Some Turkeys, Splitter Art, It's About Time, A Few More F-4s, Some P-Boats, and Some Thoughts About Aftermarket

Does Anybody Remember the Colby Books?

We sure do! They were a staple diet for every airplane-loving little boy in the United States back in the 50s, and we spent hours in the Sheppard AFB Elementary School library drooling over all those late-40s/early-50s bombers and fighters when we should have been studying. You could almost say they were a rite of passage way back then.

One of the stars of that series, at least to us, was the Grumman TBM Avenger in all its post-War iterations. None of us realized back then that it was old and tired by the time its picture showed up in those Colby books; how could any airplane named Avenger ever be out of date? It was every bit of that, though; a thoroughbred who's time had come and gone. The fascination of those post-War TBMs has lasted to this day, which in turn prompted an e-mail to Jim Sullivan, who's shared these images with us today. Colby fans, get ready for a treat!

Some combat aircraft continued to soldier on after the war ended in August of 1945, and these "Turkeys" were among them. They're from the Tarawa's VA-2A, and still carry their ball turrets and guns. When we look at this photo we wonder where the pilots had come from, and what campaigns they were in; they obviously know how to fly the airplane.  J. Sullivan Collection

BuNo 91433 was built as a TBM-3E, and still armed when photographed at El Centro in 1946. Her GSB paint has faded to an overall matt finish and from the looks of things she's ready to retire. There wasn't a whole lot of purpose in sending shop-worn Avengers to the NARF for rework or overhaul back then; there were just too many of them around.  J. Sullivan Collection

This TBM-3E was caught running up at NAS Squantum in 1947 and, like 91433 above, she's well on her way to being all used up. There's a badge under the windscreen, but we can't quite make it out, and we've been through all our assets and are stumped by that Zulu Alpha tail code. If you know the unit please drop us a line at replicainscale@yahoo.com .  J. Sullivan Collection

By late 1947 the TBM was a staple aircraft in the Reserves. 91107 was a TBM-3E out of NAS Norfolk when this photo was taken; she's in pretty good shape, all things considered.  J. Sullivan Collection

Here's a side view of 91107. She's carrying an orange Reserve stripe on the aft fuselage and, as noted above, is in good condition. We can't see the aft end of her transparencies but are willing to bet there's still a turret back there, although we aren't so certain there's a gun in it.  J. Sullivan Collection

New York's Reserve component flew the "Turkey" too, as shown in this 1948-vintage photo. This TBM-3S has its Reserve stripe located further aft than in the Norfolk bird just above, and the underwing radar pod is now painted in GSB rather than white. 91398's main landing gear wheels appear to be white, although the lighting in this shot is a bit off and they may just as well be in silver paint.  J. Sullivan Collection

1949 found this TBM-3R serving aboard the USS Boxer. The airplane has seen better days, and the looks on the faces of the pilot and V-2-Division sailor say they'd both rather be someplace else. We don't blame 'em!  J. Sullivan Collection

The TBM-3U was utilized extensively as a target tug, as demonstrated here by 85968. She was with VU-7 and was photographed in flight near San Diego in 1949---that crewman in the aft cockpit seems to be enjoying himself...  J. Sullivan Collection

Things had gotten a little more colorful by the time this VU-1 bird posed for its picture in our 1950-vintage photo. Those yellow wings really spiffed up the airplane and gave the appearance, if not the reality, of a safer mission while towing targets. It worked most of the time.  J. Sullivan Collection

This TBM-3E from VS-25 was assigned to the anti-submarine mission in 1953. If we wanted to be clever we'd say something along the lines of "they got a little bit too involved with their work". Instead, we'll just say that the crew got out ok.  J. Sulllivan Collection

This is how it's supposed to look. A section of VS-25 Avengers fly over their task group in our final shot of the day. You could never call the Avenger a beautiful airplane, but she had that Grumman Iron Works look to her. All us Colby Kids can be proud!  J. Sullivan Collection

Big Bird, Batman, and Jolly Roger

Sometimes nose art isn't actually on the nose of the aircraft. Take these Voodoos, for example. The 111th FIS/147th FG was flying F-101Bs out of Ellington in the early '80s, and they had some of the most colorful F-101s ever assigned to ADC even without nose art (and, it must be said, very few of their aircraft wore any form of personal decoration whatsoever). With "nose" art they were something really special.

"Big Bird". 57-0427 was arguably the most famous of the 111th's cartoon ships, primarily because she was photographed more often than the others. All of the 111th's Voodoos were immaculately-kept and "Big Bird" was no exception to that rule. Sharp-eyed modelers will note the Insignia Red interiors to the gear doors, a normal feature of the F-101 series. This photo was taken on the transient ramp at Ellington on 23 December, 1980.  Friddell

"Batman". 57-0252 had just finished a flight demo when we shot this photo in May of 1980. The Voodoo was a big airplane in every respect, and quite a performer to boot---a clean F-101 could outrun just about anything. "Batman" is in the "normal" configuration for a late F-101B, and typifies the breed. It was a neat airplane.  Friddell

And "Jolly Roger". She's just recovered and is taxiing in towards her slot on the ramp after a practice sortie. The drogue chute housing cap is still deployed although the parachute itself was dropped when 57-0270 turned off the active onto the taxiway on 23 December, 1982. Kindof makes you want to go pull out one of the old Revell or Monogram kits and have some fun, doesn't it?  Friddell

The boys from the 111th had it in their heads that they were a Sierra Hotel sort of an outfit, and we're inclined to agree with them---they could fly that big brute of an interceptor! 57-0252 and 57-0308 are shown here just as they break ground for an airshow crowd in May of 1980. It was loud, ya'll...   Friddell

As long as you're up there you'd may as well have a little fun! 57-0370 ended up as part of a 4-ship, and they took turns seeing how close they could get to the taxiway without ending up in the arms of Grave Misfortune. They did this over and over again, ending each pass with a max-performance climb in full burner. It was somewhat impressive.  Friddell

If you go up, you have to come down sooner or later, and they even had fun doing that. We were able to shoot this particular airshow from the 111th's squadron area, which meant that we got to talk to the pilots who were on the ramp watching their squadron mates fly, which also meant we got a running commentary of what was going on in the cockpit from some folks who actually knew a thing or two about the Voodoo. It rarely gets better than that.  Friddell

That's it for our Voodoo feature for today, but stay tuned. Shortly after these photos were taken some visiting Canadians took their CF-101Bs up for a little demo of their own, which caused amazement of the jaw-dropping kind among all of our newly-found Voodoo Driver friends. We'll look in on that particular party another time.

What Does It Take To Get Something Published Around Here?

Some places would regard that as a rhetorical question at best, but at our offices it passes for Fundamental Truth. The sad fact of the matter is that we receive quite a few submissions and sometimes they have to wait in line depending on publishing schedule and, to some extent, the whim of the editor on that particular day. We do eventually get around to everything, you understand; it just takes a while sometimes. Take, for example, our next feature.

Several months ago (it might have even been last year, but sometimes it's best not to count such things) we asked Jim Sullivan if he had any photography on the North American FJ-1 that he'd like to share. He did, of course, and he promptly scanned and sent it along to us. We, being as disorganized as we sometimes are, promptly filed it for use, where it's been until today. We will serve no Fury before its time!

120346 was assigned to the Navy's AT-3 when this photo was taken at Pax River in 1948. The FJ-1 was a dumpy little airplane but could still out-perform most of its piston-engined competition in certain flight regimes. If you study her shape closely (including her plan form which, unfortunately, we don't show anywhere in today's essay) you can see design elements from both the P-51 and the F-86. As a fighter, the FJ-1 honestly wasn't much of an airplane, but it sired a series of aircraft (FJ-2, FJ-3, FJ-4, F-86, and F-100) that became legendary. Not a bad legacy, huh?  J. Sullivan Collection

By November of 1948 the FJ-1 was in squadron service. 120357 was serving with VF-5A when Peter Bowers photographed her, and this gorgeous photograph illustrates a wealth of detail useful to the scale modeler. Note that the nose gear strut is two-toned; GSB and natural metal, and that the gun ports are covered over with duct tape. You'd never get away with that now, at least not outside of a combat zone, but PC hadn't been discovered in the 40s.  J. Sullivan Collection

Sometimes they just don't go where they're supposed to...  120369 was involved in this off-roading excursion on 15 June, 1949, while undergoing service testing. The airplane was barely damaged and was returned to flight status shortly after the photo was taken. Sharp-eyed readers will note that those are civilian policemen at the scene; You just never know how the day's going to go when you leave for work in the morning!  J. Sullivan Collection 

Finally, here's another photo of a VF-5A Fury to end our essay. Peter Bowers caught her on the ramp at Miramar in 1949, providing us with a portrait that, once again, provides a wealth of detail for prospective modelers. While there are a couple of kits of this type bird, it's an airplane that hangs out in Short Run Land for sure---some modeling skills will be required.  J. Sullivan Collection

A Smattering of Echo Bugsuckers

When we ran those Navy F-4 shots a couple of issues back we received an overwhelming response from folks asking for more Phantoms and, while we've never been accused of being overly-bright, we are smart enough to know A Good Thing when we see one. Today it's the Air Force again, with a collection of entirely unrelated F-4E shots for your enjoyment.

We don't know about the rest of you but when we think of the F-4E this is the image that comes to mind. The place is Korat and the year is 1971; 67-0287 was with the 388th TFW when this photo was taken by RH Morgan, who just happens to be the father of Rick and Mark Morgan, aerospace writers and photographers extraordinaire. You might say it's in their blood!  RH Morgan

The F-4 was still in its SEA warpaint in 1980, when Marty Isham snapped 69-0291 on the ramp in Alaska. She was assigned to the 18th TFS at the time and proudly wears their Polar Bear on the rudder. This is one good looking Phantom, ya'll.  Isham

Taxiing in: An F-4E from the 69th TFS/347th TFW comes home to roost at Moody AFB in Georgia. The SEA-camo'd Air Force still had a few years to go in those colors, but the writing was on the wall, and the world was about to turn into shades of grey for the Air Force. That was all still a few years in the future when this photo was taken, however, and the upper surface SEA colors on this bird wrap around the entire airframe. Oh, and check out that collection of stores too. That's one interesting Phantom!  Friddell Collection

By the late 80s grey SEA-camouflaged USAF F-4s were becoming a fairly rare commodity. 67-0370 was with St Louis' 110th TFS in August of 1987 and is taxiing in after a sortie. Normal practice is to release the drogue chute once the aircraft has turned off the active runway, although it's not entirely unknown for an airplane to taxi all the way in with one. Oh yeah, and it seems the Morgan family has a thing for sharkmouths. We're glad they do!  R. Morgan

There are some who will tell you that the F-4 was severely limited by whatever-it-is they think they know about the airplane. The guys who flew them and flew against them, either in peacetime excercises or in combat, usually have a different opinion. The Phantom was a hot rod, particularly when her engines were de-restricted to allow use of full military power, and that made the type a natural in terms of providing high-performance target aircraft. 68-0449 was with the 82nd ATS at Tyndall in when John Kerr photographed her in the 90s. It was somehow ironic; the F-4 started her Air Force career in shades of grey (as the grey-over-white F-110A), and she finished up that way as a drone. Funny how the circle is a wheel...  Kerr

Some Folks Called Her Dumbo

She was born with the name Catalina, but her admittedly goof appearance and low performance quickly gave rise to the nickname "Dumbo" once she entered combat. It's true that she was big, somewhat underpowered, and totally without glamor, but by the time the shooting was over she'd performed almost every role imaginable including that of bomber and torpedo bomber, and had done at least moderately well each and every time she was given a new task. Here's a look at her during the war, courtesy of Bobby Rocker.

The PBY was in the Pacific before the attack on Pearl Harbor, but this Catalina isn't at Pearl; this  photograph was taken at Sand Island at Midway during 1942. Considering the lack of damage to the island's facilities we'd guess that this photograph either predates or substantially post-dates the attack. We're guessing she's from VP-23, and those are depth bombs hanging under her wings. Rocker Collection

From one extreme to the other! This PBY-5A is being recovered at Woman's Bay, Kodiak, Alaska. The members of the beaching crew are wearing waterproof cold-weather gear, but that's ice floating around that aircraft. It's easy to forget the war in the northwest Pacific, unless you were there...  Rocker Collection

Espirito Santo was far enough removed from the fighting to allow for the construction of decent facilities early in the conflict, as is demonstrated by this well-developed PBY base. Those airplanes would have been sitting ducks in an air attack, but the war was relatively far away.  Rocker Collection

One thing you can do with a really versatile airplane is use it to resupply coastwatchers, which is what's going on in this image. VP-11 provided the well-worn Catalina, while local natives are assisting in off-loading the aircraft. You seldom consider this sort of thing when you think about the war in the Pacific, but it was a job that had to be done and no aircraft in the theater was better-equipped to do it than the PBY.  Rocker Collection

The crew of this "Dumbo" are practicing the recovery of a downed airman for the camera. The stilled engines, lack of Mae Wests and somewhat esoteric uniforms, plus the dead engines and bow mooring lines hanging off the bow prove this is just an excercise, but the real thing wasn't all that far removed from the activity shown here except, of course, that nobody's shooting at the airplane.  Rocker Collection

The P-Boats did yeoman's work throughout the war performing a wide variety of missions. Here a PBY from an unknown unit flies alongside the USS Sangamon somewhere near the Solomons. She could have been flying an antisubmarine patrol, or leaving on a special mission, or maybe carrying the mail. With the Catalina you never knew...  Rocker Collection

Just by looking you'd never know that this was anything other than a casual day in the lagoon. There's no way to know, just by looking, that this P-Boat from VP-52 is in the process of sinking, but that's exactly what she's doing. She's in Mios Woendi Lagoon near Wewak, and we have no idea what misfortune may have caused her loss but, as an interesting sidebar to history, she's still there in that lagoon sitting on the bottom, and is a popular diver's attraction today.  Rocker Collection

The down side of flying an amphibian is that you can have a landing accident on either land or sea; versatility sometimes gives you the opportunity to have a Bad Day in multiple places. The airplane is from the 1st FAW and was apparently in or near the Aleutians when she slid off the runway. Those depth bombs must have made it a somewhat sporty event for all concerned!  Rocker Collection

NAS P-Cola has been training Naval Aviators forever, it seems, and there was a time when they trained some of those aviators to fly PBYs. This pair of PBY-5s are sitting on the ramp immediately post-war showing us two of the three primary camouflage schemes worn by the Catalina during the conflict. The beaching gear is of interest---at this stage of the game you'd expect those airplanes to be -5As.  Rocker Collection

Do We Really Need All That Stuff?

We can remember it like it was yesterday. Life had just dealt us a hand we hadn't been expecting, resulting in one of those intervals known as Picking Up the Pieces, and we had begun modeling again after a several-year near-hiatus from same. Fate took us to Austin (we're in Texas, remember?) and to King's Hobby Shop. We prowled around in there for a while, totally confused by the vast proliferation of STUFF that had come into being during those years we were effectively out of the hobby and finally, after lots of soul-searching while finding a kit who's manufacturer we recognized, we approached the counter to pay for our newly-discovered treasure. The guy behind that counter asked if we wanted any aftermarket for the kit we were buying, to which we replied with something zippy like "I'm a modeler; I make that stuff myself!". He smiled. We paid and left.

Next time around we bought a kit and an Eduard "Zoom" set. The time after that it was a complete interior, and then resin wheel bays. We were hooked, and since that day we've pretty much bought aftermarket for every kit we've purchased. It's become automatic.

Here lately things have begun to change, however. The first Great Revelation came when we bought a photo-etch set for a Bf-109E and discovered that the RLM 66 portions of the colored etch were closer in hue to baby blue than to any sort of dark grey. After that we began to notice other things too, and then we began to suspect that some of the more prolific manufacturers of aftermarket were occasionally making things up as they went along. That, on top of the ongoing color thing (because, unfortunately, goofy colors weren't confined to that one set of photo-etch), began to make us suspicious. As a result we began using less aftermarket and a little more Modeling 101 when we wanted details, and nowadays we often use no more than an instrument panel, console panels (if appropriate), and a set of belts and harnesses to spiff up our interiors.

You're quite possibly in the process of scratching your heads along about now, wondering why this would matter to anybody, but the fact is that it apparently matters to more than a few people. Several of the folks who regularly contribute to this site are modelers as well as photographers, and one of them began an e-mail conversation the other night commenting on the viability of certain items of aftermarket. During the span of that electronic discourse it was determined that most of us had begun using less photo-etch and resin on our models, and everyone pretty much commented on the not-altogether-infrequent lapses of accuracy on said bits and pieces. It was a consensus, so to speak.

So then, what does that prove? It could prove nothing at all, but then those guys just might be on to something. Think about it---you spend fifty increasingly-hard-earned bucks on a new kit, then you go right out and spend another fifty bucks, or even more, on stuff to improve the model, and you do that even though you probably haven't spent nearly as much time researching the aftermarket for accuracy as you have the kit. You just presumed the aftermarket was better because somebody was selling it. Hmmm...

Where does the truth lie, then? In our world it's somewhere in the middle of things. Some aftermarket is really good, and some isn't. We still buy it, and probably will continue to do so, but we're now a whole lot more cautious about what we actually stick on the model. Our advice to you is to do what you think is right, but you might want to have a few references around before you go randomly attaching extra parts onto your new kit. It might not be that much of an improvement after all. That's our story and, once again, we're sticking with it.

Happy Snaps

Today's happy snap comes from what is, for us, a somewhat unusual source; the brother of a friend. Lee Bracken was one of the mentors who helped us when we first became serious about aviation photography, and he shared a number of images with us when we began building our own collection. Several of those images came from his brother George, who had been an F-4 driver during the Late Southeast Asia War Games, and one of those photos is today's Happy Snap. Thanks, Lee!

The Bad Thing on the Block. 70-0379 was from the 421st TFW/432nd TRW and is shown in flight somewhere over Southeast Asia. It's getting dark, and those guys are probably pretty happy to be going home. George Bracken

The Relief Tube

We've got a couple of things to address today, so let's get right to it:

First, from Mark Morgan, is a little more information about those fascinating Strategic Support C-124s from a couple of issues ago:  Phil - Great info and photos as always. To add to the discussion on SAC's C-124s, the SSS squadrons were:

1st SSS - redesignated from 1st Strategic Support Unit 21 Dec 48, Fort Worth AFB, transferred to Biggs AFB Dec 48, inactivated 1 Jun 59.


2nd SSS - Activated 14 June 1949, Biggs AFB; to Walker AFB 4/50; to Castle AFB 5/51; to Pinecastle AFB 9/56; inactivated 15 Jun 61.


3rd SSS - Activated 16 Feb 50, Hunter AFB; to Barksdale AFB 12/52; inactivated 15 Jun 61.


4th SSS - Activated 18 Feb 53, Rapid City AFB; to Dyess AFB 6/57; inactivated 15 Mar 61.



The 7th Logistics Support Squadron redesignated as an air transport squadron on 8 July 1964 and inactivated on 8 January 1966 at Robins AFB. It served as a geographically separate unit (GSU) of the 63rd Air Transport Wing from July 1963 through inactivation.
 The 19th LSS was at Kelly AFB; redesignated as an air transport squadron (special) on 8 July 1964; military airlift squadron (special) 27 December 1965; military airlift squadron 8 April 1969; and inactivated on 22 Dec 1969. It was a GSU of the 62nd ATW/MAW.


Finally, the 28th LSS at Hill AFB redesignated as an ATS(S) on 18 January 1962; MAS(S) 8 Jan 66; and inactivated on 8 April 1969. It was assigned to the 1501st Air Transport Wing after Jan 62; the 60th MAW after Jan 66; and finally the 62nd MAW, after July 1967. MK  Thanks, Mark!

Next up is a matter of geography. We recently ran a shot of a cold and barren airfield (one to which we'd never personally been) and stated that it was Thule because that was what was written on the slide in question. Dave Menard disagrees with that identification and offers this comment:  OK, that shot is not Thule, as I spent about 100 days TDY there in the spring of 1958 while loaned to the 509th AREFSQ from my unit at Pease AFB, the 100th FMS. Thule was way, way too far north for anyone crossing the pond to stop at. I suspect that the image my chums Dave McLaren and Marty Isham loaned you is either BW-1 Narsarsauq OR BW-8 Sondre Strom, both located in lower Greenland. I googled both SondreStrom and Nasrsarsuak/Narsarsuaq and there is an air to ground color image of the latter that clearly shows the end of the only runway really, really close to the waters edge! I just knew that it warn't Thule! Thule had a bunch of large hangers, big enough for one B-36 or two KC-97s. 


BTW, NEAC was the Siberia of the AF in the late forties/early fifties, if an NCO or officer screwed up, they wound up with a set of orders for a year at one of those bases in Greenland! There was also an Air Rescue Sqdn in Saudi Arabia in the early fifties (why there I will never know!) that served the same purpose. cheers, dave  We never were very good at geography! Thanks, Dave!

While we're talking about Dave, we've had a comment on our quick review of his book Before Centuries that may help those of you who don't already have that title. From a reader known to us only as Junkman9096: I agree completely about "Before Centuries". Also don't forget another, earlier book by David Menard "USAF Plus Fifteen". A litter more general in scope but it can be found dirt cheap on the internet. And a comment on the book from the author himself:  Thanks for the plug on my USAFE book but right now the only way to obtain it is through the used books on the Amazon and Barnes & Noble sites for various prices. I put a bunch of my own money into it to make sure my dupe slides gathered over many, many years got run in color and not B&W! It was worth it. Cheers, Dave. The hard work payed off, Dave---many thanks for the effort you put into both those titles, and thanks to Junkman9096 for telling us how to get one for ourselves!

When we ran those photos from the Richard Adams collection last time around we requested help from our readers regarding unit identifications for the C-47 and R4D photos. Here's a response from Rick Morgan:  Phil: Neat shots of the TRACOM birds in the latest blog. These were shot, of course, ‘back in the day’ when we still had hundreds of aircraft available (particularly, C, T and U types) to farm out to a lot of obscure operations spread throughout the world. Since many were older and not as neat as the A and F types they didn’t always get the photo coverage that the more glamorous F and A types did.


The Gooney Birds marked “Pensacola” are shown on the July 1965 Location & Allowance List (LAL) as belonging to Naval Air Basic Training Command (NABTC), which had 42 aircraft assigned directly to headquarters as hacks and support birds. At this point this list included two C-47s, an H and a J.



The VT-30 T-28B belonged to the A-1 advanced training squadron. It was probably used for instrument training in support of the A-1 training syllabus. The July ’64 LAL shows the unit had 19 A-1Hs, 7 T-28Bs and 42 (!) T-34Bs assigned at that time.


The Kingsville C-47 and C-45 were officially assigned to Naval Advanced Air Training Command with the base (Kingsville) being the functional operator. As Doug S mentioned in an earlier post, this was before TRACOM merged its two flight training parts (Basic and Advanced) and set up formal Wings at its bases. In the mid-60s this meant the NAS acted as a defacto Wing with a Captain (O-6) being the senior man on base. Kingsville had seven types of aircraft assigned in mid-1965; 2 C-47, 1 UC-45J, and UH-2B, UH-34J, UH-19F for SAR, back when each TRACOM base had its own such det. Rick  And that clears that one up! Thanks, Morgo!

Finally, we received a really neat photo from Bob Perry and there's honestly no place to put it at the moment---we're getting ready to do a piece on the "Sabre Dog" in the near future, but it's going to be a while before it's ready. We really like the photo Bob sent, don't want to have to wait to run it and, since we pretty much get to set the schedule around here, today's the day you get to see it. Here are Bob's comments regarding the photo:  Hi Phil. I thought you might be interested in this shot taken by my father at the Windsor Ontario air show in July 1959. It was an international show and there was lots of good stuff on display that day. I remember C-119s dropping paratroops, F-102s, Trackers, RCAF Neptunes and the new Argus. I can’t remember what else and can’t locate any more of my dad’s slides!


I’d never seen a Sabre before and besides this one the RCAF sent the Golden Hawks in their Sabre 5s. According to my notes this Sabre is an F-86D-60 but I have no idea of its unit or service history.Love the blog, keep up the good work! Bob Perry

And here's 53-0943 in all her Day-Glo glory. There's no doubt she's attached to somebody's unit (!) but don't have a clue as to which one. Readers, you know the drill---that address is replicainscale@yahoo.com . Oh, and Bob; please keep looking for those slides!

And that's all we know for today, so be good to your neighbor. We'll meet again soon.
phil

A Few More Deuces, Strange Birds at Agana, Michigan Mustangs and More, Is That An Avenger?, Thoughts On Eduard's Wurger, and That Little Northrop Jet

Almost the Final Batch of "Deuces"

This is the part where you get to look knowingly at the aviation friend of your choice and say something profound like "I bet he forgot all about the rest of those F-102s!" which, to be honest with you, I almost did. Still, we've got quite a few images of the airplane that we can share with you so a few more won't hurt anything, right? Right!

Every once in a while we come up with a photograph that can best be described as Mystery Meat. This is one such photo. 56-1249 was built as an F-102A-60-CO, and the picture appears to have been taken in Alaska, but that's all we know about the airplane. Any of our readers who possess any further information regarding the unit, time frame, etc, are encouraged to drop us a line at replicainscale@yahoo.com and help clear this one up.  Seawright via Friddell

Every once in a while you'll hear us talk about a fellow named Maddog, also known as John Kerr. He's got a reputation for coming up with interesting and unusual photography, but this one may be even more interesting and unusual than any of us ever thought. 56-1492 was just your average F-102A-80-CO until July 7th, 1965, when it was accidentally shot down by an F-106A over the Gulf of Mexico near Tyndall AFB; the pilot ejected and was rescued unharmed. 1492 is seen here in happier days, a little bit shopworn but carrying a couple of kills on her nose to make up for it. She's interesting in another way too; she's carrying an IR ball in front of her windscreen, a fitment only carried by F-102s configured to launch the AIR-2 Genie weapons system. Her fuselage is liberally spattered with blotches of Mil-P-8585Y Zinc Chromate primer. Leave it to Maddog...  Kerr Collection 

The ANG used the "Deuce" for quite a few years, and most of us are familiar with the aircraft in that guise. We're also used to seeing the type in the ubiquitous Aircraft Grey, but a small number of airplanes ended up painted in overall silver too; although most folks think of the 57th FIS in Keflavik when you mention that scheme, the 190th FIS/124th FIG of the Idaho ANG operated a few silver birds as well. 55-3427 was one of them. She was built as an F-102A-50-CO and was also a Genie-capable bird. She finished out her days as a PQM-102A.  Bob Hanes via Lee Bracken 

Way back there in the mid-1980s, your never-humble editor was in the habit of buying slides from Ron Picciani up in Pennsylvania. Ron had an absolutely amazing collection, and a considerable portion of it was available for sale as 35mm duplicates. This shot came from Ron's collection and is run here with a request: If any of you know how to get in touch with Ron, would you please pass on the replicainscale@yahoo.com address to him and ask him to get in touch with us? Meanwhile, we can honestly say that we know next to nothing about 56-1434 except that she was built as a -80-CO, was subsequently converted to PQM-102A status and was essentially destroyed in a manned flight in January of 1976. Can any of our readers fill in the blanks?  Picciani Collection

Since our modest publication is resident in Texas, it seems appropo to end today's "Deuce" installment with an air-to-air of some F-102s from the state. Only two Texas ANG units flew the F-102; the 111th FIS/147th FIG out of Ellington, and the 182nd FIS/149th FIG out of Kelly. This three-ship is from the latter, and is seen here formating over the base during the mid-60s. The 182nd's F-102s were relatively plain, carrying just a fin flash and squadron emblem on the tail, but the the 149th was a hot group during the era. Because of their esprit it was a grave disappointment to them when they had to trade in their "Deuces", and their interceptor mission, for F-84F Thunderstreaks later in the decade. All things must pass...  Kerr Collection

What Are Those Guys Doing Here?

When last we met we showed you a couple of interesting F-86 photos from the collection of Chris Williamson. He sent along a few other things as well, including the images that you see before you now. We don't know much about them except that they were taken at Agana, Guam, during the mid or late-1950s, but they're fascinating photographs and well worth looking at.

We don't know a whole lot about this PBY-6A except that it was used by the Coast Guard for SAR work out of Guam during the 50s. She's painted silver with the normal yellow-trimmed-black rescue markings, but once you get past that we're fresh out of information. The Catalina was a neat old bird, though, and this photo definitely takes us back to a different time and place.  Williamson Collection

Consolidated's PB4Y-2 was an extremely aggressive-looking patrol bomber when festooned with turrets and guns, but that appearance got a little goofy when the turrets were removed and replaced by more prosaic transparencies better suited to the type's Coast Guard mission as a search and rescue aircraft post-War. 6302 is showing considerable oil-canning on her skin (a characteristic of all Liberator variants including the Privateers) and generally looks tired and worn out, but is still filling a vital function. Williamson Collection

Sometimes you see a photograph and wish there were others go with it---this is one of those times! The Navy operated an up-engined hot-rod version of the classic C-47 Skytrain known as the R4D-8 (in pre-McNamara days) or, after 1962,  as the C-117D. This particular aircraft would have been an R4D-8 when photographed during the mid-50s and shows off the revised nacelles, squared-off wingtips, and modified vertical tail of the later variants. An earlier C-47 variant sits in the far right background for comparison.  Williamson Collection

Remember that part where we said the later R4D variants didn't look much like C-47s? Here's a fine shot of an RAAF Dakota landing at Agana that proves the point. Check out the tail group, the nacelles, and the shape of the wingtips; the "Super Gooney" was truly a bird of a different feather!  Williamson Collection

Postwar Michigan Mustangs

Those photos of South Dakota P-51s that we ran last time around got regular contributor Doug Barbier to thinking, and he pulled a couple of photos of  ANG Mustangs for us to look at today. Let's let Doug tell you about it:  Phil - re your comments on the early NG a/c without the stars. Until a unit received Federal recognition, they were not authorized to carry the USAF Star and Bar insignia. It took anywhere from a couple of months up to a few years for a unit to receive Federal recognition. Off the top of my head, it took the 171st FS a little over 2 years to gain it. In the mean time, they simply flew P-51s with no markings except for MICH NG. Many units left that area empty - some, like the photo you ran, put local insignia there.

Here are 2 scans showing NG P-51's from units that have not received Federal recognition yet. One is a 171st Fighter Squadron P-51D from Michigan sitting in the snow - either the winter of 1946 or 1947. Spinner is red / yellow/ red and is probably left over from the previous MINN NG unit we picked it up from. That photo via Jim Koglin. The in-flight shot shows just how variable the markings could be. The lead a/c has a buzz number, star & bar and NG stenciled on the tail - which implies it's from a unit that has already received Federal rec. Two is utterly plain - nothing except the serial number. The Wisconsin & Michigan birds are both from units that haven't received Federal rec yet.  It was a time of great changes....

Here's the snowbird that Doug was discussing. 44-73227 looks distinctly odd without some sort of insignia between MICH and NG, but that's how it was. As with that South Dakota bird we discussed last time around, this aircraft has a retractable tailwheel with associated doors.  Please see Doug's comments above for notes on the colors and markings of this one.  J. Koglin via Barbier

And here's the formation shot Doug was talking about.The lead aircraft is carrying its AAF buzz number ("PF" until the Army Air Forces became the Air Force in 1947, at which point the P-51 became the F-51 and the buzz number prefix for the P-51 changed to "FF"), while the others are all carrying some variation of Guard livery. That's quite a variety of markings in one place; all authorized but unusual to see in the same place at the same time. And, not to beat that whole Tailwheel Thing to death, all have retractable tailwheels.  Barbier Collection

An Addendum to Those Michigan Mustangs, and a Little More For Good Measure

When last we met we mentioned a couple of improperly-credited P-51 shots, and properly accredited them to Martin Kyburz and his web site Swiss Mustangs. Since then, Martin and I have had several discussions regarding both those airplanes and others, and he kindly offered to help us with details of the history regarding those ANG P-51 shots. We aren't always as bright as we could be but we weren't born yesterday either so we accepted his kindness without thinking twice about it, with the results that you see below. And no; your eyes aren't playing tricks on you---most of those P-51s are from units other than the 171st---they're included here because they further illustrate the markings variations found on ANG P-51s during this time period. It's a fascinating subject that you probably haven't seen the last of.

Here's a combined formation of ANG P-51s from both Wisconsin and Michigan in flight. The service record of each aircraft is detailed by Martin below:

44-63644: sent to the 15th AAF (MTO), departed US on 12th March 1945, returned to the US on 1st August 1945; assigned on 27th April 1947 to the 172nd FS 127th FG MI ANG; soon thereafter transferred to the 109th FS 133rd FG MN ANG; damaged in a landing accident on 24th June 1947 at Holman Field, MN, with 2/Lt. Robert R. Biglow (O-769686) - (this pilot had served with the 354th FG 356th FS 9th AAF [ETO]); transferred back to USAF on 9th May 1951, assigned to the 172nd FIS 4708th Defense Wing at Selfridge AFB, MI; lost in accident on 13th July 1952 when hit by friendly fire during a training mission and the pilot Gordon C. Hawkos b/o near St. Clair Highway, Richmond, MI; the a/c eventually was w/o on 25th July 1952 at Selfridge AFB, MI.

44-63664: assigned to the 445th AAFBU at Hamilton Field, CA; damaged in an undisclosed accident on 7th December 1946 with Vito V. Marchi; transferred on 2nd April 1947 to the 116th FS 142nd FG WA ANG; transferred to the 172nd FS 127th FG MI ANG; transferred to the 431st FIS at Selfridge Field, MI, in November 1952 (this unit transitioned to F-86F in May 1953; assigned on 23rd July 1953 to the 175th FS 132nd FG ND ANG; lost with 175th FS 133rd FW when stationed at Sioux City AFB, IA in a mid-air-collision and ensuing crash on 25th September 1954 approx. 1 mi from Harbor Field, Baltimore, MD; the pilot Ove D. Stanberg was killed.

44-73313: sent to 8th AAF (ETO), departed US on 13th April 1945, returned to the US on 17th July 1945; transferred on 11th February 1947 to the 174th FS 132nd FG IA ANG at Sioux City AAF, IA; damaged in a landing accident at Sioux City AAF, IA, on 22nd August 1947 with Harry L. McGraw; transferred to the 172nd FS 127th FG MI ANG on 3rd June 1948; sent to KWZ on 12th July 1950 (aboard USS Boxer) and assigned to the 8th FBG 36th FBS; lost on first combat mission on 8th August 1950, reportedly due to engine failure; pilot not known.

44-73139: sent to 8th AAF (ETO), departed US on 7th April 1845, returned to the US on 18th August 1945; assigned to the 116th FS 142nd FG WA ANG on 31st March 1947; taken on charge on 22nd April 1947; transferred to the 172nd FS 127th FG MI ANG on 13th July 1948; reportedly transferred to the 109th FS 133rd FG MN ANG (to be proved), then breifly assigned to the 192nd FS 144th FG NV ANG; sent to KWZ on 12th July 1950 (aboard USS Boxer); assigned to the 8th FBG 35th FIS on 8th August 1950; soon transferred to the 35th FIW 39th FIS and lost in action on 19th October 1950 - cause: vertigo, last seen flying through cloud cover over the target, aircraft flew into the ground near Sunchon; 1/Lt. Lamar Brindley Longshore (O-1908865), KIA; the a/c officially was w/o on 25th October 1950 which also could be the actual loss date; Brindley is a MIA case ad was DED on 31st December 1953.  Martin Kyburz Collection

A very similar formation, but this time consisting of Wisconsin ANG aircraft only. Those fuselage insignia are really choice, and the aircraft are bombed up. Since this was shot in the ZI we can only hope they're en route to the range! Here are Martin's details on the individual aircraft:

45-11534: assigned to the 116th FS 142nd FG WA ANG, sent to KWZ in on 12th July 1950 (aboard USS Boxer) and assigned to the 6131st WG 8th FBS and reportedly lost in action on 10th November 1950; 1/Lt. David G. Foss b/o due to mechanical and electrical problems and was rescued; interestingly this a/c also is reported as MIA on 13th November 1950 with the 8th FBG 35th FBS due to enemy action - my take is that this either is the s.o.c. date of above loss or the actual loss date - both date and unit needs further research.

45-11727: first entry is an accident at Amarillo AAF, TX, on 8th August 1945, while coming from Love Field, Dallas, TX (factory) with Harold B. Murray; first assignment was the 119th FS 192nd FG NJ ANG but the a/c soon was transferred to the 116th FS 142nd FG WA ANG; sent to KWZ on 12th July 1950 (aboard USS Boxer) and assigned to the 18th FBG 67th FBS; lost in action on 7th September 1950 - a/c caught fire, unsuccessful low-altitude bail-out, in Tsushima Straits 20 mi SE of Pusan, Korea; 1/Lt. Jack Arthur Lightner (O-2101906), KIA (on 47th mission).

45-11568: assigned to the 116th FS 142nd FG WA ANG; transferred to the 185th FS 118th FG OK ANG on 18th June 1947; transferred to the 148th FS 112th FG PA ANG on 6th February 1951; involved in an accident on 4th April 1951 at Dover AFB, DE (no further details); transferred to the 109th FS 133rd FG MN ANG durin June 1951; reportedly damaged in an incident at Minneapolis, MN in July 1951 (also no forther details) - this ship also is reported with the 103rd FS PA ANG (no proof) and the 159th FS 116th FG FL ANG (also needs research).

44-73253 (not '463 !): assigned to the 116th FS 142bd FG WA ANG on 2nd April 1947; transferred to the 123rd FS 142nd FG OR ANG on 6th February 1951, sent to KWZ sometime in 1951 as attrition replacement; eventually transferred to the ROKAF on 17th June 1952.  Martin Kyburz Collection

Here's a lineup of Minnesota aircraft in what could be considered a normal environment (at some times of the year, anyway...).

44-72705: assigned to the 109th FS 133rd FG MN ANG; involved in a landing accident at Homan Field, MN, on 9th July 1948 with Eugene R. Wayne; later transferred to the 4750th TG 4750th TS at Yuma County Airport, AZ; involved in a forced landing there on 20th May 1953 with Raymond E. Stratton; eventually sent to Air Materials Area, McClellan AFB, CA, for reclamation.

45-11408: assigned to the 109th FS 133rd FG MN ANG; later sent to KWZ on 12th July 1950 (aboard USS Boxer) and assigned to the 35th FIW 39th FIS, lost in action on 30th November 1950; a/c hit by ground fire, belly landed 3 mi W of Tok-Chon, SAR effort unsuccessful; Lt. Col. Gerald M. Brown; POW.

44-72962: sent to the 8th AAF (ETO) - departed US on 20th February 1945 - returned to the US on 2nd October 1945; assigned to the 109th FS 133rd FG MN ANG (transfer date 5th February 1947); involved in a crash-belly-landing at Scott Field, IL, on 14th June 1947 with James A. Brennan; involved in taxying-accident at Homan Field, MN, on 14th October 1948 with Arvid O. Dahl; yet another accident on 11th November 1950 at Hector Fargo Airport, ND, with George J. Game; apparently the a/c caught fire; transferred to the 133rd FS 101st FG NH ANG on 12th January 1951; heavily damaged during a storm in August 1951 while hangared at Holman Field, MN (have a small photo); not repaired and salvaged on 9th October 1951.

45-11410: assigned tthe 109th FS 133rd FG MN ANG, later transferred to the 167th FS 123rd FG WV ANG; sent to KWZ on 12th July 1950 (aboard USS Boxer) and assigned to the 51st FBS (P) and later to the 67th TRG 45th TRS, nicknamed "Fujigmo"; eventually transferred to the ROKAF in 1953. Martin Kyburz Collection

Our previous coverage of Joe Foss' Mustang in service with the South Dakota ANG prompted Martin to send us this view of F-51D 44-73578. The history on this one is as follows:  Assigned to the 175th FS 132nd FG SD ANG on 31st July 1947; involved in an accident on 9th June 1951 at Sioux Falls Municipal Airport, SD with Lloyd G. Olson; assigned to the 54th FIS at Rapid City, SD, in November 1952; assigned to the 496th FIS at Hamilton AFB, CA, in March 1953 (unit transitioned to F-86D in September 1953); assigned to the 107th FS 127th FG MI ANG at Detroit-Wayne Major Airport, MI, on 10th September 1953; transferred to the 126th FS 128th FG WI ANG on 1st October 1953; transferred to the 113th FS 132nd FG on 1st December 1953.  Martin Kyburz Collection 

When last we saw 44-73564, just last issue, she was serving with the ANG. Her life subsequently became what might be termed somewhat more exciting, as exibited by this shot; she survived this belly landing at K-46  in Korea to be eventually assigned to the ROKAF: 44-73564: officially assigned to the 175th FS 132nd FG SD ANG on 31st March 1947; involved in a crash belly landing on 29th March 1947 (yup, two days earlier, which proves that the USAAF paperwork sometimes lagged behind the actual proceedings) - the incident occurred at Sioux Falls AAF, SD, the driver was William J. Downey; sometime later, the a/c was transferred to the 176th FS 128th FG WI ANG before being shipped to the KWZ during Fall 1950. Upon arrival, the ship was assigned to the 18th FBG 39th FIS and flew numerous missions, until the a/c was damaged in a take-off accident on 26th January 1952 at K-46 Honegsong AB, Korea; apparently the engine quit after take-off and the pilot. Lt. James H. Hall performed a good belly-landing, the a/c was considered repairable. After repairs, the ship briefly served with the 18th FBG 12th FBS, carrying the nickname "Ruth's Ruthless Russ" until eventually transferred to the ROKAF on 6th January 1953. Lt. James H. Hall, btw, is 'credited' with another accident before his assignment to the KWZ: while training at Luke AFB, AZ, with the 3602nd AMS 127th AMG, he was involed in a ground-collision during a training mission 10 mi SE of Sentinel, AZ, but brought his slightly damaged a/c (F-51D 44-74634) safely home. Martin Kyburz Collection

Here's another view of 564 after her belly landing in Korea. It was a bad day for all concerned, but that ordnance laying on the ground by the aircraft proves it could have been a whole lot worse than it was. Any landing you can walk away from... Martin Kyburz Collection

Were They Really in Korea Too?

Yep, they were. The United States operated a wide variety of aircraft types in theater during the Korean War, one of the lesser-known being Grumman's classic TBM Avenger. The Navy's premier torpedo bomber of the Second World War had become a utility type by the time the conflict began, but was used extensively and served well by the Marines during the early days of the war. Jim Sullivan provides these unique images of a couple of Korean-based TBMs for us to enjoy today:

The TBM-3R was a fairly rare bird, but performed unique service with the Marines on the Korean penninsula. This gorgeous example, BuNo 53587, was assigned to HEDRON-3 when photographed on the ground in 1951. The ball turret and ventral gun have both been removed; there was a lot of space in that chubby Grumman fuselage, rendering the aircraft suitable for any number of missions. Jim Sullivan Collection

The year is now 1952 and 53702, a TBM-3E from VMO-6, is taxiing out at Yonpo, possibly carrying wounded out of the combat zone. Unlike 53587, her turret is still in place. Either one of these Avengers would make a fascinating model and could certainly become a jewel in any collection, because of their relative obscurity if nothing else! Jim Sullivan Collection

Watch these pages, ya'll; there's more of the post-War TBM to come!

It Ain't Really As Bad As It Seems

Several months ago we ran a quick piece on the 1/48th scale Eduard Fw190 family. The comments within that article were based on a Weekend Edition Fw190A-8 that was under construction at that time, and the conclusion was reached that the kit was perfectly buildable, if somewhat fiddley. We'll stand by that comment, but the model is now finished (it took a while, but we lost interest in it over and over and over...) and sitting on the shelf; looking back on the project has given a little food for thought, which in turn brings us to a final round of comments (unless we think of something else later on). To wit:

You absolutely need to get the wing spar in the right place, perpendicular to the wing and correctly centered right-to-left. If you don't do that, nothing else will fit. Not now, not ever.

The cockpit is excellent, and you can easily get by with a Weekend Edition kit in that area, but you're going to need belts and harnesses to make it look good. Eduard is going to sell you brass one way or another!

The engine is overly complicated and there's little point in building most of it unless you plan on displaying your model with the cowling opened up. If the model is going to be presented in a buttoned-up condition, you can leave off a whole bunch of stuff and use only the two banks of cylinders, the induction system, and the crankcase assembly. The engine fits perfectly inside the cowling and can be easily positioned in there after it's painted and locked into place with a little Tenax or similar. Yes, it's cheating. It also works, and eliminates a whole lot of fiddly work trying to get those engine mounts in there. As with so many things in life, you need to do what you think best...

That spiffy little fixture they give you to properly set the exhaust pipes is absolutely critical if you plan on displaying the engine, but totally unnecessary if you don't. A Quick and Dirty Fix is to cut off the last 1/8th inch or so of the stacks and glue them inside the cowling sides in the appropriate places. All you're going to see of them on a finished model are their tips where they sit just inside that cowling, so the exhaust tips are all you need. Cheating? Maybe. Good for the Soul? Oh yeah!

The landing gear is beautifully engineered and will fit almost perfectly if you follow the kit's instructions (put the doors on the struts before you mount them to the wings!), and if you properly aligned that wing spar back when we told you to do it. If said spar is off in any way you will learn many new and highly colorful imprecations, as educated folks like to say. Don't say we didn't warn you...

There's no reason we can think of to have a separate rudder and ailerons in that kit, or any other for that matter, since real airplanes are almost invariably parked with the control surfaces locked in the neutral position. The kit's fit well and don't really hurt anything, but you might want to resist the temptation to pose them.

You can display your gun bays opened up if you want to. We didn't, so we cut the ends of the barrels off the cowl guns and glued those pieces into the underside of the cowling. That makes assembly a whole bunch easier and far less frustrating that might otherwise be the case. You'll need the cowl gun mount assembly (which goes into the wing assembly very early in the process) because the guides for the spent rounds needs to end up properly in place over the case ejection chutes in the center section of the wing and because part of that assembly is what mounts the front of the windscreen to the airplane, but nothing else is required if the model is closed up.

The kit provides lots and lots of little round pieces to simulate things like guns, antennae, and the like. None of them work very well, thus making extruded plastic rod your friend. Hasegawa can help you too, since they offer a set of turned brass guns and pitot for their own Wurger kits. Yes, the package says "Hasegawa" and the contents are meant to be used on Fw190 kits from that manufacturer, but your model will never know the difference if you don't tell it.

The transparencies are generally excellent, but the "blown" canopies aren't and are best not used. The 190's canopy "squashed" inwards when it was opened and Eduard gives you an optional part to show this. It's a neat touch. And the headrest assembly is fiddly; patience is a definite virtue, folks...

The decals in each and every iteration of this kit are superb, right up there with the best you can buy. There's no need for aftermarket unless you just don't care for the schemes included in your particular kit.

So, how does this kit stack up? The simple truth is that once it's finished and on the shelf it's superb, and fully lives up to its reputation as King of the Wurgers if you do your part. There are some minor problems with the kit; slightly-thick vertical stab, inaccurate prop blades, and fuselage cooling slot panels that are too short top to bottom, but they don't impact the finished model unduly and don't have to be addressed unless you want to do that. The model looks good sitting next to the offerings of those other companies and can easily be a star in your collection, but patience and some modeling skills are most assuredly required. This is not, and we can't repeat that often enough, a kit for the novice modeler. And the term "Weekend Edition" is quite possibly inaccurate too, because even in its most basic form this kit will take longer than that to crank out unless you just don't care what you end up with. Such is life.

Here's your basic 3/4 side view of the completed Eduard Fw190A-8. This one started life as a Weekend Edition kit, but the markings came from Eduard's initial release of the model and are for one of Walter Dahl's airplanes, and this is as good a time as any to say yet again that Eduard's decals are superb! Easy to apply, beautifully printed, and without a trace of silvering anywhere. They're among the best stickies we've ever used! The kit gun barrels, at least for the wing guns, have been replaced with plastic rod (and the pitot needs replacement too, although that hasn't been done yet) and a big chunk of the engine is MIA; that particular collection of detailing is somewhat less than you might expect and therefore wasn't used; the same thing applies for the cowl and wing guns. The cowl gun decking is easy to align improperly, a condition that's beautifully illustrated by this model (!), but we aren't going to go back and fix it. We will, however, be more careful in that area the next time we build one of these things. Oh, and that's the kit's drop tank on my custom-made drying rack in the background, although it may or may not end up being used. Given this kit's reputation as a Tough Date it came out ok, we think.

Here's what it looks like from the front. There's a little bit of final weathering and staining yet to go (check out the landing gear struts for an example of what's still needed) but it's pretty much done otherwise. This is one kit that definitely benefits from the use of Eduard's own aftermarket; they produce a zoom set specifically for their Weekend Edition A-8 (go figure!) and the parts, even those for the exterior, are so much more petite than the kit's plastic items that the expenditure is well worth the money. That spiral on the spinner was done with Eduard's generic FW190 spinner spiral masking set, five bucks very well spent!

A short way into this project I was convinced that each one of the several Eduard Fw190s in my to-build pile would be converted into high-end detail sets for Tamiya Wurgers. I've since changed my mind on that, but still wouldn't recommend these kits to anyone without a fair amount of modeling skill at their disposal. You're going to work for your model with this one, Gang!

A Neat Little Airplane

Everybody knows about Northrop's F-5/T-38 family, although not that many people model it. It's not for lack of kits, because of late we've seen most members of the family become available in 1/72nd and 1/48th scales and even in 1/32nd,  and certainly not for lack of color, performance, or service use. Maybe it hasn't seen enough combat; who knows? The thing is, that spiffy-looking little jet has seen service all over the world, and has provided advanced jet training to pilots of the US Air Force for over 40 years. It's a neat airplane. Contributor Mark Nankivil sends us quite a few images, and his last batch included some outstanding shots of the Freedom Fighter and Talon. Let's take a look.

The F-5A (originally the N-156) Freedom Fighter was designed to be small, inexpensive, and combat capable. It was all of those things and more, but didn't have a whole lot of range and really didn't fit in very well with the force the Air Force thought it wanted. Brief use in SEA with the Skoshi Tiger program proved its combat effectiveness, but it was a lightweight fighter and just didn't fit in, even though NATO loved it. This particular shot of an unidentified F-5A shows just how small the aircraft was---a properly-flown F-5 could give the Phantom driver of your choice fits but that only mattered at Red Flag. The F-5A (and subsequent F-5E) just may have been the best fighter the Air Force barely used.  Greater St Louis Air and Space Museum via Nankivil

It's easily confused with the T-38 at first glance, but the two-seat F-5B was a fully combat-capable fighter too. The entire F-5 family was low to the ground, making ordnance fit somewhat problematical; MERs and TERs just didn't work out with that airframe. Still, it could hold up its end of things if required. Those tip-tanks didn't hold much gas, but they sure looked good!  Greater St Louis Air and Space Museum via Nankivil

The F-5B was a two-seater based on the F-5A, and the subsequent F-model had the same relationship to the F-5E (which we didn't cover this time around, prefering to save that variant for a separate piece on aggressor aircraft somewhere down the road). Here's one of the prototypes in the process of becoming airborne; the type's sleek lines are shown to excellent advantage in this photo.  Greater St Louis Air and Space Museum via Mark Nankivil

Off we go...  The F-5's more civilized cousin, the T-38A. Agile, forgiving, and a great performer (the Thunderbirds used them between the F-4 and the F-16, if you recall) the T-38 is the airplane most people think of if you're talking about learning to fly in the US Air Force. It's still the USAF's advanced jet trainer after all these years, although the airframes are getting tired. This gorgeous shot is a good way to end our day, don't you think?  Greater St Louis Air and Space Museum via Mark Nankivil
Happy Snaps

We almost never run photos of the Electric Jet around here, so today's as good a day as any to remedy that.

Doug Siegfried does good work, we think. Here's another example of his photography; a Michigan Guard bird in flight over Lake Huron shortly before the 171st lost their F-16Cs during the course of a mission realignment. The Michigan Guard's signature tail treatment looks especially good on the F-16. Thanks, Doug! Doug Barbier

 The Relief Tube

Well, we knew we couldn't skate for long; there were no entries in what must surely be our most popular department last week, but we're making up for it today. First off is that goofy not-quite-tri-scheme-but-not-quite-not SNJ-4. We specifically asked Tommy Thomason what he thought about the scheme, and he sent us this in reply:

My guess is that it was repainted "locally" in the tri-color scheme (the vertical fin/rudder would also be blue grey if it were still in the older scheme) but the darker blue has faded on the horizontal surfaces (note the darker blue on the side of the fuselage above the wing, at the vertical portion of the juncture of the fin and horizontal stabilizer, and the over spray aft along the rudder). I can't explain why more of the side of the fuselage forward and aft of the wing isn't the same color as the fin/rudder, but this scheme was subject to interpretation when done in the field (also see http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2010/01/ww-ii-color-scheme-anomaly.html) . The left wing is almost certainly a replacement that was kept in the shade, so to speak. T

In our piece on two-seat Scooters we mentioned the nose gear on that VF-126 bird, which is painted red. For those of you not familiar with such things, red is universally used within the aviation community, both commercial and military, to flag parts that are not airworthy. At first glance we thought that we were dealing with nothing more than that; a nose gear that was not cleared for flight and that had been installed in that particular "Scooter" for some undefined reason. Some variation of that is undeniably the case, but the plot thickens, as some folks like to say from time to time. Tommy Thomason is one of our go-to guys for Things Navy, and he provided an interesting observation when we asked him about that gear: 

Huh - hadn't noticed that before. See attached for a comparison of the nose gear with that of an A4D-1 and a TA-4. My guess is that it is a temporary substitute for a nose gear that has been removed for maintenance or overhaul and no flight worthy spare was available. Red is the traditional color for things that should be removed before flight or are not flight worthy. It looks like there is a collar on the piston so the nose doesn't go too far down when the engine is removed. Note that it is not only missing the nose gear steering stuff, the shimmy damper and yoke angle look more like an A4D-1's than the later nose gear's. T

Here's a photo Tommy sent along for clarification. Our VF-126 TA-4J nose gear is in the middle. Thomason Collection

Martin Kyburz from Swiss Mustangs (see our Links section for access to his excellent web site) has provided us with some additional information on that pair of South Dakota ANG P-51Ds we ran last issue:

44-73564: officially assigned to the 175th FS 132nd FG SD ANG on 31st March 1947; involved in a crash belly landing on 29th March 1947 (yup, two days earlier, which proves that the USAAF paperwork sometimes lagged behind the actual proceedings) - the incident occurred at Sioux Falls AAF, SD, the driver was William J. Downey; sometime later, the a/c was transferred to the 176th FS 128th FG WI ANG before being shipped to the KWZ during Fall 1950. Upon arrival, the ship was assigned to the 18th FBG 39th FIS and flew numerous missions, until the a/c was damaged in a take-off accident on 26th January 1952 at K-46 Honegsong AB, Korea; apparently the engine quit after take-off and the pilot. Lt. James H. Hall performed a good belly-landing, the a/c was considered repairable. After repairs, the ship briefly served with the 18th FBG 12th FBS, carrying the nickname "Ruth's Ruthless Russ" until eventually transferred to the ROKAF on 6th January 1953. Lt. James H. Hall, btw, is 'credited' with another accident before his assignment to the KWZ: while training at Luke AFB, AZ, with the 3602nd AMS 127th AMG, he was involed in a ground-collision during a training mission 10 mi SE of Sentinel, AZ, but brought his slightly damaged a/c (F-51D 44-74634) safely home. And:

45-11417 (Joe Foss' ship): officially assigned to the 17th FS 132nd FG SD ANG on 8th April 1947. Sometime in 1948, this a/c was transferred to the 169th FS 136th FG IL ANG at Peoria ANGB (Municipal Airport), IL, and was damaged on 21st December 1948 in a landing-accident (ground-loop) there, with pilot Ralph A. Cotton at the controls. The a/c was still with the 169th FS early 1950, but also was shipped to the KWZ during Summer 1950 and is recorded in an accident of undisclosed nature on 13th August 1950 in Japan (most probably Johnson AFB); it was, however, briefly assigend to the 8th FBG and later assigned to No. 2 Sqdn SAAF "Flying Cheetahs" as # 375. On 11th February 1952, the a/c was lost in action when it developed an oil leak which led to mechanical failure (engine-trouble); Capt. R.A. Harburn was unable to jettison his bombs and subsequently crashed while trying to return to K-46 Hoengsong AB; Capt. R.A. Harburn was KIA.

Thanks for detailing the service careers of those two airplanes for us, Martin! Those Mustangs definitely got around!

Finally, we asked for clarification/correction on that white "Deuce" that was identified as an F-102D a couple of issues ago. That ID was based on the information printed on the slide; the original source of the image was/is a pretty impeccable sort of guy which made us wonder about it even though we'd never heard of such an animal. Reader Mark Williams responded to our request for input on this aircraft and has sent his thoughts on the matter:

First off, I really enjoy your RIS blog! I read your 100th "issue" and was very impressed. I saw you had a photo of that white F-102, and you asked for comments. I figured you would get a bunch of responses, but when I didn't see any mention of it in the past two "Relief Tube's", I thought I'd drop you a note.


That is not an F-102D. No such thing, as far as I've ever heard, but I'm not an expert, just an old airplane nut! (Oh, and a soon-to-be retired, C-130H Flight Engineer!) What I do know is that it's actually the first F-102A (56-1400) converted to a PQM-102 by Sperry Flight Systems, and painted in Sperry "colors." I recall seeing a photograph of that aircraft in the old Wings of Fame magazine (I can't recall the issue number), and if I remember correctly it actually had "SPERRY" painted on it for a short time, though I may be thinking of an F-100. In any event I'm pretty sure that photo was taken at Holloman AFB in 1979 as I found another photo of it in the Aircraft Resource Center website forums taken from a slightly different angle.(I tried to contact the guy that posted the photo on ARC, but he never got back to me.)


Again, thanks for putting together a super site. The photos are amazing, and the finding out their history is even better. I hope this helps. Mark O. Williams

Thanks, Mark!

And now we're at the point where we can safely say that's all we know for today, so it's time to go. Be good to your neighbor and we'll meet again soon.
phil