Aviation History 2017-07

sc-1: u.s. military’s first powered aircraft

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midway massacre of marine vMF-221

SPOOKY HAUNTS THE vIET CONG

when an AC-47 unleashed its miniguns, the enemy ran for cover

no sanctuary: the secret b-52 bombing campaign in cambodia how a british designer helped create the iconic curtiss jn-4

HistoryNet.com

JULY 2017

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stratofortress Boeing B-52s unload on a target near Bien Hoa Air Base in 1966.

features

French pilot Jacqueline Auriol “lived to fly,” overcoming terrible injuries to set five world speed records. By Philip Handleman

14 RESTORED The Vintage Flying Museum’s Special Kay is the world’s only airworthy Douglas B-26K. By Stephan Wilkinson

28 NIXON’S SECRET AIR WAR

36 LOG OF THE LEPER

An Australian journalist in Vietnam witnessed firsthand the devastating firepower of a Douglas AC-47 “Spooky’s” miniguns. By Steve Birdsall

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44 NAILS ON THE TRAIL

When the enemy began traveling primarily at night on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, forward air controllers teamed up with navigators to seek out targets. By Jessica Wambach Brown

50 ‘A SHATTERED COMMAND’

At Midway Atoll 75 years ago, the Marine Corps pilots of VMF-221 rose to challenge the oncoming Japanese—and many paid with their lives. By Richard Camp

58 GENESIS OF THE JENNY

Glenn Curtiss’ most famous airplane, the iconic JN-4 “Jenny,” owes much to British designer Benjamin Douglas Thomas. By Mark C. Wilkins

16 16 EXTREMES The first aircraft accepted by the U.S. military was a dirigible with a top speed of 20 mph. By W.M. Tarrant

18 STYLE Showcasing products of interest to aviation enthusiasts and pilots.

26 LETTER FROM AVIATION HISTORY 66 REVIEWS 71 FLIGHT TEST 72 AERO ARTIFACT

ON THE COVER: A Douglas AC-47 belonging to the American Flight Museum in Topeka, Kan., takes part in the 2013 Gathering of Warbirds and Legends at Forbes Field. The museum’s AC-47 is painted in the markings of Medal of Honor recipient Airman 1st Class John L. Levitow’s “Spooky.” Cover: Tyson Rininger/TVR Photography.

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: PHOTOQUEST/GETTY IMAGES; GAMMA-KEYSTONE VIA GETTY IMAGES; LIBRARY OF CONGRESS; ZANE ADAMS

North Vietnamese forces staging in Cambodia thought they were safe from allied attack, but they underestimated the U.S. president’s resolve. By Robert O. Harder

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A Douglas AC-47 gunship flies a mission over South Vietnam in October 1967.

MICHAEL A. REINSTEIN CHAIRMAN & PUBLISHER DAVID STEINHAFEL ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER ALEX NEILL EDITOR IN CHIEF

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

“Spooky” Gunship Operations in Vietnam The U.S. Air Force’s 1965 decision to adopt a C-47 variant as its first fixed-wing gunship heralded the development of an entire family of even more sophisticated interdiction and ground-support aircraft.

The 11-Day War If not for the bravery and resilience of American B-52 aircrews during the “11-Day War” in December 1972, Operation Linebacker II might have ended in disaster.

Miracle Men of Midway The actions of four American commanders at the Battle of Midway show how courageous leadership and sound decision-making, not just fate and chance, determined the crucial and decisive American victory.

ONLINE BONUS Follow our step-by-step instructions to build this issue’s “Modeling” project, the Douglas AC-47 gunship featured in “Log of The Leper” (P. 36). 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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JULY 2017 / VOL. 27, NO. 6 CARL VON WODTKE EDITOR PARAAG SHUKLA SENIOR EDITOR JON GUTTMAN RESEARCH DIRECTOR CONTRIBUTING EDITORS WALTER J. BOYNE, STEPHAN WILKINSON ARTHUR H. SANFELICI EDITOR EMERITUS

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Aviation History

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HISTORYNET ARCHIVE

eaders may be interested in a case of “the fog of war” regarding the fate of the Blohm & Voss BV-238. Peter Garrison is correct in his article on Richard Vogt in the May issue that the giant flying boat was sunk by Allied fighters in the spring of 1945. However, this was not established until 2009. Until then it was believed that Urban “Ben” Drew and two other P-51 Mustang pilots of the 361st Fighter Group had strafed the BV-238. Drew had been correct in doubting the identity of the “huge airplane” his flight burned and sank. The Eighth Air Force credited them with a BV-222. When a BBC >

> producer told him 30 years later that he had destroyed the largest aircraft built during the war, it naturally became a point of pride, and discrepancies in the tale were easily ignored. In January 2009, retired Royal Air Force Flt. Lt. James A. Schauer published an extremely well researched monograph on the destruction of the BV-238. As a boy, he had seen the prototype BV-238 on Lake Schaal, so he was interested in the fate of the airplane. When he read my biography Ben Drew: The Katzenjammer Ace, and based on flights he had made while in the RAF, he realized Drew could not have strafed a flying boat on Lake Schaal, as it is more than 100 miles from his mission path. What the Mustangs shot up was a Potez-CAMS 161 at the Bug seaplane base on the island of Rugen. The Potez-CAMS 161 [above] was one of three huge French flying boats designed for transatlantic service and taken

over by the Luftwaffe. The BV-238 was at Lake Schaal and largely hidden in a canal. Hawker Typhoons of No. 439 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force, spotted the camouflaged flying boat and strafed it, doing considerable damage. The hulk was scrapped in 1947. Robert R. “Boom” Powell Virginia Beach, Va.

Peter Garrison did his usual superb job of documenting the unusual and creative designs that spring from the fertile minds of obscure visionaries, in this case engineer Richard Vogt. The hallmark of Vogt’s designs, wrote Garrison, was the tubular wing spar that doubled as a fuel tank, “but few other designers have used it since.” In the sidebar on P. 45 he described some of the key disadvantages of the tube spar/wing tank, including stiffness and wing structure issues. As a builder of two aircraft of his own design, Garrison is no doubt familiar with Jim

Bede, known for his ambitious but severely flawed BD-5 kitplane in the 1970s. Bede’s most famous and successful design, the BD-1, incorporated Vogt’s tubular wing spar as a fuel tank. I owned a 1969 model, one of the first produced. Thousands of other sport pilots, many of whom learned to fly in them, bought them until production ended in 1978. Built by American Aviation and later by Grumman as the AA-1 American Yankee Clipper, it was a great performer for a two-place, side-by-side, sliding-canopy sportplane. The original “fast wing” version that I owned, without the leadingedge cuffs installed on subsequent models, could cruise at an honest 135 mph on 108 hp. Richard Vogt would have been so proud! Gary Peppers Cape Coral, Fla.

U-2 PILOT’S FATE In the March issue’s “Mailbag,” Bob Conrad wrote about the loss of his cousin, U-2 pilot Captain Robert Hickman. That letter struck a nerve because I was launched in an F-4 from NAS Key West on July 28, 1966, on a mission to intercept and shoot down Hickman’s U-2. He had taken off from Barksdale AFB on a Cuban recon mission. Overflights of Cuba were forbidden at that time, so the U-2s and other surveillance aircraft flew around the perimeter of the island gathering electronic intelligence. Those flights were under the control of the Joint Aerial Reconnaissance Control Center

(JARCC). My squadron, VF-74, based at NAS Oceana, was tasked to provide five-minute strip alert in support of the recon missions. When Captain Hickman flew over the Gulf of Mexico, heading straight for Cuba without checking in, JARCC intuited that he was most likely unconscious in the cockpit and launched me to intercept the U-2 and shoot it down before it overflew the island. I was able get a radar lock-on but was unable to close to missile firing range before I reached the Cuban coastline. As Bob Conrad reported, Hickman’s U-2 ran out fuel over Bolivia, where it crashed. Hickman’s body was recovered and brought home. Last year I exchanged email with Hickman’s daughter, who was 4 years old when she lost her father. I’ve always been very grateful that I was unable to complete that mission. Cmdr. John Newlin U.S. Navy (ret.) Vista, Calif.

FLEET 50K MYSTERY SHIP I was surprised by the Mystery Ship on P. 63 in the January issue. The Fleet Freighter was made by my employer, Fleet Canada Inc., formerly Fleet Aircraft of Fort Erie. In fact it was assembled where my desk sits today. We are still in business after 80 years, and now make parts for today’s aircraft—the Boeing CH-47 and Viking Twin Otter, to name a couple. James Bowser Fort Erie, Ontario

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briefing

Super Sabre on a Stick Revived

cong killer redux The Museum of Aviation is restoring an F-100D (above) to its appearance during the Vietnam War (inset).

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e forget what an antique the North American F-100 Super Sabre was. Its enormity, clean airframe and severely swept wings and tail, its heat-blued afterburner bigger than a bourbon barrel—all suggest a superjet of the ’70s rather than one designed in 1951. The Museum of Aviation at

Robins AFB near Macon, Ga.—the nation’s secondlargest Air Force museum— has just completed static restoration of an F-100D that was already a dozen years old before it was sent to Vietnam, _PMZMQ\ÆM_[M^MZITP]VLZML combat missions. The “Hun” was well behind the power curve when it went to war in Southeast Asia—too slow to keep up

with the F-105s it was initially tasked to escort, and nowhere near as capable as the F-4 Phantom in the air-superiority JI\\TMQ\_I[LM[QOVML\WÅOP\ But the F-100D soon found Q\[VQKPMI[IÅOP\MZJWUJMZ ÆaQVOKTW[MIQZ[]XXWZ\UQ[sions—some of them directed by “fast FACs,” call sign Misty, in two-seat F-100Fs. Remarkably, the Robins museum’s airframe is being

OPPOSITE: (TOP) MUSEUM OF AVIATION/AARON ROBINSON; (INSET) MUSEUM OF AVIATION; TOP RIGHT: JOHN WILLHOFF; BOTTOM RIGHT: GETTY IMAGES

testing a test plane Jim Dale puts the CAF Dixie Wing’s Bell P-63 through its paces. It will be painted in its original test plane markings.

restored by a tiny team that includes the pilot who ÆM_ WN \PW[M>QM\VIU missions: retired Maj. Gen. Rick Goddard. “She was my titanium mistress,” Goddard [Ia[_Q\PIVWL\W\PMNIK\ \PI\\PM0]V_I[WVMWN  \PMÅZ[\IQZKZIN\\WUISM M`\MV[Q^M][MWN \Q\IVQ]U KWUXWVMV\[°IVLIPQV\WN  how much truly skilled pilots loved this much-maligned IQZXTIVM!XMZKMV\WN \PM !.[J]QT\_MZMTW[\ in accidents, many by lowtime pilots). 1\_I[/WLLIZL_PWNW]VL his airplane sitting on a lonely pole at the entrance to Otis AFB, in Cape Cod, Mass. The cape’s sea air had ravIOML\PM.¼[[\Z]K\]ZM IVLU]KPWN \PMZM[\WZI\QWV has involved cutting out KWZZW[QWVIVLNIJZQKI\QVO replacement parts. (The _QVO[_MZM[WNIZOWVM\PI\ they were replaced by a set NZWUWVMWN \PMU][M]U¼[ hangar queens.) Cong Killer—Goddard’s VIUMNWZPQ[ÅOP\MZ bomber—has been prepped NWZLQ[XTIaQV\PMU][M]U¼[ new Southeast Asia War M`PQJQ\[W_PaJW\PMZÅ`QVO parts the public will never [MM'¹.WZ][\PQ[Q[IaMIZ project,” says museum director Ken Emery. “We don’t want to just cosmetically restore an airplane and put it W]\\PMZMNWZI_PQTM#_M_IV\ XMWXTM_MTTLW_V\PMZWILQN  they wonder how people built []XMZ[WVQKÅOP\MZ[QV\PM ![\WPI^MIVIQZXTIVM\W come and examine.” Stephan Wilkinson

Kingcobra Returns to the Air

F Air Quotes

“IN THE CASE OF PILOTS, IT IS A LITTLE TOUCH OF MADNESS THAT DRIVES US TO GO BEYOND ALL KNOWN BOUNDS.” –JACQUELINE AURIOL

orty years after its last flight, following a 16-year effort involving 1,300 hours of restoration work, the Commemorative Air Force Dixie Wing’s Bell P-63A-6 Kingcobra finally took to the air again at Atlanta Regional Airport on February 18. At the controls was Jim Dale, director of maintenance at the Lewis Air Legends Collection. With 6,000 flying hours under his belt, Dale is the most experienced Kingcobra pilot in the country. “The airplane was just slightly left-wing heavy and the controls are a bit heavy, but nothing that can’t be fixed with ease,” he pronounced after that first flight. With some small adjustments in propeller rpm settings, the airplane was ready for its second flight three hours later, and underwent three more without a hitch the next day. Although the up-powered successor to the P-39 Airacobra saw no combat use by the U.S. Army Air Forces and only belated, limited use by the Soviet air force during World War II, P-63A-6 42-68941 is still a special case. From its delivery on February 24, 1944, it was used as a Bell test plane until January 1945, and then served in that role for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NASA’s predecessor). A color photograph exists of the plane in that capacity, and it is the CAF’s intention to complete its restoration in those markings, as a living, flying tribute to test pilots throughout American aviation history.

Jon Guttman

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briefing great war art Among the art on display at the National Air and Space Museum are works by Harry Everett Townsend (below and inset top) and George Harding Matthews (bottom).

World War I Centennial Exhibitions

total bomb tonnage in two wars

According to the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, the Allies dropped 2.77 million tons of bombs in Europe and 656,400 tons on Japanese targets. The Vietnam War’s totals more than doubled the combined figure.

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7,662,000 TONS

3,426,938 TONS

WORLD WAR II

VIETNAM WAR

MIZTaJITTWWVÆQOP\[WN \PM 18th and 19th centuries. It features 51 prints, paintings and drawings, and nearly three-dozen examples of period memorabilia, including decorative fans, [V]‫ٺ‬JW`M[IVLKPQVI The exhibit will be open through 2018. Paraag Shukla

IMAGES: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

By the Numbers

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tarting in April, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., marked the 100th anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War I with a series of special exhibits and events. The primary exhibit, “Artist Soldiers: Artistic Expression in the First World War,” is a joint venture with the National Museum of American History examining art_WZS¸JaW‫ٻ‬KQIT)ZUa artists as well as frontline soldiers—that realistically LMXQK\ML\PMJI\\TMÅMTL[ of the Great War. The museum will also host a yearlong series of free feature and documentary ÅTU[ZMTI\ML\W?WZTL War I at its D.C. location and Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Additionally, in January the museum opened a new exhibition, “Clouds in a Bag,” commemorating

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briefing

Israelis inspect a downed Egyptian MiG-17.

MILESTONES

Operation Focus

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ifty years ago, on June 5, 1967, the Six-Day War ignited between Israel and Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Aerial operations played a critical role in the conflict, starting with Operation Focus, a series of preemptive Israeli airstrikes that heralded one of the most successful air campaigns in history. The Israelis initially focused on Egyptian targets, destroying more than 250 aircraft, killing nearly a third of its combat pilots, destroying two-dozen missile sites and disabling 18 airfields. Later that day, the Israeli Air Force attacked Syrian bases—destroying more than 50 fighters, bombers and helicopters—as well as targets in western Iraq. Israel’s rapid and effective air campaign destroyed about 450 Arab aircraft, giving the IAF wide control of the skies during the six-day conflict.

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C-17 transports WWI Replicas

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hen the Royal Canadian Air Force decided to commemorate the centennial of its victory at Vimy Ridge amid the Amiens Campaign in April 1917, it brought stateof-the-art air transport into play. Five Nieuport sesquiplane replicas and two replica Sopwith Pups—the latter purchased by Heritage Canada and assembled by volunteers at

the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, British +WT]UJQI¸_MZMÆW_V across the Atlantic, along with 10 pilots, aboard an RCAF C-17 Globemaster. On April 9 they were scheduled to perform a \ZQJ]\MÆQOP\IZW]VL\PM Vimy Ridge Monument, then return to begin a [MZQM[WN ÆQOP\[IKZW[[ Canada, both to mark the Vimy Ridge centennial and the 150th anniversary of Canadian confederation.

ABOVE: ©2017 DND-MDN CANADA; LEFT: MAJOR HOLLY-ANNE BROWN; FAR LEFT: GETTY IMAGES

canadian contribution RCAF personnel prepare to load a Nieuport 16 replica into a C-17’s cargo bay, where it will soon be joined by fellow Nieuports bound for Vimy Ridge (inset).

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aviators new record Jacqueline Auriol exits the Dassault Mystère IVN in which she won her third Harmon Trophy, for a women’s speed record of 715.35 mph on May 31, 1955.

Discovering Purpose in the Sky JACQUELINE AURIOL TRIUMPHED OVER A HORRIFIC FLYING ACCIDENT TO BECOME FRANCE’S FIRST FEMALE TEST PILOT AND SET FIVE WORLD SPEED RECORDS BY PHILIP HANDLEMAN

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mid Western Europe’s post–World War II uncertainty, Jacqueline Auriol danced into what seemed a fairy-tale existence. As the daughter-in-law of the newly elected president of France, the cultured 29-year-old wife and mother of two resided with her family in an apartment at Paris’ Élysée Palace. Often referred to as “the most beautiful woman in France,” Auriol gradually came to the realization \PI\PMZ[]UX\]W][[]ZZW]VLQVO[_MZMUWZMKWVÅVQVO\PIV liberating. Of this time, she later wrote, “I wanted to be valued for myself, not for my position as the President’s daughter-

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in-law, nor for my clothes or my looks.” At a palace luncheon, Jacqueline expressed her yearning to escape the circumscribed world of the Élysée. French ace and war hero Colonel Pierre Pouyade []OOM[\MLÆaQVO On June 6, 1947, Auriol arrived at the Saint-Cyr airÅMTL\WJMOQVPMZÆQOP\\ZIQVing. Aviation soon became a consuming passion. When [PM_I[QV^Q\ML\WÆaI[IXI[senger aboard a small prototype amphibian, she cut short a family vacation to do it. During a photo pass over the glistening Seine, the pilot NIQTML\WLQ‫ٺ‬MZMV\QI\M[Sa from river in the sunny glare. The aircraft slammed into the water, and the sudden deceleration sent Jacqueline NIKMÅZ[\QV\W\PMQV[\Z]UMV\ panel. Although she survived life-threatening injuries, the French beauty had been

NIKQITTaLQ[ÅO]ZML,]ZQVO\PM next two years, she endured 22 reconstructive surgeries. Bandaged like “a mummy” and unable to speak or eat normally, Auriol lapsed into a severe depression. She even contemplated suicide. Amid this torpor, her ÆQOP\QV[\Z]K\WZ:IaUWVL Guillaume, showed up unexpectedly to take her for a country drive. His destination: the Villacoublay IQZÅMTLWVMWN \PM[Q\M[_PMZM Jacqueline’s dream of adventure in the air had taken wing. Auriol’s attention was drawn to a Fairchild monoplane on the tarmac. In the quiet cabin, she held the control stick and looked forlornly across to her friend, tears welling up in her eyes. Through the narrow opening in her bandages, she saw Guillaume’s sweet smile. “Come on, Jacqueline,” he said. “We’re going for a spin.”

OPPOSITE & RIGHT: ULLSTEIN BILD VIA GETTY IMAGES; ABOVE RIGHT: CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES

As the plane came to life, [WLQL)]ZQWTIUXQZMJZMISQVO the women’s speed record set Ja\PMKMTMJZI\ML)UMZQKIV XQTW\2IKY]MTQVM¹2IKSQMº +WKPZIV
the women’s speed title kept bouncing back and forth across the atlantic for more than a decade. IV¹WZLMZWN SVQOP\PWWLº ;]UUQVO]XPMZNMMTQVO[[PM _ZW\M¹1PILI\TI[\NW]VLUa XTIKMQVTQNMº Auriol wasn’t about to rest on her laurels, however, as 2IKSQM+WKPZIVPILIOIQV TIQLLW_V\PM[XMMLOI]V\TM\ with a new record in a North )UMZQKIV. ;IJZMWV5Ia !
IOQVOÆQMZ[
“I live to fly” Auriol suits up during an aerobatic meet in France in 1948, and poses in the Mystère IVN (below), from which she graduated to a Mirage IIIR in 1963.

[PM_ZW\M¹C.ETaQVOQ\[MTN Q[ IT_Ia[IUQZIKTMº1V!  [PMX]JTQ[PMLPMZI]\WJQWOZIXPaIX\Ta\Q\TMLI Live to Fly. 1VIKIZMMZUIZSMLJa UIVaIKKWTILM[.ZIVKM XZM[MV\MLPMZ_Q\PQ\[PQOPM[\ award, the Légion d’Honneur. 1V! [PMKWNW]VLML\PM Academie de l’Air et de l’Espace, IVWZOIVQbI\QWVQVPMZVI\Q^M KW]V\ZaLMLQKI\ML\WIL^IVKQVO\PM[\]LaWN IMZW[XIKM [KQMVKM[;PMLQMLI\IOM  WV.MJZ]IZaQVPMZ Paris home. Jacqueline Auriol had [\Z]OOTML\WÅVLPMZKITTQVO but once she did it became PMZWJ[M[[QWV0MZRW]ZVMa to the apex of aviation was ]VLMZ_ZQ\\MVJaKW]ZIOM _PQKP[PMLMÅVMLI[¹I UI\\MZWN XMZ[WVITLQOVQ\aº 0MZ[\WZaWN \ZQ]UXPW^MZ hardship continues to serve as a source of inspiration for all _PWZMIKPNWZVM_PMQOP\[

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restored

one of a kind The B-26K sits on the taxiway at Meacham Field following an engine runup test.

Special Kay THE VINTAGE FLYING MUSEUM’S B-26K COUNTER INVADER IS A SPECIAL AIRPLANE—THE WORLD’S ONLY AIRWORTHY EXAMPLE BY STEPHAN WILKINSON

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et-happy generals hated them and their stinky 115/145octane gasoline. They despised props and radials, preferring an all-jet U.S. Air Force. But big paddle blades and Pratt & Whitney R-2800s were at the heart of the Douglas B-26K Counter Invader. The K was an exten[Q^MUWLQÅKI\QWVWN \PM?WZTL?IZ11)1V^ILMZ_PQKP had been renamed B-26 in time for its Korean War service. The B-26K/A-26A turned out to be the right airplane in the right place during the Vietnam sideshow known as the “Secret War,” when the United States bombed ostensibly neutral Laos and Cambodia because of their covert support of the North Vietnamese. (The A-26A label was adopted when Thailand decided the U.S. couldn’t base “bombers” on its soil. The solution was to redesignate the bombers as attack aircraft.) Most of this support was in the form of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the jungle-canopied dirt road that brought men and

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materiel from the North to the South through Laos. Like the A-10 Warthog of recent Mideast wars, the double-breasted Douglas turned out to be a good lowand-slow, highly maneuverable bomb truck able to take out vehicles carrying soldiers and cargo. Unfortunately, the Invader wasn’t nearly as well-armored as the Hog, and losses were high. The Counter Invader, the ultimate form of the original Invader, was built in the mid1960s by the California company On Mark Engineering. On Mark had no military experience, but it had been turning surplus A-26s into corporate aircraft. The On Mark K models had tip-to-tip steel wing spar straps on both front and rear spars, top and bottom, that enabled them to carry a healthy four tons of ordnance on under-wing

hard points. Another two tons rode along in the original bomb bay. The straps IT[WÅ`ML\PM1V^ILMZ¼[UIQV failing: famously weak wings that left some pilots unwilling \WÆa\PMIQZXTIVM7V5IZS also installed permanent tip tanks, more-powerful R-2800s, a bigger vertical ÅVIVLZ]LLMZ\WPIVLTM\PM extra power in engine-out situations, and big reversing props plus substantially larger antiskid brakes to permit short-runway operations. On Mark remanufactured just 40 B-26Ks. About 30 went to Southeast Asia— nobody seems sure of the exact number—and several fought in a mid-1960s contretemps in the Congo. The latter were operated by Cuban-exile CIA pilots who PILÆW_V)[L]ZQVO\PM Bay of Pigs debacle. The rest of the Ks became combat

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF LEFTY BRANDON

trainers stationed at Florida and Louisiana USAF bases. 7VTa[Q`3[[]Z^Q^M¸Å^M VWVÆaMZ[QVU][M]U[XT][ WVMIQZ_WZ\PaM`IUXTM\PI\ [PW]TLJMÆaQVOIOIQV\PQ[ []UUMZ.WVLTaSVW_VI[ Special Kay\PQ[IQZXTIVMPI[ ]VLMZOWVMI[Q`aMIZZM[\W ZI\QWVZMXIQZIVLKTMIV]XI\ \PM>QV\IOM.TaQVO5][M]U I\5MIKPIU.QMTLQV.WZ\ ?WZ\PQM\VIU[MZ^QKM IVLQ\[\QTTKIZZQML^QZ\]ITTa ITTQ\[WZQOQVIT![I^QWVQK[ IVLIKKM[[WZQM[XT][[WUM [a[\MU[\PI\LI\MLJIKS\W\PM ![)[\PM^MZaTI[\*3 LMTQ^MZML\W\PM)QZ.WZKM\PM JWUJMZ[XMV\Q\[LIa[I[I \ZIQVMZ1\_I[TI\MZZMUIVLML NZWU\PM,I^Q[5WV\PIV ).*JWVMaIZLQV)ZQbWVI \W\PM[\I\MWN /MWZOQI\W JM\]ZVMLQV\WIÅZMÅOP\QVO \IVSMZ
when the pilot pulled off the power on short final, the airplane decided it was done for the day and pancaked onto the runway.
XWTQ[PMLU][M]UXQMKMJ]\ I]\QTQ\aIQZXTIVM¹
original article Special Kay began life as a trainer and never saw combat. Here it flies out of Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida panhandle.

JMTIJWZQW][TaZMUW^MLIVL [PQXXML\W\PMW^MZPI]TMZ \_QKM¹)N\MZIJW]\UQV ]\M[IVL\PZMMOZW]VLZ]V[ WV\PMVM_MVOQVM\PMZMIZ KW]V\MZJITIVKMJMIZQVO [MQbMLº0WNUIVVZMXWZ\[¹1\ _I[IVM_WTL[\WKSJMIZQVO J]\[WUMWN \PMTMILQVQ\ JZWSMLW_V¸WVMWN \PW[M \PQVO[\PM[PWX[IQL\PMa[MM WVKMM^MZaÅ^MaMIZ[ “We turned anthills into UW]V\IQV[JMKI][M_M [\IZ\MLWXMVQVO\PQVO[]X IVLNW]VL[UITT[\]‫\ٺ‬PI\_I[ QVWXIVLLMKQLML_MKW]TLV¼\ R][\TM\Q\[TQLMº7VMWN \PM ÅVITIK\[JMNWZM\PMZM\]ZV\W ÆQOP\QV^WT^MLQV[\ITTQVOMQOP\ ZMXTQKIKITQJMZO]V[QV\PM VW[M¹)VL\PMV_M¼ZMOWQVO \WPI^M\WNIJZQKI\MIKK]ZI\M JWW\[NWZ\PMJIZZMTWXMVQVO[ QV\PMVW[Mº0WNUIVV[Ia[ ¹?PQKPQ[IVW\PMZIV\PQTT\PI\ _M¼TT\]ZVQV\WIUW]V\IQVº

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extremes TRIAL FLIGHT Thomas Baldwin demonstrates his military airship at Fort Myer, Va., in August 1908.

The U.S. Military’s First Powered Aircraft AMERICA’S EARLIEST MILITARY AVIATORS DIDN’T FLY AIRPLANES; THEY PILOTED AN AIRSHIP WITH A TOP SPEED OF 20 MPH BY W.M. TARRANT

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[SML\WQLMV\QNa\PMÅZ[\XW_MZMLIQZKZIN\IKKMX\ML Ja\PM=;UQTQ\IZaUW[\I^QI\QWVMV\P][QI[\[_W]TL KPWW[M\PM?ZQOP\5QTQ\IZa.TaMZ*]\)UMZQKI¼[ÅZ[\ XW_MZMLUQTQ\IZaIQZKZIN\_I[QVNIK\ILQZQOQJTMLM[QOVML JaI^QI\QWVXQWVMMZ
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_Q\P*ITL_QV¸Q\IKKMX\ML PQ[LQZQOQJTMVMIZTaIN]TTaMIZ JMNWZM\PM?ZQOP\IQZXTIVM *ITL_QVJMOIVPQ[I^QI\QWV KIZMMZI[IJITTWWVQ[\_PW \ZI^MTML\PM_WZTLOQ^QVO M`PQJQ\QWV[0M_I[I[PW_UIVI\ZIQ\LM^MTWXMLIVL ZMQVNWZKMLNZWUPQ[MIZTa LIa[XMZNWZUQVO_Q\PIKQZK][)T_Ia[TWWSQVONWZVM_ NMI\[WN LIZQVO\WQUXZM[[\PM KZW_L[PMJMOIVTMIXQVO NZWU\M\PMZMLJITTWWV[_Q\PI XIZIKP]\MIVL\PMVJMKIUM WVMWN \PMÅZ[\\WR]UXNZWU INZMMÆWI\QVOJITTWWV *ITTWWV[_MZMVW\IXZIK\QKITUMIV[WN \ZI^MTWN  KW]Z[MI[\PMa_MZMI\\PM UMZKaWN IQZK]ZZMV\[
XW_MZMLIVLKIXIJTMWN WVTa IJW]\UXP_PQKPUILM Q\QUXZIK\QKITQVITTJ]\\PM TQOP\M[\PMIL_QVL1V  \PM_WZTL¼[ÅZ[\KTW[MLKW]Z[M ÆQOP\_I[UILMJa\PMLQZQOQJTMLa FranceLZQ^MVJa IJI\\MZaXW_MZMLMTMK\ZQK UW\WZ*]QT\Ja+PIZTM[ :MVIZLIVL)Z\P]Z+3ZMJ[ Q\XZW^ML\PI\KWV\ZWTTMLÆQOP\ _I[XW[[QJTM_Q\P\PM][MWN  ITQOP\_MQOP\UW\WZ\PW]OP Q\[ZIVOM_I[TQUQ\MLJa\PM UW\WZ¼[JI\\MZQM[ *a\PMMVLWN \PM!\P KMV\]Za_Q\P\PMIL^IVKMUMV\WN OI[WTQVMMVOQVM[\PM LQZQOQJTMJMKIUMXZIK\QKIT 1V8IZQ[)TJMZ\W;IV\W[ ,]UWV\LM^MTWXMLILQZQ OQJTMIVLQV/MZUIVa+W]V\ .MZLQVIVL^WVBMXXMTQV JMOIVKWV[\Z]K\QVOIZQOQL NZIUMIQZ[PQX1V ! *ITL_QV[M\\TMLQV+ITQNWZVQI _PMZMPMJMOIV_WZSQVOWV PQ[LQZQOQJTM

OPPOSITE: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS; ABOVE RIGHT: HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY

Baldwin’s creation took on the general characteristics of the airships of his European contemporaries—an elongated gasbag, with engine and crew station suspended below. He tinkered with his airship, but could not get it to perform as he wished until he installed a lightweight motorcycle engine purchased from Glenn Curtiss. The two men would work closely together for several years, with Curtiss supplying engines and often accompanying Baldwin to exhibitions to tune them. Baldwin named his dirigible The California Arrow.
the crowd’s astonishment, The California Arrow drifted across the Mississippi River to Illinois when its engine quit, but Knabenshue and the airship returned safely. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed Baldwin’s dirigible [PMLIVLÅ^MWN PQ[IQZ[PQX[ including The California Arrow, he moved his operation close to the Curtiss shop in Hammondsport, N.Y. On August 1, 1907, Brig. Gen. James Allen established the Aeronautical Division of the Army Signal Corps. The division was to be in charge of all balloons, aircraft and related equipment, though it possessed none at the time. That fall Allen attended the Gordon Bennett International Balloon Race in St. Louis, Mo., where he observed a Baldwin dirigible. Allen saw military potential for a machine that could travel through the air at the pilot’s discretion. Baldwin signed an agreement with the Army in February 1908, and began construction of the airship at Hammondsport. Curtiss, charged with building a suitable motor, was aided by engine expert Charles Kirkham and engineer and LM[QOVMZ)48Å\bVMZ=VTQSM the air-cooled motorcycle engines previously used, this airship would require a more powerful liquid-cooled motor, the only power plant that could deliver the two-hour endurance that the Army [XMKQÅML
the 1906 san francisco earthquake destroyed baldwin’s dirigible shed and five of his airships. By July 1908, Baldwin had delivered his airship for trials. Three lieutenants _MZM\ZIQVML\WÆaQ\".ZIVS Lahm, Benjamin Foulois and Thomas Selfridge. On September 17, Selfridge JMKIUM\PMÅZ[\IQZXTIVM fatality when he was killed in a crash while testing the Wright Military Flyer with Orville Wright. The accident delayed the introduction of the Wright airplane, and the Army did not accept it until August 2, 1909. )[ÆQOP\\ZQIT[XZWOZM[[ML Baldwin and his crew pressed the airship further, and on August 15, 1908, the craft ÆM_NWZUWZM\PIV\_WPW]Z[ at an average 19.6 mph.
HELPING HAND Glenn Curtiss, who supplied the SC-1’s engine, works on it during the Fort Myer trials.

military tournament that fall, then was stored for the winter at Fort Myer, Va. In the spring of 1909, the airship was transferred to the balloon school at Fort Omaha, Neb., where it was used for training. During the 1909 season, the airship appeared at Toledo, Ohio, and Des Moines, Iowa. The SC-1 continued to serve at Fort Omaha through 1911, but by then it was deemed worn out. Sold at auction to the Aksarben Foundation for public display, it was later acquired by Omaha aviation enthusiast Gould Dietz. Its ÅVITNI\MQ[]VSVW_V Baldwin went on to UIVIOM\PM+]Z\Q[[ÆQOP\ school in Newport News, Va. Among his trainees was Billy Mitchell, future commander of all U.S. combat air units in France. During World War I, Baldwin served the Signal Corps as chief of army balloon inspection and production. He joined the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company’s airship design and manufacturing team after the war, and remained there until his death on May 17, 1923. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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©2017 The Photographers of Dronestagram

Pfeiffer Beach, Big Sur, California Latitude: 36.3 Longitude: 121.8 Altitude: 492 ft. Photo: Romeo Durscher

STYLE In this issue we explore the exciting new frontier of drone aerial imagery, the latest in aviator watches, the airport photography of Dennis Stone and more. J U LY 2 0 1 7

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STYLE

Christ the Redeemer Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Latitude: 22.9 Longitude: 43.1 Altitude: 2,952 ft. Photo: Alexandre Salem

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©2017 The Photographers of Dronestagram

Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco Latitude: 37.8 Longitude: 122.4 Altitude: 88½ ft. Photo: GotShots

STYLE

Miami, Florida Latitude: 25.7 Longitude: 80.1 Altitude: 131 ft. Photo: iMaerial.com

ABOVE IT ALL

The brilliant drone photos shown here are from Dronescapes: The New Aerial Photography from Dronestagram, a book that showcases 250 bird’s-eye view images captured by quadcopters around the globe. Created in collaboration with Dronestagram, the drone photography website, and photo editor Ayperi Karabuda Ecer, the book includes commentary for each photo and a separate guide that shares technical advice on how to use a drone and select the right model. Dronescapes: The New Aerial Photography from Dronestagram, 288-page hardcover book, $40, thamesandhudson.com

DRONE ZONE

Go-Pro Karma Drone with Go-Pro Hero5 featuring 4K video, voice control, one-button simplicity, touch display camera. $1,099, shop.gopro.com

The GoPro5 camera nestles securely into the Karma Drone’s camera bay

The DJI Phantom 3 Standard Drone features an intelligent flight system that automatically keeps it in the air and under your control. DJI’s advanced gimbal stabilization technology delivers movie-quality results. The DJI Phantom 3 Standard Drone, $499, store.dji.com J U LY 2 0 1 7

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STYLE POP-ARAZZI Long before the word “paparazzi” permeated the pop culture lexicon, Dennis Stone was snapping celebrities as the official photographer of London’s Heathrow Airport. Since 1952 he’s recorded hundreds of the world’s who’s who as they rushed through Europe’s busiest terminal. Stone was so endeared by those he photographed, they’d often stop to chat with him, and every year he’d receive a Christmas card from one of his favorite subjects, Joan Collins. Last year, at 84, Stone finally hung up his cameras after amassing a priceless treasure trove of images. His son Darren, himself a talented photographer and videographer, is set to collaborate with his dad on an upcoming book. Here, Stone shares some of his timeless photos with Aviation History.

with tone ney S s i t n Den l McCar au P r i S

Sean Connery

Ringo Starr, George Harrison

Sir Richard Branson

Clint Eastwood

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David Bowie

Dame Elizabeth Taylor

©2017 Dennis Stone

Dalai Lama

STYLE

Queen Elizabeth’s corgis

HOW TIME FLIES The Breitling Chronospace Evo Night Mission is chronometer-certified by the COSC (Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute). The easy-to-read 43mm chronograph features a split-seconds function with an additional central hand serving to measure intermediate times, while the fast time-zone adjustment system ensures uninterrupted precision of the minutes and seconds displays. breitling.com

Joan Collins

SMART BAG Rimowa introduces its new smart luggage using new Electronic Tag Display technology. It communicates directly from the app on your smartphone to display the baggage tag right on your case. Exclusively with Lufthansa and EVA Air for now, but United and others are testing the bag. Rimowa Limbo Multi-Wheel case, rimowa.com

Rimowa’s new luggage electronically displays your airline baggage tag here—right from your smartphone.

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Princess Diana

©2017 Dennis Stone

STYLE

PASSPORT, PLEASE In 1897, the C.C. Filson’s Pioneer Alaska Clothing and Blanket Manufacturers opened, specializing in goods to outfit the stampeders to the Klondike Gold Rush. Still going strong, Filson, based in Seattle, Washington, offers a wide variety of clothing, camping gear, sports equipment and travel goods, like this durable carry-on roller, and U.S. passport cover, handcrafted of vegetable-tanned bridle leather sourced from North America. The cover comes in a reusable suede moleskin bag. Filson passport cover, $125, filson.com

Filson medium-size, rolling check-in bag, $725, filson.com

TIMELESS DESIGN Created in memory of R.J. Mitchell, designer of the legendary Supermarine Spitfire fighter, the Torgoen T16 41mm watch is simple and straightforward. Digits and markers can be viewed clearly—even in the dark. Swiss movement measures times between two events with a resolution of 1/10th of a second. The T16 features a solid stainless-steel case with a screw-down back, and a super hardened K1 mineral crystal lens. Torgoen T16 watch, $470, torgoen.com

WATCH THIS In 1953, Glycine started production of their legendary multiple time-zone watch. Their newest is this 46mm stainless-steel timepiece with automatic movement. Glycine Airman Airfighter Automatic, $980, Reserve ‘de Marche, reservemarche.com 24

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rgency

s. U.S. warplanes

Point-Blank Combat

History of Heroism: The Story of the Medal of Honor 3/8/16 9:15 AM

Barry McCaffrey’s 1st Air Cav Days

The Force That Drove LBJ, Nixon Policy PONEY RIDE

BREAKOUT ROLE Candice Bergen stars in 1966 Sand Pebbles

TET

Linda Ronstadt spurs career with ’67 album

Chao

Mar v

Street Fight in Saigon

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The Sou

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Defense of Da Nang

s, Camera, Bravo!

Dien Bien Phu: The French Battle That Led to America’s

Viet Cong threaten U.S. air base

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Marine Recruit’s Long Walk

Doc Really Die?

Why Corky Foster hiked 400 miles

FEBRUARY 2017

Z\ZQM[\WÅVLW]\_PI\ pened to his friend

HistoryNet.com

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11/3/16 3:13 PM

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ourney: Army Truckers in Vietnam

U.S. TROUPES

Ann-Margret, other celebs visit Vietnam

From Ia Drang to 9-11 The Extraordinary Heroism of Rick Rescorla

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Nixon’s plan to scare the

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Before the Huey

The Flying Banana lands

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American GIs bring smil to Vietnamese children

HistoryNet.com

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The Official Guide to Rolling Thunder XXIX

Uphill Battle

The struggles of a counterinsurgency

The Official Guide to Rolling Thunder XXX

Bridge Showdown One Marine against an NVA tank battalion

HOMEFRONT

Jimi Hendrix makes dramatic ‘67 debut 6/29/16 5:35 PM

tography of Philip Jones Griffiths

YESTERDAY

Beatles’ last concert, San Francisco, 1966

Colin Powell

Bad Blo

Trapped at Loc Ninh Black Lions Surrounded and Outgunned Battling Ships

Terror on the River

LETTER FROM AvIATION HISTORY

The Secret Air War

I Fiery assault A Douglas A-1E Skyraider drops white phosphorus explosives on a village harboring Viet Cong fighters.

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n our March issue we gave the “forgotten” Korean War’s air campaign its due; now it’s the Vietnam War’s turn. By design, Vietnamrelated articles don’t often appear in these XIOM[
Nixon decided to ignore Cambodia’s ostensible neutrality and ordered the covert bomber sorties. Elsewhere in the secret air war, American forward air controllers and strike aircraft operated from Thailand’s Nakhon Phanom air base, which the United States denied it was using. In “Nails on the Trail” (P. 44), Jessica Wambach Brown tells the story of the navigators tasked with accompanying FACs in Cessna O-2s from Nakhon Phanom to TWKI\M\IZOM\[L]ZQVOVQOP\ÆQOP\[W^MZ\PM0W+PQ Minh Trail. As in Korea, the Vietnam air war featured a mix of props and jets, with many of the former being repurposed World War II aircraft. Perhaps the most radical example of this was the Douglas AC-47, the minigun-armed variant of the C-47 transport (itself a militarized DC-3 airliner). Australian aviation historian Steve Birdsall, who joined AC-47 crews on a pair of “Spooky” night missions, describes the gunship’s frightening ÅZMXW_MZQV¹4WOWN The Leper” (P. 36). Donald Douglas could never have imagined his classic airliner put to this purpose. And in another example of a Douglas airplane that was theoretically past its prime in Vietnam, the A-26 Invader became the B-26K Counter Invader, the last airworthy example of which was recently restored (story, P. 14). Readers who want to explore the Vietnam air war further should consider picking up a copy of the August Vietnam, which features an article by frequent Aviation History contributor Don Hollway about the Douglas A-1 Skyraider in Vietnam. It will be available on newsstands starting June 6, or you can start a subscription with that issue (see P. 25). 

LARRY BURROWS/THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES

BY CARL VON WODTKE

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NIXON’S SECRET AIR WAR

THE U.S. PRESIDENT AUTHORIZED COVERT CROSS-BORDER B-52 STRIKES TARGETING NORTH VIETNAMESE FORCES STAGING IN CAMBODIAN SANCTUARIES BY ROBERT O. HARDER

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BOMBS AWAY A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress unleashes its massive payload during an Operation Arc Light raid.

\PMÅMZKMÅOP\QVOQV>QM\VIU continued throughout 1968— including the 77-day siege at 5IZQVM.QZM*I[M3PM;IVP \PM¹UQVQJZWILUnfortunately, that goodKI[\MZ?IT\MZ+ZWVSQ\MIN\MZIXMZ[WVIT\ZQX\W>QM\VIUQVTI\M faith gesture had almost the February 1968, publicly joined the growing anti-war chorus. ZM^MZ[MM‫ٺ‬MK\\W\PI\QV\MVLML ?PMV8ZM[QLMV\4aVLWV*2WPV[WVTMIZVMLWN \PMIVKPWZ- Not only was there no progman’s disillusionment, he reportedly said, “If I have lost Walter ress made in Paris, North +ZWVSQ\M1¼^MTW[\UQLLTM)UMZQKIº Vietnam was re-invigorated 6M^MZ\PMTM[[LM[XQ\MITT\PI\_I[OWQVOWVJIKSQV\PM=; UQTQ\IZQTa2WPV[WV¼[KWUXTM\M

ON JANUARY 30, 1968, THE NORTH VIETNAMESE ARMY (NVA) LAUNCHED THE TET OFFENSIVE, BRINGING THE VIETNAM WAR TO FEVER PITCH. BASE OF OPERATIONS B-52s taxi on the ramp at U-Tapao Air Base in Thailand. On March 17, 1968, the author took off from U-Tapao on a secret B-52 mission to strike North Vietnamese sanctuaries in Cambodia.

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bombing halt gave the enemy the opportunity to rebuild their air defenses, receive more Soviet matériel through the Port of 0IQXPWVOIVLLZIUI\QKITTaQVKZMI[M\PMÆW_WN []XXTQM[IVL UMVLW_V\PM0W+PQ5QVP)IVL>QM\ +WVO>+I\WVMWN \PMQZUW[\^]TVMZIJTMXWQV\[VMIZ\PMMVL WN \PM0W+PQ5QVPQM\VIUR][\UQTM[VWZ\P_M[\WN ;IQOWV 7V\PMM^MVQVOWN .MJZ]IZa 1\WWSUaXTIKM_Q\P+ZM_ -QVIRIUXIKSMLJZQMÅVOZWWUI\=QM\VIUIXXIZMV\TaPMILQVONWZ)V 4WK)IVL>+W]\QV\PMWXMV
WAR IN SOUTHEAST ASIA CHINA NORTH VIETNAM HANOI LAOS

PERVIOUS SPREAD & THESE PAGES: U.S. AIR FORCE; MAP: DIT RUTLAND

UDORN AFB

Gulf of Tonkin

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NAKHON PHANOM AFB

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THAILAND UBON AFB

CAMBODIA U-TAPAO AFB

SOUTH VIETNAM FISH HOOK SAIGON

THE WHITE HOUSE HAD DECIDED THERE WOULD BE NO MORE TIPTOEING AROUND WITH CAMBODIAN NEUTRALITY. OM\JW`_PW[MVWZ\P_M[\MZTa MLOM[ _MZM _Q\PQV I [\WVM¼[ \PZW_ WN  \PM +IUJWLQIV JWZLMZ1KTMIZTaZMKITTTWWSQVO back in the dark early mornQVOPW]Z[_PQTM_MTTW]\W^MZ \PM;W]\P+PQVI;MIIVL[MMQVO\PM[SaTQ\]XNZWU\PMÅZM[ [\QTT J]ZVQVO
BIG BAD BUFF A “Big Ugly Fat Fellow” (to use the polite term) departs U-Tapao on a mission in October 1968.

_Q\P +IUJWLQIV VM]\ZITQ\a and the idea that the enemy KW]TLKWVL]K\\PM_IZ_Q\P impunity from safe havens on the other side of the South >QM\VIUM[MJWZLMZ 4I\MQV\PMLIaWV5IZKP  Ua * KZM_ IVL ! others throughout Southeast )[QIZMXWZ\ML\WJZQMÅVO[NWZ a replay of the February 28 ZIQL
DMZ HO CHI MINH TRAIL

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BOEING B-52D STRATOFORTRESS COCKPIT 1. Oil pressure gauges 2. Magnetic standby compass 3. Automatic pilot disengaged light 4. Hydraulic pack pressure low master light 5. Clearance plane indicator 6. Trim control 7. Intercom switch 8. Mach indicator switch

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9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

Flight command indicator Attitude-director indicator Terrain display indicator Vertical velocity indicator Radar altimeter Aileron trim indicator Mach indicator True airspeed indicator Engine fire detector system test switch

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18. Tone scoring interrupt switch 19. Autopilot turn control selector switch 20. Radio magnetic indicator 21. Control column 22. Rudder pedals 23. Stabilizer trim wheels and indicators 24. Engine fire warning lights/

firewall fuel shutoff switches 25. Engine-pressure ratio gauges 26. Tachometers 27. Exhaust gas temperature gauges 28. Fuel flowmeters 29. Heading indicator (gyro) 30. Lateral error meter 31. Time-to-go light

TECH NOTES 5

CREW POSITIONS IN B-52D

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PILOT (PORT) COPILOT (STARBOARD)

ELECTRONIC WARFARE OFFICER (ON CENTERLINE)

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TAIL GUNNER (IN TAIL TURRET)

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ABOVE: LYLE JANSMA, AEROCAPTURE IMAGES; RIGHT PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ROBERT O. HARDER; ILLUSTRATION BY STEVE KARP

RADAR NAVIGATOR (PORT)

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Throttles Landing gear controls Alternator overload lights Airbrake lever Throttle break lever Drag chute lever Stabilizer trim cutout switch 39. Crosswind crab control knob

40. Master fuselage overheat (fire) warning light 41. Gunner’s cabin pressure warning light 42. Altimeter 43. Airspeed indicator 44. Total fuel flow indicator 45. Fuel system controls/ indicators

T

NAVIGATOR (STARBOARD)

he relationship of the two navigator-bombardiers down in the “Black Hole” of the Cold War-era B-52 Stratofortress was similar to that of a pilot and copilot. Each was trained as both a navigator and a bombardier. The junior officer, called the navigator or “nav,” sat in the right seat and served primarily as the navigator but also assisted with bombing. The left seater, the radar navigator or “radar,” was primarily the bombardier and assisted with navigation. As the senior officer, the radar navigator was also the lower compartment commander. Here radar navigator Captain Bobby Long and the author, navigator 1st Lt. Robert O. Harder, man their stations after a November 1968 bombing mission.

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IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL Top: A B-52 refuels from a KC-135 tanker prior to a strike in Vietnam. Above: Harder receives a patch and congratulations after completing his 100th mission.

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mile across the border, the combined NVA/VC nerve center SVW_VI[+7;>609+MV\ZIT7‫ٻ‬KMNWZ;W]\P>QM\VIU¸ 0MILY]IZ\MZ[ \PM KW]V\MZXIZ\ WN  \PM ;IQOWVJI[ML =; 5QTQ\IZa)[[Q[\IVKM+WUUIVL>QM\VIU5)+> 7]Z*]OTM6W\M5;9ZILIZ[Q\M[_W]TLLQZMK\\PM*[QV _Q\PZILQWKITT[IVL\PMVI^QOI\WZJWUJIZLQMZ[_W]TLLZWXWV \PMKWV\ZWTTMZ¼[PMILQVO[IVLKW]V\LW_VVWUI\\MZ_PMZMPM TML\PMJWUJMZ[#\PMZM_MZM\WJMVWY]M[\QWV[I[SML6I^QOI\WZ[ _MZMNWZJQLLMVNZWUKPIZ\QVOIVaXW[Q\QWV\PI\UQOP\[PW_\PM ;\ZI\WNWZ\ZM[[M[WV\PM_ZWVO[QLMWN \PMJWZLMZ*WUJIZLQMZ[ _MZM\WMV[]ZM\PMQZJWUJLIUIOMI[[M[[UMV\XIXMZ_WZSQVLQ KI\ML\PM_MIXWV[PILJMMVLZWXXMLWV\PM>QM\VIUM[M[QLM )T\PW]OP\PM6>)_MZM\PMK]ZZMV\LMNIK\WZ]TMZ[WN \PM.Q[P 0WWSZMOQWVWN W‫ٻ‬KQITTaVM]\ZIT+IUJWLQI\PM[\ZQSMKW]TL [\QTTJMKWV[\Z]MLI[IVQTTMOITIK\WN _IZ8ZQVKM6WZWLWU;QPI VW]S\PMKW]V\Za¼[Z]TMZ_W]TLLMKQLM\WTWWS\PMW\PMZ_Ia¸ PMPILTWVOJMMVXTIaQVOJW\PMVL[IOIQV[\\PMUQLLTM ;]ZXZQ[QVOTaQVUIVaKI[M[\PMPQOPÆaQVOJWUJMZ[_W]TL VM^MZIK\]ITTaPI^M\WXMVM\ZI\M+IUJWLQIVIQZ[XIKM*[ KW]TL¹\PZW_º\PMQZJWUJ[TM\\QVOQVMZ\QIKIZZa\PMWZLVIVKM [M^MZITUQTM[NWZ_IZLIVLIKZW[[\PMJWZLMZ[W\PMIQZXTIVM[ LQLV¼\VMKM[[IZQTaVMML\WKZW[[QV\W+IUJWLQI\WPQ\\IZOM\[WV \PI\[QLM1VWZLMZ\WN]Z\PMZUI[S\PMTWKI\QWVWN \PMIK\]IT \IZOM\[Q\_I[TI\MZZM^MITML\PI\[XMKQIT;)+[\I‫ٺ‬MZ[ÅTTMLW]\ W‫ٻ‬KQITXIXMZ_WZS\PI\¹JIKSMLQVºXZM[MTMK\MLKW^MZ\IZOM\[ IVLIQZKZIN\Å`XW[Q\QWV[
TOP: GETTY IMAGES; BOTTOM: COURTESY OF ROBERT O. HARDER; ABOVE RIGHT: U.S. AIR FORCE; RIGHT: CO RENTMEESTER/GETTY IMAGES

THE ONLY THING ON OUR MINDS WAS THE CHANCE TO DESTROY THE ENEMY'S FARTHEST FORWARD HQ.

,M[XQ\M;)+¼[XZMKI]\QWV[ \PM[MKZMKaTQLJTM_W‫ٺ‬R][\I KW]XTMWN UWV\P[TI\MZ_PMV the New York Times broke the [\WZa*]\8ZQVKM;QPIVW]SLQL VW\TWLOMIXZW\M[\IVL\PM TimesIZ\QKTMZMUIQVMLTIZOMTa ]VLMZ \PM X]JTQK¼[ ZILIZ 6WVM\PMTM[[NWZ\PMVM`\aMIZ _PMV ZMXWZ\MZ[ [][XMK\ML there had been a Cambodian JWUJQVO)UMZQKIVW‫ٻ‬KQIT[ _W]TLZM[XWVLJa[IaQVOQN Q\ LQLPIXXMVQ\_I[¹IKKQLMV\ITº )\\PM\QUM_M*=..KZM_ UMV LQL I[S W]Z[MT^M[ PW_ []KPIUI[[Q^MIQZKIUXIQOV KW]TLXW[[QJTaJMSMX\NZWU \PM X]JTQK J]\ _M PIL VW\ the interest nor inclination \WL_MTTWV\PMUI\\MZ
1970, a full year later, that U.S. and Army of the Republic of Vietnam troops launched a ground invasion to clean out the Fish Hook border area, in what became known as the CamboLQIV1VK]Z[QWV7VTa\PMVLQL=;W‫ٻ‬KQIT[W‫ٻ‬KQITTaIKSVW_Tedge the secret airstrikes of the previous year. Nixon had ordered that highly controversial 1970 ground invasion at about the same time he announced he was withdrawing another 150,000 American troops from South Vietnam. The primary purpose of the Cambodian Incursion had been \WXZW\MK\\PM)UMZQKIVÆIVS_PQTM\PW[M\ZWWX_Q\PLZI_IT[ were underway. Unfortunately, the folks back home weren’t buying in. A nationwide protest ensued over widening the war into Cambodia, culminating in the terrible Kent State, Ohio, shootings on May 4, 1970, when National Guard troops killed four students and wounded nine. The Cambodian airstrikes in February and March of 1969, combined with the costly allied victory at “Hamburger Hill” in the A Shau Valley in May, could be regarded as the high_I\MZUIZSWN )UMZQKIVUQTQ\IZaM‫ٺ‬WZ\[QV>QM\VIU)N\MZ\PI\ with U.S. forces at their peak strength of more than half a million soldiers, it would be all downhill. By the summer of 1969, Vietnam had become political poison in the U.S., and the White House was compelled to announce yet another new war strategy, a policy of “Vietnamization,” which meant that in future only South Vietnamese soldiers would do \PM[MZQW][ÅOP\QVOIVLLaQVO=;)ZUaIVL5IZQVM+WZX[ commanders were told to begin troop withdrawals at once. While this action did calm the home front to some degree, belligerents on both sides understood the real implications—the U.S. intended to play defense for the rest of the war. Ho Chi Minh and his successors would take a page out of General George Washington’s playbook vis-à-vis the latter’s own eightyear struggle with the world’s then-reigning superpower—avoid losing while making your enemy so war-weary he is no longer _QTTQVO\WKWV\QV]M\PMÅOP\ )]\PWZ:WJMZ\70IZLMZÆM_>QM\VIU?IZKWUJI\UQ[[QWV[I[I *,VI^QOI\WZJWUJIZLQMZ.WZN]Z\PMZZMILQVO[MMPQ[JWWSFlying From the Black Hole: The B-52 Navigator-Bombardiers of Vietnam; The 11 Days of ChristmasJa5IZ[PITT5QKPMT#IVL B-52 StratofortressJa:WJMZ\,WZZIVL4QVL[Ia8MIKWKS

DEADLY PAYLOAD Ground crewmen prepare to load a preracked “clip” of 500-pound bombs (top) for special delivery from a Stratofortress (above).

THE B-52D “BIG BELLY” MODIFICATION

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arly in the Vietnam War, the Pentagon and White House made it clear to Strategic Air Command that it would be expected to play a major conventional bombing role. The first combat missions in 1965 with the B-52F model showed that the then-current nuclear configurations in all B-52 models were not capable of supporting this new conventional mission. In particular, the nuclear bomb bays could only carry a maximum internal payload of 27 750pound bombs. As a result, the decision was made to commit the B-52D model to a “Big Belly” bomb bay modification program. The D model was chosen for several reasons. One hundred and seventy were built, more than any other version except the newer and more sophisticated B-52G. The D models had many more hours on their airframes, and

thus were “more expendable.” Also, the D airframes were conducive to the modifications, which involved more than just the bomb bay. In addition to the retrofitting of the bays to accommodate up to 84 internal 500-pound bombs (doubling the punch), the Ds would receive stateof-the-art electronic countermeasures, which became known as the Phase V ECM refit. Ironically, this upgrade actually made the D model the most survivable B-52 Stratofortress in the fleet, conventional or nuclear. SAC discovered this in spades during the Linebacker II campaign in December 1972, when the newer B-52Gs brought over to augment the Southeast Asian force during the “11-Day War” were found to be so vulnerable to Soviet-made SAMs over Hanoi that they had to be withdrawn from the battle. R.O.H.

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LOG OF THE LEPER THE AWESOME FIREPOWER OF AN AC-47’S MINIGUNS WAS ON FULL DISPLAY WHEN AN AUSTRALIAN JOURNALIST BUMMED A RIDE WITH A “SPOOKY” CREW BY STEVE BIRDSALL

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SLOW BUT DEADLY A Douglas AC-47 gunship dubbed The Leper supports North American F-100s bombing Viet Cong positions near Bien Hoa Air Base in January 1967, in an illustration by Jack Fellows.

IN 1967 A BLACKENED, BURNED-OUT WRECK LAY NEAR THE MINEFIELD ON THE PERIMETER AT BIEN HOA AIR BASE IN SOUTH VIETNAM. It was just one of hundreds of American aircraft lost to enemy action, but there was something special about this one. The airplane was a “Spooky,” an AC-47 gunship. It couldn’t seem to hold a coat of paint, so they called it The Leper, but it had logged one of the best in-commission records of any aircraft in the U.S. Seventh Air Force. The Leper had started out as a Douglas C-47 transport, serial no. 43-48356, that left the United States for Britain on August 5, 38

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1944, to serve in another air war long ago. Between battles it had racked up time as a VC-47 with Logistics Command and Air Defense Command. In September 1965, Tactical Air Command sent the transport to Eglin Field in Florida to be modiÅMLI[I[QLMÅZQVOO]V[PQX Eleven months later the old warhorse was at Bien Hoa with Detachment 3 of the 4th Air ComUIVLW;Y]ILZWV
PREVIOUS SPREAD: ©2017 JACK FELLOWS, ASAA; ABOVE: LARRY BURROWS/THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES; TOP RIGHT: RAY QUILLIN; PATCH: GUY ACETO; RIGHT: BIRDSALL COLLECTION

FIRING FOR EFFECT An AC-47 cuts loose on an enemy target with two of its three GE GAU-2/A miniguns.

from the north in I Corps at Da Nang, down through Pleiku and Nha Trang (the 4th’s headquarters) in II Corps, to Bien Hoa near Saigon in 111+WZX[IVLÅVITTaI\*QVP+WZX[QV the Mekong Delta. -IZTaQV!1_I[_WZSQVOQV;W]\P>QM\VIU as a stringer for an Australian magazine, and I _I[SMMV\WÆaQVWVMWN \PMWTLO]V[PQX[5aÅZ[\ WXXWZ\]VQ\aKIUMWV\PMVQOP\WN 2IV]IZaQV The Leper. ;PW_\QUMNWZI;XWWSaUQ[[QWVNZWU*QMV0WI _I[IZW]VL"QV\PMM^MVQVO)N\MZKTIUJMZQVO QV\W\PMZW]VLN][MTIOMWN \PMUQTQ\IZQbML,+ KIUW]NTIOML[IVLaJZW_V_Q\P\_W[PILM[WN  OZMMVIVLLMMXJTIKS]VLMZ[]ZNIKM[1IKY]IQV\ML Ua[MTN _Q\P\PM]VQY]MQV\MZQWZWN \PM)+"\PM WTQ^MOZMMV_ITT[\PMÆIZMJW`M[¸WVMVM`\\W \PMLWWZIVLWVM]XNZWV\¸\PMLQ[KWTWZML_PQ\M ÅJMZOTI[[ÆISK]Z\IQV[IVLLWUQVI\QVOQ\ITT\PM \PZMM/MVMZIT-TMK\ZQK/)=)UQVQO]V[QV \PMQZ;==)O]VXWL[7XMZI\QVOWVIXZQVKQXTM\PI\_MV\JIKSUWZM\PIVIKMV\]Za\W\PMÅZ[\ /I\TQVOO]V[MIKP_MIXWV_I[KIXIJTMWN XW]ZQVOW]\ZW]VL[WN UUIUU]VQ\QWVXMZ UQV]\M\PZW]OP[Q`ZW\I\QVOJIZZMT[ 7VMWN \PMKZM_UMVPMTXMLUMQV\WIXIZIKP]\MPIZVM[[ZMUQVLQVOUM\WUISM\PMKZW\KP [\ZIX[\QOP\IVLM`XTIQVQVO_PaQVVW]VKMZ\IQV \MZU[0MXWQV\MLW]\\PMY]QKSZMTMI[MKTQX[IVL P]VOIKPM[\XIKSKP]\MWV\PMPIZVM[[_Q\PI _IZVQVO\W\]ZVUaPMILI_IaQN 1PIL\WX]TT\PM ,ZQVO1XT]OOML\PMRIKSWN UaPMIL[M\QV\W\PM KTQXWVTMILIVLTQ[\MVML\W\PMXQTW\IVLKWXQTW\ Z]V\PZW]OP\PMXZMTQUQVIZQM[I[_M\I`QMLW]\ NZWU\PMÆQOP\TQVMQV\PM^MZaTI\MIN\MZVWWV[]V 1\_I[PW\IVL[_MI\XW]ZMLLW_V\PM[QLM[WN Ua NIKM?M_MZMIQZJWZVM_PQTMQ\_I[[\QTTTQOP\IVL [PWZ\TaIN\MZ_IZL\PMVI^QOI\WZ5IRWZ?QTTQIU H. Niemeier, showed me where we were going

WARHORSE The Leper was a combat veteran long before it joined the 4th Air Commando Squadron at Bien Hoa (below). Bottom: The author looks out from the cockpit of a 1st Air Commando Douglas A-1 Skyraider in January 1967.

EACH WEAPON WAS CAPABLE OF POURING OUT 6,000 ROUNDS OF 7.62MM AMMUNITION PER MINUTE.

IVLM`XTIQVML_PI\_M_MZMIJW]\\WLW"XI\ZWT IZWILIJW]\UQTM[NZWU*QMV0WIKTW[M\W\PM +IUJWLQIVJWZLMZTWWSQVONWZMVMUaKWV^Wa[ ,]ZQVO\PM[Q`PW]ZÆQOP\_M_W]TLÆaIJW]\I \PW][IVLUQTM[I\IZW]VLSVW\[ )\"\PMZWILIXXMIZMLJMTW_*a\PI\\QUM 1¼LZMUW^MLUaPMIL[M\IVLUW^MLJIKS\W\PM UIQVLWWZVW_OQZLMLJa\_WLQIOWVIT[INM\a straps. The Kool-smoking loadmaster pointed to OZMI\PWTM[QV\PMOZW]VLJMTW_IVLJMKSWVMLUM \WTMIVUaPMIL\W_IZLPQU0M[XWSMKTW[M\WUa MIZ"¹*[º1VWLLMLIVL_MKWV\QV]ML_I\KPQVO \PMÆI\XTMI[IV\KW]V\Za[QLM As darkness edged in the two gunners and a >QM\VIUM[MWJ[MZ^MZ¸_PWPIL\WOM\IXXZW^IT for The Leper\W[\IZ\[PWW\QVO¸NW]VL^IZQW][ _Ia[\WXI[[\PM\QUM<_W[TMX\IVLWVMZMILJa \PMTQOP\WN I[UITTTIUXI\\IKPML\W\PMN][MTIOM WVITWVOÆM`QJTMIZU;XWWSaLZWXXMLÆIZM[ the hours passed. Around midnight I was shaken I_ISMIVL\WTL_M¼LJMTIVLQVOQVIKW]XTMWN  UQV]\M[I\;IQOWV¼[
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MOLTING BIRD The Leper’s perpetually peeling paint and motley camouflage pattern earned the AC-47 its nickname.

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OZIaXI\KPML_QVOMLOM[[KIZZMLJa\PMÆQKSML W‫ٺ‬XPW[XPWZ][WN \PM\ZIKMZ[\ZMIU[_I[PIZL \WZM[Q[\;WIKW]XTMWN _MMS[TI\MZ1IOIQV\WWS \PMUWVW\WVW][UQTQ\IZaJ][ZQLMNZWU;IQOWV\W *QMV0WIIVL_Q\PUWZM\QUM\W[XMVL1^Q[Q\ML [WUMWN \PM;XWWSaXQTW\[WN ,M\IKPUMV\QV\PMQZ Y]IZ\MZ[5IRWZ0IZTMa2MIV[\PMWXMZI\QWV[W‫ٻ‬KMZ\ITSMLIJW]\\PMÆISK]Z\IQV[_PQKP[WUMWN  \PMO]VVMZ[1¼LUM\PILTM[[\PIVJW]VLTM[[NIQ\P QV0MM`XTIQVMLPW_\PMa_MZMM‫ٺ‬MK\Q^MQN \PMa _MZM[TIKSJ]\ZQOQL\PMaKW]TLVW\¹[_ITTW_ºI PQ\2MIV[PILIOZMI\MZKWVKMZV"¹1PI^MV¼\NMT\[INM [QVKM1[I_UaÅZ[\ÆIZMIVL1_WV¼\NMMT[INM]V\QT 1[MMUaTI[\ºPM[IQL
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a [MKWVL ;XWWSa UQ[[QWV JMOIV \PM [IUM _Ia I[ \PM NQZ[\ IVL IOIQV QV The Leper _Q\P +IX\IQV +PIZTM[ ) *WI\_ZQOP\ IVL PQ[ KZM_ 1 ZMKMQ^ML IVW\PMZJZQMÅVOWVMUMZOMVKaXZWKML]ZM[\PQ[ \QUMNZWU\PMTWILUI[\MZ0M_I[JT]V\"¹
PILOT-GUNNER Pilot Captain Chuck Boatwright (pictured at bottom with the door gun) fires The Leper’s guns in sequence.

ABOVE & ABOVE RIGHT: STEVE BIRDSALL; RIGHT RAY QUILLIN

WHEN SPOOKY OPENED UP, THE ENEMY BUTTONED UP.

read Stars and Stripes sitting on a row of ammunition boxes by the number-one gun. Soon it was dark. 1_I[LWbQVOW‫_ٺ‬PMV1NMT\I\IXWVUa[PW]TLMZ1[TQXXMLW‫\ٺ‬PMLQ[KWVVMK\MLMIZXPWVM[\PI\ [MZ^MLIL]ITX]ZXW[MJaJTWKSQVOW]\[WUMWN \PM engine noise. The words “We’ve got a mission” brought me to my feet. The gunners were arming the miniguns, the [XIZ[MTQOP\WN \PMQZTQ\\TMTIUX[KI\KPQVO\PMZQKP KWXXMZaOTQV\WN \PMJ]TTM\[1UW^MLJIKSIOIQV[\ \PMZMIZJ]TSPMILJa\PMUIQVLWWZIVL_I\KPML \PMÆIZM[KI[\I[\ZIVOMTQOP\W^MZ\PMMIZ\PJMTW_ KZMI\QVOLMMXWUQVW][[PILW_[)\QVa[PIXM XI[[MLJMTW_INWZ_IZLIQZKWV\ZWTTMZ.)+QV PQ[+M[[VI7*QZL,WO)VW\PMZO]VVMZIZUML ÆIZM[Ja\PMTQOP\WN I[UITTÆI[PTQOP\)[PMLQL [WPMLZWXXML\PMUQTSa_PQ\MXTI[\QKTQL[QV\WI Y]QKSTaÅTTQVOIUU]VQ\QWVJW`
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ABOVE & LEFT: U.S. AIR FORCE; OPPOSITE: (TOP LEFT) STEVE BIRDSALL, (TOP RIGHT) U.S. AIR FORCE; ILLUSTRATION BY STEVE KARP, RIGHT: CHUCK BOATWRIGHT VIA STEVE BIRDSALL

FLOOD OF FIRE A time-lapse exposure (top) captures gunfire pouring from an AC-47 defending Tan Son Nhut Air Base during the 1968 Tet Offensive. Every fifth round fired was a tracer (above).

;]LLMVTa\PM_PWTMIQZKZIN\TQ\]X
TECH NOTES FIELD MOD AC-47s mounted three General Electric GAU-2 (M134) miniguns that fired 2,000 7.62mm rounds per minute (downrated from 6,000 rpm) from six rotating barrels. The miniguns were mounted in SUU-11/A aircraft gun pods, each of which held 1,500 rounds. Pilots generally fired about five-second bursts.

HOUSING COVER

FRONT ROTOR ASSEMBLY

7.62MM ROUNDS

GUN BARRELS

BARREL CLAMP

COCKING CAM AREA

THE LEPER’S DEMISE The AC-47 burns at Bien Hoa on March 23, 1967, after losing an engine to sniper fire during takeoff.

TWILIGHT ATTACK A “Spooky” opens up with its miniguns during a mission over Vietnam.

When it was over, all 60 flares had been exPI][\MLIVLZW]VL[PILJMMVÅZMLM\\MZOZMVJZWSMIVMTJW_
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FAC PATROL A U.S. Air Force forward air controller pilots a Cessna O-2A Skymaster while searching for enemy targets near Pleiku, South Vietnam, in 1968. Opposite: Captain Errol Loving sits in the cockpit of an O-2A.

NAILS ON THE TRAIL DURING OPERATION STEEL TIGER, NAVIGATORS JOINED FORWARD AIR CONTROL PILOTS ON NIGHT INTERDICTION MISSIONS AGAINST THE HO CHI MINH TRAIL BY JESSICA WAMBACH BROWN

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n the cool midnight sky some 3,500 feet above the jungles of eastern Laos, Captain Errol Loving leaned out the narrow cockpit of a black Cessna O-2 Skymaster, scanning the ground below through a starlight scope for the slightest changes in the green-hued landscape. Night after night, he and his pilot would radio in airstrikes to interdict enemy movements along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. “It was not an M‫ٻ‬KQMV\_IaWN [\WXXQVO[]XXTQM[J]\Q\_I[_PI\ we had,” Loving noted. Creative air reconnaissance was essential to the U.S. strategy for disrupting the North Vietnamese Army’s operations in South Vietnam. But as was the case for most of the navigators and pilots assigned to the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron (TASS) in the spring and summer of 1968, nothing in Loving’s Air Force career had foreshadowed his involvement in this covert mission. For Operation Steel Tiger, the 32-year-old cargo plane navigator was forced to exchange the Lockheed C-141’s slew of technical plotting instruments for a handheld starlight scope and the open passenger window of the 30-foot, twin-engine O-2. J U LY 2 0 1 7

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Isolated on Thai bases that the United States denied it was ][QVO\PMÅZ[\XQTW\VI^QOI\WZ\MIU[ÆaQVO;\MMT
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PREVIOUS PAGES: (LEFT) U.S. AIR FORCE, (RIGHT) COURTESY OF ERROL LOVING; TOP LEFT: U.S. AIR FORCE; BOTTOM LEFT PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ERROL LOVING; RIGHT PHOTOS: COURTESY OF DOUG MYERS

FIND AND FIX An O-2A fires a smoke rocket (top) to mark a North Vietnamese position for strike aircraft, such as the Douglas A-1s dominating the flight line at Nakhon Phanom Air Base in Thailand (above). Loving demonstrates how navigators used a starlight scope to scan for targets at night (above right). Opposite: A FAC pilot taxis on Nakhon Phanom’s steel plank runway.

PIL\ISMV\WUW^QVOITUW[\ M`KT][Q^MTa I\ VQOP\ _PMV Q\_I[VMIZTaQUXW[[QJTMNWZ \PM.)+XQTW\[\W[XW\\PMU )[IZM[]T\;\MMT
XIVMT_Q\PIO]V[QOP\IVLIZUIUMV\KWV\ZWT
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“IN THE STARLIGHT SCOPE I GUESS IT LOOKED LIKE EVERY GUN IN NORTH VIETNAM WAS SHOOTING AT US.”

–1ST LT. DOUG MYERS

.[IVL.RM\[ÆW_VNZWU JI[M[QV;W]\P>QM\VIU?Q\P \PM[\ZQSMZT]ZSQVOIJW^M\PM 7LZWXXMLNTIZM[NZWUQ\[ IZ[MVIT WN\MV ¹?QTTQM 8M\Mº _PQ\MXPW[XPWZ][ZWKSM\[\PI\ XZWL]KMLJQOXT]UM[WN _PQ\M [UWSM WZ _WWLIVLUIOVM[Q]U ¹TWO[º \PI\ J]ZVML [TW_TaWV\PMOZW]VLMUQ\\QVO I[WN\OTW_=[QVO\PMZILQW \PM VI^QOI\WZ LQZMK\ML \PM [\ZQSMIQZKZIN\\WLZWXQ\[WZLVIVKMZMTI\Q^M\W\PMUIZSMZ[ WZIVa^Q[QJTM\MZZIQVNMI\]ZM[ ¹?M¼L[\]LaUIX[JIKSI\\PM JI[MJ]\\PMJQORWJ_I[\WOM\ \WSVW_\PMTIVLUIZS[[WaW] KW]TL\MTT_PMZMaW]_MZMº 4W^QVO[IQL¹1\¼[I\VQOP\Q\¼[ JTIKSIVL\PMPIZLM[\\PQVOQ[ OM\\QVOIZMNMZMVKMXWQV\LW_V \PI\aW]KIV[MMIVL\PI\I NQOP\MZ WZ I [\ZQSM IQZXTIVM KIV[MM[WaW]¼ZMJW\P\ITSQVO

PHOTOS: XXX XXXXXXX

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IJW]\\PM[IUM\PQVOº 5IVa WN  \PM ZL <);; XQTW\[XZMNMZZMLNTaQVOVQOP\ UQ[[QWV[ _PMV \PMa KW]TL MVRWa\PMKWUXIVaWN \PMVI^Q OI\WZ[¹QM\VIU_I[[PWW\QVOI\][º .WZ_IZLIQZKWV\ZWT_I[I NIUW][TaZQ[SaJ][QVM[[IVL NWZ ITT WN  \PM 7¼[ KTM^MZ UWLQN QKI\QWV[ WVM VW\IJTa IJ[MV\ NMI\]ZM _I[ IZUWZ XTI\QVO 1V ;W]\P >QM\VIU \PMXZQUIZa\PZMI\_I[[UITT IZU[ÅZMJ]\QV4IW[\PM.)+[ NIKML \PM 6>)¼[ IZ[MVIT WN  IV\QIQZKZIN\ O]V[ UW^ML [W]\P\WXZW\MK\\PM\ZIQTIN\MZ \PM [][XMV[QWV WN  \PM =; 7XMZI\QWV:WTTQVOQM\VIUQV2IV] IZa !  ¹1N  \PMZM _I[ I UWWVTQ\[SaIVLIKTW]LTIaMZ JM\_MMVaW]IVL\PMUWWVQ\ _I[TQSMPI^QVOIUW^QM[KZMMV JMPQVLaW]IVL\PMa_W]TL I\\IKSº ZMKITTML VI^QOI\WZ +IX\IQV5MT0IV[WV7^MZ \QUM\PM[QbMWN 6>)_MIXWVZaOZM_NZWUUUIVL UU\WM^MV\]ITTaUU _MIXWV[\PI\PILI^MZ\QKIT ZIVOMWN ]X\WNMM\ .QZ[\ 4QM]\MVIV\
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HARD TARGETS This poststrike photo (top) shows the results of a successful raid on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. A North Vietnamese armored vehicle (above) makes a rare daylight run down the trail.

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38_I[PWUM\W[M^MZITMTQ\M=;UQTQ\IZa]VQ\[J]\ NM_SVM_\PMW\PMZ[¼J][QVM[[)KKWZLQVO\W\PMW‫ٻ‬KQITTQVM\PM=;XZM[MVKMQVQM\VIUº

TOP & RIGHT: COURTESY OF ERROL LOVING; BOTTOM: U.S. AIR FORCE; ABOVE RIGHT: ZANE ADAMS

through the air very prettily.” If the tracers did not appear to UW^M\PM7_I[QV\PMTQVMWN ÅZMIVL\PMXQTW\[JMKIUMILMX\ I\RQVSQVOWZKWV[\IV\TaKPIVOQVOLQZMK\QWVI[\PMaÆM_ From March 1968 through the fall of 1969, when the 23rd TASS transitioned to the North American Rockwell OV-10A Bronco for FACs, the squadron lost 13 O-2s. Not one of those losses was on a night mission. “Not that they didn’t try,” Loving said, adding that the attack aircraft did not always share the .)+[¼OWWLNWZ\]VM+IXX[ZMUMUJMZ[KITTQVOQVI[\ZQSMWVM VQOP\IVLKMTMJZI\QVO_Q\PPQ[XQTW\_PMV\PMa[I_IJQOM`XTWsion on the ground. Their radioed congratulations to the attack aircraft’s pilot were never answered, and after several minutes they realized they had seen his plane crashing.

Sheward said. “It seems like a hell of a lot of them made Q\?M¼LPI^MJMMV_IaIPMIL if we’d taken the money we [XMV\WVJWUJ[QV\PI\WXMZI\QWVIVLJW]OP\M^MZa\Z]KS in the world.” To the Nails, the war was never more frustrating than when a plane did not return \WJI[M.Q^MWN \PM[Y]ILZWV¼[ pilots were killed in 1968!!QVKT]LQVO+IX\IQV*WJ :M`_PW[M7_MV\LW_V on March 9, 1969. “They _MZMITTZMITTa\W]OPJ]\*WJ touched the hearts of everyJWLaJMKI][MPM¼LJMMV\PMZM I _PQTMº +IXX[ [IQL ¹0M _I[R][\\PMUW[\TQSIJTMO]a 0M_I[TQSMI;\M^M+IVaWV a typical square-jawed person _PW_I[ZMITTaOWQVO\WM`KMT in life.” Since NKP’s Nails were not allowed to tell their families IJW]\\PMQZUQ[[QWV\PMQZTM\ters home tended to focus on the other activity that consumed their time on the isoTI\MLJI[M[WUMUQTM[NZWU Bangkok. “It was like the Wild West,” said Loving. “It was R][\IJ]VKPWN O]a[_Q\PW]\ adult supervision, and it was I»OW\WPMTT¼I\\Q\]LM?MÆM_ and we partied. That was it.” 1V\PMÅZ[\NM_UWV\P[IN\MZ the navigators’ arrival, the 6IQT[ J]QT\ \PMQZ W_V XIZ\a PWWKPIZW]OPTaJaNWW\ P]\ _Q\P I JIZ _PMZM \PMa KW]TLZMTI`\WOM\PMZ*]QTLQVO supplies were acquired from the engineering unit at NKP. ¹)\W¼KTWKSQV\PMIN\MZVWWV the civil engineers walked out the front gate, shut it, locked Q\ JMPQVL \PMU IVL LZW^M away,” Loving recalled. “At UQV]\M[IN\MZQV\PMIN\MZnoon, we—and people from every other squadron—came QV\PZW]OP\PMJIKSOI\MIVL TWILML ]X _Q\P \PM T]UJMZ and such that we needed.” When the party hooch was complete, the men placed a plaque on the wall dedicating Q\ \W 5IRWZ ,QKS ;_QN\ \PM

BLACK OPS A restored O-2A sports night camouflage. Below: Loving (center-left) celebrates with squadron mates on July 14, 1969, after his final mission.

pilot who served as their construction foreman until his plane went down in November 1968. They also maintained a steady ÆW_WN ITKWPWT\PIVS[QVXIZ\\W\PMLWVI\MLZI\QWVKIZL[WN \_W Mormon members of the squadron. The dress code for the party hooch was informal: standard Air Force–issued boxer shorts and white undershirt to suit the muggy climate. At some point, the men developed a rowdy tradition of ripping each other’s t-shirts. When the base’s brigadier OMVMZIT^Q[Q\MLWVMLIa\W[MMPW_\PMa_MZMTQ^QVOWVMLZ]VSMV soul christened the one-star an honorary Nail by unbuttoning PQ[SPISQ\WXIVLZQXXQVOPQ[\[PQZ\5aMZ[ZMKITTML\PMOMVMZIT saying, “At least there’s still life in these bastards.”
by nature. The retired pilots and navigators who teamed ]XWV;\MMT
“WE’D HAVE BEEN WAY AHEAD IF WE’D TAKEN ALL THE MONEY WE SPENT ON BOMBS IN THAT OPERATION AND BOUGHT EVERY TRUCK IN THE WORLD.”

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‘A SHATTERED COMMAND’ OUTNUMBERED AND OUTGUNNED, THE MARINE PILOTS OF VMF-221 PAID A HEAVY PRICE FOR THEIR HEROIC EFFORTS TO STEM THE JAPANESE ONSLAUGHT ON MIDWAY ATOLL BY RICHARD CAMP

OPENING ROUND Midway’s Sand Island shows the effects of the attack by Japanese carrier planes on June 4, 1942.

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THE BATTLE JOINED Grumman F4F-3 Wildcats from Marine squadron VMF-221 dive at the oncoming Japanese formation, in a dioramic illustration created by Norman Bel Geddes in 1946.

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The island’s air defense radar had detected a swarm of Japanese aircraft—“Many planes, 93 miles, 310 degrees, altitude 11,000 feet”—heading their way, and no pilot wanted to be caught on the ground when they arrived. Second Lieutenant John C. Musselman Jr., the [Y]ILZWVL]\aW‫ٻ‬KMZR]UXMLQV\PMKWUUIVL post pickup truck and raced along the line of aircraft revetments, gesturing wildly. “Get airborne!” he yelled excitedly. Within minutes, the taxiway _I[KZW_LML_Q\P*ZM_[\MZ.)*]‫ٺ‬ITWIVL /Z]UUIV..?QTLKI\ÅOP\MZ[]ZOMV\Ta[KZIUbling to get into the air. 5IRWZ.TWaL*¹:MLº8IZS[\PM[Y]ILZWVKWUUIVLMZ\WWSW‫ٺ‬ÅZ[\_Q\PPQ[Å^MXTIVMLQ^Q[QWV

WN *]‫ٺ‬ITW[0M_I[NWTTW_MLKTW[MTaJa\PZMMW\PMZ F2A-3 divisions (one with a Wildcat attached) and a three-plane division of F4F-3s led by Captain John .+IZMa\_WILLQ\QWVIT?QTLKI\[ITZMILaÆaQVOI XI\ZWTRWQVML+IZMa¼[LQ^Q[QWVIN\MZZMN]MTQVO
ALL PHOTOS: NATIONAL ARCHIVES, EXCEPT WHERE NOTED

AT 0555 HOURS ON JUNE 4,1942, THE HEART-POUNDING WAIL OF MIDWAY ATOLL’S AIR RAID SIREN SENT THE PILOTS OF MARINE FIGHTING SQUADRON 221 (VMF-221) SCRAMBLING TO THEIR AIRCRAFT.

Wildcat’s windshield, scattered cumulous clouds K]\^Q[QJQTQ\aUISQVOQ\LQ‫ٻ‬K]T\\W[MM\PMZMXWZ\ML “many bogies heading Midway.” He was at 14,000 NMM\_Q\PVL4\+TIa\WV5+IVÅMTLMKPMTWVML ZQOP\IVL[TQOP\Ta\W\PMZMIZIVL+IX\IQV5IZQWV -+IZT[M^MZITP]VLZMLaIZL[JMPQVL+IVÅMTL slid behind his leader as Carey “made a wide 270 degree turn, then a 90 degree diving turn.” +IVÅMTL¼[ZILQW[]LLMVTaKIUMITQ^M_Q\P\PMMTMKtrifying “Tally-ho! Hawks at angels 12,” and, after I[TQOP\XI][M¹IKKWUXIVQMLJaÅOP\MZ[º )ZZIaMLQVÅ^M¹>ºNWZUI\QWV[NMM\JMTW_ 36 Nakajima B5N2 “Kate” level bombers and 36 )QKPQ,)¹>ITºLQ^MJWUJMZ[ZWIZML\W_IZL the island. An escort of 36 Mitsubishi A6M2 BMZW[ÆM_W]\WN XW[Q\QWVR][\JMTW_IVLJMPQVL \PMUM`XMK\QVO\WKI\KP\PM)UMZQKIV[KTQUJQVO to attack. The Marines’ altitude advantage gave \PMUINZMMXI[[I\\PMM`XW[ML2IXIVM[MJWUJMZ[ Carey started his run “high side from the right” WV\PMTMILMZWN \PMÅZ[\>0M_IQ\ML]V\QT\PM MVMUaXTIVMÅTTMLPQ[O]V[QOP\IVL\PMVWXMVML ]X_Q\PPQ[NW]ZKITQJMZUIKPQVMO]V[[PZMLLQVO\PM3I\MIVL[M\\QVOQ\WVÅZMJ]\VW\JMNWZM its gunner cracked Carey’s windshield with a slug. 5QTTQ[MKWVL[TI\MZ\PMJWUJMZJTM_]XÅTTQVO\PM air with debris. Carey streaked down through the JWUJMZNWZUI\QWV\PMVbWWUML]XIVL\]ZVML back for another attack. He started to make a high wingover run when his F4F was raked by a burst of ÅZM\PI\\WZM\PZW]OPPQ[ZQOP\SVMMIVLTMN\TMO1V M`KZ]KQI\QVOXIQVIVLWV\PM^MZOMWN TW[QVOKWVsciousness, Carey “dove at about a 40-degree angle IVLPMILMLNWZITIZOMKTW]LIJW]\Å^MUQTM[I_Iaº +IVÅMTLNWTTW_ML+IZMa\PZW]OP\PMMVMUaNWZUI\QWVIVL¹ÅZMLI\\PMV]UJMZ\PZMMXTIVMQV\PM V]UJMZ\PZMM[MK\QWV]V\QTQ\M`XTWLMLIVL_MV\ LW_VQVÆIUM[ºPMZMXWZ\ML1V\PMUQLLTMWN \PM run, the Zero escort dived on the three Americans, KIVVWV[IVLUIKPQVMO]V[JTIbQVO+IVÅMTL[IQL his Wildcat was “hit on the right elevator, left wing

THE RADIO SUDDENLY CAME ALIVE WITH THE ELECTRIFYING “TALLY-HO! HAWKS AT ANGELS 12.”

LUCK OF THE DRAW Wildcat pilot Marion E. Carl (left) scored his first of 18½ victories over Midway. Pilots of VMF-221’s Brewster F2A-3 Buffalos (shown above on Oahu) were generally less fortunate.

IVLÆIXIVLR][\IPMILWN \PM\IQT_PMMTJaIUU cannon shell. There was also a .30-caliber hole through the tail wheel and one that entered the PWWLWV\PMZQOP\[QLMIJW]\[Q`QVKPM[]XXI[[QVO R][\W^MZ\PMTMN\Z]LLMZXMLITIVLLIUIOQVO\PM landing gear.” +IVÅMTL_Q[MTaLMKQLML\WNWTTW_+IZMa\W[INM\a ¹1_MV\IZW]VL\PMKTW]LQV\PMWXXW[Q\MLQZMK\QWVIVLRWQVML]X_Q\PPQUIOIQVºPM[IQL
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PARADISE LOST Albatross chicks—the offspring of Midway’s famous “Gooney Birds”—survey the confusing scene on Sand Island as oil tanks burn after the Japanese attack. Opposite: Despite being wounded in his legs, Captain John F. Carey managed to return his shot-up Wildcat to Midway.

“drop astern and to the inside of the circle made NZWUWVMWN \PMÅOP\MZ[1OI^MPQUITWVOJ]Z[\ ]V\QTPMNMTTW‫ٺ‬WVWVM_QVO°W]\WN KWV\ZWTCIVLE PMILMLITUW[\[\ZIQOP\LW_V_Q\P[UWSM[\ZMIUQVONZWU\PMXTIVMº ¹1TWWSMLIZW]VLIVLKIV¼\ÅVLINZQMVLTaIQZXTIVMIVaXTIKMº+IZTKWV\QV]ML¹°IVL\PMVM`\ \PQVO1SVW_1¼^MOW\IBMZWWVUa\IQT°\PI\¼[ [PWW\QVOI_Iaº0MPMILMLNWZIKTW]L¹KPWXXML \PMXW_MZIVL\PZM_\PMXTIVMQV\WI[SQL?PMV 1KIUMW]\WN \PMW\PMZ[QLM\PMBMZWPILW^MZZ]V UM1X]TTML\PM\ZQOOMZWVUaO]V[¸IVLOW\VW\PQVO º0Q[O]V[PILRIUUMLJ]\M^QLMV\Ta+IZT¼[ UIVM]^MZ¹[KIZMLC\PM2IXIVM[MXQTW\E[WJILTa \PI\PMOI^M]X\PMÅOP\º ,M[XQ\MJMQVO[PW\]X+IZT_I[IJTM\WTQUXJIKS \W[INM\a0M_MV\WV\WJMKWUM\PM5IZQVM+WZX[¼ [M^MV\PZIVSQVOÅOP\MZIKM_Q\P û^QK\WZQM[

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“RED” PARKS’ PARACHUTE OPENED, BUT AS HE DANGLED FROM THE SHROUD LINES, A ZERO PILOT STRAFED HIM.

LQ[\IVKMNZWU\PMÅMTLNWZIXMZQWLCWN \QUME_PMV WZLMZ[\WTIVL_MZMOQ^MV\WITTÅOP\QVOXTIVM[º ;MKWVL 4QM]\MVIV\[ ?QTTQIU > *ZWWS[ IVL ?QTTQIU*;IVLW^ITUILMIXI[[LW_V\PMZQOP\ [QLMWN \PMMVMUaNWZUI\QWV¹7VMWN ][OW\I XTIVMNZWU\PMZQOP\[QLMWN \PM>MMº*ZWWS[ [IQL?PMVPMX]TTMLW]\WN \PMLQ^M\_WÅOP\MZ[ I\\IKSMLPQU¹1KW]TLVW\W]\LQ^M\PM[MXTIVM[ CPQ[TIVLQVOOMIZPILXIZ\QITTaTWKSMLQV\PMLW_V XW[Q\QWVEJ]\1UIVIOML\WLWLOM\PMUIVLÅZMI J]Z[\WZ[WQV\W\PMUI[\PMa[_MX\XI[\º)\\PQ[ XWQV\*ZWWS[_I[KTW[MMVW]OP\W5QL_IaNWZ IV\QIQZKZIN\ÅZM\WLZQ^M\PM2IXIVM[MW‫ٺ‬ *ZWWS[[\IaMLQV\PMÅOP\¹1[I_\_WXTIVM[ LWOÅOP\QVO°IVLLMKQLML\WOWPMTXºPM[IQL ¹5aXTIVM_I[_WZSQVO^MZaXWWZTaIVLUaKTQUJ _I[[TW_)[1VMIZML\PMÅOP\JW\PXTIVM[\]ZVML WVUM º*ZWWS[JMTQM^MLPMPILJMMV\ZQKSML¸ \PI\\PM2IXIVM[M_MZM[\IOQVOI[PIUJI\\TM\W I\\ZIK\PQU¹1\]ZVMLIVLUILMINI[\ZM\ZMI\KWT TMK\QVOIOWWLTaV]UJMZWN J]TTM\[WV\PM_Iaº ?Q\PPQ[IQZKZIN\[PW\]XPMLMKQLML\WTIVL¹)[ 1KQZKTML\PMQ[TIVL1[I_\_W2IX[WVI*ZM_[\MZº PMKWV\QV]ML¹IT[3]Vb_W]TLJMKWUM\PMWVTa)UMZQKIVIKM \WPI^M[KWZMLIVa^QK\WZQM[QV\PM*]‫ٺ‬ITW ¹1_I[R][\XZMXIZQVONWZIVW\PMZZ]VWV\PM JWUJMZ[_PMV1[I_I2IXIVM[MÅOP\MZITZMILa WVUa\IQTºZMKITTMLVL4\,IZZMTT,1Z_QV ÆaQVOQV\PM\_WXTIVMNW]Z\PLQ^Q[QWV¹1QUUM LQI\MTaLW^MNZWUNMM\°I\\IQVQVOI\TMI[\ SVW\[X]TTQVOW]\IJW]\NMM\º0M_I[ ]VIJTM\W[PISMPQ[X]Z[]MZ_PW[PW\I_IaUW[\ WN PQ[TMN\IQTMZWV1Z_QVLZWXXML\WNMM\W‫ٺ‬ \PM_I\MZIVLPMILMLNWZ-I[\MZV1[TIVL)VW\PMZ J U LY 2 0 1 7

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GRIM AFTERMATH Top: Firefighting crews work in the stricken seaplane hangar on Sand Island. Above: Midway personnel stand silently at attention before the flag-draped bodies of their comrades who died during the battle.

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Navy Cross, the majority posthumously. “Most of the surviving pilots were stunned by their experience,” Carl wrote. “…[T]he comUIVLQVOW‫ٻ‬KMZIVLM`MK]\Q^MW‫ٻ‬KMZJW\P_MZM missing; nobody seemed to know if any of the others might have bailed out....VMF-221 was a shattered command.” VMF-221 pilots claimed eight Vals and three Zeros shot down, plus four aircraft damaged. 0W_M^MZ_Q\P\PMJMVMÅ\WN PQVL[QOP\I]\PWZ Barrett Tillman stated in Wildcat: The F4F in WWII, “At best, it appears that Parks’ squadron knocked down one Zero and two bombers.” On the Japanese side, Vice Adm. Chuichi Nagumo reported the loss of three B5Ns and two A6Ms in IMZQITKWUJI\IVLNW]ZXTIVM[\WIV\QIQZKZIN\ÅZM Lieutenant Colonel Ira E. Kimes, Marine Air /ZW]X¼[KWUUIVLQVOW‫ٻ‬KMZ[\I\MLQVIZMXWZ\ \W\PMKWUUIVLMZQVKPQMN8IKQÅK.TMM\\PI\¹
OPPOSITE BOTTOM: BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES

VMF-221 AT THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY FIRST DIVISION (Six Brewster F2A-3s) PILOT STATUS Major Floyd B. Parks* KIA 2nd Lt. Eugene P. Madole KIA Captain John R. Alvord KIA 2nd Lt. John M. Butler KIA 2nd Lt. David W. Pinkerton Jr. KIA 2nd Lt. Charles S. Hughes (returned to base with engine trouble)

THIRD DIVISION (Six F2A-3s, One Grumman F4F-3) PILOT STATUS Captain Kirk Armistead* Survived 2nd Lt. William B. Sandoval KIA Captain William C. Humberd Survived 2nd Lt. William V. Brooks WIA 2nd Lt. Charles M. Kunz WIA 2nd Lt. Martin E. Mahannah KIA 2nd Lt. Walter W. Swansberger (F4F-3) KIA

SECOND DIVISION (Six F2A-3s) PILOT Captain Daniel J. Hennessy* 2nd Lt. Ellwood Q. Lindsay Captain Herbert T. Merrill 2nd Lt. Thomas W. Benson Captain Philip R. White 2nd Lt. John D. Lucas

FOURTH DIVISION (2 F2A-3s) PILOT Captain Robert E. Curtin* 2nd Lt. Darrell D. Irwin

STATUS KIA Survived

FIFTH DIVISION (5 F4F-3s) PILOT Captain John F. Carey* Captain Marion E. Carl 2nd Lt. Clayton M. Canfield Captain Francis P. McCarthy 2nd Lt. Roy A. Corry Jr.

STATUS WIA Survived Survived KIA Survived

STATUS KIA KIA WIA KIA Survived KIA

SURVIVORS VMF-221 pilots pose at Ewa Mooring Mast Field, Hawaii, on July 12, 1942. Seated, from left: 2nd Lt. William V. Brooks, 2nd Lt. John C. Musselman Jr., Captain Philip R. White, Captain William C. Humberd, Captain Kirk Armistead, Captain Herbert T. Merrill, Captain Marion E. Carl and 2nd Lt. Clayton M. Canfield; standing, from left: unidentified, and 2nd Lts. Darrell D. Irwin, Hyde Phillips, Roy A. Corry Jr. and Charles M. Kunz.

*Division leader

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GENESIS OF THE JENNY ALTHOUGH GENERALLY ATTRIBUTED TO AVIATION PIONEER GLENN CURTISS, THE ICONIC JN-4 OWES MUCH TO AN OBSCURE BRITISH DESIGNER BY MARK C. WILKINS

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STILL FLYING Ken Cassens pilots the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome’s Curtiss JN-4H “Jenny” near Rhinebeck, N.Y.

AMERICAN ORIGINALS A quartet of JN-4Hs practice formation bombing near Ellington Field in Texas. Glenn Curtiss (above right) built a pair of mediocre two-seater tractor biplanes, the Models G and H, before he and British designer Benjamin D. Thomas hit upon a winning formula with the J and N.

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PREVIOUS SPREAD: PHILIP MAKANNA/©GHOSTS; ABOVE LEFT: ALAMY; ABOVE: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS; OPPOSITE PHOTOS: GLENN H. CURTISS MUSEUM

FOR EDDIE RICKENBACKER, CHARLES LINDBERGH, AMELIA EARHART AND COUNTLESS LESS FAMOUS AMERICAN PILOTS SWEPT UP IN THE RISE OF AVIATION, THE CURTISS JN-4 “JENNY” HELD A SPECIAL PLACE IN THEIR CAREERS, IF NOT THEIR HEARTS.

The Jenny sprang from an American desire to catch up to the aviation boom that had occurred in Europe prior to WWI. Curtiss sought to create an economical airplane that would be competitive on the world market. In 1913 PMLM^MTWXMLPQ[ÅZ[\\ZIK\WZ biplane, the Model G. It featured a side-by-side cockpit in a fully enclosed fuselage, ailerons between the wings hinged to the interplane struts and an empennage more characteristic of European aircraft manufacturers, most After World War I, a surplus Jenny could be had for about $500, notably Sopwith. ITTW_QVOUIVa_PWLZMIUMLWN ÆaQVO\WX]ZKPI[M\PMQZW_V U.S. Army Signal Corps airplane. In an age unfettered by aviation regulations and agen- Brig. Gen. James Allen had cies, they were free to roam America’s skies at will, barnstorm- corresponded with Curtiss in ing and giving rides to eager bystanders to earn a modest living. November 1912, indicating Most people associate the Jenny with aviation pioneer Glenn the need for a tractor biplane H. Curtiss, but the biplane owes much of its pedigree to British \PI\UM\)ZUa[XMKQÅKI\QWV[ designer Benjamin Douglas Thomas. The two seemed an odd Curtiss told Allen that he was couple. Curtiss had a mercurial temper at times, but was taciturn working on such a plane, and at others. A compulsive tinkerer, he would scrawl drawings of ÅVITTa[PQXXML\PM/\W;IV his ideas on the walls of his shop in Hammondsport, N.Y. His Diego, where it was tested and record of achievement was as extensive as the ongoing litigation accepted by the Army in June he faced from the Wright brothers due to alleged patent infringe- 1913. With an 80-hp engine, UMV\
CURTISS N

also relatively easy to disassemble and ship, but it was only nominally successful.
THE JENNY SPRANG FROM AN AMERICAN DESIRE TO CATCH UP TO THE AVIATION BOOM THAT HAD OCCURRED IN EUROPE PRIOR TO WORLD WAR I. IQZKZIN\[XMKQÅKI\QWV[UIQV\Mnance and supply. Foulois and the aviators at the Signal Corps Aviation School developed ^MZa[XMKQÅKO]QLMTQVM[NWZI standard squadron airplane: ¹I \_W[MI\ \ZIK\WZ JQXTIVM with a dual control system, a UQVQU]U[XMMLWN UXP IVLIÆaQVOL]ZI\QWVWN NW]Z hours at top speed. The design had to be streamlined and include frictionless controls, a positive driven fuel pump, and a tachometer…the engine had to be easily replaced. Finally, four mechanics had to be able to assemble an airplane in two hours and disassemble and pack it away in one-and-ahalf hours.”

JN FORERUNNERS The Model J (below) shows Thomas’ influence in its tandem seating, trailing-edge ailerons and forward-raked struts. The N (above) reverted to Curtiss’ interplane ailerons.

Tractor biplanes were on the rise in Europe because of repeated fatal training accidents with pushers in which the pilot was sandwiched between the engine and the ground in a crash. By .MJZ]IZa!\PM)ZUaPIL W‫ٻ‬KQITTaKWVLMUVMLX][PMZ type aircraft. Two months later, the Curtiss J was ready for testing. With war clouds looming, the timing could not have been better—war meant military contracts. A visual overview of the +]Z\Q[[2ZM^MIT[\PMQVÆ]MVKM of Thomas’ hand, including tandem seating and ailerons attached to the top wing trailing edge. The landing skid, designed to prevent noseovers, is found on Avro and Sopwith aircraft. Soon after Thomas arrived at Ham mondsport, he worked with Curtiss to develop the Model 6)[WV\PM2Q\[QV\MZXTIVM and cabane struts were raked slightly forward—a common feature of Sopwith aircraft— though Curtiss evidently insisted that is also include his outmoded interplane ailerons.

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CURTISS JN-4A

EVOLVING DESIGN The JN-2 used shoulder-yoke harnesses for aileron control. A JN-3 readies for takeoff near Casas Grandes, Mexico, during the punitive expedition against Pancho Villa. The JN-4A was the first production version of the “Jenny.” The JN-4H mounted a 150-hp Hispano-Suiza engine that improved performance. Opposite: Pilots prepare two JN-4Hs on May 15, 1918, for the first U.S. airmail flight.

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CURTISS JN-3 CURTISS JN-4H

Thomas claimed the N was a reworked iteration of the J, with the same fuselage. Only one was delivered to the Signal Corps in December 1914 out of an order of eight, and it too performed marginally. It had a 100-hp OXX engine, with the wings set at 0 degrees incidence to attain the required speed. In one of the UWZMQUXWZ\IV\LM[QOVUWLQÅKI\QWV[\_WWN \PM^MZ\QKIT[\Z]\[ that formed the box girder fuselage were extended to become the cabane struts that secured the upper wing to the fuselage. The JN series (1-4) was a hybridization of the J and the N, combining the best aspects of each and eventually earning the airplane its iconic Jenny nickname. Apparently this marriage of the two models soured Thomas’ working relationship with +]Z\Q[[ÅVITTaKWUXMTTQVOPQU\WZM[QOV0MM^QLMV\TaNMT\\PI\ Curtiss was taking too much credit for the JN, which Thomas considered largely his design. Curtiss’ method of communicating ideas by scrawling drawings on the walls was also too much for him, and the American’s temper didn’t help matters. *a\PQ[\QUMPW_M^MZ+]Z\Q[[¼OIUJTMPILITZMILaXIQLW‫ٺ‬ 7‫ٻ‬KQIT[NZWUNWZMQOVOW^MZVUMV\[LM[KMVLMLWV0IUUWVL[ port seeking military contracts, and the town was transformed almost overnight into a paramilitary community, with augmented security around the Curtiss factory. The response from Britain was so great that Curtiss opened a second factory in *]‫ٺ‬ITW6A\WPIVLTM\PMLMUIVLThe Wall Street Journal ZMXWZ\ML\PI\QV\PMÅ[KITaMIZMVLQVO7K\WJMZ!\PM Curtiss Aeroplane Company produced more than $6 million in aircraft and engines, mainly for Britain. In December of the [IUMaMIZ+]Z\Q[[TIVLMLI UQTTQWVKWV\ZIK\NZWU\PM*ZQ\ ish government. Only a handful of JN-1s were built, and Curtiss moved swiftly to the JN-2, which featured two wings of equal span and the old

shoulder-yoke method of aileron control (for both wings) found on his early pushers. The JN-2 was somewhat unstable due to an inadequate power-to-weight ratio and an overly sensitive rudder. That problem was remedied in the 26_PW[M[PWZ\MZ[XIVJW\tom wing and ailerons on the upper wing only were most likely inspired by the French. The yoke was replaced with a wheel, and the rudder was actuated by a foot-operated bar. -QOP\26[MY]QXXML\PM 1st Aero Squadron when Captain Foulois led it into Mexico in March 1916 as part of Brig. Gen. John J. Pershing’s punitive expedition against Pancho Villa. In KWV\ZI[\\W\PMIOQTMÅOP\MZ[ then in combat over Europe, \PM26¼[ZWTM_I[XZQUIZQTa observation and communica\QWV0W_M^MZ\PM[Y]ILZWV did conduct some experiments in bombardment and the use of machine guns. The 26[_MZM[\QTT]VLMZXW_MZML

TOP LEFT & BOTTOM PHOTOS: GLENN H. CURTISS MUSEUM; TOP RIGHT & RIGHT: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS; ILLUSTRATION BY STEVE KARP

CURTISS JN-2

and unable to climb over Mexico’s Sierra Madres. Due to various mishaps and frustrations over aircraft, logistics and other problems, Foulois left the 1st Aero in September 1916. By December, Curtiss had introduced the JN-4 and a +IVILQIVJ]QT\^MZ[QWVSVW_VI[\PM¹+IV]KSº\WÅTTWZLMZ[ from the U.S. Army and the Royal Flying Corps in Canada, ZM[XMK\Q^MTa
TECH NOTES CURTISS JN-4D “JENNY”

SPECIFICATIONS

ENGINE 90-hp Curtiss OX-5 water-cooled V8 driving a twobladed laminate wooden propeller 8 feet in diameter

WINGSPAN 43 feet 7¾ inches

MAX SPEED 75 mph

WING AREA 352 square feet

CRUISE SPEED 60-65 mph

LENGTH 27 feet 4 inches

LANDING SPEED 45 mph

HEIGHT 9 feet 10½ inches

CEILING 6,500 feet

WEIGHT 1,390 lbs (empty) 1,920 lbs (loaded)

ENDURANCE 2 hours

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WING-WALKER The Jenny’s many struts and wires made it well-suited to barnstorming shows during the 1920s.

\PMaKZI[PML°J]\_PMVIKILM\TMIZVML\WÆaWVM°PM_I[R][\ IJW]\KIXIJTMWN ÆaQVOIVa\PQVOWV_QVO[_Q\PIZMI[WVIJTM LMOZMMWN [INM\aº

“…WHEN A CADET LEARNED TO FLY [A JN-4] HE WAS JUST ABOUT CAPABLE OF FLYING ANYTHING ON WINGS....”

F

ewer than 50 Jennies survive in museums, flying collections and private hands around North America, and of those only about a dozen are airworthy. One of the best JN-4 static displays can be found at the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum (right) in Hammondsport, N.Y. The National Air and Space Museum’s Jenny, on display at its Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles Airport, was acquired from the U.S. Army Air Service in 1918. The Owls Head Transportation Museum in Maine has a fully restored and flying JN-4D. Asked about its characteristics, museum

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pilot Richard “Rick” Hornbeck said they always oil the rocker arms of the OX-5 engine before flying, because they don’t want to see any of them stop—especially in flight! He also mentioned that the airplane performed poorly before they overhauled and tuned its OX-5. When the engine achieved its target of 90 hp, however, it performed well and the Jenny flew like a different airplane. Hornbeck commented that everything with a Jenny happens in slow motion, and that you can’t climb too fast or too steeply. Brian Karli, a Jenny restorer and founding member of the Candler Aviation Mu-

seum in Peachtree, Ga., flies a JN-4D with a “Hisso” engine. He stated that the Jenny is a “draggy airplane and will slow down very easily, has a nice feel on pitch and the ailerons create adverse yaw—it has an overbanking tendency.” Karli pointed out that “you have to think way ahead with this airplane,” and that “the difference between climbing and level flight is about an inch!” He

also said that a Jenny is easy to fly but difficult to fly well, and that it makes you learn energy management. Regarding aerobatics, “It loops easily, any rolling is very slow—so you start high and finish low.” His favorite quote about the Jenny: “Release a bird between the wings—if it escapes you’re missing one of your flying wires!” M.C.W.

TOP: ALAMY; BOTTOM: GLENN H. CURTISS MUSEUM

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reviews

INDESTRUCTIBLE

One Man’s Rescue Mission That Changed the Course of WWII by John R. Bruning, Hachette Books, 2016, $28. Lieutenant Colonel Paul I. Gunn, known in the South_M[\8IKQÅK
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_PMV3MVVMa¼[[Y]ILZWV[ LM[\ZWaMLI^Q\IT2IXIVM[M ZMQVNWZKMUMV\KWV^WaJW]VL NWZ6M_/]QVMI /]VV¼[QVÆ]MVKM_I[[]KP \PI\LM[XQ\MITIKSWN NWZUITML]KI\QWVPM_I[[MV\ PWUMQV!\WI[[Q[\6WZ\P )UMZQKIVQVXZWL]KQVO X]ZXW[MJ]QT\TW_TM^MT *[QVKT]LQVO\PMUU KIVVWV·IZUML0UWLMT /]VV_I[VW\PQVOQN VW\ UW\Q^I\ML¸PMTQ^MLI[QN  \PMW]\KWUMWN \PM_IZ LMXMVLMLWVPQUITWVM IVLPMXZWL]KMLZM[]T\[

;WUM\QUM[PM]VTQUJMZML WVMWN PQ[\ZILMUIZS I]\WUI\QK[\WXMZ[]ILM IZMT]K\IV\[MV\ZaWZ XIXMZ[P]‫ټ‬MZ\W¹LW\PM ZQOP\\PQVOº/]VV¼[M\MZVIT_IZ_Q\P\PMLM[XQ[ML J]ZMI]KZIKaXZWJIJTa_W]TL PI^MNIQTMLJ]\NWZ/MWZOM 3MVVMa¼[[]XXWZ\ )NM_OTQ\KPM[IXXMIZ QV\PM\M`\.WZQV[\IVKM 2IXIVLQLVW\PI^MIUIZQVM KWZX[¸Q\LMXTWaML[XMKQITTa \ZIQVMLVI^ITQVNIV\Za)VL _PQTM\PM:WaIT)][\ZITQIV )QZ.WZKMQ[ZMNMZMVKMLVW UMV\QWVQ[UILMWN *ZQ[\WT *MI]ÅOP\MZ[*]\TQ\\TMUI\\MZ
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reviews THE CRASH DETECTIVES Investigating the World’s Most Mysterious Air Disasters by Christine Negroni, Penguin Books, 2016, $17.

Christine Negroni’s book is a refreshing take on airplane accidents, mostly involving jetliners, through the unsolved case of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in 2014. Negroni, who is neither a pilot nor engineer, brings the dual perspectives of an inquisitive journalist and experienced air safety investigator. She homes in on recurring themes behind her book’s various catastrophes: communications fail]ZMLMÅKQMV\XMZ[WVUIKPQVMQV\MZNIKM ÆI_MLLM[QOVIVLP]UIVMZZWZ This approach manifests itself in the

book’s unconventional organization QV\WÅ^M[MK\QWV["5a[\MZa+WV[XQZIKa Fallibility, Humanity and Resiliency. Most of the fatal accidents reviewed by the author were the result of a string of missteps, one compounding the other, rather than a single mistake. The chilling stories of aircraft plummeting to earth with doomed passengers will horrify most readers, and it’s helpful to take a breather between chapters to remember that air travel is still by most measures the safest form of transportation. Thankfully, the book is leavened with INM_M`IUXTM[WN ÆQOP\KZM_[[I^QVOWZ partially salvaging commercial transports headed for oblivion. The book’s capsule summaries of UW[\Ta\ZIOQKÆQOP\[QTT]UQVI\M\PMNIK\WZ[ that hamper air safety. In the end, readers are made to think of air disasters and their causes in new ways. Implementing solutions to the problems revealed in these extensively studied mishaps may reduce future aviation calamities, but as long as humans are in the loop, totally failsafe ÆaQVO_QTTZMUIQVMT][Q^M Philip Handleman

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FLYING MAN

Hugo Junkers and the Dream of Aviation by Richard Byers, Texas A&M University Press, 2016, $39.95. For obvious reasons, Professor Hugo Junkers has been sadly neglected in the annals of the 20th century’s greatest aviation innovators. The Junkers name was closely associated with Nazi Germany, and [XMKQÅKITTa with such conspicuous instruments of Nazi aggression as the Ju-88 medium bomber and the notorious Ju-87 Stuka dive bomber. However, both of those infamous aircraft were actually developed after the National Socialist government took control of Junkers’ aircraft company—and the man himself was dead. In fact, Junkers was a socialist and a XIKQÅ[\_PWLQLVW\[aUXI\PQbM with the ruthless new Nazi regime, which nationalized his company and seized his patents. Junkers’ contribution to aviation cannot be overemphasized. Although 50 years old when he ÅZ[\OW\QV^WT^MLQVQ\2]VSMZ[_I[ among the most innovative aircraft designers of his time. In 1915 he J]QT\IVLÆM_\PM2\PM_WZTL¼[ ÅZ[\ITTUM\ITIQZXTIVM_PQKP combined that revolutionary construction method with equally revolutionary cantilever monoplane wings. After World War I, Junkers continued to combine all-metal cantilever monoplane construction with innovative engines of his own design to produce rugged and dependable aircraft that were among the very best of their time. Those interested in the history WN I^QI\QWV\MKPVWTWOa_QTTÅVL this new book invaluable. Richard Byers’ new biography amply fulÅTT[\PMZMY]QZMUMV\NWZINZM[P appraisal of this long-neglected aviation pioneer. Robert Guttman

FLIGHT TEST

JENNY’S SISTERS 1. Which engine replaced the Curtiss V-2-3 engine on later models of the Curtiss Model R? A. Aeromarine L-6-D B. Liberty L-12 C. Curtiss OXX-6 D. Wright-Hispano E 2. Into what did the Sperry Gyroscope Company convert several Curtiss N-9s in 1917?

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A. Pilotless “aerial torpedoes” B. Pilotless target drones C. Pilotless photoreconnaissance drones D. Remote-control bombers

MYSTERY SHIP

Can you identify this turbofan testbed? See the answer below.

SPECIAL FORCES A. Fairchild AC-119K Stinger B. McDonnell F-105F Wild Weasel C. Cessna L-19 Bird Dog D. Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star E. de Havilland Canada C-7A Caribou F. Grumman OV-1 Mohawk G. Shenyang F-6 H. Douglas EB-66 I. Ryan Model 147 Lightning Bug J. Lockheed SR-71

1. Battlefield observation and strike aircraft 2. Short takeoff and landing utility transport 3. Electronic countermeasures plane 4. Cannon-armed gunship 5. Reconnaissance drone 6. Radar surveillance aircraft 7. High-speed photoreconnaissance plane 8. Forward air controller 9. Point defense interceptor 10. Anti-radar and missile strike aircraft

A. Aerodynamically unsound B. Twin engine C. A triplane D. Underpowered 4. Why was the Curtiss Model L trainer called the “Sociable Triplane”? A. Side-by-side seating B. Three seats C. Tandem seats D. Closely spaced wings 5. Although rejected as a two-seat floatplane fighter by the U.S. Navy, three landplane versions of the Curtiss HA were used by whom? A. Royal Navy B. U.S. Army Air Service C. U.S. Marine Corps D. U.S. Post Office

ANSWERS: MYSTERY SHIP: Nord Aviation 500 Cadet. Learn more about it at HistoryNet.com/aviation-history SPECIAL FORCES: A.4, B.10, C.8, D.6, E.2, F.1, G.9, H.3, I.5, J.7 JENNY’S SISTERS: 1.B, 2.A, 3.C, 4.A, 5.D

HISTORYNET ARCHIVE

Match the Vietnam warplane with its specialized purpose.

3. In August 1918, a Curtiss 18-T carried a full military load at a record 163 mph in spite of its being what?

J U LY 2 0 1 7

AH

71

aero artifact

Old-school navigation

A

Vietnam-era navigator’s primary aids were drift meter, mapping radar, LORAN, Doppler, Astrotracker, Inertial Guidance and sextant. Backing all that up was dead reckoning (DR), a centuries-old navigation technique ÅZ[\][MLJaUIZQVMZ[
COURTESY OF ROBERT O. HARDER

navigator’s tools From top: the MB-4 “computer,” plotter, dividers and case that constituted a B-52 navigator’s dead-reckoning kit.

72

AH

J U LY 2 0 1 7

Announcing a stunning new limited edition book and print portfolio

COUP DE GRÂCE by ANTHONY SAUNDERS

Flt Lt. David Maltby powers his Lancaster AJ-J away as his ‘bouncing bomb’ detonates against the wall of the Möhne dam during the legendary Dambusters Raid. The edition is signed by Dambuster veterans.

THE

DAMBUSTERS AND THE EPIC WARTIME RAIDS OF 617 SQUADRON

COMMEMORATIVE COLLECTION

THE MILITARY GALLERY

On the night of 16 / 17 May 1943, Lancasters of 617 Sqn attacked the great dams of Germany in one of the most daring air raids in history. This new book, lavishly illustrated with work by some of the world’s leading aviation and military artists, relives the Dambusters Raid and the wartime exploits of 617 Sqn.

Standard Book $35 Limited Edition book & print $150