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CONTENTS FLIGHT JOURNAL FEBRUARY 2017
ON THE COVER: Photographer David Leininger captures the essence of an airplane when that essence includes the ability to dive nearly straight down to deliver bombs on a target. The dive brakes, the bombs, the subtle look of efficiency—it’s all there. Dan Friedkin owns this ultra-rare forerunner of the Mustang. (Photo by David Leininger) THIS PAGE: Although there were many changes between the original A-36/P-51A airframes and her later, Merlin-powered offspring, its basic lines remained undisturbed beginning to end. There is something about its countenance that have made it a favorite for more than three-quarters of a century. (Photo by David Leininger)
FEATURES
COLUMNS
12 ‹ WW II Diary: Early 1942
6 ‹ Contributors
The war becomes very real
8 ‹ Editorial
by Barrett Tillman
26 ‹ High Diver
10 ‹ Airdrop
Combat drama in the A-36 Apache
54 ‹ Gallery
by Maj. Charles “Charlie” E. Waddell, USAF, Retired, 27th Fighter Bomber Group, Twelfth Air Force
34 ‹ Invasion: The Philippines A losing battle against a well-equipped foe
Curtiss-Wright CW-1 Junior: At the dawn of light aircraft by Giles Auliard
60 ‹ Aviation Insider
Igor’s Watch: The Czar recognizes a young designer’s talents
by Eric Hammel
by Sergei I. Sikorsky
44 ‹ Drones: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
62 ‹ One of a Kind
The Consolidated XP2Y-1: The PBY’s granddad
Technology changes the face of combat
by Joe Gertler
by Steve Llanso
64 ‹ Review Runway 66 ‹ Tailview
Snapshot: A Moment Frozen in Time by Budd Davisson
FLIGHT JOURNAL (USPS 015-447; ISSN 1095-1075) is published bimonthly by Air Age Inc., 88 Danbury Rd., Wilton, CT 06897 USA. © Copyright 2016, all rights reserved. Periodicals postage permit paid at Wilton, CT, and additional offices. Canadian Post Publications Mail Agreement no. 40008153. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Go to FlightJournal.com. U.S., $29 (1 yr.); Canada, $34 including GST (1 yr.); international, $39 (1 yr.). All international orders must be prepaid in U.S. funds; Visa, MC, Discover and AmEx accepted. EDITORIAL: Send correspondence to Editors, Flight Journal, 88 Danbury Rd., Wilton, CT 06897 USA. Email: fl
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February 2016 5
CONTRIBUTORS Barrett Tillman WW II Diary: Early 1942 It’s hard to believe today, but in living memory, millions of Americans and Allied citizens wondered how World War II was going to turn out. Victory was not assumed. In the three months after Pearl Harbor, the Axis Powers— especially the Japanese—seemed invincible. Hitler owned most of Europe, almost reaching Moscow, and Rommel was knocking on Egypt’s door. How the world situation was reversed is a subject that appealed to me when Flight Journal began this series.
Jim Busha High Diver: Combat Drama in the A-36 Apache
FEBRUARY 2017 | VOLUME 23, NO. 1 EDITORIAL
Editor-in-Chief Budd Davisson Executive Editor Debra Cleghorn Editor Gerry Yarrish Copy Editor Suzanne Noel CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Walter Boyne, James P. Busha, Ted Carlson, Robert S. DeGroat, John Dibbs, Robert F. Dorr, Jim Farmer, Paul Gillcrist, Phil Haun, Randy Jolly, Frederick Johnsen, Geoffrey P. Jones, Ron Kaplan, Peter Lert, Rick Llinares, John Lowery, George Marrett, Peter Mersky, Dan Patterson, Steve Pace, Stan Piet, Alfred Price, Warren Thompson, Barrett Tillman, David Truby, Barnaby Wainfan
The Mustang has always been one of my favorite fighters. With its trademark belly scoop and “killer looks,” many agree that it helped change the tide of the war. But before the Merlin-powered Mustangs entered the war, the Allisonpowered versions were slugging it out down low. I was honored to interview one of these “Apache” drivers—Charles Waddell—and the stories he told me were like none I had ever heard from a Mustang pilot. They had to be shared.
ART
Eric Hammel Invasion: The Philippines—Another Surprise Attack!
CONSUMER MARKETING
Jack Donalson was one of a number of previously reticent aces who came to me after the release of my collections, Aces against Germany and Aces against Japan. I was especially happy to hear from an early-war ace who had flown in the Philippines—a rare bird, indeed. Jack was the kind of explainer who brings a lot of extras to a story, is a stickler for interesting detail and insight, and is a good, calm storyteller.
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Steve Llanso Drones: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow I’ve been writing about aircraft for decades, but they always had pilots in them. When drones suddenly roared over the horizon, however, I found myself in unfamiliar territory. In the process of trying to catch up with the drones’ potential for ubiquity and utility, I found myself hip-deep in new and sometimes surprising information. So I decided to share what I had learned with others. This piece offered me the most writing fun I’ve had in quite a while.
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Sergei Sikorsky Igor’s Watch I would often hear my father telling stories of being a young designer/ engineer/builder in Czarist Russia. It was obvious that, although he would later design and build dozens of aircraft, the 1913 “Grand” and Ilya Muromets were special to him. The watch, with its attached pendants and coin, would sometimes appear in his hands, and I’d know what images were in his always-active mind. In writing this piece, I thought I’d share some memories of him.
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EDITORIAL
Of Dive-Bombers, Surprises, and Pocket Watches
BY Budd davisson
T
his year is the 75th anniversary of just about everything having to do with World War II in America. If we were publishing a magazine that was an inch thick, we could memorialize it all, but as is always the case, there’s too much information and not enough pages. So we’re doing the next best thing: introducing a fea ture called “WW II Diary,” which will appear in every issue of Flight Journal in 2017. In “WW II Diary,” Barrett Tillman will be chronicling what happened during the months that fall within the 75th anniver sary umbrella of a given issue. We’ll cover the most critical first year of the war in that man ner. For this issue, we will cover the months January through March 1942. During that period of time, the country was only sure about one thing: Even though the Japanese war machine appeared invincible, the United States, despite massive losses at Pearl Harbor, had to fight back. And the country had to pre pare for a long fight with no guarantee that it would win. At the same time, however, war had already been well underway in Europe and North Africa, so Barrett puts in context both hemispheres and their combat theaters. This is where we’d love to have about another 200 pages! Part and parcel of the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor is The Other Big Surprise Attack. Although Guam and Wake, among other sites, were attacked the same week as Pearl, the Philippines were attacked within hours. In “Invasion: The Philippines—Another Surprise Attack,” Eric Hammel gives us an upclose and personal look at the opening days of the war through the words of P40 pilot 2nd Lt. I. B. “Jack” Donalson, who had arrived there only 18 days before the attacks began. He clearly portrays the amazement and frustration at finding that they couldn’t even get high enough to fire at the suppos edly “inferior” enemy, much less engage their bombers. It’s a gripping read. In keeping with Flight Journal’s goal of keeping our subject mix diversified, we decided we’d cover a subject that is very much in the news today: drones. We tend to think of the con cept of the drone as a New Millennium invention. As we were to discover, we weren’t even close. In fact, drones are nearly as old as the airplane itself. In “Drones: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow,” Steve Llanso takes us back to the very beginning of drones and brings us up to today, with numerous stops along the way. We guarantee that you’ll read facts and see pho tos you don’t expect. Jim Busha adds more diversity when he chronicles a subject seldom considered: divebombing with the Mustang’s grand 8 FlightJournal.com
in the early months of WW ii, americans depended primarily on two front-line fighters. The navy had its new F4F Wildcat and the army the P-40B/C. Today, the “long-nose” B/C model P-40s are among the rarest warbirds in the air. (Photo by John dibbs/planepicture.com)
dad, the A36 Apache. We tend to think of Mustangs grouped above highflying bomber formations and then mixing it up with Messerschmitts and FWs so high that they’re all leaving contrails. We forget that its Allisonpowered predecessor, the A36, spent most of its time diving down to treetop level while delivering bombs and strafing. In “High Diver,” Busha adds yet another facet to the Mustang legend. And then, as if we aren’t being diverse enough, we asked Sergei Sikorsky to tell us about what has to be one of history’s most interesting and exotic watches. It was given to Sergei’s father, the great Igor Sikorsky, by Czar Nicholas II. It was pre sented to Igor when, at 24 years old in 1913 and still living/ working in Russia, he designed and built the world’s first multiengine airplane, the “Grand.” But it wasn’t just a multi engine airplane—it was fourengine! In 1913! The story is told in Tailview as only Sergei Sikorsky can tell it. This is an interesting issue with a variety of stories accompa nied by FJ’s usual highquality photography. It will keep you busy for a while. Enjoy!
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My Mistake: It’s Hickam, not Wheeler
We welcome your comments and suggestions. Letters may be edited for brevity and clarity.
As soon as we received hard copies of the December issue (Pearl Harbor was the theme) and I leafed through it, my heart dropped when I saw the opening photo of the first article. A marvelously sharp image, it clearly shows the Pearl Harbor area and the local airfields involved in the attack. I wrote the caption myself and somehow managed to have a major brain glitch, when I identified the airfield on the left as Wheeler Field, even though I knew better. That’s obviously Hickam. Wheeler is mid-island. So, mea culpa, mea culpa (boy, do I feel dumb!). Budd Davisson, Editor-in-Chief
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Congratulations to all associated with producing the outstanding Pearl Harbor commemorative issue (December 2016). Quite frankly, it is the very best short survey of what happened that I have ever seen. I know I speak for many when I say I learned a lot—the FJ team and authors did one helluva job digging out some very obscure and fascinating information. Well done, indeed! Richard P Hallion, Florida Polytechnic University, Lakeland, FL
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Ah, Barrett Tillman, you have taken me back to Pearl in ’41 with a new perspective and voice. Your Tailview (“Don’t Worry About It!”) is way
above the horizon of an editorial opinion or view. In my humble opinion, your article is a grand piece of Renaissance humanistic literature! In the vein of Capt. Charles B. McVay III and the USS Indianapolis, you’ve erased 75 years of misconceptions and redeemed Col. Tyler’s life and career. I’ll bet Col. Tyler is smiling down on you from above. Thanks for the read. John Bybee Thanks, guys. This was one of the more satisfying issues we’ve had the pleasure to do.—BD
Another Wrong Airport…Sort of I truly enjoyed the Pearl Harbor 75th-anniversary issue, December 2016. The article “Out for a Sunday Ride” (page 57) states, “Then came flight training at John Rodgers Field (now Honolulu International Airport).” I believe this statement may be an error. Originally John Rodgers Field, it was later known as Naval Air Station Barbers Point. I believe this to be true, having served as an air-traffic controller at NAS Barbers Point (John Rodgers Field) from 1974 to 1979 and familiar with the air station’s history. L. K. Lohse, USN, Retired, Oak Harbor, Washington From Wikipedia: “Kalaeloa Airport, also called John Rodgers Field and formerly Naval Air Station
Pearl Harbor in the middle, with Battleship Row down its left side, was the focus of the attack, with Hickam Field, on the left, being hit equally as hard. The many fuel farms visible were untouched. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)
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Barbers Point, is a joint civilmilitary regional airport of the State of Hawaii.” It’s a reliever field for Hawaii International Airport.—BD
It’s a “C,” not an “A” Regarding the Pearl Harbor issue, it seems that the described P-36A is, in fact, a P-36C. Great magazine! Wayne, via e-mail Sharp eyes, Wayne! Thanks.—BD
What?! No Lancasters? On reading your article in the October 2016 issue entitled “British Bombers: The Heavies Came Later,” I was disappointed in how little (only half a sentence) was devoted to the Avro Lancaster—not a picture, even though more than 7,000 were built. As you are aware, this aircraft proved to be one of the very best in its class at the time, capable of lifting a 22,000-pound bomb load (up to five times more than a B-17) a total range of some 2,500 miles— in most cases, carried accurately to their targets. These included the “Grand Slam,” “Tall Boy,” and (of course) the “Bouncing Bombs” used to destroy the dams. Their mission successes are too many to mention here, and I suggest running an article in Flight Journal on the subject. I’m the first to appreciate the good job done by the B-17, but to be fair, the Lancaster and its crews achieved a
lot and are hard to beat. David Manser, Kent, England We don’t disagree with a single word of your letter. The focus of that issue, however, was the 1938–1940 time frame and the buildup to war, and we tried to stick to that (although we stepped over the line in some areas). The B-17 flew in ’35 and went into service in ’38. The Lanc first flew in ’41 and went into service a year later. So it didn’t exactly fit the period we were writing about in most of that article. We need to devote an entire article to the Lancaster and the important role that it played.—BD
The P-36 Mohawk was as much involved in the defense of Pearl Harbor as the P-40 Warhawks, but the Warhawks were more successful, so they got all the glory. (Photo by John Dibbs/planepicture.com)
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A Close Look at Emil A digital image at the right price…free! The vast majority of photos that have survived from the Axis side of WW II are, to say the least, “soft.” By the time we see them— three-quarters of a century after they were shot—we’re usually looking at copies, of copies, of copies, with each generation losing sharpness. However, the Bf 109E-4 that is the digital giveaway in On the Web this month is as sharp as they come. You will see detail you didn’t even know was there. It’s a terrific screensaver or print for hanging. We’re glad we can share this with you.
February 2017 11
WW II DIARY: EARLY 1942
The Home Front
Considered by many the best all-around bombing platform developed during the war, the Avro Lancaster was partly an afterthought following the failure of its Manchester predecessor to achieve its design potential, primarily from its faulty Vulture engine. Fitted with the proven Merlin engine, Lancs served from 1942 until well into the 1950s. Capable of hauling a 22,000-pound Tallboy, it was the ultimate bomb truck until the advent of the B-36. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)
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Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, America’s pro-British, transparent neutrality had been cast as “the arsenal of democracy.” In the fall of 1941, amid a bitter public debate about America’s role in the world war, he had dispatched American warships to protect British convoys against German submarines in the Atlantic, and he authorized a clandestine fighter group to shoot Japanese aircraft from China skies. Then six Japanese carriers launched aircraft against Hawaii on December 7 and all argument ceased. But in the wake of that debacle, the United States scrambled to play catch-up, following the bleakest Christmas season in living memory. Despite the fervor of “Remember Pearl Harbor” and with lines outside military recruiting offices, most young Americans (originally to age 45) waited for the letter bearing “Greetings from the President.” Eventually more than 15 million Americans entered the armed forces. FDR also ordered men between 45 and 64 to register for nonmilitary duty. Meanwhile, it seemed the war came to American shores on the night of February 24–25 with “The Battle of Los Angeles.” As the Los Angeles Times reported, “Roaring out of a brilliant moonlit western sky, foreign aircraft flying both in large formations and single, flew over Southern California. At 1 a.m., the police reported that an airplane had been shot down near 185th Street.”
“The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them.”
There were no “foreign aircraft” and no enemy bombs, though casualties did occur. Three Angelinos died in traffic accidents, and an air-raid warden succumbed to a heart attack. Antiaircraft guns boomed into the night, raining shell splinters on the population. One woman was yanked from her bed and hauled off by police for violating the blackout. In Washington, the inevitable “Battle of the Potomac” involved the Secretary of War, who said, “As many as 15 planes may have been involved” while the Navy Secretary wrote off the panic to “a false alarm.” Naturally enough, the Western Defense Command sided with the Army by “confirming” that hostile planes had flown over the City of Angels. Two postwar investigations attributed the panic to an errant weather balloon. The “battle” returned in seriocomic form, however, with the 1979 movie 1941, alluding to an enemy squadron operating from a cornfield near Fresno. Despite such diversions, almost overnight, U.S. automobile factories began converting to wartime production. Ration books were printed for distribution that spring. Scrap drives—1940s recycling—became common. War production accelerated in the new year. Whereas the United States built 18,500 aircraft
in 1941 (a fivefold increase over 1940), the figure approached 47,000 in 1942. Heavy bomber production started low but increased steadily, from 282 B-17s and B-24s in 1941 to 2,513 in 1942— an increase of nearly one order of magnitude. More was yet to come. Far, far more.
Europe: Bomber Command Ascendant After the fall of 1940, Great Britain was no longer in danger of invasion, whether real or perceived. Through 1941, the Royal Air Force (RAF) was able to devote increasing strength to its offensive arm, leading to larger operations in the new year. Therefore, March 1942 was a milestone month for Bomber Command. The much-anticipated Avro Lancaster went operational, and Bomber Command launched major attacks on Lübeck, Germany. Just as significant was the February arrival of Air Vice Marshal Arthur Harris. The former Sopwith pilot became CinC Bomber Command, bringing a fervent determination to destroy German cities. During 1940–41, only about 30 percent of RAF crews put their bombs within five miles of the briefed target. “Bomber” Harris set about correcting that situation, stating, “The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone
Shark-tailed B-17Ds arrived in Hawaii in May 1941. Of the initial 21 deployed, nine were sent on to the Philippines to complement several B-17Cs already in service. Another dozen were en route to Wheeler Field in Hawaii and were caught up in the Japanese attack. Survivors of the first days of the war also saw service on Java until forced back to Australia in mid-1942. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)
February 2017 15
WW II DIARY: EARLY 1942
else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw, and half a hundred other places, they put their rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind.” His solution was called “area bombing.” The RAF had long since abandoned daylight bombing as unsustainable, accepting the reduced accuracy of nocturnal bombing. Therefore, city centers became priority targets, inflicting widespread havoc upon residential, commercial, and industrial areas alike. The RAF’s offensive took time to reach fruition, but it was spawned in the opening months of 1942, and the Lancaster led the charge. First flown in January 1941, the Lancaster went operational with No. 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron in early March. It was a huge change from the previous Handley-Page Hampdens. An empty “Lanc” weighed seven tons more than a loaded Hampden and carried a far bigger load 50 percent farther. An early Lancaster pilot was Rod Rodley of No. 97 Squadron, which closely followed No. 44 “on ops.” He recalled, “The squadron only had Lancasters for a couple of months, and bomb loads and fuel loads were worked out somewhere above my level in the hierarchy, so when a lowlevel attack on Essen was cancelled one morning because of dwindling cloud, I was very happy. Group, however, thought we should do some training, and we were tanked up for a long crosscountry, despite the fact that a front was giving a cloud base of 300–400 feet and visibility of half a mile in rain. We lost three or four Lancs that day, landing around the countryside.” Meanwhile, older aircraft launched one of the RAF’s largest bombing missions to date. During the night of March 28, more than 230 Vickers Wellingtons and Short Stirlings attacked the port city of Lübeck, mostly from only 10,000 feet, dropping 400 tons of explosives and incendiaries. A dozen bombers were lost while inflicting 1,000 or more casualties and dehousing 15,000 people. With more than 60 percent of the buildings destroyed or damaged, Harris’s whirlwind had been launched. Success, such as that in Lübeck, came at an increasing cost. The Luftwaffe had established a continental air defense network in 1940, organized by Oberst (later Gen.) Josef Kammhuber. The Kammhuber Line integrated radar, searchlights, and night fighters under radio control by sectors deployed from Denmark to central France, often arrayed in belts three deep. During 1942, Kammhuber’s increasingly sophisticated organization featured regional “battle opera houses” controlling wide areas of Occupied Europe’s night skies. Among the Nachtjager stars emerging in 1942 were Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer (121 career victories), Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein (83), and Manfred Meurer (65). Yanks in the RAF were best known for the 16 FlightJournal.com
“American Eagle Squadrons,” which proved of greater practical use to their host country than the much-acclaimed Lafayette Escadrille two decades before. The three Eagle units—Nos. 71, 121, and 133 Squadrons—went operational between April and September 1941. They flew the same missions as other Fighter Command units, including sweeps, escorts, and convoy patrols. Though formed with Hurricanes, the Eagles converted to Spitfires and entered 1942 with Mk Vs. By then, however, the Focke-Wulf 190 had established itself as the premier fighter on the Channel front, and Eagles tried to live with the reality. Like most of their Flying Tiger counterparts, the Eagles were seldom motivated by patriotism or political philosophy. Richard L. “Dixie” Alexander of 133 Squadron recalled, “These were young people, most of them lacking a great sense of responsibility. They were soldiers of fortune. They were there for many reasons, but the primary ones had to be love of flying, adventure, and glamour. “Unlike the Europeans who flew with the RAF, few Americans had a deep feeling of hatred for the Germans. There had been no physical contact; for many, it was a continuation of WW I and a sense of natural adversaries. We were the good guys; they were the bad. We were all fatalistic to some degree, and this can be a substitute for religion in itself.” Until the Eagle Squadrons were absorbed into the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) in late 1942, 75 of the 240 American volunteers died as Eagles. Nearly 30 others perished in the war, and at least 11 were captured.
Asia The American Volunteer Group had logged its first combat while defending Rangoon on December 20. In that combat, former USAAF pilot Charles R. Bond was credited with a probable. On January 29, he was one of eight Flying Tigers who scrambled to intercept inbound Japanese. The P-40s and 20 Nakajima Ki.27s (“Nates”) became embroiled in a bedlam of combat. Bond recalled, “No formation—just a swarming mass of a few P-4-0s and a hell of a lot of Japs twisting, turning, diving, and maneuvering.” Attacking one Nate from behind, Bond closed in and fired with both .50 calibers and four .30s. “He made no effort to turn; it was probably too late. My tracers tore into his cockpit and engine. Suddenly, I was right on him. I had to raise my left wing to get over him as I zoomed past. His cockpit was flaming. I squealed in delight, laughing aloud. ‘Got one!’” Chasing another Nate at full throttle, Bond attacked from above, but the agile Japanese pulled up in an Immelmann, forcing a head-on encounter. “I squeezed the trigger. Damn! Only my .30s fired. As we passed each other, I saw smoke trailing from one of the fighters, and he
A slight inconvenience in the life of Spitfire VB EN-364: First flown in January 1943, it was immediately upgraded to a Merlin 63 engine and delivered to Gibraltar for service, initially in the western desert and later to the Middle East. It survived its combat career and was scrapped in January 1946. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)
Life-vested OFW Albert Espenlaub of 1/JG 27 (seen here at Catania, Sicily, in April 1941 with his BF-109E-7/ Trop) chalked up 14 desert kills during the African Campaign of 1941. In December, he ran up against a seasoned Hurricane pilot who forced him down in British-occupied territory, where he was taken prisoner, then later shot attempting escape. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)
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WW II DIARY: EARLY 1942
Ground crewman of the 16th Fighter Squadron (with the help of Chinese laborers) load a 75-gallon drop tank on 1st Lt. Bob Mooney’s P-40E Warhawk “Rose Marie” at Peishihwa, China, on October 22, 1942. Mooney was shot down and killed flying “Rose Marie” on December 26, 1942, after downing three Japanese aircraft. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook)
disappeared in a dive into some clouds. I was satisfied that he could never return home.” After another encounter, Bond turned for base. He gleefully recorded, “I did a slow roll across the runway as the first victory roll in my life.” The Tigers claimed 12 kills without loss while the British added two more. Known Japanese losses were actually only four Nates, but it was still an Allied victory. The victory was short-lived, however. Japanese forces closed on Rangoon in early March, encircling the capital. Among other things, the retreating British destroyed bridges, docks, an oil refinery—and the Johnny Walker warehouse. Some Tigers considered the latter the saddest sight of the war. The Third Squadron’s Ken Jernstedt recalled, “People were pushing carts and baby carriages full of whiskey.” Meanwhile, U.S. aviation had all but evaporated in the Philippines. The last surviving B-17s flew to Australia after Christmas, and the Navy’s few PBY Catalinas headed south for the Dutch East Indies.
War in the Desert Fighting had been almost constant in North Africa since September 1940, leading to Britain’s 18 FlightJournal.com
defeat of an Italian force in January 1941. Erwin Rommel soon arrived and reversed the campaign, forcing a stalemate until late that year. The Libyan impasse ended in January, when Rommel drove eastward, reaching the port of Tobruk in just two weeks. Meanwhile, air combat was constant. The new year dawned in the desert, with Hurricanes and Kittyhawks tangling with Bf 109s and Italian Stukas over northeastern Libya. The two combats were resolved, with the RAF downing one Ju 87 among five claims while the Axis fliers claimed two victories but actually got three. The commander of No. 3 South African Squadron survived his shootdown, the first loss of a P-40E, as the RAF began to transition from Tomahawks to Kittyhawks. Later that month, two North Americans had a memorable experience. Pilot Officer Lance Wade from Texas led four No. 33 Squadron Hurricanes on a strafing mission when his Canadian wingman, Donald Eddy, was shot down. He bellied in, climbed out and saw Wade circling, preparing to land for a pickup—not unknown in the expanse of the desert. But enemy AA forced the Yank to break off. Noting an armored car approaching, Eddy
pondered his fate “if caught by the people we were strafing.” As a German aimed a submachine gun, Eddy accepted his fate. Then the Germans alit, laughing and joking, “highly pleased with themselves for having shot my plane down.” Almost from a movie script, “a very young fellow came up with a pistol in his hand and said, ‘You are my prisoner. If you try to escape, you will be shot. For you, the war is over.’ “I doubt if there is a lonelier feeling in the world than when one is first taken prisoner of war.”
Malta: The Struggles of Another Allied Island While war raged all around it, the Mediterranean Theater included events far offshore, focusing on Malta. The British-occupied island was a vital asset, allowing aircraft to interdict Axis sea and air communications between Africa and Italy. Malta had been under frequent air attack since 1940. Carrierlaunched reinforcements began with Hawker Hurricanes, expanding to Spitfires in early 1942. Early that year, Malta’s air garrison included 11 fighter squadrons—mostly Hurricanes but four units wholly or partially with Spitfires, and a
Beaufighter unit. A variety of RAF and Royal Navy bomber units operated Wellingtons, Swordfish, and Albacore. The island’s dedicated photo-recon unit, No. 69 Squadron, flew Martin Marylands and Baltimores, eventually obtaining Spitfires. In the same period, the Luftwaffe deployed five bomber Gruppen, a Stuka wing, and six fighter Gruppen, including Bf 110s and Ju 88 night fighters. German attacks on Malta intensified in March, targeting airfields and dockyards. On some days, Luftwaffe planners scheduled surges of 200 aircraft over the island in a short period, saturating the defenses. From late March to late April, the Luftwaffe launched 5,800 Malta sorties by bombers; 5,600 by fighters; and 350 recon flights to drop 7,000 tons of bombs. Early that month, HMS Eagle launched the first Spitfire Mk Vs, but No. 249 Squadron seldom operated more than six at a time. Targeting RAF airdromes, the Axis destroyed several Wellingtons and 29 other aircraft on the ground. Late in March, Eagle returned with more Spitfires parceled out to 126 and 249 Squadrons. Carrier deliveries continued but were limited in number, partly augmented by Hurricanes from Africa.
Here’s a Junkers Ju 87D Stuka dive-bomber #S7+EP of Sturzkampfgeschwader 3 (StG 3) after being captured by British troops at El Aouina, Tunisia, in 1942. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook)
“A very young fellow came up with a pistol in his hand and said, ‘You are my prisoner. If you try to escape, you will be shot. For you, the war is over.’ ”
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WW II DIARY: EARLY 1942
W/C Peter Prosser Hanks DSO DFC, a 13-kill ace and commander of the Luqa Wing, sits in the cockpit of his Spitfire Mk Vc BR-598 PP+H at Luqa Airfield, Malta, in October 1942. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook)
Often lost in the perceived glamour of fighter operations was the larger purpose of Mediterranean airpower. British strike aircraft made life difficult for Axis shipping, as in late January, when Blenheims, Wellingtons, and Fortresses from Libya and Egypt attacked a large convoy bound for Tripoli. The bombers missed, but three Beaufighters launched torpedoes from 1,500 yards range, scoring a hit on the 13,000-ton liner Victoria. That night, Wellingtons and Royal Navy Albacores returned to the convoy, with the “Applecores” adding another torpedo hit. That did the job: Victoria sank at the expense of a navy crew captured. Months passed before another ship was lost to aerial torpedoes, but British Commonwealth aircrews remained a persistent threat to Rommel’s strained supply line.
Russian Rebound The Red Air Force had nearly been hunted to extinction in 1941. It lost some 20,000 aircraft destroyed or damaged in the second half of 1941, half to enemy action. But the Soviet air arm renewed and began reor20 FlightJournal.com
ganizing itself in the new year. Though flight training was appalling by Western standards, the Soviet Union’s massive industry provided thousands of aircraft that needed pilots and crews. Though Luftwaffe Experten fattened their scores and Panzerfliegern in newly arrived Henschel Hs 129s decimated battalions of Russian tanks, the red tide could not be stemmed. German aces proliferated in the six months after Barbarossa. Oberstleutnant Werner Molders had scored 33 kills in June and July. He ended his two-war string at 115 when he was promoted after Gen. Ernst Udet’s suicide in November 1941. By year’s end, Hauptmann Gordon Gollob of Jagdgeschwader 3 ran his score to 85. At the same time, Hans-Ulrich Rudel had logged 400 Stuka missions, credited with sinking or severely damaging three Soviet warships and beginning his toll of armored vehicles. He took leave early in ’42, then assumed command of a replacement unit before returning to combat that summer. But Russian industry shrugged off massive losses. The most prolific aircraft of WW II (and
probably of all time—more than 36,000 were produced) was Ilyushin’s Il-2. Originally a singleseat ground-attack aircraft, it later gained a rear gunner. About 250 Sturmoviks had been delivered at the time of Barbarossa, not all in unit service. Four factories were devoted to Il-2 production, which Stalin likened to “the bread of the army.” A Sturmovik pilot recalled, “I always admired the German Junkers 87. You should have seen them diving! They swooped down one by one and shot exactly to the point. Il-2 could do nothing like that. Its best performance was to fly at an angle of 30 degrees, and it was shaking like mad! The aircraft was heavy, and you could not make it fly faster no matter how hard you tried.” In contrast, the Germans admired their enemy. Luftwaffe historian Walter Schwabedissen described Soviet fliers as “aggressive, courageous, and stubborn. Their attacks were amazingly coolheaded. An average Sturmovik pilot was a fearless rival. The weak sides of the Russian character showed up in Sturmovik pilots to a lesser degree than in the fighter pilots.” Germany finally stabilized the Eastern Front in January 1942. A Soviet counteroffensive, however, caught 100,000 German and Axis troops in the Demyansk pocket south of Leningrad. The only option was supply by air, but heavy losses among Junkers 52 transports in the spring 1941 Crete attack were not offset by new pro-
duction, leaving the Luftwaffe hard-pressed to meet the demand. Oberst Fritz Morzik, overseeing the effort, explained to Luftflotte I that, with 220 transports, merely 30 percent were operational at a time. “To ferry a daily quota of 300 tons to Demyansk, I need a standing force of at least 150 serviceable machines, and we have only half that number. To double, it you will have to draw on other fronts and drain the homeland of all available machines.” Morzik added that in winter, operating from the single runway available, the airlift demanded more support personnel and maintenance equipment. He specified mobile workshops, warm-up covers for engines, and auxiliary starters, among others. Against the odds, the Luftwaffe succeeded, enabling the Axis forces to force a narrow strip to the west in mid-May. Among the most successful German fighter pilots was then Oberleutnant Gerhard Barkhorn of JG.52. A prewar pilot, he benefited from thorough training and began scoring during Barbarossa, ending 1941 with 10 victories. He added 90 during 1942, en route to 301 total. Discussing his opponents, Barkhorn reflected, “Some Russian pilots flew without looking to either side of them or back behind their tails. I shot down a lot of them like this who didn’t even know I was there. A few of them were good, like other Euro-
Ground personnel prepare to load 250-pound bombs aboard a Vickers Wellington Mk II of 148 Squadron at Luqa Airfield, Malta, in 1942. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook)
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WW II DIARY: EARLY 1942
The scourge of Allied pilots in the early days of the Pacific war, the A6M-2 carrier fighter possessed unmatched range and maneuverability. Counter tactics were quickly developed, but aerial parity would have to wait for Hellcats and Corsairs to arrive in theater. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)
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pean pilots, but most were not flexible in their response to aerial fighting.”
Pacific Payback Tokyo’s armed forces demonstrated exceptional competence and versatility in the wake of Pearl Harbor. Little recalled today, the Japanese had benefited from German airborne instructors, with extensive training at home and in China. On January 11, a naval airborne battalion jumped from converted Mitsubishi G3M bombers to seize a landing zone on Celebes Island, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Then in mid-February, Imperial Japanese Army paratroopers flown from Malaya in Nakajima Ki.34s dropped on Sumatra. Some 350 men flown from Malaya descended on a major airfield and the route to a major refinery. Advancing ground forces reached the troopers the following night. Meanwhile, amphibious troops landed on nearby Java. Additionally, Army parachutists secured areas on Timor ahead of a major seaborne invasion. Few other Japanese airborne operations were conducted thereafter, but the 1942 missions served a strategic goal: securing the petroleum lifeblood of an industrial power that Japan lacked at home. It was the main reason for going to war in the first place. About the same time, Japanese naval aircraft bombed Darwin, the northernmost port in Australia.
With its battleships sunk or sidelined, the U.S. Pacific Fleet relied on its three precious aircraft carriers to strike back in February and March. The hit-and-run raids were far-flung, inflicting little serious damage, but they clearly showed the enemy American resolve. The first effort was a February 1 double header in the Gilbert and Marshall Island groups. In the Gilberts, USS Enterprise (CV-6) launched against Roi and Kwajalein Atolls, achieving surprise but losing six SBDs to weather and Japanese fighters. While withdrawing, the task force was attacked by Mitsubishi G3M “Nells.” Defending F4F Wildcats diverted some, but one pressed ahead, streaming flames. Machinist’s Mate Bruno Gaido leapt into a parked Dauntless, adding the single .30 caliber to the ship’s antiaircraft guns. The G3M swiped the ship, one wing severing the SBD’s tail, mere feet from where Gaido stood. Meanwhile, USS Yorktown’s (CV-5) strike against Jaluit in the Marshalls was spoiled by weather, with seven planes lost. Three weeks later, USS Lexington (CV-2) closed in on Japan’s South Pacific bastion: Rabaul on New Britain. Patrol planes saw the Americans 500 miles out, prompting a major response. Seventeen Mitsubishi G4M “Bettys” split for a dualaxis attack, sorely testing “Lex’s” 18 Wildcats. Led by Lt. Cmdr. John S. Thach, Fighting Three accepted the challenge. His pilots splashed five of the first nine bombers, which missed the carrier with their bombs, although two Wildcats
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WW II DIARY: EARLY 1942
The classic Grumman-style landing gear was a regular problem for pilot training. This F4F-3A sheared its gear coming into the USS Charger in April 1942. Charger was converted from a passenger/ cargo liner launched in March 1941 and assigned as an anti-sub-operations training carrier, assigned to the Chesapeake Bay. Note the small practice bomb dispenser on the outboard wing. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)
24 FlightJournal.com
went down. None of the first wave that survived returned to base. Meanwhile, the second wave was left to a pair of F4Fs led by Lt. (j.g.) Edward H. O’Hare, one of the navy’s finest aerial marksmen. With his wingman’s guns inoperative, O’Hare coolly made repeated passes at the nine bombers, dropping three and damaging two, with one splashing near base. Only three of the 17 Mitsubishis survived, and O’Hare was feted as the first Navy ace of the war. Subsequent carrier operations kept the Japanese alert. On February 24, Enterprise attacked Wake Island, where the Big E had delivered Marine fighters just before Pearl Harbor. Then, on March 4, she hit Marcus Island, only 1,000 miles from Japan. On March 10, Lexington and Yorktown squadrons flew over the Owen Stanley Mountains of New Guinea to attack Japanese shipping at Lae, Salamaua, and Rabaul. Subsequently, the U.S. and Australian air forces began hitting Rabaul from bases in New Guinea and the Solomons. After initial clashes, Allied airmen were forced to reassess the prewar stereotype of Japanese fliers. A 1942 issue of Flying Magazine quoted a
naval aviator describing his enemy: “We had no idea of the type of plane or pilot we were going to run into. We knew only this: that the Japanese were well disciplined in the air, flew a beautiful formation, and would never give up an attack once they started to—even to the last plane. We knew that we would have to knock them down or else they would come on in.” Similar sentiment came from a prewar British officer with experience in Japan: “The Japanese, as pilots, I consider very good. They are steady and reliable, and I think the average is high. They produced very few star turns, but they also have very few failures.” As Maj. Gen. George C. Kenney of the 5th Air Force later said, “You take on Notre Dame every time you play.” Meanwhile, payback for Pearl was underway. On the last day of March at Alameda Naval Air Station, 16 B-25s were craned aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8)—destination: westbound. And the war continued its relentless assault on history, writing new chapters on an almost daily basis.
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At Harding Field, Louisiana, training in the Apache proved to be some of the most hazardous in AAF as fledgling pilots transitioned to the new world of dive-bombing. At one point, the cast-aluminum dive brakes were ordered to be wired shut and the diving angles reduced to 70 degrees. Better techniques and hydraulic improvements corrected the difficulties, and full dive-bombing tactics were used with great effect in the Sicily and Italy campaigns. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)
Charles Waddell, left, is seen with a fellow cadet during training. (Photo courtesy of Jim Busha)
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The very first time I was up in a P-40, the whole electrical system went out. I had no electric pitch trim, and I couldn’t lower my landing gear, so I had to pump it down by hand. For an “old guy,” it became quite exhausting! The flaps had to be lowered by pumping them as well. It wasn’t until after I landed that I was reminded of a bypass switch that would have solved all these problems, and helped me avoid using the “Armstrong” method! There was so much to learn as a green fighter pilot when checking out in a new airplane. But thankfully, the next one I was assigned to I absolutely fell in love with. I first laid eyes on the P-51A at Hillsborough Field, near Tampa, Florida. The Mustang was a hot fighter at the time—in my opinion, the very best we had. We got to fly them for three months before we were shipped out for combat, and they were a true delight— except for one small item: The cockpit cooling system didn’t work at all. We were soaking wet in that hot Florida sun when we came down from flying, and that was just during the morning flight! But truth-
fully, I wouldn’t have changed it for the world. Heck, going from an AT-6 into a Mustang was like jumping out of your father’s truck into a souped-up hot-rod! The P-51A models had Allison engines. Down low, the planes were great, but above 12,000 feet, they got really tired in a hurry and had their tongues hanging out. By way of comparison, I got a chance to fly P-51B Mustangs while in tactical flying school. They were real beauties—powerful and yet graceful. Although their Rolls-Royce Merlin engines liked to buck and bang on startup, they really made up for it as they zoomed well past 12,000 and kept on going. But going up high was not the reason I was in Florida. I was there to learn the tricks and traits of the A-36 Apache dive-bomber.
Dive-Bomber School Checking out in the early Mustangs meant only one thing: dive-bombing. Most of the early Air Corps dive-bombers had been A-24 variants of the Navy’s venerable Dauntless SBD (“slow but deadly”), with a behemoth known as the Vultee A-31 Vengeance. The SBD was a well-proven airplane in the Pacific, but it was slow. We needed something that could get in and out quickly. The A-36 Apache, a variant of the Mustang P-51A, was specifically designed for swift, in-and-out divebombing. North American Aviation redesigned and strengthened the laminar flow wings, added racks to carry a 500-pound bomb under each wing, loaded it up with six .50-caliber machine guns, including two in each wing and two more
in the nose. Down low, it was fast, and it cruised at about 260mph; wide open, it could hit 365. But the greatest attribute of the Apache, by far, was its dive brakes. Embedded in the wings, the dive brakes were aluminum-grated slats that popped out 90 degrees like clamshells on the top surface and the bottom. They were activated by a small control knob located on the pilot’s left. When deployed in a dive, they allowed us to hold our dive steady and keep the gunsight’s “pipper” on the target. In fact, as A-36 dive-bomber pilots, we would often brag that we could put a 500-pound bomb in a pickle barrel from 2,000 feet! Of course, there would be nothing left of the barrel to prove our accuracy, but I think you get the point. In training, and later in combat, we would normally operate in flights of eight, 12, and sometimes 16 A-36s. We climbed to 10,000 to 12,000 feet and waited for the leader’s signal to dive. When he “fishtailed” his Apache, he wanted all of us to fall in behind him, as close to the tail of the A-36 in front as possible, so it was as if we were on an invisible string. It must have looked like a Broadway show from the ground, as we waited for the leader to roll over on his back and dive almost vertically for the target below. Before pushing over, though, we deployed the dive brakes to ensure that we’d be able to control our vertical speeds. We were told that this was an “incline” dive and that no other Air Force fighter could really do what we were doing—basically, dive straight down without tearing our wings off. During those steep dives, the brakes allowed us to hold our airspeed steady down to about 220mph. We would release our dummy bombs at 2,000 to 2,500 feet, close the dive brakes, and then zoom away as fast as we could. The training was continuous and at times strenuous, but I had a lot of fun. About the only thing missing was the flak and ground fire—something I would experience firsthand over the skies of Italy.
Joining the Fight I took a long, slow boat ride across the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in Casablanca, French Morocco, on Christmas Day 1943. From there, we were loaded in World War I–era boxcars called “40 in 8” because each one could hold up to 40 men or eight horses—thankfully, not at the same time. Five days later, I arrived in Libya, where I was shoved into the nose of a B-17 Flying Fortress and took off for Italy. The B-17 pilot must have been a frustrated fighter pilot because he never got much higher than the wave tops as we zipped over the water, across the war-torn countryside of Sicily, and on to our base near Naples, Italy. I was part of the 27th Fighter Bomber Group (FBG) and joined them at an old commercial airfield called Pomigliano d’Arco. We shared our turf with our sister Apache group, the 86th, plus some bomber outfits. We were only 30 miles from the front lines, and to add to the excitement of war, Mt. Vesuvius decided to blow its top and send rocks as big as cars into the air!
The men traveled in style via WW I–era boxcars, with 40 men per car. (Photo courtesy of Jim Busha)
Ground crewmen of the 86th FBG pose with A-36A, “#067,” after its crew chief Staff Sgt. Meredith J. Sutton painted the 150th bomb mission marker on his charge. The plane was later lost to flak over Italy on January 14, 1944. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)
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HIGH DIVER
My initial combat hops were more or less familiarization flights with “old hands” that had been in combat for a while. My indoctrination lasted only about two hours. In that time, I absorbed every word the old-timers said because it was the only way to stay alive. Shortly after I arrived, the big January 1944 battle at Anzio had erupted. On my first combat hop, I was assigned to fly on the squadron commander’s wing. His job was twofold: to lead the mission and to keep me out of trouble. We found plenty of trouble that day as flak and small-arms
As A strAfing mAchine, the A-36 wAs feArsome, but in its primAry role As A dive-bomber, it wAs deAdly.
Below left: The dive brakes, above and below the wings, create a monumental amount of drag, allowing the normally clean airplane to dive at near vertical angles. (Photo by David Leininger) Below right: The two .50-caliber Brownings in each wing brought the total to six. (Photo by Frank Mormillo)
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fire filled the sky. The Germans threw everything they had at us. So what was it like to fly my first combat mission? In a nutshell, it was scary as hell! It took just 20 minutes to cross the bomb line and then we were on a fighter sweep, looking for targets of opportunity. The formation we flew was what we called “line abreast.” It was hard for the Germans to hit us as we kept close to one another—only 50 feet away from the other A-36s. While we made our runs on the targets, we constantly changed our altitude and directions, turning and jinking the stick the whole time. I will never forget my first target: a German ambulance. It sat in a parking area with a bunch of other vehicles around, so I didn’t know if anybody was in it. Trouble was, there were a bunch
of Germans standing near it and they were, of course, firing back at us. And they were very, very good at it, getting great accuracy with their 20mm and 88mm guns. They knew how use them, and they filled our planes with holes. My Apache took three hits in the tail, but it kept on going as if it had only had its paint scratched. It would have been a lot different had the hits swapped ends and I took them in the engine or the coolant system. Had that happened, I am sure I would have had to bail out and became a guest of the Germans for the remainder of the war. Thankfully, the A-36 kept on ticking, and I made it out alive. Our missions increased during that time, and sometimes we flew multiple times each day. We rarely encountered German fighters, though, and most times had top cover from British or American Spitfire fighter squadrons. Some of the A-36s in our squadron were armed with two 20mm cannon in the wings instead of machine guns. The cannon packed a punch, firing straight ahead; but they didn’t converge into a cone of fire like our machine guns did. As a strafing machine, the A-36 was fearsome, but in its primary role as a dive-bomber, it was deadly. Most of our missions began with the squadron commander standing before us in the briefing room, where he’d pull back the curtain back to reveal a large wall map of Italy. We would be given our targets and routes and, on some occasions, photographs of our targets. All of our A-36s were painted in the same flat, olive drab scheme with just a number or letter signifying individual planes. We wrote all the numbers on the back of our hands so that we knew who was next to
The air inlet above the nose, rather than below it, is a major difference between the Allison-equipped Apaches and the Merlin-equipped Mustangs. The Apache could carry 1,000 pounds of bombs. Note the belly scoop, which is much slimmer than the later Mustangs. Owner Dan Fiedkin has restored his airplane to appear mission-ready, complete with bombs. (Photo by David Leininger)
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HIGH DIVER
Above: The basic cockpit layout didn’t change in any of the models. The gear handle is down by the left foot, trim wheel and knobs are under the left arm, fuel selectors are between the legs, and so on. (Photo by Frank Mormillo) Left: The “birdcage” canopy of the Allison airplanes didn’t change when the Merlin-powered 51B/Cs were developed, but the Malcolm Hood replaced the center part. The 51D introduced the bubble canopy. (Photo by Frank Mormillo)
us, what A-36 they were in, and who was who in what position. As we strapped inside the A-36, we were struck by the sight of identically colored Apaches warming their Allison engines, dust flying as airplanes rocketed down the runway. With our target photos strapped to our legs, we struggled to get to 12,000 feet with a 500-pound bomb slung beneath each wing. Although I could feel the prop wash from the guy in front of me, I got used to it after a while. We kept our eyes peeled for German fighters and hoped the Spitfires would latch onto them before they spotted us. Our targets were command posts, dams, bridges, airfields, and troop concentrations. We usually avoided bombing the German airfields because they were heavily defended by antiaircraft guns—but we sure strafed the hell out of them when we came zooming in at treetop level, all of us line abreast with our machine guns shooting up the whole damn place!
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Left and below: Waddell traded his beloved A-36 Apache for the P-40 Warhawk (left) and later the P-47 “Jug” (below) before rotating back to the States. He reported that neither aircraft could approach the Apache in terms of accuracy as a dive-bomber. (Photos courtesy of Jim Busha)
Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend But just as soon as I got comfortable in the A-36 and felt like it was an extension of my body, the planes were ripped away from us. North American Aviation built only about 500 of them. Some stayed back in the states, and others went to the Far East Theater of Operations. In Italy, there was nothing else around that could do what we were doing. But our numbers were dwindling because of operational losses. The AAF could no longer keep two A-36 groups going and had to decide between us and the 86th. We did it the oldfashioned way and flipped a coin. Unfortunately for me, the 86th got to keep flying the Apache. Our 27th FBG was promised the new P-51 Mustang, but like everything else in the army, nothing ever goes as planned. Instead of Mustangs, we ended up with war-weary P-40F Warhawks that had been cast off by the Royal Air Force. As far as we were concerned, we were stepping backward, but orders were orders and we made do with what we had. The A-36 was designed perfectly for its dive-bombing role; why the AAF gave them up is a mystery to me! The P-40F could do only about 240mph on the deck, compared to the 300+mph in the A-36. We should have learned that gambling only gets you further in debt! The bottom line is that the A-36 was designed for one very important and particular task: dive-bombing. When the AAF tried to replace it with a new airplane, they fell short. We later got P-47 Thunderbolt “Jugs” as replacements for the P-40 dogs. But diving in a P-47 was a tough deal. You couldn’t come diving straight down because that behemoth picked up speed so rapidly that you had to think 10,000 feet ahead of it to pull out safely. We developed a glidebombing technique. That helped, and it must be said that the P-47 had one advantage over the Apache: It could carry twice the load—two 1,000-pound bombs. I think that that capacity was the deciding factor for the powers that be.
I think our dive-bombing accuracy dropped in the P-47. One big reason was that you couldn’t see over the Jug’s nose. As a consequence, we had to glide-bomb. There was no way we could direct a bomb into a pickle barrel (the fabled claim of radar-guided-bombing enthusiasts)—or even close! How did I keep going as a fighter pilot and avoid stewing about whether today was my day to cash in? Truthfully, I never gave it a thought. I was scared to death every day, but I always thought it was going to be the other guys that would get hit—never me. There was one big reason I felt this way: I knew that I had an excellent airplane strapped to me. The A-36 Apache was my good luck charm! Charlie Waddell wound up flying 120 combat missions in the A-36, P-40, and P-47. Of the 26 men he went into combat with as part of the 27th FBG, only nine returned home. J
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INVASION: THE PHILIPPINES
Above: 1st Lt. Boyd “Buzz” Wagner commanded the 17th Pursuit Squadron during the defense of the Philippines. Wagner became the first ace of the Army Air Forces and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism on December 17, 1942. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook) Below: Many of the available American fighters in the Philippines were obsolete Seversky P-35s. The P-40Es had arrived only a few days before the attacks began. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
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The 21st Pursuit Squadron was under the command of a gent who we knew would turn out to be one of the great air commanders in the Pacific. He was 1st Lt. William “Ed” Dyess, a 6-foot, blond Texan who commanded respect by his outstanding leadership and flying ability, a man who would never ask anybody to do anything that he wouldn’t do himself. Ed was a natural pilot. He had first flown at the age of four with his father, also an aviation enthusiast, and from that time on, he wanted to be an aviator. When Ed issued orders, it might have been in a slow Southern drawl, but you only had to look into his steel blue eyes if there was any doubt they would be carried out. Ed had all the characteristics one expects in a professional American military officer. He had married shortly before we sailed, and I am certain it was their mutual love that carried Ed through his darkest days during the Bataan Death March. Also aboard the Coolidge was the 34th Pursuit Squadron, under 1st Lt. Samuel Marrett. We were to be part of the 24th Pursuit Group, which included two other squadrons—the 3rd Pursuit Squadron, under 1st Lt. Henry Thorne, and the 17th, which was commanded by 1st Lt. Boyd “Buzz” Wagner, another outstanding leader who was to become a legend in the Pacific.
We arrived in Manila on November 20 and were assigned to Nichols Field, approximately six miles south, while the 34th was assigned to Del Carmen, 14 miles south of Clark Field. The 3rd Pursuit Squadron was already at Iba Field, well north of Subic Bay on the Zambales coast. The 24th Squadron headquarters, under 1st Lt. Walter Putnam, another of the great ones, and the 20th Pursuit Squadron, under 1st Lt. Joe Moore, fortunately of the same caliber, were also based at Clark. Headquarters, Far East Air Force (FEAF), was based at Nielson Field, south of Manila. We were ready to go as soon as we disembarked, but much to our chagrin, instead of having our Curtiss P-40s, we were given tired, exhausted Seversky P-35As that had been built for the Swedish Air Force. Equipped with Swedish instrumentation, these airplanes came with no English version of any technical orders for our crewmen, and that contributed materially to their sad condition. The plane’s only satisfying quality was that it was more powerfully armed than the United States model, which carried only two synchronized .30-caliber machine guns. Our P-35s had two .50-caliber machine guns mounted on the cowl and a .30-caliber machine gun in each wing. We were told that we could expect our P-40Es in early December. I am not exaggerating when I say that we were expecting war with Japan to begin any day, especially after the United States cut off American oil and froze Japanese credits in the United States. The next step would have been apparent to a high-school student. Shortly after our arrival, the 24th Pursuit Group status report gave the following information about its squadrons: 3rd Pursuit Squadron at Iba, commanded by Lt. Hank Thorne, with 18 P-40Es in commission; 17th Pursuit Squadron at Nichols Field, commanded by Lt. Buzz Wagner, with 18 P-40Es in commission; 21st Pursuit Squadron at Nichols Field, commanded by Lt. Ed Dyess,
with eighteen P-35As in commission; 20th Pursuit Squadron, at Clark Field, commanded by Lt. Joe Moore, with 18 P-40Bs in commission; and 34th Pursuit Squadron at Del Carmen, commanded by Lt. Sam Marrett, with 18 P-35As in commission. That added up to 36 P-40Es, 18 P-40Bs, and 36 P-35s, an official total of 90 first-line, combat-worthy planes.
We Were Overconfident and Not Prepared As I mentioned, the 21st arrived in the Philippines 18 days before the war. I had just graduated from flying school and had managed to get about 13 hours in the P-40 before leaving for the Philippines. Once there, we got a few hours in the P-35s so that we could keep up what little proficiency we had. Even though we had tired P-35s, we began standing alert on December 1, the day of the first appearance of Japanese aircraft over Luzon. Our morale was extremely high. We were told that the Japanese airplanes were mediocre and the pilots could be considered in the same category. The general impression was that if war came and we didn’t win it right away, the necessary reinforcements would be forthcoming. The first of our squadron’s P-40Es arrived at Nichols on December 4, but they were a long way from being operational. Their guns were still in cosmoline and required extensive cleaning. Boiling that cosmoline off our guns was one of the filthiest jobs I have ever undertaken. For boresighting the guns, we were allocated only a very few of the available .50-caliber rounds in our ammunition lockers. Additional P-40s were subsequently delivered in the same condition. In fact, the last four of our 18 P-40s arrived after dark on December 7. On December 6, our group commander, Col. Harold George—known as “Pursuit George” to distinguish him from the other Col. Harold “Bomber” George—assembled us at the base theater at Nichols and told us that war was imminent, possibly within hours but certainly within days. What we couldn’t understand was why so second-rate an air power as we were told Japan was would dare challenge the United States. We were led to believe that they didn’t have any modern equipment, and that if they were foolish enough to hit us, we would pretty much have a picnic. It was just inconceivable that they would hit us. Naturally, it was a rude awakening to find out that the shoe was on the other foot, and it was the Americans who had the inferior equipment. We were aware of the capability of the Imperial Navy’s Mitsubishi G3M Nell medium bomber, whose civilian counterpart saw wide use before the war. One of the civilian models, named the “Nippon,” made an around-the-world flight
in 1939 and landed in Oakland, California—a tremendous feat for its day. But no one told us about the great Zero Navy fighter, which was to dominate the Pacific skies. Although it had made its combat debut in China in August 1940, more than a year earlier, the Zero and its superior performance came as a surprise to all Americans except Col. Claire Chennault, of the American Volunteer Group, the Flying Tigers. Then there was the Imperial Navy Nakajima B5N torpedo bomber, later known as the “Kate,” whose design reputedly was obtained from American companies. Kate pilots in action at Pearl Harbor claimed 50 percent hits with their torpedoes. Even more impressive was the Nell’s successor, the Imperial Navy’s Mitsubishi G4M twin-engine “Betty,” whose endurance and altitude at the time exceeded the B-17’s. Bettys were to devastate Clark and Nichols fields, and their altitude capability made interception and destruction impossible with the equipment we had. It was a deplorable and disastrous situation. From the intelligence standpoint, it was apparent that if and when Japan decided to strike, we
P-40B Tomahawks of the 20th Pursuit Squadron are lined up at Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines in October 1941. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook)
The first of our squadron’s P-40Es arrived at Nichols on December 4, but they were a long way from being operational.
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INVASION: THE PHILIPPINES
Betty bombers approached from the north, escorted by more Zeros, and commenced their devastating bombing runs. in the Philippines would be the targets. Japanese aircraft had flown slowly over the Philippines often, but they were definitely detected in the dark early morning hours of December 2, 4, and 5. When spotted by our only operational radar, at Iba, they were at an estimated 24,000 feet, flying over Luzon and our airfields. This was really disconcerting, and it should have given us an inkling as to the aerial superiority the Japanese had. Even if it had been daylight and we could have seen them, we couldn’t have gotten up to their altitude. Although the service ceiling of the P-40 was supposed to be 26,000 feet, we had no oxygen facilities, and flying above 15,000 feet, as we later learned, was not conducive to effective aerial combat or, I might add, longevity. It is my understanding that there was not an operating oxygen plant in the entire Philippines. There was no Prestone coolant for the P-40 engines, either. When we attempted to go beyond 18,000 feet, our engines would overheat to the danger point, forcing us to level out and descend to pick up speed and cool the laboring Allison engine. By the time we could get back into the safe temperature range, the target would be long gone. This situation prevailed after the initial attack on the Philippines on December 8. Much to our disgust, there were always many Japanese fighters above us, which meant that they could pick their time and place to engage. When they did, they would just come down and swarm all over us.
We Knew It Was Coming, but… On the nights of December 6 and 7, we kept all our planes down and had the antiaircraft and searchlight batteries in position to counter the expected intruder, but he never showed. If he had, he probably would have been just as safe as on previous nights. We had been given information, from what intelligence there was, that various Japanese airfields on Formosa were loaded with many types of aircraft. Now, because the Japanese fighter and bomber fields on Formosa were at least 500 miles distant, we expected bombers; we were certain that the Japanese had no fighters that would permit either a bomber escort or strafers during attacks on Luzon—that is, unless they used aircraft carriers. By December 7, due to routine maintenance problems, we had just 88 operational first-line aircraft, of which 54 were pursuits and 35 were B-17s. There were also U.S. Navy PBY Catalina flying boats, which conducted long-range reconnaissance flights that encompassed the potential launching areas of any carrier aircraft that might
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attempt to attack us. On December 8 (we were on the other side of the International Date Line so it was the 7th in Hawaii), I was sitting on alert at Nichols Field when Ed Dyess, our commanding officer, received word about the Pearl Harbor attack. It was 0430 hours. We were all ordered to man what planes we had, and we even turned up those planes that were not slated to be sent aloft. Then we shut down and stood by our planes. It was confusing as all get-out. Here we were, many thousands of miles closer to Japan than Pearl Harbor, and we hadn’t been touched. It wasn’t long in coming. Japanese aircraft bombed Baguio, about 150 miles north of Manila, from an altitude of 22,000 feet at 0930 hours. At the time, a couple of the 20th Pursuit Squadron P-40s that had taken off for a combat air patrol at 0800 hours were 17,000 feet over Rosales, 50 miles north of Clark Field. The P-40s managed to struggle up in an attempt to exchange shots with the bombers, but at that altitude they only managed to pick up a few rounds fired by Japanese gunners. Buzz Wagner’s 17th Pursuit was scrambled, but we were left standing by with piles of sandwiches and cold Cokes, wondering when our time would come. We just couldn’t imagine the Japanese would bypass the Philippines and hit Pearl. We were finally scrambled at about 1145 hours and assigned a combat air patrol over Manila Bay between Corregidor and the Cavite Navy base. It was strange to look down after being at war for hours and see the rows of B-17s lined up and not airborne. An old Douglas B-18 medium bomber had flown into Nichols earlier to pick up enough photographic equipment to permit the B-17s to carry out a photo reconnaissance mission over Formosa, so it was difficult for me to believe that the damn things were still lined up, wingtip to wingtip, on the ground.
They’re Here, but They’re Fighters! We got the biggest surprise of our lives when Japanese fighters arrived over the Manila area many minutes before the bombers. We estimated their altitude at 22,000 feet. This was a most unbelievable sight—Formosa-based Japanese fighters at such an altitude, which meant they had to have a range of more than 1,000 miles. We maintained our combat-air-patrol altitude of 15,000 feet. The actual operational ceiling of our aircraft at that time was between 18,000 and 19,000 feet. Shortly, about 27 twin-engine highaltitude Betty bombers approached from the north, escorted by more Zeros, and commenced their devastating bombing runs. The only chance
The fighter pilots in the Philippines were amazed to see Zeros overhead. The attacking fighters had flown more than 500 miles from Formosa and still had enough fuel to combat the defending American fighters, repeatedly strafe their fields, and return to Formosa. At that time, no other fighter in the world had that kind of range. (Photo by John Dibbs/planepicture.com) February 2017 39
INVASION: THE PHILIPPINES
The Mitsubishi G4M bomber, later known as “Betty” to the Allies, was designed specifically for combat in the broad expanses of the Pacific. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Although everyone knew war was on the way, no effort to disperse the aircraft on Clark Field was made. The Bettys simply laid their sticks of bombs right down the rows, and strafers had targets lined up for them. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook)
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we had to evade the Zeros was to get up to an altitude where we might do some good, but it was disconcerting as hell because of the altitude limitation of our fighters. The Japanese always had an advantage. My flight of P-40s was over Manila when the first bombs fell on Clark Field. Their first strikes were against Clark and Iba. They knew what they were after at Iba—our only operational radar installation. Later, I learned that, on the morning of December 8, Iba’s radar had picked up an inbound flight of high-altitude aircraft 75 miles off the coast, headed in the general direction of Corregidor. The time was a little after 0400 hours—before we knew anything about the Pearl Harbor attack. The 3rd Pursuit Squadron had been scrambled, but of
course we had no night-interception capability, though our orders were to shoot down anything within 20 miles of the shore. The two plots—the inbound flight and interception flight—merged, but then a very strange thing happened. The high-altitude flight made a 180-degree turn, and 3rd Squadron fighters returned to base without seeing anything. This occurred just about the time the actual attack on Pearl Harbor was taking place. As it turned out, Iba’s radar did not possess an altitude-finding capability. While the Japanese bombers were hitting Clark and Iba, we were on station over Nichols, as ordered, but they failed to show there. We could hear all the excitement over the radio, as we flew unmolested over Nichols and Manila. All the while this was going on, I was still amazed that they would dare attack us; we were so confident that we could handle anything that they would throw at us. When they completed their attack, the bombers headed back toward Formosa, but about 10 minutes later, their fighters came back and proceeded to strafe Clark Field so thoroughly that when they had finished there was not a single flyable aircraft left on the base.
“They’re Trying to Kill us!” Second Lt. Sam Grashio, whose flight was a little farther north than mine, tangled with them near Clark. When Sam got back, he was really excited. He said, “They really mean it. They’re trying to kill us.” We really hadn’t believed that they would have the nerve to come down, and if they did, we had felt we could sweep them from the
sky. It was now apparent that they owned the sky. When we finally touched down at Nichols, everything was in a state of destruction and confusion. Communications had been knocked out, and there was pandemonium. Our squadron was ordered up to Clark Field. The runways there had been thoroughly bombed, so we had to use the auxiliary landing strip, which was so dusty that we could only land at intervals of several minutes. When we landed, it looked like a disaster area—burned airplanes, bomb craters, dead people, and human remains were all over the ground. There were still bodies in the cockpits of the burned aircraft. We parked and walked toward what we assumed was the base operations office. Nobody was there, except a lone soldier who was walking around dazed among all the dead people. We asked him where the operations area was, and he finally pointed toward the jungle. Sure enough, there was a little command post a couple miles from the field, in the middle of the jungle. There we met with some of the survivors of the 20th Pursuit Squadron, which, as an operational unit, was considered wiped out. We had an opportunity to talk to some of the pilots who had been airborne and were fortunate enough to get back. Their stories about this new type of Japanese fighter that they had encountered were mighty grim. The story of the attack on Clark was put together by pilots and crewmen. The damage commenced when the first flight of bombers came over in a 27-plane vee-of-vees formation at approximately 23,000 feet. Their bombs were exploding by the time the air-raid signals sounded. A second bomber formation followed, and it was equally devastating. Only three P-40s of the 20th Squadron managed to get into the air. Five were blasted by the bombardment while they were taxiing, and others were destroyed by bomb impacts or strafing. The strafing Japanese fighters raised complete hell with the remaining aircraft on the field. It was just unbelievable. The hangars, barracks, and storehouses were demolished by the bombers. We learned that the 12 planes of the 3rd Squadron at Iba were just preparing to land from patrol over the South China Sea when the bombers struck. All but two of the 3rd Squadron’s P-40s were lost. After a quick account of our airpower, we found that only 17 of the original 35 B-17s
remained and that 53 P-40s and three P-35s had been destroyed and 25 other aircraft were damaged, some of which would never fly again. This, against the loss of seven Japanese fighters, constituted another complete surprise victory for the Japanese many hours after the Pearl Harbor attack.
Desperation Sets In
Flying at 24,000 feet, the attacking Bettys and Zeroes were untouchable. The defending P-40s couldn’t come close to reaching them. So the enemy could bomb and strafe the airfields at will. The destruction was almost complete, as the remains of these P-35s attest. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
That night, after a meal of cold beans, cold coffee, bread, and jam, we all slept on the floor of a dugout. Before we turned in, we formulated our plans for the next day’s operations, which was to begin with a takeoff before dawn in anticipation of an early Japanese attack. It was agreed that this would be no easy task as the field was still in a shambles and pocked with craters. Just a day earlier, a night mission in a P-40-type aircraft under normal conditions for pilots of our proficiency was unheard of. In fact, it was against existing Air Corps regulations. That night at Clark is a horrible memory. As the time arrived, we prepared for our predawn takeoff. Ed Dyess was first off. Because of the dust on the field, when my flight commander, 2nd Lt. Robert Clark, attempted to get rolling, he lost directional control. Although Ed was warn-
Everything was in a state of destruction and confusion. Communications had been knocked out, and there was pandemonium.
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INVASION: THE PHILIPPINES
The P-40B/Cs were even more limited in altitude performance than the few P-40Es that were available during the attack. The earlier aircraft were standard equipment throughout the Pacific at the time. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)
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We latched onto four of the fighters, whose pilots did not see us. I made my attack from north to south, and I managed to shoot down two of the Japanese Zero fighters as they were diving and strafing Clark Field. ing him from above, apparently Bob wasn’t reading him and crashed into a B-17, ending up in a ball of fire. Another of our pilots taxied into a bomb crater. It was very confusing; there were no lights, no ground control, nothing. I just cranked in about 10 degrees of flaps and didn’t have the slightest idea where I would end up— into another B-17, a bomb crater, or what. I just firewalled it and made it aloft against some pretty big odds. Sam Grashio lost his engine at about 7,000 feet. Fortunately, after dodging the friendly but mighty trigger-happy antiaircraft batteries that surrounded the field, he managed to make it back. By the way, these were the same antiaircraft guns that, on December 8, had not been able to get a point of aim on the strafing Japanese aircraft because of their antiquated mounts. Our 200th Coast Artillery (AA) Regiment, which consisted of a battalion each of 3-inch and 37mm weapons, was in just as frustrating a situation as we were. They had an awful time with their ammunition, the newest of which had been manufactured in 1932. Most of the fuses were badly corroded, and reportedly only one out of six rounds went off. And when they did go off, they didn’t have the range and would explode at least half a mile below the bombers. We had no definite operation. Pilots who could get in the air would join up and fly until they ran out of fuel or ammunition. It was impossible to get information as to what was going on where. For the most part, communications channels were completely jammed. It was more or less every man for himself, with no overall coordination. After our first launch, we landed at one of the many ground-support fields that we had around the area.
Finally—Pay Back! On our return to Clark, we had just entered into another circling combat air patrol when about 30 bombers and fighters made an appearance and began their attack. The weather was clear with a slight cirrus overcast. We latched onto four of the fighters, whose pilots did not see us. I made my attack from north to south, and I managed to shoot down two of the Japanese Zero fighters as they were diving and strafing Clark Field. Luckily, I had the altitude advantage as they completed their runs. Both of them crashed right on or adjacent to the field itself.
I landed and refueled, then I was ordered back to Nichols. As I approached the field, I could hear action going on all around, and I could see singleengine aircraft pulling out of their bombing or strafing runs. I hit one—another Zero—and he fell right on Nichols Field. The others started to chase me all over the place. I apparently had more fuel than they did, for they broke off the chase. Don’t for a minute think that I wasn’t sweating it out. They were good! I got a total of three Japanese aircraft on the second day of the war, and that’s the last time I ever got a crack at them in the Philippines. That day, five of our P-40s were shot down and three others crash-landed on nearby beaches. Then, the Philippines were lashed by some of the severest rainstorms that I have ever seen, and that apparently reduced a follow-up knockout punch by the Japanese.
EPILOGUE After the 24th Pursuit Group had flown itself out in the grossly uneven fight for the skies over Luzon, many pilots and ground crewmen were absorbed into ground units. Second Lt. Jack Donalson eventually became an infantryman, the leader of 10 other Air Corps men who fought the last-ditch battles on Bataan. Indeed, Jack Donalson was awarded the Army’s second-highest award— the Distinguished Service Cross—for leading a deadly infantry raid behind Japanese lines. At the end, Donalson was ordered out of the Philippines aboard an overcrowded B-17, and he soon ended up in Australia. Lt. Donalson eventually returned to combat as a P-40 pilot with the 49th Fighter Group’s 9th Fighter Squadron. He downed a Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter over Darwin, Australia, on June 14, 1942, and he achieved ace status when he downed a fifth Zero, also over Darwin, on July 30, 1942. Late in the war, Maj. Donalson served in the European Theater with the 352nd Fighter Group’s 487th Fighter Squadron, a combat tour he describes as “a walk in the park compared to Bataan and Darwin.” He remained in the service after the war and spent most of his career in fighters. He retired as a colonel in 1968 and passed away in 2006. J
February 2017 43
Drones BY STEVE LLANSO
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Drones are not, as is often assumed, a 21st-century development. Far from it. Their history goes back more than 100 years, but the rate at which they are changing our everyday life continues to accelerate. So we thought it is worth looking back and seeing where the concept came from, how it developed, and where it stands today. Given the current rate of change, it’s obvious we’re only seeing the tip of what is going to turn out to be a very big technological and cultural iceberg.
YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW Technology changes the face of combat
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1. Kittering Bug, 1918. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) 2. KDN-1 Target Drone, circa 1946, developed at NAMU Johnsville. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet) 3. General Motors A-1 Drone, Muroc, 1941. (Photo courtesy of USAF) 4. Predator, currently active. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) 5. The early Ryan Q-2A Firebee was operated by all three services in the mid-1950s. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet) 6. Movie star Reginald Denny built models and drones for the U.S. Army. (Photo courtesy of USAF)
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DRONES: YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW
First-order change Drones constitute a fundamental transformation in both military and civilian realms. In an unmanned air system (UAS), the miniaturization in technologies, accurate navigation, and the separation of the pilot from the vehicle form a combination that might be called a “first-order change.” It is a fundamental shift in direction. Just as jet engines wrought a similar change in commercial and military aviation, it is the effect of the Big Change that matters more than the types or uses of aircraft that follow. The drone’s usefulness is expanding exponentially and runs the gamut from highly beneficial support of humanitarian operations to the frankly destructive mission of armed conflict. In short, a new day is upon us, but it didn’t happen overnight. It was a long time coming.
Early Days: Trial, Error, and Indifference
The Sperry-Curtiss “Pilotless Flying Bomb” was an attempt at a cruise missile in 1918 with a 40-mile range. The dive into the target was initiated after a given number of engine revolutions. It had limited success and was never produced but is still considered the first pilotless aircraft. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
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The first drones were developed along two different paths: an autonomous vehicle and one guided by a separate aircraft. In World War I, the Navy tested one kind of “aerial torpedo,” the Army another. Each involved a collection of ingenious and experienced inventors. The Navy program incorporated Elmer Sperry’s three-axis gyroscopic flight-control system that was demonstrated in a successful flight down the Seine a month before the Great War began. Peter Cooper Hewitt’s $3,000 and a partnership with Sperry in late 1916 led to the Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane. Daring tests undertaken by Sperry’s son Lawrence led to a contract for six
Curtiss Speed Scout airframes, which were the “first purpose-built unmanned aircraft.” The Aerial Torpedo, fitted with the Sperry system, enjoyed its only success on March 6, 1918, when it guided itself over a 1,000-yard flight, then obeyed a preset command to dive on the target. Given that the target was the Long Island Sound, this may seem like a small success, but it has been noted by some that the Aerial Torpedo was the first unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV) to be recovered and flown again. Problems with the catapult and other systems crashed the Speed Scouts, but a converted N-9 trainer was successfully launched on October 17, 1918, and flew as planned for eight miles. At that point, drone aviation experienced its first uncommanded “fly away,” when the trainer’s flight continued until it disappeared over the horizon. The Navy’s attention turned to an occasional interest in target drones and the Sperry-Hewitt program ended.
Kettering’s Bug Meanwhile, Charles Franklin Kettering persuaded the Army to award a contract to the Dayton Wright Airplane Company for 25 Liberty Eagle aerial torpedoes. The Kettering Bug’s design and construction set precedents in several areas of later drone design in its inexpensive construction. The specially designed 41hp engine propelled the aircraft at 120mph. The distinctive dihedral of the biplane wings came from Orville Wright, as did launch from a dolly. Sperry’s gyro contributed controllability. The Bug’s flight tests proved mostly unsatisfactory, largely due to a flightcontrol system that mixed pneumatics with gears and electricity. The Bug never approached its promised reliability, however, primarily because of its late start: It first flew just a month before the armistice was signed, so the Bug was never “debugged” due to lack of interest. The last few flights in 1919 enjoyed some success, but by that time, no one cared. The Navy continued testing the radio control of pilotless aircraft, reaching a milestone on September 15, 1924, when a control aircraft successfully flew a radio-controlled Curtiss F5L flying boat from takeoff through its flight and water landing. But development in remotely piloted aircraft then stalled and didn’t resume for more than a decade.
Sideshows and Desperate Measures Navy Lt. Cmdr. Delmar S. Fahrney revived the aerial torpedo as an outgrowth of his development of drones (a usage he coined) beginning in 1936. Spurred by U.S. observers’ reports on British target aircraft such as the Fairey “Queen Bee,” Fahrney and RCA began development of television-guided weapons in which the bomb’s camera transmitted target images to a controller in the launch aircraft. The entry of the United States into WW II dramatically increased demand for target drones and spurred the search for useful offensive weapons. Encouraged by tests conducted in 1942 in which 47 of 50 flights were deemed successful, the Navy contracted for 500 assault drones and 170 mother ships. Interstate TDR-1 drones would be the only WW II type to attack targets. An agreeably flyable airframe, the midwing monoplane was powered by two 220hp Lycoming engines, spanned 48 feet, and weighed 5,900 pounds. With 189 TDR-1s built, they could carry up to 2,000 pounds of explosive payload about 425 miles. The RCA
Block-1 TV system developed by Vladimir Zworykin used a small camera and transmitter that weighed 97 pounds and fit in a box measuring only 8 x 8 x 26 inches. An austere pilot’s position for tests and transportation would be faired over when the TDR-1 was sent on its primary mission.
Staging STAG-1: Drones Go to War Special Task Air Group One (STAG-1) tested the combination of TDRs and TBM-1C Avenger mother ships in 1943 and early 1944. Low on the funding food chain, the crews adopted workable makeshifts including the use of a rotary phone dial to select drone altitude and weapons release options. STAG-1 was sent to the Solomon Islands in July 1944; the two squadrons of TDR-1s and TBM-1Cs performed capably with 21 of the 46 attacks considered successful. The system enjoyed little support, however, and was canceled. Both types of aircraft were pushed overboard on the way home.
Officially named the Kettering Aerial Torpedo during WW I but generally referred to as the “Kettering Bug,” it was much more successful than the Curtiss Flying Bomb. Elmer Sperry, later known for gyro instruments, devised the guidance system, while the airframe was built by CurtissWright, with Orville Wright as a consultant. The 40hp De Palma engine was produced by Ford. The fuselage was made out of wood and papier-mâché, while the wings were originally cardboard. It had a range of 40 miles. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
February 2017 47
DRONES: YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW
The Interstate TDR-1 “Edna” saw moderate success in 1944 under Operation Option, where, carrying bombs, 50 were directed toward Japanese targets in the Solomon Islands utilizing an RCA TV camera guided by a TBM-1C drone controller. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)
With wingtip-receiving antennae, surplus F6F-3K Hellcat drones served as target material for early Sidewinder and Sparrow I missile development at NAS Point, Mugu, the last in May 1961. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)
Desperate Measures Redux During WW II, the Army Air Forces (AAF) and the Navy modified war-weary bombers into massive flying bombs. The AAF’s program was Operation Aphrodite: Its mission was to destroy Vengeanceweapon launch sites by crashing a B-17 (designated BQ-7) into them. Using TV imaging and a radio control system, laden with 18,000 pounds of Torpex explosive, the bombers required pilots onboard during takeoff and a short cruise-flight phase. Just before the plane reached the North Sea, the two-man crew armed the Torpex and bailed out. About 25 B-17Fs were converted for that purpose. In tests and actual attacks from August to October 1944, crew fatalities were surprisingly low, but maintaining control of the aircraft proved to be nearly impossible. In attacks against German V-weapon sites and later against submarine
pens, only a few BQ-7s exploded upon impact in Germany, Sweden, and England. Only one attack caused significant damage to the enemy. The Navy’s Project Anvil converted PB4Y Liberators into drone BQ-8s beginning in July 1944. Only two missions were flown to test the complicated control system. A director located in a PV-1 Ventura flew the pilotless BQ-8 after receiving course corrections from an accompanying PB-1 (Navy B-17), which received the television image from the BQ-8. In its first test flight, flown by Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy and Lt. Wilford John Willy, the onboard TV system apparently transmitted stray voltage to one of the Torpex detonators, and the plane suddenly exploded. Poor TV quality frustrated the only actual attack on a sub pen. After those two flights, the program was canceled. For almost two decades after WW II, unmanned aircraft development in the United States focused on target drones. Only one other attack-drone system saw action during that time. In July 1952, Guided Missile Unit 90 (GMU-90) deployed six F6F-5K Hellcat drones, each carrying a 1,000pound bomb. Flying from USS Boxer (CV 21), Douglas AD-4N control aircraft sent the drones against six North Korean targets in August and September 1952, with little success.
Eye in the Sky The very nature of manned aerial reconnaissance aircraft at the time (slow and vulnerable to ground fire) put pressure on the designers of target drones to assign their creations’ additional 48 FlightJournal.com
Replacing the earlier F6F-3Ks, the only battlefield UAV deployed by U.S. forces duties: The ability to see was deemed as imporGrumman Panthers and later for some time. tant as the ability to destroy. F9F-6K Cougars provided a In 1955, the Army tested a reconnaissance variant more robust target platform for air-to-air missile testing at of Northrop Ventura’s RP-4 (OQ-19) target drone, A DASH for Salts: Going After Point Mugu in the late 1950s. named RP-71 Falconer (SD-1, later MQM-57). Submarines (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet) Falconer may have been the first U.S. drone to Beginning in the mid-1950s, the Navy saw be designated part of a system (AN/USD-1) that the potential for operating attack drones from included the air vehicle and control system. destroyers against the enormous Soviet submaTwelve feet long with a span of 12 feet and rine fleet. A DASH (Drone Anti-Submarine Heliweighing 430 pounds, the RP-71 zero-launched copter) extended the weapons reach of small using small rockets, reached 184mph, and had a anti-submarine warfare ships out to the limit of range of about 100 miles at altitudes from a few the powerful AN/SQS-26 sonar. hundred feet above sea level to four miles. Its conThe flight vehicle was the compact Gyrodyne trol system used radar to track the aircraft’s flight DSN-1 helicopter, which used coaxial main when it flew out of the controller’s sight. A stick box provided “it could fly in weather that would ground direct control using pictures other aircraft, and the intelligence it gathfrom an onboard camera, which ered could be processed by the unit’s staff was switched on when the Faland be available for use in a timely manner.” coner reached an area of interest during its 30-minute flight. Images were captured by a still camera or an optional video camera. rotors and, as the definitive turboshaft–powered The Army purchased 1,485 Falconers over sevDSN-3 (redesignated QH-50C), was first deployed eral years, and although it had limited capability in January 1963. Possessing no sensors, the DASH and never saw combat, drone expert John David relied on shipboard radars for command and Blom says that it “solved many of the traditional control. problems Army ground commanders had with Naval affairs expert Norman Polmar observed aerial reconnaissance support. It was stationed that the DASH program was “both a success and with his forces, it could fly in weather that would a failure.” More than any earlier remotely flown ground other aircraft, and the intelligence it attack aircraft, DASH claimed a capability in its gathered could be processed by the unit’s staff own right. According to many destroyer comand be available for use in a timely manner.” manders, DASH, when flown within its limDespite these contributions, the Falconer was its, granted an unparalleled offensive reach to February 2017 49
The AQM-34L Firebee “Tom Cat” flew an amazing 68 missions before being lost. (Photo courtesy of USAF)
by placing the controller thousands of miles from the aircraft in hostile territory. Unquestionably, the Q-2C brought unmatched speed, range, and survivability to the remotely piloted reconnaissance mission, setting the standard for all long-range ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) drones to come. After initial teething problems, the Lightning Bug found success in a variety of configurations and in high- and low-level operations, mostly over Vietnam between 1964 and 1973. The 350th Reconnaissance Squadron flew 3,466 Lightning Bug sorties between August 1964 and June 1975, losing 578 drones (an average of one Many Military analysts point to the inherent potential liability of depending on a satellite loss for every six sorties). The AQM-34Ls achieved a systeM. KnocK out gps and Many electronic survivability rate of 87 pernavigators Might drift aiMlessly. cent, and one flew 68 missions before being lost. Still, the complexity of the systems and a natuinto remote outposts. ral proclivity for commanders wanting human The Navy ceased DASH operations in Novemeyes and cameras over the target stopped further ber 1970 and would not procure another shipdevelopment of the system. board drone for nearly two decades.
50 FlightJournal.com
smaller combatants. On the negative side, 411 of 746 QH-50C and QH-50Ds procured (55 percent) were lost in crashes due to electronic-systems failures in either the aircraft or the shipboard control units. Significantly, when DASH ships independently flew QH-50s on “Snoopy” gunfire-support missions over Vietnam beginning in January 1965, the partnership fared far better due to the increased operational tempo, which enhanced proficiency of their operators, and the fitting of real-time video and film cameras. QH-50s also bombed river traffic and tested cargo transport
Lightning Bug
Pioneering RPV
The first Q-2A (Ryan 134) Firebee jet-propelled target drone entered service in July 1957. At the same time, Ryan began touting its Ryan 136 reconnaissance variant with longer wings for higher-altitude flight and radar-return-reduction modifications to the fuselage and engine intake. By 1963, the redesignated Ryan 147, now known as a “remotely piloted vehicle” (RPV), had entered service in the Strategic Air Command with its DC-130 Hercules drone-control aircraft. It solved the problem of risking pilots over China
Beginning in 1975, interest in RPVs led to several programs, including the Sky Eye and the potentially capable Aquila, but they remained limited for a variety of reasons. Meanwhile, a continuing Israeli search for a relatively inexpensive RPV led to their development of the Mastiff. The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps chose the Mastiff II in 1986 for manufacture in the United States as the aptly named Pioneer, an UAS that would demonstrate many technologies still central to battlefield UAVs.
A small twin-boom aircraft (essentially an RC airplane) with a gimbaled TV and forwardlooking infrared turret, 100nm data-link range, and eight-hour endurance, the RQ-2 Pioneer was rail-launched from Marine Corps trucks and zerolaunched from two battleships. The 82nd Airborne Division took one system of five Pioneers to Kuwait in 1990. Pioneer’s real-time targeting capability led to the well-known Iraqi soldiers’ attempt to surrender to the USS Wisconsin’s RQ-1, while the design’s endurance led to continuous tracking of a mobile Scud launcher until its destruction by other aircraft. Changes in the types of conflicts involving U.S. and NATO forces after the Cold War’s end ensured that both kinds of pilotless vehicles—lookers and shooters—would see service frequently. Over such battle zones as Kosovo, however, early Predators were vulnerable to ground fire and lacked the radar needed to fly in the frequently foul weather. It has been a learning process.
No Pilots in Cages, Please The use of drones flown by U.S. military and intelligence organizations exploded in the late 1990s and really took off after the 9/11 attacks for many reasons. A key reason for the growth certainly lies in U.S. revulsion over the treatment of downed pilots in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. This durable constraint, combined with the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, influenced American actions in a succession of new conflicts in which the combatants deployed asymmetric (i.e., sometimes brutal and unacceptable) means and ends that often frustrated U.S. aims. But it’s also clear that the United States has enjoyed a
favorable asymmetry in many instances: The use of unmanned drones, as well as cruise missiles, forestalled any decision to put “boots on the ground,” whose wearers could be captured and killed.
The Sky’s the Limit?
Built by the Insitu subsidiary of Boeing Aircraft, the ScanEagle was originally designed for civilian fish spotting but has proven itself as a long-endurance observation drone. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
The size, variety, and competence of the U.S. drone fleet compared to just a decade ago is difficult to summarize. Current or imagined drone design envisages enhancements using more computer power, sharper and more discriminating sensors, or greater independence from continuous remote control while ensuring more precise responsiveness. Overall capability per pound of airframe keeps rising and is unlikely to level off soon. Small hand-launched drones, like the electrically powered RQ-11B Raven, weigh less than 5 pounds yet carry EO/IR cameras and IR markers, and cruise noiselessly at 1,000 feet for up to 90 minutes. The Navy’s widely used ScanEagle weighs less than 50 pounds and offers persistent ISR. Its origins in commercial fish finding demonstrate the ubiquity of many drone capabilities. Wellknown Predator-family systems use runwaylaunched aircraft (RQ-1/MQ-1/MQ-9) for both ISR and armed attack. At the top of the weight and cost scale is Global Hawk (RQ-4), which combines high operating altitudes, subsonic cruise, and a multitude of sensors. The X-47B test aircraft successfully took off and landed from aircraft carriers in 2013 and conducted autonomous refueling trials in April 2015. The Aurora Orion completed an 80-hour endurance flight in December 2015. Thus, the drone horizon continues expanding—in both directions. February 2017 51
DRONES: YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW
Top: The Raven is a squaddeployable, short-range, low-cost UAV that instantly gives infantry units eyes in the sky. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) Above: With a wingspan of 130 feet, the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is a true airplane-size unmanned aerial vehicle. It has become the “Swiss Army knife” of the government drone program as it is used for everything. All-up unit cost, including R & D, is reported to be $222.7 million. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Infallibility Is for Popes Despite the improvements, drone design reveals persistent shortcomings in several key areas, chief among them being completely accurate positioning. The Global Positioning System (GPS) has solved much of that problem but has introduced other vulnerabilities. The Vietnam-era AQM-34’s Doppler navigation system had a nominal drift error of 3 percent, which often led to a failure of capturing the target on film in many low-level flights. The end of the Cold War in the early 1990s accelerated the open use of the GPS satellite network by civilians as well as organizations, and the impact of increased accuracy has been dramatic. Weak points still exist. Many military analysts point to the inherent potential liability of depending on a satellite system. Knock out GPS and
many electronic navigators might drift aimlessly. Indeed, a stealthy RQ-170 jet-powered drone was reportedly brought down in Iran in 2014 through GPS jamming. Several companies are working on navigation systems that do not rely on GPS.
Available Manpower Limits Unmanned Flight Weight and cost growth are inevitable companions to mission creep and requirement expansion. Perhaps the greatest constraint on drone operation, however, comes from the very remoteness and limited supply of its operators. Far from being a one-to-one-scale video game, drone operations require unique skills. In 2014, Captain “Joe” described the two-person Predator team: The sensor operator (SO), a “career enlisted aviator,” has three tasks—“put the thing on the thing,” “opti-
PerhaPs the greatest constraint on drone oPeration, however, comes from the very remoteness and limited suPPly of its oPerators. far from being a one-to-one-scale video game, drone oPerations require unique skills. 52 FlightJournal.com
mize the picture,” and be “master of the laser.” The Pilot leads the crew on the mission. He or she makes the tactical decisions. Captain Joe’s summary reveals just how many opportunities exist for confusion and failure. For example, the SO might act by simply putting crosshairs on the target or working a problem “as complex as finding enemy personnel via a talk-on from a confused and disoriented, hunkered-down JTAC [joint tactical attack controller] taking effective fire.” Meanwhile, the pilot’s situational awareness “needs to reach outside of his crew position to envelop the aircraft, the crew, the JTAC, and the tactical situation on the ground.” In 2015, MQ-1/9 pilots reportedly flew, on average, 13 to 14 hours a day, six days a week, imposing pressures that lead more pilots to leave the service than the Air Force can train. Demand across the battle spectrum continues to ratchet up as well. In 2005, 11 combat air patrols (CAPs) at a time could only fill a third of the demand in Iraq. CAPs over battle areas worldwide increased to 65 per day by 2014 but only satisfied 21 percent of requirements.
A Drone Revolution in Military Affairs? Let’s close with a range of questions concerning the future of UAS in U.S. military procurement and practice that go far beyond the reduction of crew positions in airframes. Does seeing drones as tools too easily obscure their ambiguous role in tracking down terrorists or conducting persistent surveillance? How readily can the military and civilians use the same technologies? How much will the current U.S. edge in drone experience and range of systems decrease over time? How much money and talent will be diverted from other “rice bowls”? At what rate will the counter-drone response require more investment in counter-counter-drone systems? The answer to the foregoing questions is the same cliche: “Only time will tell.” The single guarantee about drones is that they are here to stay, and we are only seeing the tip of a very large technological/political/tactical iceberg that is growing at an incredible rate. The future of drones is going to be interesting. J
Developed from the Predator and stepping past the role of surveillance and data gathering, the MQ-9 Reaper is the first “hunter-killer” UAV with weapons-delivery capabilities. It can be flown remotely by a ground-based pilot or flown autonomously by preprogrammed onboard intelligence systems. Unit cost, not counting R & D, is reported to be $16.9 million. It is built by General Atomics. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
February 2017 53
GALLERY
In 1930, Curtiss-Wright, in an attempt to gain part of the developing light-aircraft market, introduced its CW-1 Junior. It did well against the competition, such as the Aeronca C-3.
Curtiss-Wright CW-1 Junior At the dawn of light aircraft TEXT & PHOTOS BY GILLES AULIARD
R
Regarding the birth of the little Curtiss-Wright CW-1 Junior, Karl White, the designer, has been quoted as saying, “It started in 1930, when the Curtiss-Wright Corporation absorbed a number of other companies, among them the Moth Co. where I was chief engineer. I was moved to the Robertson plant near St. Louis, which was to become the commercial airplane unit of the corporation. Walter Beech of Travel Air fame (and later Beechcraft) was president. He immediately assigned me the task of designing ‘a two-seat light airplane that would have enough gas to get off a field and fly the girlfriend around a little, and sell for less than $1,500.’”
After some unsatisfying early flight tests, White reworked the project, in close collaboration with Beech and test pilot H. Lloyd Child, to become the CW-1 “Junior.” The first flight took place on October 5, 1930. As originally designed, the aircraft was powered by a 45hp 3-cylinder Szekely radial (actually “triangular”) engine and was priced at $1,490, flyaway St Louis. The fuselage was a fairly complicated tubing structure that formed the streamlined nose with the entire assembly covered in fabric. The wings were traditional wood design, fabric covered. Easy to buy, easy to fly, and inexpensive to operate, the CW-1 soon became one of the more popular Flivvers of the early 1930s. The aircraft pictured, owned by Paul Seibert of Sonoma, California, is a Curtiss-Wright CW-1 c/n 1140, one of the few Juniors still flying.
Accepted on May 25, 1931, at the Robertson factory, it was fitted with the 45hp Szekely SR3-0 engine s/n 981 and a 2-blade, left-handscrew Flottorp wooden propeller, and it was registered as NC10962. By June 1940, the Curtiss had clocked 548 hours total time, and was still sporting its original engine, which might be a record for a Szekely. A late 1920s’ design, the “Zeke” was an effort at designing a low-horsepower engine of simplified design, so they stripped the radial-engine concept to the very basics and used only 3 cylinders. Zekes used overhead valves, and their rocker arms, which could be clearly seen dancing in rhythm while running, had to be handgreased every few hours. They used only four bolts to hold the cylinders on the case, which early on proved to be a point of fatigue failure, and cylinders developed the distressing habit of departing the engine. The fix for that was to install tension rods, tying each cylinder
February 2017 55
Left top: With a 65mph cruising speed, the Junior was designed for fun, not transportation. Left bottom: The flight deck had better instrumentation than many of its peer group. Above: Generous tail surfaces were a trademark. Left: The fuel gauge appears to be the often-used Model A Ford unit. Below: The original 40hp, 3-cylinder Szekley engine has been replaced by a 65hp Continental.
head to the next one, effectively wrapping the engine in a steel band, as if applying an old-time bandage for an aching tooth. The reliability was questionable, so most Juniors still extant, including Seibert’s, have been re-engined with the always-reliable Continental A-65 engine. Siebert reports, “It is a very easy airplane to fly, although you have to climb in a relatively flat attitude. For cruise, I set the engine at 2150rpm, which gives me about 65mph ground speed, depending on the wind conditions and the load. “The horizontal stabilizer is only adjustable on the ground to compensate for the pilot weight, so unless you adjusted it right, it is either slightly climbing or diving. However, elevator control pressures are light, so flying out of trim is not really a problem. However, the Junior has a big rudder that requires some effort, but it acts in a very conventional way. “Ailerons are way out on the wings and on the heavy side, which is characteristic for late ’20s’ airplanes. Due to its long wing, the rate of roll is slow, and in rough air, it can be uncomfortable. Bob Taylor, founder the Antique Airplane Association, refers to flying in rough air in the Junior as ‘holding a monkey on a stick’.” J 56 FlightJournal.com
The lines of the CW Junior are unique and easily recognizable.
February 2017 57
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U.S. EXPERIMENTAL & PROTOTYPE AIRCRAFT PROJECTS: 50% Fighters 1939-1945 OFF Norton This book focuses on the American fighter projects of WWII that never reached combat forces, or only in very limited numbers, and illuminates those little known aircraft designs and secret projects that significantly advanced fighter design. 10 x 10, 264 pgs, 420 photos. SC Item # SP109...................$46.95 $23.48
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JUNKERS Ju 52: A History 1930–1945 Forsyth & Creek This classic study of the Ju 52 offers the most definitive account published of this bulwark of the Luftwaffe, which first saw military service in the 1930s DOUGLAS AD/A-1 SKYRAIDER: and was then engaged in operations in Part Two Ginter Covers Skyraider the Spanish Civil War through the end of WWII. 9 x 12, 336 pgs, 700 photos. Fleet and Utility squadrons with descriptions about each squadron HC Item # CP746 ......................$99.95 along with vintage photos, CONVAIR squadron patches and unit PB4Y-2/P4Y-2 insignia. 8-1/2 x 11, 272 pgs, 740 PRIVATEER photos. SC Item # GB836... $55.95 Veronico The land-based US HORTEN HO 229 FLYING WING: Navy Privateer Spirit of Thuringia Shepelev & was a heavily Ottens This book represents the armed, fourmost thorough technical study ever engine, long range done on Nazis Germany’s Horten patrol bomber and anti-shipping Ho 229 flying wing and is certain aircraft developed from the famous to appeal to WWII and x-plane B-24/PB4Y-1 Liberator. 8-1/2 x enthusiasts, as well as modelers. 11, 240 pgs, 628 photos. SC Item # 9 x 12, 128 pgs, 200 photos. Item # CP366 .........................$49.95 GB146 ..................................... $49.95 ILYUSHIN IL-28: Famous Russian Aircraft Gordon & Kimissarov Encompasses the full development and operational history of the Ilyushin IL-28, a tactical bomber that was a successful in all its roles. 8.5 x 11, 272 pgs, 500 photos. HC Item # MC371 .....................$56.95
A COMPLETE HISTORY OF U.S. COMBAT AIRCRAFT FLY-OFF COMPETITIONS: Winners, Losers, and What Might Have Been Simonsen This book not only explains how fly-off competitions are conducted, it shows what both competing aircraft designs looked like during their trials, and then what the losing aircraft would have looked like.10 x 10, 228 pgs, 550 photos. HC Item # SP227S ...... $44.95
MIKOYAN MiG-17: Famous Russian Aircraft Gordon & Komissarov The book fully describes the MiG17’s development history and combat operations NEW in various major wars and local conflicts. A separate chapter also compares the MiG-17 and its foreign counterparts and concludes with details of MiG-17 fleets and operators worldwide. 8 x 11, 480 pgs, 1,200 photos. HC Item # MC372 .......................$64.95 THE DOUGLAS B-18 AND B-23: America’s Forsaken Warriors Hagedorn, Sr & Hagedorn, Jr. These long-forgotten American medium bombers served as antisubmarine aircraft during WWII. This is an in-depth history of these aircraft, covering their development, production, performance specs, combat operations, and warpaint colors. 8-1/2 x 11-1/2, 288 pgs, 300 photos. HC Item # AD178 ...............................$39.95
GB275 GRUMMAN F7F TIGERCAT Steve Ginter SC.....................$34.95 GB263P GRUMMAN GOOSE Ginter 74 pgs, 150 photos, SC ...........$21.95 GB581 REP. XF-84H THUNDERSCREECH Ginter, SC ..................$14.95 GB839 LOCKHEED F-94 STARFIRE Carey, SC...............................$39.95 GB582 GRUMMAN S2F/S-2 TRACKER PT.1 Thomason & Kowalski.. $46.95 GB583 GRUMMAN S2F/S-2 TRACKER & WF-2/E-1B TRACER PT. 2 .....$52.95 GB836 DOUGLAS AD/A-1 SKYRAIDER: PT.2 Ginter 272 pgs, SC............. $55.95 GB286 LOCKHEED VEGA Ginter 192 pgs, 340 photos, SC......................... $44.95 GB140 VOUGHT F8U-3 CRUSADER III Thomason 92 pg, SC................... $22.95 GB223P CONVAIR XF2Y-1 AND YF2Y-1 SEA DART Long ........................ $21.95 GB241P GRUMMAN NAVY F-111B SWING WING Thomason SC .......... $19.95 GB835 DOUGLAS AD/A-1 SKYRAIDER Ginter 256 pgs, SC ..........$52.95 GB229P MARTIN MARS XPB2M-1R & JRM FLYING BOATS, SC$21.95 GB280 GRUMMAN F8F BEARCAT Ginter 217 pgs, SC....................$39.95 GB208P LOCKHEED C-121 CONSTELLATION Ginter SC ............$21.95 GB145 GRUMMAN F6F HELLCAT Meyer & Ginter 224 pgs, SC ...$49.95
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AVIATION AVIATION INSIDER
INSIDER
Igor’s Watch The Czar recognizes a young designer’s talents BY SERGEI I. SIKORSKY
B
y 1912, the 23-year-old Igor Sikorsky was recognized as Russia’s leading aviation designer and pilot. That February, after establishing several records, his S-6 won first prize at the Moscow International Aircraft Exhibition. A few days later, he was offered the position of general manager and chief pilot of the newly formed Aviation Division of the RBVZ, a huge industrial complex that built locomotives, rail cars, automobiles, and agricultural equipment.
Right: Igor Sikorsky was not only Russia’s premier aircraft designer in 1913, but with the “Grand,” became a standout worldwide. He immigrated to the United States in 1919, where he established Sikorsky Aircraft and produced a long line of successful amphibians and flying boats. Then, as WW II approached, he invented and perfected the concept of the helicopter. (Photo courtesy of Sergei I. Sikorsky) Below: Sikorsky designed and built the four-engine Grand only 10 years after the Wright Brothers flew. The airplane represented a monumental advance in technology. (Photo courtesy of Sergei I. Sikorsky)
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That spring, Sikorsky accepted the offer and moved to St. Petersburg, headquarters of the RBVZ. By midsummer, he was testing two new aircraft, his S-6B and S-7. Both were entered in a major military competition scheduled in St. Petersburg that fall. During the competition, Sikorsky completed a required flight in his S-6B and climbed out of the aircraft to find an invitation from the chairman of the RBVZ for dinner that evening. The chairman was retired Gen. Michael V. Shidlovsky, a financier with a vision. After dinner, Sikorsky reported on the status of his two entries. Shidlovsky then
asked his guest about his thoughts about future projects. Hesitantly, Sikorsky began describing an aircraft he had been thinking of in his spare time. He warned his host that most aviation authorities considered his concept impossible. The prevailing theory held that 1,500 to 2,000 pounds was the upper limit for an aircraft’s weight. Several attempts to build heavier aircraft had ended in dismal (and expensive) failures. The chairman, however, urged him to continue. Sikorsky briefly described his vision of a large, multiengine design with an enclosed cabin. The aircraft would have four motors, accessible in flight for minor repairs. The chairman continued with a series of increasingly detailed questions. Sikorsky concluded by volunteering his share of the competition’s prize money (if they won) to fund the project. The chairman answered, “No… start construction immediately!” One week later, Igor Sikorsky, flying his S-6B, won first prize in the military competition. Despite fierce criticism from a number of Russian and European “experts,” the giant aircraft was completed in the winter of 1912 and successfully flew in the spring of 1913. With a wingspan of 92 feet and a weight of 9,000 pounds, it was powered by four 100hp Argus engines. The public named it the “Grand,” and soon it was frequently seen over St. Petersburg. At the time, it was, by far, the biggest and heaviest aircraft to fly. It was also the first multimotor aircraft in aviation history. In July 1913, Czar Nicholas II expressed a desire to view the historic aircraft. Sikorsky proudly flew the aircraft to a military airfield some 25 miles south of St. Petersburg. There, the Czar walked around the aircraft, then climbed aboard the Grand. The Czar and Sikorsky then had a private chat for about 20 minutes that Sikorsky would later remember as “very friendly and relaxed.” Some days later, one of the Czar’s court officers presented Sikorsky with a gold pocket watch and chain “with the compliments of the Czar.” The Imperial two-headed eagle crest, worked in precious stones, is displayed on the back of the watch. It would become one of Igor Sikorsky’s prized possessions. The success of the Grand led to an improved version, a larger, more powerful four-engine aircraft. It was named the Ilya Muromets after a legendary warrior-knight. The I.M. had a larger wingspan of 102 feet, a larger passenger cabin,
SIDEBAR PHOTO BY TIM HAGGERTY
Czar Nicholas II viewed the airplane and had the watch presented to Sikorsky in recognition of his achievements. The pendant was presented to him by the city of Kiev because of Sikorsky’s record flight to that city; the route is on one side, and the aircraft in three dimensions on the other. The ancient Persian coin was one of Sikorsky’s prized possessions, so he attached it to the watch. (Photos by Budd Davisson)
and a total of 530hp instead of the Grand’s 400. During the spring of 1914, the Muromets estab lished a number of records: in May, carrying 12 passengers to 7,000 feet and, in June, carry ing seven passengers over St. Petersburg for some 6 hours 30 minutes. Then Sikorsky decided to attempt an “impossible” flight. Early on the morning of June 30, 1914, Sikorsky departed with a crew of three copilots (Lt. G. I. Lavrov, Capt. K. F. Prussis, and mechanic V. S. Panasiuk) on a crosscountry flight, from St. Petersburg to his hometown of Kiev. Though the straightline distance was about 650 miles, the route flown with identifiable checkpoints was closer to 800. The flight was fairly routine to the fuel stop in the town of Orsha. After takeoff, an engine fire forced an emergency landing halfway to Kiev. The next morning, heavy rain and low clouds made the flight to Kiev a dangerous affair. Pilot ing skill and good luck prevailed, however, and Sikorsky arrived that day in Kiev. A hero’s wel come was followed by several days of rest with his family. During that time, the city of Kiev struck a gold medal to honor the flight. On one side is a replica of the nose of the Ilya Muromets, while on the opposite side is a microscopic map of the flight. Shortly after the return flight, Sikorsky had the Kiev medal attached to the gold chain of the Czar’s watch. In 1917, as the Bolshevik revolution destroyed the Russia that Igor Sikorsky had served so well, he was warned that his life was in danger as “an enemy of the working class.” He left Russia with the watch and chain taped around his waist. It
remained a treasured reminder of his early success in old Russia and a goodluck charm for his new career in America. Igor Sikorsky was given an ancient Persian coin minted some 800 years earlier. Sometime before he left Russia, he attached the coin to the chain, telling me that it must have had great signifi cance to him. J
Ilya Muromets: The Grander “Grand”
The increased size and general proportions of the 1914 Ilya Muromets, combined with its “unique” lines, meant that someone would eventually build a flying model of it. In fact, Sal Calvagna from Long Island, New York, won the 2016 Spirit of Rhinebeck award for his version. This award is given to those who go above and beyond with their model. And any model with a 16-foot wingspan is definitely “above and beyond,” especially considering the obscene complexity of the Muromets’ structure. The most important part of Calvagna’s efforts, however, is that it gives the world a detailed look at what Igor Sikorsky accomplished at the very beginning of aviation. With its four engines and 102-foot wingspan (a B-17 is 104 feet!) and a large salon-type cabin capable of easily accommodating 12 passengers, it was so far ahead of the competition that it might as well have been the space shuttle.—Budd Davisson February 2017 61
ONE OF A KIND
The Consolidated XP2Y-1 The PBY’s granddad
C
BY JOE GERTLER
onsolidated Aircraft’s initial entry in the development of long-range patrol flying boats had a shaky start. Although the company’s Model 10 was chosen by the U.S. Navy as the PY-1 Admiral, the production contract was granted to the underbidding Martin Aircraft Company, as the Martin P3M.
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As Martin was completing that contract, Consolidated went after the next patrol plane requirement with an enclosed cockpit and an added lower half-wing (sesquiplane) with a 45-foot span. The new XP2Y-1 was ordered on May 26, 1931. It was a curious design of the prototype, with an additional third engine mounted on a pylon atop the wing. The same three-engine configuration had been rejected on the earlier design, as it failed to improve performance to any significant degree. The unique prototype was only tested for about two months before the upper engine was removed. Subsequent production Model 22s, designated P2Y Rangers, were powered by twin engines located below the 100-foot span upper wing. Its first test flights on March 26, 1932, were powered by the three Wright 1820E Cyclone 9 radials. The Navy was strongly focused on air-cooled engines for the vast majority of its aircraft. At the time, the P2Y was the largest flying boat in the U.S. Navy. Most versions cruised at a little over 100mph but had incredible range for the time: more than 1,100 miles. They remained in service, well into World War II. The design and its modifications proved successful for the Navy,
achieving significant milestones. In January 1934, six P2Y-1s flew nonstop from San Francisco to Hawaii, at 500 feet, in heavy weather, to a world record 2,408 miles in 24 hours and 34 minutes. President Roosevelt proclaimed the flight as “the greatest undertaking of its kind in the history of aviation.” While the P2Y may not have directly evolved into the PBY, Consolidated’s experience in developing the design and the data derived from the actual operation of a long-range aircraft formed the foundation for its legendary PBY Catalina. Its P2Y background resulted in the XPBY-1 setting a new world’s seaplane record in October 1935, by flying 3,281 miles from the Canal Zone to San Francisco in 34 hours and 45 minutes. The “B” was added to the designation of this line as the Navy recognized its additional capability as a bomber. P2Y production totaled 78 aircraft, including upgraded “dash ones” as P2Y-2s with more powerful Wright R1820s faired into the wing, with 23 P2Y-3s entering service in 1935. The type left the U.S. inventory in 1941, although Argentina and Colombia used P2Ys in limited numbers. No P2Y airframes are thought to exist today. J
Much to the disappointment of Consolidated Aricraft’s designers, the addition of a third engine failed to produce a significant performance improvement. It was even more surprising, considering they had attempted a third engine addition to an earlier version, with the same result. (Photo courtesy of Joe Gertler) June 2016 63
reviewRUNWAY
BY GREG SULLIVAN
Lucky 666: The Impossible Mission by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin (Simon & Schuster, 368 pages, $30.00) It’s fitting that a book that reads like fiction but is factual and invests so much in detail is titled Lucky 666. This excellent read, set in the Pacific theater of World War II, is the story of a misfit crew assembling their own beefed-up B-17 bomber from scraps (naming it “Lucky 666”). They eventually face a critical recon mission in which they generously gave themselves a 10 percent chance of surviving. Before we reach the recounting of their amazing flight, the authors provide insight into the sparring between Army and Navy as well as the day-to-day challenges faced by those serving in the Pacific. Among those featured in the story are Gen. Douglas MacArthur, whose reputation takes another thumping in these pages, and his air marshall, Gen. George Churchill Kennedy, who was popular with his men. Making passing, and also unfavorable, appearances are Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel and Lyndon Johnson. The authors discount the traditional belief that Midway was the war’s turning point. They interestingly recap what now seems, in our age of drone warfare, to be quaint moralizing over whether the United States could target Japan’s Yamamoto. The leading characters in the story are the Capt. Jay Zeamer and Lt. Joe Sarnoski. Zeamer, at times acting in a manner fully worthy of court martial, is the most compelling character in this excellent book. Sarnoski, the more traditional of the two but with a flair for sometimes breaking into in-flight song (in Polish), is promoted from enlisted man to officer and receives his orders to return stateside just prior to their fateful mission, from which only one of them would survive.
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The Crash Detectives: Investigating the World’s Most Mysterious Air Disasters by Christine Negroni (Penguin, 285 pages, $17.00) The challenge posed for a brisk-reading book like The Crash Detectives, which recounts the investigations surrounding some of the most mysterious flight disasters, is to avoid becoming something you might expect from Ralph Nader. But far from becoming a reactionary Unsafe at Any Altitude, the book even-handedly covers a significant number of tragic and near-tragic flights. There are five sections: Mystery, Conspiracy, Fallibility, Humanity, and Resiliency. For a book that necessarily covers so much loss of life, the final section ends things on a high note, recounting the stories of pilots who saved the day. The Conspiracy section is particularly compelling and covers the recent Malaysia 370 disappearance as well as the crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996, the death of Dag Hammarskjöld in 1961, and other mysteries. I happened to see the Clint Eastwood film Sully, briefly mentioned in the book, while preparing this review, and the movie served as a perfect complement to the book. In discussing pilot demeanor, the book/film The Right Stuff is referenced with regard to pilot hubris. My recollection of that book is that it also holds that pilots are prey to the misguided belief that the airframe is never to blame. The Crash Detectives sets one straight on that count, covering design issues from the infamous de Havilland Comet of the 1950s through the recent Boeing Dreamliner’s ion battery problems (and, in doing so, reminded me of another film: the Glenn Ford melodrama Fate Is the Hunter.) There are so many stories covered in this book that I sometimes felt a bit lost as the author transitioned quickly from one story to the other. So attention is required. The tone is conversational, however, and this book is a fine work of nonfiction. I was able to read it quickly, although I suspect the ease with which one digests its contents is in inverse proportion to the frequency with which one flies.
Boeing in Photographs: A Century of Flight by Martin W. Bowman (The History Press, 160 pages, $44.95) Truth be told, I’m not a huge fan of coffeetable books. For an iconic American brand such as Boeing, however, notice needs to be taken. This book is a fine collection of images with informative captions. Although the pictures are mostly black and white, almost 30 percent of the book is in color. The introduction neatly encapsulates the company’s 100-year history. We learn of the company’s early dependency on military orders—and furniture building. After all, founder William E. Boeing was the son of a timberman. There are many fine pictures from the post-WW II era, including an awesome AH-64 Apache attack helicopter image, which gets its own page. In this section, a large percentage of the pictures are similar commercial aircraft, differentiated mainly by their carrier’s signage. Surprisingly to me, there are just a few images of the new Boeing 787; many are of the company’s more photogenic 747, including those dedicated to transporting the president as well as space shuttles. Some minor distractions to me are the use of British English in the text and the sometimes disappearing header information regarding section/page. For my money, the images from the company’s inception through WW II are the book’s selling point. I found them and their story engaging. Included is one from the crash of the XB-17 “Flying Fortress” prototype in 1935. (This is also covered in The Crash Detectives and both books cite the failure to remove ground locks as the cause of the crash.) If this kind of book is your thing, it would make a welcome addition to your library. J
Field Dress For Success
The life of U.S. Air Force jet pilots during the coldwar years was a dangerous way to make a living. The World War II mindset that disregarded aviation safety required many changes in the fighter pilot operational philosophy. Their stories are presented in John Lowery’s new book, Life in the Wild Blue Yonder, Second Edition. Also included is information concerning our government’s abandonment of 705 of our POWs in Vietnam and 300 in Laos, who were never repatriated. The Cuban involvement is especially distressful in that a number of our POWs held by that country simply “disappeared,” with 17 airmen taken from Hanoi to Havana for “medical experiments in torture techniques.” Other books by the author include Professional Pilot (third edition) and A Pilot’s Accident Review. Life in the Wild Blue Yonder, Second Edition, by John Lowery $12.98 (paperback), $10 (e-book) Available on amazon.com
The hunt for the perfect outdoorsman knife is over. There’s only one tool you need: the Whitetail™ Hunting Knife—now ONLY $49! Our new Whitetail™ Hunting Knife will quickly become your go-to blade for every expedition. The Whitetail™ is a premium fixed-blade hunting knife that’s perfect for skinning. With the Whitetail at hand, you’ll be ready for field dressing in only seconds, and you’ll never need a separate gut hook tool ever again. The Whitetail™ boasts a mighty 420 highcarbon, fulltang stainlesssteel blade. The comfortable handle is made out of pakkawood— moisture resistant and more durable than hardwood. If hunting is your life, then the Whitetail™ Knife was designed to make your life easier. Your satisfaction is 100 percent guaranteed. Whitetail™ Hunting Knife $49 + S&P (plus free Stauer 8x21 Compact Binoculars with knife purchase) 800-333-2045 Offer Code: WHK136-01 stauer.com
How to Park $11.7 Million on Your Desktop The 500K Special Roadster is one of the rarest and most sought-after automobiles ever built. It’s hard to deny that one of the signature models of Mercedes-Benz® is the 500 series. The 500Ks of the 1930s were beautiful, elegant, and exclusive models often outfitted with voluptuous coachwork, and were sold to only the wealthiest clientele. The most ravishing model of this species was the two-seater 500K Special Roadster, launched in 1936. Our diecast metal replica captures the sexy curves and sumptuous coachwork of the full-size model in striking detail. This replica is just shy of a foot long and available in pearl white or ruby red. Your satisfaction is 100 percent guaranteed. 1936 Mercedes-Benz® 500K Special Roadster Diecast (Pearl White or Ruby Red finish) $99 + S&P 800-333-2045 Offer Code: MBD293-01 stauer.com
German Airpower Item# GRA15PD | $7.99 ■ In-cockpit evaluations of
the Fw 190 and Bf 109 ■ Screaming Stukas ■ Desperate dogfights ■ Inside the He 111 ■ Rare vintage German color photos ■ Spectacular modern
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February 2017 65
FLYBUYS
Jet Fighter Pilot Stories
TAILVIEW
Snapshot: A Moment Frozen in Time
W
hat do you see in this picture? Sharper than most WW II images, this one is of a fairly tranquil scene on the deck of CV-6, USS Enterprise. The shot was taken on May 15, 1942, and the red circles in their insignias had been painted over. That’s barely five months after Pearl Harbor and about three weeks before the crew seen here going about their jobs would be fighting for their lives in the Battle of Midway. Hence, the tranquility—they don’t yet know what is headed their way. But they have an inkling. The war was only six weeks old when the Big E paired with USS Yorktown to raid Japanese bases in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands. And they tasted action when they launched a futile attack against the Japanese on Wake Island. Their combat experience changed their view of themselves: They knew they might be big, but they weren’t invincible. Then, three weeks before this photo was taken, Enterprise had escorted her sister Hornet with 16 B-25s to bomb Tokyo, and they cheered at their success. They had proved that the Japanese weren’t invincible either! If you look at the photo and count, you can also see eight Grumman F4F Wildcats (not GM/Eastern FM-2s) and seven Douglas SBD Dauntlesses. It doesn’t take much research to reveal that this photo contains as many as four times the Grummanbuilt Wildcats as there are now flying; only two are still in the air. A dozen or so GM FM-2 Wildcats are still flying but a much smaller number of actual Grummans. A dozen or so sit lifeless in museums. Roughly 1,900 Grummans were built, so that’s a
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BY BUDD DAVISSON
survival rate of 1 out of 160. Eastern built 4,000 FM-2 versions (plus 1,200 FM-1s), but only about 25 still exist, which is also 1 out of 160. The line of SBDs (with the one hiding behind the carrier’s island) includes almost twice as many as the four now thought to be flying. There are roughly 15 in museums. That’s a survival rate of approximately 1 in 300. There are more than 40 young souls seen working on the Wildcats or repositioning the Dauntlesses. How many of those have survived to today is anyone’s guess, but age alone would dictate the survival rate. Combat would further whittle down the numbers. The youngest would be 91 years old today. Soon, we will have lost them all, while a few of the aircraft will still be with us. Whether they will be in the air or displayed as stuffed dinosaurs in museums, remains to be seen. Seldom have WW II photos survived that are as crisp and reveal as much as this one does. Every time we lay eyes upon any image of this period of history, however, we should remember that we are now standing with one foot in the past, the other in the future. We are even now stepping through a doorway, and on the other side, all we will have of our past will be photos and the memories they engender. The voices of both those who made that history and the steeds they rode into battle will be silenced by time. That’s the sad reality of life. So we should savor those few voices, both mechanical and human, while we still can. J
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On October 22nd 1934, two exhausted airman landed on a racecourse in Melbourne, surrounded by cheering crowds. Flying a specially-built De Havilland Comet DH-88, Charles Scott and Tom Campbell Black set a new record, flying the 11,000 miles from England in just 71 hours. The Bremont DH-88 commemorates their aircraft and their achievement. Containing actual material from the record-breaking plane, the Bremont DH-88 is available now in a strictly limited edition. But it won’t be available for long.
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