Some German Zips, More Guppies, Cleaning Out Some Files, and The Marvelous Mitchell

Luftwaffe Starfighters in the States

Just about every aviation buff knows the story of the F-104 in Federal Luftwaffe service, but enough time has passed that some of our newer readers may not be aware of the fact that Luke AFB in Arizona was once home to the 58th TTW, an organization that transitioned German pilots onto the F-104. The facts are pretty simple; the Luftwaffe owned the airplanes but did their transitional training in the clear skies of the American SouthWest. In consequence, those West German "Zips" used to be a common fixture around the United States. Let's begin today with some images of those not-so-long-ago days.

Let's start off with a premise if we may: There's no particular rhyme or reason for the photography selected for this essay---the goal was simply to provide our readers with images of typical F-104Gs from the 58th.
65-12750 is an example of that premise. She was actually built by Fokker, then transferred to Luke. After serving there she went to Taiwan, where she was converted into an RF-104G and was subsequently lost on 8 July, 1991, some 11 years after this photo was taken in 1980. Most of the 58th's "Zippers" looked like this one, with very few unauthorized markings.  K. Minert

63-13266 spent an apparently uneventful life with the 58th before being scrapped out. Bill Peake caught her at Nellis in June of 1980, when she was in her prime. Note the true natural metal finish (not silver lacquer) and white upper wing surfaces. She's carring a full load of gas in this photo too---a clean F-104 had better range than a clean F-4, but that wasn't saying much! She still had short legs and needed all the gas she could get to if she was going to go very far.  Bill Peake

See what we mean about no unusual markings? We don't know a whole lot about 63-16229; she was built by Fokker, then later transferred to Taiwan. She was well-used by the time an unknown photographer snapped her portrait on an equally unknown American base sometime in the 80s. If any of our readers have any further information on this aircraft (or if you know who the photographer was) please contact us at replicainscale@yahoo.com .  Friddell Collection

The 58th routinely sent two specific F-104Gs to the American air show circuit during the 1980s, and 63-13243 was one of them. In this photo she's all dolled up with a set of red, yellow, and black tip-tanks, but we've also photographed her without them. Like a fair number of her sisters she was ultimately transferred to the Taiwanese Air Force, with which service she was lost in 1990.  Friddell Collection

As previously mentioned, the 58th's "Zippers" were an air show favorite during the '80s, although we can't remember ever seeing one fly any sort of demo during one. Here's another view of 13243, this time in clean configuration (no gas bags) at an airshow at Davis Monthan during March of 1978. She would have been an extremely fast airplane in that trim, but wouldn't have gotten very far on just her internal fuel.  D. Kuykendall

We're going to close out this particular essay with a series of shots I took at Bergstrom on 6 August, 1982. The airplane is, once again, 13243, and the photos were taken the day before an airshow.

Taxiing in. The F-104 featured BLC and was a loud airplane inconsequence---anybody who's ever been around a Starfighter in the circuit or on final can attest to all the howling and shrieking coming out of that tiny airframe! Her slats and flaps are still deployed in this shot, and her canopy is open; that's a normal thing for the "Zip" during ground operations. Notice she's carrying as much extra gas as it's possible to hang off an F-104.  Friddell

She's stopped and the pilot is shutting her down. Note the extra paintwork on her nose gear doors, her tip tanks, and her vertical stab. That's a literal riot of color as far as the Luke-based "Zippers" were concerned!  Friddell

It's quiet now, and her pilot has removed his helmet. I took this photo knowing that I'd want to do a photo essay on the airplane in ten or twenty years, and made sure I got a view of the undersides of her stabs.  Friddell

Which is also why I took this shot! I tried to get a B-4 stand moved over to the aircraft so I could see what was on top too, but No Joy; I then asked the pilot about it; his response was that he never looked up there and it didn't matter to him. That's the long-winded way of saying we have no idea what the tops of that stab look like, although we're willing to bet they mirror the undersurfaces. (Anybody out there got a picture?)  Friddell

A lot of folks think that supersonic airplanes are somehow fragile. It just ain't so! In this view 243's pilot has left the cockpit and is inspecting the airplane. Oh yeah, and does anybody remember a few issues ago when we mentioned those accursed light poles that surrounded the ramps at Bergstrom? This photo provides a fine example of the reason we dislike them so much!  Friddell

You'd may as well check out the fuselage while you're up there! Yes; the F-104 was once called "The Missile With a Man In It". No; it wasn't fragile!  Friddell

The ramp van has picked up the pilot and taken him to ops, and the guys on the transient line are securing the airplane. It's a side of military aviation a lot of folks never get to see.  Friddell

And here's our final shot for the day. No; it's not 243. This is 65-12753, photographed on short final going into Bergstrom in April of 1979---everything is hanging, and she's howling like a banshee. If you ever saw a 104 fly you'd remember it for the rest of your life! 12753 is one of the few Luke-based F-104Gs you can still see; she's been preserved in Taiwan, a fitting tribute to The Burbank Wonder.   L. Bracken

The Buckeye Redux

Do any of you remember that part (only last week) where I said that anyone who had trained in the T-2 had a considerable fondness for the airplane? Well, Gang, contributor Rick Morgan spent the requisite amount of time in the Buckeye before moving on to TA-4Js at Chase, and he's sent us a few more shots for our essay.

158869 was assigned to VF-126 as a spin trainer when Rick took this photo in March of 1988. It's interesting to see that tailcode assigned to a "Guppy"!  R. Morgan

The T-2 could carry .50 caliber gun pods and practice bombs, all a part of the budding naval aviator's training syllabus. This shot is of VT-9's 156731, taken while the airplane was on static display at a Pensacola air show in November of 1979. It's odd to see the "Guppy" with guns, isn't it?  R. Morgan

Rick shot this VT-26 bird in October of 1979, once again giving us a look at those gun pods. If memory serves the old Monogram T-28D kit has a pod very similar to this one included in its parts suite; maybe, just maybe...  R. Morgan

If you're going to fly an American military airplane you're going to learn how to fly formation. Rick snapped this shot on a training flight in August of that 1979. The pilot in that "Guppy" was Scotty Stillwell, who had just become a carrier-qualified aviator---belated congrats to Scotty. Fly Navy!  R. Morgan

As the "Guppy" fades off into the sunset...  This evocative photo is a fine way to end our T-2 supplement. Now, somebody go out and build a model of one!  R. Morgan

Sometimes Stuff Just Piles Up Around Here

What follows is an admitted hodge-podge of largely unrelated images. It's taking us longer than we thought it would to put an essay together for each of them, and we really wanted you to see them so, without further ado...

Ever seen a Beech Model 73 Jet Mentor before?  We hadn't either, at least not before Mark Nankivil supplied us with this photo of N134B during trials. She was a capable little airplane, but one without a future. It's a shame she never got built for the general aviation market, isn't it?  Greater St Louis Air & Space Museum via Mark Nankivil

And here's the Model 73 again, this time in a more conventional attitude. She looks like she'd be a fun little ship to own, although we wouldn't want to have to feed here.  Greater St Louis Air & Space Museum via Nankivil

Dave Menard gets around, and pretty much always has. He photographed 44-74850, a P-51D-30, at an airshow back in his younger days. We've got the information for this one stashed in the appropriate file, which is another way of saying we can't find it right now, but we can say that this regular USAF bird has the locked tailwheel and the last three of its serial repeated on the MLG doors. Other than that we're at a loss. Dave?   D. Menard

By now everybody's aware of the occasional "if it goes up it's gotta come back down" photography we run around here. This shot features an F4D-1 from VMF-314 exhibiting the aftermath of what was apparently a somewhat sporty landing at MCAS El Toro in 1960. As emergencies go this one apparently wasn't very bad.  Janssen via J. Sullivan

The Royal Navy was in the Pacific too, and flew Seafires there late in the war. This nearly-pristine example is taxiing in at Clark Field, where she must have raised quite a few eyebrows. A little bit of everything turned up in the Pacific during that war.  Rocker Collection

Martin's AM-1 Mauler was an airplane at the wrong place and the wrong time. Very few of them saw any sort of active service, which makes this example, assigned to NAS Grosse Ile, all the more unique. It's hard to imagine the skies over SEA filled with AM-1s flying SAR...  Balogh via Menard

We recently discovered that the TBD image formerly found here was from the Life Magazine archive. We steadfastly try to avoid any situation that might lead to a violation of somebody's copyright, so we've removed the image from these pages. We apologize both to the original contributor and to our readership for taking this action, but that's how we are around here. We know you'll understand.  pf

It's the Stuff of Legends

You can go almost anyplace and talk to just about any aviation enthusiast of any age. All you have to do is mention the B-25 Mitchell and people start to smile. Everybody knows the airplane, and most everybody knows at least a little bit of its history. Let's take a quick look at the airplane as it was used in the Pacific during the Second World War.

The B-25 made it to the SouthWest Pacific just as quickly as the Army Air Forces could get it there, making it one of those immortals that literally fought all four years of the conflict. This early example, unfortunately from an unidentified unit, is parked under the trees at 14 Mile Strip in the Port Moresby complex of airfields. Things were pretty basic back then.  Rocker Collection

Pappy Gunn got hold of the Mitchell pretty early in the war, and immediately went to work increasing its firepower. The result produced what was arguably the most effective ground attack aircraft of that conflict, here illustrated by a flight of B-25Ds over Cape Gloucester. If the bombs didn't get you the massed guns in the nose would.  Rocker Collection

"El Diablo" was an early strafer from the 3rd BG. She's shown here in her interim markings overflying the air strip at Cape Gloucester. A lot of those early B-25 missions were flown without escort, against the best the Japanese had to offer (the Tainan Kokutai, for example). The Mitchell gave as good as she got, but it wasn't an easy job.  Rocker Collection

The B-25 was a versatile aircraft, as typified by these D-models from the 17th RBS. The type survived the war to become a trainer and served in every theater, but she made her name in the Pacific. This almost etherial photograph says it better than words ever can.  Rocker Collection

Even the recon birds got nose art, as illustrated here by the 17th's "The Mad Mizurian". Take a look at all the boxes of .50 cal ammuntion in the nose. There was a fair chance she'd need it.  Rocker Collection

Here's a shot of "The Vulture's Nest". We don't know anything abut the airplane, but she typifies the breed. Check out the operating conditions that were so obviously vile. It was never easy in the Pacific.  Rocker Collection

A relative handful of cannon-armed B-25Gs made it to the theater, but proved to be poorly suited for the role of bomber against the Japanese. Most of them had that 75mm gun removed, to often be replaced with a pair of twin .50s. Sometimes you just have to use what works!  Rocker Collection

You almost never see photos of the B-25G in the SouthWest Pacific, so seeing three of them in formation is a special treat indeed; these are from the 38th. The G models weren't as hard-hitting as the regular strafers; that 75mm gun was slow to reload and fire (and required a loader as well, not the most enviable position to be in when riding in an airplane engaged in ground attack!). The Gs were, in many respects, the answer to a question that nobody had asked. They didn't stay in service very long.  Rocker Collection

Ground attack in the Pacific could be a sporty proposition. These Mitchells are from the 405th BS/38th BS and are pulling off a target in Hollandia. They were shot at by ground fire and attacked by Japanese fighters, and they sometimes had to battle with horrible weather just to get to the targets. If you were hit and went down anywhere near your target all bets on your survival were off. It was a tough racket, and the aircrews of the 5th did it day after day, week after week. Talk about a gutsy bunch of guys...  Rocker Collection

Here's your test for the day: Find the B-25s in this picture. Need a hint? OK then; look lower than you might expect. A gutsy bunch of guys? Oh yeah!  Rocker Collection

Quite a few B-25s went down in combat at the hands of the Japanese, and a substantial number were lost in operational accidents. Even the ones that survived were at risk; this J-model sits abandoned at Clark Field in the Philippines awaiting the scrapper. It was a sad end for a noble aircraft.  Rocker Collection

Take a look at this guy. He's a B-25 pilot, and he's one of a select group of aviators; he flew strafer Mitchells in one of the war's roughest arenas. More than a few of his brother aviators are still out there, waiting to come home some day. They were a gutsy bunch of guys...  Rocker Collection

Happy Snaps

Suppose you fly with the Michigan ANG, and suppose you're a journeyman photographer in addition to being a pretty good stick. If you fill that bill your last name just might be Barbier, and you might be taking this sort of photograph from the T-33A you're flying. It's a great shot, and also a great way to end our day.  Barbier

The Relief Tube

We copped out on doing a Relief Tube entry last week, which means we've got some catching up to do. Let's get right down to it.

First, let's look at a correction on those MO ANG Mustangs from Dave Menard: Phil, Two of the photos of MO ANG Mustangs were taken by Major Eugene Sommerich, who was a RegAF advisor to the sqdn I believe. He shot 616 film air to airs for years, including of fellow 334th FIS F-86Fs over Korea DURING the war! He was one of the pilots who flew the MIG-15 on Okinawa in late '53 after Collins(who was first to do so) and Yeager got done. He took 473526 and the three ship of 547, 196, & 400.


Did Marty really shoot that view of F-106 149? If so, he was not in a Tub when he did, as a wing tip can be seen that is sure not that of any model Deuce. cheers, dave  That's one for Marty to answer; the info on the slide says Photo by Marty Isham. Marty---can you help us out here?

It looks like we made a couple of mistake when captioning those "Hogs" from the Bobby Rocker Collection. Bobby points out that the F4U-1 from VMF-114 on Pelilieu is actually an F4U1-A, and that Turtle Bay is in the South Pacific, not the SouthWest Pacific as we stated. We also heard from friend and Corsair authority Jim Sullivan, who adds:   Phil, As always, I thoroughly enjoyed the latest addition to the blog. I especially enjoyed the ROCKER Corsairs. I wanted to add just a little more information to a couple of those photos. The F4U-1 #93 BuNo 17450 on Turtle Bay airstrip is from VMF-214, the Blacksheep squadron. The other shot, F4U-1A #25 is BuNo 17736 and the abbreviated story of it is on the lower left of page 2 of my lastest F4U CORSAIR IN ACTION book . The pilot was Lt. Bob Marshall from VMF-216. His patrol was jumped by Zeros over New Britain and two of his squadron mates were lost in that encounter. Bob fought back and was fortunate enough to escape the Japanese planes and although wounded, safely returning to his base on Bougainville. Also, a correction to the aircraft type of the 3/4 LF shot of the Corsair on the latest blog with the numbers 974 on the front landing gear doors...the caption stated it's a F4U-1D but it's actually a F4U-1A, probably 17974. No rocket stubs, not GSB but tri-color, no wing-root pylons.......it's a -1A. Jim Thanks to both Bobby and Jim for keeping us honest, and you might want to consider picking up a copy of Jim's F4U book if you don't already have it--it's excellent!

Rick Morgan is a retired naval aviator who's got a few hours on the T-2C, and he had this comment for us regarding last week's "Guppy" piece:  Phil: Thanks for putting up those T-2 shots; the Guppy is a seriously under-covered aircraft. VF-43 and its west coast counterpart VF-126 both originally had T-2Cs assigned for use in spin training, which was a periodic requirement for pilots as part of their ACM syllabus. As you state, both units also used them as surrogates for jet trainer/light attack aircraft in the dissimilar ACM role as well. In case you haven’t seen it, this video shows a T-2C crashing on Lexington; the solo student on his CQ-1 flight was AFU, stalled out and hit the island. The Air Boss was an old friend; he stayed in the tower directing the fire response through the event. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCmOEXVLeEk  (Please note that the footage on that YouTube link is from a pair pf plat cameras on the Lex. It's not pretty, but two things are worth noting once you get past the horror of the event. First, note the airdales in the Deck Division---the incident is barely underway and they're running for the fire gear. That, my friends, is what training's all about. Second, think about what you just saw, because it's a risk every carrier-based naval aviator takes every single day they're on the boat. Raise your glasses and offer them your thanks that they're willing to do what they do.)

While we're discussing naval aviation, Rick Morgan pointed out to me (but I don't think I ever ran the correction) that VF-21 became VA-43, and that shark-mouthed Grumman Tiger we showed you a while back was an example of the squadron in transition. Rick also called out the guard for us and came up with the following explanation and photo:

Phil: That’s a great picture of the VA-43 F11F on Indy you have posted. The reason it wears VF-21 markings is because Fighting-21 was redesignated Atkron-43 (VA-43) on 1 Jul 1959. At that time it became the Oceana jet attack replacement squadron with predominantly A4Ds assigned, although it kept a small number of F11Fs through early 1960 to train pilots for AirLant’s only fleet F11F squadron at that time, VF-33. The F4D on cat-1 is from Key West-based VF-101, which was the east coast “all-weather” fighter training unit, with Fords and Demons. Both squadrons were under RCVG-4 at that time. VA-43 later on went on to become Oceana’s instrument RAG and, after Vietnam, redesignated VF-43 and an adversary squadron. Rick

This shot is just too cool for words. Many thanks to Rick and The Usual Suspects for birdogging it for us so we could share it with you today.  NAVA via Doug Olson Collection via Angelo Romano
While we're on the subject of Navy aircraft, here are some thoughts on the T2V piece we ran a while back:

Strictly speaking, the T-33 was purchased as the TO-2 from Lockheed Burbank. The V was used for Lockheed aircraft produced by the former Vega plant, also located on the Burbank airport. (Lockheed took over Vega in 1943.) The Navy finally got around to recognizing, from a designation standpoint, that they were dealing with a single source in 1952 and chose to change all the Os to Vs. Similarly, the Navy initially bought and operated the single-seat Lockheed P-80 as a trainer, the TO-1, with the two-seat designation, TO-2, accurately reflecting that it was a modified TO-1. The TO-2s were an important part of the transition of a generation of Naval aviators raised on propeller-driven airplanes to the very different piloting techniques and flight planning required when flying jets, both basic and in instrument conditions. The T2V took longer than expected to develop, allowing Grumman to substitute F9F-8Ts for most of the requirement that it was expected to fulfill. T
Thomason Collection

Chris Williamson tends to have a somewhat unique and eclectic collection. He sent us this scan of a patch he thought we'd be interested in:

Hello Phil. You showing the original SAC emblem got me to thinking of one I got from the Alaskan Air Command historian way back when. If I remember right, he said the patch dated back to the 1950's.  Chris Thanks very much for sharing this with us, Chris!

Finally, we've heard from several people informing us that the new Special Hobby T-2C kit is actually the old Two Bobs kit in a different box. That's true, to an extent, but Special Hobby was (as far as we know) the original producer of the kit under contract to Two-Bobs. The bottom line is that we're not unduly concerned about how the kit came about---we're just darned glad to have it!

And that's what I know for this week. Be good to your neighbor and we'll meet again soon!
phil

The Unglamorous Guppy, The Hog in the Corps, and Mo Mustangs

Gotta Love That Buckeye

If you were around American naval aviation in the 1970s, 80s, or 90s, you probably saw a whole bunch of North American T-2 Buckeyes flying around. Several hundred were built, and a fair number of my friends learned to fly jets on them. They were, to put it mildly, a ubiquitous airplane.

Unfortunately, they were also an airplane that was badly neglected by the modeling world, with the only injected representation of it being the now-aging (but still perfectly buildable) Matchbox kit in 1/72nd scale. Anyway, that's how it was until now. Our Czech friends over at Special Hobby have just released what appears to be an absolutely gorgeous kit of one of our favorite airplanes, although we have to admit that gorgeous part is an in-the-box assessment; the truth is yet to be told (which in translation means we have to build the thing!). Anyway, we/me/I got pretty excited last weekend when I saw the kit on the shelf at King's , and grabbed it immediately. Once we/me/I got home from that adventure we drug out some slides, not for ourselves but for our readers. Here, Friends o' Mine, are a whole bunch of reasons to build yourself a "Guppy". With any luck we can consider it to be Inspiration!

The month was June, the year was 1983, and this VT-26 Buckeye (158583) was getting a going-over before being hooked to a tug and taken back to the line at Chase Field. The airplane typifies the T-2C in squadron service; most of them were pretty plain aircraft once you got past the orange trim. If you wanted to build yourself a straight-up, everyday working TraCom bird, this one would be a pretty good choice.  Friddell

Here's a variation on the theme, this time from Kingsville's VT-23. She wasn't a fast mover in the traditional sense, and she wasn't a combat veteran either, but the "Guppy" produced a whole pack of Navy and Marine aviators who went on to get themselves in harm's way, as the cable news folks love to say. My friend Frank Garcia had a good eye, don't you think? I really like what he did with this shot, and wish he were still with us. We lost a pretty good photographer when Frank went West, ya'll.  Frank Garcia

Somebody (Verlinden, maybe?) used to make a tug and towbar set that would allow an enterprising modeler to duplicate 158594 from VT-26 being towed back to the line. We've seen more than a few dioramas of jet aircraft being towed with only a crewman on the tug, completely ignoring the fact that there's always someone in the cockpit on the brakes, at least at naval air stations. It's a point worth remembering.  Friddell

Every once in a while you'd find a "Guppy" with a little extra color. 156703, a Charlie-model from VT-19, is wearing a cheat line and a squadron badge while transient at Selfridge, where Ron Kowalzyk shot her in April of 1984. Once again note how simple the markings are, and how pretty the airplane is.  The "Guppy" was a pretty neat airplane, ya'll.  Kowalzyk

Of course, you don't have to stop with cheat lines and squadron badges---you can get a little whimsical too, as demonstrated by this VT-9 bird. We've mentioned it before, but it bears repeating---this airplane was not assigned to the Lexington. This particular aircraft was used for CarQuals, and ended up with the boat's name on the side as a result. In actual fact the "Lex" didn't have fixed-wing assets permanently assigned to her while she was a training carrier. It's something to remember. Oh yeah, and 064 was from VT-9 and was photographed on VA-45's ramp at NAS Key West in 1981.  R. Morgan

It's a fact that a swept-wing jet can't turn with a straight-winged jet, which may have been a small measure of justification for assigning the "Guppy" to VA-43 for use as an adversary back in 1983. Whatever the rational, it made for an unusual-looking airplane, to say the least. Friddell Collection

Here's a different flavor of camo on yet another VA-43 bird. She was getting ready to go up to play with that "Scooter" that's beginning to taxi out behind her when Rick Morgan took this study at Oceana in November of 1989 while he was flying as ECMO 1 in a Prowler. In our opinion this is one seriously neat photo!  R. Morgan

Then again, maybe you don't care much for camo, but prefer a somewhat more colorful aircraft. If that's the case, this "Guppy's" for you! 157057 was a BiCi bird from VT-26, photographed during 1979, and is wearing a name ("City of Beeville") in addition to her red, white, and blue paint job. This airplane could be The Test of All Tests as far as a modeler's painting skills are concerned. Anybody game?  Frank Garcia

1986 saw the 75th anniversary of naval aviation, and more than a few airplanes ended up with commemorative paintwork as a result, as demonstrated by this Buckeye I photographed at NAS Corpus Christi during April of 1986. She was a looker!  Friddell

This particular "Guppy" was a dual-purpose commemorative aircraft, celebrating both the 75th anniversary of naval aviation and the Texas Sesquicentennial all at the same time. She was from TraWing 2 and was flying out of Beeville when I photographed her at a Bergstrom air show in 1986. Kinda pretty, don't you think?  Friddell

So, what's the Buckeye all about? Ask any naval aviator who was trained during the last three decades of the last century. He or she'll tell you. Or maybe you can figure it out by looking at this picture.  D. Balcer

Or maybe this one.  R. Morgan

There was a time when she was the Big Thing in a young naval aviator's life.  Friddell

She's gone now, like so many fine airplanes before her. Time and technology did her in, but she's a lasting memory for thousands of Navy and Marine aviators. Go build that kit, ya'll, and pay a little tribute to The Mighty "Guppy". She was quite an airplane.  Friddell

Wartime "Hogs"

This isn't really a naval aviation issue, although you may be thinking it is given our choice of topics so far. Look at from the perspective that we're on a roll and everything's ok, right? Right! That said, it's time to take a look at one of our favorite Naval fighters from the Second World War, the Chance Vought F4U Corsair. Some of the images you're about to see are unique and, so far as we know, previously unpublished. They're all photos of Marine birds (always a Good Thing) and come from the Rocker archives. Let's see what we've got!

Guadalcanal was a relatively calm place by the time the Corsair began operations from the island, but it was still far from being a rest area. If you were an aviator Adventure was always close at hand, and the "Hog" was kept busy flying combat missions over the Solomons until well into 1943. In this photo we see Marine Major Weissenberger manning up at Fighter Two on that stinking island. Since we don't know the date we don't know the unit either, but the picture definitely tells a story. Check out the strap hanging out of the cockpit and the missing tailhook, both points to consider for a model. Rocker Collection

Every once in a while we run into a photograph that's simply exceptional in every way, and this is one of them. The caption identifies the aircraft as being from VMF-213, but the badge on her fuselage is that of VMF-122, who weren't at Munda. Smart money says she was transferred from -122 to -214 after a stint at The Canal. However she got there, she's been pretty badly shot up; take a look at her wing and aft canopy. Somebody brought this one home after a really bad day at the office. The "Hog" could take it! Oh yeah, and check out her cowling too---the name "George" is barely visible there. What a neat airplane!  Rocker Collection

VMF-218 had their Birdcage -1s at Borakoma when this photo was taken in 1943. The Japanese were a foe to be taken seriously from the first day of the war until the very last, but there were other enemies out there as well. One look at 465 shows how quickly the climate and operational conditions could wear out a perfectly good fighter. Those of you who model might want to check out the leading edges of those prop blades for an idea of how they wear in an abrasive environment. It's easy to get that one wrong.  Rocker Collection

So you say you want to weather your model? OK, then; here's your chance. Check out this Birdcage sitting on the deck at the Turtle Bay airstrip on Espiritu Santo, paying particular attention to the lower sides of her aft fuselage. Can you spell "MUDDY"? Yes, Virginia; the SWPAC was a muddy place. Here's the proof!  Rocker Collection

Greg Boyington was a legend during the war and became even more of one in post-War years, although revisionist historians have tried to diminish that legend as time has passed. He was hard-drinking, and a little bit of a brawler. There were times when he stretched the truth. And there were times when he proved himself a remarkably successful fighter pilot in one of the toughest arenas of the war. This F4U-1A was assigned to Boyington's VMF-214 and was apparently flown in combat by him---it was photographed at Bougainville during 214's stay there, and is a great illustration of a typical Corsair in operational conditions. They weren't all beat to pieces, you know.  Rocker Collection

Here's the Man himself; Greg Boyington is preparing to man up 883 at Barakoma strip on Vella LaVella. A lot of people thought him a hero, although it's doubtful he ever felt that he was one. He was an effective squadron commander and was thoroughly exhausted, quite literally all used up, when he was shot down and became a prisoner of the Japanese. Even heros get tired sometimes.  Rocker Collection

VMF-216 spent some time on Bougainville, flying out of the airstrip at Torokina. These F4U-1As are well used but obviously in good shape and ready to rumble. The "Hog's" personality comes through in every photograph we've ever seen of her; some airplanes were born to be classics!  Rocker Collection

When you weren't slogging through ankle-deep mud you were choking on dust! These "Hogs" from an unidentified unit are getting ready to taxi out for a strike from their base on Majuro in 1944. They're fairly clean and appear to be new airplanes. Those side numbers are unusual---it's rare to find them that far forward on an airplane in a combat zone.  Rocker Collection

Here's a fine example of how coral dust could ruin the paint (not to mention the engine, guns, and all the other mechanical components) of an airplane. This VMF-222 F4U-1D is sitting on the ground at Green Island and is pretty much beat to snot, although odds are she was a relatively new aircraft. Check out the ground crewman sitting behind her---time to read was where you could find it in the Pacific.  Rocker Collection

Here's another well-used "Hog", this time from VMF-221 at Bougainville. Modelers take note that there are grease and gun stains aft of the cartridge case ejection chutes, but none around the gun ports. There's a lesson there, folks!  Rocker Collection

If you're going to be in a fight you're going to get a little bloody sometimes. This F4U-1A is from an unidentified unit on Torokina and has been recently savaged by a Japanese fighter. This one got home, but a lot of them didn't.  How do you spell "valor"?  Rocker Collection

The Corps called it Bloody Pelelieu, and when they'd captured the place they built an airfield there. This F4U-1D was from VMF-114 and was lugging a drop tank full of nape when this photo was taken. The Corsair was superb at air-to-air and equally at home moving mud. She had evolved into a true fighter-bomber by the time the -1D entered service, and rapidly became the sweetheart of the mud Marines.  Rocker Collection

The "Hog" got around. These birds are shown on the ground at Iwo after the island was more or less secured. Paint jobs are a mix of GSB and tri-scheme, and the airplanes are fairly clean. That wouldn't last for very long.  Rocker Collection

They fought in two American wars and performed superbly. They served until the mid-1950s, when the last AU-1 was retired from service, and more than a few went on to join the Warbird circuit. We can only hope that these F4U-1Ds, derelect at Miami in 1964, were among those that made the jump to a second life in the civilian world.

Many thanks to Bobby Rocker for this remarkable essay on that most remarkable of Second World War fighters. Semper Fi!

'Stangs From the MOANG

As long as we're doing something on the Corsair today we'd may as well give The Other Guys equal time. We'd normally do that with another F-106 installment, but the simple fact is that we've been sitting on a pile of Missouri ANG P-51 photos courtesy of Mark Nankivil and it's time to show them to you.

The 110th FS operated their P-51Ds out of Lambert Field in St Louis. This snow-bound lineup was photographed on the ground there in the winter of 1952; the 110th's birds were never flamboyantly marked, generally featuring only a colored spinner and, on occasion, a name. Note the retractable tailwheels; they went away after the USAF's experience with the mud encountered during operations in Korea, but these aircraft still have their retractable units in place.  Nankivil Collection

The 110th had Mustangs for several years and bridged the changeover from the AAF to the Air Force. This P-51D is still carrying its PF-prefixed buzz number---that would change in 1947. 44-73187 is essentially a World War 2 P-51D, and wouldn't have been at all out of place in the skies over Hitler's Europe.  Nankivil Collection

This shot of a MOANG P-51 undergoing maintenance gives us an excellent view of the airframe structure surrounding the engine, as well as the typical attire worn by the squadron's line personnel. That Ike jacket on the pilot standing in the center of the photo is pretty classy, don't you think?  Nankivil Collection

The 110th also operated a couple of RF-51Ds for a while. This excellent study of 45-11660 shows that variant's camera ports to advantage, as well as its DF loop and late canopy. Most iterations of the Mustang were subtle in nature, but the classic lines of the airplane remained right up to the H-model (never flown by the 110th, before you ask!).  Nankivil Collection

The P-51 was a gorgeous aircraft when cleaned up and in flight. There's not much here in the way of markings, but it really doesn't matter---pretty is pretty. Check out that oil streak just aft of the "2" in the aircraft's nose number. If the P-51's engine was running that streak was there---modelers take note!  Nankivil Collection

Guard pilots are former active duty pilots, and the Guard units of the late '40s and early 50s all contained quite a few WW2 retreads in their ranks. You can easily imagine this flight winging its way over Germany or Japan, but in point of fact they're over rural Missouri. The photo is fascinating because it shows three completely different forms of fuselage markings, all of which were the norm for Guard birds at the time this photo was taken.  Nankivil Collection

And speaking of gorgeous air-to-air photos, it's pretty hard to top this one for sheer beauty. These aircraft are identically marked, which takes some of the fun out of things, but they sure show off the classic lines of that airplane. We like it!  Nankivil Collection

If it goes up, it will come down. There's nothing that says it has to come down in any sort of a dignified manner, though. This bird has apparently endured a classic example of an aviator's headstand and mostly survived the experience. The aircraft appears to be salvageable. That wasn't always the case.  Nankivil Collection

If it goes up it will come down, Part Two. It's considered to be good practice to put your airplane down on the same runway you left from or, if that's not in the game plan, to put your airplane down some place some how. Most folks don't choose a neighborhood for that down-putting, but sometimes that's how it works out. The Packard-Merlin is a wonderful engine right up to the point where it quits working---that's when you stick the airplane any place you can. This pilot was lucky...  Nankivil Collection

If it goes up it will come down, Part Three. This 110th P-51D suffered an unknown in-flight emergency and came down outside of Mt Vernon, Illinois. This appears to be a text-book belly landing, all things considered, but we're guessing the airplane was a write-off. Any landing you can walk away from...  Nankivil Collection

Happy Snaps

We didn't do anything with our F-106 project this time around, but to partially make amends we'd like to offer up this photo by ADC authority Marty Isham as a consolation prize of sorts:

Every once in a while you get to take a ride in a tub, which is what Marty was doing when he shot this portrait of 59-0149 from New Jersey's 49th FIS/177th FIG on 9 June, 1988. You can't tell from this photo, but the GIB (that's Guy In Back, in case you weren't familiar with that acronym) is astronaut Gordon Cooper. Our readers take some pretty neat photos, don't they?  Marty Isham

The Relief Tube

Today's the day you get to ask What's Going On Over There? We've had a couple of abbreviated editions of this missive in a row, and they've both been late, which makes that a Fair Question. The answer is simple. Between work and family I've been really busy of late. I apologize for the abbreviated editions and ask your patience---we'll be back to normal before you know it!

You might have also notice some issues with our photography over the last week or two; it went goofy on us, and a number of older photographs de-linked themselves to boot. Our blog host has corrected that issues and the photos now work the way they always have, and all those broken links have been fixed---thanks to Google for the quick repair, and apologies to our readership for the lapse in quality.

Finally, although we do have several entries for the Relief Tube we aren't going to run them today because your editor has just about run out of steam and it's time to get this issue launched. We'll catch up next time. Meanwhile, be good to your neighbor and we'll meet again soon. We will. I promise!
phil