Scuttlebutt Official Publication of Air Group One Commemorative Air Force

The Scuttlebutt Official Publication of Air Group One Commemorative Air Force

March/April 2011

1905 N. Marshall Ave. Hangar 6 * El Cajon, CA 92020 * 619.259.5541 * www.cafairgroup1.org * [email protected]

Welcome to the New Scuttlebutt You may have noticed you didn’t receive a January/ e-mail address to me at [email protected]. If you do February edition. Don’t worry; you didn’t miss anything. not have e-mail capability please call me at We decided to skip an edition to attempt to get caught 619.890.7340 and we will attempt to accommodate up. you. If we do not have your e-mail address and we don’t hear from you one way or the other you will be You may also notice a new format with this edition of dropped from our newsletter mailing list. If you no The Scuttlebutt. Well, the format isn’t all that is new. longer desire to be on our mailing list, please let us Primarily in an effort to trim costs by reducing the print- know that as well. ing and mailing of our newsletter, but also to make pos- A larger, full-color version of this edition, and all future sible the use of color, Internet links and other enhance- editions, will be available on our Web site. If you desire ments, the Air Group One staff has decided to switch a printed copy you can print it on your home printer. to an electronic format. Accordingly, in the future The Scuttlebutt will be available in digital format only. We The Scuttlebutt has been produced for the last sev- will, however, try to keep a few copies on hand at the eral years by long-time Air Group One member Bob hangar. Constantine. It was a very labor-intensive operation, and we all owe Bob a huge debt of gratitude. Bob will If we do not have your e-mail address, you received continue to be an important source of material and this edition via “snail mail.” If you received the printed guidance. Thanks Bob! version and have e-mail capability, please send your 2 The Scuttlebutt March/April 2011 Notes Maintenance from the Officer Cockpit Report Col. Howard Merritt Col. Bob Simon, Wing Leader

Lots of things are starting to happen around the Air The SNJ is still a “work in progress.” The left stabilizer Group One hangar! As we start to move into spring, purchased from Lance in Texas has finally arrived in we’ll be planning more excursions. The last one to the Ramona. Tony Wiser will check it out and send it on to Yanks Air Museum in Chino was interesting for a num- us where it will join the flaps, rudder and left elevator ber of reasons. First, it was a great day for a flight up for painting at Aero Paint. They will then go back to Tony the coast to Chino to see an extraordinary example of and we will assist him during installation. Sassy should how to display old airplanes. Second, we made some be back by the end of March. valuable contacts and connections. I’m sure that we We are still building the attachment angles for the L-5 will see more of those folks. wing and have over half of the required 80 feet fabri- Wings Over Gillespie planning is in full swing and it cated. A gallon of West System epoxy has been pur- hopes to be bigger and better than ever with more for chased to continue angle fabrication and attaching the the kids and moms and bigger airplanes for the dads. plywood spar material. The acts will change slightly and more displays are Progress on the blue tug continues with the donation planned. of parts from the old Ramona tug. We have two extra We have some great new members added to our ranks. geared hubs, rims, instrument panel and assorted other When you see one at our pancake breakfast, please parts. Darrel Cook has rebuilt the brake calipers and make them feel welcome. As a volunteer organization, left axle. We are in the process of installing them now. we are all looking for a way to make a difference and to It will be up and running by Air Show time. contribute a skill or talent. Find out what they are and We still need some help clearing out the pile of stuff in put them to work (only a suggestion, of course). the corner near the oil barrels. See you at the hangar. Carry on and keep the blue side up!

Air Group One Staff Members

Wing Leader Bob Simon Maintenance Officer Howard Merritt [email protected] 858.254.3036 [email protected] 619.820.5359

Executive Officer Jim McGarvie Safety Officer Warren Thomas [email protected] 619.890.7340 [email protected] 858.382.9919

Finance Officer D’Marie Simon Scuttlebutt Editor Jim McGarvie [email protected] 858.829.4736 [email protected] 619.890.7340

Adjutant Linda King Assistant Scuttlebutt Editor Bob Constantine [email protected] 951.966.4090 [email protected] 619.546.7080

Operations Officer John Telles Webmaster David Hanson [email protected] 760.458.4230 [email protected] 619.698.8335 March/April 2011 The Scuttlebutt 3

Air Group One Joins the Air Force! By Col. Tom Valenzia is akin to attempting to drink out of a fire hose or, better yet, living with a perpetual helmet fire! Well, not exactly. Through the efforts of Col. Martin Wojtysiak, Commander, Detachment 075, Air Force IFS, by design, is challenging. This is where the rubber Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC), at San meets the road. You either pass or wave your flight Diego State University (SDSU) and in combination with career goodbye. Col. Wojtysiak stated that about 30% the generous members of Air Group One, a decision of the cadets would fail! was made to provide mentoring assistance to the next This is where we came in. Wouldn’t it be great if the generation of military aviators. cadets were given a little head start in preparation for SDSU is an AFROTC magnet school. For those stu- IFS? Gosh, what if us “old farts” (that covers most of dents interested in pursuing an Air Force career, that us) could dust off our flight manuals, don a girdle (we’ll goal can be achieved by completing a four-year pro- call it a “G” suit), slip into a flight suit (a little WD 40 gram offered through SDSU. The AFROTC program might help), polish our shoes, get a haircut, trim off all is made available to over 14 area colleges and univer- the ear and nose hairs, and present ourselves, our life sities, utilizing the SDSU facilities. experiences as aviators and our mentoring services, to the next generation of military aviators? The current enrollment of students in the program is approximately 130. Applications have been flooding in Well, the “what if” to the above question was quickly and as a result, the bar for acceptance into the pro- answered at the 18 December meeting and BBQ at Air gram has continued to rise. Group One. With Col. Wojtysiak and Cadets Martin and Marco present, a call to action was made! Among the many disciplines that may be pursued as an Air Force Officer, among the most highly coveted Ladies and gentlemen, I am most proud and humbled positions is to be selected as a “Rated” candidate. by the response received by the members of AG-1. A Rated candidates are those officers selected to attend ten-sortie training program, to include a full private pilot fixed-wing pilot training and/or enter the “RPA” (remotely ground school, was proffered up. Flight training starts piloted aircraft) track. To be selected for either track on 29 January and ground school starts on 30 January. infers that you have been thoroughly screened, prod- I would like to recognize the AG-1 member and non- ded, tested, re-prodded, re-tested, and just in case, member contributors to the program: re-screened! It is a major accomplishment to have survived the process and to be declared a “Rated” can- • Col. Bob Simon (passed out soon after the word didate. “liability” was mentioned) Col. Wojtysiak is proud to introduce to AG-1 five rated • Col. Martin Wojtysiak: For caring and wanting to give candidates slated to receive their 2nd Lt. Air Force com- his cadets the best possible opportunity for success. missions on 18 June and then it is off for them to fulfill their dreams of becoming a military aviator. • Col. Darrel Cook: Offering flight training in a Cessna 172 Upon spring graduation, the cadets will be scheduled to enter the next major screening hurdle. The process • Dave Derby: Offering flight training in a Citabria will continue at “IFS” and, you guessed it, that is the • Col. Jack Draper: Offering flight training in his A-36 Initial Flight Screening program. IFS is conducted Bonanza through a civilian contractor, Doss Aviation, out of Pueblo, CO. The training aircraft will be the Diamond • Col. Joe Graham: Offering an introductory ground 20 (DA-20). school and flight training in his Cherokee 140 IFS will be the cadet’s first introduction into formalized • Col. Pete Hunt: Offering flight training in his RV-6 flight training. By formalized I mean to learn through • Col. Jack King: Offering flight training in his V-35 drowning; that is, to learn, assimilate, and master the Bonanza necessary skills, within a highly time-compressed and dynamic program of flight. In other words, the program 4 The Scuttlebutt March/April 2011 Air Group One Joins the Air six sorties in his PT-17 Stearman. Thanks to Dave, the cadets were introduced to the aileron roll, hammerhead Force! (cont) stall, and the loop. Flight operations shut down at 1700L and then the entire gaggle drifted over to Montgomery Field for some well-earned libation and delicious Mexi- • Col. Jim McGarvie: Offering flight training in his can food. Today, at 1300L, starts a full private pilot ground Mooney M20K school offered by Phil Yoon of Wings & Wrenches. I • Col. Howard Merritt: Offering flight training in his plan to attend and probably need the ground school Cessna 150 more than anyone else. • Phil Yoon, of Wings & Wrenches: Offering the full I would also like to make a special mention of our own private pilot ground school CAF Southern Region Chief Marshaller, Warren Tho- mas. Warren remained present during the entire op- Needless to say, the response has been overwhelm- eration performing aircraft marshalling duties and fire ing. My heartfelt thanks to all for rallying to the cause guard responsibilities. My sincerest thanks to you War- and also for your love of country. ren. BZ to All, AFROTC Flight Tom Valenzia Training Day One American Aces of WWII Submitted by David Hanson This month we’ll cover Harold "Indian Joe" Bauer, CO of VMF-212, who was possibly the finest fighter pilot in the Marine Corps. An Annapolis graduate and a football player, he had spent seven years in Marine aviation before 1942. His real name was "Harold Wil- liam"; he had picked up Cadets pictured (L to R): Keli Kaaekuahiwi (K-12), Alexis the nickname "Indian Ayala, Adam Oehmke, Jeff Martin and Anthony Marco Joe" at the Academy because of his height, high cheekbones, and Saturday, January 29, was the launch day of our Air dark features. As CO of Group One flight training program for the SDSU VMF-212, he trained his AFROTC cadets. We had outstanding weather for the men well. His pilots day's operations. Activities started off with a 0830 pan- called him "The Coach" because he ran the squadron cake breakfast and then flight training activities as a team, and at age thirty-four was ten years older launched at 1000L. Joe Graham introduced the ca- than most of them. dets to pre-flight procedures using Joe's Cherokee 140 and Howard Merritt's Cessna 150. The remainder of They trained at Efate during the summer of 1942, which the day consisted of 16 training sorties. Joe and at that time was very much on the front line. Soon after Howard each flew five sorties and Dave Derby flew Guadalcanal was invaded by the Marines in August March/April 2011 The Scuttlebutt 5

wouldn’t come out, so he quickly returned to base, American Aces of WWII (cont) where he immediately traded his Wildcat for a Grumman J2F Duck amphibian. By the time he re- 1942, Bauer managed a few "guest appearances" at turned to Bauer’s location it was dark, and he was un- Guadalcanal with VMF-223 while his own squadron was able to find his friend. Despite intense searches the based at Efate. He flew alongside notable Wildcat pi- next day, no trace of Bauer was ever found. It was as- lots Marion Carl, Joe Foss and Robert Galer. On Sep- sumed that either the sharks or the Japanese got him. tember 27, Bauer flew up to Guadalcanal to inspect He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the airstrip and asked Galer if there was a spare plane which citation follows: for him to fly. He went up with -224 and promptly shot down a Betty bomber. (Other sources report that he For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous courage shot down a Zero on September 28, while flying with as Squadron Commander of Marine Fighting Squad- VMF-223.) ron 212 in the South Pacific Area during the period 10 May to 14 November 1942. Volunteering to pilot a fighter His best day came on October 3, 1942 when leading a plane in defense of our positions on Guadalcanal, Lt. division in Carl's flight, "The Coach" downed 4 Zeros Col. Bauer participated in 2 air battles against enemy with four quick bursts, but jamming his guns in the pro- bombers and fighters outnumbering our force more than cess. Then he noticed a Zero going after an American 2 to 1, boldly engaged the enemy and destroyed 1 Japa- pilot in a parachute, and with only one gun working, an nese bomber in the engagement of 28 September and infuriated Bauer dove after the Zero, shooting it down, shot down 4 enemy fighter planes in flames on 3 Octo- and then returned to the downed pilot, marking the spot ber, leaving a fifth smoking badly. After successfully by flying circles over it. A destroyer then picked up the leading 26 planes on an over water ferry flight of more Marine pilot. (Officially, his credits for the day were four than 600 miles on 16 October, Lt. Col. Bauer, while confirmed and one probable.) circling to land, sighted a squadron of enemy planes attacking the U.S.S. McFarland. Undaunted by the for- On October 16th, Bauer was circling the field to land midable opposition and with valor above and beyond after a mission when he saw smoke from American the call of duty, he engaged the entire squadron and, barges that were under attack from Japanese Val bomb- although alone and his fuel supply nearly exhausted, ers. Despite nearly empty gas tanks, he set out alone fought his plane so brilliantly that 4 of the Japanese after the eight dive bombers. He caught them at 200 planes were destroyed before he was forced down by feet, dove into the Vals and flamed four in succession. lack of fuel. His intrepid fighting spirit and distinctive This was to win him the Medal of Honor. ability as a leader and an airman, exemplified in his Throughout the rest of October, Bauer stayed on the splendid record of combat achievement, were vital fac- ground, directing all Cactus fighter operations, which tors in the successful operations in the South Pacific was his real responsibility, not flying combat sorties. Area. He kept after his men to seek out Zeros, and not to run (The above information is courtesy of acepilots.com) from combat. His leadership and inspirational qualities were such that his fliers would rather face the Japa- nese fighters than the Coach's wrath. It's notable that Colonel Bauer only left his ground duties for four missions, and downed eleven planes on those few occa- sions. On November 14, 1942, Bauer accompanied Joe Foss and his squadron in attacks on Japanese troop trans- ports offshore. After completing their attacks he and Correction Foss were exiting the battle area when they were bounced by a pair of Zeros. Bauer immediately turned The person standing in front of the wing in the picture on his opponent, firing until the Zero exploded. After driv- of the P-51 Mustang on the front page of the Novem- ing his Zero out of the area (twelve or fifteen miles due ber/December edition was mistakenly identified. That north of the Russell Islands), Foss returned to see an is Tony Wiser, Crew Chief on the airplane. Doug oil slick on the water, with Bauer floating unharmed in Matthews is the owner of the airplane, and not in the the water nearby. Foss tried to jettison his life raft, but it picture. The Scuttlebutt regrets the error. 6 The Scuttlebutt March/April 2011

ioned pressure gages are still in use, incredible. Dave gave us as much detail as we could handle. We then entered the AG-1 MEMBERS tunnel test area and had a terrific explanation of how it is all done. Every little detail and potential inaccuracy is taken into account well in advance. Although aircraft are also tested VISIT LSWT here, Dave is not allowed to give away any secrets or details of any kind. But he had plenty of generalities to discuss. We By John Telles progressed to the air flow generator fan, a huge 5-bladed, 20’ Reynolds Number? Boundary Layer? Flutter Testing? Speed diameter, laminated wooden prop. This thing is huge. The Racing? Yes, and more! A small group of AG-1 members re- blades are built in England, with a few spare sets. The tour ceive quite an education from a guided tour of the San Diego concluded with a look at the Boeing 747 Flutter Test model. Air & Space Technology Center’s Low Speed Wind Tunnel With sensors and dummy fuel loads, the entire aircraft was tested for destructive vibrations, known as “flutter”, from nose to tail, from wingtip to wingtip. Amazing what goes on behind the scenes to keep air travel as safe as possible. To satisfy hunger pangs, Little Italy served up some fine pizza with great company. If you missed it, don’t fret! We will plan another visit in the Spring. I Didn’t Know That

By Robert Bruce WILLIE MOSCONI…was a popular American billiards player. In 1944 he was drafted into the army where he L to R: John Telles, Jack Draper, Jill Baker, George Hellman, Bob Simon spent a year with Special Services until his discharge HOWARD MORRIS…a Hollywood comedy writer, actor and director. During WW-II he served as an army located at Lindberg Field... Mr. Dave Sanford, Aerotest Engi- neering Manager, hosted the group with a mind-boggling, in- 1st. Sgt. One of the enlisted men who served with him teresting description and tour of the entire facility. First stop: was comedian Carl Reiner. the walls of champions. World-class competitors and cham- MRS. MINIVER…Pres. Roosevelt was so impressed pions in cycling and luge racing. On the walls are autographed with the closing speech given in the movie “Mrs Mini- photos of champs like Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador, Gordy Sheer, Mark Grimmette, and tons more. ver” that he had it printed on leaflets and dropped over Nazi occupied Europe. The test control room, as modern and capable as it is, still looks like a scene out of “Flash Gordon”!! Big round old fash- HUGH MULZAC…was a British West Indies native Black who became a U.S. citizen in 1918. He was the first Black to hold a U.S. Masters certificate in the Mer- chant Marine. Mulzak was also the first Black to command a Liberty cargo ship, the Booker T. Washington. GEORGE D. MURRAY…was a U.S. naval captain. He was in command of the carrier U.S.S. Enterprise, at sea, at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack. MUSASHI…a Japanese battleship that took 19 allied torpedos and multiple bomb strikes before sinking in the battle of Leyte Gulf in Oct. 1944. MUTSUKI…a Japanese destroyer that was sunk on Aug. 25, 1942 in the Iron Bottom Sound by U.S. B-17 L to R: Jill Baker; Dave Sanford, Aerotest Engineering bombers. It was the first Japanese ship sunk by high Manager; Jack Draper; George Hellman; Bob Simon level bombing in WWII. March/April 2011 The Scuttlebutt 7 Yanks Air Museum Visit By John Telles It could not have been a more perfect day! Bob Simon, A4, and F14 are proudly displayed and in pristine con- Ernie Coneen, Howard Merritt, Mike Dralle, Vickie Moen, dition. Linda Stull, Rich Kenney, and John Telles ventured into Frank Wright offered our enthusiastic group a private “North Country” to the Chino Airport on Saturday, Jan. look at the restoration area. He guided us through the 15, 2011. There, we found one of the best-kept secrets maze of parts, pieces, hulks, and prop blades to two L- in aviation: There is more than one spectacular air mu- 5 partial airframes. Howard Merritt could hardly contain seum at Chino! himself! All in all, arrangements were made to exchange efforts toward the restoration of our respective L-5s. That made it an exceptionally fine day, especially for Howard. In restoration we saw a Wright Flyer, SB2C Helldiver, F4U Corsair, F6F Hellcat, and lots of unrec- ognizable “parts.” Oh, then we went into the “Boneyard.”

L-R: Linda Stull, Vicki Moen, Mike Dralle, John Telles

We were the guests of the Yanks Air Museum, founded by Charles and Judith Nichols in 1982, and managed by Frank and Christen Wright. Visit the website to get much more information about this great museum: L-R: Mike Dralle, Bob Simon, Howard Merritt, Rich www.yanksair.org/home. Kenny, Frank Wright The feeling one gets while touring an aviation museum That would take another article to describe… all I can is very hard to describe. Each visitor enters his/her own say is that Yanks Air has many, many years work ahead. imaginary world, trying to answer the question, “what must it have been like…?” And here it was no different. We highly recommend that more members take ad- Stepping back into a virtual time capsule, there was a vantage of the various AG-1 outings or “field trips” that Beechcraft D-17S Staggerwing (the first acquisition), will be offered during the year. So far we have visited a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Stearman YTP-9, an F4F the SDA&SM Low Speed Wind Tunnel at Lindberg Field, raised and restored from Lake Michigan, SBD Daunt- the Yanks Air Museum and The Great Air Raid Reen- less wings from the jungle of Guadalcanal, about 130 actment in San Pedro Feb. 19, 2011. In planning are aircraft in all. The astounding feature that impressed visits to locations such as Leatherneck Aviation Mu- us all is the level of detail, beautiful condition, and up- seum, USS Midway, Palm Springs Air Museum, keep of these birds. Though not all fly currently, we were Spielman Auto Museum and Hall of Heroes, etc. Begin- assured that many are restored to flying condition. The ning in the spring we hope to have hangar activities like Korean and Vietnam eras are not forgotten: F9F, F-86, movie night and special guest speaker programs. All ideas and suggestions welcome! 8 The Scuttlebutt March/April 2011 Is CAF Membership Worth It?

By Al Riker, Col. CAF—AG-1 At an Air Group One pancake breakfast recently I was painted in Navy livery later this year. My son-in-law, sitting with CAF member Bill Conner and North Island “Swede” Gamble, is presently getting Millennium’s pi- Credit Union Chief Executive Officer John Tippits, dis- lots type-rated in the Albatross. I also showed Jim the cussing John’s father who survived a WW II Lockheed immaculate, museum quality, Grumman TBM Avenger Electra crash in Alaska (John told this fascinating story parked in Millennium’s hangar. Both aircraft are sched- during a presentation in our hangar last summer). Bill uled to fly in the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation fly- also had an interesting story having flown the F8 Cru- by later this month. sader, a Navy carrier-based aircraft, and then having worked with Kelly Johnson on the SR-71 development On Sunday morning I helped our Wing Leader, Bob program at Lockheed. Simon, re-locate his award-winning N2S Stearman to Dave Derby’s hangar (I rode in the front cockpit during “Honoring American Military Aviation” is the main theme taxi). While helping Bob get his Stearman out of Bill of our CAF membership and several of us wore WW II Allen’s hangar, I got to admire another beautiful flight jackets, “crush caps,” khaki pants and shirts to Stearman, originally owned by actor Steve McQueen, and Bill’s vintage C-3 Stearman, among other rare and beautiful museum items. It was a tough job but some- one had to do it…. Dave has a beautiful 1943 Stearman in Navy livery that I flew last summer (a Father’s Day gift from my daughter, Heather). Bob and Dave were staging their aircraft to honor WW II SB2C “Helldiver” pilot, US Navy Cap- tain (ret.), “Griff” Griffin, who arrived for his complimen- tary flight. He was accompanied by Mike Dralle in his Guadacanal-veteran jeep (also beautifully restored). Local TV station KUSI covered the event, which was arranged by Air Group One’s USMC Col. John Telles (ret.) and our Marketing Representative, Rich Kenney. It was my pleasure to meet “Griff” and chat with him about his Navy career. Mark Carlson, an author and L-R: Al Riker, Carl Silber, Mike Dralle long-time friend who also accompanied “Griff,” recently published an excellent article in Flight Journal, Oct. 2010, p. 50–59, highlighting “Griff” and his WW II com- the breakfast to honor our guests, USAF Col. Martin bat experience in the “Beast.” Wojtysiak, Commander, Detachment 075, Air Force ROTC, San Diego State University and some of his Shortly after meeting “Griff,” my daughter alerted me cadets who were visiting our hangar for orientation prior by cell phone that the Albatross was in the run-up area to pursuing formal flight training with the U.S. Air Force. for 27R. Mike Dralle, Vicky Moen and I quickly walked over to a good viewing spot and watched the take-off On another recent Saturday Jim Gray, President of the (“Swede” was performing the check out). For a big air- L-5 Sentinel Association in Phoenix, visited our hangar plane, the Albatross got off the ground very quickly and to review our progress in re-building the wings for climbed serenely into the sky before banking away for “Betsy,” our L-5. Jim has extensive experience in L-5 a flight toward Ramona (RNM) and then on to Palomar restorations and may help us with our re-build. (KCRQ). Where else can you have such fun? I took Jim to see Millennium Air’s HU-16 Albatross. We These were just two back-to-back weekends in the CAF. were invited to do a walk-through of the aircraft and Do I think my CAF membership is worth it? I wouldn’t saw that the flight deck and cabin were already in im- trade it for a million dollars! pressive condition. The bare exterior is going to be March/April 2011 The Scuttlebutt 9 AIR GROUP ONE

The San Diego wing of the COMMEMORATIVE A IR FORCE and home of San Diego’s own MILITARY FLYING MUSEUM

At historic GILLESPIE FIELD • 1905 No. Marshall Ave., Hangar #6 • El Cajon, CA 92020

Phone: 619.259.5541 • Fax: 619.639.0332 • www.cafairgroup1.org

Membership Application AIR GROUP ONE, the San Diego unit of the Commemorative Air Force, is a self-supporting, all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. You need not be a pilot or military veteran to become a member. Everyone is welcome!

Objectives of Air Group One

1. To preserve, in flying condition, aircraft that were flown in WWII 2. To preserve and protect these aircraft as a tribute to the men and women who built, serviced and flew them 3. To perpetuate in the memory and hearts of all Americans the spirit in which these planes were flown in defense of our nation 4. To establish an organization at Gillespie Field having dedication, enthusiasm and Esprit de Corps necessary to operate, maintain and preserve these aircraft as symbols of our American Military Aviation heritage

First name: ______Last name: ______

Home address: ______

Home phone: ______Work phone: ______

Cell phone:______E-mail address: ______

Profession or past profession: ______% Retired

Birthday:______If married, spouse’s name: ______

If you served in the military please provide information on branch of service and duties performed:

If you are a pilot please provide total time, ratings and aircraft flown:

CAF Colonel number:______Why did you join the CAF? ______10 The Scuttlebutt March/April 2011 Normandie... Before and After

Fifi to visit Arizona!

The world’s only flying B-29, CAF’s “Fifi,” will be in Bullhead City, Arizona April 7–10 and will be available for tours and flights. More specifics may be found on the CAF B-29/B-24 Squadron Web site: www.cafb29b24.org March/April 2011 The Scuttlebutt 11

relatively inexpensive pocket-size digital camera that can take a similar photo for less than $125 dollars. DIGITAL REPRODUCES IMAGES BETTER AND The Photo FASTER. Most digital cameras manufactured in the last five years can get as close to the subject as eight Corner inches, allowing highly detailed enlargements. Also, you can see your results instantly and make all the neces- Chuck Barber sary corrections. (At present, roughly 98 percent of all photographs throughout the world are produced, trans- mitted and reproduced by digital means.) CLOSER IS BETTER… SOMETIMES PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS. If you have a small part Recently a young lady friend proudly showed me a in a lawnmower, sewing machine or computer etc. that photograph that she had taken of a gold brooch that needs replacing, just take a photo and send it through her grandmother had given her many years ago. The your, or a friend's computer instead of trying to describe brooch, which was only an inch in length and had an it over the phone to a supplier in another area. emerald surrounded by a dozen small diamonds, was obviously a prized possession. The image had been HARD TO FIND OLD PARTS. Rare auto, boat or air- enlarged on a 5 by 7 print so that the brooch was over craft parts, which are no longer available, can be pho- two inches long showing all the beautiful intricate de- tographed to aid the supplier in finding or producing your tail. required parts. You will be surprised at how much faster they will be shipped and less expensive they will be. EXPENSIVE VS. INEXPENSIVE CAMERAS. Ten years ago that photo probably would have been taken with a CATALOGING YOUR VALUABLES. Another use of 35mm single lens reflex camera with a close focusing close-up photography is taking pictures of your most (macro) lens. The cost of that equipment would have valuable jewelry, coin collection, or other precious pos- been approximately $700 dollars. Now you can buy a sessions. Your insurance company will be able to re- spond much more effectively by using your color photographs as proof of your ownership.

What Pilots See When Landing at Offutt Air Force Base.... 12 The Scuttlebutt March/April 2011 Laff Trak

An old Navy Chief and an old Marine Gunny were sitting at the VFW arguing about who had the tougher career. “I did 30 years in the Corps,” the Marine declared proudly, “and fought in three of my country’s wars. Fresh out of boot camp, I hit the beach at Okinawa, clawed my way up the blood-soaked sand, and eventually took out an entire enemy machine gun nest with a single grenade. As a sergeant, I fought in Korea alongside General MacArthur. We pushed the enemy inch by bloody inch all the way up to the Chinese border, al- ways under a barrage of artillery and small arms fire. Finally, as a gunny sergeant, I did three consecutive combat tours in Vietnam. We humped through the mud and elephant grass for 14 hours a day, plagued by rain and mosquitoes, ducking under sniper fire by day and mortar fire all night. In a firefight, we’d fire until our arms ached and our guns were empty, then we charged the enemy with bayonets.” “Ah, you lucky bugger!” said the Sailor with envy. “All shore duty, huh?”

Air Group One—Commemorative Air Force 1905 N. Marshall Ave., Hangar 6 El Cajon, CA 92020