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http://www.caffrenchwing.fr AIRSHOWCAF FRENCH WING - BULLETIN MENSUEL - MONTHLY NEWSLETTER http://www.lecharpeblanche.fr PUBLIC EDITION http://www.worldwarbirdnews.com Volume 19 - N°12 - December 2014 EDITORIAL Merry Christmas erial activites being A scarce these days, I hope you will enjoy this new issue of our newsletter prepared by our friend Bertrand. In it you will read a very interesting article by Roger Robert about the B-29/B-24 and Happy New Year ! Squadron with a presentation of Vic Agather, who was behind the acquisition of the bomber which has become the emblem of the CAF: the B-29 «Fifi» You will also discover with : CAF B-29/B-24 Squadron pleasure the first part of the photos taken by Greek Photo pilot “Pappy” Manthos, which Bertrand had presented in the previous issue of Airshow. I would like to end by wishing you all a Merry Christmas, with lots of aviation presents beneath the Christmas tree! - Stéphane Duchemin CAF B-29/B-24 SQUADRON : Atlee «Pappy» Manthos «Pappy» : Atlee Photo «PAPPY» MANTHOS’ PHoto ALBUMS Airshow - Public Edition Airshow is the monthly newsletter of the CAF French Wing. This "public" edition is meant for people who are not members of the association. Content which is for members only may have been removed from this edi- tion. To subscribe to the public edition of Airshow, go to our website and fill in the subscription form: Subscribe to the public edition of Airshow NB: Subscription to the public edition of Airshow is completely free and can be cancelled at any time. Your personal data is solely used for the purpose of managing your subscription and will remain strictly confidential. •••••••••••••News••••••••••••• Jean Roeder passes away A-26 Lady Liberty Engine Repair Update Photo Greg Goebel (CC BY-SA 2.0) Photo Greg Goebel (CC BY-SA The CAF’s A-26 Lady Liberty is on the road to recovery after her left engine failed in route to an air show in June. Since then, the A-26 Spon- sor Group has been working hard to restore her engine and get her back in the air. Since the engine failure, Lady Liberty has been stationed in Hutchinson, KS. The dedicated group of volunteers from her home base in Oklahoma travel to work on her to get the beautiful airplane flying again. The new engine is currently being build and should be finished some It is with great sadness that we learned of the time this month. The A-26 Spon- sor Group hopes to have her back passing of Jean Roeder, a founding member of to flying condition by the end of the the French Supporter Squadron and CAF French year. Wing. Jean was 84 years old. You can make a donation to the air- Having worked with Deutsche Airbus, he joined craft and help see it fly again by clic- Airbus Industries in Toulouse where he worked on king here. long-range large-capacity airliner programs, one Source: CAF Website of which was a project of two A340 fuselage joi- ned together, which later evolved into the A3XX and later became the A380. Before this, Jean Ro- der headed the consortium’s technology center and had imagined the creation of an airliner that could be built with two or four engines, a project that came to life as the A330/A340 airliner series. At the French Wing, Jean was instrumental in lo- cating and inviting to France the crew members Members-only of a B-17 that had crashed near Toulouse during the Second World War. content His funeral was held in Cornebarrieu, near Tou- louse, on November 27. Several French Wing members were present. The members of the CAF French Wing extend their most sincere condolences and prayers to the family and friends of Jean in these difficult moments. ■ 3 CAF FreNCh wiNg PArtNers 4 CAF B-29 / B-24 squadron via B-29/B-24 Squadron Photo Article: Col. Roger ince 2010, the Commemora- Later on, he suggested touring the Robert S tive Air Force has honoured B-29 across the country and sell- the members who most contrib- ing rides and souvenirs to fund Above: the B-24 “Di- uted to its growth in the “CAF the restoration and maintenance, amond Lil” and the Hall of Fame”. In addition to the a model which the CAF still fol- B-29 “Fifi” of the well-known CAF pioneers (Lloyd lows today. He passed away on 26 B-29/B-24 Squadron Nolen, Lefty Gardner, etc.), I July 2000 and was buried in Fort in formation. discovered the life of a man who Sam Houston National Cemetery shaped the CAF’s history, and also with military honours. As a last Right: Vic Agather that of the B-29/B-24 Squadron: homage, his property was over- (Photo CAF Hall of Colonel Victor flown twice by Fame). “Vic” Agather, “Fifi” and sever- who is rightly al C-45, includ- considered as ing “Bucket of the squadron’s Bolts”, the C-45 founder back in he had donated 1976. to the CAF. He was inducted in Born on 21 Au- the CAF Hall of gust 1912, he Fame in 2010. learned to fly on the legend- The Squadron’s ary Curtiss collection, now- « Jenny ». He adays based at worked on B-29 the Vintage Fly- bombers dur- ing Museum in ing World War II. He joined the Fort Worth, Texas, includes: CAF in 1964 and advocated the integration of bombers in the ex- B-29 « FIFI » panding CAF fleet. In 1971, his mind set upon acquiring a B-29, This B-29, serial number 44- he was instrumental in both 62070, never saw combat. Built finding and funding a B-29 res- only weeks before the August toration project, and convinced 1945 surrender of Japan,it was the US Air Force to lift its no-fly modified as a TB-29A and served restriction for the type. with the Air Force until 1954. 5 After its retirement in 1958, it was a challenge for Col. Sohn, Above: the impres- was sent along with 35 other who was considered as “the most sive size of the B-29 B-29, to Naval Air Station Chi- qualified among non-qualified”. is apparent on this na Lake, California, where the photo of “Fifi” on the aircraft were used as targets for In 1974, the aircraft was nick- parking. testing new Navy weapons. named “Fifi” in honour of Vic Agather’s wife. Later on, a large In 1971, the Caf was searching “A” was painted on the aircraft’s for a B-29 when one of its mem- fin in recognition of the major bers, a National Guard pilot, re- role played by Vic Agather in the ported seeing what he thought restoration of the bomber as well were heavily-damaged B-29s in as for his important role in the the desert near China Lake. Vic CAF. Agather located the damaged and vandalized airframes, which were In 1976, Vic Agather persuaded scheduled to be sent to the scrap- the CAF board of directors that yard. After negotiating with the a squadron of volunteers would Air Force and searching for the be capable of maintaining the “best survivor”, the CAF select- aircraft airworthy while travel- ed its B-29 on 23 March 1971. ling throughout the country to fund its large operational costs. A maintenance team arrived in The board approved of the con- China Lake on 31 March 1971. cept and authorized the for- Below: a view of the Vic Agather funded the restora- inside of “Fifi”. tion and transfer of the aircraft to Texas. In only nine weeks, the aircraft was restored to airwor- thiness using parts from other B-29s. By the month of August, it was ready for its first flight. After talks with the military and the FAA to obtain the neces- sary authorisations, the bomber flew with CAF Colonel Randy Sohn (inducted in the CAF Hall of Fame in 2011) on 3 August 1971 from Harlingen, Texas. It was the first time the type had flown in over 12 years and it 6 perience, I can assure you that it’s a memorable one! B-24 “Diamond Lil” The Commemorative Air Force owns and operates the oldest surviving B-24. Out of a total of more than 18,000, s/n 40-2366 was the 25th aircraft built and first flew in 1941. Consolidated Aircraft began by building six pre-production LB- 30A for Great-Britain as part od the Mend-Lease program. The B-24A was the first production Above: Fifi’s crew. mation of what was to become model, twenty of which were the B-29/B-24 Squadron. Since sent to Great-Britain under the then, the squadron has grown to designation LB-30B. include over 300 members. The CAF’s B-24 was the 18th For nearly 30 years, “Fifi” par- from the order of 30 LB-30B ticipated in numerous airshows, and was involved in an acci- travelling to an average of 20 cit- dent during its 1941 delivery ies throughout the country every flight. Consolidated rebuilt it year. In 2006, after mechanical as a transport aircraft (designat- problems were encountered, its ed C-87 Liberator Express, with chief pilot decided to ground it seats for 20 passengers). It was for a complete overhaul, which regularly used by an airline dur- took 4 years, cost 3 million dol- ing World War II, flying between lars and involved the replace- San Diego, Fort Worth and New ment of its 4 engines.