The Scuttlebutt Official Publication of Air Group One Commemorative Air Force

January/February 2013

1905 N. Marshall Ave. Hangar 6 * El Cajon, CA 92020 * 619.259.5541 * www.ag1caf.org * [email protected]

“Betsy” To Return to the Skies! Air Group One’s beautiful L-5 captured at Wings Over Gillespie in May, 2003 (see article page 4) Photo by Tony Zeljeznjak

Contents Notes from the Cockpit...... 2 Cadet Pilot Indoctrination Program...... 10 Maintenance Officer Report...... 2 Name That Plane...... 11 I’ve got the Aircraft...... 3 I Didn’t Know That...... 11 Coming Events...... 3 Secrets of the F4U Corsair Design...... 12 The L-5 Story: I WILL Fly Again!...... 4 The Dream Ride...... 13 American Aces of WWII...... 6 Flying on Film...... 14 San Diego Veteran’s Day Parade...... 7 Normandie Before and After...... 15 Interesting Early American Aviation History...... 8 Laff Trak...... 17 2 The Scuttlebutt January/February 2013 Notes Maintenance from the Officer Cockpit Report

Col. Bob Simon, Outgoing Wing Leader Col. Howard Merritt My, my, how time flies! It seems like only yesterday that The many changes that have occurred this month in the I took the helm of the Unit from Al Riker. Changes were hangar, shop, museum and supply room had members made, a move to a larger and more efficient hangar spending lots of work hours. You know who you are was accomplished and now, we are in the process of and what you did. I came back from a week’s trip and obtaining another aircraft. New members are coming had to search for my desk. The place looks great! Plus on board; members with a fresh outlook and great we have new folding chairs. ideas. We are working together for the betterment of the Unit. We can all look forward to a great New Year The old red golf cart is being fixed up thanks to Abe as we implement our education programs and plan Talerman and should be back any day. Torri Mowery for the various air shows we attend and events we has taken on the job of setting up the supply area. I produce. Our own Wings Over Gillespie Air Show is in have three new assistants: Bill Judge, Justin Ellington the mid-stages of planning and is progressing nicely. and Marvin Robbins. Yes!! As the new leadership team takes the helm, I would Sassy had her oil changed and a new tailwheel tire like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for the installed. Today we replaced the bad GPS antenna. help, cooperation and encouragement given to me The L5 wing is coming along swiftly. The spar assembly during the last few years. The strength of Air Group has been test fitted to the and all looks good. One cannot be attributed to a single wing member but The center ribs are in the process of being installed. to the strong team effort and hard work that all of the wing members have contributed. Keeping a positive Our latest aircraft acquisition, the L3 from Midland, will attitude has been a key ingredient of our progress. So, be on its way soon. More flying fun. keep on smiling and let’s enjoy the ride. Take care and Merry Christmas We wish our best to all who have supported Air Group One of the Commemorative Air Force. Keep the blue side up.

Air Group One Staff Members (as of 1/1/13)

Wing Leader Jim McGarvie Maintenance Officer Howard Merritt [email protected] 619.890.7340 [email protected] 619.820.5359

Executive Officer TBD Safety Officer Darrel Cook [email protected] 619.572.3379

Finance Officer D’Marie Simon Marketing and Webmaster Rich Kenney [email protected] 858.829.4736 [email protected] 858.837.2068

Adjutant Jan McGarvie Scuttlebutt Editor Jim McGarvie [email protected] 619.561.3877 [email protected] 619.890.7340

Operations Officer John Telles Assistant Scuttlebutt Editor Bob Constantine [email protected] 760.458.4230 [email protected] 619.546.7080 January/February 2013 The Scuttlebutt 3 I’ve Coming got the Events Aircraft Col. Jim McGarvie, Incoming Wing Leader You are encouraged to frequently check the “I’ve got the aircraft.” That is a common, routine state- events calendar on the Air Group One Web site ment made thousands of times each day when one for updates: pilot takes over the controls from another. Sometimes, http://www.ag1caf.org/AG-1_Events.htm though, that phrase is uttered with some urgency (may- be in a voice an octave higher than normal) when the pilot not flying finds it necessary to assume command Happy New Year! in an attempt to extricate the aircraft from an unusual January 3, 7:00am...... Rotary Talk attitude or some other critical situation. January 4, 4:00pm...... FlyDays at Cafe Fortunately for me, this time those words are of the benign variety. Our outgoing Wing Leader, Bob Simon, January 9, 6:00pm...... WOG meeting has handed over Air Group One in stable flight, all January 10, 5:30pm...... Santee Mixer trimmed up and, like most aircraft, it will continue to fly just fine so long as I don’t do something to mess it up. January 12...... Cable Air Show

Bob has been the motivating force behind our move to January 13...... Cable Air Show our newer and better hangar, has overseen a few suc- cessful air shows, and has ushered in an era of new, January 18, 7:00pm...... Movie Night young and energetic members who have already made January 26, 11:30am...... BBQ/meetings considerable improvements in our unit. Luckily we haven’t seen the last of Bob. He will remain February 1, 4:00pm...... FlyDays at Cafe closely involved with Air Group One, especially as February 12...... SDSA High Tech Fair Chairman of next year’s Wings Over Gillespie Air Show. February 13...... SDSA High Tech Fair Bob, thank you from all of us for all you have done for Air Group One the last few years. I’m confident with February 14, 5:30pm...... Santee Mixer your help I won’t mess it up. February 15, 7:00pm...... Movie Night I also want to thank Linda King, our past Adjutant, and Warren Thomas, our previous Safety Officer, for their February 23, 11:30am...... BBQ/meetings years of dedicated service. You both have done so much for Air Group One in so many ways that most March 1, 4:00pm...... FlyDays at Cafe members don’t realize the impact you have had. We March 9, 8:30am...... Yuma Air Show hope you continue to remain involved and contribute. March 14, 5:30pm...... Santee Mixer Please help me welcome the newcomers to the Air Group One staff. As a result of the December elections March 15, 7:00pm...... Movie Night Jan McGarvie assumes the duties of Adjutant, and Dar- rel Cook those of Safety Officer. I know both of these March 16, 8:30am...... El Centro Air Show new officers very well--the former somewhat better March 16-23... SD Festival of Science & Engineering than the latter--and know they will work hard to fill the shoes of their predecessors. And fortunately for the unit, March 23, 11:30am...... BBQ and meetings and especially for me, D’Marie Simon was reelected Finance Officer. Thank you for agreeing to serve! 4 The Scuttlebutt January/February 2013 The L-5 Story: I WILL Fly Again! A Progress Report December 2012 By Tom Burton From what I can piece together, back in 2000 or 2001 had any knowledge about these planes. His research Tony Wiser, then Air Group One Maintenance Officer, led him to a Mr. Gray in Phoenix. Gray published an L-5 shook the wing of Air Group One’s L-5 “Betsy” after she newsletter and was a valuable source of information. came back from a flight and heard rattling noises inside From this new resource, Howard was able to acquire the wing. The plane was grounded and the wings were paper drawings and procured CDs of schematics and removed. It does not appear that any official internal drawings from the Smithsonian Institute. inspections were done on the wings. Many of the drawings, even the ones from the Smith- The Wing Leader at the time, Al Riker, requested the sonian, are poor quality from being copied and re- wings be replaced and started a search to purchase a copied over the years. Critical measurements have to new set. New wings were too expensive to purchase be reverse-engineered for accuracy and many of the and fabricating new wings in-house never made the drawings do not match the measurements we take off agenda. From 2001 until 2006, the L-5 sat forlorn and the original wings. Verifying our measurements and wingless. Several requests were made to remove the interpreting the drawings is time consuming, but neces- fabric for internal structure inspection, but each request sary to ensure our efforts are not in vain. was adamantly denied.

Around 2010, material was purchased to create two sets of wing spars and, with the help of Bob Simon, Howard Merritt and Jon Eads, the L-5 wing project began.

Somewhere around 2006 or 2007 Howard Merritt re- moved the fabric and some of the plywood lamination from one of the wings to assess the condition of the internal structure. What he found was not good; this would not be a “patch and fly” repair job. Built or bought, new wings would be required. There was warped and water-damaged plywood and a considerable amount of the glue that holds the structure together had turned to powder. Howard spent the next six months researching L-5 wing construction. He contacted anyone he could find that January/February 2013 The Scuttlebutt 5 The L-5 Story: I WILL Fly Again! Blue Max Aviation was contracted to provide official joined the team and all helped build, trim and prepare assistance, guidance and required FAA inspections. the ribs. Darrell Cook joined AG1 in January 2010 and immedi- ately became the L-5 wing project lead man!

On December 7, 2012 we fit the spars on the fuselage to adjust the brackets and tweak all the hardware. All our hard work seems to be paying off. Only a few minor adjustments were required and it was back to the shop for more assembly. The fuselage One of the wings was carefully and completely disas- went to stay at Bill Judge’s hanger until we can get the sembled and used to create patterns and jigs. wings completed. The other wing was left intact to use as a pattern for Aviation Structural Mechanic Marvin Robbins, Navy measurements and a guide to reassembly. It’s also Chief Pawel Mikolajewski, Jeff Davis, Torri Mowery, helpful for answering “How did they do that?”-type Justin Ellington and Charles Howell have been as- questions! sembling and attaching hardware onto the spars for the flaps and ailerons plus the “L”-brackets necessary The woodshop teacher from San Marcos High School for installing the new ribs. donated his time, a CAD program and a CNC router to precision-cut all the plywood pieces we would need We have a regular crew that comes in after work and to create the rib form structures for both wings. The weekends to add more pieces every day! patterns were saved on a disk so we can make more It’s slow and detailed work, but, at this rate, we should when and if we need to. be flying the L-5 to air shows throughout SoCal in 2013! Darrel Cook used his expertise and equip- ment to cut the struc- tural pieces that are glued onto the plywood The objective: To forms. return Betsy to her former flying glory I started working on as seen in the pic- the project on August 2, 2012 along with ture to the left. Del Bangle and Erich Moulder. Bret Ebaugh, Dwight Wait and Abe Talerman Photo by Tony Zeljeznjak at Gillespie Field May 4, 2003 6 The Scuttlebutt January/February 2013 American Aces of WWII By April, the Yorktown was conducting strikes against Submitted by David Hanson Tulagi in the Solomon Islands, and on his second mis- sion, Vejtasa shared in the downing of a Japanese This month: Stanley “Swede” Vejtasa Zero floatplane. On 7 May, during the Battle of the US Navy Ace Coral Sea, he scored a direct hit and shared in the sinking of the Japanese carrier Shoho. Just one day later when a swarm of Japanese Zeros ambushed his patrol, Vejtasa downed three enemy planes and earned his second Navy Cross. Soon after, he was sent to fly F4F Wildcats with “The Grim Reapers” of Fighting Squadron Ten.

Stanley W. “Swede” Vejtasa is the only World War II carrier pilot to receive Navy Crosses for both dive Then on 26 October 1942, Vejtasa permanently made bombing and aerial combat. his mark on history while leading a combat air patrol Born in Montana in 1914, Vejtasa attended both Mon- from the USS Enterprise during the Battle of Santa tana State College and the University of Montana. He Cruz. Finding a formation of enemy “Val” dive-bombers enlisted in the Navy in 1937 and later attended flight just short of their release points, Vejtasa quickly shot training at Pensacola, Florida, where he earned his down two. Then he spotted 11 enemy “Kate” torpedo wings and was commissioned an ensign. bombers making a run on the Enterprise. In very short order, he shot down five of these planes, and scattered His first fleet assignment was aboard the USS Yorktown the attackers before they had a chance to finish their (CV-5) flying Curtiss SBC-3 Helldiver biplanes while op- torpedo runs. Out of ammunition, he could only watch erating in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Vejtasa as the Enterprise was then hit by two bombs (though was drawing and checking out in the new Douglas SBD she survived to fight again). Dauntless dive-bomber with Scouting Squadron Five when the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor. The Yorktown For Swede, it was seven victories in one day, a feat and Air Group Five were immediately ordered to the that earned him his third Navy Cross and quite pos- Pacific. sibly saved the Enterprise from destruction. When his combat cruise with “The Grim Reapers” ended in May 1943, Vejtasa went to Naval Air Station, Atlantic City, to provide flight instruction to new carrier squadrons being formed there. After the war, he continued to serve in the Navy com- pleting over 30 years of distinguished duty as a pilot, ship’s officer, and ultimately the commanding officer of the USS Constellation. Officially credited with 10 1/4 Vejtasa’s combat exploits began in January 1942, when victories, his decorations and awards include three he participated in the first offensive strikes against Navy Crosses, two Bronze Stars, a Legion of Merit, a Japanese targets in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. Meritorious Service Medal, and the Navy Commenda- In March, during raids on enemy shipping near New tion Medal. Captain Vejtasa was elected into the Carrier Guinea, Vejtasa contributed to the destruction of three Aviation Hall of Fame in 1987 and retired to his home Japanese ships and was awarded his first Navy Cross. in Escondido, California. January/February 2013 The Scuttlebutt 7

Compiled by Bob Constantine 8 The Scuttlebutt January/February 2013 Interesting Early American Aviation History How many of you know that in 1910, mighty Martin Mar- instructors taught a rich young man named Bill Boe- ietta got its start in an abandoned California church? ing to fly. That’s where Glenn L. Martin with his amazing mother Later, bought one of Glenn Martin’s seaplanes Minta Martin and their mechanic Roy Beal constructed and had it shipped back to his home in Seattle. At this a fragile biplane that Glenn taught himself to fly. same time, Bill Boeing hired away Glenn’s personal It has often been told how Douglas Aircraft started mechanic. Later, after Boeing’s seaplane crashed in operations in 1920 in a barber shop’s backroom on Puget Sound, he placed an order to Martin for replace- L.A.’s Pico Boulevard. Interestingly, the barber shop ment parts. is still operating. Still chafing from having his best mechanic ‘swiped,’ The Lockheed Company built the first of their famous [a trick he later often used himself] Martin decided to Vegas in 1927 inside a building currently used by Vic- take his sweet time and allowed Bill Boeing to ‘stew’ tory Cleaners at 1040 Sycamore in Hollywood. for a while. Bill Boeing wasn’t known to be a patient man, so he began fabricating his own aircraft parts, an In 1922, Claude Ryan, a 24-year-old military reserve activity that morphed into constructing entire airplanes pilot, was getting his hair cut in San Diego when the and eventually the Boeing Company we know today. barber mentioned that the “town’s aviator” was in jail for smuggling Chinese illegals up from Mexico. Claude A former small shipyard nicknamed ‘Red Barn’ became found out that if he replaced the pilot “sitting in the Boeing Aircraft’s first home. Soon, a couple of airplanes pokey” he would be able to lease the town’s airfield were being built inside, each of them having a remark- for $50 a month - BUT he also needed to agree to fly able resemblance to Glenn Martin’s airplanes that, North and East - BUT not South! interestingly, had its own remarkable resemblance to Glenn Curtiss’ airplanes. Northrop’s original location was an obscure Southern California hotel. It was available because the police A few years later, when the Great Depression inter- had raided the hotel and found that its steady residents vened and Boeing couldn’t sell enough airplanes to were money-minded gals entertaining transitory male pay his bills, he diversified into custom-built speedboats hotel guests. and furniture for his wealthy friends. Glenn Martin built his first airplane in a vacant church, After WWI, a bunch of sharpies from Wall Street gained before he moved to a vacant apricot cannery in Santa control of the Wright Brothers Co. in Dayton and the Ana. He was a showman and he traveled the county Martin Company in L.A. and stuck them together as fair and air meet circuit as an exhibitionist aviator From the Wright-Martin Company. his exhibition proceeds, Glenn was able to pay his Wright-Martin began building an obsolete biplane factory workers and purchase the necessary wood, design with a foreign Hispano-Suiza engine. Angered linen and wire. because he had been out-maneuvered with a bad idea, His mother, Minta and two men ran the factory while Martin walked out… taking Larry Bell and other key Glenn risked his neck and gadded about the country. employees with him. One of his workers was 22-year old Donald Douglas From the deep wallet of a wealthy baseball mogul, Mar- [who WAS the entire engineering department]. A Santa tin was able to establish a new factory. Then his good Monica youngster named Larry Bell [later founded Bell luck continued, when the future aviation legend Donald Aircraft which today is Bell Helicopter Textron] ran the Douglas, was persuaded by Glenn to join his team. The shop. Martin MB-1 quickly emerged from the team’s efforts Another part of Glenn Martin’s business was a flying and became the Martin Bomber. school with several planes based at Griffith Park and Although too late to enter WWI, the Martin Bomber a seaplane operation on the edge of Watts where his showed its superiority when Billy Mitchell used it to January/February 2013 The Scuttlebutt 9 Interesting Early American Aviation History (cont.) sink several captured German battleships and cruis- plane, he linked up with Allan and together, they leased ers to prove it’s worth. He was later court martialed for a Hollywood workshop where they constructed the his effort. . It turned out to be sensational with its clean lines and high performance. Soon In Cleveland a young fellow called ‘Dutch’ Kindelberger and others flew the Vega and broke many of aviation’s joined Martin as an engineer. Later, as the leader of world records. , Dutch became justifiably well-known. I had the distinct pleasure of spending time with Ed Heinemann who later designed the AD, A3D and A4D. Flashing back to 1920, Donald Douglas had saved He told me how my dad would fly out to Palmdale with $60,000, returned to L.A. and rented a barber shop’s an experimental aircraft they were both working on. rear room and loft space in a carpenter’s shop nearby. They would take it for a few hops and come up with There he constructed a classic passenger airplane some fixes. After having airframe changes fabricated called the Douglas Cloudster. in a nearby machine shop, they would hop it again to A couple of years later, Claude Ryan bought the Cloud- see if they had gotten the desired results. If it worked ster and used it to make daily flights between San Diego out, Mr. Heinemann would incorporate the changes on and . This gave Ryan the distinction of the aircraft’s assembly line. No money swapped hands! being the first owner/operator of Douglas transports. In May 1927, Lindbergh flew to Paris and triggered a Claude Ryan later custom-built Charles Lindbergh’s bedlam where everyone was trying to fly everywhere. ‘ride’ to fame in the flying fuel tank christened: The Before the first Lockheed Vega was built, William Ran- Spirit of St. Louis. dolph Hearst had already paid for it and had it entered in an air race from the California Coast to Honolulu. In 1922, Donald Douglas won a contract from the Navy to build several torpedo-carrying aircraft. While driving In June 1927, my brother, Gordon, left Douglas Aircraft through Santa Monica ‘s wilderness, Douglas noticed to become ’s assistant at Lockheed. an abandoned, barn-like movie studio. He stopped his While there, he managed to get himself hired as the roadster and prowled around. That abandoned studio navigator on Hearst’s Vega. became Douglas Aircraft’s first real factory. The race was a disaster and ten lives were lost. The With the $120,000 contract in his hand, Donald Doug- Vega and my brother vanished. A black cloud hung las could afford to hire one or two more engineers. My heavily over the little shop. However, Hubert Wilkins, brother, Gordon Scott, had been schooled in the little later to become Sir Hubert Wilkins, took Vega #2 and known science of aviation at England’s Fairey Aviation, made a successful polar flight from Alaska to . so he hired Gordon. A string of successful flights after that placed Lockheed in aviation’s forefront. My first association with the early aviation pioneers oc- curred when I paid my brother a visit at his new work I went to work for Lockheed as it 26th employee, shortly place. Gordon was outside on a ladder washing win- after the disaster, and I worked on the Vega. It was dows. He was the youngest engineer. Windows were made almost entirely of wood and I quickly become a dirty. And had no money to half-assed carpenter. pay janitors. At this time, had acquired North Gordon introduced me to a towhead guy called Jack American consisting of Fokker Aircraft, Pitcairn Avia- Northrop, and another chap named Jerry Vultee. Jack tion [later Eastern Airlines] and Sperry Gyroscope and Northrop had moved over from Lockheed Aircraft. And hired Dutch Kindelberger away from Douglas to run it. all of them worked together on the Douglas Aircraft’s Dutch moved the entire operation to L.A. where Dutch world cruiser designs. and his engineers came up with the P-51 Mustang. While working in his home after work and on weekends, Jack designed a wonderfully advanced streamlined Source: Denham S. Scott, North American Aviation airplane. When Allan Loughead [Lockheed] found a Retirees’ Bulletin wealthy investor willing to finance Northrop’s new air- 10 The Scuttlebutt January/February 2013 Air Group One Cadet Pilot

By Tom Valenzia Indoctrination Program In late 2010 Air Group One, in cooperation with AF- The proposed Cadet Pilot Indoctrination Program was ROTC Detachment 075 at San Diego State University, presented to AG-1 at the November, 2010 staff meet- developed a Cadet Pilot Indoctrination Program (CPIP) ing. It would be a community outreach program made to assist cadets during their senior year in preparation up of local area pilots willing to share their time, equip- for USAF Pilot Training. ment, and expertise, with the upcoming generation of military aviators. Upon graduating college and receiving their well- deserved Air Force 2d Lt commission, these pilot The program consists of two separate entities; a Cadet candidates are then assigned to the USAF Initial Flight Pilot Indoctrination Program (CPIP) and a flight training Screening (IFS) program. The Air Force contracts Doss program. CPIP is available to all AFROTC students at Aviation, a civilian contractor operating out of Pueblo, SDSU. The primary purpose is to provide non-instruc- CO, to conduct the IFS training utilizing the two-place tional motivational flights to all interested cadets. Diamond DA-20 aircraft. The program is designed to take a first look at Air Force officers headed to Special- The flight-training segment of the program is staffed by ized Undergraduate Pilot Training (SUPT), Specialized a group of certified flight instructors. This program is Undergraduate Combat Systems Operator Training independent and operates outside of CPIP and the AF- (CSO), or Undergraduate Remotely Piloted Aircraft ROTC detachment. For those cadets holding a USAF Training (URT) and make a determination whether the “Pilot Candidate” slot, they will have the opportunity student continues to the next level of training. to contact one of the listed instructors and arrange for individualized flight training in preparation for IFS. Upon successful completion of IFS the student then will branch into their designated undergraduate program in Needless to say, the response from the AG-1 Staff was preparation for a career in fixed wing or rotorcraft air- overwhelmingly in support of the program. The pilots craft as a pilot or CSO, or they will enter the URT track. of AG-1 are the backbone of the program and now represent more than half of the total pilot volunteer list. IFS is a high-intensity program designed to take the student just beyond solo. According to Col Martin “Woj” Our first class of cadets, Cadet Class of 2011, gradu- Wojtysiak, recently retired Commander of AFROTC Det ated in June of last year. All five of the cadets have 075 at SDSU, at times the washout rate has been as successfully completed IFS. Our current Cadet Class high as 30%. IFS instructors recommend that if at all of 2012, with three pilot candidates, all have finished possible students obtain a few introductory flight les- our program and are awaiting their IFS start dates. sons prior to arrival. However, for many students, the The upcoming Cadet Class of 2013, with eight pilots, cost of such lessons is not within their personal budget. one CSO and one RPA candidate, will take introduc- tory CPIP rides and then begin flight training with us For example, the graduated class of 2011 had five pilot in late January. select candidates. One cadet had previously soloed, the remaining four had “zero” flight time. For his soon- As “Woj” is now comfortably settling into retirement, to-be 2d Lts, Col Wojtysiak wanted to provide a better he has continued to remain engaged in our program. opportunity for ensuring their success, and thus an idea Marty arranged for us to meet with Det 75’s new was spawned. Could an organization such as Air Group Commander, Col Darryle Grimes last August. Darryle One provide the necessary core resources to develop is highly supportive of our program, and has made a program to support the cadets? Would it be possible several constructive recommendations that we have to develop a flight indoctrination program supported by incorporated into next year’s program. We very much a coalition of local San Diego area based pilots willing look forward to working with Darryle and with his out- to work with the cadets? Col Wojtysiak was very much standing cadre of cadets. on board with this, so with his blessings, a meeting For the start of the 2012-13 season, we now have a was arranged with the staff officers at Air Group One. total of 13 San Diego area based pilots participating in the program. None of this could have been possible January/February 2013 The Scuttlebutt 11 Cadet Pilot I Didn’t Know Indoctrination That Program (cont.) By Robert Bruce without the cooperation of Det 75 and the core partici- pation of Air Group One. ELIZABETH ARDEN...American cosmetic manufac- The AG1 participating pilots are: turer, produced blackface cream for GI night missions. Col Kent Casady “ANY BONDS TODAY”...was a WW-II war bonds Col Darrel Cook promotion song written by Irving Berlin. Mike Dralle Col Jack Draper BURTON ANDRUS...was a U.S. Army colonel who Col Joe Graham was chief security officer for German prisoners during Col Jim McGarvie the Nuremburg war trials in 1946. He became closely Col Howard Merritt acquainted with top Nazis. Col Erich Moulder SIR KENNETH ANDERSON...a Lt. General who com- manded forces at Dunkirk and North Africa. A Scot, he was born on Christmas day. JACK ANDERSON...a newspaper columnist who succeeded Drew Pearson in writing “The Washington Name That Plane Merry-go-round.” Jack served in the army quartermas- Here is this month’s mystery plane submitted by John ter corp. in 1945 and was discharged in 1947. Ford. The first person to send the correct name of this “AMERIKA”...was the name of one of Adolf Hitler’s aircraft to [email protected] will receive a free meal at personal armored trains. The other was “Brandenburg.” our next monthly meeting! JOHN AMERY... was British and a propaganda Thanks John! broadcaster for the Germans in WW-II. His father was Secretary of India. “ALUMINUM TRAIL”... was a nickname for the air route from India to China because of all the wrecked aircraft along the route.

A P-51 landing on an ??? For story watch for the March/April issue of The Scuttlebutt 12 The Scuttlebutt January/February 2013 Secrets of the F4U Corsair Design By Ron Lewis As with most legends, there is a lot of confusion and its biplane version of the XF4F and mounted its wing misinformation about the legendary Chance in the middle of the fuselage as well. However, neither F4U Corsair fighter-bomber of World War Two and of these carrier aircraft had very powerful engines, and Korean War fame. The truth about the plane is even they were still straining for speed. more fascinating. The Vought-Sikorsky company, as it was then known, Ever notice that a lot of WW II Navy planes had round, decided they needed the most powerful engine they flat noses while the Army’s planes most often had sleek, could find, the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp, pointy front ends? In the 1920s, US naval aviation had to fit to their new plane, the XF4U. In order to maximize sworn off water-cooled engines because the shock the potential of this great engine, they needed to mount of taking off and landing from ships had proven too a massive13-foot, 4-inch diameter propeller to it. That stressful for the numerous water jackets and pipes for posed several problems. First, the wing would now leaky coolant. The engines were notoriously unreliable have to be set high, to help the massive prop clear the and a never-ending maintenance nightmare. The Navy ground. That would require long legs that swore it would never again use water-cooled engines could no longer merely sweep back within the chord on its fighter planes but that determination began to of the wing, a simple fir that would reduce mechanical waver when, in the 1930s, the Army Air Forces began to complexity and weight, and allow the gear to remain leave them in the dust with new fighters equipped with clear of guns and ammunition within the wing. Instead streamlined tapered to fit the water –cooled of a simple mechanical retraction, longer gear would in-line engines. Air-cooled engines were known as mean the need for more hydraulics to pull the gear up radial engines, in that their cylinders radiated outward and secure it perpendicular to the fuselage, like most from the center drive shaft, so that incoming air could planes. That arrangement would interfere with the cool the heads. This meant that Navy planes typically space meant for the three .50-caliber machine guns had large, circular front ends with flat faces that induced and ammo storage. a lot of drag, even when enclosed in a cowling. The So, how do you simultaneously raise the fuselage sleeker Army planes ran circles around the tubby little to clear the propeller, keep the wing mounted in the and the , middle of the fuselage to minimize drag, and keep the which started out as a biplane design. The twin-engine landing gear short for clearance within the chord of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning was the first aircraft to exceed wing? Simple—and ingenious: you angle the wing roots 400 MPH in level flight. Its twin booms and sharp noses downward, in what is known as an “inverted gull,” or just shouted “speed” and looked like a modern break “bent-wing,” design. The wing-fuselage joint is kept at with the past. However, not everybody was convinced the required 90 degrees, the outer wing remains low that radial engines meant a slow aircraft. enough to allow short landing gear that is simple and In the early 1930s, the National Advisory Council on unobtrusive, while the propeller maintains clearance of Aeronautics (NACA), the precursor to today’s NASA, the ground—or the deck of an aircraft carrier. did a series of wind tunnel tests on a wide variety of The F4U was awesome from the start and although the wing and fuselage shapes. They determined that the P-38 Lighting was the first fighter to exceed 400 mph real drag penalty was in the wing-fuselage joint. Bi- in level flight, the Corsair was the first single-engined planes, and even with their wings mated aircraft to do so. Speed was king and the designers did directly above or below a round fuselage, suffered everything they could to save weight, including the use greatly from drag because the sharply curved area of flush-riveting to smooth the surfaces and lightweight in between created what were known as burbles, or spot-welding instead of rivets that were heavier but also intense areas of instability that slowed an airframe. It require thicker, heavier sheet metal when performing was found that if the wing was mounted in the middle flush-riveting for aerodynamic smoothness. Wing and of a round fuselage, where it stood at roughly 90 de- control surfaces were designed to save even more grees to the fuselage, the drag was greatly diminished. weight, with ailerons of plywood and outer wing panels, As a result, the Navy’s F2A Buffalo was its first plane horizontal stabilizer and rudder all covered with doped with a mid-mounted single wing. Grumman dropped fabric rather than metal skin. Instead of installing air January/February 2013 The Scuttlebutt 13

F4U Corsair (cont.) The Dream Ride By Robert Bruce scoops that were external and drag-inducing, for cool- ing the engine oil, designers placed the coolers in the One summer day in 1938 my cousin came to our house large wing roots, where there would be no additional with his six-year-old son. He came over to show off his drag. The plane seemed to be a sure-fire winner—un- 1936 Ford V-8 convertible. He had purchased it from til carrier qualifications. The plane’s massive engine an older gentleman who could no longer drive. He produced tremendous torque that created a vicious tip paid $600. When it was new it sold for around $900. It stall on the left wing, rolling the plane left upon landing was really beautiful, and it was maroon… AND it had approach. The stiff landing gear caused the plane to a rumble seat! bounce over arresting wires. Large wing flaps forced The back window was soft, and unzipped so one could the tail to ride high, making it difficult for the to talk with the driver. I remember well the roar of that 85 grab arresting cables. Suddenly, a racehorse design hp V-8 engine. He offered a ride to my folks, but they was coming up lame and was nearly scrapped as a declined. I wanted to go so bad, I was jumping up and failure. The Navy banished the plane from carriers down. Dad said, “Take Bobby, looks like he wants to go.” and gave them to the Marines who, along with two Navy squadrons, operated the plane from land bases. For me, at 8yrs. old, it was a dream come true. My 2nd The problem with the main landing gear was in the cousin and I clamored into the rumble seat (no all boxed dual air and oil compensation system that allowed it up inside for us... we wanted the wind in our face). Off to compress and bounce upon landing. After a month we went around town, passing many cars and waving of trial-and-error, squadron personnel found the right to strangers on the sidewalks. combination to make the strut compress more gradu- After about 40 minutes the shiny Ford turned into the ally, to slowly absorb the landing shock and reduce the Howard Johnson where we enjoyed double-dip ice pogo effect of bouncing over the arresting cables. The cream cones. It seemed to take no time at all and we tail wheel and hook were also reconfigured. Amazingly, were back home. The ice cream was in us and on us. the left wing tip stall was fixed by making a “spoiler” What a day I had and what a ride in that V-8 Ford. (By on the leading edge of the right wing. Unbelievably, it the way gas back then was six gallons for a dollar... consisted of a triangular stick of wood held on by duct sigh!) tape—but it worked! Now, for the first time, Navy and Marine aviators had a mount that could fly fast, maneuver extremely well, take harsh punishment and dish it out with heavy arma- ment. The Corsair, as she came to be known, would Route To Becoming An Admiral rack up an amazing 11:1 kill ratio against the Japanese Three men are sitting stiffly side by side on a long and became known to them as the “Whistling Death,” commercial flight. After they’re airborne and the plane for the screaming sound made by air rushing through has leveled off, the man in the window seat abruptly the baffles on the wing root oil coolers during a strafing says, distinctly and confidently, in a low voice, “Admiral, dive. The Corsair was so effective in close air support Navy, retired. Married, two sons, both missions that Marines nicknamed her the “Sweetheart surgeons.” of Okinawa,” and she continued to perform that mission throughout the Korean War. After a few minutes the man in the aisle seat states through a tight-lipped smile, “Admiral, , retired. Married, two sons, both judges.” After some thought, the fellow in the center seat de- cides to introduce himself. With a twinkle in his eye he proclaims: “Master Chief Petty Officer, United States Navy, retired. Never married, two sons, both Admirals.”

14 The Scuttlebutt January/February 2013 Flying on Film: A Century of Aviation in the Movies 1912–2012 By Mark Carlson Airplanes and motion pictures were born within a year the movies to their cultural, social and historical con- of one another. In 100 years they have both risen from text. Carlson interviewed more than 200 actors, pilots, uncertain infancy to growing adolescence to robust ma- stuntmen, film crew, historians and above all, veterans. turity. While Hollywood’s actors and directors learned This book provided the opportunity for veterans, both the art of making movies, the aircraft industry and pilots military and civilian, to talk about their favorite and learned how to conquer the sky. In peace and war, not-so-favorite films. What was done right, and what prosperity and depression, the airplanes and motion was done wrong. pictures have become a part of American culture. It includes comments by men and women who had In Flying on Film movie fans and aviation buffs can find ‘been there and done that.’ In some cases, their com- their common bond with tiny biplanes dueling in the ments in this book are their last words on the subject. skies to vast armadas of bombers, from majestic China Clippers to huge 747s, from slow monoplanes to swift “I was fortunate to have the support and assistance jets. The movies told the story of the airplane. William of several noted aviation and film historians,” Carlson A. Wellman’s 1927 masterpiece Wings was the first of said, “who not only provided excellent background the breed, a standard to be emulated. Flying on Film material, but read and edited the manuscript. My most tells the history behind the films, the story behind the heartfelt gratitude goes to Linda Stull, who never let me camera. Veterans and aviators from past and present get discouraged, and provided so much help that the tell the real story of one of the most fascinating genres book could not be anything but a success.” of motion pictures in Hollywood. William A. Wellman, Jr., the son of the director of Wings From the Foreword by William A. Wellman, Jr.: (1927), provided some wonderful information on his father’s 11 aviation films and wrote the Foreword.” “Mark Carlson has produced a remarkable and insightful chronicle of a 100-year history of avia- This is a book that film, aviation and history buffs will tion in the movies. He sketches an incredible want to have by their side when they watch the movies. portrait of the films, the diversity of aircraft, and It’s written in a comfortable, lighthearted but informative the highly skilled and courageous flyers who style that appeals to readers of all ages.” helped make these films the spectacles that they became. 412 pages, softcover, $24.95 In this book, he has flown a resolute route, Available on Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and through brilliant blue skies surrounded by bil- Bearmanormedia.com. lowy white clouds, into 100 years of aviation in About the Author: the movies. It is a book my father would have loved.” Mark Carlson is an aviation historian, writer, classic film buff and student of filmmaking. He has written articles For anyone who likes airplanes and/or the movies this for several national aviation magazines and organiza- is a must-read book. tions. As a docent and researcher at the San Diego Air What readers will find are more than 170 films ranging & Space Museum and member of many aviation-related from the silent era to World War I, from the golden age organizations, Carlson has gained an insight into the to biographies, from the skies over war-torn Europe to people who lived the world of airplanes and the movies. the vast Pacific, from early jets to action films, on to He and his wife live in San Diego comedies, airliners, helicopters and airships, adven- tures and beyond. But this book does more than review and detail the production and cinematography of these films. It relates January/February 2013 The Scuttlebutt 15 Normandie... Before and After 16 The Scuttlebutt January/February 2013 January/February 2013 The Scuttlebutt 17 Laff Trak

What time is it? First Impressions On some air bases, the Air Force is on one side of the Having just moved into his new office, a pompous, new field and civilian aircraft use the other side of the field, colonel was sitting at his desk when an airman knocked with the control tower in the middle. One day the tower on the door. Conscious of his new position, the colonel received a call from an aircraft asking, “What time is it?” quickly picked up the phone, told the airman to enter, then said into the phone, “Yes, General, I’ll be seeing The tower responded, “Who is calling?” him this afternoon and I’ll pass along your message. The aircraft replied, “What difference does it make?” In the meantime, thank you for your good wishes, sir.” Feeling as though he had sufficiently impressed the The tower replied, “It makes a lot of difference. If it is young enlisted man, he asked, “What do you want?” a commercial flight, it is 3 o’clock. If it is an Air Force plane, it is 1500 hours. If it is a Navy aircraft, it is 6 “Nothing important, sir,” the airman replied, “I’m just bells. If it is an Army aircraft, the big hand is on the 12 here to hook up your telephone.” and the little hand is on the 3. If it is a Marine Corps aircraft, it’s Thursday afternoon and 120 minutes to “Happy Hour.”

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