History Friday

[Breckey]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/18532986@N07/sets/72157626140462192/with/5475227251/

Pretty sweet gallery of painted A-2 jackets.

[Learjetter]

Not all Chiefs are shoes...

https://airman.dodlive.mil/tag/o-2-skymaster/

Linky skillz are tough on IPboard mobile...

(null)

[spaceman]

Not all Chiefs are shoes... https://airman.dodlive.mil/tag/o-2-skymaster/ Linky skillz are tough on IPboard mobile... (null)

Very cool story!!

[ClearedHot]

THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS

The Staggering Toll of War

By Barrett Tillman

Take a flight of fancy with me. Imagine that you are commander of a great

air force. It has risen to global prominence, dominating all rivals. Its

unprecedented success has come at a price, however.

Your chief of staff lays a memo on your desk. "Last month's casualties,

sir."

You pick up the first sheet ...

The staggering cost of war.

THE PRICE OF VICTORY

B-17 $204,370. P-40 $44,892.

B-24 $215,516. P-47 $85,578.

B-25 $142,194. P-51 $51,572.

B-26 $192,426. C-47 $88,574.

B-29 $605,360. PT-17 $15,052.

P-38 $97,147. AT-6 $22,952.

ON AVERAGE

6600 American service men died per Month, during WWII about 220 a day.

PLANES A DAY WORLDWIDE

From Germany/Poland Sept. 1, 1939 ending Sept. 2, 1945, Japan's

surrender: 2,433 days.

From 1942 onward, America averaged 170 planes a day.

Nation Aircraft Average

USA 276,400 113

S Union 137,200 56

G Britain 108,500 45

Germany 109,000 45

Japan 76,300 31

How Many is a 1,000 planes.

B-17 production (12,731) wingtip to Wingtip would extend 250 miles.

1,000 B-17’s carried 2.5 million gallons of high octane fuel.

THE NUMBERS GAME

9.7 billion gallons of gasoline consumed, 1942-1945.

107.8 million hours flown, 1943-1945.

459.7 billion rounds of aircraft ammo fired overseas, 1942-1945.

7.9 million bombs dropped overseas, 1943-1945

2.3 million combat sorties, 1941-1945

One sortie = one takeoff (and landing – hopefully!)

299,230 aircraft accepted, 1940-1945.

808,471 aircraft engines accepted, 1940-1945.

799,972 propellers accepted, 1940-1945.

WWII MOST PRODUCED COMBAT AIRCRAFT

IL-2 Shturmovik 36,183

Yak 1, 3, 7, 9 31,000 +

Bf 109 30,480

Fw 190 29,001

Spit/Seafire 20,351

B-24/PB4Y 18,482

Thunderbolt 15,686

Mustang 15,875

Ju 88 15,000

Hurricane 14,533

P-40 13,738

B-17 12,731

Corsair 12,571

Hellcat 12,275

Pe-2 11,400

P-38 10,037

Zero 10,449

B-25 9,984

LaGG-5 9,920

Avenger 9,837

P-39 9,584

Oscar 5,919

Mosquito 7,780

Lancaster 7,377

He 111 6,508

Halifax 6,176

Bf 110 6,150

LaGG-7 5,753

B-29 3,970

Stirling 2,383

Sources:

Rene Francillon, Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific war; Cajus Bekker, The

Luftwaffe Diaries; Ray Wagner, American Combat Planes; Wikipedia.

BALL PARK AVERAGE:

Chief of Staff to General, "Hmmm; 331 men killed, and 308 aircraft

destroyed. That’s 11 people and 10 planes per day."

"Uh, yes, sir. Its still the ballpark average." I’d like to see an

improvement in bomber losses, those really add up.

"Were working on it, General. But its sad to think that 10 young men alive

today will be dead tomorrow."

"You know that’s the price of doing business. Now then, what about the

overseas and combat losses?"

According to the AAF Statistical Digest, in less than four years (December

1941 August 1945), the U. S. Army Air Forces lost 14,903 pilots, aircrew and

assorted personnel plus 13,873 airplanes --- inside the continental United

States. They were the result of 52,651 aircraft accidents (6,039 involving

fatalities) in 45 months.

Think about those numbers. They average 1,170 aircraft accidents per

month---- nearly 40 a day.(Less than one accident in four resulted in

totaled aircraft, however.)

Those colossal losses cost the Axis powers nothing; not as much as one 7.7

mm bullet.

It gets worse.

Almost 1,000 Army planes disappeared en route from the U. S. to foreign

climes. But an eye watering 43,581 aircraft were lost overseas including

22,948 on combat missions (18,418 against the Western Axis) and 20,633

attributed to non-combat causes overseas.

In August 1943 when 60 B-17’s were shot down among 376. That was a 16

percent loss rate meant 600 empty bunks in England that night In 1942-1943

it was statistically impossible for bomber crews to complete a 25-mission

tour in Europe.

Pacific theatre losses were far less (4,530 in combat) owing to smaller

forces committed. The worst B-29 mission, against Tokyo on May 25, 1945,

cost 26 Superfortress, 5.6 percent of the 464 dispatched from the Marianas.

On average, 6,600 American servicemen died per month during WWII, about 220

a day. At end of war, over 40,000 airmen were killed in combat theatres and

another 18,000 wounded. Some 12,000 missing men were declared dead, included

a number "liberated" by the Soviets but never returned. More than 41,000

were captured, half of the 5,400 held by the Japanese died in captivity,

compared with one-tenth in German hands. Total combat casualties were pegged

at 121,867.

The US manpower made up the deficit. The AAF’s peak strength was reached in

1944 with 2,372,000 personnel, nearly twice the previous years figure.

The losses were huge---and they were----so were production totals.

From 1941 through 1945, American industry delivered more than 276,000

military aircraft. That number was enough not only for U S Army, Navy and

Marine Corps but for allies as diverse as Britain, Australia, China and

Russia. In fact, from 1943 onward, America produced more planes than Britain

and Russia put combined. And more than Germany and Japan together from 1941

- '45.

However our enemies took massive losses. Through much of 1944, the Luftwaffe

sustained uncontrolled hemorrhaging, reaching 25 percent aircrew and 40

planes a month. And in late 1944 into 1945, nearly half the pilots in

Japanese squadrons had flown fewer than 200 hours.

The disparity of two years before had been completely reversed.

Experience Level:

Uncle Sam sent many of his sons to war with absolute minimum of training.

Some fighter pilots entered combat in 1942 with less than one hour in their

assigned aircraft.

The 357th Fighter Group (alter known as The Yoxford Boys) went to England in

late 1943 having trained on P-39’s. The group never saw a Mustang until

shortly before its first combat mission. A high-time P-51 pilot had 30 hours

in type. Many had fewer than five hours. Some had one hour.

With arrival of new aircraft, many combat units transitioned in combat. The

attitude was, "They all have a stick and a throttle. Go fly 'em." When the

famed 4th Fighter Group converted from P-47’s to P-51’s in February 1944,

there was no time to stand down for an orderly transition. The Group

commander, Col. Donald Blakeslee, said, "You can learn to fly '51’s on the

way to the target. (Note: Gone West HNL QB Brewster Morgan (Morgan's Corner

up in Nuuanu off of Old Pali Road) a Honolulu boy and a member of the 4th

Fighter Group, told me that they actually did stand down one day to

transition from the P47 to the P51. They were pissed that the old groups

still had the P47 [brewster was with the Eagle Squadron in the Spitfire ...

later in the P47 when the US got into it in '42] and the newer groups coming

over from the US all had P51s. Blakeslee finally convinced AF to let them

convert by standing down just one day. An interesting side note ... Brewster

was shot down over France in '44 and became a POW ... his roommate? ...

Douglas Bader ... top English ace with two wooden legs ... Bader lost one of

his legs when he bailed out and was captured ... the Germans asked the Brits

to send him another leg ... which they did ... BD).

A future P-47 ace said, "I was sent to England to die." He was not alone.

Some fighter pilots tucked their wheels in the well on their first combat

mission with one previous flight in the aircraft. Meanwhile, many bomber

crews were still learning their trade: of Jimmy Doolittle’s 15 pilots on the

April 1942 Tokyo raid, only five had won their wings before 1941. All but

one of the 16 copilots were less than a year out of flight school.

In WWII flying safety took a back seat to combat. The AAF’s worst accident

rate was recorded by the A-36 Invader version of the P-51 (??): a staggering

274 per 100,000 flying hours. Next worst were the P-39 at 245 and the P-40

at 188; and the P-38 at 139. All were Allison powered.

Bomber wrecks were fewer but more expensive. The B-17 and B-24 averaged 30

and 35 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, respectively----a horrific figure

considering that from 1980 to 2000 the Air Force’s major mishap rate was

less than 2.

The B-29 was even worse at 40; the world’s most sophisticated, most capable

and most expensive bomber was too urgently needed to stand down for mere

safety reasons. The AAF set a reasonably high standard for B-29 pilots, but

the desired figures were seldom attained. The original cadre of the 58th

Bomb Wing was to have 400 hours of multi- engine time, but there was not

enough experienced pilots to meet the criterion. Only ten percent had

overseas experience. (Conversely, when a $2.1 billion B-2 crashed in 2008,

the Air Force initiated a two-month "safety pause" rather than declare a

"stand down," let alone grounding.

The B-29 was no better for maintenance. Though the R3350 was known as a

complicated, troublesome power-plant, no more than half the mechanics had

previous experience with the Duplex Cyclone. But they made it work.

Navigators:

Perhaps the greatest unsung success story of AAF training was Navigators.

The Army graduated some 50,000 during the War. And many had never flown out

of sight of land before leaving "Uncle Sugar" for a war zone. Yet the huge

majority found their way across oceans and continents without getting lost

or running out of fuel---a stirring tribute to the AAF’s educational

establishments.

Cadet To Colonel:

It was possible for a flying cadet at the time of Pearl Harbor to finish the

war with eagles on his shoulders. That was the record of John D. Landers, a

21 year old Texan who was commissioned a second lieutenant on December 12,

1941. He joined his combat squadron with

209 hours total flight time, including 2½ in P-40's. He finished the war as

a full colonel commanding an 8th Air Force Group---at age 24.

As the training pipeline filled up, however those low figures became

exceptions. By early 1944, the average AAF fighter pilot entering combat had

logged at least 450 hours, usually including 250 hours in training. At the

same time, many captains and first lieutenants claimed over 600 hours.

FACT:

At its height in mid-1944, the Army Air Forces had 2.6 million people and

nearly 80,000 aircraft of all types. Today the U. S. Air Force employs

327,000 active personnel (plus 170,000 civilians) with 5,500+ manned and

perhaps 200 unmanned aircraft. The 2009 figures represent about 12 percent

of the manpower and 7 percent of the airplanes of the WWII peak.

Note: Original attributed to Barrett Tillman, although some details have

been lost and typos introduced as this piece made its way around the

internet.

[Guest]

CH, just wondering...

You have the airman's creed, PT uniform and reflective belt stats? Those might be interesting.

[ClearedHot]

CH, just wondering...

You have the airman's creed, PT uniform and reflective belt stats? Those might be interesting.

Would you like that in Power Point or on the White Board sir?

[Guest]

Would you like that in Power Point or on the White Board sir?

LOL

If it don't fit on a lineup card and/or you can't memorize it then it won't matter at night in shitty wx with people shootin at ya.

Thanks for posting that. Those statistics are difficult to comprehend let alone put into proper perspective. Aside from winning the war this was an amazing display of American economic power, something we didn't even know we had.

Would've been a great time to be alive.

[M2]

Cadet To Colonel:

It was possible for a flying cadet at the time of Pearl Harbor to finish the war with eagles on his shoulders. That was the record of John D. Landers, a 21 year old Texan who was commissioned a second lieutenant on December 12, 1941. He joined his combat squadron with 209 hours total flight time, including 2½ in P-40's. He finished the war as a full colonel commanding an 8th Air Force Group---at age 24.

Chesley G. Peterson of Eagle Squadron/4th Fighter Group fame has him beat, he was a squadron commander (71 Sqn) in the RAF at age 21 and later became the youngest full bird colonel in the USAAF as the 4th Fighter Group Commander at age 23...

Maj Gen Peterson retired as the Chief of Staff for Intelligence for PACAF in 1970.

[The Texan]

I got back from a 7 month stint on Palau back in August 2011. Part of my duty was maintaining the WW2 sites on Peleliu and Angaur Islands, the battles that had the highest casualty rates in the Pacific campaign. Most of the battle sites and memorials have been left untouched to this day, and even now if you stray off the beaten path you still have a 50/50 shot of stepping on an UXO.

I took the time and tried to get a thorough photo documentary of what I saw and thought this would be a good place to post some of the photos. I don't want to overload it on the first post so I'll just throw a couple on for now.

These 2 were on Angaur Island:

[brickhistory]

Very cool!

And tell more of your Palau gig. How did that happen?

[Guest Grind]

Please, please, post more of those. That is ######ing neat shtuff.

[ThreeHoler]

Please, please, post more of those. That is ######ing neat shtuff.

Have some respect.

[The Texan]

Here's 4 more from Angaur.

Cemetary that has U.S., Japanese, and Palauans.

Angaur Liberation Memorial:

"This monument was built by Angaur State Government to commemorate the time when Angaur people were liberated by the U.S. Army during World War II. The people of ------- Ucherbelau Masao, Ucherremasech Naoru, Ucharkemul Tomel, Rengaul Orrenges, and I, Theodosta F. Rlatles, Governor of Angaur State wish everlasting peace to Angaur State Republic of Palau and throughout the world. We pray that the same calamity of war will not ------- to the human race again."

"On October 8-10, 1944, about one hundred twenty on Angaur came out of Metukelianges cave after spending more than a month hiding from the ravages of war"

From the plane on the previous post

[Guest]

12 Feb 1973

[BigE]

12 Feb 1973

To them! Thank you for the reminder.

560th at RND has some pretty cool stuff/memorial hall from those days and the repatriation flights pilots would get when getting back in the air...worth a stop if passing thru Randolph.

[Day Man]

Have some respect.

I don't see the problem here???

[brickhistory]

I am reposting the below because CDR. John 'Boot' Nethersole, FAA, RN (ret) passed away on 8 Feb 2012. I was proud to have known him. He and his wife invited me over to England to attend the decommisioning of a squadron he had once commanded, 801.

Good guy.

Another WWII vet and a superb pilot who did the transition from the high-powered piston engine fighters to jets into the 1960s. I've had drinks with him here in the US and visited he and his wife in the UK. At 80, when I visited, he still was able to run hard.

Some of his stories in immediate post-War Germany had me rolling on the floor.

Things Were A Bit Different Then

“At the end of World War II, I led the capture of Tokyo. Well, actually, one of four forts that ringed the entrance to Tokyo Bay.” So began a fascinating morning with Commander John ‘Boot’ Nethersole, Royal Navy (ret.).

“I was just out of Dartmouth (the Royal Navy’s officer academy) and assigned to the cruiser, HMS Newfoundland. I led one of two Royal Navy (RN) landing parties against two of the forts while some US Marines captured the other two on the other side of the entrance.

“So here I am, a young midshipman leading my lot of sailors onto the beach and up the hill, yelling and screaming to keep our courage up since we really didn’t know what kind of reaction the Japanese would produce.

“It was all anti-climatic really, for when we got to the top, there was no one there and we were standing around kicking the sand with our boots and nothing to do. Finally, from behind a beached cutter (kind of a long row boat), up pops this white flag on a pole.

“I advanced to the cutter and stuck my .45 around the bow, to find three Japanese soldiers attached to the other end of the pole, kneeling and shaking in their shoes.

“So with their surrender, I lay claim to having captured Tokyo!” This is only one of the many stories ‘Boot’ recounted with tongue firmly in cheek.

Shortly after this episode, he applied to the RN’s Fleet Air Arm (FAA) to be a pilot.

At that time, the Royal Air Force taught FAA fledglings until they were awarded their wings at which point the new pilots posted to a FAA operational training unit (OTU). It was at OTU that Nethersole first flew in navalized variants of the famous Supermarine Spitfire.

Of these ‘Seafires,’ Nethersole recalled, “Really a lovely little airplane to fly; smelled strongly of petrol when you flew it upside down.”

Moving on to the second part of his OTU, he flew another 100 hours in the Hawker Sea Fury, learning basic fighter maneuvers, practicing air to air and air to ground attacks, including his first live firing of 20mm cannons, rockets and bombs before posting to his first operational squadron, No. 802. 802’s senior pilot was none other than famed test pilot Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown.

802 Squadron came aboard the carrier HMS Vengeance and cruised as part of both the Home and Mediterranean Fleets during Nethersole’s first squadron tour, 1949-1951. Nethersole recounts what flying the Sea Fury was like,

“Unless there was no wind over the deck, which almost never happened, we did free take-offs. Spotted as far aft as we could, we poured the power to the 18-cylinder Centaurus radial and released the brakes.

“When really heavy, carrying a full load of bombs for example, some Sea Furies could use RATOG – rocket assisted take-off. You fired these off as you started forward and the rockets provided several hundred pounds of extra ‘push’ to get airborne.

“Although RATOG was seldom used, my squadron commander had had an exciting experience while using them during the Korean War. He was carrying 1000 pounders under each wing, full fuel and ammunition, really rather heavy.

“During his pre-flight, he forgot to switch on the masterswitch for the RATOG bottles. Spotted in the front rank for take-off, he was about even with the carrier’s island. When the deck officer gave him the launch signal, he applied full throttle and started rolling forward. As he moved, he hit the ignition switch for the RATOG and, of course, nothing happened, but it was too late for him to stop on the remaining deck.

“Over the bow he went, everyone expecting the splash. That never happened and shortly thereafter, he pulled ahead of the ship at nil feet above the water. He had been unbelievably lucky and supremely skilled to take advantage of ‘ground effect’ and stay out of the water (Ground effect – the phenomenon where air is compressed between the underside of a low flying aircraft and the surface, in this case the ocean. It occurs when the height of the aircraft is less than one wingspan above the surface.)

“So he was really in a bind; too slow to climb out of ground effect or he’d stall and crash and unable to gain speed since he couldn’t dive to pick up some extra knots. When last seen, he was flying over the horizon with his tailwheel sometimes kicking up spray. He actually flew that way until he burned off enough fuel to lighten his airplane and manage to climb at the lighter weight!

“When returning to the ship, we’d typically be in echelon formation, entering the pattern on the starboard side of the ship, breaking off at ten second intervals to set up landings. We strove to land each aircraft within 15-20 seconds of the each other.

“When Mother Nature provided wind and the ship was charging into it for all she was worth, we’d usually have 30-40 knots over the deck when on finals for landing in a continuously curving approach to the stern. We had to fly like that so we could keep the batsman in sight. With the twelve feet of nose and engine in front of the cockpit, if we came straight in, we’d be blind in the three-point landing attitude.

“Holding 80-82 knots, we kept our eyes glued to the batsman’s signals, when he gave us the ‘cut’ we pulled the power and settled to the deck, hoping we’d catch one of the ten cross-deck wires with the tailhook. If we didn’t, we faced the prospect of taking one of two wire barriers that protected the aircraft parked towards the bow. The barriers would play havoc with the fighter’s propeller and wings, but it would stop the aircraft from plowing into the airpark on deck forward.

“If, as happened from time to time, a chap hit rather hard and bounced, he’d balloon over the wires and the barriers and go into the airpark. At best, the fighter would be a write-off and maybe, one or two others. At worst, a collision would trigger explosions and damage or destroy many aircraft.”

It was ashore,however, that ‘Boot’ tells one of his funniest ‘there I was’ stories.

“We had completed our last day of armaments camp, flying out of the airfield at Sylt, in the Friesian Islands off northern Germany. We had quite a party to celebrate the end of our encampment and I had a bit much to drink.

“Next morning, we were to be off back to our base at Wunstorf. Naturally, the weather was terrible - cold, wet, low hanging cloud that went up to who knows what altitude, so we delayed.

“I found myself a choice piece of hangar wall to lean against and had a nap. Next thing I know, I’m shaken awake with a “Right, your off!”

“I jumped in my airplane, started it up and fell into the taxiing queue and waited my turn for take-off. I lined up on the runway, added power and took off, immediately going into the clouds and onto instruments.

“When I finally broke out of the clouds on top, there wasn’t another airplane to be seen. I also discovered I’d lost my radio. “No problem,” I thought, “I’ll just set course for home and meet up with the chaps there.”

“Well, without the concentration required for formation flying and the soothing drone of the Centaurus, I soon drifted off for a bit. When I awoke, I found myself well off-course, and if my hurried calculations were correct, probably over the Russian Zone of Occupation!

“I wasn’t really sure of my position and couldn’t call for a fix, but I knew I didn’t want to be were I was and that if I flew west, I should eventually find the coast and from there, I could determine my position.

“So, I flew away, eyes open for either a recognizable landmark or a Russian escort. I desperately wanted the former and not the latter!

“Eventually, I did reach the coast over Belgium, so I flew north, looking for a more definitive navigational reference than the sea. Petrol, at this point, was becoming a real concern so I knew I had to do something soon.

“I spotted a lovely stretch of autobahn beneath me, so decided that would do. Remember, this is 1948, so there was not a lot of traffic on the road then.

“I landed quite nicely, folded the Fury’s wings, and taxied to a carriage way link shut down and waited for a car to come by. Luckily, the next one by was actually a German police car, so we were able to determine my position and what course I needed to get home.

“I had the German chap stop traffic, unfolded the wings, and took off.

I arrived back at Wunstorf to find my squadron thinking I had crashed as the time expired since we took off from Sylt had long exceeded the fuel endurance of my Sea Fury. Luckily, I was able to explain most of my story and no one was the worse for wear.”

In another episode, Nethersole tells of what might be the last time that a British aircraft was ‘fired upon’ by the recently defeated Germans.

“I was flat-hatting over the fields of northern Germany when I came upon a German farmer just finishing up loading his hay wagon.

“The farmer raised his three-pronged pitchfork like a javelin as I flew by. I thought, “There is no bloody way he can do anything thing with that,” so I pressed in.

“I roared right above his piled high wagon, leaving a cloud of dust and straw in my wake and an unloaded wagon. But I’ll be damned if I also didn’t feel a ‘thunk’ on my wing! When I landed, there, impaled in my port wing’s leading edge was the fork and foot or two of the handle of the man’s pitchfork. Nice shot, that!”

During his initial tour, Nethersole’s flying ability was recognized by ‘Winkle’ Brown as he was handpicked by Brown to be one of 802’s aerobatic demonstration team pilots. In his auto-biography, “Wings on My Sleeve,” Brown wrote of working the team to such a fine pitch of airmanship that he could feel pressure on his tailplanes from the air being compressed and bunching up in front of the ‘box’ man’s propeller. Tight formation flying, indeed!

After finishing his first operational tour, Nethersole was selected for the Air Weapons Officers Course where he became schooled in the latest weapons and tactics to best employ those weapons by tactical aircraft and assigned to 702 Squadron.

It was with 702 that he had a very close call in one of the early jets, the Supermarine Attacker.

“The Attacker was really just not a good airplane. I think the Navy bought it just so it could get a jet into service.”

Derived from Supermarine’s Spiteful which itself was a derivative of the Spitfire, the Attacker kept the Spiteful’s straight wings and tailwheel landing gear arrangement. Fitted with a 5,000lb thrust Nene turbojet, the Attacker had several fuel tanks, including an ungainly auxiliary ventral tank to increase its ‘legs.’ One feature in its fuel system that would directly and dramatically affect Nethersole is the one that had all tanks flow to one 73-gallon feeder tank.

If that tank should empty due to fuel pump failure or the other tanks not feeding for whatever reason, it didn’t matter how much gas was aboard, the thirsty Nene would soon sputter out. That is what happened to Boot.

“We made a formation take-off and climbed into very thick cloud cover. Trying to maintain my formation in those conditions, I really couldn’t afford to keep my head inside the cockpit. By the time we popped out on top and could gain a few feet of separation, the damage was done. A quick glance at my fuel gauges showed the other tanks still full, but my feeder tank nearly empty! Obviously, it wasn’t flowing and I was just a few minutes from a flame out.

“I nearly made it, but not quite. The fuel ran out and the engine quit while I was still a bit too far out. I couldn’t stretch the glide quite far enough and wound up about 100 yards shy of the airfield. Luckily, it was grass and I was able to touchdown with some control because the airfield boundary fence made of concrete posts with wire between them was quickly looming larger. I managed to kick enough rudder to steer the fuselage between two posts, sheering the port wing off completely. I came to rest very nearly on the runway edge inside the airfield.

“Now the thing was, there was a group of ‘plane spotters’ parked outside the fence watching the aircraft come and go. After I punched through the fence, they just kind of wandered in and stood in a semi-circle around my aircraft. Since it was now on fire that perhaps wasn’t the wisest thing they could have done.

“But I had other problems than the crowd’s welfare to worry about. My canopy was jammed shut and I couldn’t budge it. I tried with some hand gestures to get one of the crowd to come forward and grab the emergency canopy release lever on the side of the fuselage, but couldn’t get the idea across. As I was beginning to cook, I was not happy at the miscommunication.

“Finally, I was able to shoulder the canopy open enough to jump out and get away from the burning jet. I started shoo’ing the crowd away because there was still quite a lot of gas that would be going up any second. One wing tank did flare up just as I jumped, leaving me with burns on my face around the edge of my oxygen mask.

“About then, the station commander came along in his car. He had been driving along the peri track on his way to one of the other squadrons and saw me crash. He said, “Right, Boot, you take my car to the Infirmary and I’ll deal with this lot.”

A few years later, in a fortuitous meeting in the ‘loo’ at RNAS Lossiemouth, Boot ran into a friend, Lt. Cdr. Les Baker, the CO of 801 Squadron. Baker asked Boot what he was up to as 801 had need of a senior pilot. Nethersole, thinking quickly, said that was just what he was looking for. Baker then rang up the Admiralty and the deed was done.

Tragically, Baker was killed at sea during 801’s Far East cruise aboard HMS Centaur. Flying Hawker Seahawk FGA.4s, Baker missed a loose nose tank fuel cap during his preflight inspection, as did the Centaur’s deck crew. During the catapult shot, the acceleration forces flung the cap off and raw fuel streamed out and into the spring-loaded low speed engine bay air vents over the Seahawk’s Nene engine. The fuel ignited and Baker’s jet blew up right off the bow.

Nethersole picked up temporary, later permanent, command of 801. At that time, he was the youngest squadron commander in the Navy.

After rotating numerous times between sea and shore duties including command of his own ship, the frigate HMS Loch Alvie, he assumed the duties of Commander (Air) at RNAS Lossiemouth.

It was at Lossiemouth, that Boot claimed another bit of history. He made the last flight in the World War II-era Fairey Fulmar. The first eight-gun fighter in Royal Navy history, the Fulmar failed to live up to expectations during its operational service.

Lossiemouth’s Fulmar served as the station ‘hack.’ By Nethersole’s time, the aging fighter was unsupportable. Boot received a message from the Admiralty directing him to ground the aircraft.

Recognizing his chance for small piece of aviation history, Nethersole took the Fulmar up for one last flight. Upon landing, he shut down the Fulmar’s Rolls Royce Merlin, thinking, “Well, that’s that.”

A few hours later, back in his office, he glanced out the window to see the Fulmar taxiing to the active runway. The Chief Flying Instructor had decided HE wanted to be the last to fly the Fulmar and away he went.

Rank does have its privileges, so upon the instructor’s return, Boot again took up the Fulmar, landed, then ordered that no one else was to fly the damn thing!

Fast forward nearly 25 years to the FAA Museum at RNAS Yeovilton. Visiting the Museum, Nethersole overheard a guide lecturing a group on that very same Fulmar in the Museum’s collection. The guide got it wrong and Nethersole found himself unable to resist commenting.

Thrilled to be able to set the record straight, the Museum has since requested, and upon his death, will receive Nethersole’s logbook with its nearly 4,000 hours including the Fulmar’s final flight.

Says Boot now of his time as a pilot compared to today’s much more regulated times, “Things were a bit different then.”

Edited February 13, 2012 by brickhistory

[Steve Davies]

A very interesting, if lengthy, read about the first American airman killed in Europe in WWII. I'd never heard his name before.

Townsend Griffiss, forgotten hero of World War II

US diplomats had better contacts with the Soviet-backed Spanish government forces than with Franco's nationalists, so Griffiss resorted to unusual measures to gather information about the new German planes, according to his nephew.

"He convinced them to loan him a Russian fighter plane so he could go up and see what the new Messerschmitt 109s had in them," says Capt Alexander.

"He tangled on several occasions with the prototypes of the Me 109, which must have given him good information to post back to this country."

Edited February 14, 2012 by Steve Davies

[DEVIL]

I've been really getting into this guy (sts) lately, enjoying my UK heritage. What an animal, loses both legs before the Battle of Britain, during the battle shoots down 22. Bails out in France, is captured, tries to escape (with prosthetics) the Germans have so much respect for him they give the RAF safe passage to drop a new prosthetic off from a bomber when his is damaged.

And of course the great quote about his initial crash,

"Crashed slow-rolling near ground. Bad show.

Excuse the source (wiki), but there is a great book called Reach for the Sky.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Bader

[The Texan]

These are of a Japanese WW2 Seaplane that crashed about a mile from its port. The port is now modern day Palau Pacific Resort.

[TheGuardGuy]

Story of Captain James W. "Jim" Browning, a P-51 Ace, and close friend of CE Bud Anderson - Bud named his son after the guy.

https://www.cebudanderson.com/crash_site_of_captain_jim_browni.htm

Jim left his flight cap with his crewchief Clarence Petry for safekeeping before departing, 60 years later Clarence was put in touch with Jim's sister and returned his cap.

https://www.cebudanderson.com/browninghat.htm

[TheGuardGuy]

WW II P-47 Pilot 404th FG / Trumpet Player Col. (Ret) Jack Tueller.

Article: https://www.deseretne...notes.html?pg=1

*Thx Rainman

Edited May 12, 2012 by TheGuardGuy

[Guest]

WW II

[Masshole]

"Napalm Girl" photograph turns 40.

Interesting article about the subject of the picture.

[HuggyU2]

Interesting article about the subject of the picture.

Good find. One of the classic war pics.

I'd wondered what happened to her. Fascinating story.

560th at RND has some pretty cool stuff/memorial hall from those days and the repatriation flights pilots would get when getting back in the air...worth a stop if passing thru Randolph.

Everyone who goes through Randolph should take the time to go through the 560th. It is excellent. I had the privilege of helping to organize the POW/MIA Reunion for 3 years. Interacting with these guys has been a highlight of my life.

If you do stop through, there is a small room that's the size of a Vietnamese prison cell, and has some artifacts. Ask around and maybe they will open it for you.

Maj Todd 'Monkeyboy' Ernst is still there, I think, and he did a lot to improve the exhibit over the last 10 years.

Definitely go see it.