DEADLY NIGHT STALKER fists Merehiapi 20 $8.99US $9.99CAN aes: SUPER pd TT pein Evolution of Golden Age 2 an Aerobat erTalare) 0148130"The Invention of the Year The world’s most fun-to-drive and portable mobility device Once in a lifetime, a product comes along that truly moves people. Introducing the future of battery-powered personal transportation ... The Zinger. Throughout the ages, there have been many important advances in mobility. Canes, walkers, rollators, and scooters were created to help people with mobility issues get around and retain their independence. Lately, however, there haven't been any new improvements to these existing products or developments in this field, Until now. Recently, ‘an innovative design engineer who's developed one of the world’s most popular products created a completely new breakthrough . . . a personal electric vehicle. It's called the Zinger, and there is nothing out there quite like it. “What my wife especially loves is it gives her back feelings of safety and independence which has given a real boost to her confidence and happiness! Thank You!” ~Kent C,, California The first thing you'll notice about the Zinger is its unique look. It doesn’t look like a scooter. Its sleek, jghtweight yet durable frame is made with aircraft grade aluminum so it weighs only 47.2 Ibs. It features ‘one-touch folding and unfolding ~ when folded it can be wheeled around like a suitcase and fits easily into a backseat or trunk. Then, there are the steering levers, They enable the Zinger to move forward, backward, Now available in a Joystick model (Zoomer Chair) 3 can Be mounted on the rght or lett side for rider's comfort Joys mobility | sleep | comfort | safety enjoying life ZINGER RY oo) J a / \ es ‘The Zinger folds to a mere 10 inches. Available in Green, Black and Blue (shown) turn on a dime and even pull right up to a table or desk. With its compact yet powerful motor it can go up to 6 miles an hour and its rechargeable battery can go up to 8 s ona single charge. With its low center of gravity and inflatable tires it can handle rugged terrain and is virtually tip-proof. Think about it, you can take your Zinger almost anywhere, so you don't have to let mobility issues rule your life. Why take our word for it? Call now, and find out how you can get a Zinger of your very own. e journey zinger Call now and receive a utility basket ‘absolutely FREE with your order. 1-888-442-3108 Please mention code 117709 when ordering. never getsold” OJ journe 05253,Redemption for the Yak THERE IS NO DOUBT that aeronautical engineer Alexander Yakovlev's Russian fighter has taken aback seat to more glamourous fightersllie the P-S1 Mustang and Spitfire. But high-scoring ace Marcel Albert, who flew and fought under three flags during World War I was well aware of the combat lethality of the “Yale” fighter that somelnow eluded its image over the years, This is most likely due to the fact it was Russian-built and designed to be rugged, manufactured quickly in large numbers, and only use available materials and labor, like the T-34 tank and PPSi~41 machine gun. It was a purely utilitarian tool of war. In our feature story "Tricolor Ace," modern jet fighter pilot Clive Rowley, MBE RAF (Ret) tells us the incredible story of Marce! Albert's unlikely combat tour with the Yak, Albert first flew with the French Air Force early in the wai later joined his fellow Free French pilots with the RAF, and then fought with the Russians on the Eastern Front in Yaks. This unique fighting unit would operate from primitive airfields in the most brutal of weather conditions: frigid temperatures and blowing snow in the winter, extreme heat and dust in the summer, and deep mud and slush in between. Even worse, food was scarce, andaccommodations for the pilots were nobetter than for the infantry. Disease was rampant as well. The Yak, with its super strong aluminum construction, wide undercarriage, low pressure tires, and devastating 20mm cannon, was the aerial weapon of choice, and it proved itself continually against waves of Luftwaffe fighters and bombers and the harsh conditions they operated in, Albert and his Yak were truly built for these adverse fighting conditions and he became the leading ace with 23 victories. By the end of hostilities, these French warriors would claim 273 enemy aircraft destroyed in the air. Free French warrior Marcel Albert's unexpected combat journey allowed him to demonstrate that the Yak fighters were as formidable and reliable as their Allied and Axis counterparts. As a gesture of thanks, the Soviets even gifted the pilots 37 Yak-3s and when they returned home, they received a hero's welcome, ‘There is plenty more in this issue to feed your aviation passion, so climb into the cockpit with us and with those who were there as we relive history. “Louis DeFrancesco EDITORIAL Editorial Director Louls DeFrancesco Executive Editor Deora Cleghorn CONTRIBUTING EDITORS ‘Bud Anderson, James P, Busha, Ted Carlson. _—_Ecidie J. Creek, Doug DeCaster, Robert S. DeGroat, John Dib, Robert For, im Farmer, PaulGillcrist PhilHaun, Randy Joly, Frederick Johnsen, Geotrey PJones, Ron Kaplan, Peter Lert, David Leininger, Rick Linares, john Lowery, George Marrett, Peter -Mersy, Paul Novak, Dan Patterson, Steve Pace Slan Pet, Alfred Price. Clive Rowe, Brian Sicox,Robert Tat, Jan Tegler, Warren ‘Tnompson, David Truby, Barnaby Walnfan, Bradley Wentzel Chuck Yeager ART ‘Art Director BertyK.Nero DIGITAL MEDIA Web Development Cirata Services PRoDUCTION DaviePandy 203.529.4604 |productions.aragescom ADVERTISING Fox Associates Inc. “16 West Kinzie St, Chicago, IL 60654-4655, 800.440.0231(US/Canada) |312.644 3888, Fax3126448718 adinfoFightlouralaFoxRep.com CONSUMER MARKETING Mast Circulation Group, ne MARKETING & EVENTS Event Manager EnilDeFrancesco PUBLISHING Group Publishers Louis DeFrancesco i. ‘YonneM. DeFrancesco Got FOLLOW us on Facebook: facebook om/Fightiounal ‘On Tlter:Fgitloural On nstagram: OF ht Journal Wistus anne: fightjournalcom EDITORIAL OFFICES Mal 57 Danbury Roo Sate 202 Wt cr 05897 USA eats cor Internet Figtouralcam ont Cte Manage your account: CaremM Each one of our 1:30 scale metal figures is painstakingly researched for historical accuracy and detail. 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(0)800 086 9123 rarer eee atone ne En mae ee, RAs, CB Youube seeoa b >> SS < — MS USS THRO GH HELL Flak decimates a B-26 Bomb Group Cer aI CuLy Fao Tee iN aca ss1 0) Ue Leo eed) ACE Peete e eee Md emilee et Claire nett see echoes acne neh i cnigunsge sla Eisele Be Mm eL Maen eae OVER Cana PM Bie ha ever u ne rarl tether Cuce hate Pea ene Meee Taree meet] PEUEe eu eC Leena gt meneame state lul steelsPt ee eae eee os CeO eee este)MARAUDER MISSION THROUGH HELL ‘The “giving" had begun one day earlier as British Lancaster and Mosquito bombers began the fire-bombing of Dresden, American heavy bombers continued the daylight action as the fires of hell engulfed the ravaged. German city. Elsewhere in Europe, the German Army reversed course and wasin retreat, falling back across the Rhine River into the heart of the fatherland Hitler's ream of a1,000-year Reich would fall short by about 988 years, ‘As the strategic heavy bombers from the {th Air Force concentrated on Germany's industrial targets, the tactical 9th Air Force committed more than 600 A-20 Havocs,B-26 Marauders and A-26 Invaders to the fleeing German army. Their targets were marshalling yards, troop concentrations, railway stations, barge traffic and bridges. Included in this, mission were men and aircraft from the 495th Bomb Squadron, 344th Bomb Group, flying Martin B-26 Marauders from theit base A-59 at Cormeilles-en-Vexin, France ‘On February 13,1945, Lak-2-Nookle taxis out for takeoff from the 244thBG's airfield A-59 InFrance. On the very next day, ts erew flew In another Marauder that was shot to pleces by flak. (Photo by 1K.Havener) Of the hundreds of men who gathered for the morning briefing, two had flown almost 20 missions together inside aB-26's belly. Each manhada different view of the sky and the chaos to follow because they sat at opposite ends of the aircraft, Here is their story. ‘The airplane commander, Lt. Charles “Chuck” E. Minihan, had been flying B-26s in combat since August 1944, During that time, he was responsible for the lives of five .er men, including copilot Ben Huffman, bombardier/navigator Leo Armstrong, fight engineer Ben Longstreth, radio operator John Regan, and the rear back seat of eyes and protection, tail gunner/armament Sgt, Noble Holland, As the men assembled for thelr briefing, John Regan did not join them because an illness had sent him to sick bay. Vick Elis replaced him;it would be his last mission, Lt, Minthan recalls the February 14 mission briefing: ‘Our target was a railroad bridge over the Rhine River near Koblenz. We were Copiot Ben Huttman, bombardier Leo Armstrong and pilot Chuck Mian relax told that the Germans were retreating but during ahlln the action (Photo courtesy of Chuck Minthan via author) hhad stalled on the other side of the Rhine,‘What caught everyone's attention, though, ‘were the flak patterns around the target. Generally speaking, they were red circles enclosed at the outer periphery of the target. Within those red areas, it reminded me of alarge bunch of grapes, except each grape represented multiple 88mm flak guns. Thei had to be more than 1,000 gunsinanarea (0f 20 square miles with overlapping fire from. each of the guns. This was by far the worst flak concentration we would ever fly over. “Having flown more than 20 missions, we had been briefed in the past about heavy gun emplacements and thankfully encountered none, In other cases, though, we had flov above the undercast and had not been shot at, [always looked for the good and bad signs before a mission, such as weather reports, target type and so on. That day, skies were clear all the way to and over the target-a bad: my book, Things only got worse from there on out, “Our engine-start time was supposed to be 8am. We had finished the preflight and loading of our B-26, which included 4,000 “OUR TARGET WAS A RAILROAD BRIDGE OVER THE RHINE RIVER ... WHAT CAUGHT EVERYONE’S ATTENTION, THOUGH, WERE THE FLAK PATTERNS AROUND THE TARGET. THIS WAS BY FAR THE WORST FLAK CONCENTRATION WE WOULD EVER FLY OVER. ‘Thisis the bridge that Chuck Minihan and crew attacked on St. Valentine's Day; the mis pounds of bombs, and had strapped ourselves MoretAprit202s 9MARAUDER MISSION THROUGH HELL into our respective positions, waiting for the signal of the green flare to crank our engines, We only saw the morning sun rise higher in the sky and the ‘red reds’ repeat the never- ending delays. On this maximumeffort nission, three squadrons put up 18 B-26s apiece, and each aircraft carried a full bomb load anda crew of six men. Inside the Marauder's cramped quarters, we passed the time with thoughts of the mission at hang, which only intensified our anxiety. Asa cure for that, thought about home and my wife and the name | gave to one of the B-26s1 usually flew, The 344th BG's 494th BS had the sideldentiiers KS. This Marauder was B-26's nose tucked just below and behind Maj, Clay's tail.I,too, had aB-26 on either side of me as we formed up over France and made Photographed at Mount our way to Germany, Little did mow at the Fatmin England before ‘the group moved to time that Iwould never seemost of thesemen FreBeBrerny tobert again. Astrela) ‘Our formation zigzagged across Germany, hile our crewmen searched for the Luftwaffe fighters that thankfully never showed up. But they didn't have to,as flak opened up ahead and all around us. We settled into the bombing run and had just started to level our wings as ‘we completed our turn to the IP (Initial Point) We were less than 15 minutes out from the “THE GERMANS DIDN'T SHOOT AT SINGLE B-265; THEY JUST FILLED A BOX IN THE SKY AND DARKENED IT WITH BLACK DEATH ... WITH FLAK BURSTING ALL AROUND US, IT SOUNDED LIKE HANDFULS OF GRAVEL WERE BEING THROWN AGAINST A TIN SHED AS TINY STRIPS OF METAL TORE INTO OUR B-26.’ “Tflew most of my missions in a Marauder had dubbed Lak-a-Nookie. It was named for promise] made to my wife back in Texas on what! wouldn't do overseas. [kept my promise to her, but it was damn difficult, especially aroundall those French girls! That day's mission found me in the left seat of another Marauder as thehands on my watch crept toward the noon hour, when at last a green flare arched across the blue sky. The sound of 54 Marauders roared to life as we taxied into position. ‘Our 459th Squadron was the lead group, and the entire group was led by Maj. Lucious Clay. We fiew in a six-ship formation box with. Maj. Clay out in front and a B-26 on either side of him. !flew the number-four slot with my target when all hell broke loose, and the sky faded to gray. “The Germans didn't shoot at single B-26s; they just filled aboxin the sky and darkened itwith black death, Those 88s were well coordinated, and they had us pegged as to our exact position and height. With flak bursting allaroundus, it sounded like handfuls of ‘gravel were being thrown against atin shed as tiny strips of metal tore into our B-26, We were the lucky ones. “We were hit progressively for 15 minutes on our bomb run, andin that time, Isaw two bright flashes of light above my left and right ‘wings. [felt the transmission of heat come through the Plexiglas as the number-two and -three B-26s vaporized before my eyes.andNoble Holand Inthe al (Photo courtesy of Noble Holand via author) Lak-a-Nookle's profile withthe V5 496th BS's Identifiers onthe side. {tustration by Chris Davey) his wasn't something I could easily ignore, and was scared silly as concentrated on maintaining my position in the formation—or ‘what was left of it. Things were not much better behind us ‘Sgt. Noble Holland recalls what happened next: ‘in less than a minute's time, the clear blue, sunny sky behind me turned black with powder and shrapnel everywhere. Isaw orange bursts above me, below me and level ‘with me, Those sons of bitches high ones were the ones I didn't like because they had to get upstairs to detonate, and if they went through us, we were goners, for sure “Taw a B-26 behind me in another flight take a direct hit and explode. A million tiny pieces of aluminum went every which way. Hooked out my window to one side and saw the right wing of a B-26 with the engine and propeller still attached, The wing looked like L someone had jerked it off a B-26 and turned it loose. It was an eerie thing to see the propeller turning at full bore as the wing fell back to earth. The whole scene was totally chaotic, and the sky was full of turmoil. hen the chaos penetrated our Marauder.” Lt. Minthan relates what happened up front ‘My eyes were glued to Maj. Clay's B-26 that drifted above my nose eight feet away. This was by no means a casual, loose formation as my right hands jockeyed the throttles, [felt like a whiskey runner in Texas as ijammed my throttles back and forth. just, before the intercom was knocked out, [heard acall that the waist gunner was hit by flak and needed help. Icouldn't do much for him,MARAUDER MISSION THROUGH HELL B26 Bec SSS Span 85 ft Tit SPECIFICATIONS Length 56 ft. 58 fe. Bin Weight fempty/gross) 21,975/92,000 lb. 24,000/38,200 Ib Speed (max/eruise) _315/265mph 2B2eImEh Bombs 4600 Ib. 3,000 Wb. Guns 2or3.50-calibers 12 50-calibers Wing area B02 sq.ft 5B 5g, ft Engines/hp R-2800/1, 850 Regoo/e,000 1B-268.-50-MA 42-95870, 496 BS, 24486 (iustration by Torn Tull) {as Maj, Clay's bomb-bay doors opened and his bomb load tumbled downward. [could sense ‘our own bombs coming out as the lightening of our load forced the Marauder upward. hoped someone could help the wounded ‘waist gunner as concentrated on keeping the B-26 upright.” Sgt. Holland remembers the call from the waist gunner: Vick Elis called me and said he was shot Unrough the shoulder. lasked him ifhe was bleeding badly, and he said, No, not bad at all! Itold him that I would wait until some of this flak calmed down before I crawled forward to help him, [had alot of armor plating around my behing, and I didn't want to venture too far away fromit" Up front in the cockpit, things began to unravel for Lt. Minihan Maj. Clay started a mild left turn with a fight of B-26s above us to our right anda fight below us to our left. They, too, were a shadow of their former box, as Maj. Clay and represented what was eft of thelead box. turned left with them, and my forward speed increased, and Ibegan to overtake ‘Maj. Clay. Ipulled the power back and found that my leftengine linkage had been severed at the control column with the left engine roaring at full throttle, My left engine began to overpower the drag of the right engine, and realized had a runaway. it was difficult to take my eyes off the B-26 above me and yet try to deal with an over-speeding engine, but my attention shifted to inside the cockpit as. my B-26 began to rollto the right. “When the Marauder went beyond the vertical, the formation rose above my belly, and the ground below filled my windscreen as fought to control the roll. found out quickly that {had no aileron control either because the cable on my control wheel had been completely blown away. My copilot, Ben Huffman, wondered out loud “What the hell are you doing?" He thought I was deliberately maneuvering away from Maj. Clay, and. itwasn't untill yelled, “Help me!” that he realized something was wrong, Lt. Hulfman’s aileron cable was stillintact ashe wrestled with his control wheel while I pushed full right rudder in as fast and as far as could, Our B-26 completed ts sloppy roll, losing 4,000 feet of altitude in the process. wanted to keep it flying long enough so the guysin the back could jump, but [had no idea what was going on back there. Things in the back were not much better." [saw black smoke coming from the left engine," recalls Sgt. Holland, “as| crawled forward to ald Vick Ellis. Vick was bleeding from the top of his shoulder, sol gavehim a shot of morphine and dumped the wholebag of sulfur powder on his wound, AsTbandaged his shoulder, [looked up and saw the bombardier, Leo Armstrong, motioning for me tobail out. The howling wind through the back area made it impossible to speak or hear over ‘thenoise, but [saw his lips moving, telling me to jump. AsThelped Vick Ellis with his parachute, hydraulic uid was flying around, sprayed mein the face, stinging my eyes: God, Thated the smellof that crap! B26 Ti 56 fe.Lin 23,800/38,200 Ib, PEg/elBmph 4,000 Ib, 11 50-calibers 5B 59, ft Resoo/e,000 Fred Job“[motioned to Vick and pointed tohis parachute, He nodded yes, but Icould see there was no way he could pull hisripcord with that bad arm, attached a 20-foot strap tohis chute and anchored it to the inside of the Marauder in hopes that once he fell it ‘would jerk the parachute open. As we got ready to jump, Vick changed his mind and ‘T MOTIONED TO VICK AND POINTED TO HIS PARACHUTE ... BUT I COULD SEE THERE WAS NO WAY HE COULD PULL HIS RIPCORD WITH THAT BAD ARM. I WASN'T ABOUT TO LEAVE HIM AND NEITHER WOULD THE REST OF THE CREW AS WE SETTLED IN FOR THE RIDE OF OUR LIVES. Lak-a-Nookie'sremains afteritblew atre on lanelng while being flown by diferent crew. (Photo courtesy of Noble Holand via author) shooichis head no, pointing te his injured shoulder. wasn't about to leave him and neither would the rest of the crew as we settled in for the ride of our lives. Iput a pair of earphones on to listen to what was going on up front, and [heard Maj. Clay yell 'Regroup, regroup, trying to pull the other B-26s back together. Then the intercom went dead.” "| saw Maj. Clay pall up and away from us; recalls Lt. Minihan, "but my main concern was to get that left engine shut down, pulled mixture control and then pulled the propeller control back, worrying that the Curtiss Electric propeller motors had crystallized, and they would shear off the blades, Thankfully, it didn't happen as I feathered them, knowing full well we were going to be here for a while. Ben and got it halftrimmed up as we slowly advanced power on the right engine. We got it into areasonably mild, descending single- engine fight and pegged the airspeed at 140 knots. knew that once Ireached 3,000 to 4,000 feet, the B-26 would hold altitude. The question was, for how long? I called bomber command on the UHF frequency and told them to find me an airfield, cor we were going to leave this sucker. After what seemed like alifetime and a half, they came back and said there was an airfield up ahead near Rheims, France, They forgot to tell, me it was stil under construction! ‘Te was getting late as we reentered French airspace; the bottom of the sun began to touch the top of the horizon, 1 saw the airfield up ahead and shouted for the crew in the back tohang on, not knowing whether they could hear me or not. [threw the gear handle down, and of course the never-ending bad luck held: the hydraulics was gone, and the gear remained retracted. | got flight engineer Ben Longstreth’s attention and motioned for him tohand-crank the gear down. [knew we only had one shot at this, and wondered how long the Marauder would hold together.” ‘ couldn't see into the cockpit," said Sgt. Holland, “sol didn't know what was going on up there, Iknew something was wrong Marehiipe'2029 18MARAUDER MISSION THROUGH HELL when the flight engineer motioned for me to come up to the bomb bay, We found ‘the landing gear practically {frozen shut as we stoodin the gear down. It took a long ‘time for the main gear legs to lock, but we did it. he nose gear was abigger problem because we couldn't even get it tounlatch. We tried and ‘ried, but it wouldn't budge. crawled back to the waist area and made sure Vick Ellis was secure asl sat next to ‘him, waiting for the crash~ landing to follow, “Ttook some power off," said Lt. Minihan, “and at the same time, ladjusted. the rudder trim, Icould see the field was still LeMinhan few 33 8-26 ‘combat missions and retired from the Air Forceasacdlenel(Phote under construction because concrete mixers courtesy of Chuck Mini- were working on parts of the runway. [came hhan via author.) in hot, without flaps, and touched down on themains as [held the nose off. literally tore apart the runway because it was made of wire mesh and not the pierced-steel planking | had been used to. missed one of the concrete mixers by a few feet as roared by, tearing up the wire mesh like a peeled orange. “Lgot it slowed down to 70 knots, but knew THE FATEFUL TALLY The original St. Valentine's Day massacre occurred in 1928 inside a chilly Chicage garage. Five men, all members of Al Capone's mob, dressed as policemen, entered the building under the guise of an ilagal alcohol raid, The seven rival gang members found inside were lined up against a brick wall and gunned down by Capone's men, Intimidation by force and violence were an everyday occurrence on the streets of Chicago. Approximately 16 years later to the date, force and violence reigned as a more destructive maasacre tack place in the skies aver Germany, The 344th 8G sent out its 8-26 Marauders ina maximum= effort mission intent on destroying a bridge over the Rhine River. What followed was catastrophic. Atotel of five B-26s were blown out of the sky by intense German, 88mm antiaircraft fire, and 31 USAAC crew members were listed as missing in action, Of the remaining airborne force, 21 B-26s limped back to Allied lines and crash-landed with category “8” damage (destroyed andior damaged beyond repair). Seven other Marauders fared somewhat better; they made it back to thelr base with category damage (repairable, but no longer flyable until major repairs are performed). Six additional crew members wore alsa wounded in action an a day set aside for love, if didn't do something quickly, we wouldrun out of runway. [reached up and pulled the redhandle above my head that activated an air bottle, which in tum locked the brakes, ‘The nose pitched down and went skidding. across the wire mesh. My heels began to get hot as the nose of the Marauder ground off, destroying the Norden bombsight before I got it stopped at last. [popped the double overhead hatch, and people scrambled over my head to get out.I shut off all the switches! could find, and it was hell trying to climb down that nose, It was alot worse for the guys in the back, though; Noble Holland and Viek Ellis had to jump out of the waist window that now stood more than 10 feet off the ground, ‘counted noses and found everyone to be OK as we stood far away expecting that sucker to blow at any minute, Itnever did, though. A group of 82nd Airborne soldiers housed nearby gathered around us and threw usinto the back of a 6x6 truck.” ‘We sat in the back of that truck,” said Sergeant Holland, just staring at one another. AGI came running up from behind us and tossed in a bottle of Cognac. It went around the six of us inside the truck and was tossed out the ack—empty! That mission mademe create abellef in God. All the missions Iflew afterwards, Ihad no fear, A calmness had come over me,[ believe that when it ismy time to go, there's nothing Ican do abautiit, so why worry about it?" Lt, Minthan didn't have many worries that night either. ‘Iwas housed in a champagne factory that night,” remembers Lt. Minihan, “and we helped ourselves to the liquid bubbly. t helped calm my nerves that night, but it gave me one helluva headache the next day!It took us two days to get back to base, where I found out Maj. Clay was the only one to make it back from our fight. After our debrief, learned that my crew had put mein for the DFC, which Ireceived at alater date, One of the lines of the citation read: "Saving his aircraft and landing it safely when it should have been abandoned.” That jarred the hell out of me because [knew each of these guys would have done the same forme.’ Chuck Minihan completed 33 missionsin Martin B-26 Marauders and retired from the USAF with the rank of colonel. Noble Holland completed his tour as Chuck Minihan's tail gunner and lives in lowa.>At just 26 pounds, only one folding mobility chair has the power to change your life. The Journey Air Elite features the latest carbon fiber technology for the ultimate in portability and performance Mobility issues affect over 1in 5 Americans. ‘These individuals, and their loved ones, know how decreased mobility can result NEW in loss of independence, pain and falling Creer) hazards. They are often stuck at home, Pee sy missing out on a variety of activities, in a vicious cycle that diminishes their quality of life. In the past, mobility devices like scooters and power chairs were too heavy and bulky to transport easily. Now, carbon fiber material invented for the aerospace program has been used to create the ultimate mobility device. 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Don't wait - call now! =I 6) journey * Ultra-lightweight yet durable all Gp * Speedy and maneuverable + Comfortable and easy-to-operate Call toll-free now + Pulls right up to desks and tables 1-888-508-0106 cis anes On S cinale Chale: Please mention code 117708 when ordering. * Perfect for dining, shopping, sightseeing and lots more! enjoying life never gets old” 9 + Foldable for easy storage and * . < transport @journey z Journey Ar Ete person! eet ve nds nota mde device Per whe chs at nds fr mace purposes ta rose § iyo ard os ign lounay Ar Eat trove Ma fr Maen 6205 Jxay Fase deThe many lives of DeHavilland Super Chipmunk N7DW BY JAN TEGLERMark Meredith zooms skyward n“Chippy, his 3951DeHaviland Super Chipmunk Now per~ forming onthe American airshow eicuft with Meredith the transformed RAF trainer has bult 3 following inbeth the southern and northern hemispheres over seven decades in action. Ask Mark Meredith what maneuver he likes to fly most in his 1951 DeHavilland Super Chipmunk and his answer is immediate: “I love doing Cloverleafs!” The well-known aerobatic figure—a loop with a quarter- roll wherein a pilot pulls up and rolls 90 degrees from the airplane's original heading as it passes through wings- level inverted-is typical of the flowing acrobatics the modified Chipmunk excels at.CLOVERLEAFS: Nicknamed “Chippy” asa nod toits origins N7DW was built as a 7.10 Chipmunk, the British version of the Canadian-designed basic trainer. The stylized, leaping Chipmunk onits rudder isa tribute to the Meredith's Navy service as a bombardier-navigator in the A~6 Intruder. The cheeky rodent mimics the leaping panther emblem of VA-35. One of just 35 or so Super Chipmunks in the US, the airplane's 72-year career is marked by changes that echo the tums/loops of a complete Cloverleaf maneuver. Its life began in England with the Royal Air Force as one of approximately 735 Chipmunks the service would operate from 1950 to 1996. Asizeable group of nervous young RAF pilots made their first lights in N7DW between 1951 and 1955, Chippy as "VH-BSQ" sometime after tlt RAF service and migrated to Tasmanian 1956 to become one of ive Chipmunks owned bythe Tasmanian Aero Club. (Photo by Lindsay Mila)ove WIth front Windscreen removed anda fiberglass cover ‘ver ts front cockpit tall/rudder, extended turtledeck clpped wings, wheel pants, and custom, carbon-fhber ‘cowl housing 2280hp Ly- ‘coming 10-540, Chippy's righ are hard to spot (Photoby John Lackey) avove ii Chippy’s third guise was as cro duster, Converted oan ‘SA-29 "Spraymaster"In 1965. it was one of ust three built serving with Tonal Pty: in Tntnara, ‘Australia, (Photo by Rod Believers) But looking at Chippy now, its origins aren't obvious, Meredith says the most frequent question he's asked is, "What kind of airplane isthat? ginal train Is stil th ants of the other major phases of Chippy’s joumey are less visible since Meredith purchased the airplane in 2009. But Chippy has a devoted group of followers fromall over America ané the southern hemisphere where the two-seater figuratively turned its first Cloverleaf. r Chippy's First Cloverleaf Sometime during 1956 Chippy was shipped to Tasmania theisland-state of Australia 150 miles south of the mainland, The transfer was part of a larger distribution of Chipmunks toother nations as they were replaced in RAF service by the Scottish Aviation Bulldog trainer. ‘The Tasmanian Aero Club welcomed the new-to-them Chipmunk one of about five they received, with club members and Royal Australian Air Force student pilots taking flight in the aerobatic-capable monoplane for the most of the next decade. Cloverleaf Number Two Chippy's second Cloverleaf was quite the maneuver. By the time the military/club training airplane recovered to "level ight," It was no longer a basic trainer. It was a crop- duster! In 1965, Sasin Aircraft Service of Goulburn, New South Wales initiated a transformation of the alrplane into an SA-29 "Spraymaster. By then, Australia's World War I-vintage crop-dusters, including modified DeHavilland Tiger Moths, were worn out, and the readily available Chipmunk was one aircraft the industry turned to. The fanciftl Spraymaster designation was applied after Aerostructures at ‘Sydney's Bankstown Airport completed the modifications that would turn Chippie into an Ag aircraft. The fuselage was modified to jopper where the front cockpit had been, The rear cockpit was modified to aid operation asa single-seater with the pilot's perch raised 11 inches to provide better visibility for the down-on-the- deck flying typical of crop-dusters. ‘Anair-driven spray pump was mounted under the forward fuselage along witha spray bar under the wings to pump out chemicals. (Other alterations included an energy- absorbing seat, cable cutters to ward off dangerous power wires and telephone lines ahead of the duster's new bubble canopy, a lightweight wooden propeller, wing endplates, anda small dorsal fin, ‘The hopper stayed in the airplane until 1988;"Meredith notes, ‘It had its original 145 hp [Gypsy Major inline four-cylinder] engine and they made the taila little bigger, but stil pretty much like the original.” Ukimately, just three SA-29s were built. Chippy flew as a duster with Tonair Pty. in Tintinara southeast of Adelaide for just three months before being badly damaged ina landing accident. But the wreck wasn't ground-bound for long, Cloverleaf Number Three ‘The Royal Aero Club of South Australia learned of Chippy's existence and saw potential. The club purchased the wounded duster and began a series of repairs that made the airplane airworthy again in 1967. It flew as aRASCA airplane until 1969, ‘That's when the Adelaide Soaring Club acquired the modified Chipmunk and put it to work ina new role asa glider-tug. Chippy carried on, pulling gliders aloft until March 1970, when it was involved in another accident requiring one wing to be replaced. The airplane returned to Bankstown during this time awaiting the start of a conversion that would mark another Cloverleaf, a change inspired by airshow performer and aerobatic competition legend Harold Krier. Krier “Krafts” the Super Chipmunk By the mid-1960s, Krier~a former B-I7 and B-24 crew chief during WW I-was well- Jenown on the American airshow circuit and 2a multiple champion in America’s Antique Airplane Association aerobatic competitions.“CHIPPY'S" CLOVERLEAFS He'd also competed in the world aerobatic contests then dominated by European pilots, Realizing he'd need a special airplane tobe competitive, he designed a one-off, lightweight biplane that combined the bes traits of the Great Lakes 2T-IA he'd been winning AAA competitions in and the popular Bucker Jiingmeister He called it the "Krier Kraft" and took it to the 1964 World Championship in Spain bat ‘was still unsatisfied with its performance. Much as he loved biplanes, Krier knew they had too much inherent drag to compete with “clean, trim monoplanes." Atanalrshow in Canada, hehad the chance to fly a Chipmunk. It was a revelation and Krier immediately set to work creating a “Super Chipmunk’ that could compete wit the super-maneuverable monoplanes already. 1e world aerobatic contests. Clipped wings, lengthened ailerons, a redesigned tail, strengthened airframe and 200 hp Ranger engine made Krier's Super Chipmunk the first aerobatic monoplane torepresent the United States in global competition, He freely shared everything he learned with others, including the most famous ‘Super Chipmunk fier of all, Art Scholl. Scholl famously performed aerobatics at airshows across the U.S, and flew for television and. ‘00 Chippy ewes its "Super Chipmunk heritage to multiple aerobatic champion/ show performer Harel Krier. Krier Converted a Chipmunk with clipped wings, lengthened allerons,aredesigned tall strengthened airframe and a200hp Ranger engine to create the fist Super Chipmunk. Seen here, it was the frst aerobatic meneplane to represent the U.S. in World Championship aerobatic ‘competition and spawned many Super ‘Chipmunk conversions.(Pheto courtesy Mark Meredith) err Members ofthe Tasmanian Aero ‘Chub gather around Chippy inthe late 1950s. (Photo by Lindsay Milar) films in three Super Chipmunks for almost 20, years before his untimely death in 1985 during the flming of the movie “Top Gun’ while fying Pitts S-2 camera plane, ‘Scholl founded an aerobatics school and maintenance facility at Flabob Airport in Riverside, California, a community Meredith spent part of his childhood in, Decades before Chippy came into his life, he was familiar with Scholl and the modified Chipmunks. “Tused to ride my bike over to Flabob to hang out," Meredith remembers. “That was my introduction to the Super Chipmunk and Art Scholl Krier and Scholl ook their Super Chipmunks to the World Aerobatic Championship in 1966 and 1968, They performed well, but Krier realized they needed more power. In 1971 he made his final design change, replacing the Ranger with a Clipped wings, lengthened ailerons, a redesigned tail, strengthened airframe and a 200 hp Ranger engine made Krier’s Super Chipmunk the first acrobatic monoplane to represent the United States in global competition.295 hp Lycoming GO-480-G2D6 six-cylinder, inverted oil,” Meredith reports. an engine common to aircraft including the Chippy's hopper was stillin place but Beech Bonanza, converted as a ferry tank for extra fuel. He adapted the Bonanza's cowling as well, ‘rom 1974 to 2000, the airplane was in show and his finaliteration of the Super Chipmunk —_business, flown by succession of aerobatic was complete, Sadly, Krier flew only six performers, In 1978, Warren traded his Super airshows in the more powerful version Chipmunk to a young aerobatic pilot named before losing his life in another experimental Howard Davenport, who had partnered with, acrobatic airplane being developed by another famed aerobatic pilot, Duane Cole, to aerobatic competition promoter Pappy fly airshows. Spinks. That lasted until Davenport, fying in 191972, Chippy made ts way to America where Doug Warren of Big ‘Springs, Texas converted thetrainer/crop duster toa Super Chipmunk. (Photo courtesy Mark Meredith) loose formation with Cole returning from an Cloverleaf Number Four airshow, lost oll pressure in the 0-435 and Word of the Super Chipmunk’s ability asan made a forced landing on Interstate 10 near aerobatic aircraft spread far and wide—allthe _E1Paso. Thereafter, he sold the airplane back way to Bankstown, Australia, to Doug Warren, Warren added a further There, modifications to Chippy got upgrade, swapping the 0-435 for a300 hp underway with the intention of beefing up Lycoming 10-540, the hard-working little airplane as a Super He held onto the airplane until 1987, when Chipmunk, an Iranian-American pilot named Nadir Fahm From 1971 until1972, "It sat inawarehouse purchased it. Fahm and Chuck Stockdale partially modified while they tried to figure further modified Chippy, converting it toa ‘out what to do with it next,” Meredith says. tandem open cockpit configuration, finally ‘What came next was along trip to the removing the hopper and other Ag mods United States. Dean Whitaker of Morerra, made to the airplane two decades earlier. Louisiana rescued Chippy and two other ‘They also modified another Chipmunk Aussie Chipmunks whenhe imported themin _ (N6GRP) to the same open cockpit May 1972.But immediately Whitaker sold two configuration and flew them asa two-ship of the aircraft to Doug Warren in Big Springs, _team for 2 years with sponsors including Tag- Texas, Heuer watches, But by 2000, the team was ‘Warren completed Chippy's Super done and Chippy went to two more owners Chipmunk conversion, clipping the wings ‘who “didn fly it much” Meredith says. 17 inches on each side in June 1974 while It was 2009 when he bought Chippy asa enlarging andreinforcing the rudder, He also “flying project. “extended the ailerons by stealing from the flaps, sheeted the wings with aluminum, Another Cloverleaf installeda single place bubble canopy anda _—“Itjust had to be," Meredith quips, referring 260 horsepawer Lycoming 0-435 engine with _a flight in Chippy he made prior to purchasing“CHIPPY'S" CLOVERLEAFS “Idon't snap roll it,” he says. “That's too much for a 70 year old airplane ... In the past Super Chipmunks were considered somewhat Care tNON AS ec ONCE Len SCE G any classic is to be a good custodian and take care of it.” Chippy seeninits two-seat configuration with front windscreen anduncavered cockpit. Meredith Ioves the look ‘ef Chippy as asingle- Seater, reminiscent of the glamorous, sporty, ‘epen-cockpit monoplane alrracersof the 1920s, (Photoby Chris Rese, OPA) Vis it from previous owner Bruce Moore. He'd been advised by an aircraft mechanic friend familiar with the airplane not to buy it. But Meredith was hooked. ‘You might imagine that an ex-Navy bombardier-navigator would have all the experience needed to fly 2 Super Chipmunk, but Meredith didn’t become a private pilot ‘until 2004, And most of his Navy career was spent as a Logistics Engineer, “Lwore glasses and couldn't be a pilot. ‘That's how I ended up asa right-seater in the A-6E and KA-6D. did that for awhile and as I suspected I didn't really love being abombardier-navigator. SoI switched to aircraft maintenance, logistics, and program ‘management But Meredith had always been an airplane _ 3 buff with a particular enthusiasm for classic aircraft. After earning his private license, he bought a Piper Cherokee and based it at Lee Airport near Annapolis, Maryland, where Chippy is hangared today. “Lew the wings off it for several years, 500 or 600 hours, and got my instrument and ‘commercial ratings," he explains, Apartnership ina Beech Bonanza followed, allowing Meredith to gain more experience ying the airplane coast to coast, But memories of Flabob Airport anda desire to get elbows-deep in anew adventure redirected his passion for flying “Twanted te learn aerobatics. wanted to rebuild an airplane. 've always been a hands- on guy. lalways like to have a projectANew Maneuver Meredith flew Chippy home from Florida with afriend e heel aircratt. actually got my tailwheel endorsement in this airplane," he notes, “it's not difficult because it's got this wide gear and long tail I's very stable but it can bite. I's got alot of sailarea” He determined that he would fly the Super jpmunk "a litee” and "rebuild it ait ‘That approach worked until one day in 200 when he and his brother aerobatics over Maryland's easter “We were inverted in alhalf Cuban- recalls. "We came over the top and down at 45 degrees. The act of rolling the airplane upright allowed air to get underneath the crappy fiberglass cheek cowling and ripped it right ‘former US, Navy bombardler/navigatorin the A-6 Intruder, Meredith didnt become private pilot unt 2004, Now, there's nothing he kes better than performing aerobatic routines for arshow audiences, Photeby Mark Stet) mm Meredith installed Chippy’ pretty rosewood veneer instrument panelaspartof the ‘extensive restoration work he di between 2009 and 2014, Nate the card with aerobatic figures secured tothe panel. (Photo by Jan Tegler)CLOVERLEAFS: off-away from us, fortunately.” Meredith now had a Super Chipmunk without complete cowling and engine he “didn’t quite trust." That's when Chippy’s rebuild got, underway, My attitude was that whatever Ido to this airplane, Im going to make it as good as. possible, He worked with craftsmen in southern Maryland tomake anew, custom, reinforced~ carbon fiber cowling. The molds for his cowling have been used for three other Super Chipmunks since then. ‘With his typical enthusiasm, Meredith dived nto a project that was "much more" than he expected. ‘While the 10-540 was sent off for an overhaul, he got to workintegrating doublers to spread the loads on N7DW’s engine mounts, replaced the firewall, and crafted a new nose howl for the cowling with improved airflow and less drag, He taught himself to do metal work and made patches for the fuselage to cover holes that, had been there since it was modified as a crop- duster, fixed cracks in the wingtips and wheel pants, and rolled anew leading-edge skin for the vertical stabilizer, ‘Meredith leaned how to do fabric covering, rebuilt Chippy's control surfaces, and recovered, them. He did other structural modifications to strengthen the airplane and removed remaining sharply during areutine with curing tals of White smoke streaming {rom Chippy's wingtip airshow smoke system. J (Photoby Aaron Haase) cern Meredith puts up stow A lose-up of CChippy’s right wingtip airshow smoke nozzles. (Photeby Jan Tegler) 7 vestiges ofits Ag background. ‘There was stilla U-channel bolted to the bottom of the fuselage, riveted into the spar carry-through. twas nothing but a drag collector, so drilled it out and put pretty giant rivets back in the spar,” Behind the rear cockpit, he designed and. fabricated a new, longer turtledeck that serves the dual purpose of housing a oll-over hoop and acting as a storage area for roll-up baggage and camping gear. N7DW's electrical system was in need of attention, so Meredith rebuilt and rewired t. He also installed anew rosewood-veneer instrument panel with classic analog instruments as well as a Garmin G5, GPS, digital fuel totalizer, and engine monitor. Meredith eventually fitted a 280 hp Lycoming ‘Thunderbolt AETO-540 custom ‘Red Bull Racer,” which delivers much improved ability to sustain energy curing an aerobatics, He spent four years designing anew paint scheme for Chippie, “going for a1930s racer look" with New Jersey-based aircraft custom exterior designer Scheme Designers and painter Ken Reese of KD Aviation.Mark Mereaithal- tows Chippy totum Bleint a fat-spin as partofhs airshow Foutine.(Photeby Mark Stet) Cloverleafs and Crowds Five years passed while Meredith remade Chippy. The same week the paint work was completed in 2014, he flew N7DW to EAA's huge ‘AirVenture show in Oshkosh where the eye- catching airplane was ait with onlookers. The following year it won a bronze "Lindy" award, Between 2014 and 2018, Meredith flew Chippy inInternational Aerobatic Club events before finally being certified to fy alrshows, “That became my next project," Meredith says, N7DW snow on the airshow circuit, steadily picking up show bookings on the east coast and inthe Midwest Capable of plus-66/minus-36 maneuvering, Meredith performs a flowing routine in Chippy, staying within its limits at “between four and five Gs, managing my energy." “Idon't snap rollit," he says. “That's too much for a70 year old airplane. This airplane has snapped a lot and!'ve got video of it doing tail slides to an inverted ribbon-cut. It's done hard stuff nits life, In the past Super Chipmunks ‘were considered somewhat expendable, Now, they're pretty coveted and the emphasis as with any Classicis to be a good custodian and take care oft." ‘The Cloverleaf is the penultimate maneuver in Chippy's routine, “Lome out of it back to the show line for my final pass, an inverted wing-wag. I's so Deautiful doing that, and Chippy's just perfect for it" > archer 2029 25GES i ain ea Ld F-86s and MiGs mix it up over North Kor eo r=Inasceneremiscent of MG Alley during the Korean War, Pe ree ea sg Pe are een Se ee od “Museumin Houston, Texas, and the Sabre s now owned by the ‘Warbird Heritage Foundation in Waukegan, Iino.At the end of the Korean War in 1953, there were 39 Sabre aces, and one more was added 50 years later after footage of some gun- camera film had been closely examined. All these pilots had the right stuff, and they also had the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time. The fighter pilots turned out by the Air Force in the late 1940s and early 1950s were of the same caliber as those who fought over Europe and the Pacific in WW II. There was one difference: they flew fighters with swept wings and jet engines. It was a new world in which aggression at a high Mach number and lightning-fast reflexes were the order of the day. Sabre ace Lt Col, George Jones in front of is trusty mount One of these Sabre aces was Lt. Col, George L Jones (65 kills), who had an unusual track record while serving in Korea. He scored victories over the MiG-15s while flying with the 4th and SIst Fighter Wings. He was also one of the most successful pilots to fly the top secret GUN-VAL Sabres against the MiGs (15 kills) ‘There were, he recalls, several exciting dogfights, and one of the most stirring happened early in November 1951, By this date, the cold weather from Manchuria was being felt all the way down the Korean Peninsula, Lt,Col, Jones remembers all the events of the day in question: ‘About an hour before dawn, [was awalkened by someone from operations reminding me that Iwas leading the early mission. My tent mates, who included ace Bill Whisner, were still asleep and weren't scheduled to fly until later in the day. was bitterly cold as! put on my long johns and my flight suit before stepping outside, The ground frost was heavy;it looked like snow. The first orange glints showed in the east, and it would bea cloudless day, which meant that the MiGs ‘would probably be up in large numbers, ‘The early mission was a power sweep and covered amajor strike against rail yards and supply dumps just south of the Yalu River by our fighter bombers. This type of strike always brought out the MiGs. The group would Jaunch three flights of four: Red, Blue and White fights, and Reed fight was led by Jones. “After the weather and intel briefings, briefed my flight In the target area, Red Flight was to fly at 35,000 feet, Blue down at 25,000 feet and White at 20,000 feet, told the pilots tokeep their speed up and that under no circumstances should they let the MiGs lure us away from our bombers, For the most part, the pilots were experienced and had many missions into the Alley under their belts,” The plan was to meet up with the bombers about halfway to the target, pass them and be on station by the time they arrived to set up for their bomb drops. Jones emphasized that in attacking a MIG, the flight or clement leader isthe shooter! The job of the wingmanis to keep himself and the shooter clear, “The shooter is absolutely padlocked to his target—totally focused on the pipper. If Thappen to be the shooter, Ido not want any surprises! Now, time for a time hack: in 15 seconds, it will be 0645 hours, We will start our engines at precisely 0730, That's it!" A few minutes later in Personal Equipment, Lt.Col.Jones met his wingman, Lt. Richard, Pincoski, who asked him about the likelihood of encountering MiGs. Jones replied that there ‘were two things that would always are a MiG up:B-29s and fighter bombers! The next stop ‘was the flightline, where a walk-around was {in order. Then into the cockpit and time to strap in, Everything checked out, and now it ‘was time to wait several ong minutes until 0730, "My eyes were focused on my watch, and when that final second ticked off, pressed the start button, and the engine whine gradually became a steady hum, [pushed the throttle just enough to start taxiing out with my Red flight. Bhie and White were stacked in close behind. It was an impressive sight as :2 Sabres moved to takeoff position-ready for serious business. A few minutes later, ‘we were airborne and heading north, We passed over our fighter bombers just north of Pyongyang: this gave us time for one sweep in. the Alley before the slower formation got into the target area. No MiGs in sight—so far. As the bombers lined up for their runs, the ‘triple-A opened up on them and our lower ‘White flight got some of it." All12 Sabre pilots kept one eye peeled. for signs of the MiGs; with the other, they ‘watched the columns of smoke and fire from. the exploding fighter-bomber ordnance. Suddenly, a huge ground explosion showed that one of their bombs had hit the middle of an ammo dump. A few minutes later, the first wave of bombers had finished, and they headed back to the south as the second wave came into view, Within seconds, the scene changed drastically, andiit wasn't by accident, "As the second wave began their attack, the triple-A completely disappeared, andI knew it meant that the MiGs were coming in after the bombers. Just as the last one finished his run, a swarm of sweptwing MiGs crossed south of the river. I counted at least 16 in trail formation, We hada slight predicament One ofthe 4th Wing's Sabres returns froma combat ar patel over MiG Alley without ts drop tanks, Thelack of black residue around the gunports indicates that MiGs were spotted, ‘the external tanks were dropped, butts guns were not fied, Photoby Houston Tuel) Marchiiprt 2023 29ADVENTURES OF A SABRE ACE in that Ihad just sent Red 3 and 4 back to base FACT OR FICTION Decatise they were low on fuel, That lft just For the pest 60-lus years, one ofthe most intriguing stories to me and my wingman. Isignaled him to ollow ome out ofthe early et egos that the 4-6, flown by WW TL down as we made head-on pass into fighter pltNrth Americen test plot George Welch, actualy broke the MiGformation, scattering them in every the sound barter before Chuck Wager di inthe Bell XS Oficial dizection, They shot atus as we came i, and documented is that Yeager broke the sound bari in the X84 on we shot back, Suddenly, they changed tactics Detober 4, 1947 Aso, North American records stat that Welch broke they all pointe ther noses straight up and the sound barier in the Sabre on April 26,1948. There glaring zoomed for analtitude advantage gray aranin tha, however North American tach rp John Handersan Theidn' tae long for an astute F-86 plot is one ofthe most knowledgeable Sbre experts and he recals that torealize that as soon asthe MiGs had the thon Secretary ofthe Air Foree Stuart Symington in 1847 told North altitude advantage. they would come back American's top management not to report ny ofthe XP-883 speeds down with all gunsblazing Using this inexcoss ofthe 0.93 Mach number, momentary diversion, the rest ofthe ighter Many former employees wha worked in testing and engineering bombers headed south~allbut one Hehad belive that Welch dd best Yeager date. Henderaon recall that been ci offby the MiG-ISleader who was North American test pilot Charles "Bud" Pooge stated he had been out closing in on him for the lll. Tis happened close tothe range, when Wele, flew the XF-88 on October 1, 1807 He about 5,000 feet below the two Sabres from Red flight. ones dived at full throttle towards rd the first sonic boom and knew what it was, Welch n permission to retract the landi his attacker, hoping to distract him before he on the fight (only for clean configuration Might for Welch to anelyzel. got into range. He fired a quick burst of 50- He separated from the F-B2 chase plane, climbed to 32,000 feet and caliber rounds from far out of range, and pushed the agile Sabre into a dive directly aver an area Peage was apparently, the MiG pilot saw the tracers;he in. Poage {and others) realized what had happened, but na afficial whipped his aircraft up to the right, climbing announcement ever came out. Afterward, Welch rejoined his chase hard. In the meantime, his quarry beat a path plane and experienced nose-gear trouble an landing; the next fight in out of the area. ‘the XP-88 was not until October Mi, after repairs had been made, “MiG pilots knew that they could easily Between October 4 and November 4, Welch made at least 19 test utclimb the F-86 because they did it every flights in the XF-86, and at least eight of those flights~all in a diving day. This guy was climbing like hell, ut mode~produced a sonic bor. These flights weren't publicized fortunately, [had had alot of zoomleft over because of earlier directives from the Secretary of the Air Force. The from the dive [had just come out of, and Iwas F-86 was a subsonic fighter in level flight, but ine dive, it wes very gaining on him fast! We were going straight capable of exceeding the speed of sound, Believe what you like, but up and, for a second, [thought he was going the officisl record books credit the XS-1, which broke the barrier in into a loop. But I knew that before Iran out of level flight airspeed, be in range to fire and would have him dead in my sights. The MiG pilet obviously Isew this, too, because he kicked over into a screaming wingover anda steep dive. At that point, [knew Iwas up against a ‘honcho’ Ifollowed his every move; my eyes were glued to my target.F'rom then con, J was flying strictly by instinct. My wingman called out, Youre clear! COnthe fightine at Kimpo, summer 1953. Crew chiefs and maintenance types await thereturnaf thelr assigned Sabres fromameming ‘combat ak patel These men were the reason for th andSist Fighter Wings’ high n-servicerates.(Phate by DanAMIG-15 fies a the Duxford Air Festivalin the UKin 2017. (Photo by Wallycasabre via Wikimedia) COMPARING THE F-86 WITH THE MIG-15 It was fete for these two eircraft to be adversaries during the esrly years of the jet age, They were the first mass- produced sweptwing jet fighters produced by the US. and the Soviet Union. Quring the Korean War, each aircraft went through severel modifications (upgrades), and both fought it out over MiG Alley. In airspeed et 40,000 feet, they were evenly matched. The MiG-15bis was the mast advanced version, and its speed at this altitude was approximately ‘6O0mph, about equal to the F-BEF's Tn two areas the MiG1S held a definite edge: it flew at much higher altitude, and it had a mare rapid rate of elim’ (zoom). On most cambat air patrols (CAP], the F-B6s entered MIG Alley at about 40,000 feet, only to discavar MiG formations high above them at 50,000 fest. When the MiGs dived ta make firing passes on the F-B8s or fighter-bombers, ‘they could climb back on their perch quickly before their intended targets could shoot at them, The F-86, being the heavier of the two, had a faster, more stable diving speed, however, and both fighters cauld reach Mach 10 in a dive. Firepower also posed a distinct difference. The MiG-15 wes armed with twa 23mm and one 37mm cannon. This gave it the mare potent firepower, but the cannon fired at a much slower rate than the F-B6's six 50-caliber machine guns. This allowed the Sabre to get out of the way quickly, but if the 87mm scored just one hit, the Sabre ‘was critically-if not fatally-damaged. But if the Sabre pilots got in close, they could put a heevy concentration of. firepower into @ MiG, and this accounted for the H-86's impressive kill ratio. Once all the assets of each fighter are ‘compared, the biggest difference boils down to the superior training and experience level of the American pilots versus those of the MIG pilots. ‘was pulling so many that my gunsight had sunk out of view on the windscreen. another miss! couldn't believe what was happening! Then it came tome exactly gradually got my eye back on the pipper and fired quickly, hoping for a lucky hit that would slow him down before my airspeed bled off, and the hard turn we were in was also slowing me down, Suddenly, for some reason, the MiG pilot slackened his turn, and that gave me the chance to put my sight on his fuselage. pulled enough lead and fired, but my tracers went right under his belly, and at that, he tightened his turn again. We were holding on to some good airspeed, and Icould out-turn him just alittle. [put the sight on him again and fired— what he was doing. He was skidding in his turn, which meant that his aircraft wasn't going where its nose pointed" Jones kept his throttle wide open, and the image of the MIG in his sights gradually grew larger. Knowing that the target was skidding, he compensated for this before he fired along burst. Holding the trigger down, he hosed the MiG from one end to another. He said that it looked like a high-voltage line grounding out onapiece of metal; huge sparks came off its tail, wingtip and fuselageADVENTURES OF A SABRE ACE ‘avove: During the final weeks ofthe war, the 335th painted the noses of ther ‘Sabres nthe bright yellow fish seen here Thls was probably taken just after the war ended because the drop tanks have aspecilpalnt Job, and this was very seldom done during the fighting because the tanks were usually Jettsoned ‘over MiG Alley on contact with enemy fighters. (Photo courtesy of The Arriaga Collection) bc.oW-ln the top-secret GUN-VAL program, several -86Fs were converted from the usual six.50-callber machine guns to four 20mm cannon. This Sabrehas one ‘of the gun ports sealed while the 20mm ports remain open. These fighters were assigned a the ath Wing at Kimpe in early 1953. (Photo by PaulPetersan) AvovE Lt. Col Robert Dixon, shown her, flew combat missions with the ath Fighter Wing Korea, He remainedinthe Air Forceand eventual, became the commander of Tactical Al Command, Heretired rom the Air Force withthe rank of general. (Photo by Norman Green)Allthree squadrons in the ath Wing pulled equal time on the alert pads, While few scrambles were ordered, most of the duty was very dll, anda game of horse— shoes was often the ccenterplece ofthe sift. ‘The MIG-15s dldn’t make valid attempts to at- tack ether ofthe Sabre Wings, and only biplane righthecklers proved tobe athreat (Photo by Bert Beecroft) ‘Totally engrossed in what he was seeing, he was brought back to reality when the loud staccato of his six, firing, 50-caliber guns ended-total silence, He hadrun out of ammunition! “The MiG was still flying, and Thad empty guns, so lradioed for Pincoski tomove in and finish him off. He moved up into my slot andmoved even closer to the stricken MiG Imoved out and dropped back to make sure he was protected while he concentrated on the kill [scanned our area, and there weren't any MiGs in sight, so gave him the all-clear, His first burst went wide,as the target wasin adiving turn-skidding and jinking.Itold him to close the gap before he fired again. Seconds later, he fired a second burst that hit the MIG dead-center. By this time, the enemy pilot had tured his fighter to the north and the safety of Manchuria. Time was running out; the river was in plain sight. Pincosicifired another long burst, and then he was out of ammo, too!” Probably quite a few F-86 pilots found themselves in the same predicament: out of ammo, low on fuel and the enemy aircraft almost over the Yalu and heading north, But for Lt, Col. Jones, the MiG encounter had evolved into a personal fight, He radioed his wingman to move aside because he was coming back in to lead position. By this time, the MiG's airspeed had slowed significantly and jagged pieces of its wing and fuselage stuck out, creating tremendous drag, Jones's closure rate was in excess of 100 knots. By now, the action was almost over the river, and. time was running out. "Idecided that Iwouldrun my wingtip through his vertical stabilizer and knock him out of the air, or bring my wingtip down hare ontop ofhiscanopy. The MiG pilot had been watching my closure rate and, to avoidme, hhepushed over intoa steep dive and snap- rolled t the lft that ait! Evidently, the shot-up airframe couldn take the stress, and something broke. The pilot ost control and seconds ater, he baled out I watched the empty MiG go straight into the ground 15000 feet below. We immediately turned to the south, climbing for altitude with the hope of sling back to base with our eitically low fuel supply, We were about 100 miles away, and we were prepared to tryadead-stick landing if wehad to.Needlessto say, we did make it back safely. My wingman had about 15 gallons of fuel left,and had about 20 gallons. thad been a ‘memorable mission, and we shared inthe Kil” Many Sabre pilots flying combat in Korea had the same skis and fighting instincts as George Jones hae. Many were in the right placeat the right time and had an opportunity tomake Ills while others had very few encounters with MiGs, Tae North American tech reps who workced with the 4thand Sst Wings in Korea got toknow most ofthe Sabre pilots John Henderson, the fist Tech Rep to go over with the dth Groupin1960 recalls Jones:"Lt Col George Jones was one of the most aggressive achievers among the F-86 pilots knew. He always wanted tobe ontop a all things and conditions that affected his ine of workin the military." After finishing a stint in the 4th, Jones moved over tothe Sst Wing tobecome their group commander. Helaterretumedto the ath in January 1953 to fly combat inthe top secret GGUN-VAL project for which 20mm cannon had been installedin someF'-86Fs.French pilot Marcel Albert flies Soviet Yaks against the Luftwaffe Pee TRA ae ch Ally dey 24 it. flew and fought under three flags during World War II: First with the air force of his native France, then with the Royal Air Force in Britain, before becoming a high-scoring fighter ace flying Soviet “Yak” fighters against the Germans on the Eastern Front with the Normandie-Niémen Regiment.