February 2024 Articles

• The Zero raced through slanted columns of tropical light, prevented by high cirrus from leaving its shadow while skimming the slick New Guinea rain-forest roof. The Zero was dirty green with a black cowling and might have been hard to pick out except, “You could always see that red ball,” Richard Kirkland said—referring to the hinomaru or national emblem painted on Japanese Navy fighters. Catching one of them unawares happened almost never: the Zero pilot didn’t know Kirkland was behind him in a P-38 Lightning. It was a sure kill. Just 20 years old, First Lieutenant Kirkland was at the […]

  

  Lightning Strikes! – Pacific combat in a P-38

  The Zero raced through slanted columns of tropical light, prevented by high cirrus from leaving its shadow while skimming the slick New Guinea rain-forest roof. The Zero was dirty green with a black cowling and might have been hard to pick out except, “You could always see that red ball,” Richard Kirkland said—referring to the hinomaru or national emblem painted on Japanese Navy fighters. Catching one of them unawares happened almost never: the Zero pilot didn’t know Kirkland was behind him in a P-38 Lightning. It was a sure kill. Just 20 years old, First Lieutenant Kirkland was at the […]
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• Although conceived in 1941, by the time the twin-engine Grumman F7F Tigercat hit the streets, it never saw action in WW II. The XF7F prototypes first flew in December 1943, and the first production models were delivered to the Marines in April 1944. Some F7F-3N and -3Ps did deploy to Okinawa during the very end of the War but never tangled with the Japanese owing to the then diminished threat. It was fast and powerful and would have been a formidable foe to enemy aircraft. Although the F7F was too late for the “Big One,” it did see intense action […]

  

  Devil Dog Tigercat – Inside Grumman’s twin-engine piston fighter

  Although conceived in 1941, by the time the twin-engine Grumman F7F Tigercat hit the streets, it never saw action in WW II. The XF7F prototypes first flew in December 1943, and the first production models were delivered to the Marines in April 1944. Some F7F-3N and -3Ps did deploy to Okinawa during the very end of the War but never tangled with the Japanese owing to the then diminished threat. It was fast and powerful and would have been a formidable foe to enemy aircraft. Although the F7F was too late for the “Big One,” it did see intense action […]
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• In the cold, crisp spring air at 18,000 feet on March 30, 1945, First Lt. Dan Meyers suddenly found himself flying in a cloud, in an otherwise blue and completely cloudless sky. The mysterious fog was generated by the engine failure of his P-51D Mustang 44-72328. With the shore of Northern Germany behind, and the Frisian Islands beneath his port wing, Meyers was forced to bail out and take his chances with the uninviting mass of the North Sea. After checking that his dinghy and Mae West were in position, he pushed himself out into the biting slipstream, narrowly avoiding […]

  

  Rescued at sea – Downed Catalina crew survives the brutal North Sea

  In the cold, crisp spring air at 18,000 feet on March 30, 1945, First Lt. Dan Meyers suddenly found himself flying in a cloud, in an otherwise blue and completely cloudless sky. The mysterious fog was generated by the engine failure of his P-51D Mustang 44-72328. With the shore of Northern Germany behind, and the Frisian Islands beneath his port wing, Meyers was forced to bail out and take his chances with the uninviting mass of the North Sea. After checking that his dinghy and Mae West were in position, he pushed himself out into the biting slipstream, narrowly avoiding […]
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• DESIGNED TO BE A LAND-BASED, medium altitude bomber, the B-25 was tasked with one of the War’s most spectacular missions. On April 18, 1942, 16 heavily laden B-25s took off from the USS Hornet’s pitching deck and headed towards Japan. Led by Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle, these aircraft and their brave crews proved that Japan was susceptible to the U.S.’s wrath. After the success of that mission, the B-25 was tapped to fly a variety of bombing and strafing raids. Nowhere was the B-25 more dominant than in the South Pacific Theater. Capt. John Bronson survived flying the B-25 […]

  

  knockout punch! – B-25 combat strafers in the South Pacific

  DESIGNED TO BE A LAND-BASED, medium altitude bomber, the B-25 was tasked with one of the War’s most spectacular missions. On April 18, 1942, 16 heavily laden B-25s took off from the USS Hornet’s pitching deck and headed towards Japan. Led by Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle, these aircraft and their brave crews proved that Japan was susceptible to the U.S.’s wrath. After the success of that mission, the B-25 was tapped to fly a variety of bombing and strafing raids. Nowhere was the B-25 more dominant than in the South Pacific Theater. Capt. John Bronson survived flying the B-25 […]
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• In only 30 missions, Capt. Ralph S. Parr downed 10 enemy aircraft, becoming the 11th double jet ace on the last day of the Korean War. Having just landed from a combat mission, the four of us were walking casually from our squadron’s sandbagged revetments towards the operations building, when the deafening engine whine of another returning flight of F-86 Sabrejets caught our attention. At the time, all fighter-interceptor pilots instinctively checked the gun ports of returning flights for the dark gray soot, indicating their guns had been fired. This would imply contact with MiGs. And sure enough, the .50-caliber […]

  

  Jet Age Warrior – A perfectionist in the most dangerous game

  In only 30 missions, Capt. Ralph S. Parr downed 10 enemy aircraft, becoming the 11th double jet ace on the last day of the Korean War. Having just landed from a combat mission, the four of us were walking casually from our squadron’s sandbagged revetments towards the operations building, when the deafening engine whine of another returning flight of F-86 Sabrejets caught our attention. At the time, all fighter-interceptor pilots instinctively checked the gun ports of returning flights for the dark gray soot, indicating their guns had been fired. This would imply contact with MiGs. And sure enough, the .50-caliber […]
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• The bombing campaigns over Europe and Japan were as different as tea and sake, with one exception: Mustangs were the escort of choice for both—and for obvious reasons. While the B-17s and B-24s reigned supreme over fortress Europe, the distances in the Pacific–especially to the Japanese mainland—were greater, and only the B-29 had the range to make the trip with a big bomb load. And only the Mustang, with its long legs and fuel efficiency, could escort the bombers to the target area and still have fuel for combat. Follow along with one Pacific Mustang pilot as he endures flak, […]

  

  Long Way to victory – Iwo to Tokyo in a Mustang

  The bombing campaigns over Europe and Japan were as different as tea and sake, with one exception: Mustangs were the escort of choice for both—and for obvious reasons. While the B-17s and B-24s reigned supreme over fortress Europe, the distances in the Pacific–especially to the Japanese mainland—were greater, and only the B-29 had the range to make the trip with a big bomb load. And only the Mustang, with its long legs and fuel efficiency, could escort the bombers to the target area and still have fuel for combat. Follow along with one Pacific Mustang pilot as he endures flak, […]
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