Trapped!

Today's installment of 'TWW' is a quickie...

A-4C BuNo.147721 of VA-112 'Broncos' traps aboard the USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63)... the date given was January 28th, 1968. Looks like this guy grabbed the four wire... not an 'OK3', but he got 'er back onto the boat AOK... and that's what really matters.

National Naval Aviation Museum

A closer look...

National Naval Aviation Museum

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Paint It Black

Okay, so a more accurately descriptive title for today's installment of 'TWW' would probably be 'Paint it a Couple'a Shades of Green'. But that doesn't quite roll off the tongue as nicely as the title of everyone's favorite Vietnam-era Rolling Stones tune. Besides, in certain light and/or at a certain distance, the birds featured here probably did look kinda black instead of green. Oh, and did we mention that the title for today's installment of 'TWW' is somewhat appropriate because it's also the title of everyone's favorite Vietnam-era Rolling Stones tune?

Is there an echo in here? - echo in here? - in here? - here?

Goofiness aside... in late 1965 the U.S. Navy experimented with green camouflage paint, applying it to aircraft from at least three different carriers: Constellation, Enterprise, and Kitty Hawk, which were cruising around near an area that we shall refer to as 'SEA'... Southeast Asia.


Here's a couple'a shots of green-painted A-4Cs from VA-113 'Stingers' aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63), as part of carrier Air Wing 11 during a combat cruise which lasted from October 19th, 1965 to June 13th, 1966.

This first image ain't the greatest quality, but is good reference for any artists or modeler types out there in showing how the oil streaking out of the oil breather has removed the green paint from the rear fuselage and inner rear portion of the wings.

National Naval Aviation Museum

Here's a nicer image showing A-4C BuNo.148458 of VA-113 about to trap aboard Kitty Hawk after dropping things that go boom on Charlie. This particular Skyhawk was retired to the boneyard at Davis Monthan AFB in 1975, but was later purchased by Singapore and re-manufactured by SAMCO (Singapore Aerospace Maintenance Company) as an A-4SU for the Republic of Singapore Air Force.

National Naval Aviation Museum

The obvious point of trying out this camo was to make it harder for the enemy to spot our birds over the lush greenery of SEA. After a fairly short period of time, however, it was concluded that the only folks who were having any true difficulty in seeing the airplanes were the deck crew aboard the Navy's flattops during night ops, and that the protection afforded by the camo in combat was negligible. So it wasn't too awful long before the green was removed and gull gray once more ruled the day.


Fade to Gree... errr... Black...

The Tinker Toy With an Iron Hand

The A-4 Skyhawk was a true workhorse for the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. The type was in the thick of it from day one, all the way through to the end of the conflict... hauling things that go boom from the U.S. Navy's flattops to select locations in Southeast Asia.

Aside from serving as a plain 'ole bomb truck, the A-4 was also used in the SEAD role. (SEAD = Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) The average wing-nut is likely familiar with the term 'Wild Weasel'... the moniker of the U.S. Air Force's SAM hunters. Less familiar to some might be the term 'Iron Hand' which, although a joint U.S. Navy / U.S.A.F. venture, is generally considered by many to be the U.S. Navy's equivalent of the 'Wild Weasels'.

Anyhoo, regardless of who was doing the 'hunting', the job was pretty much the same. Send a few jets ahead of a main strike force to flush out the enemy's air defenses... get 'em to light up their radar and then nail 'em with 'anti-radiation' missiles. This would either destroy the radar outright or force the radar operators to shut down for a bit, at which point the hunters, who have hopefully identified the radar and/or missile/gun locations, would move in to close the deal with rockets, CBUs (CBU = Cluster Bomb Unit), or a good 'ole fashioned strafing run, assuming the jets were gun-toters. Once this was done, the main strike force could move in and hit their targets with a somewhat heightened sense of security... and the 'hunters' would stick around until the main force was on its way home.

Hence one of the SAM-hunters' mottos; 'First in, last out'.

Well, now that we've given you a brief and basic outline of an ideal 'Iron Hand' (or 'Wild Weasel') mission, here's a look at an A-4 all gussied up and headin' out 'fersum SAM-huntin'...

National Naval Aviation Museum

And here's a closer look at this jet... 'tis A-4E BuNo.151151 of VA-23 'Black Knights', part of Carrier Air Wing 2 aboard the U.S.S. Coral Sea (CVA-43) during a combat cruise that lasted from July 29th, 1966 to February 23rd, 1967. She's armed with two AGM-45 'Shrike' anti-radiation missiles on stations 2 and 4, and two LAU-3 rocket launchers on stations 1 and 5. The LAU-3 was a 19-shot launcher loaded with 2.75-inch FFAR rockets (FFAR= Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket) that could be launched individually, in rapid sequence, or all at once. And she's also got a 20mm Colt-Browning Mk.12 cannon in each wingroot.

All in all, bad news for Charlie.

National Naval Aviation Museum

More A-4s to come!


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Skyhawks Over 'Nam

Getting sick of A-4s yet??

Good... neither are we...

We continue our series on 'Heineman's Hot Rod' with this super-groovy shot of two VA-192 'Golden Dragons' Skyhawks doing what the A-4 did best... carrying things that go boom from 'point a' to 'point b'.

The photo was taken sometime during VA-192's two combat cruises to Vietnam as part of Carrier Air Wing 19 aboard USS Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31); the first from January 28th to November 21st, 1964 and the second from April 21st, 1965 to January 13th, 1966. Both jets are A-4Cs, BuNo.147804 in the foreground and 149520 trailing.

National Naval Aviation Museum

A closer look at 147804...

This jet was shot down by ground fire over South Vietnam on June 25th, 1968 while flying with VMA-223. The pilot ejected and was rescued.

National Naval Aviation Museum

And here's a closer look at 149520...

National Naval Aviation Museum

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Crusader Skyhawks

Today we continue our sojourn within the domain of the Skyhawk and bring you two photos which show jets of VA-81 'Crusaders', embarked on USS Forrestal (CV-59) as part of Carrier Air Group 8, during a Mediterranean cruise in 1962.


First up is this view of A4D-2 BuNo.144912 moments after trapping aboard Forrestal.

US Navy photo via navsource.org

And in this second photo we see A4D-2 BuNo.144919 moments before launching from the forward port cat of Forrestal.
Note the AGM-12 Bullpup missile carried on the centerline...

US Navy photo via navsource.org

With the changes made to the USA's military aircraft designation system in 1962, these A4D-2s would be re-designated as A-4Bs... within a year the US Navy's Carrier Air Groups would be officially referred to as Carrier Air Wings, and VA-81 would be renamed from 'Crusaders' to 'Sunliners'.

More A-4s to come!


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Another Blue Blasters Bantam Bomber and a Mach Buster

In our last installment we shared a photo that showed A4D-1 BuNo. 139965 from VA-34, the Blue Blasters, while she was deployed to the Mediterranean as part of CVG-3 aboard the USS Saratoga during 1958.

In today's installment we bring you a couple'a snaps of the jet that immediately followed 139965 off'a the assembly line... meet A4D-1 BuNo. 139966.


When this first shot was taken 9966 was also assigned to VA-34, just like her slightly older sister... and probably during the same general time period.

National Naval Aviation Museum

As mentioned in our last installment, that 1958 Med cruise was the first for VA-34 after equipping with the Skyhawk. And while the Blue Blasters would go on to make eight more cruises with the A-4, 9966 would not accompany them... that first cruise with VA-34 was also her last.

In early 1959, February 24th we believe, A4D-1 139966 was transferred to VF-21 (then known as the 'Mach Busters') which would be re-designated as VA-43 roughly five months later, on July 1st, 1959. Based at NAS Oceana, VA-43 (and earlier, VF-21) was a RAG unit tasked with training aircrew and ground personnel to fly and maintain the Skyhawk. The following is an excerpt from the VF/VA-43 page on a4skyhawk.org that further describes VA-43's mission:

The squadron's mission was fleet replacement air group (RAG) training. The mission involved A-4 Skyhawk flight training for pilots and maintenance training for enlisted personnel. Under this concept, pilots and enlisted personnel ordered to East Coast fleet Skyhawk squadrons completed the course of instruction provided by VA-43 before reporting to their assigned fleet squadrons.


Here's a look at 9966 during her time with VA-43, circa 1959-60. In this photo her pilot has just landed aboard the training carrier USS Antietam (CVS-36).

U.S. Navy photo

On June 29th, 1960, 9966 was transferred again... this time to NART Los Alamitos in California. In 1961 she was transferred yet again... twice... first to NART Oakland, CA on February 17th, then, after the the US Navy left Oakland, to NARTU Alameda, CA on July 14th. She was stricken from inventory on February 28th, 1963... one source we've come across indicates that there was some sort of accident, but we have no details as to what actually happened.

More Scooters to come!


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Blue Blasters Bantam Bomber

Our second installment in a series dealing with the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk will be a quickie...

Here's a fine view of A4D-1 BuNo. 139965 from VA-34, the Blue Basters, about to launch from USS Saratoga (CVA-60) during an eight-month cruise in the Mediterranean which lasted from February 1st, 1958 to October 1st, 1958. This deployment, as part of CVG-3, was the Blue Blasters' first with the Skyhawk.

Project 914 Archives

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Heinemann's Hot Rod

From the mid 1950s to the 1980s, the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk served both the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps by lugging more than its fair share of things that go boom, and quite admirably, too. (Some have gone so far as to label this type the greatest light bomber of all time.) In addition to moving mud, the type also served in the equally hazardous training role and, after its retirement from USN and USMC combat units, continued to fly in utility and adversary roles. The A-4 has also flown under the flags of many a foreign nation.

The A-4, or A4D as it was originally designated, was a pretty small bird... likened to a toy by some, which lead to a number of nicknames such as 'Bantam Bomber' and 'Tinker Toy Bomber'. It was also dubbed 'Scooter', apparently on account of its long nose gear strut. But regardless of how small it may have been, or how toyish it may have looked, the Skyhawk was quite a nimble airplane; not as fast as some other types, but quick and maneuverable. And that roll rate... hoo-boy. This lead to another moniker: 'Heinemann's Hot Rod', a tip-o-the-hat to the little jet's designer, Ed Heinemann.

We'd initially intended to present a longish feature article on the A-4 today, but instead will spread it out over a few installments, beginning with this trio of photos showing a couple'a early Scooters.


June 22nd, 1954... sixty years ago today... the first XA4D-1, BuNo. 137812 rolls down the runway at Edwards AFB for its maiden flight.

Project 914 Archives

October 15th, 1955... Lt. Gordon 'Gordo' Gray in the cockpit of YA4D-1 BuNo. 137820 during startup at Edwards AFB.

John Gray collection via a4skyhawk.org

YA4D-1 BuNo. 137820 during flight testing out of Edwards AFB circa 1955.

John Gray collection via a4skyhawk.org

More Scooters to come.


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The Ubiquitous Huey

Today's installment of 'TWW' was inspired by the television series 'The Sixties', currently airing on CNN. When your blogmeister thinks of the 1960s, the Vietnam War invariably creeps into his thoughts at some point or other... and when he thinks of that awful conflict, his head is often filled with visions of the subject of today's post.

The Bell UH-1 Iroquois was the U.S. Army's undisputed workhorse in Vietnam. The 'Huey', as it came to be known, was everywhere and doing just about everything you could think of... personnel transport, cargo transport, patrol duties, insertion and extraction of combat troops into contested areas, direct fire support of troops on the ground, medevac... everything.

Whenever your blogmeister thinks of the 'ole Huey and its participation in the Vietnam War, the image below is usually the first that enters his mind...

Project 914 Archives

Here's the news tag from the reverse of the photo, in case you're interested...

Ever wonder where the name 'Huey' came from? Well, the original designation for the UH-1 was HU-1... 'tis as simple as that.

Here's a few more views of Hueys in 'Nam...

Project 914 Archives

Project 914 Archives

The info which came with this last photo reads as follows:

UH-1D helicopters airlift members of the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment from the Filhol Rubber Plantation area to a new staging area, during Operation "Wahiawa," a search and destroy mission conducted by the 25th Infantry Division, northeast of Cu Chi, Vietnam. 05/16/1966

National Archives and Records Administration

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The Orange Hornet

Alrighty, this year's Tiger Meet is just a few days off, and we've managed to share a few special 'Tiger' schemes from years past. Here's one more... a CF-18 (or CF-188 for the purists) of 410 'Cougar' Squadron, RCAF from the 2003 'Tiger Meet of the Americas' event...

Photo credit unknown

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The King Reviews His Fleet

Today on 'TWW' we bring you an old grainy news photo from the late 1930s. The date was May 20th, 1937, to be exact... King George VI was out and about on his modest sailing craft, running his eye over the British Navy during the Coronation Review.

Here's what's written on the news tag from the reverse of the print:


The King Reviews His Fleet

The King to-day reviewed the ships of the British Navy at Spithead, Portsmouth.

Photo shows:- The Royal Yacht "Victoria and Albert" passing an English Battleship, while aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm fly past the Royal yacht.


We don't know which battlewagon that is, but the birds are of the Fairey Swordfish Mark I variety and are from 811 Squadron, which flew from HMS Furious.

And dang... that's some kinda yacht, isn't it?

Project 914 Archives

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Condor Observador

Today we bring you something that's just a bit off to the side of the beaten path...

The Spanish Civil War, which raged from July 1936 to April 1939, served as something of a proving ground for the weapons and other military hardware of a number of nations. Several countries actively supported one side or the other during the conflict... some openly, others not so much... but of all these participants, perhaps the most notable was Germany. 'Ole Adolph and his pals sent an expeditionary force known as the 'Condor Legion' to fight on the side of Franco's Nationalists.

The Condor Legion was made up of volunteers from Germany's air force (Luftwaffe) and army (Heer). Among the Condor Legion's air units was Aufklärungsstaffel 88 (abbreviated A/88), its sole air-reconnaissance outfit. Aufklärungsstaffel 88 flew a few different types during the conflict, including the Henschel Hs 126 which was added to its stable in the Fall of 1938.

A total of six Hs 126A-1s were delivered to A/88, performing well in the reconnaissance and light bomber roles. One was lost, presumably to enemy fire... though your blogmeister does not know for sure. After the end of the conflict the remaining Henschels were apparently left in Spain for use by the Spanish Air Force.


So, without further adieu, here's a groovy shot of one of the six Condor Legion Hs 126s...

Project 914 Archives

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Look... it's a Tiger, eh?

Today we bring you another tiger-striped installment of 'TWW'... this time our subject hails from the Great White North.

One of several Starfighters from 439 Squadron RCAF to wear the 'stripes', CF-104 104796 (formerly 12796) was the unit's entry for the 1982 Tiger Meet at RAF Gütersloh, Germany.

Peter Doll photo

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Presidential Clipper

Today we take a break from bright-colored fast-movers to bring you this groovy photo of the 'Dixie Clipper' being towed ashore while resting on its beaching gear.

One of twelve Boeing 314s constructed, the 'Dixie Clipper' was chosen to fly President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Casablanca Conference in January of 1943.

Project 914 Archives

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Lumineux Freakin' Tigre Orange

First thing's first... your blogmeister doesn't know much French and had to resort to an online translator for the title of this installment of 'TWW'.
So no angry notes about his horribad French, s'il vous plaît.

Alrighty, with that outta the way, we bring you these fine photos of a Mirage 2000C from the now disbanded French Air Force outfit Escadron de Chasse 01.012. The paint she wears was applied for the 2010 event...

Armée de l'Air photo

Armée de l'Air photo

Armée de l'Air photo

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Red Hot Tiger

Here's another 'Tiger Meet' bird... this time we present an F-16 from 31 Squadron of the Belgian Air Force from the 2011 event...

Katsuhiko Tokunaga photo

Tim Allen photo

Tim Allen photo

Tim Allen photo

See more of Tim Allen's photos HERE.



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A SLUF in Tiger's Clothing

Alrighty, a couple'a installments back we mentioned that we'd be posting some specially-painted 'Tiger Meet' birds in the coming days. Well, here's another eye-catcher... this time an A-7 Corsair from 335 Squadron of the Hellenic Air Force... although, to be honest, we're not sure if it's actually a 'Tiger Meet' paint scheme or not. It may just be a squadron anniversary scheme.

In the end, we don't really give a rat's posterior as to why they slapped all that paint on this SLUF (Short Little Ugly F... uhhh... Fella).
Any way you slice it, it's super-freakin' groovy lookin'...

Hellenic Air Force

Hellenic Air Force

Hellenic Air Force

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Torpedo Eight's other 'Sole Survivor'

The Battle of Midway began on June 4th, 1942 and ended three days later, on the 7th. The overall story of that battle won't be told in this installment of 'TWW', as it can be read elsewhere... in multiple places... and in much more detail than we're prepared to provide just now.

Instead, we'd like to focus on a sole survivor of Torpedo Squadron Eight.

No, not that sole survivor...

Well-known is the story of Ensign George Gay, pilot of one of the fifteen TBD Devastators of VT-8 to launch from the USS Hornet on June 4th, 1942 for an attack against Japanese aircraft carriers near Midway Island. All fifteen TBDs were shot down, and Ensign Gay was the only survivor of the thirty VT-8 aircrew who launched from Hornet that day. This man's story has been oft told over the decades, and your blogmeister considers himself fortunate to have heard it from the man himself.

But it is not Ensign George Gay's story that will be told here.


At the time of the Battle of Midway, Torpedo Squadron Eight was in the process of trading in its old Douglas TBD Devastators for brand-spankin'-new Grumman TBF Avengers. The outfit had deployed aboard Hornet with the older TBDs and left a detachment Stateside to work up with the TBFs. This detachment flew across the USA and on to Hawaii, where orders were received to send six TBFs on to Midway Island to reinforce the USMC defenders stationed there.

Among these six Avengers was TBF-1 BuNo. 00380... the first Avenger delivered to VT-8 and the subject of today's installment of 'TWW'.


Here's a view of the TBF in question, coded '8-T-1', at NAS Norfolk earlier in 1942...

US Navy photo

Along with her five sisters, '8-T-1' arrived at Midway on June 1st, 1942 after a 7.5 hour flight from Hawaii, guided by two PBY Catalinas. The VT-8 aircrew were welcomed to the island with the news that a Japanese attack was imminent. Three days later Japanese ships were spotted about 150 miles West of Midway, and the six VT-8 Avengers were among the attacking force launched from the island early that morning at roughly 6AM.

The crew for '8-T-1' that day were:

Pilot - Ensign Albert 'Bert' K. Earnest
Turret Gunner - Seaman 1/C Jay D. Manning
Radioman - RMN 3/C Harry H. Ferrier

The Avengers were in the air for about an hour, almost reaching the Japanese fleet, before being intercepted by Japanese fighters... Zeroes... and all of the TBFs but '8-T-1' were eventually shot down. Things weren't all that rosey with the sole survivor, either... Manning, the turret gunner, had been killed shortly after calling out the attacking Zeroes and briefly returning fire. Ferrier, the radioman and belly gunner, had been wounded and rendered unconscious for a time. Earnest, the pilot, was also wounded and grappling with a badly shot-up airplane. He'd lost elevator control, though still had ailerons and rudder. Thinking there was no way he could reach the still-distant Japanese carriers, he spotted a light cruiser off to port. He managed to line up on the cruiser using rudder and ailerons and drop his torpedo. It was at this point, upon almost crashing into the water, that Earnest discovered that he could use the elevator trim tabs to climb and descend. So he maneuvered around the Japanese fleet and headed back to Midway, surviving yet more attacks by Japanese fighters.

As '8-T-1's compass and radio were both out of commission, Earnest used dead reckoning to return to Midway. He had climbed above the clouds to about 4000 feet and spotted a column of black smoke on the horizon. Rightly assuming that the smoke came from Midway, he descended again and then spotted Kure Island, pegging the plane's position at roughly fifty miles due West of Midway.

Upon arrival at Midway he found that there was no hydraulic pressure and that the landing gear would not come down. He tried the emergency release system, but only the left wheel extended. Trying unsuccessfully to shake the right wheel down, he finally decided to land with just the one wheel. After two aborted landing attempts, he set '8-T-1' down... spinning around and coming to rest at the side of the runway.

US Navy photo

Here's some photos taken a few weeks after the fact, showing '8-T-1' being prepared for shipment back to the USA for post-battle evaluation.

We're not sure if she ever flew again.

US Navy photo

US Navy photo

US Navy photo

Earnest and Ferrier recovered from their wounds and continued to fly together. As a result of their participation in the fighting on June 4th, 1942, they were each awarded the Purple Heart as well as two Navy Crosses for Earnest and a Distinguished Flying Cross for Ferrier.


Here's a photo showing the pair with their second turret gunner at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal in September of 1942.

Left to right: ACOM Basil Rich, Ensign Albert 'Bert' K. Earnest, RMN 3/C Harry H. Ferrier.

Source

And that is our brief account of the story of '8-T-1'... the 'other sole survivor' of Torpedo Eight.

You can read more detailed accounts of this mission by Albert Earnest HERE and by Harry Ferrier, as well as another by Earnest, HERE.



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Hard to Be Humble

Like many wingnuts, your blogmeister digs airplanes with wild paint schemes... and among his favorites are some of those which have appeared on aircraft taking part in an annual event known as 'Tiger Meet', which is organized by the NATO Tiger Association. Think of it as something of a glorified military flying club made up of squadrons from the air arms of various NATO countries... squadrons which have as their unit emblem or heraldry a tiger or other 'big cat'... squadrons which are among the 'best of the best'... squadrons whose personnel, armed with this knowledge, find it hard to be humble...

With the 2014 'Tiger Meet' just around the corner we thought it appropriate to present over the coming days some photos of notable past participants, starting with this French Air Force Mirage 2000C of EC 01.012 from the 2003 event. Over the years there have been many flashy tiger-themed paint schemes, but this one was arguably the most... eye-catching... pun intended.

Source

More 'Tigers' to come!


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Der Zerstörer

Today we bring you a super-groovy photo of a Messerschmitt Bf 110C of ZG76 out for a jaunt over the English Channel in August of 1940...

Source

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Chinese Observer

For today's quickie on 'TWW' we present the Douglas O-2MC. A member of the Douglas O-2/O-38 family, the O-2MC was exported to China during the 1930s and used as a scout and light bomber in China's war with Japan.

Project 914 Archives (S.Donacik collection)

Some close-ups...

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That Thing Flies?

Here's the latest installment of 'so ugly, only a mother could love it'... and it's a doozy... the Fairey Gannet.

The Gannet was a British design, developed as a carrier-borne anti-submarine aircraft in the years immediately following the Second World War. It was later used in the air-early-warning role as well. The type served primarily with four countries... Britain, Australia, Germany, and Indonesia.

The Gannet pictured here was one of six modified by the Brits to serve as 'CODs'.

'COD' stands for 'carrier onboard delivery', which basically means 'lugging the mail'.

Anyhoo, this Gannet COD.4 was photographed at Northolt in September of 1970.

Malcolm Nason photo (Source)

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Climbing Cat

Today on 'TWW' we have a quickie for ya'll... a somewhat dramatic shot of a VF-32 Tomcat launching from the USS 'Give 'Em Hell' Harry Truman.

Here's the official US Navy caption for this photo:

"Persian Gulf (Jan. 24, 2005) - An F-14B Tomcat from the "Swordsmen" of Fighter Squadron Three Two (VF-32) climbs to altitude after being launched off the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3) is embarked aboard Harry S. Truman and is providing close air support and conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions over Iraq. The Truman Carrier Strike Group and CVW-3 are on a regularly scheduled deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism."

U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Kristopher Wilson

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