Vol. 46, No. 4 Edition No. 278 , July 2021

A non-profit Corporation founded Sept. 29, 1977, incorporated Jan. 7,

1980, privately supported for the public good and dedicated to the preser-

vation of our aviation heritage.

Subscription Minimum, $20 per year.

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E-mail to: Warren.brown1924@gmail.com

Letters may be edited for brevity & clarity.

Ed. Internet Addr: warren.brown1924@gmail.com

THE STRANGE VOYAGE OF U-234 *

“HAPPY LANDINGS” Newsletter of the Florida Aviation (AeroSpace) Historical Society

278

U-234 surrendering crewmen to the U.S. Destroyer Sutton (DE-771) in foreground with Kapitanleutnant Johann-Heinrich Fehler seen on the left with the white hat on 14 May 1945, Since capture the sub was eventually not needed by the U.S. Navy and was sunk off Cape Cod as a torpedo target by the USSS Greenfish on 20 November 1947.

When U-234 slipped out of a Norwegian harbor in March 1945 des-

tined for Japan, it was loaded with some of the most technically ad-

vanced weaponry and electronic detection devises of the era, along with

a select group of officials and a crated Messerschmitt ME-262 jet. En-

route, word came that Germany had surrendered and the boat’s com-

mander suddenly found himself with a rogue submarine, a precious

assortment of cargo, and two Japanese navel officers still at war. Until

now, the legacy of U-234 has centered on her ominous cargo, including

560 kilograms of uranium oxide, the presence of which has been the

focus of countless theories and conjecture about the Nazi’s plan to build

an atom bomb in Japan as Germany was losing the war in Europe.

The submarine’s value lies not only in her inanimate cargo but in

the individuals accompanying the material to Japan. Among them

was a high ranking naval judge sent to Tokyo to purge the residual

elements from an infamous spy ring, an anti-aircraft and air defense

expert, a top naval construction engineer, a radar expert, a Messer-

schmitt designer who later became project manager for the F-105

Thunder chief, and a Luftwaffe general who directed the 1939 aerial

blitz of Poland and was implicated in Operation Valkyrie, the 1944

plot to assassinate Hitler. German submarine U-234 was a Type XB U-boat during WW II and

was commanded by Kapitanleutnant Johan Heinrich Fehler. His first

and only mission into enemy territory consisted of the attempted deliv-

ery of advanced weapons technology to the Empire of Japan. .

Originally built as a minelaying submarine, she was laid down in

Kiel on 1 April 1942; U-234 was damaged during construction, but was

launched on 22 December, 1943 destined to be a long-range cargo sub-

marine with missions to Japan in mind. It had a speed of 20 mph sur-

faced and 8 mph submerged. It had a range of 18,450 nautical miles and

had a crush depth of 720 feet. It carried 5 officers and 47 enlisted men

plus invited passengers.

The U-234 sailed from Kiel for Kristiansand in Norway on 25 March

1945, (VE Day was May 8th, 1945) accompanied by escort vessels and

three coastal U-boats, arriving in Horten Naval Base two days later. The

submersible spent the next eight days carrying out trials on her new

snorkel, during which she accidentally collided with a Type VIIC U-

boat performing similar trials. Damage was minor. She then proceeded

to Kristiansand, arriving about 5 April, 1945.

U-234 departed Kristiansand for Japan on 15 April 1945, running

submerged at snorkel depth for the first 16 days, and surfacing after that

only because her commander considered he was safe from attack on the

surface in the prevailing storms. From then on, she spent two hours

running on the surface by night, and the remainder of the time sub-

merged. The voyage proceeded without incident; the first sign that

CARRYING A SECRET CARGO OF 1,200 LBS OF URANIUM, BOUND FOR JAPAN, WHICH LATER

“DISAPPEARED”, THE TWO JAPANESE PASSENGERS WHO ON LEARNING THE U-BOAT WAS

GOING TO SURRENDER TOOK AN OVERDOSE OF BARBITURATES AND WERE BURIED AT SEA.

LATE BREAKING NEWS The FAHS Board of Directors met at The Collection on Palmetto, a

new modern museum of rare automobiles of the Brass Era, on Nov.

7th., 2020. Purpose: Finding a home for the Society’s 1/3 scale Be-

noist reproduction. (The Museum is located on Palmetto Street two

blocks directly east of the Clearwater AirPark.)

Laura Giner, program dir ector of the Museum later speaking

for it’s owner Marvin Feldman, wrote: The Benoist model looks

smashing in its new home, and the ceiling suspension (pending) display

will look even better (No doubt we will also supply historical infor-

mation boards describing the 1914 St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line,

the world’s first heavier-than-air scheduled airliner and forerunner of

today’s global airline systems. For further details on viewing dates

etc. contact Laura at 727 403 3086.

John Leenhouts, CEO of Sun ‘n Fun writes: (commenting on

the recent Sun ‘n Fun meeting in Lakeland, FL.) “I cannot thank

each of you enough for the incredible herculean effort you put forth as

a truly awesome team! Calm in a seas of chaos, professional under

pressure, you performed flawlessly and ensured that not only did our

guests leave the same way they got here, but had an extremely enjoya-

ble experience. The end result is that SNF21 is now in the record

books as the most successful in SUN ‘n FUN’s 47 year history. We

had more aircraft and campers on our field and for longer periods than

we have seen in more than two decades. Never have we done so much

with so few, a true testament to your tenacity in the face of adversity.

Please take great pride n your noble accomplishment. I am honored to

serve alongside each and every one of you.

Your membership renewal date

Appears on your Mailing Label..

FLORIDA AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY “It is not who is right, it is what is right.”

There are no paid employees in the FAHS. All services Rendered are performed by volunteers.

BECOME A VOLUNTEER

Published every odd-numbered months. “When the followers lead, the leaders will follow.”

The FAHS listens to its members

2 Curiosity—Interest—Insight—Action !

world affairs were overtaking the voyage was when the Kriegsmarine’s

Goliath transmitter stopped transmitting. The skipper did not know it, but

Germany’s naval HQ had fallen into Allied hands.

Then on 4 May, U-234 received a fragment of a broadcast from British

and American radio stations announcing that Admiral Donitz had become

Germany’s head of state following the death of Hitler. U-234 surfaced on

10 May for better radio reception and received Donitz’s last order to the

submarine force, ordering all U-boats to surface, hoist white flags and

surrender to Allied forces. Fehler suspected a trick and managed to con-

tact U-873, whose captain convinced him that the message was authentic.

Fehler consequently decided that he would surrender to U.S. forces,

but radioed on 12 May that he intended to sail to Halifax to surrender to

ensure Canadian units would not reach him first.. U-234 then set course

for Newport News, Virginia; during the passage Fehler took care to dis-

pose of his radar detector and all Enigma machine related documents and

other classified papers. On learning that the U-boat was to surrender, the

two Japanese passengers committed suicide by taking an overdose of

Luminal, a barbiturate sedative. They were buried at sea.

The difference between Fehler’s reported course to Halifax and his true

course was soon realized by US authorities who dispatched two destroyers

to intercept U-234. On 14 May 1945, she was encountered south of the

Grand Banks, Newfoundland by USS Sutton. Members of Sutton’s crew

took command of the U-boat and sailed her to the Portsmouth Naval Ship-

yard, where U-805, U-873, and U-1228 had already surrendered. News

of U-234’s surrender with her high-ranking German passengers made it a

major news event. Reporters swarmed over the Navy Yard and went to

sea in a small boat for a look at the submarine.

A classified US intelligence summary written on 19 May listed U-

234’s cargo as including drawings, arms, medical supplies, instruments,

lead, mercury, caffeine, steels, optical glass and brass. That the ship car-

ried 1,200 pounds s of uranium oxide remained classified for the duration

of the Cold War Historian Joseph M. Scalia claimed to have found a for-

merly secret cable at Portsmouth Navy Yard which stated that the uranium

oxide had been stored in gold-lined cylinders rather than cubes as previ-

ously reported. The exact characteristics of the uranium remain unknown;

It was speculated that rather than being weapons-grade material it was

instead intended to use as a catalyst in the production of synthetic metha-

nol for aviation fuel. However, after the war it was learned that the Japa-

nese had cyclotrons and were working on the atomic bomb.

The 1,200 pounds of uranium disappeared. It was most likely trans-

ferred to the Manhattan Project’s Oak Ridge diffusion plant. The uranium

oxide would have yielded about 8 lbs of Uranium after processing.

The U-234 was sunk off Cape Cod as a torpedo target by USS

Greenfish on 20 November 1947, one of 1,100 U-boats sunk, captured or

scuttled.

***********************************************************

Germany planned bombing New York City in WW I !! After Ger-

man’s defeat in WW I, a commission was set up to inventory German aircraft. In

Sept. 1919, the group arrived at a field near the city of Poll. On entering a huge hangar they were amazed to find the remains of a gigantic triplane. The center

wing was the longest of the three at 165 ft. The upper and lower wings were 102

feet. The fuselage was 150 ft. long and 9 ft. across. The cockpit was completely enclosed and was to be powered with 10 Maybach engines of 300 hp each., 5 push-

ers and 5 tractors mounted behind each other. Plans were to load the plane with

8000 lbs. of bombs, fly the Atlantic and bomb N.Y. City. The plane would drop its wheels after takeoff to reduce drag and then would either crash land or be ditched.

Last gasp of the U-234, 20 November 1947. Torpedoes from the USS Greenfish (SS-351) explode amidships, sending U-234 to the bottom off Provincetown, Massachusetts.

WAS THIS A PRECURSOR TO BELOW……?

On Aug. 27, 1943 a German Luftwaffe long-range photo bomber, a Junkers JU

-390 took off from its base in Norway and flew across the Atlantic. The Ju-390 was twice the size (?) of the B-29 Super fortress. It was powered by six 1,500 hp

BMW radial engines and it had a range of 18,000 miles without refueling.

Nine hours later, the Junkers was over Canada and swinging south at 22,000 ft. In the next few hours it would photograph the heavy industrial plants in the U.S.

By noon on Aug. 28 it was over New York City where it was spotted by U.S.

planes but by then it was too late. The Junkers disappeared into the vastness of the Atlantic and 14 hours later it landed safely just outside of Paris, France. Can

anyone verify? (and below?) **********************

GERMANS PLANNED A-BOMBING NEW YORK CITY WITH HORTON BOMBER IN 1946.

According to a National Geographic documentary, the Nazis were planning to

A-bomb New York City using an enlarged version of the Horton delta-wing Ho

229 stealth jet bomber. The Germans were presumed to be getting close to perfecting their nuclear

bomb and if the cessation of hostilities hadn't upset their plans, New York may

have followed Hiroshima and Nagasaki as an atomic target. An advanced intercontinental larger design, the Ho-18a called the “Amerika

Bomber” was scheduled for completion in early 1946. It had a 131’ wingspan,

traveled at 559 mph and had 6 jet engines. Northrop-Grumman engineers completed a full-size reproduction of the Horton

229 in 2008 which was on display at the San Diego Air Museum.

kmo

3

NAZI’S ABILITY TO A-BOMB NEW YORK IN 1945 The German nuclear weapons program, known as the “Uranium

Club” or “Uranverein” was an unsuccessful scientific effort led by Ger-

many to research and develop atomic weapons during WW II. It went

through several phases of work, but was ultimately “frozen at the labora-

tory level” in it’s goal to “build a nuclear reactor which could sustain a

nuclear fission chain reaction for a significant amount of time and to

achieve the complete separation of at least tiny amounts of the uranium

isotopes.” Consensus is that it failed to achieve these goals.

The first effort started in April 1939, just months after the discovery

of nuclear fission in December 1938 by Otto,Hahn & his assistant Fritz

Strassmann. German chemists (normally uranium is chemically active &

becomes radio-active when a number of neutrons are displaced in the

nuclei, U-238 to U-235) who discovered Barium after bombarding urani-

um with neutrons, but ended only months later shortly ahead of the Ger-

man invasion of Poland, when many notable physicists were drafted into

the Wehrmacht (Army).

A second effort began under the administrative purview of the

Wehrmacht’s Heereswaffenanmt on 1 September 1939 the day of the

invasion of Poland. The program eventually expanded into three main

efforts: the nuclear reactor, uranium and heavy water production, and

uranium isotope separation. Eventually it was assessed that nuclear fis-

sion would not contribute to ending the war, and in January 1942 the

Heereswaffenant turned the program over to the Reich Research Council

while continuing to fund the program Subsequently, the number of

scientists working on applied nuclear fission began to diminish, with

many applying their talents to more pressing war-time demands.

Politicization of the German academia under the Nazi regime had

driven many physicists out of Germany as early as 1933. including Al-

bert Einstein, Enrico Fermi (Italian with a Jewish wife, & developer

of the A-bomb), Robert Oppenheimer (an American studying in Ger-

many & later head Los Alamos), and Edward Teller (Hungarian-

American, who later developed the H-bomb). The politicization of the

universities along with the demands for manpower by the armed forces

substantially reduced the number of able German physicists. Werner Heisenberg of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics said in 1939 that the physicists stated that in principle atomic bombs could be made...it

would take years…perhaps five. He said, “I didn’t report it to the Fuhrer until

two weeks later and very casually because I did not want the Fuhrer to get so interested that he would order great efforts to make the atomic bomb.” Albert

Speer, finance director, felt it was better that the whole thing should be dropped.

He said they presented the matter in this way for their personal safety as the prob-ability of success was nearly zero, for if many thousands of people developed

nothing, that would have “extremely disagreeable consequences for us. So we

turned the slogan around to make use of warfare for physics and not make use of physics for warfare. Erhard Milch asked how long America would take to pro-

duce the bomb and was told 1944, though the group between ourselves

thought it would take longer, three or four years. (Milch was correct). When it was apparent that the nuclear weapon project would not make a decisive contri-

bution to ending the war in the near term, control of the problem was returned in

January 1942 to its umbrella organization the Kaiser Wilhelm Society. The nucle-ar weapons project thereafter maintained its war importance and funding contin-

ued from the military, but it was then split into the area of uranium and heavy

water production, uranium isotope separation, and an uranium reactor.

The year 1942 when the army relinquished control of the project

was its zenith in terms of the number of personnel devoted to the

effort and this was no more than about seventy scientists, with about

forty devoting more than half their time to nuclear fission research.

After this, the number diminished dramatically, and many of those not

working with the main institutes stopped working on nuclear fission and

devotes their effort to more pressing war related work. Albert Speer stated that the project to develop the atom bomb was scut-

tled in the autumn of 1942. Though the scientific solution was there, it

would have taken all of Germany's production resources to produce a

bomb and then no sooner than 1947. Development did continue with a

“uranium motor” for the navy and development of a German cyclotron.

However, by the summer of 1943, Speer released the remaining 1200

tons of uranium for the production of solid-core ammunition. The missing generation of physicists….Politicization of the academic com-

munity, combined with the impact of the drafting of physicists to fight in the war, had the net effect of bringing about a missing generation of physicists. At the

close of the war, physicists born between 1915 and 1925 were almost nonexistent.

It was not until 1944 that the army was able to recall 5000 scientists from the front

to work on research. By war’s end the number recalled reached 15,000.

GERMANY COMPARED TO THE

MANHATTEN PROJECT The U.S., British , and Canadian

governments worked together to

create the Manhattan Project that

developed the uranium and plutoni-

um atomic bombs. Its success has

been attributed to meeting all four

of the following conditions: 1. A strong initial drive, by a small group of scientists to launch the project. 2. Unconditional gov-ernment support from a certain point in time (Oct. 9, 1941). 3. Essentially unlimited manpower and industrial resources. 4. A concentration of brilliant scien-tists devoted to the project. Even with all four of these condi-

tions in place the Manhattan Project

succeeded only after the war in

Europe had been brought to a con-

clusion. (VE Day, May 8th,1945)

For the Manhattan Project, the second condition was met on Oct. 9,

1941. Germany for a long time was thought to have fallen short of

what was required to make an atomic bomb. Mutual distrust existed

between the German government and some scientists. By the end of

1941 it was already apparent that the German nuclear weapons project

would not make a decisive contribution to ending the German war ef-

fort in the near term and control of the project was relinquished by the

Army Ordnance Office to the Reich Research Council in July 1942.

As to condition four, the high priority allocated to the Manhattan

Project allowed for the recruitment and concentration of capable scien-

tists on the project. In Germany a great many young scientists and tech-

nicians who would have been of great use to such a projects were con-

scripted into the German armed forces, while others had fled the coun-

try before the war due to antisemitism and political persecution.

Whereas Enrico Fermi, a scientific Manhattan leader, had a unique

double aptitude for theoretical and experimental work” in the 20th

century, the successes at Germany ’s Leipzig lab until 1942 resulted

from the cooperation between the theoretical physicist Werner Heisen-

berg and the experimentalist Robert Dope In June 1942, some six

months before the American Chicago Pile-1 achieved man-made criti-

cality for the first time anywhere, Dopel’s “UranMaschine” was de-

stroyed by a chemical explosion introduced by oxygen which finished

the work on this topic at Leipzig. Thereafter, despite increased expend-

itures the Berlin groups and their extern branches didn’t succeed in

getting a reactor critical until the end of WW II. However, this was

realized by the Fermi group in Dec. 1942, so the German advantage was

definitively lost, even with respect to research on energy production. Compared with the British and American war research efforts united in the Manhattan Project, was the prime example of “big science,” the German Uranverein was only a loosely knit, decentral-ized network of researchers with quite different research agendas. Rather than teamwork as on the American end, on the German side we find cut-throat competition, personal rivalries, and in-fighting over the limited resources.

In terms of financial and human resources, the comparisons between

the Manhattan Project and the Uranverein are stark. The Manhattan

Project consumed some US$2 billion (1945) in government funds and

employed at its peak some 120,000 people, mostly in the sectors of

construction and operations. Totally, the Manhattan Project involved

the labor of some 500,000 people, nearly 1% of the entire US civilian

labor force. By comparison, the Uranverein was budgeted a mere 8

million Reich marks, equivalent to about US$2 million (1945) —a fac-

tor of 1,000 less.

Germany had the brains and the money but it expended it in

attempting to maintain its borders in a war that it should not have

started. It’s early attempts to warn the West of its potency by

sending planes over the Atlantic as a scare tactic had failed.

Enrico Fermi, 1901-1954, crea-tor of the “Chicago Pile 1”first

nuclear reactor in 1942.

4 CLASSIFIED

************************************* The FAHS encourages you t use this column to advertise. There

is no charge to Society members

EARHART, The Truth at Last, 2nd Edition, by FAHS’ Mike Campbell. The

long held secrets exposed. A must read. 370 pages filled with top-secret information.

Contact www.sunburypress.com, or amagon.com, price, $19.95. AVON PARK Air Force veterans...Kathy Couturier is wr iting a book on the

history of the Avon Park AF Range in Florida, and she would like to interview you.

Her phone: 863 452 4288, email: kathy.couturier.ctr@us.af.mil Several original, limited prints by famed ar tists (Taylor , Trudigan, etc.) Me109,

The Battle of Britain, framed, signed, $300, negotiable. Paul Leaser, 1829 Foxboro Ct.,

Oldsmar, FL. 34670, phone: 727 781 6569. “Letters From the Cockpit,” by FAHS’ Neil Cosentino. 110 pages of sheer

delight (?) from Vietnam to the Bahamas, interesting tidbits of a man who’s experi-

enced the life you wished you had spent. Contact Neil for details, 813 784 4669. “ON GOD’S WINGS,” A daughter ’s inspirational story of her Dad and his mir -

acle, by Teri Louden, $24.95, call 619 894 8374.

Bill Dyer Jr., would like to purchase Book 3 of “CLOUD COUNTRY by Jimmie Mattern. It was written about 1936. Bill Dyer, Jr., 1607 Cambridge Dr., Kin-

ston, NC 28504.

FROM CROP DUSTER TO AIRLINE CAPTAIN, The biography of FAHS’ and the Florida Aviation Hall of Fame’s Capt. LeRoy Brown assisted by FAHS member Dr.

Leo F. Murphy. Hard cover, 218 pages, ISBN 10-1-60452-076-0, price $34. Order on

line at www.bluewaterpress.com/captain.com or autographed by Capt. Brown at P.O. Box 144, Zellwood FL., 32798.

LAND OF THE MORNING CALM...A story of a war that could have

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unlikely love affair. $13.95, email varnerjr@verizon.net

NEW BOOK “The Making of St. Petersburg, Florida,” by Will Michaels. In-cludes Chapters on the First Airline, Babe Ruth in St. Pete, The Pier, and many more.

For a signed copy contact wmichaels2@tampabay.rr.com $25 (includes post)).

THE TRUE STORY OF CATCH 22, by Patr icia Meder , daughter of the final commander of the 340th Bomb Group, fictional setting of Joseph Heller’s book, Catch

22. Any resemblance to persons living or dead in Meder’s book is in fact actual. . 240 pages, available from Amazon.

“375 YEARS OF THE AMERICAN CITIZEN SOLDIER“....published by FAHS’

Britt Borchiardy. The story of America’s militia, the “National Guard.“ 178 pages. Contact Smyrna Media Group, P.O. Box 1061, Clearwater, FL. 33757, This is a must

for history buffs— book available FREE on the internet by downloading: http://

www.SmyrnaMediaGroup.com/#links FORT WAYNE AVIATION, Baer Field & Beyond,” by FAHS’ Roger Myers,

130 photos. Price $24 includes P & H. Phone: 260 747 4775; E-mail ROGER-

FORTWAYNE@2AOL.COM. Roger is a former WW II bombardier. “BEFORE THEY WERE THE BLACK SHEEP” By Carl Dunbar ,

Univ. Press of Florida, ISBN 978-0-8130-3725-7, 305 pgs., hardback, $32., “”A must

read for young Navy officers as they enter aviation training.” “TONY, AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE,” By FAHS member Patr ick Lem-

mon. The story of Tony Jannus as it should have happened. The book uses historical

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Pierce, FL. 34982 or email: fiction ub@bellsouth.net.

“COME UP AND GET ME,” FAHS’ own Col. Joe Kittinger’s new book, available from Amazon.com for about $25. For details: hisfits@earthlink.net.

ANGEL ON MY WING by FAHS’s Lt.Col. Richard B. Lewis—memoirs of

missions during 8th AF, 493rd BG,. 862nd BS during WWII (35 missions). Newly re-published—6 x 9, 122 pages, color, personally signed, $14.95 + shipping. Email:

aomwing@aol.com, www.angelonmywing.com, check to 9211 Spyglass Court, Jack-

sonville, FL. 32256, Also Ebay. JACKIE COCHRAN, soft cover now available, $24.95 by Dor is Rich. 288

pages, ISBN 978-0-8130-3506-2. Jackie is a member of the Florida. Aviation Hall of

Fame. Orders 800 226 3822 or www.UPF.com “Hagler Field, A History of Pensacola’s Airport,” A new book by FAHS’ Leo F.

Murphy. Full color soft book chronicles the history of military & civilian landplane

operations in Pensacola.. Available at $29.95 (no shipping charge to FAHS members) or by writing Leo at P. O. Box 7176, Daytona Beach, FL. 32116; email: leomur-

phy18@gmail.com or phone 850 341 6400..

HEDGEHOPPING AVIATION, A Book For Pilots By a Pilot...by FAHS’ Clyde E. Roach, ISBN: 978-1-4389-6137-8, also “Confessions of an Airline Pilot” 37 years

with Eastern Airlines….contact: ceroach1921@gmail.com

- “THE GOLDEN AGE OF FLYING”, Frontier Air Lines 1946-1986, by Capt. Tex Searle. E-mail: texsearle@msn.com, available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

and former PAA Captain David McLay, P.O. Box 7170 Safety Harbor, FL., 34695..

EXTRAORDINARY PLANES, EXTRAORDINARY PIOTS...softbound, 128 pages depicting unique flight test aircraft and flight test techniques. Descriptions &

photos of the aircraft and tests and some of the test pilots. Fundraiser for the charitable

arm of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. Order by phone: 301 769-4881, email skyrydrs2@earthlink.net. Price not given.

‘BORN TO FLY”... by Capt. Pete Vandersluis. Soft cover 314 pgs. With over 50

photos. Book covers pilot from a high school drop-out to 757 Eastern Captain who worked 6 airlines and was involved in 4 hijackings. Includes experience as an air

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Send $25 to Captain Pete Vandersluis, 1791 Earhart Court, Daytona Beach, FL 32128, email: www.authorstobelievein.com FIRST FLIGHT SOCIETY in Kitty Hawk, NC

is looking for new members. You will receive 4 newsletters covering society events plus

other interesting articles. Send check $35 to FFS, PO Box 1903, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949. “SEA DART,” by FAHS member B.J . Long, the story of the exper imental

supersonic seaplane interceptor. 73 pages soft cover. ISBN 0-942612-23-X. Details:

Steve Ginter, 1754 Warfield Cir., Simi Valley, CA 93063. ‘MY LIFE IN THE SKY,” by FAHS’ Capt. Ed. Mitchell. His story of

flying in the first B-29 raid over Japan since the Doolittle raid, through his experiences

flying for Seaboard World Airlines. To order, send check for $18.00 (postage included) to Ed Mitchell, 742 Arbordale Court, Englewood, FL., 34223.

“FLORIDA’S AVIATION HISTORY,” 2nd edition. 350 pages,

includes databank chronology, by FAHS News Editor, Warren Brown. $15, to P.O. Box 127, Indian Rocks, FL., 33785.

“IT’S BEST TO BE LUCKY,” the combat exper iences of FAHS member

Curtis C. Truver in Korea flying F-80s and F-86s and in Vietnam flying the F4Cs. Send $10.50 to the author at 4152 Prima Vista Circle, Jacksonville, Fl., 32217.

FORD In The Service of America, ISBN 978-0-7864-4485-4, soft cover, 70 photos. $40, including postage & taxes. Relates the entire story of Ford’s

contribution to winning both WW I and WW II. Tim O’Callaghan, P.O. Box 512,

Northville, MI 48167. Web page: www.fordatwar.com THE BLIMP GOES TO WAR,” 90 minute VHS video documentary produced

by FAHS member, Richard G. Van Treuren. $35, to Atlantis Productions, P.O. Box

700, Edgewater, FL. 32132. “AMERICAN AIRSHIP BASES AND FACILITIES,” a book by James R.

Shock. Write: Atlantis Productions, P.O. Box 700, Edgewater, FL. 32132, $35.

PAN AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAYS relics, insignias, timetables, posters, flight manuals, postcards, labels, photos. Trades available. Contact FAHS

member and former PAA Captain David McLay, P.O. Box 170 Safety Harbor, FL.,

34695.. HISTORIC FLIGHTS...quality photos of Space Shuttle launches and landings

and close-up static pad photos by FAHS’ “Man at the Cape,” John Salisbury. Write

John at 461 Vihlen Rd., Sanford, FL., 32771 or phone 407 322 1085. “ THE B-26 MARAUDER HISTORICAL SOCIETY, To insure This Air-

craft’s Rightful Recognition . $45/Yr. or $80/2Yrs...Send to MHS HDQTRS 3900 E.

Timrod St., Tucson, AZ 85711-4170. E-Mail Admin@b-26MHS.org VALIENT AIR COMMAND. Preserving history for the future .

Membership available, donations welcome. Warbird Museum open, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

daily. Contact Lloyd Morris, 407 268 1941 or write 6600 Tico Rd., Titusville, FL., 32780.

THE FLORIDA AIR MUSEUM AT SUN’N FUN is looking for members and

volunteers to help maintain Florida’s official “Air Museum.” To become a member, send $35 to P.O. Box 7670, Lakeland, FL. 33807-7670; phone 863 648 9264. The

Museum is located on Lakeland’s Airport. This is the cousin-organization of the

FAHS, since we both have a joint-relationship with the Florida Aviation Hall of Fame and Florida aviation archives, both located in the Museum.

“AVIATION IN FLORIDA,” by FAHS member Keven M. McCarthy. 174

pages, hardback, $18.95 plus postage. ISBN 1-56164-281-9. Write Pineapple Press, P.O. Box 3889, Sarasota, FL., 34230.

“FLYING MACHINES OVER PENSACOLA,” by FAHS’ retired USN CDR,

Dr. Details the early history of Naval Aviation in Pensacola to 1929. ISBN 0-9743487-0-8. Price $19.95 + free shipping.. Priority mail, $4. Write, P.O.

Box 7176, Daytona Beach, FL. 32116; Phone: 850 341 6400; email: leomur-

phy18@gmail.com Like WW I flying? Try FAHS Editor ’s ChildY ank Over the Rainbow, 1918,

the true story of American pilot Col. Joe Boudwin, 5 victories, flying over the US

42nd Rainbow Division in 1918. Price: $15, postage included, P.O. Box 127, Indian Rocks Beach, FL., 33785.

“The History of Alaska Airlines, The First Eleven Years 1932-1943,” by Kathy

Mills Rozzini. Contact Kathy at 206 713 4283.. “Echoes From Vietnam” by Christopher Adams, is a factual different account

by the disposable airborne soldiers who served in Vietnam. Their stories are raw and

real, the horrors of the War are revealed in an unembellished prose that will enable the reader to understand the reality of these disposable soldiers and the hell they sur-

vived...or didn’t. ISBN 9781950075140 (Available through the FAHS).

LOGBOOK, Great Aviation History...4 quar ter ly issues covering the entire panorama of aviation history...Subscription rate:$20 — 4 issues.

Write: LOGBOOK, P.O. Box 31, Pensacola, FL. 32591-9963, Phone: 850 285 0126;www.logbookmag.com

NEW MEMBERS* & RENEWALS

Joe Rubin St. Pete, FL Doug Prior Spring Hill, FL Bill Barnes. Clearwater, FL. Lynn McDaniel Tampa, FL. Warren Brown, Largo, FL. Ray Morrissette, Gainesville, Barb Hoffman, Tarpon S.FL Dan Harrison, Englewood, FL. Richard Ortega, Winter Park, FL.

GONE WEST Bill Hanna

GIFTS TO THE SOCIETY BENEFACTOR SOCIETY MEMBERS FOR 2018 (donations

of $100+) Joseph Baron, Clearwater, FL. F. Fred Mulholland, Tampa, FL.

FLYING SAUCERS IN ST. PETERSBURG? At St. Petersburg in 1934,

an experiment with a new type airplane was underway. Today, it might be most easily

described as the first “flying saucer” far ante-dating the Navy’s World War II “Pancake”

which has given rise to a new form of “sea serpent myth(?).

In the fall of 1933, a new design of low aspect ratio tail-less aircraft made its first appear-

ance at the Chicago Air Races. It really looked like a “flying dish” or saucer and made several surprising flights in the calm between sunset and dark, startling the aviation world

of 1933.

In January 1934, the plane was taken to Washington for evaluation by the Aeronautics

Branch of the U.S. Depart. Of Commerce. A second and improved model known as “ARUP

II was started by F. A. Ruggles and Ralph R. Greichen. This model was flown in July 1934

quite successfully but four days later it was destroyed on the grounds in a hangar fire.

The scene of the experiments then shifts to St. Petersburg. Here on the Albert Whitted airport “ARUP III” was made and flown. Matt Pelling, who came to Florida from Canada,

was active in the project

“ARUP III” featured a fast rate of climb and rapid descent with quick take-off and short

landing roll. It flew many hours and finally came to grief when it stalled out on a landing

coming to rest in a street beside the airport in St. Petersburg.

Boastful Floridians can, with a smile, truthfully say, that a “flying saucer” was actually

built and flown successfully in Florida as early as 1934……

************************************************************************* SEND A SUBSCIPTION TO FAHS TO A FRIEND FOR ONLY $10

5

St. Petersburg, Fl. December 2020...The stainless steel full-size reproduc-

tion of the World’s First Airliner is seen being raised on the approaches to

the St. Petersburg Pier at the “Jannus Plaza” pending the dedication on

Feb. 6th, 2021. The Pier approach honors Tom Benoist the original builder

and Tony Jannus the pilot, who on Jan. 1, 1914, flew the

St. Petersburg-Tampa airliner across Tampa Bay.

***************************************************

QUEST FOR THE PERFECT CLOCK Einstein, “The only reason for time is so everything doesn’t happen at once.”

Speed and gravity slow time down. The fastest man has gone is

25,000 mph in the Apollo program. Y ou can go into the future but you

cannot come back. If you go into the past and change things you will

be knocked into a parallel universe.

Time runs 20% faster when you are older because your temperature

is 1/2 degree lower.

Longtitude was deter mined by clock and an almanac (in the

1700s—”Bowditch Tables) taken of the stars over Greenwich at a cer-

tain time. By taking the angle off the stars and comparing It to the

almanac of the position of the stars over Greenwich one could deter-

mine longitude. You need an accurate clock and Mr. John Harrison

after spending 4 years developed the chronometer. In WW II, 3,000 people working in the Hamilton Watch Company in

Lancaster, PA., made 11,000 chronometers over 3 years. With a sextant you can get your position within 3,000 feet. With GPS you

can locate yourself within 30 feet.

The Naval Observatory in Washington D.C. is accurate to 1/billionth of a second….50 clocks with the same temperature, humidity are connected and the

average is what is given.

Atomic time— NASA, laser beams off the moon set up with Apollo 11. Also have 24 satellites with atomic clocks….NASA gets a signal from them and

they are able to give an accuracy of 30 feet.

The Earth is slowing down 1/1000/second each day. In one year that amounts to 365/1000, or every 2.74 years = 1 second; every 164 years = one

month; every 986 years=1 hr. every 23,671 years = 1 day every 8,639,915= 1

year. A fellow by the name of Bob Levine began clocking people and found that

the slowest walkers among 36 cities are in Fresno, CA and the fastest walkers

are in New York City. 90% of the people in N.Y. City wear watches whereas the least punctual city is Atlanta, GA. where only 55% of the people wear

watches. He found the fastest talkers are in Columbus, Ohio and the slowest in

Detroit. All in all the fastest cites were found on the east coast, namely, Boston, Buffalo and N.Y. The slowest city was Los Angeles. The slowest movers of 32

countries was Mexico and USA finished in the middle, #16

Now how does the body clock work. In an experiment a 60 year old man was put in a closed room for 4 days to measure the accuracy of his body clock.

At periodic times he would tell the investigator what time he thought it was and

what his body rectal temperature was. The findings were startling. #1. The internal body clock was off regular clock time by 1/3, i.e., 24 hours was thought

to be 16 hours. #2 When the body is hot one hour according to the body clock

less than one hour. i.e., perception of time is slow; with cooler temperatures one hour clock time seems to be 1 hour and 15 minutes body time., i.e., the percep-

tion of time is that time is fast and literally flies. #3 With age the body tempera-

ture drops about one half degree from early adulthood to the age 60 That is why younger people perceive time to run slow and with older people time flies.

WHO WAS PILOT-MECHANIC SAMUEL E. TICKELL ?

Bartow, FL. May

31, 2021...A phone call

to the FAHS by Lloyd

Harris, aviation enthusi-

ast who learned from

reading history that a

fellow by the name of

Samuel E. Tickell was

the first man to fly in

Bartow, Florida in 1911.

Harris delved into

neighbors seeking any

details on this “thrill-

seeker” but came up

with a ZERO.

Apparently he was a

New Yorker working

for an out-of-town franchise. Anyone with information on this individual

should contact the FAHS for further clarification.

***************************************************************

NASA PROBE HEADS HOME WITH ASTEROID SAMPLE...After spending

two years studying a space rock the size of the Empire State Building,

NASA’s OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft has begun its long 200,000 million mile jour-

ney home. The probe’s belly holds more than a pound of grit grabbed from

the asteroid Bennu. The asteroid is about the same age as the solar system, so

the pristine rock samples could add to our understanding of how planets form.

OSIRIS collected the grit by getting up close to Bennu, extending an 11-foot

robotic arm fitted with a collection filter, and then shooting a burst of nitrogen

gas to kick up rocks into the filter. The craft will reach Earth in September

2023 and if all goes well will land in Utah’s Great Salt Lake Desert.

Sam Tickell

FAHS LEADERSHIP TEAM, 2021

*********************

President:……………………………………….Mary Fletcher

Vice President……………………………….…..Ron Streicher

Treasurer…………………………………...Barbara Strachan

Secretary…………………………………….…vacant

Editors..…Dr. Warren Brown.

DIRECTORS Capt. Bill Barnes, 727 938 9690 billbarnes04007@yahoo.com (Benoist Models & Photographer, Retired Airline Captain) Dr. Warren Brown, 727 595 2773 warren.brown1924@gmail.com (Historian, News Editor, F, PP, (Retired Flight surgeon) Bill Buston, 727 409 5426 Mary Fletcher, 727 781 5949, mfletch3@tampabay.rr.com Brochure/Graphics Design, Laison, “99ers”) Terri Griner, 727 409 6474, tgriner@tampabay.rr.com FAHOF Chairman. Joe Rubin, 727 821 7260, w4cbJ@arrl.net. Aviation Research. Ron Streicher, 727 445 9756 a51mustang@aol.com (EAA Chapter 282 Liaison, Young Eagles) Barbara Strachan, sbarscan@gmail.com; 12501 Ulmerton Rd., Lot 241, Largo, FL. 33774, 727 424 9011 Lewis D. Wilgus mglw20@msn.com Research David McLay, P.O Box 170 Safety Harbor, FL. 34695, 727 488 7406, Airline advisor, ex– PAA Capt.

ADVISERS TO THE BOARD J. Paul Finley, 727 391 5908.….....F, PP, President Emeritus Neil Cosentino……….Aerospace Consultant, 813 784 444669, neil.cosentino@icloud.com Nicole Stott…….NASA Astronaut-Mission Specialist

MEMBERS OF THE THULE, GREENLAND CLUB

(Qualifications for membership: Having set foot in Thule.)

Hi Price, Bradenton, FL. C.P. 931st Sqd. L-20, C-47, C-54 (1964-65)* Warren Brown, Largo, FL. (Operation BlueJay, 1951).

Walt Houghton , Melbourne, Florida (1960). *

Charley Liller, Riveriew, FL. (1957).* (* Gone West) Bess (Balchen) Urbahn, Maine (1952).

Cdr.Leo Murphy, Gulf Breeze, F. (1981 ?)

Bob Gates, Ft. Walton, FL. (1956) Bob Koch, Bellaire, FL., (1951-52), VP-23 Navy*

Borchik, Jr. Albert S., Shalimar , FL., (1953-54), Thule, Ice Island.* Bornhoeft, Jack H., Mt. Prospect, IL (1945-1951)

Svoboda, Chick, Clearwater , FL (1960?) ***************************************************************************

An older man wearing a stovepipe hat, a waistcoat and a phony beard sat down at a bar and ordered a drink. As the bar-tender set it down, he asked, “Going to a party?” “Yeah, the man answered, “I’m supposed to come as my love life.” “But you look like Abe Lincoln,” protested the barkeeper. . That's right, my last four scores were seven years ago.” ************************************************************************* A DC-10 had an exceedingly long landing roll after landing with his approach speed just a little too high….San Jose Tow-er: “American 751 Heavy, turn right at the end if able. If not able, take the Guadalupe exit off Highway 101 back to the airport. ************************************************************************** VISIT THE 1/3 SCALE FLYING 1914 BENOIST AIRBOAT REPLICA

Now on exhibit at the “Collection on Palmetto” auto museum located at

2116 Palmetto Street, Clearwater, FL. (Drive to the Clearwater Air Park

which borders Palmetto St. and drive east 3 blocks on Palmetto.) The

museum is open by calling Stacy Rogers at 985 966 5435, Director of

Special Events. The display is breathtaking.

6

.

OVER 100 SECRET BUNKERS PROTECT THE NATION Underground facilities will run the country in the event of

Attack. The U.S. government has elaborate plans to maintain its security

should a doomsday attack ever occur. Less comforting, however: those

plans don’t include protecting

ordinary citizens.

That’s the sobering message in

circulation. However, it makes a

lot of sense that the federal gov-

ernment would suspend ordinary

priorities in favor of evacuating

key decision makers—the presi-

dent, Congress, and others.

It is uncommon knowledge that

there are over 100 bunkers, bomb

shelters, and relocation facilities in

and around the D.C. area.

The Raven Rock Mountain

Complex, an underground facility

near Camp David, has been called

a “Second Pentagon.” Like Vir-

ginia's Mount Weather and Colora-

do’s Cheyenne Mountain, Raven

Rock is a redoubt for military and

civilian officials in the case of a real attack.

This reached a zenith at the height of the Cold War, when the United

States and the Soviet Union had over 60,000 nuclear warheads between

them. Those stockpiles have since dropped by about 80%.. But, in some

ways, the world today feels as dangerous as ever.

There are a lot more global adversaries today than we have faced in a

long time, and they have a lot more tools at their disposal to attack the

homeland, both kinetic and cyber. The world is simply a more complicat-

ed, complex place today and that is the fundamental challenge. In today’s

world. (Suggested reading: Garrett M. Graff’s book “Ravenrock,”

**************************************************************************************************

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE “ECOBLIMP?”

On May 1, 1996, a small blimp about half the size of the Goodyear

blimps, broke loose from its mooring mast at St. Petersburg's Whitted

Airport at 2 am. It floated over the city, then smacked into the 10-story

Coronet Apartments...with a massive gash in its side it fell to the street

below.

The blimp belonged to Brad Weigle, marine biologist of “Interface

Airships.” It was built by a now bankrupt company in Memphis and ac-

quired by Weigle in 1992. It was a prototype that had never flown. After

forming his company and selling stock Bran hired a pilot who had flown

Sea World’s Shamu and got the blimp airborne. It was able to rise to

4000 feet carrying two people and 100 pounds of gear and was destined to

be used to study sea mammals. It could be seen by cross Bay motorist as

a small all-white airship low on the horizon traveling at a very low speed.

Weigle’s investors came up with the money for the repairs and within

six months the ship was flying again But then Weigle’s pilot was hired

away by Budweiser and he discovered there is a scarcity of experienced

blimp pilots

Keeping the blimp inflated and ready to fly cost around $35,000 a

month so in December 1996 he had it deflated and put in storage.

Since, Weigle has persuaded several companies to donate software and

their products for the Ecoblimp’s use. Meanwhile he hopes Interface will

sponsor “Blimp Camp” to train would- be pilots and even sell Interface

franchises.

The Ecoblimp should be re-inflated but there is no idea where it will

be based. At last word, Weigle was seeking applicants for his Blimp

Camp as the only other applicant was himself.

Does anyone have any news on the Ecoblimp? The above article

appeared in the September 1998 edition of “Happy Landings” and since

no word has been received about its where-abouts since 2005 one won-

ders what happened to its fate and its owner.

(Map of Pennsylvania)

7 NEWSENSE... Tantalizing News

Originated by Gossip's Founding Father

Columnist Walter Winchell

***************** EDITOR’S NOTE: Walter Winchell began broadcasting in 1933 to an au-dience of 25 million people. The Winchell style was unmistakable. He talked rapidly at 197 words per mi-nute..the voice was high-pitched and not pleasant to the ear; but it was distinctive. The staccato quality made every item compelling. He claimed he talked so fast because if he talked more slowly people would find out what he was saying...he began his radio program with a series of dots and dashes operating the key himself. Telegraphers throughout the country complained that what Winchell tapped out made no sense. He realized he hadn’t the faintest knowledge of Morse code but he refused to have an experienced te-legrapher provide the sound effects for him. He wrote like a man honk-ing his horn while in a traffic jam. ************************************************************************************ The FAHS has discovered it has come into possession of J . D.

Smith’s ( mechanic of the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line) diary of

1913-1915. It was written in pencil and full of abbreviations (“T.J.” for

Tony Jannus, “AB” for airboat) which makes it somewhat difficult to

decipher...however it is considered “priceless...more information pending.

Warning signs themselves do not keep people off anther’s land.

The American invention that is most traditionally placed to deter intruders

from trespassing-and one which has spread worldwide since its invention

in the mid-19th century—is barbed wire, the devil's rope. The man who

lays the credible claim (patent #157124) to the first patent for it in late

1874 was the son of English immigrants named Joseph Glidden. The

purpose was to keep animals in, not to keep people out. Suddenly almost

overnight beef would replace pork as the national dinnertime dish. Coils

of it kept Great War soldiers safe in their trenches and where it is seen is

the warning for others that to trespass in a most foolhardy endeavor.

No matter how educated, talented, rich or cool you believe you

are...How you treat people ultimately tells all.

What is Celibacy? While attending a mar r iage weekend,

Frank and his wife Jeanne, listened to the instructor declare: It is

essential that husband and wives know the things that are im-

portant to each other.” He then addressed the men. Can you

name and describe your wife’s favorite flower? Frank leaned

over, touched Jeanne’s arm gently and whispered, “Gold Medal?—

All Purpose, Isn’t it?” And thus began Frank's life of

Celibacy!

FLORIDA’S AVIATION HALL OF FAME Located at the Florida Air Museum at Sun ‘n Fun, Lakeland, FL.

Douglas Baker, test pilot (2003); George “Ted” Baker, founder of National Airlines (2004);

Thomas W. Benoist, pioneer aircraft builder (2011); Jacqueline Cochran, pioneer aviatrix (2003); Leroy Brown, native pioneer Floridian, crop-duster, airline pilot and leader in the U.S. Airline Industry Museum project (2009); Dr. Warren J. Brown, flight surgeon & aviation journalist

(2018); Gen. Daniel “Chappie”James, Jr. Fighter Pilot; (2019); Cooper, Marian, Movie Director and PAA board member (2015); Glenn Curtiss, pioneer pilot, inventor and founder of three Florida

cities (2006); Jimmy Doolittle, pioneer pilot and war hero (2007); Amelia Earhart, Pioneer aviatrix lost on round-the-world flight in 1937 (2010); Percival Fansler, founder of the World’s First Airline (2003); Chalmers H. Goodlin, fighter pilot WW 2 and test pilot (2005); George Haldeman, test pilot and

holder of numerous records (2006); Billy Henderson , Sun’n Fun Founder (2015); Ed Hoffman Sr. (2008), pioneer pilot; Mary Francis Housley, heroic flight attendant (2016)Billie Henderson (2015) Sun’n Fun foiunder; Howard Hughes , pioneer pilot and movie producer (2007) ; Jack Hunt, Navy

blimp record holder & founding president Embry-Riddle University (2011); Antony H. Jannus, pilot of the 1st Airline (2003); Johnson, Howard “Scrappy”, test pilot (2015; Colin Kelly, 1st WW II hero

(2011); Kinego, Col. Joseph (2020) (Blackbird SR-71 pilot; Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., balloonist and test pilot (2003); William Krusen, pioneer Florida airman (2011); Lee Lauderback, test pilot, air show-man (2019); Col. & Mrs. Charles A. Lindbergh, pioneer pilots (2004); Lewis Maytag, CEO of National

Airlines (2007) ; David McCampbell, USN pilot, Medal of Honor winner with 34 victories over the Japanese (2010); A.B. McMullen, builder of many of Florida's airports (2004); Capt. Dick Merrill,

airline pilot (2014); Zack Mosley creator of “Smilin’ Jack;” (2008); Curtis Pitts, acrobatic pilot (2014); James Ray, WW II bomber pilot & philanthropist (2016); Charles E. Richbourg, Navy test pilot

(2006); Edward Vernon Rickenbacker, CEO of Eastern Air Lines (2003); John Paul Riddle, founder of Embry-Riddle University (2005);

Lawrence Sperry, Inventor of the auto-pilot, turn & bank indicator and artificial horizon (2011); Betty Skelton, acrobatic aviatrix; Russell St. Arnold Pioneer Pilot (2019); Nicole Stott, Astro-

naut (2011); Gladys “Pennie” Thompson (2020), Pioneer aviatrix; Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., pilot of the B-29 which dropped the Hiroshima atomic bomb (2005); Juan Terry Trippe, founder of Pan American

World Airways (2003); Phil Waldman, ferry pilot (2016); Kermit Weeks, Curator of “Fantasy of Flight” air museum (2008); Robert M. White, fighter pilot WW 2 and test pilot (2006). Jessie Woods (2020),

acrobatic pilot; Laurie Yonge, (2020),pioneer Jacksonville pilot.

SHORT-SNORTER PAGE

DEFINITIONS: Heroes: What a

guy with a boat does. Leftbank:

What the robber did after he left the

bank. Paradox: Two physicians.

Relief: What trees do in the

Spring. Rubberneck: What you do

to relax your wife.

A teacher took over a new

class: W hat’s your name? she

asked a little boy. “Jule” he replied.

“Not Jule,” You shouldn’t use con-

tractions. Your name is

Julius. ”Turning to the next boy, she

asked: “What’s your name?”

“Bilious,” he replied.

******************************************************** Life’s greatest mystery—what a nudist does with his keys after locking his car!

*********************************

There are two reasons why women don’t wear last year’s gowns: They don’t want to , and they can’t.

“”How quickly can I learn French? Asked the young husband. “That depends upon

you,” replied the teacher. Why are you in such a hurry?” “We’ve just adopted a

French baby only six months old,” he answered, “and we want to be able to

understand him when he starts to talk.” ******************************************************* The visitor turned to the hostess and said, “My, this is a fancy vase on your

mantel. What’s this in it?” “My husband’s ashes,” she replied. “Oh, I’m sorry,””

said the visitor. “How long has he been dead?” “Oh, he’s not dead,” said the wife, “He’s just too lazy to find an ashtray.”

***********************************

A pretty lass in a night-school English class was disturbed when the instructor announced: Tomorrow night we will take up syntax.” “Goodness!” she ex-

claimed, “If they’re going to collect THAT, I’ll never be able to afford the tuition.”

*************************************

Sign at a golf club in Scotland...1. Back straight, knees bent, feet

shoulders wide apart. 2. Form a loose grip. 3. Keep your head down. 4.

Avoid a quick back swing. 5 Stay out of the water. 6. Try not to hit

anyone. 7. I f you are taking too long, let others go ahead of you. Don’t

stand directly in front of others. 9. Quiet please, while others are prepar-

ing. 10. Don’t take extra strokes. Well done, now flush the urinal, go

outside and tee off.

****************************************************** “I want to live my life backwards….You start out dead and get that out of the way.

Then, you wake up in a nursing home feeling better every day...when you are

kicked out of the nursing home for being so healthy, you spend several years en-joying your retirement and collecting benefit checks. When you start work, you

get a gold watch on your first day. You work 40 years getting younger every day

until pretty soon you’re too young to work. So then, you go to high school, play sports, date, drink and party. As you get even younger, you become a kid again.

You go to elementary school, play, and have no responsibilities. In a few years

you become a baby and everyone runs themselves ragged keeping you happy. You spend your last 9 months floating peacefully in luxury, spa-like conditions, central

heating, room service on tap, and finally you finish off as an orgasm!

He said to me: “What have you been doing with all the grocery

money I gave to you?” I said to him…”Turn sideways and look in

the mirror!”

He said to me: “Why are married women heavier than single

women?” I said to him…”Single women come home, see what’s in

the fridge and go to bed. Married women come home, see what’s in

bed and go to the fridge.

One of the questions from the career placement test given appli-

cants for a military commission: “Rearrange the letters “P-N-E-S-I”

to spell out an important part of the human body that is more useful

when erect?” Those who spelled “spine” become doctors...the rest

go to flight school.

The wife suggested I get myself one of those organ enlargers, so I did...she’s 21 and her name’s Lucy!

8

SUBIC

MORE INFORMATION ON TOM BENOIST….

From the Potosi Journal, June 20,

1917….”TOM BENOIST

KILLED”…..Thomas W. Benoist, the well

-known aviator and airplane manufacturer,

and a son of Peter Benoist of Irondale, was

accidentally killed at Sandusky, Ohio, on

the afternoon of June 14th. Benoist did not

lose his life in a hazardous venture in the

air, but by thrusting his head out of a street

car window and having it come in contact

with a telephone pole, which resulted in a

fracture of his skull and death a few hours

later.

Benoist was 43 years of age and was born on his father's farm on

Wallen Creek, near Irondale. In his youth he located at Flat River and

engaged in the automobile repair business as one of the pioneers in that

industry. Later he went to St. Louis, where he became interested in avia-

tion and the manufacture of airplanes, building machines after a design of

his own. About two years ago he made a trip to France, where he sold a

number of his machines to the French government.

At the time of his death, he had a contract from the government at

Washington for a number of his airplanes. He had been conducting a

school of aviation at Sandusky for several months.

***********************************************************

A LETTER FROM A PERSONAL FRIEND OF BENOIST’S

G. Claud Evans, 1050 West Main St., Festus, Missouri, writes: Dec.

21, 1961, I saw a copy of your paper (the Independent-Journal, Potosi,

MO.) carrying an “Item of Tom Benoist and airplane…..I grew up in the

same community with the Benoist family. My father and Tom’s father

went to Farmington, Mo. Tom gave an exhibition there. Mr. Benoist

(Tom’s father) came over to the mill,

he was one of father’s regulars and

best customers one day and said to

my father, “Captain you and I must

go to Farmington. (I think he said

next Saturday) to see my boy Tom fly.

“Gee, my boy Tom, he flies like a

bird!” Quite a conversation fol-

lowed...there were several others

present and all joined in and we had

quite a time enjoying the get-to-

gather. Later Mr. Benoist and I went to Farmington to see “Tom fly.”

The Benoist’s had a medium large family, I think there were 9 children,

one of the nicest and highly respected family one would find anywhere.

Yours very truly, G Claud Evens, 1050 West main St., Festus, Missouri.

***********************************************************

Tom Benoist’s childhood home near Irontown, MO.

WARS OF THE UNITED STATES REVOLUTIONARY, 1775-1783, Military deaths: 4,435, Wounded,6,188. BARBARY WARS, 1801-1805 & 1815-, Military deaths, 35, Wounded, 64. WAR OF 1812, 1812-,1815, Military deaths, 2,260, Wounded 4,405, Total serving, 286,730. INDIAN WARS, 1813-1838 & 1866-1890, Military deaths, 1,000, Total Serving, 106,000. MEXICAN WAR, 1846-1848, Military deaths, 13,283 (1,733 battle deaths), Wounded 4,152, Total Serving, 78,718. CIVIL WAR, 1861-1865, Union Military deaths, 364,511 (140,414 battle Deaths, Union Wounded, 281,881. Confederate Deaths, 133,821, Total serving, Union: 2,213,363; Confed: 1,082,119. SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR, 1898, Military deaths 2,446 (385 battle), Wounded, 1,662, Total serving, 306,760. PHILIPPINES, 1899-1901, Military deaths, 4,200, Wounded, 2,800, Total Serving, 120,000. MEXICO, 1914-1919, Military deaths, 21, Civilian deaths, 35, Total Serving, 6,000. WORLD WAR I, Military deaths, 116,516 (battle deaths 53,402), Wounded, 670,846, Total Serving, 4.73 million. WORLD WAR II, Military deaths, 405,399 (291,557 battle deaths), Wounded, 670,846, Total Serving, 16.11 million. COLD WAR, 1947-1991, Total Serving, 35 million. BERLIN AIRLIFT, 1948-1949, Military deaths, 31, U.S. troop level, 32,900. KOREAN WAR, 1950-1953, Military deaths, 36,574 (33,739 battle Deaths), Wounded, 103,284. Total Serving 1,789,000. VIETNAM WAR, 1965-1975, Military deaths, 58,220, (47,434 battle Deaths), Wounded, 153,303, Total Serving, 3,403,000. LEBANON, 1982-1984, Military deaths, 265, Wounded, 177, Total deployed ashore, 1,800. GRENADA, 1983, Military deaths, 19, Wounded 116,Total deployed 5000. PERSIAN GULF, 1987-1988, (Not available). PANAMA, 1989-1990, Military deaths, 23, Wounded, 322, Total deployed, 26,000. GULF WAR, 1990-1991, Military deaths, 382 (147 battle deaths), Wound- ed, 467. Total serving in theater, 694,550. IRAQI KURDISTANT, 1991, Military deaths 5, Peak troop level, 12,316. AFGHANISTAN, 2001-Present, Military deaths, 2,215 (as of March 2015, battle deaths 1,832), Wounded, 20,026, Total Serving, 831,576 (as of May 2014). IRAQ/OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM/ OPERATION NEW DAWN, 2003-2011. Military deaths 4,491 (3,529 battle deaths), Wounded 32,244, Total Serving, 1.5 million. OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE, 2014-present, Military deaths 3 (as of March 2015). This list does not include limited military engagements, block-ades, airdrops, rescue operations, raids and drone strikes. (Information derived from “The American Legion Magazine, May, 2015.)

**************************************************************************** BLACK HOUSES are the latest hot trend. Black exterior paint has taken off

like a speeding panther. One paint manufacturer reports sales of black interior

& exterior paint grew 40% in one year! Perhaps it is the almost spooky nature

that is attractive but it could be a respite from a heavy dose of euphoria seeking

a change, (or the owners could be ex-navy night fighter pilots?) Or it could be the

“distinctness” it reveals. Dive in and become “the black sheep of your neighbor-

hood!”

Harry Cooper

9

ALLIGATOR WHO??? The Alligator Club was formed in 1935 when thirteen airmen, among whom were: A. B. McMullen, W.G. Stewart, Ed Nilson, Walter Reich and William Lazarus, formed the famed “International Flying Florida Alligator Club. The Gulf Oil, Piper & Aeronca Aircraft companies sponsored the organization and of-fered free aviation gas for all members taking part in the annual Florida Air Tour event. Requisites required applicants to have flown over the State of Florida for at least 50 miles. By 1940, over 1,900 airmen were members of the Club. Initiations usually took place at an alligator farm in Miami or St. Augustine where appli-cants had to walk through collections of live “gators.” (See photo on page 10.) Unfortunately, the organization no longer ex-ists...efforts by pilot Dick Merrill to revive the outfit in 1949 failed. The Air Cruise began in Miami following the annual All- American Air Maneuvers air show, then up the Florida west coast to Ft. Myers, then to Charlotte harbor for two days of Gulf fishing; Sarasota to visit the winter quarters of the circus and then to Tam-pa for a two day stop over. From Tampa the cruise proceeded on to Dazzy Vance’s (baseball fame) Homosassa Springs hotel landing at the Crystal River-Homosassa airport which had just been complet-ed by the WPA (Federal “Works Progress Administration”). The route then proceeded to Orlando and on to St. Augustine. The or-ganization, under the leadership of A. B. McMullen, was a master-piece of planning and was part of the “Florida Proposed 10-year Plan of Aviation Development 1935-1945.” Up to this time no other state, nor the Federal government, had done such an excellent and complete aviation plan of development. The January 1939 annual event included over 400 planes and 600 pilots and crew. Airport beautification was heavily stressed claiming “Our air-ports should be landscaped and beautified in every possible manner for it is not hard to imagine the reaction of northern visitors who four or five hours after having stepped from a frozen snow covered airport into a plane, step out again onto a beautiful Florida airport, green with grass, surrounded by flowers, palms and shrubs and basking in sunshine! *********************************************************************************

Tip of the Hat to Dan Har r ison, Englewood, Flor ida for sending

the editor a beautiful shirt depicting Dan’s colors—the 8th TAC Fight-

er Wing—commonly known as “The Wolf Pack.” Dan’s Squadron

mates can contact him at P.O. Box 1558, Englewood, FL. 34295.

WHAT’S THE HISTORY OF THE RESOLUTE DESK IN THE WHITE HOUSE OVAL OFFICE?

This desk was gifted to the American people by Queen Victoria in 1880.

It was carved from the oak timbers of HMS Resolute, part of a doomed

expedition to the Arctic in 1852.

Admiral Sir Edward Belcher commanded five ships to search for Sir

John Franklin’s ill-fated Northwest Passage expedition of 1845.

On Aug. 16, 1852, Resolute, captained by Henry Kellett, was struck by

an enormous ice floe and became stuck fast. In the spring of 1854, the

crew were forced to abandon ship.

Resolute found her own way out of the ice-pack and was discovered

floating in Davis Strait by an American whaler. Ship’s captain James Bud-

dington claimed the right to salvage.

Wealthy philanthropist Henry Grinnell, who had financed earlier expedi-

tions to find Franklin’s lost party, suggested the Resolute be refitted and

returned to England as a gesture of goodwill.

The U.S. government bought Resolute from Buddington for $40,000

(more than $1 million today) and returned her to Portsmouth after refur-

bishment.

Resolute served as a supply vessel until she was decommissioned in

1879 and broken up in Chatham Dockyard. Queen Victoria ordered that

three desks be made from the timbers, the largest to be gifted to the U.S.

President.

A partners’ desk—where two people can work facing each other—was

designed and made by joiner William Evenden and presented to President

Rutherford B. Hayes on Nov. 23, 1880. President Hayes placed it in the

Green Room, one of three state parlors on the first floor of the White House.

It has been used in various rooms, depending on the whim of the Presi-

dent.

Polio sufferer Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered a modesty panel with an

eagle motif for the desk to hide his leg braces. He died before the work was

done, but President Truman retained the panel in his honor.

In 1948, Truman decided to

turn the head of the eagle in the

Presidential seal to face the olive

branch of peace. However, the

Resolute’s Desk’s eagle still faces

the arrows of war. After the Tru-

man renovation of the White

House, the desk was moved to the

ground floor where it was used by

President Dwight D. Eisenhower

for radio and TV broadcasts.

It was first used in the Oval

Office in 19681 by President John

F. Kennedy. His children were

photographed playing under the

desk while he worked.

Barrack Obama was pictured

reclining in his chair with his feet

on the table and Joe Biden has

decided to retain it.

A second smaller desk from Resolute is in the Royal Navy Museum.

The third was a gift from Queen Victoria to Henry Grinnell’s widow for his

financing of several Franklin rescue attempts.

(Information for the above was taken from the London Daily Mail, 2019 submitted by FAHS’ David McLay, former PAA Captain.) ******************************************

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR…. From: Chip Nusbaum(chip@82west.com) “ My partner Craig Wors-ham and I own a video production company in Sarasota. We are producing an hour long documentary about Florida during WW II slated for a Florida PBS broadcast. I hope to chat with you soon. CHIP 202 258 2589. A copy of FAHS’ book “Florida Aviation History” and a NL was sent on request. ************************************************************************************* BACKACHE? Extension-based exercises are useful for people who are constantly hunched over the keyboard at their desk. One of the best is to stand up, put your hands on your hips, and lean back. Doing 5-10 reps of that every 30-60 minutes really seems to help a lot of people.

D

BIRDS OF A

FEATHER FLOCK

TOGETHER !

Send a gift

subscription

to the FAHS for

only $10.

Curtiss, who had begun his aviation experiments with air cooled en-

gines in motorcycles at Daytona Beach in 1903 arranged for this plane to

be flight tested at Miami. However, before it took to the air on its initial

flight, Glenn L. Curtiss died following an operation for acute appendici-

tis. Few Floridians realize the many intimate associations Curtiss had

with Florida during the 27 years of his aviation career, which was opened

and closed in the State. It was a Curtiss built airplane which was the first

airplane to take off and land on Florida soil in 1910. The first real night

flight in the world was made by Lincoln Beachey in a Curtiss “Pusher”

from Tampa. The world’s first aircraft radio to receive wireless messages

in flight was installed and flown by McCurdy in a Curtiss biplane at Palm

Beach in 1911. Hamilton, that same year, carried the first Floridian from

his native soil in a Curtiss airplane at Jacksonville. Glenn Curtiss himself

founded the first flight school in Florida at Miami. Curtiss designed fly-

ing boats and JN4-D2 “Jennie” military planes dominated the Florida

skies during WW I. Curtiss donated to Miami the site of its original mu-

nicipal airport. Florida aviation and the life of Glenn Curtiss were indeed

closely related.

Jacksonville, which had become a “Mecca” for those seeking to estab-

lish world aeronautical records in these days, saw Lee Schoenhair set two

new speed records on Feb. 18, 1930 for aircraft carrying a 500 kilogram

payload.

On June 17-18, 1930, W.S. Brock and W. F. Schlee made a round trip

trans-continental flight from Jacksonville to San Diego and return in a

total elapsed time of 31 hours and 57 minutes. Brock and Schlee’s great-

est bid to fame is probably their dash around 3/4 of the world from Au-

gust 27 to September 14 in 1927. They flew a Stinson “Detroiter” from

New York to Newfoundland, acrsso Europe and Asia to Tokyo, Japan

covering 12,295 miles in 18 days, logging 145.5 flying hours. This was

long before the globe girdling flights of Wiley Post, Howard Hughes and

others.

In this year, it became evident that the original Pensacola Navy

Yard tract behind the wall was not large enough to house all of the

facilities of the expanding Naval Air Station. On Aug. 7, 1930 the

razing of the town of Warrington, which lay to the west of the

wall, was begun (Previously the town of Woolsey on the site of

Chevalier Field was razed in 1920 and 1921.) Warrington was far

bigger for a total of 31 buildings, including residences, churches,

schools, lodges and garages, were moved between August 1930

and Sept. 15, 1931. Many of these buildings were demolished;

however a substantial number were moved across Bayou Grande

and rebuilt in the present community of Warrington. Around Pen-

sacola, many old-timers refer to present-day Warrington as “New

Warrington” to distinguish the former community on the Naval

Air Station and the relatively new community.

10 WINGS IN THE SUN Excerpts from William C. Lazarus’s book

On many a busy pre-depression Florida

airport the weeds grew high in 1930. How-

ever, most of these and many new ones

were reclaimed and improved into long,

wide paved runways before the decade

ended. Just as improved highways herald-

ed the every day use of the automobile,

these permanent hard surfaced airports

brought faster and more frequent airmail

and passenger service to the public and

many more personal airplane owners.

Pitcairn Aviation merged into Eastern

Air Transport, which continued to operate

the same routes in Florida. This occurred

in1930. Illustrative of the pioneering

which was going on at this time was the

needed support given this company in Jack-

sonville by Robert Kloeppel, one of the

most successful hotel owners in the state, who had never completely forgot-

ten his early love for aeronautics. He donated free office space in the George

Washington Hotel to the struggling airline for quite some time.

.

Technical aviation developments in equipment and techniques which led

to other conquests of weather and distance as pre-requisites to safe and de-

pendable worldwide air routes took place in Florida during 1930. During the

summer, the Sikorsky S-41 flying boats, twin engined and carrying ten pas-

sengers at 100 mph—were delivered to Pan American at Miami. A few

months before, Pan Am placed orders for the first of a long series of 4-

engined flying boats, the Sikorsky S-40. The Sikorsky aircraft of the Pan

American fleet (S-38 amphibians delivered in 1928) incorporated many new

engineering features such as being the first planes equipped with fuel dump

valves. Pan Am assisted in development of and first installed, variable pitch

propellers on these planes in 1932.

“Blind Flying” was just becoming practical for the scheduled airlines in

1930. Pan-Am was training all of its pilots at Miami in instrument flying

techniques. Eastern had one of its most expert pilots, Larry Pabst, experi-

menting on its routes in Florida and elsewhere with a radical new device

called an “Artificial horizon” which has since become standard equipment

for instrument flying. So again, Florida was the proving ground for the new-

est developments in aviation.

The year before (1929) the New York, Rio and Buenos Aires lines, com-

monly known as NYRBA, had been organized by American interests and in

the Spring of 1930 this company inaugurated the first service between Miami

and Buenos Aires, Argentina. In spite of a $4,500,000 investment, such

heavy losses had been incurred by the Fall of 1930 that operations could not

be continued. NYRBA had been operating a number of twin-engine Commo-

dore Flying Boats carrying 20 passengers at 101 mph. On August 19, 1930,

Pan Am acquired all the assets of NYRBA including these Commodores.

Pan American in 1930 also closed the gap in Central America so as to

connect Miami with Mexico City and Brownsville, Texas, completing the

circuit of the southern side of the Gulf of Mexico. On this route the famous

“Tin Goose”—-the Ford tri-motor aircraft which accommodated 12 passen-

gers cruising at 115 mph—was in use up to 1934.

By the end of 1930, Pan American had increased its route mileage in Latin

America from 251 miles to 20,308, the great majority of which emanated

from the terminal at Miami. Utilized in the vast operation were 29 land air-

ports, 26 marine bases and 36 radio ground stations. The Latin American

fleet consisted of 68 multi-engine transports. Flights were operated on

99.71% schedule during which 7,840,522 passenger miles were flown with

only one fatality.

One of the final episodes in the life of Glenn L. Curtiss, who argued con-

stantly with the Wright Brothers for the role of America’s foremost aviation

pioneer, occurred in Florida in late 1930. Curtiss had constantly dreamed of

an airplane which would become a Family car of the air. His last efforts in

this direction was a flying wing biplane with a pusher propeller. It was de-

signed so as not to spin, loop or dive—for the benefit of the thousands of

potential buyers who would be willing to spend $1,000 which Glenn Curtiss

believe it would cost to produce in quantity.

The “Flying Alligator Club” made up of pilots who had flown over 50 miles of Florida air space, await their initiation among gators to join the new international organization in St. Augustine in 1948.

LT. Col. William C. Lazarus, former state aviation director & instructor at Univ. Fla.

11

All-American football player at West Point, 16 victories in WW II & Vietnam & married to a Hollywood movie star.

THE EARLY YEARS Robin Olds was born at Luke Field Hospital on July 14, 1922 to Army Air Corps Capt. Robert Olds & wife. When he was 4, his mother died and Robin became an “Army Brat,” contemplating becoming a fly boy like his Dad. Moving to Virginia he became the captain of the high school football team at 6’2” 190 lbs. and tried to join the RAF in 1939 at age 17. His father refused to sign the papers and he then returned to the Millard Military Prep con-templating an assignment to West Point. Robin was accepted to the class of 1944 at West Point and during the ensuing years made All-American as a line-man. With the advent of Pearl Har-bor he was sent to the Spartan School of Aviation in Tulsa, OK for flight training. Basic training ended by Christmas of 1942 & Robin was back at West Point hoping to graduate early due to the war, in June 1943. Just before graduation Robin lost his Dad. With graduation and new 2nd Lt. bars on his collar he is sent to Chandler, AZ for P-38 fighter training & then on to Muroc Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert. Further training at Glendale re-sulted in 1st Lt. bars and a frustrating extensive looking for a place to send a West Pointer for a flight commander position. He is finally shipped overseas and arrives in Scotland and is now newly arrived at Wattisham, England and has finally seen action on D-Day. Aug. 1, 1944 comes and Robin is still frustrated with zero victories. Robin is now on patrol in France when he suddenly sees an op-portunity…..resulting in downing his first two kills—Focke-Wulf 190s. Two weeks later. On Aug. 25, 1944, 11 days after Robins first two victories the fighter group was destined to a sweep in front of a bomber group. Robin was attempting to aid a fellow pilot when his plane went into compressibility and started a downward dive….the day ended with Robin scoring three more victories to make him the squadron’s first ace. They were now transitioning from Lightings to Mustang fighters and they have just accompanied a bomber flight close to Berlin, missing their timed assigned bomber group and now awaiting the fireworks…Noticing a camera had been placed in Robin’s wing just prior to his next bomber escort mission. After a difficult camera bomb-ing run Robin is now hi-tailing it for home…Robin has just fin-ished his R & R and has arrived back in England to begin his second round of aerial combat. The war ends and Robin is now awaiting deployment to the States against his will. He has even-tually been reassigned a corner desk In a back room, told to study a fistful of cards with Xs, Ox an arrows (confusing stuff for a former tackle) and informed that the B-Squad met at the south end of the practice field at 3:30. Robin at the conclusion of the 1945 football season was then told he would remain at West Point for the next four years—he went to the Pentagon for change of orders….Robin is now in California and has fallen for the Hollywood actress Ella Raines. He and Pappy Herbst, are about to put on a two-man air show at the Del Mar Race Track…Pappy crashes and is killed—Robin is devastated.

I don’t remember much of that evening. I know I called Ela,

then got in my car and headed to her house. All I knew is that all

the people who meant something to me in my life, those who were

present and those who had passed on, came crowding into my mind

as I drove. I know that I cried, but I know that my eyes had dried by

the time I pulled up to Eli’s house. I knew that the door would open

and I would have to help my sweetheart dry her own tears. And so I

did.

When I think back on those days of flying the P-80s, I can’t help

wondering what the Army Air Forces really thought they were do-

ing with those jets. Sure, we went faster and higher than anything

else, and yes, we had four .50 caliber guns in the nose, but the P-51

had six and the P-47 had eight. So what? As much fun as we were

having learning to fly and maintain them, I wondered whether we

had any real plan for determining what actual advantage that jet

gave us. We went out and tangled with the navy guys on several

occasions, quickly learning what not to do, and sometimes we fired

the guns at towed targets but never enough to sharpen our skills. I

don’t remember ever dropping a practice bomb from the P-80. As a

matter of fact, the early production aircraft didn't have the capability

to do so. What were we planning on doing with the jets that was

useful?

In hindsight, everything that happens has an impact on the future,

sometimes negatively, often for the good. Eventually we started to

have fun racing each other, timing our laps around a course in the

desert. We learned that we would be participating in the world famous

Cleveland Air Races! The last race had been held in 1939, then the

event was suspended for the duration of the war. On Labor Day, 1946,

the races were on again. Naturally we were excited! We were going to

be the first jets to fly in the race, not just as part of the air show, but in

the Bendix Trophy and Thompson Trophy races themselves.

Those of us chosen for the event went to work right away on our

aircraft. I wanted to reduce weight and get as much thrust out of my jet

as possible. With the connivance of the maintenance and armament

people, we tweaked the engine, giving me more fuel flow, higher tail-

pipe temps, and a little more speed. Then we started working on reduc-

ing weight. Out went the four .50 caliber guns and the ammo boxes.

We arrived in Cleveland before the Labor Day weekend races to

squeeze in as much practice as we could. After landed from a practice

and taxied in, a fellow walked toward my bird. It was Tony LeVier,

already a famous air race pilot from previous Cleveland events, but also

currently the chief test pilot for Lockheed and the ultimate expert on the

flight characteristics of te P-80.

After I climbed out of my cockpit and we introduced ourselves, Tony

walked around my bird, scrutinizing it from every angle. He took one

look at the wrinkles running diagonally down both sides of my P-80’s

fuselage and whistled, “Just how many g’s did you pull , Robin?”

“Hell, Tony”—I shrugged—”I don’t know. The g meter pegged out.

I’ve been trying different ways to cut time around those pylons. Guess I

over did it.”

“Yeah, I guess you did!” Tony shook his head and laughed. “Back

at Lockheed we figured around elven g’s might do that to the 80, but no

one up to now ever did it. I wouldn’t stress that particular bird anymore

if I were you. Matter of fact, you might consider not even flying it

again.” Tony obviously knew what he was talking about, and I took

him very seriously. (Robin changed planes!)

So I asked him, “What do you suggest, Tony?”

“Well, what has worked for the prop racers should work for jets, too.

Aerodynamics are aerodynamics. Pull all those g-forces and you’ve

increased your angle of attack drastically. Do that and you've loaded up

enough drag to stop a train. And that will sure as hell slow you down.

Since this is the first time anyone has ever raced jets around a closed

course we have a lot to learn. But basic aerodynamics still apply. What

I’d do is take those turns as smoothly as you can. Don’t dive at the base

of the pylons and jerk the bird around. Get enough spacing on your

approach to each turn, rack up about 70 or 80 degrees of bank , dive a

little bit, and cut around each pylon as closely as you can. I’m sure

you'll find the speed you keep will more than offset the small extra dis-

tance you've taken. Try it next time.

I did, and Tony was right. I gained precious seconds on each of the

18-mile legs of the racecourse. The morning of our race, we military

pilots were called into a briefing room and given a stern lecture by some

colonel we didn’t know. We were told we were there to represent the

Army Air Forces, that the public and the press wanted to see our new

jets, that were expected to put on a polished demonstration, that this

wasn't’ a competition for our self-glorification, and that winning was

not the object of the exercise. (Continued next “Happy Landings.”)

Robin, in his proudest

moment—being lifted on his Sqd.’s shoul-ders after completing his 100th mission in Vietnam at age 44.

(Copies of Robin’s book

FIGHTER PILOT are

available by dialing

Sportys “Wright Bros.

1-800-776 7897,

$16.99+. Item M206W)

Vol. 46 No. 4 Edition No. 278, July 2021

NONPROFIT

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PAID

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TAMPA FL

YESTERDAY’S FLORIDA AVIATION The 1960s…

1960...Florida: Air Traffic Control (ATC) salaries have now topped $10,000 annually in Florida. Pensacola, FL., Aviatrix Jackie Cochran, Pensacola girl, flies at Mach 2. West Palm Beach, Morrison Field reverts to civilian use. Naples-Provincetown-Boston Airways (PBA) buys Naples Aviation ( founded in 1949 by John C. van Arsdale). April 9th, 1960… Jacksonville, Open house is held at the new FAA Hilliard Air Traffic Control Center. It is constructed away from the airport to make it less vulnerable in case of atomic attack. (this was the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis.) June 21, 1960...Key West, The frigate Norfolk fires an anti-sub missile “Asroc” in a public demonstration after successfully completing a two month test period.. June 22, 1960, Cape Canaveral...The Satellite “ Transit 2A” is fired into orbit by a Thor-Able-Star rocket. It is to measure effects on the ionosphere by electromagnetic waves. August 16, 1960, Altamonte Springs resident Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, veteran of 483 combat missions in Vietnam, rises to 102,886 feet in the USAF balloon “Excelsior III.” He then bails out falling 16 miles. Purpose: to investigate conditions affecting future astronauts returning to Earth. Kittinger will later help found “Rosie O’Grady’s” entertainment center in Orlando.. October 14, 1960, Jacksonville…” Tower Field” is dedicated. It is named in honor of Admiral John Towers, Navy Pilot #3. March 18, 1961, Orlando...Orlando Municipal Field is officially called “A. B. Pat Herndon Field.” April 17, 1961...Cuba in invaded by 1,200 anti-Castro exiles aided by the U.S. The invasion is crushed. MacDill AFB is on alert, B-47s ready but attack is called off. May 5, 1961, Cape Canaveral...Alan B. Shepard Jr., in the Mer-cury 3 spacecraft rockets to 116.5 miles up and 302 miles downstream to become the first American in space. November 1961, Tampa...Herb Godfrey and Leight-Fischer de-sign a new concept for a new Tampa International terminal building.

FLORIDA AVIATION (AEROSPACE)

HISTORICAL SOCIETY Membership Application Form

*********************

Membership: Individual $20; Gift Subscriptions $10

Contributing Member, $25; Benefactor, $100 and up.

Those with Winter-Summer (2) addresses, must notify the

FAHS when they change residencies.

ENCLOSED FIND________dollars to cover my membership.

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ADRESS………………………………………………………….

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FAHS Address: AWAPS, Albert Whitted Airport,

451 8th Ave. S.E., St. Petersburg, FL.., 33701 **************************

VOLUNTARY QUESTIONAIRE: Are you a pilot? Y___N___; Are you a Veteran? Y___ N___; If yes, which war: WW II___, Korean

War___? Vietnam War?___Cold War?___Iraq Wars?_______;

Flying Hours____________Highest rating or rank?_______________. What is the Month & Day of your birth?_________Year optional___

FLORIDA AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY AWAPS, Whitted Airport, 451 8th Ave. S.E.

St. Petersburg, FL., 33701

278

FAHS MEETINGS FOR

MEETINGS IN JULY & AUGUST Saturday, Saturday, Sept. 4th 10:30 am, Monthly meetings of the FAHS at the St. Petersburg Museum of History, on entrance to the Pier commencing , 10:30 am. All invited. Informal Luncheon “Hangar Flying” each Wednesday noon at the the LARGO FAMILY restaurant, 788 N. Missouri Ave., Largo, Fl., Phone 727 584 7330. Our 42nd Year.).

(NOTE: We are now NOT meeting at “Our Place”)

Follow your dreams

”Printing of Happy Landings has been performed by

Colorfast Printing (5 Stars), 1411 63rd Way N.,

Clearwater, FL. 33760