Lady Be Good

Lady Be Good, as discovered 16 years later, in 1959

She was named after a popular song that had been written by George Gershwin. It had been turned into a movie.

She was a nearly new B-24D, just flown from the States to serve in the 376th Bomb Group at Soluch Airfield, Libya where the Group was tasked with bombing Italian ports feeding Hitler’s war machine.

Her crew of 9 were typical of men during that time, all in their 20s, some leaving young wives and fiancées. They had never been on a combat mission previously.

On this date in history…

November 8, 1950

During the Korean War the very first- ever jet vs. jet aerial dogfight took place. U.S. Air Force pilot Lt. Russell J. Brown was flying a Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star and successfully shot down two North Korean MiG-15s, which were possibly piloted by Russians. The MiG-15 was the fastest, most maneuverable fighter jet of its day, and generally dominated the skies it flew. Taking down two in a dogfight was a tremendous opening salvo.

H/T to my Air Force friend who sent this…

The Mighty Eighth

Last year, I screened The Cold Blue, which was an amazing film. In WW2, 5 famous Hollywood directors, William Wyler, John Huston, John Ford, George Stevens, and Frank Capra went into harm’s way with small film crews and documented the war. John Ford, for example shot – I believe- the only footage of Midway as it was being attacked.

I’m in danger of swaying into this fascinating story, but I will say one thing. The war affected them all, and it can be reflected in their post war work. George Stevens, for example, having seen so much death and destruction in Europe, in making Shane, thought gunfire and being shot should be portrayed realistically, a first for a Hollywood Western.

A B-29 Memory Amended

The B-29 was an amazing aircraft for its day, a complete game changer. More was spent on its development and production than the Manhattan Project.

There was a wonderful book that dealt with the B-29 written by the author of Flags of Our Fathers, James Bradley, called Flyboys.  Downfall, recommended by a Lexican, was another good book that went into a lot of detail on the Superfortress.

If you are lucky enough to see one of the 2 flying today, it is still an impressive airplane, 70 years later. I wrote about visiting FiFi a couple of years ago, and posted some pictures.

Sometimes Bad Things Happen

By lex, on December 16th, 2011

Over at the Danger Room, David Axe is making noise ** about the USAF’s official investigation into the loss of an F-22A Raptor and its pilot up in Alaska in November 2010:

‘Splosive Bolts

By lex, on April 23rd, 2011

Still actuating on naval command-at-sea pins:

TRAP

By lex, on March 23rd, 2011

The US Marines embarked aboard an amphibious ready group us a “rapid response planning process”, or R2P2 to prepare for each of the 22 roles and missions that a Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) is expected to be able to accomplish. They can go from warning order to execution using a cookbook process shaped by real-time intel in three hours. Watching the unit leaders go through a confirmation brief with the MEU commander prior to execution is an amazingly detailed experience – the first time.

Tanker, Posit?

By lex, on July 2nd, 2010

Oh, just droning along up there:

Bones to the Boneyard

By lex, on June 24th, 2010

An ignoble end to a long-range trashauler:

QOTD

By lex, on May 19th, 2010

“You seldom think of aerial combat — getting shot at — as fun,” (USAF Colonel Bud Mahurin) said, “but it’s a lot of fun if you’re doing the shooting.”