34 AIR CLASSICS//November 2017 airclassicsnow.com 35

The North Atlantic. Looking outthe left widow of a Boeing 787cruising at 41,000-ft, you can’tsee it because of the undercast.

Yet, you know it’s there — an unimagin-ably huge mass of roiling black-graywater clawing at the shores of NorthAmerica, the British Isles, and Europe.The North Atlantic holds its secrets.Somewhere below us sits the Titanic as

EVER WONDER WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO FLY A P-51 ACROSS THENORTH ATLANTIC? LEE LAUDERBACKGIVES US THE INSIDE LOOK AT A COMPLEX MISSION

Day One: The start of the mission. Lee Lauderback givesBelin Express one final check before strapping into the

cockpit for the first leg of Operation Berlin Express.The flight to Kentucky would also be the longest

leg. (The Friedkin Group)

well as thousands of otherships that have been swallowedover the centuries. Coming tomore recent times, the deep bottomalso holds the corroding remains of hun-dreds of aircraft — many lost with theircrews while trying to fortify Britain in itshour of need. Through an occasionalbreak in the undercast, from the com-fortable 787 cabin you can see the heav-

ing waters —sprinkled with

ice — and thesirens of the North

Atlantic beckon —“Come lower. Come see us. We havemany things to show you.”

We now take crossing the NorthAtlantic as an everyday event, but thatdoes not negate the fact that the North

Atlantic is as dangerous and as hostile asit has ever been. The North Atlanticdoes not view humanities’ interests withmuch compassion.

That brings us to Operation BerlinExpress.

Simply put, this was an operation ini-tiated to fly a North American Mustangto Britain to take part in 2017’s famedFlying Legends Airshow held at historic

Duxford Airfield, just below Cambridge.When Britain declared war on

Germany in September 1939, theRoyal Air Force was re-equipping withnewer aircraft, but not fast enough tocounter the German blitzkrieg rollingthrough Europe.

America, at the time, was maintaininga position of neutrality but the govern-ment, after difficult negotiating, honored

Britain’s numer-ous requests topurchase arma-ments — as long as they paid upfrontin gold.

One of the American aircraft orderedin quantity was the Lockheed Hudson— a sturdy and dependable lightbomber/reconnaissance twin-engine air-craft. Based on the company’s civil

BY MICHAEL O’LEARY

36 AIR CLASSICS//November 2017 airclassicsnow.com 37

Model 14, it did not take long for the Hudsons to start flowingfrom the Burbank production line.

Then came the problem — how to get the completed prod-uct to the customer? Disassembled Hudsons were wrapped inpreservative and placed aboard ships in Los Angeles harbor asdeck cargo. Then, the ships would have to transverse thePanama Canal, turn north and chug into the North Atlanticwhere an entirely new peril was awaiting.

The North Atlantic had become home to Hitler’s expandingfleet of U-Boats and the slow, fat transports became prime tar-gets. There was little in the way of protection for these ships and,in a matter of months, both USA and Britain realized that themonthly toll of tonnage could not be rapidly replaced.

So, how to get the Hudsons to Britain? In the Lockheedboardroom, a hand was raised and a grizzled test pilot simplysaid, “Fly ’em.”

Slowly at first,the aircraft beganwinging their wayacross the NorthAtlantic — leaving

The all-importantfuel tank switch.The articledescribes themethod Lee and theteam developed forfeeding the Merlin.(The FriedkinGroup)

All legs of the mission included a complete cockpit check before flight.(The Friedkin Group)

Loaded with just about anything possible, the King Air sits a bit taillow. (Lee Lauderback)

Burbank andheading up toGoose Bay be-fore “hopping thePond.”

In the beginning, itwas just one or twobombers — crew-ed byexperienced aviators that com-prised test pilots, airline captains,and bush pilots with thousands ofhours. Then, it turned into aflood of aircraft that theGermans could not stop andthe North Atlantic Ferry Routewas firmly established.

When America finally enteredthe war, the same problemremained — how to get the badly-needed fighters to the Britishbases. The USAAF startedsomething tagged OperationBolero, which saw smallgroups of fighters led by aB-17 or B-24 navigationship head out on the NorthAtlantic Ferry Route on pioneeringflights. This worked surprisingly well and fighters began flowinginto England. One young pilot was a fellow by the name of BarryGoldwater, who wrote an eloquent account of his Bolero flightbefore going on to achieve fame in the 1960s political world.

A lot has changed since those desperate war-time years whenlosses were commonand chances werealways taken. Overseven-decades later,a group of talentedindividuals cametogether to makethe North Atlanticcrossing under thetitle OperationBerlin Express.

Air Classics readers are familiar with Lee Lauderback —owner and operator of the fabled Stallion 51 in Kissimmee,Florida, and the world’s highest time Mustang pilot. Lee quicklygets that fact out of the way — “About 9000-hrs I guess.” Youcan tell he wants to move on since he has been asked that ques-tion countless times but it sort of serves as a benchmark for thisstory. It is a record that will never be beaten, but it also gives Leea very unique perspective on the famous fighter.

“I come from a military family,” said Lee, “and I grew up inseveral parts of Florida. We always had a fair amount of

acreage so I had plenty of places to play but italso gave

me a greatdeal of respect forthe natural world andits beauty. I was attractedto the large birds asa child and thiswould stay withme and developinto a very important side activity.

“In my family, I was number two of five boys so Ialways had a lot of competition and fun with my brothers.When it comes to flying, I sort of guess I had it in my DNA.Dad was in the Naval Reserve but he was also a private pilot. Ihave photos of me in the right seat of Dad’s Navion when Iwas two-years-old.

“Of course, as I got a bit older I built plastic models and thenflying models. My Mom loved the natural world and was big intoanimals so she encouraged my interest in the large birds and wewould sometimes study hawks and falcons — the big guys.

“I also began reading everything I could on aviation and oneday something just sorta clicked — I wanted to be a fighter pilot!Of course, we did not have to pull Dad’s arm too hard to take usto airshows. When I was ten or twelve, we went to one airshowand I saw something that really changed my life — Bob Hooverflying a bright yellow Mustang. I was in absolute awe over hismastery of the airplane and when it came to the P-51, I realizedit was about the neatest thing I had ever seen.” Sometimes, justthe slightest event can change our path through life and this iswhat happened to Lee. Bob Hoover would become his mentorthroughout his life and would constantly be available for Lee’squestions about Mustangs and Stallion 51.

“I knew I had to fly and talked this over with Dad. When Iwas 14, I got to fly a Schweizer 2-22 glider out of Delano,

Florida,and thought that

was pretty neat. It also made methink more about the big birds and how they flew. By

15, I was in a Cessna 150 and soloed at 16.“Dad was instrumental in all my activities and I could not

think of anyone more supportive — whether it was aviation orathletics. I know he would fully support me if I picked anothercareer besides aviation.

“Anyway, I kept flying through high school [one memorableflight involved buzzing the cheerleaders], working on my com-mercial, and kept moving ahead. Out of high school, I got an

athletic scholarship [baseball] for Louisiana State Universitywhere I would major in aeronautical engineering.

However, this took me away from flying.“One day a pal went to Embry-Riddle and I

joined him. The person from E-R gave him thesales pitch for the university while I listened.

Eventually, he asked me if I was interestedin aviation and I told him I had private,

commercial, instrument, CFI, andmulti-engine ratings. I guess he wassort of stunned, but then he told

me that all those ratings equaled cred-its at Embry-Riddle and I could save over a

year in college. I was equally stunned — especially when he toldme they were also looking for flight instructors. I moved toOrlando and began taking classes, instructing four- to five-hours aday, flying fire patrols, etc. — I guess I was in aviation heaven.

“I still had this goal to be a fighter pilot. In ROTC, I took allthe USAF tests and did really well. However, when it came tovision I could not make 20/20. I was crushed, but this openeddoors to other paths.

“At E-R, I was taking business management and aeronauticalscience classes and really building flight time. This is when I dis-covered that if you want to do something bad enough, then youhave to devote a lot of time and energy to that goal. It will hap-pen, but perhaps not exactly the way you imagined.

“With school coming to a close, I got into the charter pilotbusiness — I never wanted to be an airline pilot. Also, I got backinto gliding in a big way — I bought a sailplane and was flyingand instructing every weekend. I was soon soaring with falconsand other birds of prey — thus increasing my interest in thesemagnificent creatures.

“By chance, world-famous golfer Arnold Palmer had a Lear 24

“Sometimes, Iwould get a bitbored so I wouldcome under theKing Air and set offits terrainavoidance radar,”said Lee. (LeeLauderback)

Suited up and ready to go. For the overwater legs, moreequipment would be added. (The Friedkin Group)

Lee and Berlin Express make a triumphantarrival at Duxford. (Ben Rawlings)

40 AIR CLASSICS//November 2017 airclassicsnow.com 41

and the captain of the plane needed a copilot for a flight. I tookthe flight — right place, right time. The pilot was CharlieJohnson, an ex-F-105 driver and a great guy. We got along reallywell and he told me to read the manual. Three-weeks later, heagain needed a copilot and I was back in the right seat. I wouldgo out to that Lear, wash it, wax it, completely pre-flight it.Charlie would go on to become the president of Cessna and in1974, at age 24, I was Arnold Palmer’s new pilot. Now, I mustsay, Arnold was an excellent pilot but he used the Lear [andlater, Citation jets] as a business tool. I went everywhere withArnold and met all sorts of people.

“I got to meet Gordon Plaskett, and Air Classics’ readers knowthat Gordon built-up a dual-control TF-51D Mustang. Gordonput me in the front seat and away we went. After we landed, Ithought WOW! — I have to find a way to do this full-time.

“My twin brothers Peter and Richard had enjoyed a USAFcareer keeping C-141 StarLifters flying. They left the USAF andended up working on P-51s and P-40s for a couple of earlyWarbird owners. They sort of made me envious with theirWarbird stories.

“In 1987, I met Doug Schulz through my brothers. Doug wasworking as a pilot for Delta but he had purchased a TF-51D andwas contracting the plane to the Naval Test Pilots School wherethe jet pilots would learn a bit about the characteristics of ahigh-power piston-engine aircraft. Business was such that Dougneeded a 50/50 partner and there was my chance.

“So, I was working 365-days a year and putting my heart andsoul into the TF. One time, I pointed out a parked P-51 toArnold and told him what a neat plane it was and it would begreat if he bought one. I used the excuse that it would improvehis captain’s morale! Arnold said something like that was themost stupid thing he had ever heard. Mustangs just weren’t inhis make-up even though he loved flying.

“By 1990, I knew I needed time off. I had a son to raise and Ihad some big decisions in front of me. I told Arnold I had to leave— and that was very hard since I had had an extremely secure job.The boss was not pleased with my decision but he stood by meand we remained friends.”

At times, the Mustang seemeddwarfed by the majesty of nature.

(The Friedkin Group)

Oddly, while all this was going on Lee would keep crossingpaths with Bob Hoover. One such meeting led to a flight withBob in the Sabreliner and his mastery of the aircraft mostimpressed Lee. Lee asked Bob about Mustangs, told him abouthis new TF-51D and asked all sorts of questions on operating theaircraft correctly. “I remember asking Bob one day about theaverage life of a Merlin,” recalled Lee. “Bob thought about it fora time and then said, ‘Lee, you are going to get 450-hrs out of aMerlin.’ I thought that was sort of low but all these years later, ifwe put all the Merlins we have used into a bag, shook them up,then the average life would come out as 450-hrs.”

Lee knew the civilian record with high-performance ex-mili-tary aircraft had been pretty terrible so one of the main goals ofStallion 51 was to teach pilots how to fly the machine compe-tently and safely — and so developed the Stallion 51 program,which is now the “gold standard” for insurance companies whenit comes to insuring Mustang pilots.

In 1997, Lee started participating in the wildly popularUSAF Heritage Flights, which would pair vintage aircraft withthe latest in military hardware. It also meant he got to fly withgreat pilots like Frank Borman, Bill Anders (who he qualified inthe P-51), and others — pilots that Lee classifies as, “the realguys… the guys that never gave up their dreams.” He also got totrain current military pilots and show them how to stay safe inthe Mustang.

It takes a long time to build a solid reputation, but Lee andStallion 51 did just that. Slowly building up cash reserves forexpansion, promotion, and advertising. He also got to fly thegreats — requalifying Robin Olds (“the perfect image of a fighterpilot”), while also taking up Chuck Yeager, Bud Anderson, LeeArcher, Bruce Carr and many others. “For example,” said Lee,“Bill Anders went through our course in under 8-hrs. Years laterhis son Greg went through the course and completed it in 2/10thof an hour less than his father!”

Today, Stallion 51 is the top facility of its type in the world.“It’s not just me — it’s the entire team that makes Stallion 51work,” states Lee. “We are approaching 200 graduates, we have afull-time flight surgeon on staff, and our program has expanded

beyond the Mustang.” When asked about his massive Mustangtime, Lee sort of chuckles and says, “It means I have had morebad landings than anyone else!”

OPERATION BERLIN EXPRESS“I always used to kid Ed Shipley about the time he flew TF-

51D Miss Velma across the Atlantic,” says Lee. Little did Leeknow that the joke would soon be on him.

Warbird collector Dan Friedkin had just purchased award-winning P-51B Berlin Express with the idea of getting the planeto the Flying Legends airshow in Duxford, England — by air!

Ed was soon on the phone to Lee: “Remember the hard timeyou gave me about flying Miss Velma to Duxford? Well, have Igot something for you!”

Lee was a bit taken aback by the suggestion, but gave it someintense thought. “I knew that with theright team and right resources the goalcould be accomplished, but then I foundout that the airshow was just three-weeksaway,” recalled Lee.

Not one to take overly long aboutmaking up his mind, Lee gave Dan andEd a positive response.

A schedule was quickly put into place.Berlin Express would depart south Texason 28 June and arrive at Duxford on 4July — Independence Day in the USA.Basically, the fighter would follow theNorth Atlantic Ferry Route.

Lee arrived in Texas and immediatelybegan inspecting the plane and doingsome flying. Restored by Pacific Fighters,the P-51B is a magnificent example of therestorer’s art. “It’s a perfect airplane,” saidLee. “It is a true fighter and stepping in itfrom the TF was like going from a mini-van to a Ferrari.”

A team had to be put together, quickly.It would consist of John “Little John”Muszala II, #1 Warbird fanatic who hadbeen an essential member in the aircraft’srestoration; brother Richard Lauderback,with over 40-years experience of caringand feeding Mustangs, and Justin Shipleywho would be handling video content andbroadcasting the event on every leg. For asupport/escort aircraft, a Beech King Air350 was picked because it was compatiblewith the Mustang, could carry the crewwhile also hauling lots of spares. For a pilot,Kevin St. Germain came aboard. Kevinhas made over 1500 Atlantic crossings andknew how to get all the paperwork donequickly and efficiently. Louis Horschelwould be the Mustang specific pilot — hehad been trained by Lee and was extremelyproficient in close-in formation work, plushe is also a Mustang owner.

“The first thing for this sort of missionis the engine,” states Lee. “For me, the

Merlin was at that perfect mark of between 50- and 100-hrs.”Even though the Merlin was running beautifully, the team spentlots of time examining and tweaking the engine. Also, extraback-up navigational and radio equipment was installed in theMustang. All the resources were provided by Dan Friedkin andhis Pursuit Aviation. Deeply aware of WWII history, Dan want-ed to make Operation Berlin Express a positive learning experi-ence for the tens of thousands of people that would be followingthe flight.

Now, how about range? “We got two really good 75-galunderwing tanks that were a known quantity with boost pumpsand made sure those were feeding correctly. Then, we had thestandard wing fuel tanks and a 40-gal fuselage cell for 395-gal,”Lee said.

Everyone on the quickly assembled team got along well and

Greenland — a less-than-desirable location for a single-engine WWII fighter. (The Friedkin Group)

42 AIR CLASSICS//November 2017 airclassicsnow.com 43

realized they were going to have a very busy week ahead of them.The first leg of the trip was also the longest — some 760-nmfrom San Antonio to Paducah, Kentucky. This gave time to geteverything checked and straightened out.

“I also developed a plan for switching fuel tanks to make sureeverything was working and to maintain weight and balance.The first 30-minutes from takeoff through climb to cruise wasflown on the left wing tank. Then, I switched to the right dropfor another 30-min. Next it was to the left drop for 30-min thenback to the right drop for 30-min, and then to the left drop for30-min. Then we switched to the fuselage tank for 30-minbefore going back to the right main wing tank to finish the leg.This pattern was maintained throughout the mission. The teamin the King Air was also monitoring all this to keep me in line.”

The extra fuel gave a good margin of safety and this longestleg saw just 200-gal consumed. “This is all about safety,” said Lee.“We have plenty of margin for unscheduled deviations caused byweather or other problems.”

After a check of the plane at Paducah, the team launched onthe second leg for Dunkirk, New York, which was 550-nm dis-tant. This also allowed plenty of time to check compatibilitybetween the aircraft and to practice IFR conditions. If the weath-

er was to go bad, Lee would tightly form on theKing Air that, with its advanced avionics,would serve as lead. The team even decided tomake an ILS (Instrument Landing System)approach at Dunkirk and Lee locked on theKing Air’s wing tip.

After a night’s rest, it was off to Bangor,Maine. Before that leg, the team underwenta thorough briefing. “We wanted to discussthe lessons we had learned so far and how

we could improve the flying for each other,” said Lee. AfterBangor, it was off to Goose Bay, Canada, to complete the over-land portion of the mission — some 2300-nm.

The team really went over the Mustang at Goose Bay. So far,luck had been on their side — when they departed Dunkirk on 1July, a weather front had come in and the team sort of moved intandem with the weather. For example, the overnight stop atGoose allowed the weather to pass over them.

Most Mustang pilot manuals state that a pilot must not ditchhis aircraft, but rather take to his parachute. The reason? Themanual states the P-51 will sink in seconds. For the overwaterflight, Lee put on the US military issue exposure suit. Over thiswent modern survival gear, food, and water. Lee had the goodfortune for getting the latest survival gear from the USAF.

Practicing getting in and out of the Mustang with all this gear,Lee realized that the parachute and life raft could not go together.“I made the decision to get rid of the parachute,” said Lee. “Then,I really strapped the life raft to my body. At Goose, we rehearsedthe ditching procedure numerous times. I felt I could belly-landthe Mustang and rapidly get out of the cockpit. The King Air hada large raft that could be dropped to me if necessary.”

Departing Goose, next stop would be Narsarsuaq,Greenland, some 674-nm distant with a projected flying time of3-hrs 15-min. On this leg, the team ran into weather, but foundclear air between two layers before descending through a brokenlayer for landing.

The tower personnel at Narsarsuaq really perked up on theMustang’s arrival. They told Lee they had hangar space availablebut said that if he would do a really low pass, then they wouldtrade him for the space. Lee was happyto oblige. “I did the standard overheadbreak with the King Air and then

made a very low pass for the tower. I must say, this was some ofthe most hostile landscape I had ever seen. You were flyingbetween giant icebergs and towering mountains. If somethingwent wrong, I would have headed for the water. They neverwould have found you in that terrain.”

Narsarsuaq has a population of just 150 people but duringWWII it was an extremely important base for the NorthAtlantic Ferry Route. Named Bluie West One, it is estimatedthat over 10,000 aircraft used the field on the way or comingback from Europe. One of Dan Friedkin’s goals was to highlightsuch facts, which, unfortunately, are mainly forgotten today. Italso gave the team time to reflect on what it must have been likefor those young kids crossing with the most minimal of naviga-tion equipment.

On 2 July, the team set off for another historic stopping spot— Keflavik, Iceland. This time the distance was 650-nm overwater and the two planes climbed through a cloud layer andmade the flight without seeing the Atlantic.

At this point, they were running slightly ahead of scheduleso the decision was made to take the remainder of the day formaintenance and try to get some rest before the final leg. TheKing Air also got a close look over. The aircraft had notmissed a beat. “We had really loaded that bird up,” said Lee.“Little John had packed in the spares — mags, boost pump,coolant pump, spark plugs, tail and main tires, coolant, oil, fil-ters, tools.”

The next morning, 3 July, the team destination was Wick,Scotland, but they had to divert around rain showers and snowstorms on departure. This might have been an omen for whatwas to come.

Wick was achieved without problem and it was time forsome rest before the final push to Duxford — but not before

examining the surviving WWII hangars and buildings on thefield. “We all feel this incredible connection to WWII, to theAmerican men and women who served so proudly, and I thinksome of us could feel the ghosts as we walked through thosedark buildings.”

The big day: 4 July. Air Traffic Control gave the team a thor-ough weather briefing, stating conditions at Wick and Duxfordwere good. However, in-between — not so good. They saidthere was about 100-mi of weather but it should be favorable.

“As I strapped into the Mustang, I was thinking to myselfthat the trip had not been too bad — in fact, it had been prettyeasy. Then I reminded myself, it is not over until it is over.”

The team had an unexpected 45-min delay due to aninbound helicopter emergency, but then the Merlin and theP&Ws powered up and away they went in close formation.Climbing to 12,000-ft, they were flying between layers of cloud— and then the layers started getting thicker. Soon, the aircraftwere deep in cloud and, to Lee’s dismay, the Mustang started topick up ice. Mustangs do not like ice so the formation descendbelow the freezing level.

“Doing that, the weather got worse,” recalled Lee. At onepoint it got so bad that Lee said to himself that it couldn’t getworse. But then, of course, it did.

The formation was being pounded by turbulence and rainand began to get vectored through and around the weather. Thedeviations kept increasing.

“The weather was really claggingin so I knew it was time to unleashmy formation skills on the KingAir. I closed to 50-ft and itwasn’t too bad — the KingAir looked sort of ghostly,

Restored by Pacific Fighters in Idaho Falls, the P-51Bis one of the most accurate of all flying Mustangs.

(The Friedkin Group)

44 AIR CLASSICS//November

but not bad. Then, it started to disappear. I closed to 20-ft.Then it got worse. For a bit the only visual reference I had wasthe navigation light on the King Air’s wing tip and it was about6-ft away from the Mustang’s prop. My whole focus and worldbecame this bit of formation flying for the next 90-minutes.Over the radio, Louis Horschel would state ‘Coming right, 30-deg’ but, having no visual reference, I would have thought itwas left. My mind would not correctly compute so it was a very,very strange experience.”

At this point, they realized they hadreceived a really bad weather briefing thatappeared to have no basis on reality. If thetwo planes had to separate, Lee wouldhave been in a bad position. He wouldhave to try to navigate, fly instruments,and attempt to change frequencies. Hecould have done it, but it would not havebeen fun.

“Then BANG! — all of a sudden wewere in clear air a little north ofCambridge and here I was in the cockpitof a P-51B flying over these beautiful

English farm fields — just like you see inthe WWII photos. Off to the side, cloudstowered in the air — it was incredible,my heart took a jump. I just wanted to sitand watch.”

Well, they couldn’t do that — theyhad a schedule to keep. The flight hadtaken an hour longer than planned anddeviated over 100-mi.

But ahead, just after a couple of min-utes, was the historic Imperial WarMuseum airfield at Duxford. Lee let theKing Air move ahead to it could land

first, giving time for Justin to set up his cameras. Once thatwas done, Lee came in for a number of low passes and hecould see many spectators waving at the arriving Mustang.

After a smooth landing, Lee taxied the Mustang to its park-ing spot in front of the original WWII tower and shut down thefaithful Merlin. As people surrounded the P-51B, Lee slid backthe Malcolm Hood and raised a fist in triumph. OperationBerlin Express had just turned another page in the Mustang his-tory book. AC

Mission complete! Lee Lauderback, the Stallion 51 Team, and Dan Friedkin and PursuitAviation deserve a huge amount of credit for bringing a vital portion of WWII historyback to life. (Ben Rawlings)

Lee at the workplace. (Lee Lauderback)

With the weather going bad, Lee brings Berlin Express in tight onthe King Air. (The Friedkin Group)

THOSE THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE• Dan Friedkin: Project Visionary/Owner• Ed Shipley: Trip Coordinator• 920th Air Rescue Wing: Overwater Survival

Equipment/Training• Kevin St. Germain: King Air 350 Pilot• Kenny Patterson: King Air Copilot• Richard Lauderback: Maintenance Support• John Muszala II: Maintenance Support• Louis Horschel: Mustang Specific King Air Pilot/Safety• Justin Shipley: Photographer/Videographer• Pursuit Productions, Friedkin Group, Stallion 51: These three

organizations coordinated national and international socialmedia coverage and distribution •