F-100 pilots of the 4514th Combat Crew Training Squadron, Luke AFB, 1961
RB-45 Maintenance men of the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron
Instructors and students, California School of Aeronautics, 1940
P-12 pilot of the 19th Pursuit Squadron.
Dashing aviator of the 108th Observation Squadron with his O-38
P-12 of the 35th Pursuit Squadron, Mitchel Field
B-2 Condors over Atlantic City
With the Boardwalk in their sights, the 11th Bomb Squadron was moments away from pounding the resort city to flinders. That is until, at least if we read the caption correctly, they were intercepted by the pursuit ships we see stealthily approaching from the southeast.
Lucky guys
I say “lucky”, but there is always the possibility that when this photo was snapped the instructor was in the middle of giving his student unshirted hell. Either way, great shot of a BT-14.
Pilots of the 105th Observation Squadron pondering the merits of Coca-Cola, September 1940
The 105th of the Tennessee National Guard was participating in the Louisiana Maneuvers when these men took a break from buzzing the bayous.
Kenneth Ford, Marine Corps Ace, VMF-121
Kenneth M Ford flew with Guadalcanal’s “Cactus Air Force” during the early days of WWII. First seeing action in F4F Wildcats, Ford later shot down five aircraft at the controls of the F4U Corsair. Ford was in the thick of things. Shot down on one occasion, and forced to ditch on others, he never stayed on the ground for long. I got to know the man in later years. His love for the Marine Corps and his Corsairs were something he never tired of talking about.
Marine Corps aviation cadet at Long Beach, 1940.
Early days in the South Pacific. The Wildcats Ford flew were ex-USS Lexington aircraft that recovered aboard USS Yorktown at Coral Sea when the former carrier was aflame. Given that the Yorktown had more Wildcats than it needed, the “surplus” Lexington aircraft were handed to the Marines. Pictured are two of those aircraft, F4F-3’s with non-folding wings. The new -4’s (folding wings) had arrived in the fleet, and the older “hard wing” birds were fine by the Marines on land.
“66” was Ford’s mount when he bagged two Zeros. Taking off from Henderson Field on 12 June 1943, Ford and a flight of eight Corsairs intercepted Japanese fighters over the Russell Islands. Ford had two confirmed, and one probable. Ford told me that squadron mate Joe Foss was a great instructor. “I listened – we all listened – to Foss. When it came to air combat tactics, he was always right. When I first saw Zeros face to face, I was hopped-up and nervous, but boy, was I prepared.”
Colonel William F. Barns brings the first F-100 to Itazuke.
The arrival of the Mach busting Super Sabre was obviously big news. Interesting in that Barns is wearing a USN vest.
F-86’s of the 68th Fighter Interceptor Squadron.
No idea what the occasion is, but it was a pleasant enough one.
The dawn of an era: The P-3 Orion makes its debut in 1962
The first issue of Lockheed’s product support magazine for the P-3, Nov-Dec 1962. Front and back cover.
Another installment in the series “Ya can’t do that anymore.” Place de l’Étoile, Paris, 1944
When I first saw this photo of a C-54 out for a little sightseeing along the Champs-Élysées I thought it had been composited/doctored. Not so – it’s the real deal. Besides, such buzzing was socially acceptable back then and something we all wish we could get away with today.
Colonel William F. Barns with a new F-100
Barns has just arrived at Itazuke Air Base with a shiny new F-100 and, of course, has everybody’s attention. Barns was used to that – he already held a few speed records and was recognized as one of the great pilots of the era. The other men are Colonel Orville Rehmann, 8th FBW commander, and Colonel Ladson Eskridge, 43rd Air Division commander.
F-100D Super Sabres, 8th Fighter Bomber Wing
New kids on the block. Shiny F-100’s arrive in Japan, 1956. Represented are 54-2290 and 2287. Happily enough, 2290 survives as a display at Aviano Air Base.
F-86 Sabres, Kunsan Air Base, 1955
The F-86’s dotting the rather sparse landscape are from the 8th Fighter Bomber Wing. Visible tail numbers are all 1952 prefix: 4400, 4417, 4473, 4516, 4604, 4620, 4776.
General Smith suits up for a flight in a L-20
General Smith (left) concentrates on his life before heading out for a short jaunt. Though we can’t see much of the aircraft, it is the in fact the illustrious De Havilland Beaver. In 1962, the L-20 was renamed the U-6. Different name, same job.
General Frederic H. Smith arrives at Itazuke Air Base, 1956
The general (and the Missus) are warmly greeted on the Itazuke ramp. T-33’s stowed in revetments are in in the background. General Smith was commander of the 5th Air Force at this time. An old-time pilot from the open cockpit days of the Air Corps, Smith eventually retired as a 4-star after serving as Vice-Chief of Staff, USAF.
Indicative of aviation’s quantum leap – from biplanes to B-58 Hustlers in one man’s career – Smith had seen it all.
In the 1950’s, it was against the law to travel by air looking like you couldn’t afford it
World War II postcards
Once upon a time, there were these things known as “luggage stickers.” This be one of them.
The Jive Bomber 