Back in the 1950’s, the USAF shot a recruiting film to attract nurses. They found a pretty actress to play the recruit, and this is the result.
Other than the actress, everyone else were USAF personnel. Here, our “recruit” shows her skill in boarding a life raft.
Then its off to the altitude chamber with her fellow nurses. The board games are still used today. From my own experience in the chamber, the board game was beyond my set of skills at sea level, much less at 43,000 feet.Latest category: Russian Aircraft
We’ll start things off with the Sukhoi Su-2 (Сухой Су-2)…
…and continue with the Polikarpov I-15 (И-15). Unfortunately for the then Soviet Air Force, this one is being inspected by its new owners – the Luftwaffe. The I-15 was a popular aircraft with not only the USSR, but half a dozen other countries as well.
A pair of post-war RCAF Lancasters
These are Canadian-built aircraft – not leftovers from the RAF. Numbers are KB892 and FM222 respectively.
A veritable variety of Voodoos
RF-101C 56-0167, 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, was part of the record-breaking “Sun Run” flight, November 27, 1957. The aircraft has just pulled in to the chocks. 
CF-101B 101014 of No. 425 Squadron. Ex-USAF 57-0298 of the 445th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, it was transferred to Canada in 1970.
F-101B, 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. 58-0273 is now on display in South Carolina.
NF-101B of Air Research and Development Command. Obviously it was used for, among other things, ejection seat tests. It is now a display aircraft at the Yankee Air Force Museum.
Classics from Savoia Marchetti
Two views of an S.55 of Alaska Airways on Seattle’s Lake Union. As an aside, the house I grew up in is visible on Queen Anne Hill in the background. The houseboats in the background though were, when this photo was taken, inhabited by people my grandmother politely referred to as “no-good bums”. That was true then, but how times can change – any such house on the lake today would be very pricey.
Same aircraft, different water. This is Golden Gardens beach in Seattle, and I can think of no reason whatsoever for the aircraft to sit upon that beach unless there was a maintenance issue. There are mechanics atop the wing, so this S.55 probably ran into trouble shortly after taking off from nearby Lake Union (See photos 1 & 2). Made a nice shady spot for beach goers though.
S.56 on Lake Union. This aircraft survives today at a museum in North Carolina.
SM.79 bomber gets ready for a hop by US personnel. For reasons apparent, the 79 was nicknamed “il gobbo maledetto” (“damned hunchback”).
SM.83 airliner – the transport version of the SM.78 bomber.
Lufthansa 247
Lufthansa bought two of Boeing’s sleek airliner – one to fly (this one) and one for instructional purposes. A Junkers G.38 (the “Generalfeldmarschall von Hindenburg”) looks on from the background.
B-17F of the Free French Air Force
This aircraft (42-30177) survived until the 1970’s when it was foolishly allowed to be scrapped. Future famed aviation expert Pete Bowers, then with the USAAF, leans casually on the elevator. An absolute airplane aficionado, Bowers was also a pleasure to know. He was kind enough to give me a copy of this photo.
The CF-105 Arrow
RCAF Vickers Vedette
Vedette pays a visit to Vancouver’s Jericho Beach.
The Vedette was the first aircraft designed and built in Canada to that country’s specifications and requirements. Wish I had one.
B-47 Stratojets, 321st Bomb Wing, Pinecastle AFB, 1956
C-47 and B-36’s at Carswell AFB
This photo, among other things, illustrates just how flat the world can be – that is downtown Dallas in the far distance. The C-47 says MATS (Military Air Transport Service), but is also assigned to Airways and Air Communication Service (AACS). MATS was higher up the totem pole than AACS, hence the wing markings) The B-36’s are of Carswell’s 7th Bomb Wing.
Zentralflughafen Tempelhof-Berlin
According to the caption on the back, the photo was taken 1923/4. This, of course, before the airport’s Nazi era makeover. An Udet U-8 is seen in the foreground.
Haven’t posted any Corsairs in awhile…
Top photo: F4U-4 (81499) of VF-873, NAS Oakland. Next, 81282, unit unknown.
The XB-19 buzzing the field
Lesson of the day: Do not always trust the caption on a photo. This one states the photo was taken at Long Beach, California, in 1941. A sharp-eyed reader noted something in the photo that puts that caption in doubt: There appears what seems to be piles of melting snow. For those not familiar with the climate of Southern California, there is about as much a chance of it snowing in Long Beach as there is in Miami Beach. Further reflection makes me guess this photo was not taken in 1941, but rather 1942. The aircraft is painted, and still has radial engines (It was re-engined with Allisons in 1943).
But, where then was the photo taken? I took a guess, looked at some old photos for verification, and can confirm the aircraft is approaching the west side of Wright Field, Ohio. (And hey: It snows there often.)
The 零式艦上戦闘機 of the US Navy
The “零式艦上戦闘機” (or, “rei-shiki-kanjō-sentōki”) is better known to the rest of the world as the Mitsubishi Zero. The first image is the intact Zero brought back from the Aleutian Islands in 1942. It is seen here at NAS North Island in that same year. The second image is of what I assume to be a different aircraft some six or seven years later at NAS Whidbey Island.
I was quite surprised to find this photo showing a Zero still around well after the war. It is at least 1948: There are P2V Neptunes in the background as well as an R5D coded “RS” of VR-5. That tail code entered service in 1948.
Japanese aircraft of WWII
A mixture of Mitsubishi’s, Kawasaki’s, Kawanishi’s, etc.
“Mainliner Arizona” readies for takeoff at Boeing Field, 1949
Dad was at the controls when this photo was taken way back when. His logbook shows that he flew this aircraft numerous times between 1947 and 1956, but he’s pretty sure this was 1949. SeaTac opened in 1947, but United didn’t shift its operations there until a few years later. Dad didn’t mind; Boeing Field was closer to our house.
Same aircraft (N37511) on the United ramp at Chicago.
Martin B-10’s at Boeing Field,1935
Aircraft are from several units: 11th & 31st Bomb Squadrons, and one more I am unable to identify. One plane sports the marking of the famous Alaskan flight from the year before.
Boulton & Paul
Builders of such fine aircraft as seen above, “BP” was a great innovator of design, but by the 1950’s they faded away. I have always had a soft spot for the “Defiant.” It got a deserved bad reputation for its vulnerability, but it is hard not to like its appearance.
B-25, 1st Air Commando Group
In what is obviously a stateside publicity shot, a recently returned B-25 is autographed by a perky Ruby Jane held aloft by one happy pilot.
Kawasaki Ki-61
The Ki-61 was a solid performer, but was not built in great numbers. Good looking aircraft.
Ki-45 Toryu
Known on the Allied side as “Nick”, the Ki-45 was a speedy and versatile aircraft. The name “Nick” is nowhere near as imaginative as the aircraft’s Japanese name: “Toryu” (“Dragon Slayer”).
Kawasaki Ki-60
Here are every Kawasaki Ki-60 that was ever built. Despite its rather pleasing appearance, the Ki-60 was plagued by difficulties and poor performance. However, it did lead to the more successful Ki-61.
F-106A 56-0464 & F-106B 57-2510
Sporting the insignia of the 325th Fighter Wing (Air Defense), 464 was photographed at McChord AFB on 19 Oct 1963. F-100’s of the USAF Thunderbirds lurk in the background. 56-0464 crashed 6 Aug ’64, the pilot ejected safely. The wreckage is still scattered in the woods today.
57-2510 is pictured here early in its life wearing the markings of the Air Research and Development Command. It had a long career before going to the boneyard in 1984.
Post-war PBY & crews at the ready
The Jive Bomber 