Tag Archives: World War II

Books About the Men and the Mission

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Joe Clark

Over the last couple of days of writing about General Doolittle and his raid, many who know me have stopped and talked specifically about the men and the mission. To each, I have recommended a couple of books. The first … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History, Reading | Tagged Air Force, airplanes, aviation in America, Bob Considine, Books About the Men and the Mission, Carroll V. Glines, discipline, Doolittle’s Raid, Florida, flying, friends, General Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, instrument flying, Jimmy Doolittle’s autobiography, judgment, memories, military service, Navy, Pearl Harbor, Phyllis Thaxter, pilots, professional pilots, Spencer Tracy, Ted W. Lawson, the first raid against Japan, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, Van Johnson, World War II | 3 Comments

The Doolittle Goblets

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Joe Clark

Few know the story of the Doolittle Goblets. In 1959, the city of Tucson, AZ gave a wonderful gift to the men who flew the first mission against the Japanese mainland on April 18, 1942. The gift? A set of … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation History, Flying, History | Tagged A set of 80 sterling silver goblets, Air Force, airplanes, Colonel Richard E. Cole, discipline, Florida, flying, friends, gunner of aircraft No. 7., inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, learning to fly, Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Hite, Major Edward Joseph Saylor, Major Thomas C. Griffin, military service, Navy, Pearl Harbor, pilots, professional pilots, Staff Sergeant David J. Thatcher, the Air Force Academy, The Doolittle Goblets, the “Goblet Ceremony”, Tucson AZ, World War II, “Hennessey Very Special” | 4 Comments

The Doolittle Raiders

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Joe Clark

Sixty-nine years ago this morning, 80 very brave men in 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers launched from the deck of the aircraft carrier, USS Hornet. They and their leaders planned the mission well, but as they steamed toward their targets, they … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History | Tagged Air Force, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, discipline, flight training, Florida, flying, judgment, military service, Navy, Pearl Harbor, pilots, World War II | 11 Comments

Able Dogs and Spads

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Joe Clark

Today, in 1945, the XBT2D-1 flew for the first time. It was another of the great designs by Ed Heinemann, the designer of many aircraft produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company. As with many of the aircraft Heinemann created, … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General | Tagged A-1E, A-1H, A-1J, Air Force, airplanes, Bernie Fisher, big four-bladed props, carrier-borne aircraft, discipline, Douglas Aircraft Company, Ed Heinemann, feet dry, feet wet, flying, ground troops, Helldiver, judgment, Korea, military service, Navy, Navy pilots, pilots, professional pilots, Spad pilots, taildraggers, TBM Avenger, the A-1 Skyraider, The Able Dogs and Spads, the cold war, the Congressional Medal of Honor, the deck of a carrier, the Sandy, the XBT2D-1, Vietnam, World War II, Wright R-3350, “sand blower” route | 6 Comments

Happy Birthday, Pan Am

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Joe Clark

Today in 1927, Key West birthed Pan American World Airways out of a small maintenance hangar near Duval Street in Key West. Kelly McGillis, the actress who co-starred with Tom Cruise in Top Gun, presently owns the building purportedly to be the … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History, Life in General | Tagged 2001 A Space Odyssey, airplanes, Boeing 747, Clipper flying boats, Clipper Juan T. Trippe, Duval Street, flying, Fokker monoplanes, Happy Birthday Pan Am, Havana Cuba, Juan Trippe, Kelly McGillis, Key West, Lockerbie Scotland, Pan Am, Pan Am 103, Pan Am 73, Pan American Airways, Pan American World Airways, pilots, professional pilots, SCADTA, Stanley Kubric, Tenerife, the first Boeing 747 to carry passengers, the unofficial flagship airlines of the United States, the worst aviation accident in history, Top Gun, William Allen, World War II | 1 Comment

Fighting FIVE Takes the US Navy into the Jet Age

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Joe Clark

Sixty-three years ago today, Fighter Squadron FIVE became the first Navy squadron to land jet fighters aboard an aircraft carrier. On March 10, 1948, they took their brand new North American FJ-1 Fury jets to sea to land aboard the … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History | Tagged aircraft carriers, Curtis F6C-4 Hawk, F-14A Tomcats, F-8 Crusader, Fighting FIVE Takes the US Navy into the Jet Age, Grumman F9F–2 Panther, jet fighters, last of the true gunfighters, McDonnell-Douglas F-4 five Phantom, military service, naval aviation, Navy, Neil Armstrong, North American FJ-1 Fury, open cockpit biplanes, sailors, Sundowners, The Korean War, The Screaming Eagles, Top Gun, USS Boxer, USS Essex, USS Kitty Hawk, USS Ticonderoga, USS Vinson, VF-1, VF-111, VF-3S The Striking Eagles, VF-5, VF-51, Vietnam, World War II | 2 Comments

The Flying Fort Becomes Operational

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Joe Clark

One of the airplanes I have always liked is the B-17. When I was a kid, I studied as much about the B-17 as possible; I believed it was the airplane that saved the world in World War II and … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation History, History, Life in General | Tagged airplanes, Army Air Corps, B-17, B-17 Flying Fortress, Edward Curtis Wells, Europe, Gifford Emory, heroes of all of the free world, Langley Field VA, Les Tower, Major Peter Hill, military service, Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet engines, reporter Richard Williams of the Seattle Times, Second Bombardment Group, The Flying Fort Becomes Operational, the Model 299, the Pacific, World War II, Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines | 2 Comments

The Passing of Frank Buckles

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Joe Clark

Frank Buckles has passed. He finished his work in this life last Sunday. He was 110 years old. In 1901, he was born in a Missouri farmhouse on the first day of February. He lied to recruiters to get into … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life in General | Tagged 1st Fort Riley Casual Detachment, an extraordinary life, Charles Town WV, doughboys, Frank Woodruff Buckles, Japanese, Philippines, prisoners of war, RMS Carpathia, RMS Titanic, survivors, the family Bible, The Great War, The Last Doughboy, the last surviving veteran of World War I, the last survivor, United States Army, veterans, World War I, World War I veterans, World War II | 1 Comment

Look Ma! No Propellers!

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Joe Clark

Today, the jet age truly turns 65 years old. It was born when the prototype XP-84 Thunderjet flew for the first time at Muroc Army Airfield on this day in 1946. Current jets are far more powerful than the first … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Life in General | Tagged aerial refueling, Air Force, airplanes, Alexander Kartveli, control reversal, Edwards Air Force Base, escort, flying, ground support, interdiction, J-35-GE-15 engines, jet age, Korea, Korean War, Look Ma! No Propellers!, military service, Muroc Army Airfield, National Security Act of 1947, P-47 Thunderbolt, Republic Aviation Corporation, the Air Force demonstration team, the Thunderbirds, the United States Air Force, World War II, wrinkling fuselage skins, XP-84 Thunderjet | Comments Off

Sara

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Joe Clark

Sixty-six years ago today the USS Saratoga, CV-3, fell victim to a horrendous attack by the Japanese. The Japanese, taking advantage of poor weather and low clouds, were able to approach the aircraft carrier at about five o’clock in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation History, History, Life in General | Tagged Bikini Atoll, Bremerton WA, combat operations, CV-3, Desert Storm, Essex-class carriers, Hawaii, Lexington-class carriers, Libya, military service, Navy, Operation Crossroads, Operation Magic Carpet, the affect atomic weapons on naval vessels, the flight deck, the Japanese surrender, USS Saratoga, Vietnam, World War II, Yugoslavia | Comments Off

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Tag Archives: World War II

Books About the Men and the Mission

The Doolittle Goblets

The Doolittle Raiders

Able Dogs and Spads

Happy Birthday, Pan Am

Fighting FIVE Takes the US Navy into the Jet Age

The Flying Fort Becomes Operational

The Passing of Frank Buckles

Look Ma! No Propellers!

Sara

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