Aviation History 2016-11

DOC: A SECOND B-29 SUPERFORTRESS RETURNS TO THE AIR

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interview

unsinkable sully The man behind the miracle Stealth fighter of the future or Nazi fantasy?

HITLER’S JET

FLYING WING FRENCH TOWN COMMEMORATES A P-38 PILOT’S SUPREME SACRIFICE HOW HOLLYWOOD HELPED LAUNCH THE DRONE REVOLUTION

HistoryNet.com

NOVEMBER 2016

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DEPARTMENTS 5 MAILBAG 6 BRIEFING 12 RESTORED With its July 17 return to flight, Doc became the world’s second airworthy B-29. By Edward H. Phillips

nazi wonder weapon? The National Air and Space Museum is currently working on the Horten Ho IX V3.

features 20 THE HORTEN BROTHERS’ JET FLYING WING

How “stealthy” was the Ho IX fighter-bomber, and could it have been a game-changer for the Luftwaffe? By Stephan Wilkinson

30 SULLY SPEAKS OUT

Ever since the “Miracle on the Hudson,” Captain Chesley Sullenberger has used his celebrity to promote aviation safety. Interview by Carl von Wodtke

42 TRAINING COMBAT PILOTS on NORTH ISLAND

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Edward N. Jackson’s previously unpublished photos show how America’s first military aviators learned their trade. By Joseph J. Caro

48 DRONES: THE HOLLYWOOD CONNECTION

14 EXTREMES The sleek Douglas X-3 Stiletto never lived up to its looks. By Jon Guttman

16 AVIATORS Colonel Morris Taber’s B-25D disappeared during a shipping raid near China. By Jeff Laugero

19 LETTER FROM AVIATION HISTORY 60 REVIEWS 63 FLIGHT TEST 64 AERO ARTIFACT

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Actor Reginald Denny was responsible for developing the first remotely piloted aircraft for target drone use by the U.S. Army. By Robert Guttman

54 A P-38 PILOT REMEMBERED Nearly 70 years after Lieutenant Lawrence Herrick’s death, a French community came together to honor him. By Gary Metivier and Mary Masonholder Wilson

ON THE COVER: A Horten Ho-229 downs a B-17G over Europe, in a hypothetical scenario illustrated by Jack Fellows. Although the Ho-229 never achieved production, the flying-wing fighter-bomber has been the source of endless speculation, and in the process entered the realm of myth and legend. Cover: ©2016 Jack Fellows, ASAA

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ERIC LONG/NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM; BRETT SCHAUF/DOC’S FRIENDS; NATIONAL ARCHIVES; AP PHOTO/THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER/TODD SUMLIN

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Aviation History

Online

You’ll find much more from Aviation History on the Web’s leading history resource: HistoryNet.com

THE RISE OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT Will the U.S. Air Force one day become a pilotless service, given the proliferation of drones in recent conflicts?

10 GREATEST EMERGENCY LANDINGS Our nominations for aviation history’s most remarkable forced landings—heroic, embarrassing, skillful or just plain lucky.

NORTHROP’S “FLYING RAM” With a configuration similar to that of the Horten Ho-229 jet flying wing, the XP-79B also paralleled the development of the rocket-powered Messerschmitt Me-163.

CARL VON WODTKE EDITOR NAN SIEGEL ASSOCIATE EDITOR JON GUTTMAN RESEARCH DIRECTOR CONTRIBUTING EDITORS WALTER J. BOYNE, STEPHAN WILKINSON ARTHUR H. SANFELICI EDITOR EMERITUS

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Follow our step-by-step instructions to build this issue’s “Modeling” project, the Douglas X-3 Stiletto, featured in “Extremes” (P. 14). Let’s Connect Like Aviation History Magazine on Facebook Digital Subscription Aviation History is available via Zinio and other digital subscription services

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mailbag

“Gutless”

Cutlass

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arren Thompson’s article about the F7U Cutlass in the September 2016 issue brought back a pleasant memory. Although its operational lifespan was short, the Cutlass did provide a wonderful photo backdrop for U.S. Marine Corps graduates of the Aviation Preparatory School, Naval Air Technical Training Center, NAS Jacksonville, Fla. That’s me standing fifth from left. We thought it was one very sleek-looking warbird. Lloyd Stimson Fort Washington, Md.

A new MIT engineering graduate, I was hired by Vought’s chief engineer Fred Dickerman in June 1951 to perform aerodynamic stability and control analysis on the F7U-3, which was then in assembly. First flight was in December. Six weeks later I was back at MIT running low-speed wind-tunnel tests on the airplane. I also followed flight tests on no. 7 F7U-1, a flight prototype. The F7U was a flawed concept. I believe the F7U-3 had every vice a fighter could have with the exception of pitch-up at stall. The preliminary design of the F7U was made in Connecticut. Then the company, at the instigation of the Defense Department, moved to Grand Prairie, Texas. The engineers who designed the beast took one scorching Texas summer and then most of them moved back to New England, and much of their experience was lost. The F7U-1 barely passed field carrier tests, but utterly failed carrier tests. The test pilot refused to attempt a

landing. Told to follow the LSO’s directions, he retorted, “I can’t see him; I can barely see the bow of the carrier!” So there was panic among those working on the F7U-3—they even considered hinging the nose, like the Concorde. An elevated platform was set up in the parking lot, and a new nose was designed. The F7U-3 was designed to a Mach limit of 1.2, the speed the aircraft might achieve if it executed a split-S at ceiling and roared to earth under full afterburner. At the time the F7U-1 was designed, there was no wind tunnel capable of operating at the speed of sound. One had to take what one got from highspeed wind-tunnel tests and eyeball it to results at Mach 1.2; between Mach .9 and Mach 1.2 there was no data—and no theory either. And the roll rate was preposterous—up to 420 degrees per second. The stress on the tails caused the landing gear doors to unlatch, and they flew off, littering

the Texas countryside. A roll rate limiter was installed. I haven’t even mentioned post-stall gyrations or the “JC maneuver,” so named for the exclamations by pilots lucky enough to survive one. Or the production difficulties, with one wing longer than the other, or the signs on the aircraft as it proceeded down the line: “wet putty.” I didn’t stick with the Gutless. I was lucky enough to be assigned as one of the 15 who came up with the winning design for the F8U Crusader. Bruce Bower Rosamond, Calif.

What a great story about the F7U-1 and -3. In 1952-53 I was a flight test technician at Chance Vought Aircraft in Grand Prairie, Texas. My duties were to collect the data after each flight test, reduce it and compose a graph of the readings of some of the instruments of that flight. A camera was installed in the cockpit to record the instrument readings, which were developed and put on microfilm so that the technicians could read them on a screen. It was timeconsuming and mistakes were made, but for the most part we were very accurate. I was fortunate to be assigned as a liaison, when needed, between some of the ground crew and pilots at the naval air station. All the Chance Vought engineers were devoted to making that aircraft the best of its kind. The Westinghouse engineers, as well, worked like hell to fix those engines. Because of them,

future combat aircraft were developed to make them the best in the world. Dino Alessio Frisco, Texas

Corsair Carrier Landings I really enjoyed “The ‘Real Bridges at Toko-Ri’” [September], especially since I was one of the junior AD Skyraider pilots in VA-35 who had taken part in an attack on one of the Yalu River bridges the previous November. I had also carrier qualified in the F4U-4 Corsair at the end of advanced training earlier that year. In the description of Lieutenant Ray Edinger’s landing without benefit of flaps, we are told that he hung the F4U “in the air at near stall speed, hose-nose so high he had to slide open the canopy and stick his head out to see the LSO give him the cutthroat signal to chop throttle.” In those days all carrier takeoffs and landings were made with the canopy open. Also, all approaches in the Corsair were made at near stall speed and turning all the way until the last moment, when you rolled your wings level and took the cut. That turn was what let you see past that nose. On one of my own passes during seven qualifying landings in the Corsair, I got a wave-off when my plane was just above the vacant platform of the LSO, who had jumped into his safety net. He wrote in his book, “DNKUA”—damn near killed us all! Richard “Digger” Cantrell Bedford, Texas

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briefing

The Goose is Loose

A

just for fun Addison Pemberton’s restored Grumman JRF-6B Goose (above) regularly plied a Virgin Islands route during the 1950s (inset).

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ddison Pemberton is best known for his restoration of the world’s WVTaÆaQVO*WMQVO Model 40 mailplane, IVMQOP\aMIZ  hour epic that produced an important museum-quality survivor. Now Pemberton’s shop in Spokane, Wash., has turned out a pure-fun projMK\"I!/Z]UUIV/WW[M that he and his wife, Wendy, and their two adult sons will ÆaNWZXTMI[]ZM¹)VL_M¼ZM

OWVVI_MIZQ\W]\1¼TT\MTTaIº 8MUJMZ\WV[Ia[_Q\PITI]OP
and operated it as part of *TIQZ¼[)V\QTTM[)QZ*WI\[TQVM QV\PM>QZOQV1[TIVL[1\_I[ dubbed Excalibur II; Excalibur _I[*TIQZ¼[;QSWZ[Sa>; NW]ZMVOQVMÆaQVOJWI\IVL Excalibur III, which today PIVO[QV\PM;UQ\P[WVQIV¼[ Udvar-Hazy Center, was the 8+\PI\*TIQZÆM_NZWU 6WZ_Ia\W)TI[SIW^MZ\PM 6WZ\P8WTMQVIZMKWZLû PW]Z[;W\PW]OP\PMZM¼[VW PQV\WN +P]ZKPQTTQIVKQOIZ smoke, somewhere in the

OPPOSITE PHOTOS: ADDISON PEMBERTON; TOP: VINTAGE WINGS INC.; ABOVE: THE BLADE/CAMERON HART

Pemberton Goose doubtless are the ghostly footprints of Blair’s movie star wife, Maureen O’Hara. In 2012 the Pembertons acquired a red-tagged, unairworthy but complete airplane that had been undergoing quasi-restoration as a static display, which meant liberal exterior use of Bondo, pop rivets and ordinary sheet metal. The important internal work, however, was of the highest quality. “The airplane was in better condition than we’d hoped,” Pemberton says. “The biggest problem was the aluminum extrusions, things like longerons and spar caps. The problem was the way they heat-treated extrusions during the war, cooling them on steel racks with supports 18 inches apart. So every 18 inches, there was a spot where the extrusion had cooled too quickly and formed a stress riser. It’s a common problem with a lot of warbirds, particularly P-51s.” Pemberton admits the paint is “not historically correct. I should have done it as a British JRF-6B, but they had such awful paint schemes, all brown and green camW]ÆIOM1TW^M\PM!MZI red-rimmed stars and bars, so that’s what we used.” The airplane is marked as a Naval Air Station Whidbey Island amphib “because I’m from Washington, and Whidbey did operate Gooses.” The cabin seats seven—the [\WKSKWVÅO]ZI\QWV¸[W\PM Pembertons will have plenty of room for friends. Stephan Wilkinson

Two C-53s Slated for Flight?

R ohio skytroopers Vintage Wings’ C-53 sits at Beach City (top). Rex Damschroder at the controls of C-53D no. 42-68710 (above), which he intends to restore.

Air Quotes

“THE BEST SAFETY DEVICE IS THE PILOT, WHO, DEEP DOWN, REGARDLESS OF THE AIRCRAFT, RETAINS A SENSE OF FALLIBILITY AND VULNERABILITY. NO SYSTEM CAN EVER SUBSTITUTE FOR THAT.” –ARNOLD REINER, RETIRED AIRLINE CAPTAIN

estoration work is currently underway on two Douglas C-53 Skytroopers, troop transport variants of the C-47 with 28 seats and a left-side passenger door. Both boast distinctive pedigrees, and the restorers are looking for financial support. Vintage Wings is working on C-53 serial no. 41-20095, which served in North Africa and Europe, then postwar as a DC-3A airliner and finally as Buckeye One, flagship of the Ohio governor from 1963 to 1982. The head of the effort, 32-year-old mechanic Jason Capra, was inspired to restore what he considers “the most iconic airplane, ever” when he saw it sitting idle in Beach City, south of Akron. Once it’s completed, Capra intends to name it Beach City Baby, and ultimately wants to see it used as a flying classroom. More at vintagewingsinc.com. The other project involves one of two retired DC-3s sitting idle at Fremont Airport in Ohio, C-53D no. 42-68710. On June 6, 1944, the transport flew with the 67th Troop Carrier Squadron over Normandy, and it went on to participate in subsequent airborne operations. After World War II, the Skytrooper operated as a DC-3 with Continental Airlines from 1953 to 1963, and thereafter with Southern Airlines, as well as an outfit of parajumpers and, according to one mechanic, made at least one drug-smuggling run out of South America. In September 1988, it was bought by Gene Damschroder, and inherited by his son, Rex, who christened it Lulu Belle after his mother. The old DC-3 has been inactive for years, but Rex and fellow volunteers hope to have it ready for him, a copilot, a mechanic and a crew chief to fly the Atlantic for the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings in 2019. “Our goal is to restore it into the original,” he says, “including the original D-Day color paint.” To carry out the project, Damschroder and his crew need to raise $250,000. See freemontairport.com.

Jon Guttman

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cockpit-ready Retired Commander Dean “Diz” Laird climbs into the cockpit of a T-34C before being joined by Lt. Cmdr. Nicole Johnson (lower left).

D

uring World War II, Dean “Diz” Laird ÆM_/Z]UUIV F4F-4 Wildcats from the aircraft carrier Ranger to share in shooting down a Junkers Ju-88 and a Heinkel 0MW‫ٺ‬6WZ_IaIVL \PMVILLMLÅ^MUWZM ^QK\WZQM[\WPQ[[KWZMÆaing F6F-5 Hellcats in the 8IKQÅK\PMWVTa=;6I^a

IKM\WKTIQUJW\P/MZUIV and Japanese aircraft). After almost 30 years of naval service, one would think the retired commander had enough laurels to last a lifetime. Diz didn’t think so, though. On July 9, the 95-year-old pilot took \PMKWV\ZWT[WN I<+ <]ZJWUMV\WZ\PM\P airplane type to grace his ÆQOP\TWO&

&.) Diz did some sightseeing W‫\ٺ‬PMKWI[\WN ;IV,QMOW NWTTW_MLJaJW\PÆQMZ[IT\MZnating at some aileron rolls over a training area. “I was [WM`KQ\MLIVLPWVWZML\WÆa with a true legend,” Johnson remarked. “How many peoXTMKIV[Ia\PMaÆM__Q\P

SOLAR IMPULSE 2 MISSION accomplished Pilots André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard (shown at left taking a selfie) had something to prove when Solar Impulse 2 took off from Abu Dhabi on March 9, 2015… and they proved it on July

26, 2016, when the solarpowered airplane returned to Abu Dhabi. The two men had made history as the first to pilot a fixed-wing aircraft solo around the world using only solar power.

NAGOYA JAPAN

SAN FRANCISCO USA

NANJING CHINA ABU DHABI UAE

AHMEDABAD INDIA

DAYTON USA

MANDALAY MYANMAR

VARANASI INDIA

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november 2016

NEW YORK USA

SEVILLE SPAIN ABU DHABI UAE

ATLANTIC CROSSING

PHOENIX USA

CHONGQING CHINA HAWAII USA

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8 WORLD RECORDS 25,070.5 MILES DISTANCE 17 STAGES 25 DAYS OF ACTUAL FLIGHTS 509H 28M FLYING TIME

TULSA USA

PACIFIC CROSSING

MUSCAT OMAN

flight stats

LEHIGH VALLEY USA

CAIRO EGYPT

TOP: U.S. NAVY; BOTTOM; ©SOLAR IMPULSE

WWII Naval Ace Flies 100th Plane Type

‘Diz’ Laird? Then he had to make me look bad by being a better pilot at 95. It is men like this who paved the way for the rest of us.” Although opportunities NWZLWOÅOP\QVO[MMU\WJMI thing of the past, Laird had some advice, based on experience, to pass on to any future successors. He said his “policy has always been that every ÅOP\MZXQTW\PI[\_WUIQV assets once they’re airborne. One is altitude and the other is speed. Never give up one without gaining something on the other.” “We train for air-to-air combat our whole career, but very rarely in this day and age does that actually happen,” added Johnson, who has ÆW_VLQ‫ٺ‬MZMV\IQZKZIN\ \P][NIZQVPMZaMIZ[QV\PM Navy. “It’s phenomenal to have just had a conversation IVL\WÆa_Q\PPQUº Jon Guttman

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BRIEFING

Air and Space Museum Celebrates 40 Years

MILESTONES

Around the World Nonstop Thirty years ago, the first airplane to make a nonstop, unrefueled circumnavigation of the world was greeted with cheers by 23,000 spectators at Edwards Air Force Base on December 23, 1986, a little more than nine days after taking off. Pilots Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager had flown just over 24,986 miles, averaging 115.8 mph. Voyager, their twin-engine, twin-boom aircraft—among the first built mostly of lightweight graphite-honeycomb

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composites—was fitted with 17 fuel tanks, topped off with 1,200 gallons at takeoff on December 14. They landed with roughly five gallons remaining in the sole accessible tank. Yeager and Rutan, along with Dick’s designer brother Burt and crew chief Bruce Evans, received the Collier Trophy for their achievement. Today Voyager is on display in the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall at the National Air and Space Museum.

TOP: NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM; BOTTOM: NASA

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n July 1, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum celebrated its 40th anniversary by reopening its renovated Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall. That soaring central space has long showcased the Bell X-1, the Friendship 7 space capsule and Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, among other priceless artifacts. The gala, which lasted through the night, welcomed visitors with a series of special events on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Among those who had originally championed building a national air museum was General Henry “Hap” Arnold. He worked with Congressman Jennings Randolph to promote a bill signed by President Harry Truman in August 1946 authorizing a facility “to memorialize the development of aviation; collect, preserve, and display aeronautical equipment; and provide educational material for the study of aviation.” Though funding was not actually approved for another two decades, the aircraft and related artifacts set aside for the new museum quickly burgeoned. What began in 1876 as a collection of 20 kites now includes nearly WJRMK\[IVL\PMJ]QTLQVO\PI\ÅZ[\WXMVMLWV July 1, 1976, has long been among America’s most visited museums—reportedly welcoming 311 million visitors by 2015. During the renovations, NASM experts came across some unexpected treasures. After restorers discovered a pair of pliers beneath Spirit of St. Louis’ instrument panel, Chief Conservator Malcolm Collum speculated that Lindbergh might have dropped the tool during PQ[ÆQOP\IKZW[[\PM)\TIV\QK?WZSMZ[IT[WNW]VL\PI\ longtime restorers John Cusack and Patricia Merchant, both now deceased, had left a note beneath the airXTIVM¼[ÆWWZJWIZL_Q\P\PMQZVIUM[WVQ\QV!3IZT Heinzel, who also helped prepare the Ryan NYP for exhibit, said that for Cusack and Merchant, it was “their way of leaving a calling card to the future.” Nan Siegel

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RESTORED

Doc’s Fairy Tale Ending

second superfortress The B-29 Doc takes off from McConnell AFB (above) on July 17, nearly two decades after being rescued from China Lake, Calif. (below).

BACK IN THE AIR AFTER A MONUMENTAL RESTORATION EFFORT, THE B-29 WILL SERVE AS A FLYING MUSEUM TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN AIR POWER BY EDWARD H. PHILLIPS

A

fter 60 years on the ground, the world’s second air_WZ\Pa*!;]XMZNWZ\ZM[[ZM\]ZVML\WÆQOP\QV2]Ta following a 16-year, $5 million restoration. Since 2013 \PMJWIZLWN LQZMK\WZ[WN \PMVWVXZWÅ\¹,WK¼[.ZQMVL[º PI[W^MZ[MMV\PMPMI^aJWUJMZ¼[ZM[\WZI\QWV2IUM[ Murphy, program manager for the project, anticipates the ÆQOP\\M[\XZWOZIU_QTTZMY]QZMPW]Z[\WKWUXTM\M 1V2]VM\PM.))¼[)QZKZIN\+MZ\QÅKI\QWV7‫ٻ‬KMQV?QKPQ\I Kansas, issued DocIVIQZ_WZ\PQVM[[KMZ\QÅKI\MQV\PMM`XMZQUMV\ITM`PQJQ\QWVKI\MOWZa ¹?MKW]TLVW\PI^MKWUXTM\ML\PQ[UI[[Q^MXZWRMK\_Q\Pout the help of many individuals, organizations, local comXIVQM[IVL\PM.))º5]ZXPa[IQL
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ating and maintaining the ;]XMZNWZ\ZM[[)N\MZ\PMÆQOP\ test phase is completed, the IQZXTIVM_QTTJMÆW_V_M[\WN  5K+WVVMTT)QZ.WZKM*I[M \WQ\[VM_PWUMI\?QKPQ\I¼[ ,_QOP\,-Q[MVPW_MZ 6I\QWVIT)QZXWZ\ ,]ZQVO?WZTL?IZ11 *!)[MZQITVW!! was one of more than 1,600 Superforts that Boeing built at its massive Plant II facility QV?QKPQ\I)N\MZLMTQ^MZa\W \PM=;)ZUa)QZ.WZKM[QV 5IZKP!\PMJWUJMZ

received a series of techniKIT]XOZILM[I\\PM)).¼[ *QZUQVOPIU5WLQÅKI\QWV +MV\MZQV)TIJIUI
OPPOSITE TOP & ABOVE RIGHT: BO RADER/THE WICHITA EAGLE VIA AP; OPPOSITE BOTTOM: WAYNE GOMES/DOC’S FRIENDS; RIGHT: RANDY ALLEN/STEVE JANTZ/DOC’S FRIENDS

before reassignment to the San Antonio Air Material Area, where it was designated a TB-29 for training purposes. The bomber was transNMZZML\W/ZQ‫)[[ٻ‬QZ.WZKM Base in New York in July 1951, serving with the 7th and 109th Radar Calibration [Y]ILZWV[]V\QT5IZKP! In 1956 it was removed from )QZ.WZKMQV^MV\WZaIVL transferred to the U.S. Navy’s _MIXWV[\M[\QVONIKQTQ\aI\ +PQVI4ISM+ITQN.WZ\PM next 41 years, Doc sat in the LM[MZ\[MZ^QVOI[IJITTQ[\QK target for naval aviators ZMKMQ^QVOIQZKWUJI\\ZIQVQVO ,M[XQ\MJMQVO¹I\\IKSMLº[Q` \QUM[Q\VM^MZ\WWSILQZMK\ hit, although the airframe did []‫ٺ‬MZUQVWZLIUIOM In 1997 a group of history MV\P][QI[\[IKY]QZML\PM*! disassembled it and shipped it to California for restoration to ÆaQVO[\I\][?PMV\PMOZW]X KW]TLV¼\KWV\QV]M\PM_WZS Doc_I[[PQXXMLQVXQMKM[\W ?QKPQ\I_PMZM\PMZMJ]QTLQVO program resumed in 2000. ?PMV\PI\M‫ٺ‬WZ\[\ITTML ,WK¼[.ZQMVL[I[[]UMLZM sponsibility for the restoration. ,]ZQVO\PMaMIZM‫ٺ‬WZ\ more than 300,000 manhours were expended to ZMJ]QTL\PMIQZXTIVMIKKWZLing to Murphy. A majority of the volunteers were NWZUMZUMKPIVQK[_PWPIL _WZSMLI\*WMQVO¼[?QKPQ\I NIKQTQ\a¹
The team included 90-year-old Connie Palacioz, who at age 18 drove rivets into Doc’s airframe when she worked for Boeing during the war. fuel tanks were determined \WJM]V][IJTMVM_N]MTKMTT[ _MZMNIJZQKI\ML\PI\_MQOP [QOVQÅKIV\TaTM[[IVLIZM easier to maintain. Murphy [IQL\PMaLMKQLML\WLMTM\M \PM_QVOKMV\MZ[MK\QWV\IVS[ leaving a total of 22 fuel KMTT[¸UWZM\PIVILMY]I\M N]MTKIXIKQ\aNWZ\PMJWUJMZ¼[ ZWTMI[IVM`PQJQ\QWVIQZKZIN\ During the restoration proKM[[_WZSMZ[NW]VL[QOVQÅ KIV\KWZZW[QWVQV\PMTW_MZ ZMIZ[XIZKPWZL[TWKI\ML aft of the inboard engine VIKMTTM[¹*W\PW]\JWIZL [MK\QWV[WN \PM[XIZKPWZL _MZMKWZZWLMLIVLZMY]QZML ZMXTIKMUMV\º5]ZXPa ZMXWZ\ML.WZ\]VI\MTaNWZ ,WK¼[.ZQMVL[?QKPQ\I based Spirit AeroSystems, a KWUUMZKQITIMZW[\Z]K\]ZM[ UIV]NIK\]ZMZ_I[IJTM\W NIJZQKI\MVM_[XIZKPWZL[ “That was just one of many things Spirit AeroSytems did NWZ][\PI\UILM\PQ[XZWRMK\

XW[[QJTMºPM[IQL
ders of the R-3350-95 with \PMOMIZJW`IVLIKKM[[WZa [MK\QWVWN \PM: _PQKP_I[WZQOQVITTa][MLWV the Douglas A-1 Skyraider. 5]ZXPa[IQL\PM+).¼[[]KKM[[_Q\P\PM[IUMMVOQVM[ on .QÅPMI^QTaQVÆ]MVKML\PM LMKQ[QWV\WQV[\ITT\PMUWLQÅMLXW_MZXTIV\[WVDoc. The engines were prepared and assembled by Ray Anderson of Anderson Aeromotive in Grangeville, Idaho. To allow for proper Å\UMV\_Q\PQV\PMJWUJMZ¼[ KW_TQVO[+PZQ[;\MXXW_VMZ of Stainless Headers in Burnsville, Minn., designed, NIJZQKI\MLIVLQV[\ITTML IK][\WUM`PI][\[a[\MU Yingling Aviation, a Cessna LMITMZQV?QKPQ\IXZW^QLML I^QWVQK[_QZQVOPIZVM[[M[IVL assisted with installation. On KZW[[KW]V\Za\W]Z[\PMKWKSXQ\KZM__QTT][MMTMK\ZWVQK \IJTM\[NWZÆQOP\XTIVVQVO On July 17, the bomber, _Q\P+).XQTW\+PIZTQM
team effort A crane helps ease a propeller into place in May 2014.

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EXTREMES

supersonic dart The Douglas X-3 looked fast even when parked on the dry lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base in 1956.

Douglas X-3 Stiletto INTENDED AS A MACH 2 TESTBED, THE UNDERPOWERED X-PLANE LOOKED FAST BUT BARELY BROKE THE SOUND BARRIER BY JON GUTTMAN

A

viation enthusiasts who started out building plastic models in the 1950s likely remember the sleek, shapely designs they just had\WÅVLNWZ\PMQZKWTTMK\QWV[)UWVO \PMUW[\[W]OP\IN\MZ_MZM\PM[]XMZ[WVQK@XTIVM[ QVKT]LQVO\PM@]VW‫ٻ‬KQITTaVQKSVIUML\PM;\QTM\\W 1\[W^MZITTTWWS¸\PMTWVOVMMLTMVW[MLN][MTIOM\PW[M impossibly vestigial-looking wings, that art deco wind[KZMMV¸OI^M\PMQUXZM[[QWVQ\_I[KIXIJTMWN OWQVO\_QKM \PM[XMMLWN [W]VLIVLZMIKPQVO\PM\PZM[PWTLWN W]\MZ[XIKM =VNWZ\]VI\MTa\PM@¼[XMZNWZUIVKMVM^MZTQ^ML]X\WM`XMK\I\QWV[JMKI][MTQSMUIVaRM\[WN \PMMZIQ\_I[]VLMZXW_MZML IVLW^MZ_MQOP\ )[NIZJIKSI[!\PM=;)ZUa)QZ.WZKM[I[SML\PM ,W]OTI[)QZKZIN\+WUXIVa\WTWWSQV\W\PMXW[[QJQTQ\QM[WN  []XMZ[WVQKÆQOP\)[XMKQÅKZMY]M[\NWZI5IKP·KIXIJTM

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ZM[MIZKPIQZKZIN\NWTTW_ML QV,MKMUJMZ!IVL Douglas submitted a tenta\Q^MXZWOZIUNWZIXXZW^IT IUWV\PTI\MZ7V2]VM !;MKZM\IZaWN ?IZ 0MVZa4;\QU[WVIXXZW^ML IZMY]M[\NWZ,W]OTI[\W develop an airplane capaJTMWN [][\IQVQVO5IKP I\NMM\ÆaQVONWZI\ TMI[\UQV]\M[IVL¸QV contrast to the concurrent ZWKSM\XW_MZML*MTT@;¸ \ISQVOW‫ٺ‬IVLTIVLQVO]VLMZ Q\[W_VXW_MZ Douglas engineers worked WVIVIQZNZIUMXW_MZMLJa ^IZQW][KWUJQVI\QWV[WN  jet and rocket engines until !_PMV?M[\QVOPW][M announced it was developing IVM_IN\MZJ]ZVMZMY]QXXML \]ZJWRM\\PM2_PQKP _W]TLZIQ[M\PMM`Q[\QVO 2¼[W]\X]\WN ITUW[\ XW]VL[\PZ][\\W XW]VL[X][PML\W ][QVOIN\MZJ]ZVMZ
team to dispense with rocket boosters and build their airXTIVMIZW]VLIXIQZWN 2[ 7VKM\PMIQZNZIUMLM[QOV _I[ÅVITQbML\PM)QZ.WZKM [QOVMLIVIOZMMUMV\WV2]VM !!KITTQVONWZ,W]OTI[ \WKWV[\Z]K\\_W5WLMT!!, IQZKZIN\]VLMZ\PM[MZ^QKMLM[QOVI\QWVWN @ )[MIZTaI[! Q\JMKIUM KTMIZ\PI\\PM2NIKMLI longer, more complicated development process than had originally been proRMK\ML)[IVQV\MZQUUMI[]ZM ,W]OTI[J]QT\Q\[@XTIVM IZW]VL\PM2?- which was similar in dimen[QWV[\W\PM2J]\XZWL]KML WVTa XW]VL[\PZ][\WV IN\MZJ]ZVMZ1V!\PM 6I\QWVIT)L^Q[WZa+WUUQ\ \MMNWZ)MZWVI]\QK[6);)¼[ predecessor) recommended a XMZKMV\TIZOMZPWZQbWV\IT tail to deal with oscillation problems encountered during UWLMT\M[\QVO 7V;MX\MUJMZ!

OPPOSITE: NASA; RIGHT PHOTOS: LUIS MARDEN/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC/GETTY IMAGES; ILLUSTRATION: STEVE KARP

,W]OTI[ZWTTML\PMÅZ[\@ [MZQITVW! !W]\WN Q\[ ;IV\I5WVQKI+ITQNXTIV\ J]\\PMLM[QOVZMY]QZMLN]Z \PMZ_WZSIVLJMMÅVO]X JMNWZMQ\_I[IXXZW^MLNWZQ\[ ÅZ[\ÆQOP\*a\PM\QUM ! _I[LMTQ^MZML\W-L_IZL[)QZ .WZKM*I[MWV;MX\MUJMZ !\PM]VKWUXTM\ML [MKWVLXZW\W\aXMPILJMMV canceled and relegated to XZW^QLQVO[XIZMXIZ\[6)+) W‫ٻ‬KQIT[_MZMJa\PMVZM [QOVML\WUISQVOLW_Q\P\PM 2?-MVOQVM[QVKM\PM 2[\QTT_I[V¼\ZMILa
MVOQVMTW[\XWZ\QWV[WN Q\[ \]ZJQVMJTILM[KWUXMTTQVO *ZQLOMUIV\WUISMI[QVOTM MVOQVMTIVLQVOWVIN\MZ J]ZVMZ)N\MZ\PM\PÆQOP\ WV,MKMUJMZ\PM@ _I[\]ZVMLW^MZ\W\PM)QZ .WZKM_PQKPKWVL]K\ML\PZMM \M[\ÆQOP\[MIKPJa+P]KS AMIOMZIVL4\+WT.ZIVS3 -^MZM[\_PWIN\MZM`XMZQMVK ing its sluggish controls at low [XMML[KITTMLQ\¹WVMWN \PM UW[\LQ‫ٻ‬K]T\IQZXTIVM[1PI^M M^MZÆW_Vº The Stiletto then went WV\WÆQOP\[Ja6)+) ,]ZQVO\PM\PWV7K\WJMZ !2W[MXP)?ITSMZ MVKW]V\MZML^QWTMV\QV[\IJQT Q\a[\MUUQVONZWU\PMUI[[ WN \PMIQZKZIN\¼[_MQOP\JMQVO [XZMIL\PZW]OPQ\[TWVON] [MTIOMIOIQV[\Q\[[UITT_QVO[ ?ITSMZUIVIOML\WZMKW^MZ IVLIVITa[Q[ZM^MITMLQVMZ\QIT KW]XTQVOWZZWTTLQ^MZOMVKM )[QUQTIZXZWJTMU_I[\PM KI][MWN \PZMMKZI[PM[Ja 6WZ\P)UMZQKIV.)[

going up A test pilot readies for takeoff (top) after being lifted in his ejection seat into the X-3’s cockpit from below.

\_WWN \PMUNI\ITZM[]T\QVO QV\PM;]XMZ;IJZM[¼JMQVO OZW]VLML:M\ZWÅ\\QVOI TIZOMZ\IQTÅVIVL_QVO[WN  \_WNMM\OZMI\MZ[XIVZMU MLQML\PM.)¼[XZWJTMU

7V5Ia!?ITSMZ KWUXTM\ML\PM@¼[[\IVL ÅVITÆQOP\,MKTIZML¹[]ZXT][ \WZMY]QZMUMV\[ºJa)QZ5I \MZQIT+WUUIVL\PMIQZKZIN\ _I[ZM\QZMLWV;MX\MUJMZ  \W\PM6I\QWVIT5][M]UWN  \PM=;)QZ.WZKMI\?ZQOP\ 8I\\MZ[WV)QZ.WZKM*I[M _PMZMQ\Q[VW_WVLQ[XTIaQV \PMU][M]U¼[ZMKMV\TaWXMVML NW]Z\PJ]QTLQVO )T\PW]OPQ\VM^MZOW\\PM right engine and thus was ]VIJTM\WXMZNWZUQ\[QV \MVLML\I[S\PM@;\QTM\\W _I[VWNIQT]ZM1\XQWVMMZML \PM][MWN \Q\IVQ]UTWVO JMNWZM4WKSPMML][MLQ\QV \PM5IKP)IVL\PM LI\IQ\aQMTLMLWVQVMZ\QIT KW]XTQVOPMTXML\W[I^M\PM .I[_MTTI[IQLMLQV 4WKSPMML¼[LM^MTWXUMV\WN  \PM.;\IZÅOP\MZ

DOUGLAS X-3 STILETTO WINGSPAN 22 feet 8.25 inches

HEIGHT 12 feet 6.3 inches

WING AREA 166.6 square feet (3.09-to-1 aspect ratio)

ENGINE 2 Westinghouse J34-WE-17 turbojets, producing 3,370 lbs. thrust each (4,850 lbs. with afterburner)

LENGTH 66 feet 9 inches

WEIGHT 16,120 lbs. (empty) 22,120 lbs. (gross) MAXIMUM SPEED 699 mph (level flight) CEILING 38,058 feet

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AVIATORS

Colonel Taber’s Final Mission A BOMBING RUN ON JAPANESE SHIPS NEAR HAINAN TURNED DEADLY FOR A B-25 GROUP COMMANDER AND HIS CREWS BY JEFF LAUGERO

I

n the early morning hours of April 8, 1944, B-25 Mitchell bomber crews prepared for a combat mission targeting shipping around the Japanese-controlled island of Hainan, China. For several months, the China-based medium bombers of the Fourteenth Air Force had been harassing the enemy on Hainan, attacking shipping and disrupting supply lines. Now reports indicated a concentration of seven

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large ships in Yulikan Bay, a primary port of resupply for Japanese troops occuXaQVO\PMQ[TIVL)ÆQOP\ of six B-25s assigned to the 491st Squadron of the 341st Bombardment Group (Medium) was tasked with destroying the vessels.
line medium bombers which eat away at enemy shipping,” reported Time magazine. For this mission, Taber would be piloting B-25D serial no. 43-3290, armed with 3,000 pounds of bombs and 12 .50-caliber machine guns. The crew of six were Taber, pilot in command; 2nd Lt. Vincent E. Singer, copilot; 2nd Lt. Clayton P. /ZIaJQTTVI^QOI\WZ#;\I‫;ٺ‬O\ Ernest E. Cassetty, radio WXMZI\WZO]VVMZ#;\I‫;ٺ‬O\ Malcolm M. Medlen, armorer/gunner; and Sergeant William L. Christensen, engineer/gunner.
EUGENE WOZNIAK/WWW.RSHONOR.ORG

bombing eagles Colonel Morris Taber (third from right) poses with Maj. Gen. Claire Chennault (center) and other Fourteenth Air Force officers in front of a B-25D at Yangkai, China, in February 1944.

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low-level raider Chennault awards Taber the DFC for his successful tactics against Japanese shipping.

son, departed Yangkai at 0145 hours. A second pair of B-25s, led by Captain Marion Brown and Lieutenant Paul Ley, followed. The last of the \_WIQZKZIN\ÆQOP\[LMXIZ\ML Yangkai at 0211, with Captain Joseph T. Callaway leading his wingman, Lieutenant Robert Pettingell. The six aircraft arrived over the target area as dawn broke. Taber and Anderson commenced the attack, with \PMKWTWVMTTMILQVO\PMÅZ[\ bombing run. Over West Island, both aircraft encountered anti-aircraft and autoUI\QK_MIXWV[ÅZM
seen out of control. Japanese radio broadcasts would later KWVÅZU\PMTW[[WN ÅOP\MZ[ during the engagement. Callaway and Pettingell made it back to Yangkai. Anderson and Ley also survived, though their Mitchells were badly damaged. Flying north along the eastern shore of Hainan, they were able to reach the safety of southern China. Taber and his crew never returned. Following the mission, there was initial confusion as to which B-25 _I[[MMVWVÅZMIVLKZI[Ping into the sea. It was later KWVÅZUML\PI\*ZW_VIVL his crew were lost in that crash. Taber and crew were W‫ٻ‬KQITTaTQ[\MLI[UQ[[QVOQV action. Their fate would not be learned until after the war, when their remains were recovered from a beach grave on Hainan. The C-B-I Roundup of )XZQT!JZQMÆaVW\ML the raid on Hainan Island. Taber’s mission was but one attack on the island that day, with B-24 Liberators bombing the docks and airdrome at Samah Bay. The Yulikan Bay mission by the Mitchells reportedly damaged a 1,000ton freighter and left several smaller ships burning, and WN 2IXIVM[MÅOP\MZ[\PI\ engaged the bombers, two were destroyed and one was damaged. There was no mention of the lost B-25s or their crews. 1V\PMÅZ[\[M^MZITUWV\P[ of operations in China, the TW[[M[[]‫ٺ‬MZMLJa\PM[\ were especially heavy. The downing of Colonel Taber and his crew was a brutal reminder of the ever-present danger the men faced on a daily basis.  NATIONAL ARCHIVES

return to Yangkai via Samah Bay, at the southern end of Hainan Island and home to I2IXIVM[MIQZÅMTLIVL[MIplane base. The same intelligence reports referencing the seven large boats also noted \PMXZM[MVKMWN MVMUaÅOP\ers in the target area. The mission plan called NWZ\PMJWUJMZ[\WÆa[W]\P at higher altitudes over mountainous terrain before descending over the plains of French Indochina. Flying low above the Gulf of Tonkin, they would approach Hainan’s western shore, then follow the shoreline at low level to the southern end of the island and their intended targets. The bomb run would KWUUMVKMI[\PMaÆM_W^MZ ?M[\1[TIVLR][\W‫\ٺ‬PM southern Hainan coast. With \PM\PZMI\WN MVMUaÅOP\MZ[ and anti-aircraft positions surrounding the target area, surprise would be critical.
ZMXWZ\ML[MMQVOÅZMQV\PM left engine nacelle and radio compartment of Brown’s B-25. To make matters worse, the crippled aircraft came under attack by at least three MVMUaÅOP\MZ[¸ZMXWZ\MLTa BMZW[WZ7[KIZ[¸R][\I[ \PMKZM__I[OM\\QVO\PMÅZM under control. The doomed bomber was seen crashing and burning in the South China Sea. Lost with Brown were 1st Lt. Sol Waldman, ;\I‫;ٺ‬O\.ZML+TMUIVL Sergeants Andrew Steakin and Louis Klaman. Callaway’s and Pettingell’s Mitchells were last to arrive over Hainan. By this time the enemy was ready and on the W‫ٺ‬MV[Q^M
LETTER FROM AVIATION HISTORY

“Lucky”

Penney

F

TOP: TECH SGT. JOHNATHON ORRELL/NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU PUBLIC AFFAIRS; ABOVE: COURTESY OF MAJOR HEATHER PENNEY

BY CARL VON WODTKE

9/11 kamikaze Now-Major Heather Penney (top) poses with an F-16 Viper (above) during one of her two tours in Iraq.

ifteen years ago on a sunny September day, civil aviation as we knew it changed forever. So too did the lives of all Americans, as the horrifying spectacle of airliners crashing into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon made it obvious the world would never be the same. On that day 25-year-old Heather “Lucky” PenVMa_I[IVM_ÅZ[\TQM]\MVIV\[MZ^QVOI[I\ZIQVQVOW‫ٻ‬KMZ_Q\P\PM[\.QOP\MZ;Y]ILZWVWN \PM District of Columbia Air National Guard, based I\)VLZM_[)QZ.WZKM*I[MW]\[QLM?I[PQVO\WV
as she focused on the mission: “It was a completely surreal experience.” She and Sasseville headed northwest into Pennsylvania, searching for the airliner but careful not to go too far. “We went out as far as Sass thought was reasonable to ensure that we had sanitized the airspace far out enough,” she said, “but then we needed to turn back home so that we could get over D.C. and make sure we weren’t ÆIVSMLº1\_W]TLJM[WUM\QUMJMNWZM[PMTMIZVML that the airliner they were searching for, United .TQOP\!PILJMMV\ISMVLW_VJaIKW]ZIOMW][ group of passengers. Penney called them the real PMZWM[JMKI][M\PMa_MZM_QTTQVO\W[IKZQÅKM\PMUselves, but then so was she. )[SMLIJW]\\PMTI[\QVOM‫ٺ‬MK\[WN ![PM[IQL “It fundamentally altered the vector of history, and we are all living with the impact of those events today. And I think that many of the tragedies that we see unfolding today are directly traceable… back to that moment in time.” Penney laments the NZMMLWU[\PI\)UMZQKIV[PI^M[IKZQÅKMLQV\PM name of security, pointing out that “being American is about adhering to certain beliefs and ideals IVLLZMIU[\PI\JQVL][ITT\WOM\PMZ*]\_Q\P that comes risk, and if we’re unwilling to accept risk, then we lose something that makes us essentially Americans.” “I think the challenge we all have is to remain connected to those ideals, to those beliefs, to that kind of courage and live that out in our daily lives of service,” said Penney. “And remember that there are things in this world that are more important than ourselves…that are more important than security.”  november 2016

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WHAT IF? Illustrator Jack Fellows imagines a scenario in which a Horten Ho-229 attacks B-17G bombers in 1946.

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THE HORTEN BROTHERS’

JET FLYING WING THE NEVER-BUILT HORTEN HO-229 HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF MORE SPECULATION AND MYTHS THAN ANY OTHER WORLD WAR II AIRPLANE BY STEPHAN WILKINSON

ÅZ[\ÆM_ in March 1945, more than 3½ years before Northrop’s eightRM\A*!ÆaQVO_QVOJWUJMZ \WWSW‫ٺ‬1VIV]UJMZWN _Ia[ the Hortens were well ahead of Jack Northrop and his engineers, though Northrop never admitted that. After the war, it was suggested to Northrop that he hire the brothers. ¹.WZOM\Q\\PMa¼ZMR][\OTQLMZ designers,” he said condescendingly. The success of the Ho IX was pointed out to him, but Northrop dismissed it as a Gotha design, not a Horten. Northrop was wrong, but the source of his confusion _I[\PMNIK\\PI\\PM4]N\_I‫ٺ‬M knowing the tiny Horten garage operation could never mass produce twin-engine RM\ NQOP\MZJWUJMZ[ \]ZVML \PMXZWRMK\W^MZ\W/W\PII Their relatively short aircraft-building careers extended from large railroad car manufac1933 until the end of World War II, though they did some minor turing company with aircraftwork in Argentina after the war as expatriate Nazis. Had they building experience. As a lived 40 years later, chances are they would have been busy mem- ZM[]T\ \PM 0WZ\MV RM\ PI[ bers of an EAA chapter in Germany, making a living selling kits come down to us with a conNWZ\PMQZPQOPXMZNWZUIVKMÆaQVO_QVO[IQTXTIVM[ fusing suite of names. The The Hortens weren’t Burt Rutans. Talented, yes, but not the IK\]IT[WTMRM\XW_MZML_QVO aeronautical geniuses they’ve been called by some. They built a \PI\ÆM__I[\PM0W1@> series of increasingly sophisticated iterations of the same basic The German air ministry design—graceful sweptwing, tailless gliders, though several of (Reichs luft fahrtministerium, or their wings were powered. The Hortens produced a grand total :45 OI^M \PM XZWRMK\ IV of 44 airframes of their dozen basic designs. History has por- W‫ٻ‬KQITUISMIVLUWLMTLM[trayed them as aeronautical visionaries, for in 1940 Messer- ignation—Ho-229. Because schmitt Me-109 pilot Walter Horten, who scored seven Battle of production was assigned to Britain victories as Adolf Galland’s wingman, proposed putting Gotha, some sources still refer IXIQZWN /MZUIVa¼[VM_I`QITÆW_RM\MVOQVM[QV\WI0WZ\MV to the airplane as a Go-229. glider. The result was the Ho IX. (Brother Reimar was the aero- Many Luftwaffe aircraft dynamicist and designer; Walter was the facilitator, eventually were built by a variety of PWTLQVOIVQUXWZ\IV\4]N\_I‫ٺ‬MXW[Q\QWV\PI\ITTW_MLPQU\W manufacturers, but a Junkers LQ^MZ\OW^MZVUMV\[]XXTQM[[\I‫ٺ‬IVLNIKQTQ\QM[NWZPQ[JZW\PMZ remained a Ju, a Heinkel an

REIMAR HORTEN AND HIS OLDER BROTHER WALTER WERE GERMAN AIRCRAFT HOMEBUILDERS. WINGING IT Above: The first of two H IILs built in Lippstadt in 1937 was flown by Reimar Horten at a glider contest. Opposite: First Lieutenant Walter Horten piloted an Me-109E with Jagdgeschwader 26 during the Battle of Britain.

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He, a Dornier a Do no matter who actually manufactured it, so “Go-229” is a misnomer. The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, citing the RLM designation, calls a major artifact in its collection that is about to undergo serious conservation a Horten 229. This despite the fact that no production Horten 229 ever existed; what the Smithsonian has is the nevercompleted Ho IX V3 built by Gotha. It bears mentioning that neither Northrop nor the Hortens QV^MV\MLÆaQVO_QVO[*W\P\PMKWVKMX\IVLIK\]ITÆaQVO_QVO[ have been around since the 1910s. In fact, by the late 1920s \PMZMPILJMMVMVW]OPM`XMZQUMV\[_Q\PÆaQVO_QVO[\PI\\PM KWVÅO]ZI\QWV_I[KWV[QLMZMLXI[[uIVLJW\P2IKS6WZ\PZWX and the Hortens were late to the party.

PREVIOUS PAGES: ©2016 JACK FELLOWS, ASAA; OPPOSITE & ABOVE RIGHT: COURTESY OF WOLFGANG MUEHLBAUER; RIGHT: SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEIGUNG ARCHIV

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he Hortens have also been credited with designing and J]QTLQVO\PM_WZTL¼[ÅZ[\[\MIT\PÅOP\MZ
THE HORTENS PRODUCED A GRAND TOTAL OF 44 AIRFRAMES OF THEIR DOZEN BASIC DESIGNS.

SOARING BATWING The pilot testing this H IV glider had to fly while lying prone in its cockpit.

mention of this plan came in a ! JWWS_ZQ\\MVJa:MQUIZ at a time when the basics of U.S. stealth technology were JMKWUQVOX]JTQKSVW_TMLOM There is no mention of any attempt to achieve stealthy properties for the Ho-229 by anybody involved in the actual fabrication of the prototypes. NASM’s restoration facility suggesting that an all-wood ran extensive digital-microsHorten might have been able copy, X-ray diffraction and \WLWIÆaJaWN *ZQ\IQV¼[Ja Fourier-transfer spectroscopy then obsolete Chain Home tests on the wooden struclow-frequency radar array, ture of their Horten aircraft’s but it wouldn’t have been able wing and found no evidence to bomb anything. of any carbon or charcoal Narration over the film impregnation of the glue. The says that it reveals “just how JTIKS [XMKS[ \PI\ 6WZ\PZWX close Nazi engineers were to Grumman had assumed were unleashing a jet that some say evidence of the Hortens’ could have changed the course attempt to create a radar blanWN \PM_IZº6W\JTWWLaTQSMTa SM\_MZMNW]VL\WJM[QUXTa if only because by that time, oxidized wood. the Germans were literally out Reimar Horten originally of gas. planned to sheathe the Ho IX The heart of the Horten in aluminum, which hardly stealth assertion is a claim suggests that he had stealth by the brothers, made long as an objective. It was only after the war ended, that they when he discovered to his surindeed had intended to fasten prise that the Messerschmitt the layers of the Ho-229’s 5MZWKSM\XTIVM_I[KW^plywood sheathing with glue ered in plywood that he realmixed with radar-absorbing ized high speed didn’t rule out charcoal. Perhaps they did using wood. He then switched UMIV\WLW\PI\J]\\PMÅZ[\ to more easily obtainable ply-

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TECH NOTES HORTEN HO IX V3 DRAG RUDDER

ELEVON

SPECIFICATIONS ENGINES Two Junkers Jumo 004B-2 turbojets generating 1,986 lbs. thrust each WINGSPAN 55 feet 5 inches

HEIGHT 9 feet 3 inches

CEILING 52,000 feet

WEIGHT 11,198 lbs. (empty) 19,887 lbs. (gross)

ARMAMENT Two forward-firing, wing-mounted Mk 103 30mm cannons R4M rockets Two 1,100-lb. bombs

MAXIMUM SPEED 607 mph

WING AREA 558 square feet

CLIMB 4,330 feet per second

LENGTH 24 feet 7 inches

Note: performance specs are estimates

OUTER FLAP BRAKE CHUTE COMPARTMENT INNER FLAP HYDRAULIC FLUID RESERVOIR HYDRAULIC SYSTEM DISTRIBUTION BOARD

AIR INTAKE

EJECTION SEAT SKIN FIXING FITTING FUEL PIPELINE CASTORING NOSE WHEEL ON WELDED STEEL TUBE FORK

ENGINE EXHAUST NOZZLE JUNKERS JUMO 004B-2 TURBOJET

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HOW STEALTHY? Although the Ho-229’s wooden skin would have been virtually invisible to radar, reflections from the aircraft’s engines and welded tubular frame could have been detected. Another metal component, never installed, would have been the Rheinmetall-Borsig MK 103 30mm cannons intended for the fighter (below left). More heavy metal included the sturdy tricycle undercarriage. The main wheels (below right) were deployed by means of a spring and retracted by a single hydraulic jack through cable-drive pulleys.

RHEINMETALL-BORSIG MK 103 30MM CANNON MAIN GEAR

AUXILIARY SPAR

REAR SPAR

ELEVON LINKAGE

ILLUSTRATIONS: STEVE KARP; PHOTO: NATIONAL ARCHIVES

FUEL TANKS ELECTRIC FUEL PUMP

MAIN SPAR

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UNFULFILLED MISSION Test pilot Erwin Ziller starts the Ho IX V2’s engines at Oranienburg in February 1945. Ziller was killed when the V2 lost an engine and crashed during its third test flight. Opposite top: The uncompleted Ho IX V3 at war’s end. Opposite bottom: After the war, the V3 was assembled for display at Chicago’s Douglas factory.

THE HO IX, PRECURSOR OF THE HO-229, WAS THE WORK OF A GARAGE SHOP. 26

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wood veneer, but for reasons that had nothing to do with its radar attenuation and everything to do with its availability. It’s also worth noting that the Ho-229 was intended to be ILIaÅOP\MZIJWUJMZQV\MZKMX\WZ\PW]OPM^MV\]ITTaI[_I[ \Z]MWN [WUIVa4]N\_I‫ٺ‬MNIV\I[aÅOP\MZ[Q\_I[\W]VLMZ\ISMI ^IZQM\aWN W\PMZZWTM[?IT\MZ0WZ\MVPILWZQOQVITTaIL^WKI\ML RM\XW_MZJMKI][MI[IÅOP\MZXQTW\PQU[MTNPM_IV\ML\WJ]QTL IJM\\MZIQZXTIVM\PIV\PM.WKSM?]TN ._!_PQKPPMKWV[QLMZML\WJMIVQVNMZQWZ[XQVXZWVMLM[QOV ;W_Pa_W]TL[\MIT\PPI^MJMMVIKZQ\MZQWVQN IV0W! _W]TLVM^MZKWVNZWV\ZILIZ'1\_I[V¼\0Q\TMZ¼[¹[\MIT\PÅOP\MZº _I[[QUXTaQV\MVLML\WJM0Q\TMZ¼[IMZWLaVIUQKITTaM‫ٻ‬KQMV\ NI[\UIVM]^MZIJTMÅOP\MZ

H

W_LQL\PM0Q\TMZ¼[[\MIT\PNQOP\MZUa\P\ISMZWW\' +MZ\IQVTa \PMZM¼[ NMZ\QTM OZW]VL ]XWV _PQKP []KP TMOMVL[KIVJM[W_VIUWVO\PMUWLMTJ]QTLMZ[IVL _IZOIUMZ[_PWTW^MVW\PQVOUWZM\PIVUa[\MZQW][ 4]N\_I‫ٺ‬M_WVLMZ_MIXWV[\PI\_W]TLPI^MZM^MZ[ML\PMKW]Z[M WN \PM_IZPILQ\WVTaTI[\MLIVW\PMZUWV\P*]\VWVM[MMU \W]VLMZ[\IVL\PMaMIZ[TWVOXZW\W\aXQVO\M[\QVOXZWL]K\QWV XZWKM[[\PI\Q[IVMKM[[IZaXIZ\WN JZQVOQVOI[WXPQ[\QKI\MLIQZKZIN\NZWUVIXSQV[SM\KP\WKWUJI\-`IK\Ta\PZMMaMIZ[IVLI LIaXI[[MLJM\_MMV\PM5M[[MZ[KPUQ\\5M\_QVRM\¼[ÅZ[\ ÆQOP\IVL\PMJMOQVVQVOWN Q\[WXMZI\QWVITZMILQVM[[.WTTW_QVO []KPI[KPML]TM\PM0W!_W]TLPI^MJMMVZMILaNWZKWUJI\ QVMIZTa!  IVL>^MZ[QWV[_MZMJ]QT\QV_PI\_I[M[[MV\QITTaI\PZMMKIZ_WZS[PWXW]\WN TIZOMTa]VIQZ_WZ\Pa[\Z]K\]ZITUI\MZQIT¼[KMV\MZWN OZI^Q\aNWZM`IUXTM_PQKPPMLQL ][QVOI[\MMTUMI[]ZQVO\IXM=VNWZ\]VI\MTaPMVM^MZVW\QKML \PI\\PMÅZ[\KMV\QUM\MZ[WN \PM\IXMPILJZWSMVW‫[ٺ‬WPQ[ NIT[MUMI[]ZMUMV\[LM\MZUQVML\PI\\PMIQZXTIVMVMMLML[]J[\IV\QITJITTI[\QV\PMVW[M;QVKM\PM+/_I[KMV\QUM\MZ[W‫ٺ‬

\PM\M[\XQTW\I[[QOVML\W\PM ÅZ[\ÆQOP\NW]VL\PI\PMKW]TL JIZMTaSMMX\PMIQZXTIVMITWN\ _Q\PN]TTJIKS[\QKSIVL_PMV he tried to flare for landing \PMIQZXTIVMPQ\[WPIZL\PI\ Q\ JILTa LIUIOML \PM OMIZ )VL\PM0WZ\MV[¼NIJZQKI\WZ[ _MTLMLIVLZM_MTLML\PM>¼[ KMV\MZ[MK\QWVI[\PMMVOQVM KPWQKMNTQXNTWXXMLJM\_MMV *5? IVL 2]VSMZ[ _PQKP KZMI\MLPMI\[\ZM[[M[\PI\VW M`XMZQMVKMLIQZKZIN\J]QTLMZ _W]TLPI^MITTW_ML;SQTTML _MTLMZ[_W]TLPI^MK]\W]\ IVLZMJ]QT\MV\QZM[MK\QWV[WN  \PM[\Z]K\]ZM The Hortens also needed to ILIX\KI[\W‫ٺ‬KWUXWVMV\[\W \PMQZ0W1@IQZNZIUM_PQKP led to its ungainly nosewheel.
OPPOSITE & BOTTOM: NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM; TOP: NATIONAL ARCHIVES

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Horten achievement so that greater powers could seize the ideas and keep them unseen for decades…[it] dismissed their ideas IVL_WZS[I[IXXIZMV\ÆQOP\[WN NIVKa#[\MUUQVOQ\[MMUML from what felt like a British attitude of the Hortens being men ‘without the proper background.’” 1KIVÅVLVWVMWN \PQ[QV\PMM^MVPIVLMLZQOWZW][I]\PWZQ \I\Q^M\MKPVQKITXIOM?QTSQV[WV:MXWZ\
PaIÆaQVO_QVO' ?PI\¼[ _ZWVO with the conven tional designs that have served so well since \PM MIZTa ![' +MZ\IQVTa there have been some useful ^IZQI\QWV[¸KIVIZL[X][PMZ[ [MUQ\IQTTM[[LMT\I[JTMVLML _QVOJWLa XZWXW[IT[ M^MV Vincent Burnelli’s perennial TQN\QVON][MTIOM KWVKMX\¸ J]\\PMX]ZMÆaQVO_QVOPI[ IT_Ia[JMMVIVW]\TQMZ?PI\ Q[Q\[IXXMIT'
MVWZUW][_PQTMIÆaQVO_QVO can spread the entire load NZWU_QVO\QX\W_QVO\QX\P][ allowing for a lighter and UWZMM‫ٻ‬KQMV\[\Z]K\]ZM¼[ NTQOP\[PILITZMILaZM^MITML UWLMZI\MTI\MZITQV[\IJQTQ\a1\ _W]TLPI^MUILM\PM0W! a dreadful gun platform as a fighter and a handful as a JWUJMZ
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HORTEN HO IX V3 COCKPIT 1. Canopy fixing stub 2. Canopy emergency jettison handle spring (left) 3. Undercarriage position indicators 4. Ignition breakers left/right engine 5. Vertical speed indicator 6. Turn and bank indicator 7. Airspeed indicator 8. Low fuel warning 9. Canopy emergency jettison handle (right) 10. Canopy rail 11. Emergency circuit breaker

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12. Flaps position indicators: (from top) landing, takeoff, up 13. Altimeter (removed) 14. Repeater compass 15. AFN2 direction finder indicator 16. Fuel gauges 17. Throttles 18. Hydraulic system pressure gauge (removed) 19. Oil pressure left engine 20. Exhaust temperature left engine 21. RPM left/right engines 22. Exhaust temperature

right engine 23. Oil pressure right engine 24. Ambient temperature gauge 25. Brake chute doors opening lever 26. Spoiler release lever 27. Rudder pedal/hydraulic toe brake (left) 28. Oxygen pressure 29. Oxygen indicator 30. Control column variablelength fixing handle 31. Rudder pedal/hydraulic toe brake (right) 32. Ejection seat lever

CONSPIRACISTS CLAIM THAT NORTHROP STOLE THE HORTENS’ SECRETS FOR ITS OWN FLYING WINGS.

IVLUW^MLWV\W\PMQZXTIVVMLUI[\MZXQMKM¸I[Q`\]ZJWRM\Æaing wing “Amerika Bomber.” The Ho XVIII never was built, J]\Q\ÅTTMLIVW\PMZVQKPMQV\PM6IXSQV_I‫ٺ‬M;WUM[\QTT[Ia\PM Amerika Bomber (several German airframers were racing to J]QTLWVM_I[QV\MVLML\WLZWXIVI\WUQKJWUJWV6M_AWZS .WZ\]VI\MTa\PM/MZUIV[_W]TLVM^MZPI^MJMMVIJTM\WJ]QTL []KPI_MIXWVPI^QVOTW[\\PMQZ6WZ_MOQIVLM]\MZQ]U[W]ZKM J]\\PMaLQLPI^M\PMKIXIJQTQ\a\WX]\\WOM\PMZILQZ\aJWUJ¸I TIZOMKWV^MV\QWVITJWUJMVKI[MLQV[\ZWVOTaZILQWIK\Q^MUI terial that would have polluted a wide area with radiation. 1OTQLMZQVXW[\_IZI^QI \QWVUIOIbQVMIL[I[IVM`IUXTMWN ¹WVMWN \PM6IbQI\\MUX\[ \WILIX\=;ÆaQVO_QVOLM[QOVNWZM^MV\]ITUQTQ\IZa][Mº

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PHOTOS: NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM

PM;UQ\P[WVQIV¼[0W1@>_I[JZW]OP\\W)UMZQKII[ XIZ\WN 7XMZI\QWV;MIPWZ[MI=;6I^aKW]V\MZXIZ\ to the better-known Operation Paperclip campaign to IKY]QZMI[UIVaQV\MZM[\QVO4]N\_I‫ٺ‬MIQZKZIN\I[XW[[QJTM*]\Q\_I[VM^MZÆW_VIVLQVNIK\_I[WVTaPITNKWUXTM\ML 1\_I[ÅZ[\I[[M[[MLI\\PM:WaIT)QZKZIN\-[\IJTQ[PUMV\QV *ZQ\IQV¸\PM[W]ZKMWN \PM?QTSQV[WV:MXWZ\LI\I¸IVL_I[ \PMV[MV\\WJW\P?ZQOP\IVL.ZMMUIVÅMTL[NWZ)ZUa)QZ .WZKM[[KZ]\QVaKIVK]ZZMV\TaJM[MMVI\\PMU][M]U¼[ ZM[\WZI\QWVNIKQTQ\aQV\PM=L^IZ0Iba+MV\MZI\,]TTM[)QZXWZ\ That work will not be restoration but conservation: stopping the rot and corrosion, cleaning up the airframe and assembling the center section and outer wings into a single unit. Those wings UIaWZUIaVW\PI^MJMMVXIZ\WN \PM>7VTaWVM_QVOKIUM

PHOENIX WING The V3’s center section awaits preservation at the Udvar-Hazy Center. Below: Karl Heinzel works on the flying wing in Suitland, Md.

\W \PM =; _Q\P \PM KMV\MZ section, and another was later found some distance from the Gotha shop.
a parabola—a wing with a near-circular leading edge planform, which would provide the minimum induced drag and maximum lift. The Hortens built just one parabola- wing glider but VM^MZÆM_Q\#\PMIQZXTIVM_I[ torched after warping and becoming unglued during winter storage. But wait, \PMZM¼[ UWZM°[]XXW[MLTa the AAF found out about the Horten parabola wing and decided to build a powMZML^MZ[QWV\W[MKZM\Ta\M[\ :MQUIZ¼[\PMWZa1\_I[\PQ[ IQZXTIVMTWWSQVO]VKIVVQTa TQSM \_W\PQZL[ WN  I NTaQVO [I]KMZ\PI\KZI[PMLQV6M_ 5M`QKWQV! 6WJWLaPI[aM\M`XTIQVML the aliens, however.  For further reading, contributing editor Stephan Wilkinson recommends: The Horten Brothers and Their All-Wing Aircraft, by David Myhra; and Horten 0W!;XQZQ\WN 
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back in the saddle At the Carolinas Aviation Museum in 2011, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger sits in the cockpit of the Airbus A320 he ditched in the Hudson River on January 15, 2009 (opposite).

SULLY SPEAKS OUT THE “MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON” WAS NO MIRACLE; IT WAS THE CULMINATION OF A 35-YEAR MILITARY AND AIRLINE FLYING CAREER INTERVIEW BY CARL VON WODTKE

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phantom menace Of his time in F-4s, Sullenberger said, “It’s the best flying I’ve ever done.”

CAPTAIN CHESLEY SULLENBERGER WAS THE RIGHT PERSON, IN THE RIGHT PLACE, AT THE RIGHT TIME. 0Q[MV\QZMÆaQVOKIZMMZPILXZMXIZMLPQUNWZ\PM ]VQUIOQVIJTMKZQ[Q[PMIVLKWXQTW\2M‫;ٺ‬SQTM[NIKML WV2IV]IZa!_PMV\PMQZ)QZJ][)TW[\ JW\PMVOQVM[IN\MZ[\ZQSQVOIÆWKSWN OMM[M[WWV IN\MZ\ISMW‫ٺ‬NZWU6M_AWZS¼[4I/]IZLQI)QZXWZ\
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\PM +TQV\ -I[\_WWL·LQZMK\ML UW\QWV XQK\]ZM JI[MLWV;]TTMVJMZOMZ¼[JM[\[MTTMZHighest Duty [\IZZQVO
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in gliders—and in the four years I was at the Air .WZKM)KILMUa1ÆM_I\PW][IVLPW]Z[_PQKP1¼U told is quite remarkable; I’m not sure it has been done since. Mostly in instruction given to other KILM\[\MIKPQVO\PMU\WÆaIQZXTIVM[IVLOTQLMZ[ on my weekends and after school. And then I went to graduate school at Purdue, then Air Force pilot \ZIQVQVOIVLJMKIUMIÅOP\MZXQTW\;WQ\¼[JMMV something that’s been a lifelong passion and continues to be so. You had kind of a mentor in L.T. Cook. Sounded like he was the right person for you at the time.

He was a cropduster that I was introduced to, and if he liked the look of you he’d take you on as a student. He did, he had his own grass strip east of Sherman, Texas. He had a couple of airplanes, one he sprayed with—a Super Cub—and then he PIL\PQ[)MZWVKI,+\PI\PM\I]OP\UM\WÆa QV1[WTWMLXZM\\aY]QKSTa7N KW]Z[MÆaQVO_I[I little bit simpler then. I think I had a little over 7½ hours when I soloed. It was a great way to learn deeply internalized, well-learned fundamental skills that would last a lifetime and be accessible M^MVLMKILM[TI\MZM^MV\PW]OP1¼LJMMVÆaQVORM\[ for a long time.

You were named the outstanding cadet in airmanship at the Air Force Academy. To what do you attribute that honor? ?MTTÅZ[\WN ITT1LQL[W

much of it, both as an instructor in the glider program and in the aero club in powered airplanes. I also did parachuting, and I think just the fact I’d done so much and I had such a passion for it, it sort of set me apart from my contemporaries. That’s really it; it’s not that I was the best in every way, it’s just I had approached it with such passion and done so much of it—and been noticed.

PREVIOUS PAGES: (LEFT) AP PHOTO/THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER/TODD SUMLIN; (RIGHT) AP PHOTO/STEVE DAY; OPPOSITE & RIGHT: COURTESY OF CHESLEY SULLENBERGER

You went on to fly F-4s in Britain and at Nellis Air Force Base. What did you think of the Phantom?

It was an older airplane even then, a workhorse of the Vietnam era, and of course my active service was toward the end of the Vietnam War. I never actually went to Vietnam, never saw combat, and then much of the rest of my active duty service was L]ZQVO\PM+WTL?IZ.TaQVOIRM\ÅOP\MZQ[\PMXQVnacle of tactical military aviation. It’s like driving a Formula One racer on steroids—in three dimensions, not just two. It’s thrilling, it’s demanding. Unless you’re someone who’s done it, words fail me in describing to you what it’s like and what it takes, M`KMX\\W[Ia\PI\Q\¼[\PMJM[\ÆaQVO1¼^MM^MZLWVM

ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN A MILITARY AVIATOR BRINGS TO THE TABLE A CERTAIN DISCIPLINE, A CERTAIN DILIGENCE.

How do you think your Air Force training prepared you for Flight 1549? I think anyone who

has been a military aviator brings to the table a certain discipline, a certain diligence. It’s an attitude with which we approach the job, it’s a profession, it’s a calling. And it’s something that if you answer that calling, it leads one to be a continuous lifelong learner, to constantly be striving for excelTMVKM\W\Za\WIT_Ia[UISM\PMVM`\ÆQOP\JM\\MZ \PIV\PMXZM^QW][WVM1VW]ZUQTQ\IZaLMJZQMÅVO[ IN\MZM^MZaÆQOP\_M_W]TLVW\PWTLJIKSIVLQV brutally honest discussions we would hold each other, leaders and followers alike, accountable to the same high professional standards. We talked about what worked and what didn’t, and why and what we could do to make it better next time. So it’s that sort of rigor that I think military aviators bring to any flying they do. It’s a professional attitude, to the nth degree. And you understand clearly, you’ve done your homework, there are no major gaps in your knowledge. You understand high-altitude aerodynamics, high-altitude physiology, you understand the mechanics of all the systems of the airplane, you leave no stone unturned, and you know not just what and how to do things, but you know why we must do them. And I think that’s certainly part of our National Transportation Safety Board’s formal lessonslearned process also when they investigate major transportation accidents. Pilots of my generation can quote you chapter and verse of the last half century of seminal accidents—where they occurred, why, and what we learned from them and how that knowledge has informed not only our airplane designs but our policies, our procedures and our training. mentor and student In 1968 Sully poses with L.T. Cook, who taught him to fly in his Aeronca 7DC.

You need to be on at all times. Yeah, especially as

_M_MZMÆaQVOQVNWZUI\QWVI\]T\ZITW_TM^MT[_PQTM I was at Nellis over the desert ranges, 100 feet above the ground at 600 knots. You’re covering a nautical mile every six seconds, you’re traveling just over 1,012 feet per second. november 2016

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academy days Air Cadet Sullenberger boards a Lockheed T-33 for a training flight. Right: On June 6, 1973, Sully receives his diploma at the U.S. Air Force Academy from Lt. Gen. Albert P. Clark.

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Walk us through the decision-making process you went through after you struck that flock of geese and lost both engines. What were your options and why did you choose to ditch in the Hudson? ?MTTÅZ[\1[PW]TL[M\\PM[\IOMNWZ\PQ[

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[PWKSWN \PQ[_I[QV\MV[MIVLW]ZJWLQM[ZMIK\ML QVIVWZUITP]UIVXPa[QWTWOQKIT_Ia1_I[I_IZM \PI\PILPIXXMVML¸UaX]T[M[PWW\QVO]XUa JTWWLXZM[[]ZM[XQSQVOUaXMZKMX\]ITÅMTLVIZZW_QVOJMKI][MWN \PM[]LLMVTQNM\PZMI\MVQVO [\ZM[[*]\1LQL\PZMM\PQVO[1_I[IJTM\WNWZKM KITUWVUa[MTN_PQKPQ[V¼\ZMITTaKITUQ\¼[R][\PI^QVO\PMLQ[KQXTQVM\PI\1\ITSMLIJW]\\WJMIJTM\W KWUXIZ\UMV\ITQbMIVLNWK][KTMIZTaWV\PM\I[SI\ PIVLQV[XQ\MWN \PM[\ZM[[;MKWVLM^MV\PW]OP _M¼LVM^MZ\ZIQVMLNWZ\PQ[IVLQVNIK\QVW]ZIQZTQVM ÆQOP\[QU]TI\WZ[aW]KIVVW\\ZIQVNWZ_I\MZTIVLQVO[¸\PMaIZMV¼\XZWOZIUUMLNWZQ\#\PMWVTa \ZIQVQVO_M¼LM^MZOW\\MV_I[I\PMWZM\QKITKTI[[ZWWULQ[K][[QWV¸1_I[IJTM\W\ISMITQNM\QUMWN  M`XMZQMVKMIVL\ZIQVQVOIVLQUXW[M\PI\XIZILQOU WV\PQ[[Q\]I\QWV\PMZMJaUISQVOQ\WVM1SVM_PW_ \W[WT^M)VLÅVITTaJMKI][MWN \PMM`\ZMUM_WZSTWILIVL\QUMXZM[[]ZM1SVM_1LQLV¼\PI^M\QUM \WLWM^MZa\PQVO1VMMLML\WLWJ]\JMKI][M1 KW]TL[M\XZQWZQ\QM[JMKI][M1]VLMZ[\WWLVW\R][\ \PM_PI\IVLPW_WN UaXZWNM[[QWVJ]\\PM_Pa JMKI][M1SVM_UaIQZXTIVM[WQV\QUI\MTa¸1¼L JMMVWV\PMIQZXTIVMITUW[\PW]Z[û aMIZ[¸1KW]TL[M\KTMIZXZQWZQ\QM[M^MVQV\PQ[[Q\]I\QWV_M¼LVM^MZ\ZIQVMLNWZ)VL[W1KPW[M\WLW WVTa\PMPQOPM[\XZQWZQ\aQ\MU[J]\LW\PMU^MZa ^MZa_MTTIVL\PMV1PIL\PMLQ[KQXTQVM\WQOVWZM M^MZa\PQVO1LQLVW\PI^M\QUM\WLWI[JMQVOWVTa XW\MV\QITLQ[\ZIK\QWV[1SVM_NZWUPI^QVO^Q[Q\ML IVLÆW_VQV\W6M_AWZSUIVa\QUM[\PI\_MWVTa PIL\PZMMWX\QWV[
OPPOSITE PHOTOS: COURTESY OF CHESLEY SULLENBERGER; RIGHT: AP PHOTO/TRELA MEDIA

6<;*]T\QUI\MTa^ITQLI\ML\PQ[QVIÆQOP\[QU]TI\WZ [\]LaI\\PM)QZJ][NIK\WZaQV.ZIVKM\PI\[MMQVO \PQ[NWZ\PMÅZ[\\QUMI[_M_MZMIVLQVKT]LQVO ZMIK\QWV\QUM\PMZM_I[VW\IT\Q\]LM\WUISMQ\ JIKS\WIVaZ]V_Ia)VL\PI\1SVM_QV\]Q\Q^MTa]X NZWV\IVL1[][XMK\ML_M_MZMOWQVO\WMVL]XQV \PMZQ^MZJ]\1PIL\WKWV[QLMZ\ZaQVO\WUISMQ\\W IZ]V_IaÅZ[\1KPW[M\PM\PQZLWX\QWV\PMWVTa ZMUIQVQVO^QIJTMWX\QWV_PQKP_I[\PM0]L[WV¸ \PMWVTaXTIKMQV\PMMV\QZMUM\ZWXWTQ\IVIZMIWN  6M_AWZSWVMWN \PMUW[\LMV[MTaXWX]TI\ML IZMI[WV\PMXTIVM\\PI\_I[TWVOMVW]OP_QLM MVW]OPIVL[UWW\PMVW]OP\WI\\MUX\TIVLQVOIV IQZTQVMZ;W1Y]QKSTa[M\XZQWZQ\QM[1TWIL[PML¸ XIZML LW_V \PQ[ XZWJTMU \W Q\[ M[[MV\QIT MT MUMV\[¸LQL\PMNM_\PQVO[\PI\PIL\WJMLWVM LQL\PMU^MZa_MTTIVL1_I[_QTTQVO\WOWIT[IKZQ ÅKM1SVM_\PI\\PMPQOPM[\XZQWZQ\a_I[\W[I^M TQ^M[IVL1_I[UWZM\PIV_QTTQVO\WOQ^M]X\ZaQVO \W[I^M\PMIQZXTIVM^MZaMIZTaWVQVWZLMZ\WLW \PI\)VL\PI\_I[IVMI[aKPWQKMNWZUM\WUISM IT\PW]OPI[C.QZ[\7‫ٻ‬KMZE2M‫;ٺ‬SQTM[_W]TL\MTTUM TI\MZ¹AW]X]\I UQTTQWVIQZTQVMZQV\PMZQ^MZ IVL\PMaKITTaW]IPMZW1[\PQ[IOZMI\KW]V\ZaWZ _PI\'º*]\\PMWX\QWV[_MZM[WKTMIZ=T\QUI\MTa _MPIL\PMIL^IV\IOMWN IZMTI\Q^MTIKSWN IUJQO] Q\a1[I_\PMJQZL[_MPMIZLIVLNMT\\PMUOWQVO QV\W\PMMVOQVM[?MLQLV¼\PI^M\W[XMVLITW\WN  \QUM [IaQVO _PI\ R][\ PIXXMVML IVL QV[\MIL QUUMLQI\MTa[\IZ\MLIVITabQVO\PQ[XZWJTMU?M _MZMIJTM\WOW^MZaY]QKSTaQV\WPW_LW_M[WT^M Q\
IT WAS OBVIOUS FROM THE VERY BEGINNING THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE UNLIKE EVERY OTHER FLIGHT I’D HAD FOR 42 YEARS AND 20,000 HOURS IN THE AIR. last-ditch option Flight 1549 descends toward the Hudson River and instant fame.

tion not being able to pull the nose up quite as far as you might have wanted to?
JW\P4M\UMJIKS]XITQ\\TMJQ\?Q\PQV\_W[MK WVL[WN \PMJQZL[\ZQSMIVL\PZ][\TW[[_MSVW_ NZWU\PMKWKSXQ\^WQKMZMKWZLMZIVLNZWU\PMÆQOP\ LI\IZMKWZLMZ1PIL\ISMVJaUMUWZa\PMÅZ[\\_W ZMUMLQITIK\QWV[\PI\_W]TLPMTX][\PMUW[\\PI\ _M_W]TLTI\MZOM\\WWV\PMKPMKSTQ[\W^MZIUQV]\M TI\MZW^MZI\PQZLWN \PM_Ia\PZW]OP\PMZMUIQV QVOÆQOP\\QUMIVL\PI\_I[\W\]ZVWV\PMMVOQVM QOVQ\QWV[W\PMMVOQVM[_W]TLZMKW^MZQN \PMaKW]TL Q\\]ZVMLW]\\PMa_MZMQZZMXIZIJTaLIUIOML IVL1[\IZ\ML\PMIQZXTIVM¼[I]`QTQIZaXW_MZ]VQ\ \PM)8=\WXZW^QLMIJIKS]X[W]ZKMWN MTMK\ZQ KITXW_MZ;QVKM\PQ[Q[IÆaJa_QZMIQZXTIVMIVL \PMZM¼[VWTWVOMZILQZMK\UMKPIVQKITKWVVMK\QWV _Q\P\PMÆQOP\KWV\ZWT[QV[\MILaW]PI^MMTMK\ZQKIT QUX]T[M[\PI\IZMNML\PZW]OPKWUX]\MZ[\PI\\PMV UW^MIK\]I\WZ[;W1SVM_PW_QUXWZ\IV\Q\_I[\W PI^M]VQV\MZZ]X\MLMTMK\ZQKITXW_MZIVL_MVM^MZ TW[\MTMK\ZQKITXW_MZ*a\PM\QUM\PMTMN\MVOQVM ZXULMKIaMLMVW]OP\PI\Q\_I[VWTWVOMZXW_ MZQVOQ\[W_VOMVMZI\WZ\PM)8=OMVMZI\WZ_I[ WVTQVM;W_M[\IaMLQVVWZUITTI_¸ITT\PMÆQOP\ MV^MTWXMXZW\MK\QWV[_MZMQV\IK\
You mention in your book the Airbus A320’s various safety systems—did that in your mind help or hinder, or both, your ability to ditch in the Hudson, because I know you specifically men-

november 2016

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AS [FIRST OFFICER] JEFF SKILES WOULD TELL ME LATER, “YOU PUT A $62 MILLION AIRLINER IN THE RIVER AND THEY CALL YOU A HERO. IS THIS A GREAT COUNTRY, OR WHAT?”

november 2016

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celebrated crew From left: Sully, First Officer Jeffrey Skiles and Flight Attendants Donna Dent, Doreen Welsh and Sheila Dail meet with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on February 9, 2009, to receive keys to the city. Opposite top: Sully and Skiles prepare to complete their flight to Charlotte, N.C., on October 1, 2009.

of the wing to get to the nose-high attitude we needed for entry into the water, to get to the slowest rate of descent that we could. And it turned out we discovered later—the investigators discovered Ja[\]LaQVO\PMLI\INZWU\PMLQOQ\ITÆQOP\LI\I ZMKWZLMZ¸\PI\QV\PMTI[\NW]Z[MKWVL[WN \PMÆQOP\ ITQ\\TMSVW_V[WN\_IZMNMI\]ZMWN \PMÆaJa_QZM system known only to a few software engineers at Airbus, but to no airline pilots and no airline operators, prevented me from achieving that last little bit of performance because of something called the phugoid mode. And had that not inhibited our performance, had that not, as the NTSB in the report euphemistically said, “attenuated” my inputs—nose-up command—we wouldn’t have hit quite so hard, we wouldn’t have had as much damage and [Flight Attendant] Doreen Welsh might not have been injured in the back when a XQMKMWN [\Z]K\]ZMKIUM]X\PZW]OP\PMÆWWZIVL \PMIQZXTIVMUQOP\PI^MÆWI\MLITQ\\TMJQ\PQOPMZ in the water and a little bit longer. So it’s a mixed blessing: It prevented us from making egregious errors, but we didn’t anyway, and at the very end it prevented us from getting the nose up quite as much as we theoretically should have been able to. How do you think it might have been different if you were, say, flying a Boeing airliner? Except for

\PI\WVMÆQOP\KWV\ZWTUWLM1LWV¼\\PQVSQ\_W]TL PI^MUI\\MZML)[TWVOI[1_I[ÆaQVOIVIQZXTIVM \PI\_I[[QUQTIZTaKWVÅO]ZMLQVW\PMZ_WZL[\PM overall geometric structure of the airplane was similar, with low-slung engines in about the same position, I think we would have had a similar outcome. 38

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To what do you attribute the public fascination with your successful ditching? I think just the way

it happened, when it happened at the time in the _WZTL¼[PQ[\WZaL]ZQVO\PM¼ ¼!ÅVIVKQITUMT\down when it seemed as if everything was going wrong and no one could do anything right. It had I‫ٺ‬MK\ML[WUIVaXMWXTM[WVMOI\Q^MTa\PI\[WUM people had begun to question human nature and wonder if it was really mostly about self-interest and greed. And then this group of people all came together, rose to the occasion and in concert made it their mission in life to see that good was done and that lives were saved. I think at a time when we all needed it, it gave people hope, it reassured us that there was still this human potential for good in each of us. And I think one of the biggest surprises for all of us directly involved is that this story did not fade away at the end of the news cycle like most stories do, because of the way it happened when it happened and the way that it continues to touch and inspire people, even people not associated with \PQ[ÆQOP\)VL[W1NMMTI[XMKQITZM[XWV[QJQTQ\a\W this story to treat it with the respect that I feel for it, because of the way it touches people.

And the people of New York, too, were part of that whole equation. Absolutely. So as a result of

\PQ[JW\PW]ZÅZ[\W‫ٻ‬KMZ2M‫;ٺ‬SQTM[IVL1NMMTIV obligation to use this notoriety for good, to use this bully pulpit to improve the safety of the traveling public, to improve the state of the piloting profession. Not to do so would be a dereliction of duty in our minds, because we feel like we owe it to our colleagues still working at all the airlines to do that.

Since we’ve been chosen temporarily by fate as the de facto spokespersons for the profession, we don’t want to let them down.

PREVIOUS PAGES: AP PHOTO/EDOUARD H.R. GLUCK; OPPOSITE: AP PHOTO/STEPHEN CHERNIN; ABOVE RIGHT: AP PHOTO/SETH WENIG; RIGHT: AP PHOTO/STEPHEN DAY

Tell us a little bit about what you’ve been up to since your 2009 book. A lot. People know that a

aMIZIN\MZ\PMNIUW][ÆQOP\1ZM\QZMLIN\MZR][\W^MZ 30 years from the airlines, but they don’t always SVW_ITT\PM\PQVO[1¼^MLWVM\PI\1ZMITTaLQLV¼\ ZM\QZM#1R][\\ZILML\PI\WVMXZWNM[[QWVNWZ[M^MZITW\PMZ[)[IVI]\PWZ1_ZW\MI[MKWVLJWWS 5ISQVOI,Q‫ٺ‬MZMVKM";\WZQM[WN >Q[QWVIVL+W]ZIOM .ZWU)UMZQKI¼[4MILMZ[\PI\1¼U^MZaPIXXa_Q\P 1XZWÅTMIJW]\ILWbMVXMWXTMIVL_PMV1KPW[M XMWXTM_PWU1ILUQZML\WXZWÅTMI[M`MUXTIZ[WN  TMILMZ[PQX1VMQ\PMZI[SMLVWZKWV[QLMZML\PMQZ XWTQ\QKITI‫ٻ‬TQI\QWVJ]\QV[\MIL1KPW[MXMWXTM_PW PILM`PQJQ\MLUWZITKW]ZIOMIVLJaLWQVO\PM ZQOP\\PQVOI\\PMZQOP\\QUMNWZ\PMZQOP\ZMI[WV[ \PMaPILUILMILQ‫ٺ‬MZMVKMQVXMWXTM¼[TQ^M[)VL [W\PI\¼[[WUM\PQVO1¼^MJMMVXI[[QWVI\MIJW]\Ua _PWTMTQNMIVL1_I[^MZaNWZ\]VI\M\WPI^M[WUIVa W]\[\IVLQVO)UMZQKIV[XIZ\QKQXI\MQV\PQ[[\WZa IVLKWUM]X_Q\PIV[_MZ[\WITT\PMY]M[\QWV[1 had about leadership—like are leaders born or made, how important is culture, how do you manIOMaW]ZW_VMOWIVLXZM^MV\Q\NZWUOM\\QVOQV your way? So that was a real labor of love, and that KIUMW]\QV1¼^MJMMVLWQVOITW\WN [XMMKPM[ around the country and in fact around the world. 1¼^M\ITSML\WI]LQMVKM[I[UIVaI[XMWXTM NZWU)][\ZITQI\W;_Q\bMZTIVLIVLM^MZa_PMZMQV JM\_MMV)VLI[1¼^M\ZI^MTML\PM_WZTLIVLUM\ QUXWZ\IV\XMWXTMQVKT]LQVO[WUM_WZTLTMILMZ[ 1¼^MTMIZVMLITW\IJW]\LQ‫ٺ‬MZMV\I]LQMVKM[IVL 1_WZS^MZaPIZL\WLW\PI\M^MZa\QUM1[XMIS\W them—audiences as diverse as nuclear power WXMZI\WZ[\WÅVIVKQITZQ[SUIVIOMZ[\WUMLQKIT XZWNM[[QWVIT[1¼^MLWVMITW\WN \ITSQVO\WUMLQKIT audiences about how we’ve made aviation so safe IVL\PM_Ia[\PI\_MKIV\ZIV[NMZ\PI\SVW_TMLOM \WUMLQKQVM\WUISMXI\QMV\KIZM[INMZ1¼^MIT[W JMMVIKWV[]T\IV\\WQVL][\ZaIOIQVWVIXXTaQVO aviation-type methods to chemical and other

I FEEL AN OBLIGATION TO USE THIS NOTORIETY... TO IMPROVE THE SAFETY OF THE TRAVELING PUBLIC.... help on the way Ferries and a NYC Fire Department boat rescue passengers and crew from Flight 1549.

QVL][\ZQM[)VL1¼^MIT[WJMMVIVIL^WKI\MNWZ\PM [INM\aWN \PM\ZI^MTQVOX]JTQK#1¼^M][ML\PQ[VW\WZQM\aNWZOWWL\WOW\W+IXQ\WT0QTT1\M[\QÅMLR][\I aMIZIOWJMNWZM\PM0W][MIVL\PM;MVI\MI^QI\QWV []JKWUUQ\\MM[1_I[QV?I[PQVO\WV,+R][\ last month to try to improve aviation safety and \Za\WQVKT]LMQV\PM.))ZMI]\PWZQbI\QWVJQTTUMI[]ZM[\PI\_W]TLUISMÆaQVO[INMZNWZM^MZaJWLa ;W\PI\¼[IJQONWK][WN UQVM;W1¼^MJMMV^MZaJ][a QV\ZaQVO\W[Ia\PI\M^MV\PW]OP1PILIaMIZ KIZMMZQVÆaQVO¸M^MVJMNWZM\PMNIUW][ÆQOP\ IVL\PMV\PMZM_I[\PMNIUW][ÆQOP\_PQKP_I[ IUIRWZKWV\ZQJ]\QWV\W[INM\a¸1¼U\ZaQVO\WSMMX WV_WZSQVO[W\PI\Q\UIaJM\PI\QN 1¼UNWZ\]VI\M IVL_WZSPIZLMVW]OPUaOZMI\M[\KWV\ZQJ]\QWV[ still lie ahead. What do you think are the main challenges the airline industry faces today? 1\PQVS\PMUIQV

KPITTMVOMQ[\WÅVL_Ia[\WSMMXUISQVOIQZ\ZI^MT [INMZ?M¼^MUILMP]OM[\ZQLM[XIZ\QK]TIZTaQV\PM IL^IVKML?M[\MZV_WZTLIVLM[XMKQITTaQV\PM =VQ\ML;\I\M[QV\PMTI[\LMKILM1VNIK\\PMTI[\ XI[[MVOMZNI\ITQ\aWVITIZOM=;RM\TQVMZQV\PM=; _I[aMIZ[IOWQV6W^MUJMZ
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as a whole needs to look at this broken economic UWLMT\PI\[WUMWN \PMZMOQWVITIQZTQVM[KWV\QV]M \W\Za\W][MIVL[WUMWN \PMTIZOMUIRWZKIZZQMZ[ have helped to create because they have created I[a[\MUQV_PQKP\PM[UITTMZZMOQWVIT[KWUXM\M WV\PMJI[Q[WN KW[\\WJM\PMQZZMOQWVITI‫ٻ‬TQI\M1V W\PMZ_WZL[\PMTIZOMUIRWZKIZZQMZ[WN\MVKPWW[M \PMTW_M[\JQLLMZ\WJM\PMQZI‫ٻ‬TQI\MQVIZMOQWV IVL[W1\PQVS\PMa¼^MPMTXML\WKZMI\M\PMXZWJTMU IVL\PMaPI^MIZM[XWV[QJQTQ\aQVPMTXQVO\WÅ`Q\ How about the increasing reliance on automation—do you think there’s been an erosion in airline piloting skills? 1VW\WVTa\PQVS\PI\J]\[\]LQM[

of the speed of sound, in a hostile environment with outside air pressure one-quarter that at the surface and outside temperatures to minus 70, and we must return it safely to the surface every time. We make it look easy, but it’s not. So we can’t take W]ZMaMW‫\ٺ‬PMJITT?MPI^M\W][MJQOLI\I_MPI^M \W][MITTSQVL[WN [INM\aZMXWZ\QVOIVLI]LQ\QVO [a[\MU[\WTWWSNWZZQ[S[IVLUQ\QOI\M\PMUJMNWZM they can lead to a bad outcome. And we need to UISM[]ZM\PI\I[_M\ZIV[Q\QWVNZWUUaOMVMZI\QWVWN XQTW\[\W\PMVM`\OMVMZI\QWV[\PI\\PMaPI^M \PI\[IUMLQTQOMVKM\PI\[IUMLQ[KQXTQVM\PI\[IUM ]VLMZ[\IVLQVO\PI\R][\OWWLMVW]OPQ[V¼\IVL\PI\ they have learned and internalized the lessons of historic accidents to remember why it’s important \PI\_MLWITT\PM\PQVO[_MLW\WSMMXW]ZXI[[MVOMZ[[INMWVM^MZaÆQOP\WVM^MZaLIa

WE NEED TO FIND BETTER WAYS TO KEEP PILOTS SHARP, TO KEEP THEM ENGAGED IN EVERY ASPECT OF THE FLIGHT.

What is your opinion of the airline pilot shortage, and why do you think fewer youngsters are interested in learning to fly? Well, all of us

choose our life path based upon not only our passion but its ability to be a viable, sustainable path for ourselves and eventually for our families. Your passion only carries you so far. At some point all of ][IZMOWQVO\W_IV\\WJMIJTM\WPI^M\PMUMIV[\W J]aIKIZ\WOM\UIZZQML\WJ]aIPW][M¸\WPI^M a path that makes economic sense for us. And if \PMMV\ZaTM^MT_IOM[IVL_WZSQVOKWVLQ\QWV[IVL JMVMÅ\[WN [WUMWN \PM[M[UITTZMOQWVITIQZTQVM[IZM VW\[]‫ٻ‬KQMV\\WLW\PI\WN KW]Z[M\PMa¼ZMVW\OWQVO to attract experienced applicants in the numbers \PMa_W]TLTQSM
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have indicated that. And it’s even worse than that. There have been several studies that have shown \PI\VW\WVTaPI[W^MZZMTQIVKMWVI]\WUI\QWVOQ^MV XQTW\[NM_MZWXXWZ\]VQ\QM[\WUIV]ITTaXZIK\QKMÆaQVO[SQTT[IVL\PI\\PMQZÆaQVO[SQTT[PI^M[WUM_PI\ eroded because of that, but even worse, these studQM[PI^MNW]VL\PI\JMQVOIVWJ[MZ^MZIUWVQ\WZWN  I]\WUI\ML[a[\MU[ÆaQVO\PMIQZXTIVML]ZQVOTIZOM XWZ\QWV[WN \PMÆQOP\PI[MZWLML\PMXQTW\[¼IJQTQ\a\WJMUMV\ITTaMVOIOMLSMMX\ZIKSWN _PI\¼[ PIXXMVQVO_Q\P\PMIQZXTIVMIVLZM[XWVLY]QKSTa MVW]OPIVLM‫ٺ‬MK\Q^MTaMVW]OP_PMV\PMaVMML \WQV\MZ^MVM;WQ\¼[[IXXML\PMQZÆaQVO[SQTT[Q\¼[ [IXXML\PMKWVÅLMVKM\PMaPI^MQV\PMQZUIV]IT ÆaQVO[SQTT[IVLQ\¼[[TW_ML\PMQZ_QTTQVOVM[[IVL \PMQZIJQTQ\a\WY]QKSTaIVLM‫ٺ‬MK\Q^MTaQV\MZ^MVM _PMV\PMaU][\M`MZKQ[M\PMQZÆaQVO[SQTT[IVL QV[\MILSMMXWV\ZaQVO\W][MWZÅ`\PMI]\WUI\QWV ;W\PQ[TIKSWN IJQTQ\a\WY]QKSTaIVITabMIVLÅO]ZM W]\_PI\¼[OWQVOWVJMKI][MWN \PQ[UMV\ITTa\ISQVOI[\MXJIKSIVLVW\JMQVOI[IK\Q^MTaUMV\ITTa MVOIOML_Q\P\PM_PWTMXZWKM[[\PZW]OPW]\\PM ÆQOP\Q[_PI\\ZW]JTM[UMM^MVUWZM\PIV\PMTIKS WN WZ\PMLQUQV]\QWVWN UIV]ITÆaQVO[SQTT[*]\ \PMaOWPIVLQVPIVL)VL[W_MVMML\WÅVLJM\\MZ _Ia[\WSMMXXQTW\[[PIZX\WSMMX\PMUMVOIOMLQV M^MZaI[XMK\WN \PMÆQOP\)VLQ\UIaUMIV\PI\ _MVMML\WZM\PQVS\PMLM[QOVWN W]ZKWKSXQ\[\W OQ^MXQTW\[IUWZMIK\Q^MZWTMIVLPI^M\PMI]\WUI\QWVLWUWZMWN \PMUWVQ\WZQVOQV[\MILWN \PM ZM^MZ[MJMKI][MP]UIV[IZMVW\QVPMZMV\TaOWWL I\UWVQ\WZQVO

A lot of people consider you a hero, and in your book you said you’re not comfortable with that. How do you feel about that now? ?MTT1¼^M[XMV\

grateful survivor The captain talks with Flight 1549 passenger Pam Seagle beside the A320 fuselage at the Carolinas Aviation Museum in June 2011.

aMIZ[KWUQVO\W\MZU[_Q\P\PI\)VL1¼^MOW\\MVI OZMI\MZIXXZMKQI\QWVNWZXMWXTM¼[VMML\WNMMT\PI\ _Ia)VL1\ISMQ\I[IZMITZM[XWV[QJQTQ\aNWZUM to be the public face of this event, and to receive XMWXTM¼[\PIVS[JMKI][M\PMaPI^MIVMML\WOQ^M Q\)VL1_IV\\WPWVWZ\PI\J]\I\\PM[IUM\QUM 1SVW_\PI\_PQTM_M_MZMLWQVOW]ZRWJ[\PI\ LIa_MLQLW]ZRWJ[M`KMX\QWVITTa_MTTXZWJIJTa better than could have been expected under the circumstances. 

How does it feel to have America’s everyman actor playing you? Well, Jimmy Stewart wasn’t available [laughter]. I think it’s a great choice. veteran filmmakers The A320 glides over the Hudson River (above) in Sully, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks (shown below discussing a scene).

OPPOSITE: AP PHOTO/CHUCK BURTON; ABOVE: WARNER BROS.; RIGHT: STEVE SANDS/GC IMAGES

SULLY: THE MOVIE When did you learn they wanted to make a movie from your book, and what was your reaction? Well it was in 2010 that I was approached by a producer who optioned the dramatic rights to my first book, Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters, and she hired

a screenwriter and came up with a script. And then it had not found a home until early May 2015, when the script was read by Clint Eastwood and he loved it. He immediately contacted Warner Bros., and the train left the station and has been hurtling down the tracks ever since.

He actually came to the house last May [2015], and then once some of the casting decisions were made Tom Hanks came to the house last summer. Principal photography began in New York in late September, and it was all completed by late November or early December. And of course it’s in postproduction now and it will be released in theaters in the U.S. on September 9. So the story has found a good home, it’s in good hands—veteran filmmakers and great storytellers. And of course Tom Hanks is our “everyman,” he’s played a lot of real people before, including people I’ve met, like Captain James Lovell of Apollo 13, so we’re looking forward to it.

What’s the nature of your involvement? I’ve had a small role as a consultant on the film, which I’m very glad, because, I mean, it’s my life and the life of my family and the lives of the people on our flight. So this obviously matters to me. And I’m really impressed with the way that they’re handling it. The few times my wife and I had a chance to visit on the set during filming, it seemed like everybody in the cast and crew, and there were sometimes hundreds of people there, treated this with the kind of respect that I really was impressed by. What’s it been like working with a Hollywood legend like Clint Eastwood? It must be a privilege. It is. Class act, very dedicated, been doing this a long time. Very successful coming off the heels just a year ago with American Sniper. And he’s got a well-earned reputation for being very efficient and getting it done quickly, on time and under budget. And taking good care of the story. C.v.W

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bustling airfield Curtiss JN-4Ds on the flight line prepare to take off while other “Jennies” undergo maintenance at Rockwell Field in 1918.

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TRAINING COMBAT PILOTS ON NORTH ISLAND IN A SERIES OF PREVIOUSLY UNPUBLISHED IMAGES, RENOWNED NEW YORK NEWS PHOTOGRAPHER EDWARD N. JACKSON DOCUMENTED EARLY FLIGHT TRAINING AT ROCKWELL FIELD BY JOSEPH J. CARO

IT WAS SWELTERING HOT ON NORTH ISLAND DURING THE SUMMER OF 1918, RECALLED PHOTOGRAPHER EDDIE JACKSON. “Clouds of dust and sand turned your eyelids into grainy sandpaper and permeated your clothing right down to your private parts,” he wrote. “I couldn’t use my camera equipment for days at a time for fear of damaging its delicate workings. August, I found, is not the best time of the year to be in the San Diego area of California.” Jackson had spent more than a month photographing the new U.S. Army training facilities at Camp Lewis in Washington state and Camp Kearny in southern California as part of his assignment from the Army Signal Corps. In May he had moved farther south to document the new pilot training facility at Rockwell Field on North Island. It was a formidable task for the 35-year-

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old lieutenant, who just a year earlier had been a press photographer in New York City. Rockwell Field was originally known as the Signal Corps Aviation School, but it was renamed in September 1912 to memorialize 2nd Lt. Lewis C. Rockwell, killed in the crash of a Wright Model B at College Park, Md. The IZMI¼[KTMIZ[SQM[ÆI\\MZZIQV good beaches and protected waters had attracted aviation pioneer Glenn H. Curtiss to North Island, where he established an aviation school in February 1911. Curtiss invited the Army and Navy to [MVLW‫ٻ‬KMZ[\WPQ[VM_[KPWWT NWZÆQOP\\ZIQVQVOIVLY]QKSTa contracted with the Signal +WZX[\WZMTWKI\MQ\[ÆMLOTQVO pilot training facility from College Park to sunny San ,QMOW
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOSEPH J. CARO

observer’s-eye view Eddie Jackson’s shot of Rockwell from a Jenny’s rear cockpit. Opposite: Camera in hand, the photographer poses with a pilot before a flight.

detail work Mechanics overhaul Curtiss OX-5 engines (top), and Army personnel apply Allied cockades to Jenny wings.

ÅZ[\LIaI\:WKS_MTT.QMTLI +]Z\Q[[26¹2MVVaºPQ\IXW\ PWTMQV\PMZ]V_IaWVTIVLQVO JZMISQVOU]KPWN \PM]VLMZ KIZZQIOM¹?PMV\PML][\[M\ \TML\PMZM_I[VW\U]KPTMN\WN  \PMXTIVMJ]\\PMQV[\Z]K\WZ IVL[\]LMV\XQTW\_ITSMLI_Ia NZWU\PMKZI[P°VWVM\PMTM[[ »IOWWLTIVLQVO¼º 6M^MZINTaQVOMV\P][QI[\ 2IKS[WVI[SMLIÆQOP\QV[\Z]K \WZ\WOQ^MPQUITM[[WV\WJM\\MZ ]VLMZ[\IVL_PI\_I[ZMY]QZML WN \PM[\]LMV\[
learning their trade The pilot of a Canadianbuilt Curtiss Canuck practices flight maneuvers. Below: An observer prepares for a photo session aloft.

QVOTa[IQL\PI\PMPILV¼\[MMV IJZQOP\MZ[PILMWN OZMMV\PIV UaNIKMQVITWVO\QUM ¹)N\MZ1[\MXXML\W\PM[QLM WN \PMXTIVMIVL^WQLMLUa[MTN  WN UaZMKMV\JZMISNI[\1ZMIT QbML_Pa\PM[\]LMV\XQTW\[[MT LWUPILIVaJZMISNI[\JMNWZM \PMa PIL I UWZVQVO NTQOP\ [KPML]TML1ÆM_UW[\M^MZa

AS I LITERALLY CRAWLED OUT OF THE COCKPIT, THE PILOT LAUGHINGLY SAID THAT HE HADN’T SEEN A BRIGHTER SHADE OF GREEN THAN MY FACE IN A LONG TIME.

LIaIN\MZ\PI\IVLMVRWaML\PM M`XMZQMVKM¸UW[\WN \PM\QUM WVIVMUX\a[\WUIKPº *a \PM \QUM PQ[ :WKS_MTT .QMTL I[[QOVUMV\ _I[ KWU XTM\ML2IKS[WV[IQLPMPIL TWOOMLUWZMNTaQVOPW]Z[QV 2MVVa[ \PIV UW[\ OZIL]I\ QVOXQTW\[
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DRONES: THE HOLLYWOOD CONNECTION

ACTOR REGINALD DENNY WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN LAUNCHING THE TARGET DRONE, AND HIS FACTORY LAUNCHED A NEW STAR BY ROBERT GUTTMAN 48

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dual roles Actor Reginald Denny’s interest in flying models led him to play a vital part in radio-controlled aviation during World War II.

showman Denny displays his wares to a budding generation of Junior Birdmen.

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In addition to questions surrounding their employment in military strikes, the explosive growth of drones in hobbyist circles has forced the FAA to formulate rules governing their private ][M.M_IZMI_IZMPW_M^MZ\PI\\PMÅZ[\ZMUW\MTaXQTW\ML [KITMLIQZKZIN\LI\MJIKS\W![ÆaQVOUWLMTPWJJaQ[\[)VL WVMWN \PMUW[\[]ZXZQ[QVOIVLTQ\\TMSVW_VI[XMK\[WN \PMÅZ[\ military drones is their connection to Hollywood. That Tinseltown connection was embodied by Reginald Denny, a well-known stage and screen actor who appeared in VMIZTaÅTU[QV\PMKW]Z[MWN IKIZMMZ[XIVVQVOUWZM\PIV half a century. Born in Britain, he was the son of a stock company actor who performed in Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas. Denny began acting professionally at age 6, and appeared in PQ[ÅZ[\UW\QWVXQK\]ZMQV!0MIT[WJMKIUMI*ZQ\Q[PIUIteur boxing champion. Denny interrupted his career to join the

Royal Flying Corps during World War I, serving as an observer/air gunner in Bristol F.2B Fighters with a home defense night fighter squadron. He was wounded, apparently by friendly anti-aircraft ÅZML]ZQVOIVQOP\\QUMQV\MZception training mission. He ZMKW^MZML[]‫ٻ‬KQMV\Ta\WKWUplete his pilot training, but not in time to see any aerial combat before the war ended. Denny resumed his acting career after WWI and starred in numerous Holly wood [QTMV\ÅTU[JW\PLZIUI[IVL comedies. Once the “talkies” arrived, however, his English accent and advancing age meant that he was more in demand for character parts, and he became a familiar face in a wide variety of supporting roles, usually as an impeccable English gentleman or military officer. Denny also continued to fly, joining an elite group of Hollywood stunt pilots known as the “Thirteen Black Cats.” That group included Art Goebel, winner of the tragic 1927 Dole Air Race from California to Hawaii, during which six of the eight airplanes that participated crashed, with the loss of 10 lives. Denny’s interest in remoteKWV\ZWTÆaQVOJMOIVWVMLIa in the early 1930s when he W‫ٺ‬MZML\WI[[Q[\IVMQOPJWZ¼[ son who was trying to fly a model airplane. The plane

PREVIOUS PAGES: JIM DUNKIN; OPPOSITE & ABOVE: RIGHTER FAMILY ARCHIVES; RIGHT: PETE SOULE

UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS (UAS), BETTER KNOWN AS DRONES, HAVE GENERATED PLENTY OF CONTROVERSY IN RECENT YEARS.

higher aims Paul Whittier (left) and the actor ready their RP-1 for a flight in 1935. Below: Denny’s Hollywood hobby shop was in business from 1935 to 1963.

crashed, and a contrite Denny insisted upon building a new one for the boy. That experience got the actor hooked on model airplane building to such an extent that in 1934 he opened a hobby shop, selling models of his own design. It quickly expanded into a business, Reginald Denny Industries, through which he marSM\MLPQ[TQVMWN ,MVVa8TIVMÆaQVOUWLMT[ Denny also sold miniature gasoline engines for model planes. Designed and built by 1928 California Institute of Technology OZIL]I\M?IT\MZ:QOP\MZPQ[,MVVaUQ\M_I[\PMÅZ[\\Z]TaZMTQable model airplane engine on the market. Denny selected the

DENNY HAD THE VISION TO REALIZE THE MILITARY POTENTIAL OF EMPLOYING REMOTELY CONTROLLED MODEL AIRPLANES AS AERIAL TARGETS.

design after Righter demonstrated its reliability by constructing 10 prototypes and Z]VVQVO\PMUITTÆI\W]\NWZ 50 hours. That demonstration marked the beginning of a fruitful association between the two men that would continue for many years. During that period Denny also became acquainted with the work of fellow model airplane and radio enthusiast Kenneth Case, who had developed an efficient miniature radio-control system. Denny had the vision to realize the military potential of employing remotely controlled model airplanes as aerial targets. At a meeting on the subject that he arranged with Lt. Col. W.S.

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first army Uav A series of photos shows the RP-4 being prepared for a test launch in 1939. The model would be adopted under the military designation OQ-1.

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Thiel of the Coast Artillery, Denny learned it cost the U.S. Army $300 to tow an aerial target behind an airplane. Such targets were regarded as less than ideal for training because they had to be towed in a straight line, they didn’t resemble real airplanes and gunners often couldn’t tell if they had hit the target. Moreover, the towing aircraft and their crews could be struck JaO]VÅZM,MVVaXZWXW[ML\PI\IZMUW\MKWV\ZWTTMLUWLMT IQZXTIVM_W]TL[MZ^M\PMX]ZXW[MNIZUWZMM‫ٺ‬MK\Q^MTaIVLPM persuaded the Army to allow him to proceed with its develop UMV\1V!,MVVaIVLÅVIVKQMZ8I]T?PQ\\QMZM[\IJTQ[PML \PM:ILQWXTIVM+WUXIVa_Q\P\PMOWITWN LM^MTWXQVOZILQW controlled airplanes for use by the military as aerial targets. ,MVVa1VL][\ZQM[¼ÅZ[\ZMUW\MKWV\ZWTTMLIMZQIT\IZOM\_I[ \PM:8:ILQW8TIVMIXW]VLPQOP_QVOUWVWXTIVM _Q\PINWW\_QVO[XIV1\_I[XW_MZMLJaIPX[\ZWSM KaTQVLMZMVOQVMJ]QT\Ja?IT\MZ:QOP\MZ)N\MZ,MVVaIVL :QOP\MZLMUWV[\ZI\ML\PM:8\W\PM)ZUaQV.MJZ]IZa!  \PMW‫ٻ‬KQIT[_MZM[]‫ٻ‬KQMV\TaQUXZM[[ML_Q\PQ\[XW\MV\QIT\W invite Denny to continue development. Radioplane built and

demonstrated several more improved prototypes before \PM)ZUaIKKMX\ML\PM:8 53 of which were ordered in May 1939 under the Army LM[QOVI\QWV79ZMÆMK\QVO Q\[KTI[[QÅKI\QWVI[I¹[]J[KITM \IZOM\º
OPPOSITE & RIGHT: NATIONAL ARCHIVES; ABOVE: DAVID CONOVER/YANK

opposed engine driving contrarotating propellers. The U.S. Navy also used it under the designation TDD-1 (for Target Drone, Denny). Featuring steel-tube construction, the OQ-2 was 8 feet 8 inches long, had a wingspan of 12 feet 3 inches and weighed 104 pounds. Powered by a 7-hp Righter engine, it had a top speed of 85 mph and could remain airborne for an hour. The drone was launched from a catapult and, although equipped with a wheeled landing gear, was typically recovered by a parachute stowed inside the fuselage. While not as fast as a full-sized airplane, the diminutive drone seemed to be moving faster than Q\IK\]ITTa_I[UISQVOQ\ILQ‫ٻ‬K]T\\IZOM\\WPQ\ In 1943 the OQ-2 was superseded by the improved OQ-3, the most-produced variant, with 9,403 examples built. The OQ-3 was sturdier than the OQ-2 and had a more powerful 8-hp engine that increased its maximum speed to 102 mph. It was also simpler, dispensing with the contrarotating propellers and wheeled landing gear, and relying solely on the parachute for recovery. Although Radioplane’s activities and products were considMZMLPQOPTaKTI[[QÅMLWVWVMWKKI[QWVQV2]VM!IV)ZUa public relations photographer with the 1st Motion Picture Unit, Sergeant David Conover, visited the factory in Van Nuys, Calif., to document its operations. Conover was evidently less interested in what was being built in the plant than he was in a particuTIZTaI\\ZIK\Q^MNMUITM_WZSMZ\PMZM6WZUI2MIVM,W]OPMZ\a 1\UIaPI^MJMMV\PMÅZ[\\QUM,W]OPMZ\a_I[VW\QKMLJ]\Q\ would not be the last. Conover arranged a modeling audition for her that eventually led to a contract with the Blue Book Model Agency. She subsequently changed her hair color and VIUMMV\MZQVO\PMXW[\_IZÅTUQVL][\ZaI[5IZQTaV5WVZWM After WWII, Radioplane was involved in modifying four /Z]UUIV..0MTTKI\ÅOP\MZ[I[ZILQWKWV\ZWTTMLLZWVM[\WÆa reconnaissance missions through the nuclear blast zone at Bikini Atoll during Operation Crossroads in 1946. The four Hellcats _MZMÆW_VNZWU=;;Shangri-La, and Denny was on board the aircraft carrier at Bikini to assist in setting up the drones and ensuring they worked correctly. Denny sold his interest in Radioplane in 1948, after postwar demand for radio-controlled targets began to diminish. He continued to play character roles on the large and small [KZMMV0Q[TI[\ÅTU_I[\PM.ZIVS;QVI\ZIKZQUMKIXMZAssault taking wing An OQ-2A drone is catapulted skyward.

WHILE NOT AS FAST AS A FULL-SIZED AIRPLANE, THE OQ-2 DRONE SEEMED TO BE MOVING FASTER THAN IT ACTUALLY WAS, MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO HIT. on a Queen in 1966, and his last television appearances were in the campy Batman series that same year. He died of a stroke while visiting his native England, but he was buried near his adopted home, at Forest Lawn–Los Angeles

model employee Norma Jeane Dougherty, later to gain fame as Marilyn Monroe, assembles an OQ-3 at the Radioplane factory in the summer of 1945.

Hills Cemetery. The company Reginald Denny had founded continued to produce improved versions of its target drones, the most successful of which was the MQM-36 Shelduck, with 60,000 built during a decadeslong production run. When Northrop bought the company in 1952, it became the Radioplane Division. Later the name was changed to the Ventura Division, Northrop Corporation.  Robert Guttman writes frequently for Aviation History from Tappan, N.Y. For more on Reginald Denny and Radioplane, see ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/ denny.html.

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A P-38 PILOT REMEMBERED

PHOTOS: NATIONAL ARCHIVES

AT A VE-DAY EVENT IN FRANCE, A COMMUNITY THAT HAD DEFIED THE GERMANS DURING THE WAR CAME TOGETHER TO HONOR A FALLEN AMERICAN AIRMAN BY GARY METIVIER AND MARY MASONHOLDER WILSON

lightning strike A Ninth Air Force P-38J strafes a freight train. Major Lawrence Herrick (opposite) died in northern France while leading an attack on trains resupplying the Germans in 1944.

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mission ready Herrick poses with his P-38J before setting out on a sortie from Cardonville, France.

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Allied forces were already making rapid advances following the June 6 Normandy invasion, paving the way for the three squadrons of the 370th Fighter Group to set up camp in Cardonville, about 12 miles west of Omaha Beach. Their mission: stop the trains that were resupplying the Germans as the Allies pushed them back. Major Herrick, who at age 24 had already been decorated with the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions in Germany and occupied territories, found himself commanding the 485th Fighter Squadron in northern France. His entire squadron was composed of pilots in their mid-20s—men who were willing and eager to do whatever it took to get the job done. Herrick’s son Richard would later learn his NI\PMZPILIXI[[QWVNWZÆaQVO¹1VITM\\MZ\WUa UW\PMZPM[IQLPM_W]TLZI\PMZOWWV[WUMÆaQVO missions than have a two-day pass,” he said. As the pilots fanned out looking for targets, it LQLV¼\\ISMTWVONWZ0MZZQKS\WÅVLPQ[
As he pulled up and turned from his target, a loud explosion rocked the countryside. Herrick’s fellow 485th pilots documented what \PMa[I_4QM]\MVIV\?QTTQIU<9]QTIVPQ[_QVOUIVZMKITTML"¹1ÆM_V]UJMZ\_WXW[Q\QWVWV a mission over France with the squadron commander. [He] went down to strafe a locomotive. We had not dropped our bombs. The major made a low pass and blew up the boiler of the locoUW\Q^MIVL1NWTTW_MLIJW]\ aIZL[JMPQVL When Major Herrick had completed a 180degree turn and had reached approximately 2,500 NMM\1[I_PQ[IQZXTIVMM`XTWLMº 0IZZa4I_LMZZMKWZLML"¹:QOP\IN\MZPMX]TTML W‫\ٺ‬PM\IZOM\1[I\]XZQOP\JM[QLMPQU0MTT1 wasn’t more than 50 feet away, maybe, when that []KSMZ_MV\1\_I[R][\TQSMIKTIaXQOMWVJMQVOPQ\ if you’ve ever seen them. Powder, just plain powLMZ1¼U[]ZMIJWUJ_MV\W‫ٺ‬1_I[ÆaQVOV]UJMZ 0MIVL9]QTIV_MV\LW_V\W[\ZINMI\IZOM\IVL _MÆM_KW^MZ)[\PMaUILMITMN\\]ZVIVLX]TTML W‫ٺ‬IVLKIUMJIKS]X_Q\PIT\Q\]LM1R][\RWQVML]X real quick with him and, bang, it went up like that.” 4WKITNIZUMZ[_MZMUQVLQVO[PMMXIVLKW_[ and harvesting wheat and hay when the explosion stopped them in their tracks. Georges Duchemin _I[IUWVO\PMU¹1_I[PMZLQVO[PMMXQVIÅMTL near my parents’ farm called la Touchareau,” he [IQL¹1\_I[IZW]VL"IU1\PMVPMIZL\PM noise of several airplanes coming from Crotelles IVLÆaQVO\W_IZL:M]OVa)[\PMa_MZMW^MZ\PM *MTIQZNIZU1[I_WVMWN \PMULQ[QV\MOZI\QVO in the air in a violent blast. One engine and one _QVONMTTQVIÅMTLJMTWVOQVO\WUaXIZMV\[IVL SMX\J]ZVQVONWZITWVO\QUM1Y]QKSTaJZW]OP\ the sheep back to the farm and went closer to the crash site.” Children and adults ran to the scene to collect parts of the aircraft. Gérard Brémon, then 16, ZMUMUJMZML"¹;]LLMVTa\PMIQZKZIN\M`XTWLML _PQTMÆaQVOW^MZ\PM*MTIQZNIZU?M_MZM^MZa

ABOVE: NATIONAL ARCHIVES; OPPOSITE PHOTOS: REUGNY-NEUILLE.BLOGSPOT.FR

ON AUGUST 5, 1944, MAJOR LAWRENCE HERRICK SET OUT FOR THE FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE ON ANOTHER MISSION IN HIS LOCKHEED P-38J LIGHTNING.

scared because we thought debris would fall on us. A parachute with no pilot hanging under it came LW_VIVLÆWI\MLVMIZ*W]IZL?M_MV\\W\PM crash site with my brother with a tool box and a bag. The Germans were there so we waited until they left and removed the regulation device from one of the propellers and took it with us.” A younger boy, Jacques Niot, was there too. His parents worked for the French railroad north of :M]OVa*MKI][MWN \PMOZW_QVOLIVOMZ[WN I\\IKS[ on trains by the Allies, they had sent the boy and his grandparents to live with friends on a farm in the area. Niot recovered an ammo belt from one of the machine guns as others collected props and other parts. Jacques proudly took his prize home to show his family. His grandfather was angry and frightened, warning that the Germans were searching homes and if they found the belt the family would be in danger. He said they must bury it. They dug a hole and went to lay the belt in it. “One of the bullets just hopped into my pocket,” Jacques would later tell the Herrick family. A group of adults attended to the downed pilot’s body. Dr. Lucie Dezderlé, who worked in a nearby sanatorium, had seen the plane explode and went to the scene to help. Months later, she would send a note and a lock of hair to Herrick’s young widow in the United States, telling her that her husband LQLVW\[]‫ٺ‬MZIVL\PI\[PMPILUW^MLPQUW]\WN  the sun and cared for his body. The pilot’s remains were placed on a ladder and taken to a farm. The Germans moved in, convinced there was a second pilot on board because of the twin-engine plane’s design. They demanded to know where that second pilot was. The Herrick family would later learn of a threat that put the future of the

“WHEN MAJOR HERRICK HAD COMPLETED A 180-DEGREE TURN…I SAW HIS AIRPLANE EXPLODE.”

pilot’s requiem A propeller from Herrick’s downed Lightning (left), recovered by Reugny townspeople, would serve as the major’s gravestone (above).

whole town in jeopardy. “They told the people of Reugny that if they didn’t cough up the pilot, 20 people would be executed in the morning,” Mary ?QT[WVM`XTIQVML*]\Ja\PMVM`\UWZVQVO\PM Germans conceded there was only one pilot. They lifted the execution threat but gave strict orders on the handling of the pilot’s body. ¹
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reugny reunion (From left) Reugny Mayor Axelle Trehin, Richard Herrick, Mary Wilson and Jacques Niot pose for a photo in 2015. Above right: The plaque honoring Herrick in Reugny. Below: The .50-caliber round that Niot saved.

HERRICK’S SON FINALLY HAD ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS THAT HAD HAUNTED HIM FOR DECADES.

“He had held onto the bullet all of those years,” Richard recalled in amazement. “He said he hoped one day to be able to return it to the family.” Mary sat down with another elderly gentleman _PWPILJ]QT\0MZZQKS¼[KW‫ٻ‬VIVLX]\\PMXQTW\ into it. “He had tears in his eyes,” she said. “They are so appreciative of what the American soldiers did for them. There can be no other place on earth for us like Reugny. My brothers found a father that they never got to know.” 0MZZQKS¼[[WVÅVITTaPILIV[_MZ[\WY]M[\QWV[ that had haunted him for decades. He knew that his father died doing what he loved, that he died a hero, trying to save French lives. “He was a great pilot who did his job to protect our freedom,” Richard said. “He was a great husband, and I think he would have been a great father. But like so many W\PMZ[PMQ[IPMZW_PWUILM\PM]T\QUI\M[IKZQÅKMº In the Letts, Iowa, library—designed by RichIZL¸ILQ[XTIaKI[MQ[ÅTTML_Q\PUMUWZIJQTQI\MTTing the P-38 pilot’s story. A legacy honored in a small town in France now lives on in the small town that Lawrence Herrick called home and where he was laid to rest after the war.  Gary Metivier is an award-winning journalist and author. His children’s book Saluting Grandpa pays tribute to the Honor Flight program. Retired teacher Mary Masonholder Wilson works as a reporter with Iowa’s Columbus Gazette. Further reading: The 370th Fighter Group in World War II in Action Over Europe With the P-38 and P-51, by Jay Jones. For more on the Forced Landing Organization, see forcedlanding.pagesperso-orange.fr/8.htm.

PHOTOS: REUGNY-NEUILLE.BLOGSPOT.FR

The organization, headed by president Jean Pierre, follows up on requests from families for research help. Group members also serve as crash site guides and host American families traveling to France in search of answers. The group put out a call for information, leading to a breakthrough when a teenager in Reugny, Guillamme Metayer, who kept a historical blog about his town, connected with the organization. Another Reugny resident, Daniel Sellier, gathered ÅZ[\PIVLIKKW]V\[NZWUTWKIT[ Researcher Christian Dieppedalle, working with Forced Landing, spent months digging through American archives, reviewing eyewitness accounts and doing extensive research on the squadron and its airplanes and pilots. Dieppedalle put together a comprehensive account of what happened leading up to, during and after the loss of Lawrence Herrick. Things began to move quickly, and the Herrick family was invited for the May 8, 2012, celebration of VE-Day in France. Daniel Sellier would serve as their host. The family was overwhelmed by the way the community honored the fallen pilot, especially considering that, until their visit, they had no idea Herrick had been hailed as a hero and memorialized in the town square. “There is a plaque in the town square,” Richard explained. “We discovered that is where they have a celebration every year. They even teach local schoolchildren about the pilot who gave his life for them.” Generations of French families turned out to meet them, including many who had been there on the day of the crash. Among them was the now old man who as a boy had recovered the ammo belt from the wreckage. “My meeting with the Herrick family was a moment of intense emotion,” said Jacques Niot, “and I must confess that my eyes were getting wet at the very moment I donated the bullet and the model to Richard. I had been waiting for this moment for 70 years! Besides the NIK\\PI\1¼ULMMXTaOZI\MN]T\W\PM[IKZQÅKMWN \PQ[ JZI^MW‫ٻ‬KMZ_PWIKKMX\ML\WTW[MPQ[TQNMNWZ][ and more generally to the American people at that moment, it has been a big part of my youth that struck me with an immense intensity.”

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FLYING WINGS & RADICAL THINGS

Northrop’s Secret Aerospace Projects & Concepts 1939–1994 by Tony Chong, Specialty Press, 2016, $44.95.

prototype “bat bomber” A YB-49 over Edwards AFB.

Rarely does an aerospace book reach the market as extensively researched and as beautifully illustrated as Tony Chong’s chronicle of Northrop Corporation’s secret projects. > > This is a former employee’s labor of love, not a writer’s project. Starting with Jack Northrop’s unusual N-1M allwing proof-of-concept demonstrator, the author covers the company’s designs all the _Ia\PZW]OP\PMÆaQVO_QVO¼[ apotheosis in the form of the B-2 stealth bomber. In seven chapters that stretch from the founding of an independent Northrop in 60

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1939 to its consolidation with Grumman in 1994, the evolution of one of the great American aerospace giants is told through the lens of the innovative designs the company never stopped generating during those 55 extraordinary years. Many are familiar, such as the P-61 Black Widow and the T-38 Talon, but others are little-known concepts that did not get beyond the draw-

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LMKTI[[QÅML+WUXZMPMV[Q^M chapter notes back up the text, and a detailed list of company projects is included. The author, who worked at Northrop for nearly 30 years as a model-maker, does a superb job of putting all the materials together for what Q[TQSMTa\WJM\PMLMÅVQ\Q^M account of the company’s developments as a separate entity. Only someone who spent a lifetime invigorated by the Northrop legend could produce such a monumental record of its accomplishments. Jack Northrop would be proud! Philip Handleman

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A Photo History of the First American Fighter Squadron Ja;\M^MV):]‫ٻ‬V+I[MUI\M Publishers, 2016, $37.95. One of the few World War I air units still renowned a century after its formation, Escadrille 124 was the French ÅOP\MZW]\Å\UILM]XITUW[\ entirely of American volunteers. In December 1916, the squadron acquired its famous nickname: Lafayette Escadrille. “The sheer number of books and articles—this illustrated history included—that have

IXXMIZMLIJW]\\PQ[NIJTML ]VQ\W^MZ\PMXI[\KMV\]Za Q[\Z]TaI[\W]VLQVOº_ZQ\M[ ;\M^MV):]‫ٻ‬V_PWPI[R][\ added to that library. /Q^MV:]‫ٻ‬V¼[aMIZ[ WN XQTW\M`XMZQMVKMIVL UMUJMZ[PQXQV\PM4MIO]M of World War I Aviation Historians, he tells this ZW][QVO[\WZaI[_MTTI[IVa

XZMLMKM[[WZQN aW]LWV¼\ count certain squadron members themselves), with \PMILLMLJMVMÅ\WN ZM[MIZKP \PI\K]\[\PZW]OP\PMUa\P[ _Q\PW]\PIZUQVO\PMVIZZI\Q^M:]‫ٻ‬VIT[WUILM][MWN  )TIV
¹QK\WZ+PIXUIVJW\P IQZUMV_MZMWXMZI\QVOQVLQNferent sectors at the time). All in all, The Lafayette EscadrilleQ[I[]‫ٻ‬KQMV\Ta _WZ\Pa]XLI\M\WMIZVI[XW\ in the WWI aviation enthusiI[\¼[TQJZIZa Jon Guttman

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Robert Gates, the F-22 Raptor and the Betrayal of America’s Air Force by Robert F. Dorr, self-published, 2015, $14.95. Historian Bob Dorr, whose articles and book reviews freY]MV\TaIXXMIZMLQVAviation HistoryPILITIZOMIVLTWaIT NWTTW_QVO)aMIZJMNWZMPQ[ ]V\QUMTaXI[[QVOQV2]VMPM ÅVQ[PML\PQ[XW\MV\KZQ\QY]MWN  _PI\PMXMZKMQ^MLI[\PMMUI[culation of the U.S. Air Force, which he as a veteran revered. 1VXIZ\QK]TIZ\PMKIXXQVOWN  .XZWL]K\QWVI\IUMZM  IQZNZIUM[QV!ITWVO_Q\P \PMÅZQVOWN JW\P\PMKQ^QTQIV

and uniformed heads of the Air Force shortly beforehand, [XIZSMLPQ[QZM ,WZZ[QVOTM[W]\NWZUMZ defense secretary Robert /I\M[NWZITTMOMLTaNI^WZQVO JWW\[WV\PMOZW]VLI\\PM M`XMV[MWN IQZXW_MZ
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FLIGHT TEST

X MARKS THE SPOT 1. Who flew the Bell X-2 to an unprecedented Mach 3.196 on September 27, 1956? A. Jean Ziegler B. Ivan C. Kincheloe C. Milburn G. Apt D. Charles E. Yeager

>

2. What was a feature of the Bell X-22? A. Tiltwings B. Double tiltrotor wings C. Autogyro rotors D. Quadruple ducted fan tiltrotors

MYSTERY SHIP

Can you identify this doubly unique aircraft? See the answer below.

HOLLYWOOD FLYBOYS

Jimmy Stewart during WWII

A. Charlton Heston B. Charles Bronson C. James Stewart D. Denholm Elliott E. Toshiro Mifune F. Gene Autry G. Wayne Morris H. Donald Pleasance I. Clark Gable J. Tyrone Power

1. Handley Page Halifax 2. Boeing B-17G 3. Grumman F6F-5 4. Avro Lancaster 5. Curtiss R5C-1 6. Consolidated B-24H 7. Boeing B-29 8. Tachikawa Ki-36 9. North American B-25J 10. Curtiss C-46

4. Which company was not involved in producing the X-31 enhancedmaneuverability fighter? A. Lockheed B. Messerschmitt C. Bölkow D. Blohm 5. What did the McDonnell-Douglas X-36 have in common with the Horten Ho-229? A. Canards B. Fly-by-wire computer C. No vertical tail surfaces D. Thrust vectoring

ANSWERS: MYSTERY SHIP: Kouns-Craft “Dirigible Helicopter.” Learn more about it at HistoryNet.com/aviation-history. HOLLYWOOD FLYBOYS: A.9, B.7, C.6, D.1, E.8, F.10, G.3, H.4, I.2, J.5, X MARKS THE SPOT: 1.C, 2.D, 3.B, 4.A, 5.C

ABOVE: HISTORYNET ARCHIVE; RIGHT: NATIONAL ARCHIVES

Match the film star with his real-life warplane.

3. What role did the Grumman X-29’s fly-by-wire computer system play in its flights? A. Enhanced its maneuverability B. Compensated for its inherent instability C. Adjusted the fuel/air mixture D. Monitored the pilot’s G responses

november 2016

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aero artifact

DIAL-A-DRONE OPERATOR

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PHOTOS: NATIONAL ARCHIVES

nmanned aircraft systems have been around longer than most people realize, as Robert Guttman explains in the article beginning on P. 48. Radioplane’s RP-4 (military designation OQ-1), shown at left being prepared for launch by Captain G.V. Holloman, was proposed as a cheaper and safer alternative to towed targets for aerial gunnery practice during World War II. These early drones were operated by means of a telephone-style dial control, shown below. The September 1940 issue of Model Airplane News explained, “Banks, climbs, dives and almost every W\PMZÆQOP\UIVM]^MZKIVJMIKKWUXTQ[PMLJaI[MZQM[WN KWV\IK\[NZWU the ground operator, reaching the model through shortwave frequencies.”

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november 2016

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Enter promo code HOLIDAY2016 on the shopping cart screen to receive a 15% discount on your entire purchase.* Visit shopwwii.org or call 504-528-1944 x 244. *Offer valid thru December 31, 2016. Offer not valid on Memberships, gift cards, donations, or items already discounted.

Open Seven Days, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. 945 Magazine Street 4 New Orleans, LA 70130 4 504.528.1944 www.nationalww2museum.org 4 SHOPWWII.org