Category: British Aircraft

The RAF in SEA

During the Vietnam War, the skies of Southeast Asia were not limited to aircraft directly involved in the conflict. Life went on for the various air forces in nearby countries, including the Royal Air Force based in Singapore. Here, one of their aircraft is paying a visit to Pleiku Air Base in South Vietnam. The plane is, of course, a Gloster Javelin – a FAW9R from No. 60 Squadron, RAF Tengah. May 1967 is the date on the photo.

Note the variety of USAF birds: C-123s, an F-100, and an RF-101. There was a war on.

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.

The Alabama Air National Guard in Europe, 1952

The Alabama boys of the 160th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron present a nice 4-ship of RF-80s.
Later during their service in Germany, the 160th TRS fancied up their aircraft with the addition of lightning bolts.
The indital destination of the 160th TRS was Toul Rosières Air Base in France. Owing to the base’s less than modern facilities (seen here), the 160th was sent to Neubiberg in Germany. The squadron’s parent group, the 117th, remained at Toul flying RB-26s.
RB-26 of the 1st TRS. The pierced steel planking is evidence of why the 160th and their RF-80 jets opted for a more suitable environment for jet aircraft.
Neubiberg was now home to a couple hundred Alabamians.
RF-80s, a T-33, and several F-84s of the 86th Fighter Bomber Wing.
Maintenance men of the 160th.
Pilots of the 160th.
Colonel Jackson, commander of the 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Group confers with Colonel Laven of the 86th Fighter Bomber Group.
I doubt this was a booster for anyone’s career.
There are three aircraft involved, but all were repaired and put back in service.
The 38th TRS was also at Neubiberg. They later acquired many of the 160th’s aircraft.
Another Neubiberg outfit was the 525th FBS.
F-84E’s of the 86th FBG.
A lone F-84E of the 526th FBS.
One of the nice things about flying a recce fighter is you get to take great pictures and then use them to prove the other guy is not as hot a pilot as the thinks.
Visiting B-29.
Another visitor was this RAF PR 10 (WB156) of No. 541 Squadron, RAF Bückeburg, Germany.
The C-119’s were kept busy during the Germany deployment.
Like many of the men at Neubigerg, this Stinson L-5 Sentinal was a World War II veteran.
The “Skyblazers”, the US Air Force’s in Europe aerial demonstration team.
The 160th could put on a good show as well.

When the 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Group(TRG) of the Alabama Air National Guard was activated during the Korean War, its squadrons spent about six months in Europe. Initially deployed to Toul Rosières Air Base in France, the unit found the steel matting and dirt flightline less-than optimal for the 160th TRS and its FOD-sucking RF-80s. (It was fine for the 1st TRS – they had RB-26s). It was decided to send the 160th to Neubiberg Air Base in Germany, where they would share the facilities with the base’s host unit, the 86th Fighter Bomber Group, and their F-84Es. The 160th remained at Neubiberg until de-activated in July 1952. Loaded with souvenir beer steins and lots of memories, they returned home to Alabama. 

World War 1 USN Airship Operations

Caption reads “The original 15 airship pilots and USN enlisted men at Royal Airship Station, Cranwell, England, winter or 1917-18”. Two of those pilots, R. Keily, and C.D. Anderson (2nd row, 4th & 5th from the left) wear Royal Flying Corps pilot wings.
This photo’s caption states that this “British Patrol Dirigible”, the R-31 was flown by Lt. (j.g.) Eugene Wolfe and other American pilots.
Another airship flown by USN naval aviators in WW1 was the French Chalais-Meudon T-2.
Home base for the USN airship pilots in France was Naval Air Station Paimbœuf.

Airshow time, circa 1979

Note: This T-33 from Tyndall AFB wears the number “70490” but in actuality is 58-0490. These things happen.
Vulcan XM597 would become famous for its role in the upcoming Falklands War in 1982 when it became one of only two Vulcans to drop weapons in actual combat.
F-4E 67-0301 from George AFB was credited with downing a MiG-21 in 1972, yet wears no markings to indicate such. This was not uncommon in the late 70s. We had several “MiG Killer” Phantoms in my squadron at the time, and they bore no markings either.

There was something for everybody at this open house back around 1979: Phantoms, Voodoo, Thunderchief, Vulcan, and the USAF Thunderbirds in their T-38s. Not 100 percent certain of the location, but I believe it is Whiteman AFB, MO. The photographer was not using the best of equipment, but I’m glad he took the pictures.

Jets (and props) of the 1940s

RAF & French pilots with their USAF counterpart exchange pleasantries alongside an F-80 (54-8717) of the 36th Fighter Group. This aircraft crashed in 1952.
Same pilots, different aircraft. This Vampire and its pilots were assigned (I believe) to No. 16 Squadron.
Swarm of Vampires zooming by.
This is the same F-80 as seen in the first photo, but in the spirit of NATO cooperation, it flies with a Mustang of the French Air Force’s Groupe de Reconnaissance GR II/33 “Savoie”.

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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.

The Vickers Valiant

The third Valiant built, WP201 was used for training missions and testing with No. 1321 Bomber (Defence) Training Flight at RAF Wittering.
On the ground, the Valiant could be an ungainly-looking beast. Looks are deceiving things though – the Valiant was a highly respected aircraft and marked the RAF’s commitment to nuclear defense.

The R.34 comes to America

No one in the United States had any experience.

When the British airship R.34 crossed the Atlantic in 1919, she and her crew became instant celebrities. Taking off from Britain on July 2, the crew battled winds, storms, freezing conditions, and a rapidly dwindling fuel supply before arriving 108 flying hours later. Hovering over a field in Mineola, NY, the airship discharged its first cargo – Major John Pritchard – who parachuted down to organize the landing party below. This was necessary because no one in the United States had any experience in handling such a craft. As the photos illustrate, obviously, Pritchard was successful. He also became the first man to arrive in America by air.

The first photo shows R.34 resting after its journey. Hundreds of hydrogen cylinders are scattered and stacked all around to provide gas for the trip home. Why the whole place wasn’t blown to Kingdom-come is probably a miracle.

Photo #2 is interesting because the men of the 278th Aero Squadron decided to use the R.34 as a backdrop for their group photo. At this time, the 278th was being disbanded at Mineola, and the arrival of R.34 was obviously inspiring. This is the only explanation because the 278th certainly had nothing to do whatsoever with airships (other than trying to shoot them down, should the opportunity present itself.).

The last photo exemplifies how the R.34 compared to the Woolworth Building in New York City. The tallest building in the world at that time, Woolworth’s was always a handy prop for comparison (ocean liners, airships, etc.).

Oddball Aircraft

 

The Westland-Hill Pterodactyl was one of a number of tailless aircraft designed by that firm in the 1920s. A revolutionary idea, but I have to say that in looking at this photo one would be excused for thinking it was the result of some dire mishap.
Due to its flying characteristics (to say nothing of its appearance), the Vickers Vulcan carried the nickname “Flying Pig”.
The YC-123 was fitted with skis, wing floats, and a host of other devices with the idea of having an aircraft that could fly (and land) just about anywhere.
VB-17G (44-83259) was a VIP transport for General Carl Spaatz during the time he was the Air Force’s first Chief of Staff. The aircraft was nicknamed “Boops” after his daughter.
Boeing’s XAT-15 was a promising trainer but was elbowed aside in favor of other designs. Somewhat of a throwback in construction (it used a lot of wood), the aircraft is seen here at Boeing’s Wichita plant (note the Stearmans in the background).
The XB-24N (44-48753) was another one-off Liberator, but not too bad an idea. It did illustrate that a B-24 was doable with only a single horizontal stabilizer.
The Vultee Vulture in its original configuration. With the snug-fitting engine cowl and nacelle, one could easily mistake the aircraft for having a liquid-cooled engine. It did not, but the engine didn’t like it so Vultee eventually opted for a more conventional open cowl.
The XB-24J (42-73130) was a one of a kind aircraft that incorporated the nose of a B-17G. (Translation: Okay, maybe that wasn’t such a hot idea after all.) Due to the numerous “Frankenstein” versions of highly modified B-24s, there must have been something about its design that caused engineers to have fantasies about modifying the aircraft into something it was never intended to be.