December 2025 Articles

• Although the Bell P-39 Airacobra was designed as a front-line fighter, one loaded with a lethal combination of both cannon and machine guns, its high-altitude dueling attributes were nonexistent. The original design called for a turbo-supercharger that would have taken the P-39 to new heights, but to save weight, Bell decided to take it out. There were only two types of P-39 pilots: those who loved the P-39, and those who despised it. Follow along with pilots on both sides of the fence as they share their experiences flying the “Iron Dog.” Snake attack By Lt. Colonel Doug S. Canning […]

  

  Iron Dog – Fighting the Pacific and the P-39 at the same time

  Although the Bell P-39 Airacobra was designed as a front-line fighter, one loaded with a lethal combination of both cannon and machine guns, its high-altitude dueling attributes were nonexistent. The original design called for a turbo-supercharger that would have taken the P-39 to new heights, but to save weight, Bell decided to take it out. There were only two types of P-39 pilots: those who loved the P-39, and those who despised it. Follow along with pilots on both sides of the fence as they share their experiences flying the “Iron Dog.” Snake attack By Lt. Colonel Doug S. Canning […]
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• Take a hard look at the two young men in these photos. Do they look as if they were bent on killing one another? On the left we have a young, unknown enlisted Japanese pilot standing in front of a Nakajima Ki-27 “Nate,” one of Japan’s earliest monoplanes that led to the much vaunted Zero. On the right we have Capt. Kenneth Taylor standing in front of the 15,000th Curtiss fighter delivered. The year is 1944, and both had established a long history as warriors. Taylor, of course, will be forever known as one of the two pilots who, alongside […]

  

  Fighter Pilots: A Warrior Clan

  Take a hard look at the two young men in these photos. Do they look as if they were bent on killing one another? On the left we have a young, unknown enlisted Japanese pilot standing in front of a Nakajima Ki-27 “Nate,” one of Japan’s earliest monoplanes that led to the much vaunted Zero. On the right we have Capt. Kenneth Taylor standing in front of the 15,000th Curtiss fighter delivered. The year is 1944, and both had established a long history as warriors. Taylor, of course, will be forever known as one of the two pilots who, alongside […]
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• In late 1943, I was accepted into an elite fraternity of naval aviators as an original member of “Satan’s Playmates,” formed in Atlantic City, New Jersey. At the time, I was just about the lowest form of life in the Navy hierarchy: an ensign; yet here I was, a freshman attending “Clobber College.” My mentor and professor was the legendary David McCampbell, CO of the Fighting 15 (VF-15). Dave McCampbell was a very fair and “understanding” CO. It was understood that if you screwed up, you had a fair chance of getting an ass-chewing! He was also eager to get […]

  

  Satan’s Playmate – Creation of an ace

  In late 1943, I was accepted into an elite fraternity of naval aviators as an original member of “Satan’s Playmates,” formed in Atlantic City, New Jersey. At the time, I was just about the lowest form of life in the Navy hierarchy: an ensign; yet here I was, a freshman attending “Clobber College.” My mentor and professor was the legendary David McCampbell, CO of the Fighting 15 (VF-15). Dave McCampbell was a very fair and “understanding” CO. It was understood that if you screwed up, you had a fair chance of getting an ass-chewing! He was also eager to get […]
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• “No, I don’t carry any kind of luck charm,” said Lieutenant Colonel John D. Landers, commanding officer of the 78th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force, “I don’t know where my luck in finding enemy planes comes from. Some of the other group commanders claim that if they dropped me into a barrel of lard, I’d bump into a Nazi plane!” Whether it was luck or whether he could “smell the rats” (as some have said) is open to debate, but the fact remains that within one month of assuming command of the 78th FG, the colonel, flying his P-51 Mustang […]

  

  Double-Theater Ace – The fearless missions of legendary fighter pilot Col. John D. Landers

  “No, I don’t carry any kind of luck charm,” said Lieutenant Colonel John D. Landers, commanding officer of the 78th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force, “I don’t know where my luck in finding enemy planes comes from. Some of the other group commanders claim that if they dropped me into a barrel of lard, I’d bump into a Nazi plane!” Whether it was luck or whether he could “smell the rats” (as some have said) is open to debate, but the fact remains that within one month of assuming command of the 78th FG, the colonel, flying his P-51 Mustang […]
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• In the fall of 1937, the Technical Department of the German Air Ministry decided to develop a replacement for the Messerschmitt 109. At the end of the year, after discussions with Focke-Wulf’s chief designer Kurt Tank, the Air Ministry awarded a contract to the company. The Ministry specified the need for a fighter whose performance would be significantly better than that of both the 109 and the British Spitfire. Tank realized that he would require the most powerful engine available to him, and this requirement clearly pointed him toward the 18-cylinder, two-row radial BMW 139, which offered 325 more horsepower […]

  

  Flying the FW 190 – A legend gets checked out in the Butcher Bird

  In the fall of 1937, the Technical Department of the German Air Ministry decided to develop a replacement for the Messerschmitt 109. At the end of the year, after discussions with Focke-Wulf’s chief designer Kurt Tank, the Air Ministry awarded a contract to the company. The Ministry specified the need for a fighter whose performance would be significantly better than that of both the 109 and the British Spitfire. Tank realized that he would require the most powerful engine available to him, and this requirement clearly pointed him toward the 18-cylinder, two-row radial BMW 139, which offered 325 more horsepower […]
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• All too often American students of air warfare forget that enemy aircraft—whether Messerschmitts or MiGs—were flown by human beings with the same motivations and traits as Allied airmen. More often than not, the only difference between friend and foe was the paint on the airplane and where they landed. Therefore, we’ve assembled a variety of accounts from WW II Axis fighter pilots, men who were more than simply targets. Japan’s Master of the Zero In 1971, the American Fighter Aces Association hosted a delegation from the Zero Fighter Pilots Association in San Diego. Undisputed star of the Japanese entourage was […]

  

  Enemy Pilots Speak Voices from the other side

  All too often American students of air warfare forget that enemy aircraft—whether Messerschmitts or MiGs—were flown by human beings with the same motivations and traits as Allied airmen. More often than not, the only difference between friend and foe was the paint on the airplane and where they landed. Therefore, we’ve assembled a variety of accounts from WW II Axis fighter pilots, men who were more than simply targets. Japan’s Master of the Zero In 1971, the American Fighter Aces Association hosted a delegation from the Zero Fighter Pilots Association in San Diego. Undisputed star of the Japanese entourage was […]
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• The advanced strip at Munda on New Georgia Island was brand-new and desolate. To one correspondent, it resembled “a slash of white coral in a Doré painting of hell.” Lying 175 miles north of Guadalcanal, it had been in business for only two weeks. Marines on the flightline heard the familiar whine of a Corsair in the traffic pattern and looked up; they knew that a major bombing mission was under way against Bougainville to the northwest. The F4U flew a tight pattern, three-pointed onto the hard-packed runway and taxied to the line. Maj. Jim Neefus, the senior officer, met […]

  

  Ken Walsh The First Corsair Ace Medal of Honor pilot’s combat adventures

  The advanced strip at Munda on New Georgia Island was brand-new and desolate. To one correspondent, it resembled “a slash of white coral in a Doré painting of hell.” Lying 175 miles north of Guadalcanal, it had been in business for only two weeks. Marines on the flightline heard the familiar whine of a Corsair in the traffic pattern and looked up; they knew that a major bombing mission was under way against Bougainville to the northwest. The F4U flew a tight pattern, three-pointed onto the hard-packed runway and taxied to the line. Maj. Jim Neefus, the senior officer, met […]
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