Category: Army Air Force

John B. Brooks, Aerial Pioneer

Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, Army Air Service, Army Air Corps, Army Air Forces.

One of the unsung trailblazers of flight, Major General John Bernard Brooks initially served in the U.S. Cavalry (the kind with horses) along the Mexican border hunting banditos way back in 1915. He went off to pilot training, then returned to the border in 1916 with the Punitive Expedition chasing Pancho Villa & co.

He went on to serve in Hawaii, where he was among the first aviators in the islands, as well as the commander of Luke Field on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor. He also spent time in the Philippines and Alaska. In fact, “Johnny” Brooks wore just about every title one could back in the early years of American military aviation. His is a story worth studying.

F-15 Reporter

The photo-snapping derivative of Northrop’s much-vaunted P-61 Blackwidow, the F-15A Reporter was dealt by fate an unfavorable hand and did not enjoy the fame of its darker-skinned older relation. First flown in late 1945, with deliveries commencing the following year, the F-15 looked promising, but with the war over and defense spending curtailed, the contract was sharply slashed. Only 36 planes were built. Some were allocated for test purposes, and of the remainder, there was scarcely enough to equip one squadron – the 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron (PRS) of Johnson Air Base, Japan – seen here in the featured photos. The squadron received their F-15s in 1947 and flew them for two years before transferring the surviving aircraft to the 82nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (also at Johnson Air Base), whereupon they were quickly retired.

When, in 1948, the USAF redesignated reconnaissance planes from “F” to “R” (the “F” was needed, of course, to replace the “P” in the fighter world), the F-15 was renamed the RF-61C, thus linking it closer to its forebear, the P-61 (now F-61) Blackwidow. That being said, the designation on the data block below the cockpit in these photos identifies the planes as the “F-15A”. Either the images were taken before the name change, or – this is quite possible given the narrow timeline of service for the aircraft in question – the designation painted on the planes was never changed before they were retired.

Mystery Airfield Update

There were several good guesses as to the identity of this “Mystery” airfield, but no one nailed it. So, here are a few more clues:

 – It is in Hawaii

– It is part of an active army post

– One could drive right past it and never know it was there

Avert your eyes because here comes the answer:

Waiele Gulch Field.

Where is that, you say? It is part of Wheeler Field and, as field’s name states, it is in a gulch and therefore rather hidden from the view of passersby. That, of course, was what made a small canyon/gulch such an appealing location for a military airfield.

Construction began just before Pearl Harbor with the idea of having a well-protected facility for the assembly of aircraft. Bunkers were hewed in the gulch walls. Taxiways connected with those on Wheeler Field. Today, it is still easily visible from the air, but still not so from the ground.

The top photo was taken at the height of World War II. The other photo is what one seens today.

Noorduyn’s Multitalented Norseman

Aircraft designer Robert Noorduijn/Noorduyn was born in the Netherlands, came to Canada, and didn’t design too many airplanes, but the ones he did cook up were pretty good birds, including his magnum opus, the Norseman. An aircraft that was in production for decades and can still be seen buzzing around to this day, the Norseman also made its way into the air forces inventories of many nations, including the United States, as seen here in World War II when it was known as the C-64.

Shaw Field, Postwar AAF

C-45 plays postwar recruiter.
P-61 of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron.
Like most bases back when, Shaw had a variety of planes – B-25s included.
And A-26s.
Shaw Field flightline with Mustangs in the distance..
A naval visitor – the Lockheed XR60-1 “Constitution”.
Another flying recruiting tool, the Constitution sports the logo “Your Navy – Air And Sea”.

As seen in these photos, mid-to-late 1940s Shaw Field (soon to be Shaw AFB) was a base sporting an impressive array of aircraft such as those seen here: P-61, AT-6, A-26, B-25, P-51, etc. A bonus is the visiting (and shortlived) Lockheed XR60-1 Constitution, one of only two built. Cause of demise: underpowered, overly expensive to operate. That said, the XR-60 Constitution is always good to remember when making a bet at your local bar. Just slap your dollar down, and then ask anyone to name the largest landplane ever flown by the US Navy. 

Post-War Mustangs at Shaw Field

44-74547 of the 20th FG. This plane crashed in July 1947.
44-74624 sports an early “buzz number” on its nose.
The group commander’s P-51, 44-84750.
Same aircraft. Later transferred to the South African Air Force, it was shot down in Korea.
The commander’s bird.

Here are a few photos from an airman who was stationed at Shaw Field (now Shaw AFB) in South Carolina, and, judging by the markings on these Mustangs, the pics were taken not terribly long after the war. Most of the birds are from the 20th Fighter Group, which arrived at Shaw in October 1946, so it is safe to date these photos to early-mid 1947.

There’s Always More Forts

95th Bomb Group Forts over the target.
“Tinker Toy”, a B-17F of the 381st BG is seen at its home field, Ridgewell.
92nd BG over the Rhine south of Koblenz.
Same Fort seen in previous photo.
42-107205, a G-model of the 91st Bomb Group.
First B-17 “F” model is seen at the Boeing plant in Seattle.
A 3-ship of the 305th Bomb Group readies for takeoff.
“Cabin in the Sky” belonged to the 390th Bomb Group.
B-17E does the always popular Mt. Rainier flypast. Aircraft served with the 91st BG.
The 385th Bomb Group runs into heavy opposition.

James E. Stewart, Flight Engineer

By the time this photo reached “Aunt Olga & Uncle Fred” back in his home state of Iowa, Private James Stewart had completed aerial gunner training at Harlingen, Texas, and was now at Keeseler Field in Mississippi for the next phase of his training, that of aircraft mechanic.  Upon graduation from Keesler, newly promoted Sergeant Stewart was off to RAF Sudbury in Suffolk, Great Britain, where he served as a B-17 flight engineer with the 833rd Bomb Squadron, 486th Bomb Group. He flew his missions, survived running gun battles with the Luftwaffe, got blasted by flak batteries, and eventually returned home to Iowa.

Stewart did all these things while still a teenager. 

XB-19A

The first three photos show the gigantic bird at Miami Army Airfield, Florida.
Showing a photo of oneself standing next to the XB-19 was always a conversation starter. Note the patch on the wing underside.
Post-war found the XB-19 languishing at Clinton County Field in Ohio, where it served with the USAAF’s All Weather Flying Center.
In its early days, everything about the aircraft’s size was worth a photo. The XB-19’s gigantic tail looms in the background.

The B-17″E”

41-2407 was the 15th E-model built and spent its life testing one thing after another.
41-2399 shows, to good effect, the remote belly turret as well as the early war insignia.
2399 again, this time with the fuselage insignia redone, but the wing star is unchanged. Note the B-10 to the right.
2399 (again).
41-2514 enroute to the RAF. The remote turret is no more.
41-2656 sports the new and improved ball turret.
41-9182 floats in for a landing.

The War Can Wait…

NAA P-51B 43-12093_

Los Angeles, Mines Field, 1943. When the ice cream man arrived, work came to a halt outside North American Aviation’s plant.

The pair of Mustangs are an interesting duo: the first P-51 “B” model (43-12093), and an RAF bird (FX863, also a “B” model). 43-12093, befitting its first-in-the-series status, was retained by NAA for test purposes. (Notice it is experimenting with a three-bladed propellor). Our Mustang III, FX863, never made it to the RAF but was instead handed over to the USAAF and eventually saw combat in the skies over Europe with the 357th Fighter Group.