Plane Tales

Out of the gloom of thick cloud, through their windscreens, the pilots suddenly saw the tops of pine trees but it was too late to pull up. They ploughed through them as the branches smashed into the left wing shattering the navigation light. One of the passengers onboard was the President of the airline, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker... this is his story. An Eastern Airlines DC3   Atlanta had poor weather and it was close to midnight when the aircraft crashed   Eddie Rickenbacker   The findings of the inquiry   Racing in San Francisco   Rickenbacker becomes CO of the 94th, the Hat in the Ring gang   After receiving many decorations, Rickenbacker returns to the US a hero   The Rickenbacker motor company   Rickenbacker survives a second crash, this time in a Boeing B-17   Capt. E.V. "Eddie" Rickenbacker wearing the Congressional Medal of Honor   Images published under Creative Commons Licence with thanks to Jack Delano, the Library of Congress, CAB, SF Public Library, NARA, Rickenbacker Motors, the USAFand the USAAF.

This is the final part of the Red Flag tales which carries on directly from Part II where we heard some exploits from participants of Exercise Red Flag. If you haven't listened to the previous taleson this subject, it would be worth going back them.  My thanks to Jaguar Pilot Nij, Tornado pilot Gasher, Tomcat RIO Scott and RAAF F111 Nav Abs.           The E-3 Sentry AWACS.   Break Right Chuck, there's one in your 6 o'clock!   A Smokey SAM.   Live weapons being dropped during Red Flag.   A Tornado drops flares.   An RAAF F111 puts its wings back and goes!   The Jaguar pilot's favourite dance.   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the USAF, Photo-Concepte.de, the RAF, the USN,

In the first part of the Red Flag tales we talked about the reasons for the formation of the USAF Fighter Weapons School and the subsequent creation of Exercise Red Flag. Now we get a chance to hear from some of the participants.  Firstly there is Nij who took time off from his Nuclear QRA duties to fly his RAF Jaguar in Flag exercises.  Then we have a Tornado GR1 pilot, Gasher, who also participated on behalf of the RAF.  Jack was an F15 pilot who took part as a wingman, formation leader and also as a Fighter Weapons School graduate.  Scott was a Tomcat RIO who was part of Red Air during Flag exercises and Abs, a navigator from the Royal Australian Air Force flew with the F111 force and was even a Blue Force Commander during the exercise. An RAF Jaguar   An RAF Tornado at Nellis   The mighty F15 Eagle   The USN F14 Tomcat   The RAAF F111   The Nellis ranges with Area 51 marked in red   The Nellis Air Force Base   A Red Flag briefing   The symbol of Exercise Red Flag   The EF-111A Raven   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Steve Lynes, Finlay McWalter, the USAF, USN, Ken Lund, the National Museum of the Air Force and the MOD.

The Korean War had been a successful period for the US Air Force but a decade later in the Vietnam war their success rate had gone from 10:1 down to 1:1. Something had to be be done.  This is the story of the creation of the USAF Fighter Weapons School and Exercise Red Flag!   The F86 in Korea   The F4 Phantom II Wreckage of a B52 in Hanoi   The Weapons School graduate patch and an example of dissimilar combat between an F16 and Mig21   A Soviet Surface to Air missile system   A captured Soviet Mig in USAF markings   The F5 Aggressors   Richard Suter   The Nellis Ranges   A 'Smokey SAM'   IAF F15s, one of the many nations that are invited to take part in Ex Red Flag     Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the USAF, Mark Limb, US DOD, US Gov, US Defence Imagery, USMC, Finlay McWalter, National Museum of the Air Force and Srđan Popović.

It is the beginning of 1981 but for me it was the conclusion of my first front line tour of duty. When my posting came I was devastated. I had been sent to instruct at No 4 Flying Training School, RAF Valley on the island of Anglesey in North Wales. A remote corner in the middle of nowhere doing a job I didn’t want. An F4 Phantom FG1 of No43(F) Sqn.   The Hawker Harrier GR1.   Survival Scramble.    The A10 Warthog.   The BLC Malfunction emergency checklist.   Greek Gunboats!   My posting to become a QFI loomed!   My much loved Yamaha along with our poo coloured Rover!   Climbing Mt Snowdon.   Dave would perish during Exercise Red Flag when he crashed his RAF Jaguar avoiding a simulated SAM engagement.   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Mike Freer, Senior Airman Matthew Bruch, CC BY-SA 3.0, the USAF, the RAF and myself!

The Sound Barrier was first broken in 1947... by 1949 Convair had submitted its initial bid for the USAF's first supersonic bomber. So much had to be learned in that time… the aerodynamics of supersonic flight, the construction materials that would be required and the engines that could power it were only part of the technological challenges that would be faced. It was truly a remarkable effort. The pilots that were chosen to fly this tricky Mach 2, 70,000 ft capable aircraft that could climb at over 45,000ft a minute, were highly skilled and Lt Col Henry, John Deutschendorf was one of them.   The opposing sides of the Cold War   The first generation of US and Soviet ICBM nuclear missiles   The B-58 Hustler   The Hustler's escape pod   The three B-58 cockpit hatches   John Denver   The Long EZ   Ghostbusters II   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Kingkingphoto, the USAF, NOAA and Impawards.

Whether the weather be cold, Or whether the weather be hot, We'll weather the weather, Whatever the weather, Whether we like it or not! Nowadays, however, we are blessed with more ways to get the weather than one can shake proverbial sticks at and, certainly in the world of aviation, it's all remarkably accurate even if it’s presented in a rather archaic code. Of course even that is pretty advanced when compared with the early days! Hippocrates   Galileo's thermometer   Early weather forecasting equipment!   The wrecking of the Royal Charter on the Island of Anglesey   Robert Firzroy, the father of met forecasting.   Gp Capt Stagg who forecasted the weather for Operation Chastise   The US Bureau of Metrology   An early radiosonde met balloon   A decode aid for aviation forecasts   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson, NOAA, Fenners and the RAF.

The pride of the Air India fleet, their first Boeing 747 was named after the Emperor Ashoka. The first of the Maharaja-themed aircraft it epitomised luxury and was, “Your palace in the sky.” On this New Year's day, however, its flight would last only a few seconds. The Emperor Ashoka Boeing 747   The cockpit   The Engineer's station.   The interior of a Maharaja-themed Air India aircraft   The famous Jharokha styled windows   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Air India PR, Oliver Cleynen, Snowdog, Mitchel Gilliand, Shahram Sharifi, Dharma and Searchtrail67.

'Twas the night after Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse...                                             All images produced by Nick Anderson Photographic

It’s starting to look its age, it’s frayed at the edges, wrinkled and has bits that might fall off. No, not me, my first venerable old Royal Air Force logbook. So before it comes apart completely, I think it might be time to punish you again with a few more stories from its pages.     The Westinghouse AWG 11/12 radar.     43 Sqn F4 Phantom FG1 on QRA.   Engaging a USAF EC130.   Engaging a USAF EC130.   My treasured Blue Peter badge.   The Boy Pilot, John, Ballex and Budgie... heroes of the Blue Peter Special!   The AEW Avro Shackleton.     Another Bear.   The F5 Aggressors in their distinctive Soviet camouflage.   You can't meander around a Leander! An RN Frigate.   Hunting Jags over the wilds of Scotland.   The RAF Piddle Pack!   An RAF goon suit (aircrew Immersion Suit).   Images under Creative Commons Licence with thanks to Daderot National Electronics Museum, the Royal Air Force, UK Crown, Mike Freer of Touchdown Aviation, USAF and the US Gov.

Many of my aviation heroes are complicated people of nuance and contradiction but not this man. As I reflect on his life, so recently ended, I remind myself of his uncompromising, direct manner but also of his enormous courage and skill that brought Charles Edward Yeager to the world’s attention. Yeager grew up helping his father out on gas drilling rigs.   Yeager joined the Air Force as a Private and became a mechanic but he soon made his way into pilot training.   He was initially given a P39 Aeracobra to fly.   He was sent to Europe to flight, flying the P51 Mustang.   He named his own aircraft Glamorous Glen.   He qualified as an Ace in one day and then shot down a jet powered Me262.   After the war Yeager qualified as a Test Pilot.   Even as a very junior Test Pilot, Yeager was offered the chance to pilot the Bell X1.   Yeager finally took the X!, now named Glamorous Glennis, over Mach 1 becoming the first to break the sound barrier.   Yeager completed a long and successful career in the USAF.   Chuck Yeager passed away in 2020.   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to SMU Central University, USAF National Museum and the USAF.

The RAF Chinook helicopter has proved to be a versatile and determined workhorse for the British Armed services but none more so than the airframe Bravo November. This remarkable machine was the sole surviving Chinook of the Falklands war and it continued to operate in many operations in the Middle East. Even more remarkable was the bravery of it's pilots, four of whom received the Distinguished Flying Cross.   A US Army CH47A.   An RAF Chinook.   Argentinian forces invade Stanley.   British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.   Government House at Port Stanley.   HMS Invincible leads the task force out of British Waters.   The Atlantic Conveyor embarking aircraft.   The Argentinian submarine Santa Fe, previously USS Catfish.   An RAF Vulcan.   The sinking of the Belgrano.   The sinking of HMS Sheffield.   The sinking of HMS Antelope.   An Argentinian Super Etendard.   The Atlantic Conveyor ablaze.   Bravo November... the last Chinook.   Commandos marching across the inhospitable terrain of the Falklands... into battle.   A 105mm howitzer.   An upgraded BN during operations in the Middle East.   BN also served in the Afghan conflict.   Bravo November continues to serve to this very day.     Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the Royal Air Force, SPC Glen Anderson, the Argentine Navy, the Imperial War Museum, USN, Jefediahspringfield, Martin Sgut, Martin Otero, Royal Marines and the Ministry of Defence,      

When examining pilot deaths in WWI it was discovered that 90% were put down to pilot errors whereas only 2% were due to enemy action! Things didn't improve in WW2 either. A lowly 23 year old analyst challenged the assumption that cockpits should be designed to fit the Average Pilot. This is the story of Human Factors in Aviation.   An RAF pilot's annual assessment of ability.   Quételet, the man who invented averages.   The University of Ghent.   It was the study of Astronomy that gave rise to the first calculations of averages.   The study of the average Scottish Soldier.   Very few deaths during the First World War were due to enemy action.   The Second World War also saw an unacceptable number of deaths due to accidents.   The USAF conducted a large study into the size of their men to discover the dimensions of the average pilot.   Lt Gilbert Daniels discovered that not one USAF pilot matched the average!   The study of ergonomics let to better cockpit design.   Human factors also covers the limitation of the human body when flying.   Modern glass cockpits prevent many pitfalls from previous designs but bring their own problems.   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the US Congress, Frederik de Wit, the Deseronto Archives, the USN, the Australian War Museum, Henry Vandyke Carter and Airbus.      

Having recently talked about of couple of embarrassingly awful US World War 2 aircraft it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t mention some from my side of the Atlantic that were knocked together in the jolly old British Isles! Sadly, there are way too many to cover so I’ll just take a deep breath and mention a few!   Adverts for Boulton and Paul garden sunrooms.   The Wonderful Airfix Defiant model.   The ungainly Rhino parachute that the Defiant gunners wore.   The Sopwith Camel that Boulton Paul built under licence.   Boulton Paul had become well known as a turret manufacturer.   The ungainly Rhino parachute that the Defiant gunners had to cope with.   Boulton Paul Defiants lined up on the ground.   Taken out of front line operations the Defiant found a place as a target tug aircraft.   The large and slow Fairey Battle.   The Battle's bomb aimer's position.   Bombing up a Battle.   How many apprentices does it take to push a Fairey Battle?   The Fairey Swordfish.   The aircraft due to replace the Swordfish, the Fairey Albacore.   An Albacore departs from HMS Victorious.   The damaged and sunk capital ships of the Italian Navy after the Battle of Taranto.   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Boulton & Paul Ltd, Airfix, the RAF, Air Historic Branch RAF, RN, and The Australian War Memorial Collection,

It was in the early predawn that Pilot Officer Richard Pryce Hughes crashed his aircraft on the heathland a little less than 500 yards from where I live. That was 78 years ago and I was yet to be born and where my house is was still a pine covered heathland. A marker has been erected to show the location of the crash and as we approach the 11th of the 11th my wife or I place a cross on the small monument in remembrance, lest we forget. The heathland upon which Pilot Officer Richard Pryce Hughes crashed.   RCAF recruitment poster.   The Handley Page Halifax.   A painting depicting a 1,000 bomber raid.   The 10 Squadron winged arrow - approved by King George VI in September 1937.   The Bomber Command memorial depicting a typical crew.   A Halifax during a raid.   The fate of a heavy bomber hit by flak.       The Bristol Blenheim.   The De Havilland Mosquito.   The graves of the two brave Hughes cousins.   The Canadian memorial to their bomber crews at Nanton.   The marker placed in memory of Pilot Officer Richard Pryce Hughes.   Each year as we approach the 11th of the 11th my wife or I place a cross on the marker in remembrance... lest we forget.   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the Royal Air Force, the Ministry of Defence, Google Maps, the Royal Canadian Air Force.