7617
Good Thursday morning August 6, 2026 .We are overcast and cool again this
morning .. It is supposed to start clearing around 8 .and heating up again
this morning to 90 by 1 and then start dropping off from there.
Bubba Breakfast tomorrow same time and place at NKX. I hope to see many of
you there
.
Regards,
Skip
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/. Go here
to see the director’s corner for all 100 H-Grams (99 is still in work)
August 6
1847 – LtCol S. E. Watson’s Marines commence their march on the “Halls of
Montezuma” in Mexico.
1862 During the Civil War, CSS Arkansas is destroyed by Confederate Cmdr.
Isaac N. Brown to prevent her capture when her engines fail during an
encounter with USS Essex.
1917 During World War I, the tank steamer S.S. Campana is captured and sunk
by the German submarine U-61 in the Bay of Biscay. Four out of the five
Naval Armed Guard ships are captured, along with the ship's captain, and
become the first American sailors to be taken prisoner since war is declared
on Germany. Chief Gunner's Mate James Delaney receives the Navy Cross for
commanding the Armed Guard on this occasion.
1943 Just before midnight, Task Force 31.2 waits at Vella Gulf as four
Japanese destroyers carrying soldiers and supplies steam into radar range.
Not giving away the position until firing their torpedoes, all four Japanese
destroyers were subsequently hit. Bursting into flames, the destroyers,
Hagikaze, Arashi, and Kawakaze were sunk. The last one, Shigure, is hit by a
dud and escapes into the night.
1944 PV-1 (VB 130), PBMs (VP 204 and 205), along with USAAF B-18 aircraft
sink German submarine U 615 off Venezuela.
1988 USS San Juan (SSN 751) is commissioned at New London, Conn. The Los
Angeles-class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine is the third to be named
after San Juan, Puerto Rico. The boat is assigned to Submarine Group Two.
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Today in World History August 6
1497 John Cabot returns to England after his first successful journey to
the Labrador coast
1863 The CSS Alabama captures the USS Sea Bride near the Cape of Good
Hope.
1888 Martha Turner is murdered by an unknown assailant, believed to be
Jack the Ripper, in London, England.
1890 William Kemmler becomes the first man to be executed by the electric
chair.
1904 The Japanese army in Korea surrounds a Russian army retreating to
Manchuria.
1914 Ellen Louise Wilson, the first wife of the twenty-eighth president,
Woodrow Wilson, dies of Bright's disease.
1927 A Massachusetts high court hears the final plea from Sacco and
Vanzetti, two Italians convicted of murder.
1942 The Soviet city of Voronezh falls to the German army.
1945 Paul Tibbets, the commander of Enola Gay, drops the first atomic
bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. It was the second atomic bomb, dropped on
Nagasaki, that induced the Japanese to surrender.
1962 Jamaica becomes independent, after 300 years of British rule.
1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act, outlawing
the literacy test for voting eligibility in the South.
1972 Atlanta Braves' right fielder Hank Aaron hits his 660th and 661st
home runs, setting the Major League record for most home runs by a player
for a single franchise.
1973 Singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder is in an automobile accident and
goes into a four-day coma.
1979 Twelve-year-old Marcus Hooper becomes the youngest person to swim
the English Channel.
1981 Argentina's ex-president Isabel Peron is freed from house arrest.
1988 A melee that became known as the Tompkins Square Park Police Riot in
New York City leads to NYPD reforms.
1991 Tim Berners-Lee publishes the first-ever website, Info.cern.ch.
1993 Pope John Paul II publishes "Veritatis splendor encyclical,"
regarding fundamentals of the Catholic Church's role in moral teachings.
1997 Microsoft announces it will invest $150 million in troubled rival
Apple Computer, Inc.
2012 New Zealand's Mount Tongariro erupts for the first time since 1897.
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Rollingthunderremembered.com .
August 6
Thanks to Dan Heller and the Bear
Links to all content can now be found right on the homepage
http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com. If you scroll down from the banner
and featured content you will find "Today in Rolling Thunder Remembered
History" which highlights events in the Vietnam war that occurred on the
date the page is visited. Below that are links to browse or search all
content. You may search by keyword(s), date, or date range.
An item of importance is the recent incorporation of Task Force Omega
(TFO) MIA summaries. There is a link on the homepage and you can also visit
directly via https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/task-force-omega/.
There are 60 summaries posted thus far, with about 940 to go (not a typo—TFO
has over 1,000 individual case files).
Thanks to Micro
A good write up on the longest held POW
From Vietnam Air Losses site for ..August 6.
Vietnam Air Losses Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady’s work at:
https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in
the Vietnam War
(This site was sent by a friend . The site works, find anyone you knew in
“search" feature. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
articles/wall-of-faces-now-includes-photos-of-all-servicemembers-killed-in-t
he-vietnam-war/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TMNsend&
utm_content=Y84UVhi4Z1MAMHJh1eJHNA==+MD+AFHRM+1+Ret+L+NC
By: Kipp Hanley
.
This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . Listed
by last name and has other info https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM
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Thanks to Billy, Dr. Rich and Barrett
No pictures but it is all here….skip
Good Mornin’ — EYE CANDY con’t…
The following is reprinted by permission from one of aviation’s greatest
authors, Barrett Tillman about one of aviation’s greatest aviators:
Barrett Tillman w/Ed Newberg’s 300 Lycoming powered N2S-4 (N-52558)
“Stearman”
By Barrett Tillman: "In 1943 General Henry H. Arnold’s secretary buzzed his
inner sanctum, informing the U.S. Army Air Forces chief, “Colonel Scott is
here, sir.” “Hap” Arnold, who lived in a frequent boil, replied, “Oh, you
mean God’s personal pilot?”
Colonel Robert L. Scott Jr., fighter ace and bestselling author of God Is My
Co-pilot, was in trouble…again. He had just offered to strafe John L. Lewis,
the mine workers’ union boss who had continually violated the wartime “no
strike” pledge after Pearl Harbor. Called upon Arnold’s thick carpet, Scott
said, “General, I was only expressing my personal opinion.”
Arnold came out of his chair, red-faced, finger jabbing. “Damn it, Scott!
When you wear that uniform you don’t have a personal opinion!”
At McDill Field in Florida, Scott’s younger brother Roland was going through
B-26 Ma¬rauder training. His copilot noted the news reports and said, “Well,
your brother’s never going to be a general now!”
Long after, Bob Scott quipped, “I think that’s when General Arnold began
looking for a way to send me back to combat where I could get killed.”
Combat pilot, bestselling author, big game hunter, versatile chef and
incomparable raconteur—Scott was all those and more. Reared in Macon, Ga.,
he was also among the last cavaliers of the Old South. He made his final
flight west from Georgia on February 27, 2006.
Born on April 12, 1908—almost 43 years to the day after Robert E. Lee’s
surrender—Scott was steeped in Georgia’s history and staunchly proud of his
Southern roots, but he grew into an unabashed patriot and warrior for the
United States. Following graduation from West Point, he received his wings
in October 1933 and spent the next eight years preparing for war. Scott
survived the brutal winter of 1933-34, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt
ordered the Army to fly the mail, resulting in numerous crashes and the
death of 13 airmen. Seeking more time with his girlfriend in Georgia, he
arranged to swap routes with another pilot, 2nd Lt. Curtis LeMay.
Scott loved to fly as few ever did. He was accused of being a “time hog” and
probably never denied it. Somehow, in the Depression-strapped Air Corps, he
averaged well over 400 hours per year when airmen were allotted only 48. In
his enthusiasm, he earned the enmity of his first commanding officer by
using up the squadron’s authorized hours in his first month.
Yet there was purpose to Scott’s passion. As he explained to his wife,
Kitty, “If Paderewski practices the piano 12 hours a day, and a ballerina
practices 12 hours, and they are the best, then I have to fly as many hours
a day as I can if I’m to be the best fighter pilot.”
One way of building up flight time was instructing, and Scott got plenty at
Texas’ Randolph Field in the 1930s. Remaining in training command, in 1939
he moved to Cal-Aero Academy at Chino, Calif., the largest flying school in
the country. During his tours in Texas and California, he logged more than
2,000 hours instructing Army cadets, and he commanded the sprawling Chino
base when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. But he was absolutely
determined to get into combat, by any means possible.
Bob Scott was a fighter pilot, with a chip on his shoulder and a gleam in
his eye. He wrote of the chips that he and other “pursuiters” carried: “They
have to be there—arrogant, egotistical chips mellowed by flying technique
and experience and fortified by the motto ‘Attack!’”
At age 34, however, Scott was considered too old for combat and had to tell
a couple of lies (“And not little white ones, either,” he admitted) to get
into the war. Among other things, he claimed expertise in the B-17 though he
had never flown one. In February 1942, he joined a B-17 task force sent to
India to bomb Japan from China. But when that mission fell through, he took
the next best job, flying C-47 transports from India to China across the
Himalayan “Hump.”
Scott (left) and Brig. Gen. Claire L. Chennault confer as the American
Volunteer Group transitions into the 23rd Fighter Group in the summer of
1942. (National Archives)
By the time he finally got into combat in April, Colonel Scott had logged
nearly 5,000 hours, likely a pre-combat record among American aces. Having
impressed Brig. Gen. Claire Lee Chennault with his ability and enthusiasm,
he was chosen to command the brand-new 23rd Fighter Group. He was in his
element, flying Curtiss P-40 Warhawks with three squadrons of young hotshots
a decade junior to him.
Scott and the other pilots benefited from a handful of Chennault’s American
Vol¬unteer Group “Flying Tigers” who stayed on to provide the Army fliers
with invaluable combat knowledge. One of the 23rd’s squadron commanders, AVG
ace David Lee “Tex” Hill, described Scott’s leadership style: “Bob said,
‘Put me on the board for all the big ones until I say different.’ I don’t
think he ever took his name off the board.”
Wounded on his first mission as group commander, Scott returned with steel
shards in his back, the result of Japanese gunfire hammering his P-40’s
armor plate. He was escorted to a cave overlooking Kweilin Airfield, where
Dr. Fred Manget, an old China hand, tended to him. With no anesthetic, Scott
endured the pain as the medical missionary extracted the splinters.
During the prolonged process, Manget’s Chinese aide asked Scott, “Colonel,
you fly plane, shoot guns, talk radio, all time fight barbarian. You do all
these things alone?”
Biting down the pain, Scott snapped back: “Where in hell would anybody else
sit? No, I don’t need any help. I’m a fighter pilot!”
Dr. Manget interrupted his alcohol swabbing to confront his patient, eye to
eye. “You’re wrong there, son,” he said softly. “You are never alone up
there. Not with all the things you came through. You have the greatest
copilot in the world even if there is just room for one in that fighter
ship.”
When he sat up, Scott reeled figuratively and literally. He visualized
illuminated figures dancing on a black velvet screen. They resolved
themselves into a phrase: “God is my copilot.” A title had revealed itself
before a book ever took shape. Oddly, however, he didn’t include that
episode in his famous book.
Scott notched his first victories near Leiyang on July 31, claiming a bomber
and a Zero (though it was probably a Ki-43 Oscar army fighter, since no
Japanese naval fighters were active in the area). Less than two months later
he realized his childhood ambition of becoming an ace when he downed his
fifth plane, a Ki-45 Nick at Gia Lam Airport near Hanoi.
One of Scott’s most gratifying missions was the Thanksgiving 1942 attack on
White Cloud Airdrome at Canton. Among his mentors was Colonel Merian Cooper,
the World War I flier and director of King Kong who served on Chennault’s
staff. Cooper, riding in a B-25 Mitchell, had asked Scott as fighter leader
to allow him a shot at an enemy aircraft. Scott was credited with two Ki-97s
(actually Ki-27 Nate fighters) to make double ace, chasing one within range
of Cooper’s bomber. Afterward Cooper expressed gratitude for the
opportunity, though Scott kept the truth to himself—he’d barely chased down
the Nate before Cooper could shoot. The group commander closed his victory
log over Christmas 1942 with Type 97 bombers (Ki-21 Sallys) on the 24th and
26th.
The colonel helps load his guns for his last sortie from Kunming, China.
(National Archives)
Scott’s victory score has been reported between 10 and 22. He said that
before returning State-side in January 1943, Chennault gave him an affidavit
attesting to the higher number, though Scott never claimed more than 13
destroyed. His official tally was reduced to 10 in the 1970s, plus five
probables and three damaged. In any case, he left China as the Army Air
Forces’ leading ace in the China-Burma-India Theater.
Upon his return to the U.S., Scott was recruited into the AAF public
relations machine. One result was his smash bestseller about his war
experiences, suggested by a publisher friend and “written” in a matter of
days. As Scott explained, he dictated the book while holed up in a New York
hotel. His dictograph disks were delivered to Scribner’s each day for
transcribing by “a tin-eared Yankee secretary.” Whatever the process, it was
dipped in pixie dust. The first printing sold out almost immediately, and
Hollywood quickly came knocking. Scott was assigned to help with the
filming, flying a P-40N in several sequences, but he was chagrined when Jack
Warner said, “Son, forget the manuscript. We’d have paid you as much just
for the title!”
Scott approved of casting the dignified Ray¬mond Massey as Chennault, but
Warner Bros. wanted a big name for the leading role. When his mother, who
didn’t approve of alcohol, heard that Humphrey Bogart was being considered,
she put her foot down. After all, Bogie had played a saloon keeper in
Casablanca. Mr. Warner would just have to find another actor—and he did.
Dennis Morgan got the nod.
Scott was embarrassed by the screenplay, especially Rich¬ard Loo’s
loquacious enemy ace, “Tokyo Joe.” The bestselling author fervently wished
he could have ducked out of the premiere in Macon.
Co-pilot was one of the few memoirs published during the war that remained
in print more or less permanently thereafter. Scott didn’t know how many
million copies were produced up to the 1980s, but he did appreciate the
book’s enormous influence. He received copies for signing for decades, from
schoolboys to Air Force officers.
Finally relieved of PR duties in 1945, Scott was more than ready to get back
to the war. He had been impressed with the latest aviation ordnance,
high-velocity aircraft rockets (HVARs), and determined that Chennault needed
them.
Chennault awards Scott the Silver Star on December 20, 1942. (National
Archives)
With his Southern charm, Scott could convince almost anybody of anything.
Lest anyone doubt it, consider that he coaxed thousands of high-priority
weapons from the U.S. Army’s bitter rival, the U.S. Navy.
When he finally got approval to return to combat, Scott made friends with a
boisterous naval aviator who, if possible, matched the Southerner’s colorful
personality. Captain “Jumpin’ Joe” Clifton was legendary—allegedly the only
Navy pilot who did not need a radio for communication. Between them, Captain
Clifton and Colonel Scott wrested perhaps 100,000 HVARs from the clutches of
Naval Ordnance and arranged to ship them to China. Scott took them from
there, touring with an HVAR instruction team that taught Fourteenth Air
Force pilots how to use them. Scores of Japanese locomotives were derailed
thanks to Scott, Clifton and a rare example of interservice cooperation.
Later based on Okinawa, where he flew some anti-shipping strikes, Scott
related his view of the Japanese surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay on
September 2, 1945. He described flying his P-51 Mustang and looking down on
the immense gray edifice that was USS Missouri, musing upon the Stars and
Stripes flying from its mast. But the Georgia rebel was never far beneath
Scott’s skin, and that gray morning he cracked open his canopy to unfurl the
Confederate Stars and Bars in tribute to his fellow Southerners who had
helped achieve victory. They included the maverick Claire Chennault, who had
been denied a place among the victors on “Mighty Mo’s” deck that morning.
Toward the end of the war, Scott was astonished to learn he owed the U.S.
government $25,000 in back taxes—on a colonel’s pay! Co-pilot had
accumulated tremendous royalties that had not caught up with him, but Uncle
Sam’s accountants knew the amount to the penny. Undeterred, Scott continued
writing. His book production included a dozen titles over a 45-year period.
In his first postwar assignment, Scott took command of Williams Field in
Arizona, where he transitioned to jets. One of his “Willie” crew chiefs
remembered him as “a colorful and popular commander.” Retired Master Sgt.
Ken Tomb said, “He always had time to talk with us, unlike some other famous
pilots I could mention.”
Scott spent the Korean War commanding an F-84 Thunderjet wing in Germany. He
would much rather have been chasing MiGs over the Yalu River, but his
fertile imagination soon conjured up a plot straight out of a novel. In
fact, the storyline—about a plan to hijack a MiG from behind the Iron
Curtain—became the basis for his 1955 novel, Look of the Eagle.
Scott’s daughter, Robin, being an Air Force brat, recognized her father’s
unusual career track. At one point she asked, “Aren’t they ever going to
make you a general?” When Scott finally pinned on his star in 1954, he had
been a colonel for 13 years.
Following Scott’s retirement from the Air Force in 1957, he and Kitty
settled in Phoe¬nix, where he embarked on a second career in insurance.
Kitty died in 1972, but Scott continued writing and, especially, traveling.
In the 1970s Scott decided to complete a trek that had been interrupted by
the war. On his graduation leave from West Point, he had taken a motorcycle
trip along Marco Polo’s fabled “Silk Road,” reaching the western end of the
Great Wall of China. From the air he had followed the wall’s meandering
course several times during the war, but he yearned to travel the length of
it on the ground.
Back in China, Scott sports a red-starred cap as he rides a Bactrian camel
at the Great Wall. (Museum of Aviation)
Ignoring repeated rebuffs, Scott wrote 300 letters to officials in the U.S.
and China and, at age 72, he fetched himself to the People’s Republic. There
he completed the nearly 2,000-mile odyssey by various means: on foot, by
rail, yak and camel. En route he sustained himself with 1,200 oatmeal raisin
cookies he had baked. Later he sent friends a photo of himself astride a
Bactrian camel beneath the Great Wall, wearing a smile and a Chairman Mao
cap complete with red star.
Chiang Kai-shek would have been appalled.
In the late 1980s Scott returned to his roots in Macon, where he took on his
final challenge. Scott, a tremendous fundraiser, devoted the last several
years of his life to supporting the Museum of Aviation near Warner Robins
Air Force Base. In 1998 a 1,700-square-foot exhibit hall was dedicated to
his career.
Scott also helped carry the Olympic torch through Macon in 1996 on its
journey to the Atlanta games. And he jogged rather than walked. After all,
he was only 88.
Scott died two months shy of his 98th birthday, breaking the record for the
oldest living American ace. (World War I pilot James W. Pearson was 97 years
and nine months when he died in 1993.) His decorations included two Silver
Stars, three Distinguished Flying Crosses and three Air Medals.
Longtime friends recalled the contradiction that was Bob Scott: the soft
Southern accent, the genteel manners, the predator’s blue eyes. China
veterans mused that the one consolation attending his death was that he was
once more with most of those he knew in Asian skies: Claire Chennault,
Merian Cooper and so many others.
Robert Lee Scott Jr. is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, within sight
of the Custis-Lee Mansion. Surely General Lee would have approved. In the
rarified atmosphere far above the contrail level, perhaps he welcomed
another Southern gentleman home."
Author Barrett Tillman met Brig. Gen. Scott in 1966 and corresponded with
him for more than 20 years. Scott traveled from Phoenix to Oregon to speak
at Tillman’s high school graduation ceremony in 1967. For further reading,
try Scott’s latter-day memoirs: God Is Still My Co-pilot and The Day I Owned
the Sky.
L-R: Bob Galer, Ken Walsh, Barrett, Dave McCampbell, and Joe Foss. All Medal
of Honor aces who contributed to Barrett’s Wildcat, Corsair and Hellcat
books. Dave wrote the foreword to Hellcat: The F6F in World War II. Ken
wrote the foreword to Corsair: The F4U in World War II and Korea (though it
includes other combat.) Joe wrote the foreword to Above & Beyond: The
Aviation Medals of Honor. Bob contributed to the F4F and F4U volumes. 1991
American Fighter Aces Assn. meeting in Phoenix
Here’s Billy Walker’s own story of meeting Scott. It was 1954. I was 13
years old and BSC in love with aviation.
.
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. From the archives
Thanks to Dr. Rich…..If your screen does not get blurry then there is
something wrong
Thanks to Felix ...
[Sue and I have been there, during our trip to Normandy, and walked among
the graves, and seen families honoring their fallen relatives … This will
certainly put a lump in your throat, and a lot of pride in your heart … RS]
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Thanks to Micro
From this link at Military Times:
ies-by-service-study-finds/
Risk of developing ALS varies by service, study finds
By Patricia Kime
Veterans of the Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard may be at higher risk for
developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) compared with veterans from
other branches, according to research published in the journal Neurology.
In a review of 9.9 million veterans in the VA medical system from 2000 to
2024, researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the
Department of Veterans Affairs and elsewhere found that 14,419 patients had
received an ALS diagnosis.
In the group with ALS, 46% were Army veterans – nearly the same percentage
of soldiers in the entire patient cohort.
Using the rate of ALS diagnoses among Army veterans as the baseline and
adjusting for sex, race, and ethnicity, researchers found that Air Force
veterans had a 29% higher rate, former Coast Guard members had a 26% higher
rate and Navy veterans had a 15% higher rate. Marines had the lowest rate,
at 22% below that of Army veterans.
Overall, officers had a 64% higher rate than enlisted personnel, while women
officers had a 72% higher rate. Differences among branches were more
apparent in men ages 61 and younger and less evident among men older than
75.
“Our study looked at the rates of ALS among people in different branches of
the U.S. military and found ALS rates varied considerably by branch and
rank, with larger differences among younger veterans,” said study author
Marc Weisskopf at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in a
release.
ALS is a rare disease diagnosed in roughly 5,000 Americans each year,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A fatal illness
most famously associated with baseball legend Lou Gehrig and British
astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, it is a progressive disease that affects the
motor neurons, causing them to lose connectivity and die off.
There are two types of ALS: sporadic, meaning occurring without a known
cause in the general population, and familial, likely the result of an
inherited genetic mutation, according to the ALS Association.
While military personnel are diagnosed with ALS at nearly twice the rate of
civilians, the cause has not been scientifically proven. The VA presumes the
condition to be service-connected given the heightened occurrence in the
veteran population.
Researchers have theorized that exposure to hazardous environments and
substances, including burn pits, jet fuel, exhaust, heavy metals, dioxins
and other toxic materials, may contribute, but no direct connection has been
proven.
“Our findings suggest that officers and those serving in the Air Force, Navy
or Coast Guard may have been exposed to military environments that increase
risk of ALS,” said Weisskopf. “Future research should aim to identify these
exposures.”
In the civilian population, some occupations such as airline pilots, truck
drivers, metal workers and those who work with pesticides and other toxic
substances are associated with increased ALS risk, according to a 2022
Columbia University study.
The authors noted that the likelihood of developing ALS is low, even in the
U.S. military. Of the 9.9 million veteran records reviewed, less than 0.2%
of patients were diagnosed with ALS, according to the study.
“It is … important to note that ALS is rare and the overall risk remains
small, so even statistically significant increases associated with branch
and rank represent only modest increases in risk among military personnel,”
Weisskopf said.
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. Thanks to Glenn
carrier lingo
17 Wacky Naval Aviation Terms You Never Knew You Wanted To Know
By
Tyler Rogoway
Our good friend and master F-14 Tomcat Radar Intercept Officer Joe “Smokin”
Ruzicka is back to share with us his list of the weirdest terms any Naval
Aviator or carrier-borne Naval Flight Officer would know.
1. Ease Guns to Land: As soon as carrier pilots hit the landing area, the
engines are at full military power (full power without afterburner). This is
because in case the hook misses one of the wires, the plane has enough power
to take off and continue flying. Ease Guns To Land is when a pilot pulls the
throttles back in an effort to help set the hook for arrestment. This is a
big no-no, and results in a stern debrief and probably a mandatory break
from flying.
2. “Taxi One Wire” written as “T1W”: The ship has four arresting cables
(CVN’s Reagan, Bush and Ford only have three), with the most aft wire being
#1 and the most forward wire being #4. The target wire (what every pilot is
trying to hit) is normally #3. While catching any wire can be considered
“good”, you want to avoid the #1 wire because it is the closest to the back
of the ship. Hitting the back of the ship is not recommended. Taking that
thought a step further, pilot’s who land well before the #1 wire and “taxi
into it” are on a very dangerous path.
3. Tower Flower: During the launch and recovery of aircraft, each squadron
has to send a Junior Officer (JO) up to the tower (called Pri-Fly, short for
Primary Flight Control) to provide the Air Boss and his team with a liaison
for their aircraft and any problems (or stupidity) that may arise.
Unfortunately for the JO, the Air Boss is not always in the greatest of
moods, so communication tends to flow in only one direction. The poor soul
on the receiving end of the Air Boss’s wrath is the Tower Flower.
4. Greenie Board: Each pass at the carrier is graded by Landing Signal
Officers (LSO’s). The results for each pilot are displayed using colored
dots on a “greenie board” displayed in their respective ready rooms for all
to see. The green color represents the highest grade a pilot can receive. A
fair is normally yellow and considered an average pass. Red represents the
worst and is referred to as a “cut pass” (such as ease guns to land). A
Brown dot is used for a pass called a “no grade.” This pass is considered
safe but certainly below average and affectionately known as a turd. A rule
to live by: Avoid the brown.
5. Foc’sle Follies: At the end of each grading period for landings (called a
Line Period), the awards for Top Hook and other accomplishments are handed
out during Foc’sle Follies. The name comes from the location on the ship
where this ceremony takes place (Ships Foc’sle) and where crazy, funny, and
sometimes straddling the line of political correctness skits are performed.
It is a great camaraderie building event and normally happens before a port
call or just prior to the end of a long cruise—so spirits are high.
6. Roll ‘em: A Roll ‘em is a term used for showing a movie in a squadron’s
Ready Room. Roll ‘ems can be very formal events with set doctrine and
mandatory attendance. The events might include a Call Sign Review Board
where a new guy is formally blessed with a call sign, a “Stoning” where
someone is brought before the crowd and stoned with paper rocks for
performing a mildly dumb act that day, and an attempt to guess the movie
about to be shown using drawings of the movie subject matter—kind of like
charades. Roll ‘ems include popcorn, sodas, and as much candy as can be
purchased from the ship’s store.
7. Mid Rats: Formally known as Midnight Rations. It’s one of four meals
served on the ship and one of the most popular because the grill is open for
orders. If you are a nightly attendee to Mid Rats, you better have a good
workout program in place to keep the extra pounds off.
8. Mr. Hands: The ship has closed circuit television that is piped through
to nearly every space that has a TV. Two of the most watched channels at
night are the PLAT camera—(Pilots Landing Aide Television or PLAT), which
shows landings from the perspective of looking aft on the ship and the Mr.
Hands channel. Mr. Hands is a real time depiction of traffic in the pattern
using small pucks symbolizing aircraft that move around a board. It gets its
name from the sailor’s hand (sometimes in white gloves) that would pick up
the pucks and move them around, placing them at the proper location as
aircraft made it around the pattern. Mr. Hands has now been upgraded to a
video depiction rather than someone’s actual hand, but old-timers still
refer to it as Mr. Hands.
9. Dog Machine: If you’ve ever been to a Golden Corral or similar restaurant
where they have soft serve ice cream, then you’ve seen a dog machine. Soft
serve ice cream is known on the ship as “dog” because when it comes out of
the machine it has a strong physical resemblance to dog poop. In the
wardroom, pilots always know if there is a good batch of dog. If you hear
someone exclaim, “That’s a good dog!” a rush to the dog machine ensues. I
guess pilots don’t have much to do.
10. The Smoking Lamp is Lit: This old Navy tradition is slowing fading away
as the Navy encourages people to quit using tobacco. While there is no
actual lamp, there are announcements made on the 1 MC establishing when
folks can go smoke. The smoking lamp is out during refueling, drills, and
ordnance loading. Kind of makes sense, I guess.
11. Six Pack: With more than six acres of usable space, the flight deck is
divided into different sections with nicknames so people can figure out
where your aircraft is parked. One of the most well known areas is the “six
pack”, which can hold roughly six jets and is located just in front of the
island. Tomcats were always parked on the fantail. In the later years of the
Tomcat, that area was referred to as “Jurassic Park”.
12. Covey Launch: To help two aircraft expeditiously rendezvous sometimes
the deck will perform what is called a “covey launch”. This is when two
aircraft go down the catapults at the same time, typically catapults #1 and
#3. It is a well-timed and coordinated event usually performed by a seasoned
air department deck crew. Plus, it looks pretty cool!
13. Mark Your Father: This is a term used by aircrew and controllers to
identify where an aircraft is in relation to the carrier using a radial and
distance from the ship’s TACAN. It is normally an imperative statement and
goes something like this:
Controller: “101, mark your Father” (In his best Darth Vader voice)
Pilot: “101, marking mom’s 230 for 25” (i.e. Southeast of the ship at 25
nautical miles)
The verbiage “marking mom’s XXX” is used to clarify the direction as “from
the ship to the aircraft” and avoids having the reciprocal direction being
interpreted as the position—albeit incorrectly. (The reciprocal would be
“Mom bears 050 for 25” but then it just gets confusing and we try to keep
directions to one way)
14. Clara: One of the first times coming down the chute at the ship, my
pilot told me he was “Clara.” I had no idea what he was saying, so I
quizzically asked him over the aircraft’s internal intercom system “Clara
who?”
Clara is the term pilot’s use to tell the Landing Signal Officers that they
cannot see the ball (the Fresnel lens landing aide). Clara is short for
“clarification” or more bluntly “tell me where I am on glideslope, I can’t
see the ball”. The LSO’s response after Clara is normally a position call.
“Roger, you’re high”. In my case, the “Clara who” back to my pilot did not
help our situation; he still had no idea where we were on glideslope and the
LSO’s had no idea he was “Clara”.
15. Bolter: This is one of the most well known naval aviation terms. If a
pass is made at the ship and the aircraft’s hook does not engage an
arresting wire (typically because of being too high), then it is known a
bolter. If the hook touches in the landing area but fails to catch a wire
(several things could be a factor for this happening), it is known as a hook
skip bolter. A hook skip bolter is shown on the event status board as a “B”
with a circle around it, where as a bolter is simply shown as a “B.”
16. “Bingo on the Ball” aka “Trick or Treat”: During flying operations when
there is a usable divert field within 200 nautical miles, the carrier is
under what is called “Bingo Ops.” This means if an aircraft has a problem or
is low on gas and cannot make an arrested landing, the pilot can divert—or
bingo—to land at the divert field. When a pilot calls “Bingo on the Ball”
(or “Trick or Treat”), it means this is his last pass before he has to bingo
back to the pre-determined divert field. The aircraft shows up on the event
status board as “BOB.” BOB always makes you nervous because you don’t want
an aircraft to head back to the beach unintentionally.
17. Red Light: Each carrier has a Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopter that
launches first before any other aircraft. This is in case an aircraft does
go down, a rescue helicopter is in place to pick up the pilot. Before
launching, the SAR helo gives a report on how long it can stay airborne and
still perform the search and rescue mission. This is known as red light, and
is normally given in hours and minutes: “610’s red light, 3+15.” Thus, 610
has 3 hours and 15 minutes where he can be SAR capable. Let’s hope he
doesn’t have to use it.
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. I was an instructor in F-8 and F-14 and I have a number of stories and
remembrances like these…Skip
From the archives
Thanks to Dan
Here are two more stories about scary things that occurred to others during
Army Flight School Training, about 50 years ago:
Story #1: The flight lines at both Ft. Wolters, TX (Primary helicopter
flight training), and Ft. Rucker, AL (Advanced helicopter flight training),
were similar. Rows and rows of helicopters, each on its own, numbered pad.
During briefing, hundreds of students were provided with a weather briefing,
safety briefing, then assigned a specific aircraft by tail number and
numbered pad. The students would then go to their assigned aircraft,
pre-flight, then start the aircraft and fly to their assigned airfields
(miniature airports built in farmers fields), for further briefing and
training. Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, two of our stalwart students
apparently didn't conduct a legitimate pre-flight, because, after they
started their aircraft and picked it up to a hover, the aircraft spun like a
top, and thrashed itself to death on the ground. The Accident Board did not
have to work very hard to determine the cause of the aircraft accident,
because IT DID NOT HAVE A TAIL-ROTOR INSTALLED! (for the starched-wing
guys, that's that little propeller at the aft end of the helicopter that
keeps it from spinning in the opposite direction from the main rotor)
Maintenance personnel had just removed it for some unknown maintenance and
had not yet written it up in the aircraft logbook. Needless to say, the two
involved student pilots immediately sought new career plans!
Story #2: On the fixed wing side of the fence, the students were told
that if there was a serious problem with their aircraft, land immediately,
call in their location, and a flight instructor and mechanic would come to
their location. A student had such an event occur, landed in a farmers
field, and called the flight facility. A very senior Warrant Officer (who
probably had his pilot certificate signed by the Wright Brothers), flew out
and looked over the agricultural field where the student had landed. He
thought the field was really small, but, if the student landed there, by
gosh, so could he! Upon landing in the obviously small field, he proceeded
to run into the trees which surrounded the field. Upon contacting the
student, the Warrant Officer commented on the student landing in the small
field. The student, with a look of incredulity on his face, said "land in
this field? I landed in that field over there, and bounced over the trees
into this field!"
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.
These articles are very familiar to me growing up on USAF bases around the
country. The Miramar problem was like this. They built a housing project off
the west end of the runway and our departure took us right over it. The
folks showed the houses on the weekend and when the new owners moved in and
got the Monday morning launch go over their heads they hit the roof. We had
to change the departure to do a right jog right after take off to lessen the
noise. Later thanks to Field day Fellows we had to put a watch out there and
report anyone who did not make the turn. If you ever read what was in the
book it was a riot.
Thanks to Ray from the ongoing story going on in the Bubba List
When I was at NKX Fellows, as CO, required everyone who played tennis to
wear white shorts and shirts --- what a jerk!!!. Also, when I had NKX as CO
it was a delight to vacate some of his idiotic rules. As to noise --- the
Blues were there for a show. A solo on practice day went west after his low
pass and rolls and went over Univ. City. A lady at the end of the runway
had her door open in a room in which her dog was lying. As the Blue went
over her house her dog jumped up, released its' bowels and went through the
screen door. My secretary (Gerry who had been there for years) entered my
office and wide eyed reported the incident -- I didn't alleviate her fears
by laughing so hard I nearly fell out of my chair!!!
Memories !!
Best to all,
Ray Donnelly
The ongoing problem at Whidby Island
On 8/4/22 1:15 PM, Louis Seldon via Thebubbas wrote:
Judge rejects Navy review for more jet flights on Whidbey
"U.S. District Judge Richard Jones' brief decision comes in response to two
lawsuits by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and the Citizens of Ebey's
Reserve that challenged a major expansion of the training of noisy, often
low-flying Growler jets.
Jones had asked Chief Magistrate J. Richard Creatura to report on the case,
and that 38-page document filed in the court in December was a scathing
review that concluded the Navy, in a March 2019 environmental impact
statement, "turned a blind eye" to data that did not support the goal of
increasing Growler jet operations from the air station at Whidbey Island.
That violated the National Environmental Policy Act that requires federal
agencies to use all practicable means so that humans and nature can exist in
harmony and make systematic assessments in their planning and
decision-making. "
An unattributable quote from one of the alleged detractors in the article,
“It’s the kind of noise that makes your insides rumble.” Could it be that
the author got it wrong and it was really Mrs. Dennitt from Talledaga
Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby??
Richard D Heinrich
On Aug 4, 2022, at 21:29, Pete Batcheller via The bubbas
<thebubbas@thebubbas.org> wrote:
There's a simple solution. During the Vietnam era, there was a large
lighted billboard board on the main drag outside the gate at NAS Los
Alamitos with an image of an A-4 Skyhawk and words that read, "That Noise
you hear is the Sound of Freedom." It worked.
We need a similar billboard outside the main gate at NAS Whidbey Island with
an image of an EA-18G Growler and the words that read:
"That noise you complained about was the sound of Freedom. Unless residents
of Whidbey Island speak up in a vote to allow the needed increase in flight
training, this Naval Air Station will be closing. Plan on looking for new
employment, say farewell to Taiwan and start learning Chinese
It that doesn't work to sway public opinion, turn the Ault Field over to the
Coast Guard, move the Growlers to NAS Fallon and the ASW assets to Joint
Base Elmandorf, AK.
A closing note - Decisions like this should never be left to an appointed
judge or Marxist politicians.
Take care,
V/R, Batch
Gonna show my age… this shit is nothing new. Build a runway… and they will
come… and then complain!
My dad was stationed in Pensacola during the mid-fifties. Old Corry Field
was still going hot and heavy… primary SNJ base at the time. We had to drive
down Warrington Blvd. to go to Mainside… it took us right by Corry. The main
runway was on an east/west layout and the east end was perpendicular to
Warrington… it was elevated about fifty feet above the highway on a small
bluff about a hundred yards from the road. Some idiot bought the land
between the road and fence line… and built a house right under the approach
end!
Within a year this POS started complaining about the noise (if you ever
heard an SNJ prop whine, you’d understand)… but why in the hell any sane
person would build there in the first place escapes me. I mean he was right
under the approach end of the runway! Now this was in the days before cable
television and because the bluff was higher than his roof… he couldn’t pick
up WEAR or the Mobile station clearly. What did he do… you guessed it… he
put up a tall TV antenna on his roof.
And that’s when the lawsuits began. The Navy ordered it taken down… he
refused. The Navy then took him to court… as the case moved forward… there
came a day when an SNJ removed it for him… wiped it out with his landing
gear. If I recall correctly, the Navy got a temporary injunction prohibiting
him from rebuilding it. In the meantime, the guy goes bat shit crazy and
starts putting up huge signs on his property claiming the Navy was
endangering his family, keeping them awake at night, making the lives a
living hell! He went on and on. It ended up being one of the few times like
this; where the local community was 100% behind the Navy! Eventually he
moved and the house was torn down… don’t know if the Navy bought it or he
just skipped town and mortgage?
BTW… if you thought the noise nazis were bad when the Navy had Miramar… ya
should have seen the reaction to the Marines stationing CH-53’s there! What
a hoot! Locals said they were worse than the jets.
From Skip….you can really hear those CH-53s
Shadow
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Thanks to Barrel
. I love triggering dems.
.
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.
WWII shipwrecks revealed in historic survey of Ironbottom Sound
Military Times
By Claire Barrett
Aug 5, 2025, 02:10 PM
After 22 days, the Maritime Archaeology of Guadalcanal expedition concluded
its historic surveys of the infamous Ironbottom Sound, capturing visuals of
multiple vessels, including the wreckage of the heavy cruiser Vincennes,
shown here. (Twitter/Exploration Vessel Nautilus)
After 22 days above and below the sea, the Maritime Archaeology of
Guadalcanal expedition (NA173) concluded its comprehensive and historic
surveys of the infamous Ironbottom Sound — and the results are stunning.
Led by Ocean Exploration Trust aboard Exploration Vessel Nautilus, live
video available for everyone around the world captured more than a dozen
vessels lost during the Solomon Islands campaign of 1942, imaging four ships
for the first time and discovering two previously lost to history: the bow
of the heavy cruiser New Orleans and the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer
Teruzuki.
The team, led by explorer Dr. Robert Ballard, explored the waters
surrounding the Solomon Islands using their remotely operated vehicles
alongside the mapping capabilities of the University of New Hampshire’s
uncrewed surface vessel DriX.
“It was wonderful to return to Iron Bottom Sound, where we discovered
Japanese, Australian and American warships over 34 years ago,” Ballard said
at the conclusion of the mission. “This expedition was special, allowing us
to film these sites in a manner not possible back then, as well as document
other ships, while at the same time sharing our work live to the entire
world.”
The team conducted surveys in Ironbottom Sound, where five major naval
engagements took place between August and December 1942 during the World War
II Campaign for Guadalcanal, writes Dave Kindy. More than 20,000 personnel
were killed, and 111 naval vessels and 1,450 aircraft were lost between
Allied and Japanese forces.
To date, only 30 of the military ships lost in this area have been located.
Over the course of three weeks and over 138 hours, Ballard’s team mapped
more than 1,000 square kilometers of the ocean floor, generating the
highest-resolution maps of Ironbottom Sound ever created.
Ultra-high resolution visual and sonar data was also collected on the
vessels: heavy cruisers Vincennes, Astoria, Quincy and Northampton;
destroyers Laffey, DeHaven, Preston and Walke; Royal Australian Navy heavy
cruiser Canberra; Imperial Japanese destroyer Yudachi; and a landing barge.
While exploring the HMAS Canberra with ROV Hercules, the Corps of
Exploration was able to find the original plaque placed on the wreck by
Ballard and his team in their 1992 expedition to Iron bottom Sound. Canberra
remains the largest ship the Royal Australian Navy has ever lost in combat.
(X/Exploration Vessel Nautilus)
The team also allowed viewers unfettered, real-time access to their
discoveries — streaming live for all 138 hours — allowing the public and
those with personal connections to the watery battlefield a chance to engage
with not only the history, but with the expedition team themselves.
More than 30 archaeologists from a coalition of nations, including Japan,
Australia, New Zealand and the U.S., as well as over 130 experts from around
the world, were able to tune in and offer valuable, real-time
interpretations of the underwater survey.
And for military families, it wasn’t just sheets of rusted metal they were
viewing, but tangible links to a war and loved ones lost during the Second
World War.
“This expedition was a great opportunity to remember the valor and
sacrifices of sailors who fought with extreme tenacity and skill, on both
sides,” said Naval History and Heritage Command Director Samuel J. Cox.
“Sailors don’t start wars, but they do what their governments ask, and in
the waters of Iron Bottom Sound, they did their duty to the fullest.
“Yet, the end result of that terrible war brought not only freedom for the
United States and Allies, but for Japan as well. This survey of the ships of
the United States, Australia, and Japan will add immeasurably to the
understanding of one of the most costly naval campaigns in history, a
campaign that hopefully will never be repeated.”
wrecks-revealed-in-historic-survey-of-ironbottom-sound/
.
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This Day in U S Military History…….6 August
1777 – The Battle of Oriskany was one of the bloodiest battles in the North
American theater of the American Revolutionary War and a significant
engagement of the Saratoga campaign. An American party trying to relieve the
siege of Fort Stanwix was ambushed by a party of Loyalists and allies of
several Native American tribes. This was one the few battles in the war in
which almost all of the participants were North American: Loyalists and
allied Indians fought against Patriots and allied Oneida in the absence of
British soldiers. Early in the siege of Fort Stanwix, an American relief
force from the Mohawk Valley under General Nicholas Herkimer, numbering
around 800 men of the Tryon County militia, and a party of Oneida warriors,
approached in an attempt to raise the siege. British commander Barry St.
Leger authorized an intercept force consisting of a Hanau Jäger (light
infantry) detachment, Sir John Johnson’s King’s Royal Regiment of New York,
Indian allies from the Six Nations, particularly Mohawk and Seneca; and
other tribes to the north and west, and Indian Department Rangers, totaling
at least 450 men. The Loyalist and Indian force ambushed Herkimer’s force in
a small valley about six miles (10 km) east of Fort Stanwix, near the
present-day village of Oriskany, New York. During the battle, Herkimer was
mortally wounded. The battle cost the Patriots approximately 450 casualties,
while the Loyalists and Indians lost approximately 150 dead and wounded. The
result of the battle remains ambiguous because the apparent Loyalist victory
was significantly affected by a sortie from Fort Stanwix in which the
Loyalist camps were sacked, spoiling morale among the allied Indians. For
the Iroquois nations, the battle marked the beginning of a civil war, as
Oneida warriors under Colonel Louis and Han Yerry allied with the American
cause and fought against members of other Iroquois nations. There were also
internal divisions among the Oneida, some of whom went to Canada as allies
of the British. The site is known in oral histories of the Iroquois nations
as “A Place of Great Sadness.” The site has been designated as a National
Historic Landmark and is marked by a battle monument.
Those of you that follow the List Know that the USS Oriskany CVA-34 was sunk
in the waters off Pensacola Florida and is also revered site to all those
who lost their lives flying from her deck during the Vietnam War. also A
Place of great sadness.
1918 – The Second Battle of the Marne ends In disaster for the Germans who
sustain losses of 168,000 men and have been pushed back to the line of the
Aisne and Vesle Rivers. Following a series of offensives since March, the
Germans no longer have the resources to launch attacks. They have suffered
huge casualties among their best-trained troops–the storm trooper units– and
those who have survived are suffering from increasingly poor morale.
1918 – The first American lightship to be sunk by enemy action, Lightship
No. 71, was lost on her Diamond Shoals station. LS 71 had reported by radio
the presence of a German submarine which had sunk a passing freighter. That
message was intercepted by the submarine U-104, which then located the
lightship and, after giving the crew opportunity to abandon ship in the
boats, LS 71 was sunk by surface gunfire. The lightship’s crew took to their
lifeboats and reached shore without injury.
1945 – Hiroshima, Japan, was struck with the uranium bomb, Little Boy, from
the B-29 airplane, Enola Gay, piloted by Col. Paul Tibbets of the US Air
Force along with 11 other men. The atom bomb killed an estimated 140,000
people in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare. Major Thomas Wilson
Ferebee (d.2000 at 81) was the bombardier. Richard Nelson (d.2003) was the
radio operator. Navy weaponeer, Captain W.S. Parsons, USN, armed the atomic
bomb. The bomb is a uranium fission weapon and the yield is in the region of
20,000 tons on TNT. Sixty percent of the city is destroyed in the blast and
the firestorm that follows. About 80,000 Japanese are killed. Many more are
severely burned and others become ill later, from exposure to radiation. It
is not the most devastating bombing attack of the war but the economy of the
effort involved in sending only one plane on a mission to destroy a city
shows only too well the complete change in military and political thinking
which has begun. Meanwhile, other American aircraft raid Tarmuizu, Kagoshima
and Miyakonoju.
2011 – A US Chinook was shot down by the Taliban, resulting in 38 deaths (30
Americans and 8 Afghans), no survivors. Among the U.S. deaths were 17 Navy
Seals who had been part of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group
(DEVGRU). It was the same unit who killed Osama Bin Laden, although none of
the deceased partook in the operation.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
GRIMSHAW, SAMUEL
Rank and organization: Private, Company B, 52d Ohio Infantry. Place and
date: At Atlanta. Ga., 6 August 1864. Entered service at: ——. Birth:
Jefferson County, Ohio. Date of issue: 5 April 1894. Citation: Saved the
lives of some of his comrades, and greatly imperiled his own by picking up
and throwing away a lighted shell which had fallen in the midst of the
company.
WILSON, JOHN M.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Engineers. Place and date: At
Malvern Hill, Va., 6 August 1862. Entered service at: Washington Territory.
Birth: Olympia, Washington Territory. Date of issue: 3 July 1897. Citation:
Remained on duty, while suffering from an acute illness and very weak, and
participated in the action of that date. A few days previous he had been
transferred to a staff corps, but preferred to remain until the close of the
campaign, taking part in several actions.
*THOMPSON, WILLIAM.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, 24th Company M, 24th
Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Haman,
Korea, 6 August 1950. Entered service at: Bronx, N.Y. Birth: New York, N.Y.
G.O. No.: 63, 2 August 1951. Citation: Pfc. Thompson, distinguished himself
by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty
in action against the enemy. While his platoon was reorganizing under cover
of darkness, fanatical enemy forces in overwhelming strength launched a
surprise attack on the unit. Pfc. Thompson set up his machine gun in the
path of the onslaught and swept the enemy with withering fire, pinning them
down momentarily thus permitting the remainder of his platoon to withdraw to
a more tenable position. Although hit repeatedly by grenade fragments and
small-arms fire, he resisted all efforts of his comrades to induce him to
withdraw, steadfastly remained at his machine gun and continued to deliver
deadly, accurate fire until mortally wounded by an enemy grenade. Pfc.
Thompson’s dauntless courage and gallant self-sacrifice reflect the highest
credit on himself and uphold the esteemed traditions of military service.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for 6 August, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT
ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD “PHIL” MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE
INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
6 August
1945: Flying his “Enola Gay” B-29 from Tinian Island, Col Paul W. Tibbets,
Jr., dropped the atomic bomb “Little Boy” on Hiroshima. (4) (12)
1946: Two radio-controlled B-17s, escorted by control planes, flew 2,174
miles from Hawaii to Muroc Lake, Calif. (24)
1950: KOREAN WAR. Far East Air Forces began nightly visual reconnaissance of
enemy supply routes. (28)
1952: KOREAN WAR. Fifth Air Force pilots observed an estimated 250 MiGs, the
largest daily total since 1 April. In the major air-to-air battle of the
month, 34 F-86s destroyed 6 of 52 MiG-15s. Far East Air Forces organized
Detachment 3, 6004th Air Intelligence Service Squadron, to increase
effectiveness of evasion and escape techniques by downed airmen. The
detachment continued on-going experiments, such as "snatching" downed
personnel by especially equipped C47s. It also emphasized aircrew training
in emergency procedures, the use of radios and survival equipment, and
helicopter rescue procedures. (28)
1953: The N-69A Snark research test vehicle flew its first flight test at
Cape Canaveral. In this configuration, the missile's length increased from
50 to 68 feet and weight from 28,000 to 49,000 pounds for greater range and
payload capability. (6) Operation BIG SWITCH. Through October, the USAF used
C-124, C-54, C-46, and C-47 transports to airlift more than 800 former
prisoners of war from Korea to the US. (21)
1954: MACKAY TROPHY. Through 7 August, two 308 BMW B-47s made a 10,000-mile,
nonstop round-trip flight from Hunter AFB, Ga., to French Morocco with four
KC-97 inflight refuelings. One bomber finished in 24 hours 4 minutes, while
the other took 25 hours 23 minutes. The 308th received the Mackay Trophy for
this flight. (1)
1958: The USAF issued a requirement for the Minuteman ICBM. (6)
1959: The TM-76 Mace replaced the Matador in USAFE’s inventory. (4)
B. Stafford from Gemini VI and Frank Borman and James A. Lovell, Jr. (USN)
from Gemini VII won the trophy for the first rendezvous in space of two
separate launch vehicles. (5) The first three civilian scientist-astronauts
Owen K. Garriott, Edward G. Gibson, and Harrison H. Schmitt received their
Air Force pilot wings at Williams AFB. (16) (26)
1971: Vandenberg AFB launched an Air Force Atlas rocket to place nine
experiments into three different orbits. (16)
1982: Through 5 September, MAC supported a Multinational Peacekeeping Force
in the Sinai Peninsula by sending 9 missions (1 C-141 and 8 commercial) to
deliver a 101st Airborne Division battalion from Fort Campbell to Ras
Nasrani and then to return a 82d Airborne Division battalion to Fort Bragg.
1987: Aeronautical Systems Division began phase two of the Mission Adaptive
Wing tests at Edwards AFB. This phase tested four automated flight control
modes: cruise camber control, maneuver camber control, maneuver load
control, and maneuver alleviation/gust enhancement. This wing allowed
aircraft to achieve a 25-30 percent increase in range and a 25 percent
improvement in sustained G-forces.
1991: Through 9 August, MAC units moved 75 tons of blankets and supplies to
Shanghai, China, after floods in eastern China caused 1,000 deaths and left
over 100,000 homeless. (16) (26)
1998: During a 15-hour flight in Hawaii, the solar-powered Pathfinder-Plus,
an upgraded version of the Pathfinder UAV, reached nearly 80,300 feet in
altitude, the highest point ever reached by a propeller-driven aircraft. It
carried a simulated payload of 68 pounds. (3)
2001: The 93rd Air Control Wing at Robins AFB received the first updated
Block 20 E-8C JSTARS production aircraft. The Computer Replacement Program
enhancement in the Block 20 aircraft reduced the number of on-board
computers from five to two, while increasing processing power and speed. It
also had several engineering changes to improve maintainability. (AFNEWS
Article 1071, 6 Aug 2001) Following a final sortie by the Lockheed Martin
X-35B, the X-32/X-35 Joint Strike Fighter concept demonstration flight test
program ended. After 39 sorties (21.5 flight hours), the X-35B flew to Air
Force Plant 42 at Palmdale for final disposition. (3)
2003: A B-2 released 80 inert JDAMs as part of a weapon separations test.
The AFFTC test program integrated the Smart Bomb Release Assembly (SBRA)
into the B-2. (3)
2007: EXERCISE NORTHERN GOSHAWK. Through 11 August, the Distributed Mission
Operations Center at Kirtland AFB, N. Mex., implemented a complex, new
electronic exercise to bring more "reality" to virtual reality simulations.
The five-day exercise also gave Royal Air Force members their first
opportunity to connect to the center in a virtual battlespace to engage
simulated enemy forces. (AFNEWS, “Info Sharing Allows Realistic Coalition
Training, .
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
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