Aviation Ancestry

The Other Wildcats

By Scott Schwartz

An Eastern Aircraft FM-2 in flight; note the shorter cowling. Most surviving Wildcats are General Motors-built FM-2s, which are powered by the nine-cylinder Wright Cyclone engine. (Scott Schwartz)Although it was intended to be a replacement for the F4F Wildcat, the “Zero-killer” F6F Hellcat was still being developed during the early part of 1942.  The company planned to stop the production of Wildcats altogether, once the Hellcat was ready for front-line service.  Because the transition on the assembly line from one aircraft to another would not be instantaneous, Grumman had to find a way to maintain a steady stream of combat aircraft coming off the line, while Hellcat production gained momentum.

The answer was to have another company build F4F Wildcats and TBF Avengers. 

In the meantime General Motors had stopped making passenger cars shortly after the U.S. entered the war. This left several G.M. plants with nothing to produce. 

Seeing Stars- The Military Constellation – Part II

By Scott Schwartz

VC-121E “Columbine III”, which was used by President Eisenhower. Presumably, this photo was taken prior to the complete restoration of the aircraft. (Courtesy of the National Museum of the United States Air Force)Since the first flight of a Constellation didn’t take place until Jan. 9, 1943, it should come as no surprise that the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) was very interested in this fast, high-flying transport aircraft.  World War II was well under way and, after all, the Constellation could out run the Mitsubishi Zero fighter in level flight (theoretically, anyway).

Well, the initial plan was to allow the 80 Constellations being built for the airlines to be delivered to those airlines, but the airplanes themselves would actually be owned by the government.  The USAAF would then receive another 180 Constellations (designated as C-69s) directly.  In reality, the USAAF decided to take all of the Constellations that were already on the production line, and ordered more.  A total of 313 Constellations were ordered, but only a fraction of these were ever delivered to the Army. This is because the Wright R-3350 was turning out to be far from reliable.

Above the Weather – The Lockheed Constellation

By Scott Schwartz

A Lockheed C-69 Constellation in flight; the C-69 was the initial military version of the Constellation.With the end of World War Two, the Lockheed Company already had an advanced airliner in production in the form of a military variant, which was used by the Army Air Corps under the designation C-69. Most readers will know this aircraft as the Constellation.

The Lockheed Constellation, however, was not designed as a military airplane, and in truth, relatively few C-69s were produced for the Army. The aircraft was intended from the outset to be an airliner, and its origins lay in design studies that were begun in 1938. At the time, the twin-engine Douglas DC-3 reigned supreme in the airline market, which left competing Lockheed aircraft in the shadows. What’s more, Douglas was about to unveil its DC-4 (which was eventually referred to as the DC-4E – “E” for “Experimental”), which was a four-engine aircraft that could carry 42 passengers. The DC-4E also featured three short vertical stabilizers that enabled the aircraft to fit into most airline maintenance hangars of the time. Those who are familiar with the DC-4 may be scratching their heads, at this point. Three vertical stabilizers? Well, the DC-4E was not a resounding success, so it was not put into production (the single-fin derivative was). In fact, the Japanese bought the DC-4E (the Pearl Harbor attack was still a few years in the future) and, with a little reverse engineering, converted the design into the Nakajima G5N Shinzan bomber. The G5N wasn’t a resounding success, either.

B-29 Eagle Wing – Part IV

By Scott Schwartz

The Eagle “wing” radar antenna can be seen in this photo. The An/APG-7 radar enabled bombardiers to hit targets that were blanketed with overcast. (Courtesy of the USAF)Within three days of the North Korean incursion across the 38^th Parallel, Guam-based B-29s were sent to attack enemy tanks, trucks, supplies, and troops.  Much like its later cousin, the B-52, the Superfortress was a strategic bomber that was being used in a tactical role.  Not surprisingly then, bombing results were mediocre.  B-29 losses were fairly light, though, for at this stage, anti-aircraft fire and the occasional interception by World War Two vintage, Soviet-built piston-engine fighters were the only hazards faced by B-29 crewmen.  Sadly, these days were short-lived.

Within a few months, the first Soviet-built, jet-powered MiG-15s were seen parked at enemy air bases.   Further, several of these new fighters attacked an RB-29 in November, 1950.  Heavily damaged, the RB-29 crash-landed en route back to its base, and its tail gunner was given credit for shooting down the first MiG ever to be shot down….by a B-29 gunner.

The B-29 Superfortress

By Scott Schwartz

The Boeing XB-29: notice the early three-bladed propellers and the lack of gun turrets. The Army experimented with various defensive armament during the early phases of the B-29 program. (Photo courtesy of the United States Air Force) )The B-29 Superfortress’s engines had a tendency to overheat and catch fire.  Its defensive gun system sometimes jammed or simply failed altogether.  Yet, in many respects, this aircraft changed the world after it was used on two very special missions during World War II.

During the early 1930s, U.S. Army planners had been thinking about (perhaps dreaming would be a more accurate word) a new bomber that could carry 2,000 pounds of bombs, and which had a range of more than 5,000 miles.  By 1940 though, these imaginings had coalesced into a concrete set of specifications.  The new bomber would have to carry 2,000 pounds of bombs and be able to fly more than 5,300 miles.  Oh, and it would also have to be able to fly faster than 400 mph.  The reader should remember that in 1940, the fastest fighters in first-line service could not achieve 400 mph in level flight!

Buff – Part III

By Scott Schwartz

B-52D tail gunners downed at least two MiG fighters with their four .50 cal. machine guns. This B-52D is on display at the March Field Air Museum. (Scott Schwartz)Actually, more than the paint job had to be changed on the B-52Ds before they could be used effectively in Vietnam.  The reader should remember that the B-52 was designed for a strategic role.  Now, they were to be used as tactical aircraft – thousands of pounds of bombs were to be dropped on enemy troops and supply stockpiles.

As stated in BUFF, Part II, B-52Fs were already being used in Vietnam.  The “F” models were sent overseas in 1965.  The reason for adding the B-52Ds into the mix was simple:  there were twice as many B-52Ds as there were B-52Fs.

Since the aircraft were now going to be dropping more than one hundred bombs on a typical mission, changes had to be made.  Enter the Big Belly program.

Despite its name, the Big Belly program did not involve enlarging the bomb bay in any way.  Rather, the existing conventional bomb rack attachment points were modified so that special bomb racks – known as “clips” could be installed.  These “clips” could carry twenty eight 500 pound bombs, or fourteen 750 pound bombs apiece.  Further, the external bomb racks were re-wired so that they could hold conventional bombs.  All told, the modified B-52Ds (when loaded to capacity) could carry 108 bombs each. 

Buff: Part II

By Scott Schwartz

On March 18, 1954, the first Boeing B-52A was rolled of the company’s Seattle plant.  It differed from the X/YB-52 in several ways – besides the replacement of the tandem cockpit with side-by-side seating.  An Electronics Warfare Officer (EWO) was added to the crew.  This crewmember was placed on the upper flight deck with the pilot and co-pilot.  The bombardier’s and navigator’s positions were placed on the lower deck, and the tail gunner sat in his own position in the rear of the fuselage (from which he could fire four .50 caliber machine guns).

That wasn’t all.  Water injection systems were added to the J-57 engines, and small doors were installed on the top of the fuselage, aft of the cockpit, which covered the air-to-air refueling receptacle.

Buff: Part 1

By Scott Schwartz

The XB-52 had the pilot and co-pilot sitting in tandem, under a fighter-like canopy. Then-SAC Commander Gen. Curtis LeMay objected to this arrangement, and production models had side-by-side seating for the pilots. (Photo courtesy of the National Museum of the United States Air Force)With a wary eye on Nazi aggression, the U.S. was in need of a bomber that could fly directly to targets in Europe from bases on the North American continent.  This was the early 1940s, and several long-range bomber programs were launched.  None came to fruition until just after the end of the war, when Convair rolled out its piston-engine XB-36, and Northrop presented its XB-35, which was also powered by piston engines.  Nevertheless, the U.S. Army Force had already set its sights on more modern, post-war designs as early as 1945.  By the end of that year, the desired specifications for a high-speed/high altitude bomber had coalesced into an official requirement.  The new bomber had to be able to carry ten thousand pounds of bombs, be able to carry those bombs for 5,000 miles, and it had to cruise at 300 mph while flying at 35,000 feet.  At the time, the new Consolidated-Vultee  B-36 could fly high and far, but not fast enough. 

Hole Sucking Air, The Republic F-84, Part Three

By Scott Schwartz

This F-84F was one of the General Motors-built examples, and it was delivered to the USAF in 1954. It last saw service with the Indiana Air National Guard and was retired in 1971. The aircraft is currently on display at the March Field Air Museum in Moreno Valley, CA.(Scott Schwartz)Naturally, the damage caused by salt corrosion during the trip overseas required extensive repairs.  Once the repairs were completed, the F-84Es were sent into combat.  The 27^th Fighter Escort Group, under the command of Lt. Col. Don Blakeslee (who was a famous P-51 pilot during WWII) was dispatched on its first combat mission on December 6, 1950.  This was supposed to be an armed reconnaissance mission, but between it, and the next day’s mission, the 27^th had fired 7,200 rounds of machine gun ammunition and thirty two rockets. The net result of all this was the strafing of a North Korean village and damage to several locomotives.  Although one is tempted to sneer at the results of these missions, it should be remembered that none of these pilots had ever flown ground-attack missions before – with the exception of Blakeslee and one other pilot.  

By August of 1951, the first of the F-84Gs had been delivered to the Air Force.  Once again, airplane production outpaced delivery of the Allison J-35 engines, and the 27^th Fighter Escort Group – which had now returned from Korea – had received only 36 F-84Gs. 

Hole Sucking Air – The F-84 Thunderjet, Part Two

By Scott Schwartz

A restored Republic F-84C at the March Field Air Museum; after being dropped from the Air Force inventory, this aircraft served as an instructional air-frame at a community college for 27 years. (Scott Schwartz)Deliveries of the first P-84B’s began during the summer of 1947.  Right after these aircraft became operational, it was noticed that the aluminum skin on their wings was wrinkling.  Because this was attributed to the high “G” loads occurring during maneuvers, airspeeds in excess of .8 Mach and loads in excess of 5.5 G’s.  Wing failures occurred even after these restrictions were put in place.  This meant that the P-84’s had to be grounded until actual wing cracks could be ruled out.  If none were found in a particular P-84B, it was put back on flight status – with the previously mentioned flight restrictions until it could be modified. 

Although a newer model, the F-84C (readers will remember that the “P” for “Pursuit was changed to “F” for “Fighter” with the creation of the independent U.S. Air Force) was being produced by June of 1948, the structural problems were still unresolved – which is not surprising.  After all, the F-84C was virtually identical to the F-84B, except for improvements to the fuel and hydraulic systems.  One other difference was that the “C” model was powered by a more reliable early version of the J-35 engine.  

Hole Sucking Air: Republic F-84 Thunderjet

By Scott Schwartz

Republic P-84B; note the small engine air-intake in the nose. (USAF Photo)Conceived during the closing days of World War II,  Republic’s F-84 Thunderjet was conceived in response to a U.S. Army Air Force requirement for a new interceptor/escort fighter/fighter-bomber that would be able to fly fast and far.  This was a tall order given the fuel-guzzling jet engines of the time. 

Initially, Republic’s chief designer – Alexander Kartveli – envisioned a jet-powered version of the P-47 Thunderbolt.  In order to obtain the highest speeds possible, the P-47 was re-designed (on paper) to have as narrow a cross section as possible.  The problem was that the centrifugal-flow jet engines originally intended for use in the new airplane were large in diameter.  Even after a narrower axial-flow engine was decided upon, the fuselage had to be fairly wide.  The result was an aircraft with a fuselage that was slender at the front (with a relatively small engine air-intake) and “barrel-chested” in the middle, in order to accommodate the engine.  Aft of the cockpit, the fuselage tapered to the tail pipe, with the jet exhaust gases exiting underneath the empennage.   

The Northrop F-89 Scorpion, Part II

By Scott Schwartz

(Scott Schwartz)The decision to buy the F-89 was ultimately made after a USAF board recommended the acquisition of the aircraft during a meeting in September of 1948.  Despite being fitted with more powerful engines, the XP-87 was still under-powered.   Choosing the F-89 over the Curtiss F-87 marked the end of Curtiss-Wright as an aircraft manufacturer (today, the company builds aerospace components and pumping equipment).  Nevertheless, the Air Force was not 100 percent confident in the XF-89, and it wanted alternatives.  Accordingly, specifications for another all-weather fighter were issued at around the same time that the decision to buy the F-89 was made.  In response to these new requirements, North American altered its F-86A by installing an after-burning engine and more sophisticated radar equipment.  The resulting aircraft was initially referred to as the XF-95, but was later designated as the F-86D.  Lockheed’s answer was a modified version of its two-seat TF-80C trainer, which eventually became the F-94.