 was the deadline for the first delivery, and October 1946 was the deadline for the final one, however, Consolidated (by this point known as Convair after its 1943 merger with Vultee Aircraft) postponed delivery. Three months after V-E Day, on August 20, 1945, the plane was unveiled, and it took to the skies for the first time on August 8, 1946.

If the B-36 Peacemaker had entered World War II, how useful would it have been?

‘It would have been awesome,’ explains Myke Predko, an aviation Expert, on Quora.

‘While the cruise speed of the B-36 was basically the same as the B-29 (around 235 MPH) it could do it at over 40,000 feet! There were no anti-aircraft cannon that could reach that altitude in World War II.

‘Its range of 4,000 miles (in the early versions) with a 10,000 lb payload didn’t quite give it the range to attack Japan from the Aleutians but it could easily attack Berlin from Iceland. For shorter distances, the aircraft could carry up to 72,000 lbs of bombs.

Untouchable by enemy flak: here's why the B-36 Peacemaker would have been an awesome strategic bomber during World War II

‘Of course, if any fighters could climb to an altitude which would put the B-36 in danger, it could ably defend itself with 16 20mm cannon (12 in remote turrets).

‘There would only be one issue and it isn’t a trivial one – the B-36 required much longer, wider, and thicker runways than any other aircraft up to that point in time. When the first B-36 made its first flight, there were only three runways in the world that could handle the aircraft. The efforts to build B-29 runways around the world would be seen as creating goat paths in comparison to the effort that would be required for the B-36.’

Predko concludes;

‘But I would expect the war would have been over much, much sooner.’

Photo by U.S. Air Force

June 25, 2023 0 comment

History

When a Luftwaffe Me 262 flew over Stalag Luft III, the Allied POWs were so startled that they worried Germany may yet win WWII

by Till Daisd June 23, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The prisoners who operated the gun turrets claimed that they couldn’t spin their turrets quickly enough to take one of those creatures out

The Me 262 Schwalbe, which was created from a 1938 concept by the Messerschmitt company, was the first operational turbojet aircraft. On July 18, 1942, it made its first jet-powered flight and quickly outperformed conventional aircraft.

When a Me 262 attacked a British photo-reconnaissance Mosquito flying above Munich on July 25, 1944, it became the first jet aircraft to be used in combat. The German jet was very effective as a fighter against Allied bomber formations. The astounding speed of the Luftwaffe’s new aircraft shocked the Allies.

‘My father was a bomber pilot in WWII,’ Patrick Crowley, who worked for a NASA subsidiary, says on Quora.

‘He was shot down at the beginning of 1944 and spent most of the rest of the war in Stalag Luft III, located in Sagan, Poland. Yes, that Stalag Luft III where The Great Escape came from. Dad was a scrounger in the camp, like Hendley, the James Garner character.

‘Anyway, there must have been some Luftwaffe airfields not far from the camp because every once in a while the POWs would see German fighter planes overhead, not patrolling but apparently training or testing out new maneuvers or new equipment. It was a variety of aircraft, the usual Bf-109s, Focke Wulfs, and so on.

‘From one of the hidden radios in the camp, they heard about the landings at Normandy, and everybody (at least the prisoners) were cheered up by the news. The war was progressing and their side was winning. If they could just hang on for a while longer they’ll be freed and be able to go home. The German guards didn’t seem to be aware of D-Day though. Probably it wasn’t being reported over Nazi radio.’

Crowley continues;

‘Not long after the news of the Allied beachhead, something new happened. The German guards were chattering excitedly and pointing up into the sky.

‘Then the prisoners heard a screeching noise, very loud, and an aircraft with odd, swept-back wings screamed by overhead.

‘It was faster than any fighter plane they’d ever seen. Faster than the P-51s. Faster than the Mosquitoes.

‘But what was more, it didn’t have any visible method of propulsion. No propellers!

‘The gun turret operators among the prisoners said that there was no way they could rotate their turrets fast enough to shoot one of those things down.

‘The mood in the camp went decidedly downhill – for the prisoners at least. The guards, who were all Luftwaffe themselves, were ecstatic. Finally, here they could see one of the new Wunderwaffen (wonder weapons) that the high command had been promising them.

‘The prisoners saw it as a huge stumbling block that at best would prolong the war and their captivity and at worst might turn the tide once again and they could lose the war.’

Crowley concludes;

‘But, as fate would have it, the Me 262s were too late and too few. There were never enough of them and even though they were too fast to shoot down in the air, they were finicky to maintain and didn’t make that much of a difference.

‘But the aircrew in captivity had seen the beginning of the jet age and my father, for one, never forget the feeling of astonishment and woe to see such a thing in enemy hands.’

Photo by U.S. Air Force and Revell via 3DJake

June 23, 2023 0 comment

History

The Air Warrior Combat Memorial, honoring ace pilot Robin Olds and air power, unveiled by the USAF Academy.

by Till Daisd June 10, 2023

written by Till Daisd

As commander of cadets from 1967 to 1970, Robin Olds was a “triple ace” with 17 victories in both World War II and the Vietnam War. He served in the military for 30 years before retiring from the Air Force in 1973.

At the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, a $1.4 million memorial commemorating the first 100 years of aerial combat was inaugurated on October 1, 2021.

According to Ray Bowden, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs, in the article “Academy honors air power, ace pilot Robin Olds with the memorial,” the Air Warrior Combat Memorial, which is located close to North Gate and Stadium Boulevards, includes a bronze statue of Brig. Gen. Robin Olds, a former commandant of cadets and pilot, as well as a model of an F-4 Phantom aircraft and displays highlighting the development of air power since World War I.

According to Greg Knedler, vice president of the class and constituent development for the school’s fundraising arm, the Academy Foundation, 368 donors together covered the full cost of the memorial, with the class of ’71 contributing 90% of it.

USAF Academy unveils Air Warrior Combat Memorial honoring ace pilot Robin Olds and air power — Above: The $1.4 million Air Warrior Combat Memorial was unveiled with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the U.S. Air Force Academy, on Oct. 1, 2021. The memorial, near North Gate and Stadium boulevards at the base, features a statue of the former commandant of cadets and ace pilot, Brig. Gen. Robin Olds, an F4 Phanton aircraft model and displays highlighting the advances of air power since World War I. Top image: United States Air Force Academy graduates, family members, and staff tour the just-unveiled Air Warrior Combat memorial at the Academy, Oct. 1, 2021. The $1.4 million memorial features a model of the F4 Phantom aircraft and a statue of ace pilot and former Academy commandant of cadets, Brig. Gen. Robin Olds.

The memorial is the culmination of an 11-year fundraising and design effort organized by the Class of ’71, according to retired Col. Frank Morgan, a 1971 Academy graduate and project chair.

After the class’s 40th reunion in 2011, “We were eating pizza and having a beer,” he said. “That’s how this started. We all knew we needed to do something.”

Morgan claimed that graduates from the Academy’s classes of ’63 and ’69 as well as private contributors all helped to the fundraising campaign. The Academy’s commandant of cadets and fighter pilot, Brigadier General Paul Moga, graduated from the institution in 1995. He claimed that Olds is the prototype for air power. Beside his office are pictures of each Academy commandant, but Olds’ picture is the one the commandant focuses on the most.

He chuckled, “I feel his eyes tracking me. According to Moga, Olds set a positive example for all Airmen and cadets with his “deep commitment to the Air Force, air power, and Airmen.” He claimed that the memorial serves as an illustration of the “grit, discipline, innovation, and courage” cadets must possess in order to succeed as warfighters.

Olds served as the commander of cadets from 1967 to 1970 and was a “triple ace” with 17 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War. He served in the military for 30 years before retiring from the Air Force in 1973.

Because his father served as a World War I pursuit pilot, a personal assistant to Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell, and the commander of the first B-17 squadron, Robin Olds grew up surrounded by military aviators and airplanes. At West Point, where he studied, Robin Olds’ innate fearlessness helped him succeed on the football field; in 1942, he was chosen as an All-American tackle. Olds completed his studies in 1943, then he attended aviation training before flying the P-38 in Europe.

As a risk-taking pilot and natural leader, Olds distinguished out. He became the 479th Fighter Group’s first ace within a few months after downing five hostile aircraft. He received a major promotion and 434th Fighter Squadron command while he was just 22 years old. As the unit switched to P-51s, Olds continued his success, and he concluded the war with 12 victories.

Olds assumed control of the 8th TFW at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base in the fall of 1966. Because of Olds’ charisma and bravery, his people admired him, and the “Wolfpack” became the USAF’s most effective MiG-killing wing in Southeast Asia under his command. The Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, which facilitated communication between USAF wings in Southeast Asia and developed into an enduring fraternal group, was also founded in large part thanks to Olds.

Robin Olds MiG Kill — Col. Robin Olds painting a victory star on the F-4 he was flying on May 4, 1967, when he shot down a MiG-21.

Olds took the initiative and flew on the most dangerous missions, sharing the risks with his aircrews. He was the first USAF pilot to use F-4s in Southeast Asia and achieve four combat wins. For his bravery in battle, he received numerous awards, including the Air Force Cross for a mission in August 1967 during which he led a strike force against North Vietnam’s fiercely guarded Paul Doumer Bridge.

Olds’ greatest accomplishment was organizing and directing Operation Bolo, which forced North Vietnamese MiG-21 pilots into an unfavorable air battle. Public access to the Air Warrior Battle Memorial is available during base visiting hours.

Photo by Trevor Cokley / U.S. Air Force

June 10, 2023 0 comment

History

The Hawaiian Air Depot scheme: the most peculiar B-17 Flying Fortress livery from WWII

by Till Daisd June 9, 2023

written by Till Daisd

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, it was decided that all B-17 Flying Fortress bombers stationed in Hawaii need better camouflage than the USAAC olive drab scheme

From December 1941 through the beginning of March 1942, both sides engaged in daily aerial combat in the South Pacific. A few understrength squadrons of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) put up a spirited fight as Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) flying boats and land-based bombers penetrated over huge distances.

The greatest impact, nevertheless, came from the aircraft carriers’ superior power.

Ships from the US Navy (USN), including a carrier task force, were traveling to the Fiji region in February 1942. According to Michael Claringbould and Peter Ingman in South Pacific Air War Volume 1, the USN was given 12 US Army Air Corps (USAAC) B-17E Flying Fortresses for the purpose of keeping an eye on them. These heavy bombers would be perfect for service in the Pacific because of their long range. Six aircraft from the 88th Reconnaissance Squadron (RS), one from the 38th RS, and five from the Bombardment Squadron were among the aircraft allotted, which were all stolen from Hawaii’s 7th Air Force (BS). The 14th RS, a composite squadron that had been redrawn, was assigned as its primary mission the defense of supply lines to Australia.

The Hawaiian Air Depot scheme, the most peculiar B-17 livery of the conflict, was worn by about half of these bombers. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, it was decided that all fortresses stationed in Hawaii required camouflage that was more effective than the USAAC olive drab scheme that was applied at the factory. As a result, all Fortresses then stationed at Hickam Field and others that traveled through the Hawaiian Air Depot (HAD) throughout December 1941 were quickly outfitted with an unofficial camouflage scheme. The design, which used the topside hues olive drab, dark sand, rust brown, light sand, and blue-grey, lacks official orders or technical requirements due to its ad hoc nature.

The simple availability of paint stocks at the depot at the time led to the selection of the colors. All HAD aircraft, unusually, also had the distinctive USAAC red and white striped rudder, without the prewar dark blue leading edge, and with “US ARMY” painted in bold, dark blue lettering on the undersides of the wings. A few weeks after arriving in Australia, the unusual rudder marking on all of 14’s RS Fortresses would be painted over in olive drab because it was felt that the marking made the aircraft stand out too much.

Major Richard “Dick” Carmichael, a 28-year-old University of Texas graduate and “ring knocker” (a Westpointer), headed the young, colorful squadron. Carmichael had a somber memory from his time as the 11’s BS deputy commander when he and his commanding officer had drowned while in a boating accident in Lake Yellowstone. Carmichael held onto the hull for hours before being rescued, barely making it to tell the tale. Afterward, he was given the position of leader.

The colorful Fortresses took off from Hickam Field and staged their way to Nadi airfield on Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji. A wide runway appreciated the characteristic colonial ambiance and the attractive, rising, green karst escarpment in the distance. The Fortresses would launch a series of prolonged searches and reconnaissance missions to a 700-mile range from this New Zealand-managed area. The B-17s completed 16 missions in five days in the middle of February.

South Pacific Air War Volume 1 is published by Casemate Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by Casemate and War Thunder

The story of the Hawaiian Air Depot scheme, the most unusual B-17 Flying Fortress livery of World War II — The foremost B-17E Fortress sports the colourful Hawaiian Air Depot (HAD) scheme on a patrol from Nadi, Fiji, in mid February 1942.

June 9, 2023 0 comment

History

Lightning vs Spitfire: Mach 2 interceptor struggled to prevail against the WWII aircraft in mock dogfights

by Till Daisd June 7, 2023

written by Till Daisd

“We did find that the piston-engined fighter presented a very poor target to infra-red homing missiles, especially from the rear aspect,” Wing Commander John Nicholls, former Lighting Pilot.

The interesting image in this post shows a Spitfire PR XIX PS853 parked next to an English Electric Lightning Mach 2 fighter plane at RAF Binbrook in 1963.

In that year, PS853 was flown in a series of test flights against Lightnings from Binbrook by Wing Commander John Nicholls, who served as the Officer Commanding the Air Fighting Development Squadron under the Central Fighter Establishment (CFE). He wrote about the reason for these unusual sorties, as well as the flights themselves, in Alfred Price’s 1974 book Spitfire At War (later made available in John Dibbs and Tony Holmes’ book Spitfire The Legend Lives On). He was a veteran of combat in Malaya in the Spitfire XVIII and a MiG killer while on exchange with the USAF during the Korean War.

‘This was at the time of the Indonesian confrontation and, since the Indonesian Air Force operated a large number of P-51 Mustang fighters, we were very interested in discovering how best a Lightning might engage such an aircraft. In the RAF we did not have any Mustangs, but at Binbrook, we did have our Spitfire with a performance that was, in many respects, similar. Thus it came about that our Spitfire came to be involved in a short battle trial pitted against a fighter that was her successor by three generations.

‘Of course, from the start we knew that the Lightning could overtake the Spitfire by nearly 1,000 mph – there was no need to run a trial to prove that. But we did find that the piston-engined fighter presented a very poor target to infrared homing missiles, especially from the rear aspect. And, since the Lightning would therefore very likely have to follow up its missile pass with a gun attack, a high overtaking speed would have made accurate firing very difficult. On the other hand, if the Lightning pilot slowed down too much he could end up playing the slower and more maneuverable fighter’s dogfighting game and lose. None of this was new – we had learned the same thing during trials between the Lightning and the Hunter. Another problem was that if the Spitfire pilot had sufficient warning of the attack he could spin around to meet it head-on – and thus present the most difficult target of all.

‘In the end, we evolved a type of attack that was the antithesis of all I had learned from my own operational experience of fighters-versus-fighters combat over Korea. Instead of trying to get above the enemy and diving on him to attack, we found it best to use the Lightning’s very high power-to-weight ratio to make a climbing attack from behind and below. From that angle the field-of-view from the Spitfire was poor, there was a good chance of achieving surprise and the infra-red source gave the best chance for missile acquisition. If the Lightning pilot did not acquire the target or bring his guns to bear on his first pass he could continue his steep climb – which the Spitfire could not possibly follow – and when out of range he could dive and repeat the process. Using such tactics, we felt that in the end, a competent Lightning pilot could almost always get the better of an equally competent Spitfire (or Mustang) pilot.

‘Almost certainly that trial at Binbrook was the final operational act carried out in earnest in the Spitfire’s long career.’

PS853, which had been completed on September 5, 1944, joined the BBMF in Coltishall, Norfolk, in April 1964. Four years later, it took part in The Battle of Britain filming.

Spitfire The Legend Lives On is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

Lightning Vs Spitfire: why the iconic Mach 2 interceptor struggled to win mock dogfights against the legendary WWII plane during the trial flights conducted by the RAF between the two types

Photo by Crown Copyright

June 7, 2023 0 comment

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