Y1B-7 pilots of the 31st Bomb Squadron
Johnson Air Base, Japan, early 1950s
Here’s the man who took most of the photos. Unfortunately, we do not know his name. He sits in squadron CO, Major Carl D. Peterson’s bird.
F-94s of the 339th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. Serials are 51-5460, 465, and 470. The latter crashed in 1954.
51-5452 zooms past a T-33.
51-5467 of the 339th FIS.
467 gets its guns armed for another mission.
The 339th “Gremlins”.
F-80s of the 41st Fighter Interceptor Squadron. 49-774 leads the way.
49-433 of the 41st FIS
Hurrying past the camera are 49-430 and 473 of the 41st FIS. are
A couple of 25th FIS birds: 49-700 and 739.
“Hawg” was name given to 49-775 of the 35th FIW.
F-80 of the 35th FIW glides in on short final.
A couple of hard working maintenance men show off their strength.
A P2V Neptune of VP-1 forms the backdrop for 49-514 of the 41st FIS.
VP-1 P2V on deployment from NAS Whidbey Island.
A pair of visiting F9F-5 Panthers of VF-192. On this deployment to the Far East in 1953-4, VF-192 had a starring role in the immortal film “The Bridges at Toko-ri”. No doubt these are two of the aircraft seen in that picture.
An F-51 Mustang gets a quick engine change while a C-47 waits its turn.
Sikorsky H-19 of the 39 Air Rescue Squadron visits Johnson AB. The remains of this aircraft are currently in an Arizona salvage yard.
Line up of A-26s of the 6th Tow Target Squadron.
Another visitor to Johnson AB was “Rough Knight” (44-35388), an A-26 of the 13th Bomb Squadron. This aircraft was shot down in 1951.
Pass in review for men of the 35th Fighter Interceptor Wing. SA-16s in the background.
No. 356 Squadron, RAAF, in the Cocos Islands, 1945
Liberators of No. 356 Squadron on West Island. Photo credit to Robert Livingstone whose father served as an RAAF navigator in No. 160 Squadron.
Surrounded by all the trappings of a tropical paradise, a MK VI Liberator idly awaits its next mission.
A “tropical paradise” had its limits: a soggy days days on West Island were the norm.
Armourers of 356 Sqn prep their bombs on the rain-drenched hardstand.
Although constituted late in the war, No. 356 Squadron made a name for themselves with attacks against Japanese shipping and land targets.
Flying the Consolidated Liberator B Mark VI, 356 Sqn operated from the balmy Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean. An outfit that included Canadians as well as Australians, they proved a good mixture as the squadron amply proved in combat.
USS Randolph, 1945-46
Full deck as the Randolph prepares to launch
Taken from Randolph, a wall of anti-aircraft fire sends an attacker to his doom.
Pilots of VF-15, USS Essex
Proudly posing with their scoreboard on the hangar deck of USS Essex, VF-15’s roster of pilots included many aces, the top being David McCampbell with 34 victories. The F6F Hellcat he flew to attain such a score is the backdrop for the photo, the famed “Minsi III”. McCampbell is seated to the right of the scoreboard.
The Skyraider
Flown by 56th Special Operations Wing at Nakhon Phanom Air Base, Thailand, this Skyraider (52-139598) had its picture taken while on display at nearby Korat Air Base in 1970. Unfortunately, time was running out for 598: On 24 December of that same year, the aircraft was lost while escorting rescue helicopters deep into hostile country. The pilot, Major Albro L. Lundy, was killed, his body being recovered and identified decades later. R.I.P.
Aloha From the 1930s
A-3 Falcons of the 26th Attack Squadron, Wheeler Field.
Keystone B-5s of Luke Field’s 72nd Bombardment Squadron pay a call to Wheeler.
P-12s of the 18th Pursuit Group warming up at Wheeler Field.
The photo’s caption says the crew of this DH-4 was “O.K.”. Well, that’s good, but despite having survived the crash, their troubles were not over: They have ended up in a field full of Opuntia ficus-indica, also known as the prickly pear cactus (“Panini” in Hawaiian). This no doubt caused a lot of cursing and swearing as the crew worked their way out of the field. Additional blasphemous language was supplied by the mechanics who arrived later to haul the wreck out of there.
Fairchild C-8
When this photo was taken on April 24, 1934, the 1st Observation Squadron at Mitchel Field, NY, was mainly in the business of flying the Curtiss O-1 Falcon. However, they also had this Fairchild C-8 for hauling cargo and personnel from place to place. This C-8 (31-463) was one of only 14 ever built for the Air Corps.
The propeller shop at Randolph Field was a busy place in the 1930s…
One would be forgiven when seeing these photos for laughing at what appears to be multiple views of one pilot’s misfortune. Unfortunately (for the taxpayer, that is) these are different aircraft on (I assume) different days. Same plane – the BT-14 – and, same place – Randolph Field. The invention of the tricycle landing gear was a welcome addition to the world of flying, especially for those who were just getting started.
More great ads!
Considered by many as one of the worst aircraft designs of all time, the “strut-less, wings like a bird” Christmas Bullet had (surprise!) an annoying habit of shedding those unsupported wings immediately after takeoff. Two were built, both lost their visible means of support. Note: Dr. William Christmas designed the aircraft with an idea in mind that it could be used to fly over to Germany and kidnap Kaiser Wilhelm II during WW1. No, I did not make that up.
The artist might have sketched a hard-working engineer that did not look like a mad scientist in his laboratory.
11th Fighter Squadron, Adak, Alaska
A 4th of July salute to a great American – General Curtis E. LeMay
On Independence day, it is well to remember those who have ensured that such liberty endures. One such man is the immortal General Curtis E. LeMay. General LeMay will be long remembered for his revolutionary concepts on airpower strategy and doctrine. As the absolute boss of Strategic Air Command, he put those theories to the test. He was always willing to find out what worked, or did not. Furthermore, from the B-29 to the SR-71, LeMay always knew a good aircraft when he saw one.
In his day, LeMay’s personality and strong beliefs caused him to be a terror in the minds of many. While he was incredibly firm, he was also incredibly fair. He knew what he wanted, and in case one did not know what that was, he would tell you in no uncertain terms. Intimidating though he was to those in the 1950s & 60s, in today’s juvenile-minded political & societal environment he would cause many of his fellow Americans to wet their pants. That being their sole means of expressing their inability to argue with the man.
USS Los Angeles in Puerto Rico
In May of 1925, the mighty airship USS Los Angeles (ZR-3) paid a call to the steamy waters of Puerto Rico where, as it swung lazily from its tender, USS Patoka, it attracted quite a crowd. Judging by the number of rowboats, I would guess a tidy business was underway where, for the right price, one could get a closer look at the giant airship.
B-36, 92nd Bomb Wing
44-92060 had, by today’s standards, a brief life. Delivered in 1949, and assigned to the 92nd Bomb Wing at Fairchild AFB in 1951, it did its part for five years until it was scrapped in 1956. Made for a lot of pots and pans.
The patch of the 92nd during the B-36 days at Fairchild. B-52s arrived in 1957, and, alas, this patch design was done away with.
In search of Pancho Villa: On the Border with the 1st Aero Squadron, 1916
This Curtiss JN-2, Signal Corps No. 43, was the first aircraft assembled and flown after the 1st Aero Squadron arrived in Columbus, New Mexico, in March, 1916.
The man astride the Harley Davidson (one of six brought on the expedition) carries a dispatch bag bearing the markings of the 1st Aero Squadron.
The 1916 mission to bring Pancho Villa and his desperadoes to justice was the first military operation for the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps. Despite the primitive conditions and seemingly frail aircraft, the 1st Aero Squadron proved invaluable for the Army’s operations.
Beginning in mid-March, 1916, the aircraft seen here, Signal Corps No. 43, flew many of the 1st’s early missions. Usually piloted by Lt. Herbert A. Dargue, No. 43 was considered one of the more reliable machines. However, aircraft reliability in 1916 was measured in weeks: No. 43 developed engine trouble on April 19, 1916, was forced to land in hostile territory, and was subsequently destroyed to prevent its capture. Hiking through the badlands of Mexico without food or water for two days and nights, Lt. Dargue and fellow pilot Robert H. Willis managed to avoid capture.
Shooting Stars
48-905 and 48-900 of Air Materiel Command.
This P-80A (44-85031) was, in all probability, the first jet aircraft that many in this crowd had ever seen.
85031 was assigned to the 71st Fighter Squadron when it crashed in 1947.
44-85044 of Wright Field’s Test Division.
44-85123 of the Test Division, Wright Field, won the Thompson Trophy in 1947. This aircraft is now stored at Edwards AFB.
44-85247 was another P-80A assigned to Wright Field’s Test Division.
45-8320 of the 61st Fighter Squadron, Jet Propelled.
44-85460, Wright Field Test Division.
49-477 , Air Proving Ground, Eglin AFB.
44-85257 of the 56th Fighter Group
45-8310 of the 161st Reconnaissance Squadron, Jet Propelled.
45-8568 of the Indiana Air National Guard.
8568 was assigned to the 163rd Fighter Bomber Squadron.
44-85401 was another P-80 belonging to the 61st Fighter Squadron.
TV-1 (3841) of NAS Seattle. This aircraft is now on display at the Seattle Museum of Flight.
RB-66, Spangdahlem Air Base, 1961
The patches worn on the hats of these maintenance men tells us they are members of the 30th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. Looks like a typical rainy day for Germany, and especially for Spangdahlem.
84th Bomb Squadron (Tactical)
With its tail number of 47-084, this B-45A was a natural choice for assignment to Langley AFB’s 47th Bomb Group, 84th Bomb Squadron. The unit later moved to RAF Sculthorpe in the UK.
The B-45 was, of course, America’s first jet bomber, and like many of those early jets it had a checkered career (of the 143 B-45s built, almost one-third of them were destroyed in crashes and other mishaps). There are very few survivors, and 47-084 is not one of them: it ended its days in 1958 at Ramstein Air Base as an instructional airframe for training firemen. In other words, a charred and smashed wreck.
Insignia of the 84th
France, 1918
Caproni Ca.5 at a French airfield.
Caudron G.3 at Châteauroux-La Martinerie, 1918.
From the shade of the hangar, French pilots take a look at an RFC Handley Page 0/400.
DH.4 of the US Air Service.
Last of the Shark Tails…for now
Still more early B-17s…
More B-17 Shark Tails
Another look at the pre-war B-17
Note that the aircraft is labeled the YB-18 – oops.
Shark Fin B-17s
Let’s take a look at the early birds of the B-17 world…
Boeing Model 299
A salute to the forerunner of the world’s most famous bomber. Most of the photos taken of the 299 are well known, but here at Jivebomber’s you not only get to see them again, but in many cases, they are original 1935 photographs from long-discarded Boeing archives. Enjoy.
The Seattle Star of July 17, 1935, tells us that Boeing’s “Mystery Bomber” had rolled out the factory door only the day before.
The 299 being ogled by appreciative onlookers at Boeing Field. Another famous product of that company can be seen in the hangar – the P-26.
The 299 takes to the skies.
Artist’s conception of the Model 299 over Wright Field, Ohio.
