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Science-fiction writer and aeronautical engineer Robert Heinlein famously said, “A generation which ignores history has no past—and no future.” Warbird aircraft have been a part of American life since airplanes were adapted for warfare during World War I. Almost immediately afterward, the newly-surplus “war birds” that a few years before had served as fighters, bombers […]
The new generation of warbird pilots, restorers & mechanics
Science-fiction writer and aeronautical engineer Robert Heinlein famously said, “A generation which ignores history has no past—and no future.” Warbird aircraft have been a part of American life since airplanes were adapted for warfare during World War I. Almost immediately afterward, the newly-surplus “war birds” that a few years before had served as fighters, bombers […]
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On January 1, 1945, Second Lieutenant Robert L. Nesmith of the 54th Fighter Squadron, 343rd Fighter Group, was practicing low-altitude gunnery passes through Tenmak Valley on the Aleutian island of Attu. The war had moved from the Aleutians and closer to Japan, but flying in the frozen north was still very risky. Distracted, Nesmith flew […]
Alaskan Miracle Bird
On January 1, 1945, Second Lieutenant Robert L. Nesmith of the 54th Fighter Squadron, 343rd Fighter Group, was practicing low-altitude gunnery passes through Tenmak Valley on the Aleutian island of Attu. The war had moved from the Aleutians and closer to Japan, but flying in the frozen north was still very risky. Distracted, Nesmith flew […]
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The Americans christened the P-40F the Warhawk (more fitting and aggressive than the British moniker of Kittyhawk II), and it saw action on many fronts, including the Pacific. It was here, on a quiet former battle ground of World War II, that one of Curtiss’ combat-hardened warriors was to survive through to the 1970s, as […]
A Survivor’s Tale – The Fighter Collection’s P-40F
The Americans christened the P-40F the Warhawk (more fitting and aggressive than the British moniker of Kittyhawk II), and it saw action on many fronts, including the Pacific. It was here, on a quiet former battle ground of World War II, that one of Curtiss’ combat-hardened warriors was to survive through to the 1970s, as […]
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After watching the big screen experience of “Top Gun: Maverick,” the thrilling, high-G, gravity-defying film starring Tom Cruise as Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell—the sequel landing more than three decades after the late Tony Scott’s original—there is not a doubt in my mind that this is the cinematic event of the year and beyond. I truly […]
A Patriotic Sequel…
After watching the big screen experience of “Top Gun: Maverick,” the thrilling, high-G, gravity-defying film starring Tom Cruise as Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell—the sequel landing more than three decades after the late Tony Scott’s original—there is not a doubt in my mind that this is the cinematic event of the year and beyond. I truly […]
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Very few “families” of military aircraft ever evolved with such dramatic design changes as the legendary Curtiss Helldivers. Sharing that same intimidating name, it is hard to believe that the early Curtiss XF8C fixed gear, fabric covered, 450-horsepower biplane had anything in common with the massive, all metal, 1,900-horsepower monplane. Derived from the famous line […]
An “Interesting” Family Tree
Very few “families” of military aircraft ever evolved with such dramatic design changes as the legendary Curtiss Helldivers. Sharing that same intimidating name, it is hard to believe that the early Curtiss XF8C fixed gear, fabric covered, 450-horsepower biplane had anything in common with the massive, all metal, 1,900-horsepower monplane. Derived from the famous line […]
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“We were launched while our fleet was 180 to 200 miles northeast of Manila. My group was assigned to hit Japanese ships in Manila Harbor. As we approached our dive area at 10,000 feet, big, black puffs of smoke from anti-aircraft fire began popping all around us.” Leslie Bennett Case, known as Ben, is describing […]
Ben Case and the SB2C Helldiver
“We were launched while our fleet was 180 to 200 miles northeast of Manila. My group was assigned to hit Japanese ships in Manila Harbor. As we approached our dive area at 10,000 feet, big, black puffs of smoke from anti-aircraft fire began popping all around us.” Leslie Bennett Case, known as Ben, is describing […]
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Less than a kilometer south of the U.S. Army’s Forward Operating Base “Salerno” in southeastern Afghanistan, Chief Warrant Officer (CW2) Joseph Priester pulled pitch to put his OH-58D down in a hastily improvised landing zone. Priester had already landed in the spot three times, picking up wounded commandos while under fire. Sweat-soaked and fatigued, he […]
OH-58D Kiowa Warrior pilots battle Afghan insurgents
Less than a kilometer south of the U.S. Army’s Forward Operating Base “Salerno” in southeastern Afghanistan, Chief Warrant Officer (CW2) Joseph Priester pulled pitch to put his OH-58D down in a hastily improvised landing zone. Priester had already landed in the spot three times, picking up wounded commandos while under fire. Sweat-soaked and fatigued, he […]
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I AM APPROACHING THE AGE at which we begin to lose our faculties. I no longer run; I creak when I walk. Hair grows in all the wrong places. My eyesight, once as sharp as an eagle’s, is hopelessly blurred without bifocals, and I am useless for almost all things after 9 p.m. I am […]
RISINGER Raid – It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
I AM APPROACHING THE AGE at which we begin to lose our faculties. I no longer run; I creak when I walk. Hair grows in all the wrong places. My eyesight, once as sharp as an eagle’s, is hopelessly blurred without bifocals, and I am useless for almost all things after 9 p.m. I am […]
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The British simply referred to it as “the blue”—the vast barren deserts of North Africa that spanned Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Since the beginning of the war, the British, along with their commonwealth allies, fought the Italian Army, the biting sand flies, the blistering heat and cold, damp nights along with choking sandstorms as their […]
Desert Comanches – P-40 combat over North Africa
The British simply referred to it as “the blue”—the vast barren deserts of North Africa that spanned Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Since the beginning of the war, the British, along with their commonwealth allies, fought the Italian Army, the biting sand flies, the blistering heat and cold, damp nights along with choking sandstorms as their […]
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