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…
Posted by lex, on September 24, 2006
At least one British Army officer in Afghanistan appears to think so.
The R.A.F. have been utterly, utterly useless,’’ Maj. Loden was quoted as saying, referring to two instances involving Harrier warplanes during close ground combat.
“A female Harrier pilot ‘couldn’t identify the target,’ fired two phosphorous rockets that just missed our own compound so that we thought they were incoming RPG’s, and then strafed our perimeter, missing the enemy by 200 meters,’’ he wrote, according to British news reports. RPG stands for rocket-propelled grenade.
In contrast to Britain’s Royal Air Force, Maj. Loden said, the United States Air Force had been “fantastic.’’
As you might suspect, that comparison went over like a fart in church up-echelon. Hard to make any general conclusions from one man’s specific observations, but it’s interesting how in this fight, the voices of the troops – for better or worse – are much more likely to pass through the filters, military, civil, media and that once would have held them in check.
Filed under Afghanistan, Air Force, by lex, Carroll "Lex" LeFon, Carroll LeFon, GWOT
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.
I don’t know how they did it, but check out this 1957 film of the Air Force F-86s. It only has a 2:08 duration, but what scenes. Someone on the Facebook group wondered if Paul Mantz filmed this.
Dunno.
Update 12-27-2018 – From the Vimeo Site:
JET PILOT (1957) produced by Howard Hughes was shot between 1949-1951. Beautiful aerial cinematography in this Cold War film. The US Air Force allowed the use of: F-86 / B-36B / F-94A / EB50A / T-33A and the Bell X-1 that first broke the sound barrier. Shot on Kodak’s first color negative film 5247.
When I arrived at Wurtsmith AFB on December 8, 1978, I remember expecting a crack bomber unit embodying steely-eyed discipline, Spanish Inquisition-level devotion to regulations, and a certain sunglasses-silk-scarf-and-grin panache that would indeed tell you that you were an elite, entrusted with the Nation’s Survival In It’s Darkest Hour.
TALES FROM MY YOUTH: (Author is another Lexican)
The Adventure of the Green Iguana
Now, I’d met Ivan on a couple of occasions – he was a fairly good sized, bright green iguana having a calm, phlegmatic attitude, as do you and I. Never knew exactly what he ate – Eightball suggested on a regular basis that the source of Ivan’s diet was somewhat more sinister than the insect life that abounded up north – but he seemed happy and well-cared for enough, so much so that on occasion we suspected Ivan was indeed a lot happier and well-cared for than Mrs. Eightball and their son. However, that night Eightball looked around the wreckage of his life and came to the conclusion that the only source of love, unquestioning devotion, and comradeship unto the end was Ivan, and Ivan, in unspoken eloquence, would share that end. Or maybe Ivan was just too damned cold to argue, being where we were, but never mind.
With Friends Like These…
…I’ll give him this: at this point, A1C Dumbjohn was doing everything according to Hoyle, with just a smidgen of Clint Eastwood thrown in. I had not taken my eyes off the little twerp’s finger – which was ON the trigger, though the safety was on – and I became aware of Captain Space next to me, with his hands in the air. Well, not wanting to be the odd man out, mine went up as well. With that, Dumbjohn motioned us outside and snarled, “Up against the wall!” as he called the SPs and notified them of a Helping Hand, the code at the time – and may still be – for a violation of nuclear security. There were some loud and most definitely urgent squawks overheard on the radio, and we settled down to await the Cavalry. I had been Jacked Up, friends – an incident that at best left an unpleasant taste in one’s mouth and at worst led to one standing tall before Colonels With Much Fruit Salad explaining just why you were such an idiot.
Filed under USAF
Tales of My Youth – Part 1
With Friends Like These…
Now, where was I? Oh yes….
It was just a few days before Thanksgiving, and I was eagerly looking forward to the following Wednesday, when I was due to go home and marry Katherine, a beautiful and formidable young Lady from my home town of Cleveland. My future brother in law – a Loader, though I have never held that against him – and a hospital troop were of the party as well, and the three of us were looking forward to a week or so of happiness and comparative quiet.
I don’t believe heroism has ever been in short supply when America has needed her warriors.
Vietnam was no exception.
From the soldier or Marine leading point on a patrol, to the tunnel rats, the A-1 “Sandy” and HH-53 “Jolly Green Giant” pilots who risked their own lives (and sometimes died) rescuing downed pilots…
A fellow who worked at the hardware store I frequent I believe typified the Vietnam Vet. I found out about Ray’s service over knowing him (across the counter) over a few years. He was not given to braggadocio.
Which as an aside, I have learned over the years generally the quieter the person, the deeper the well.
Over some conversations I learned that he was in an elite Marine Recon unit that is mentioned in a book or 2. He recently moved to Arizona, but while he was here I did notice a certain expertise in handling shoplifters.
There are Rays all across the country; quietly going about their daily lives today.
A few years ago I learned about a group of pilots who did an incredible job, which was to look for enemy anti aircraft (AA) batteries. Once they spotted a battery they encouraged them to shoot at them. During this interval they would “jink” – turn sharply – every 5-7 seconds – which happened to be the typical flight time of the 37mm AA round, the usual ordnance aimed at them. They did face everything from SA-2 missiles to small arms.
Once the battery was located, they would call in Air Force and/or Navy pilots in fighter-bombers to destroy it.
The first pilots in 1967 devised the tactics that the subsequent pilots would use.
They flew the 2 seat version of the F100 (F100F) , a pilot and a spotter. Both were pilots, and would rotate seats with each mission. They’d fly their missions at low level, 350-550 mph, looking for batteries and anything else to disrupt the enemy.
From 1967 through 1970, of the 157 Misty pilots, 34 were shot down. 7 were KIA and 4 POWs.
One was awarded the Medal of Honor, 2 became Air Force Chiefs of Staff, 6 became general officers, 1 a winner of the Collier Trophy, and 1 became the first man to fly non-stop, un-refuelled around the world.
The Medal of Honor recipient? The first commander, Bud Day (call sign Misty 01) , was directing some F105s against a SAM site 20 miles north of the DMZ in North Vietnam. His plane was hit by 37mm AA fire and in the ejection Day broke his arm in 3 places when he struck the side of the cockpit. His spotter was rescued but Day was unable to contact the helicopter with his survival radio, and was quickly captured by a North Vietnamese militia unit. Despite his serious injuries, on his fifth night of capture, Day escaped his captors, and although stripped of his boots and flight suit, made it south across the DMZ. He was within 2 miles of a U.S. Marine fire base at Con Thien, when the Viet Cong recaptured him, shooting him in the leg and hand.
He was taken back to the original camp, tortured and starved and eventually ended up at the “Hanoi Hilton”, a cellmate of John McCain. McCain nursed his atrophied arm. He remained there until March 14, 1973.
On March 4, 1976 he was awarded the MOH by President Gerald Ford for his personal bravery.
Update 07-26-2018
I just returned from a nice drive through Idaho, Washington and Oregon, and had to stop at the Evergreen Aviation Museum. It is a wonderful museum, and among their exhibits is a restored F-100F, which was the first plane used by the Misty FACs.
The Lexicans 