Plane Tales

Orford Ness is a remote spit of marsh and shingle covered land that sticks out into the North Sea. Part of the chilly, windswept Suffolk coast of East England it became the secret location for a place where boffins could work on the latest experiments in aviation and nuclear weapons. It was also the place where one of the very last pilots to die in WW I would meet his end. In ancient times, Orford Ness was home to smugglers!   Orford Ness in modern times, not far from Bungay!   The village of Orford with its medieval castle and Norman church.   The RFC version of interrupter gear.   A Martello tower.   A Heath Robinson cartoon.   The Bristol Fighter.   Beacon tower.   The Blue Plaque.   The Orford Ness Pagodas.   The experimental Over The Horizon radar codenamed Cobra.   The grave of Lieutenant Oliver Byerley Walters Wills, R.F.C. who was killed at Orford Ness a few hours before the end of WW1.         Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Ananias Appleton, Google Maps, the RAF, Alesey Komarov, Andrew Helme, Peter Norman, George Wolfe and Chris Gunns.

I’ve done plenty of Tales about the triumphant aircraft of World War 2 that fought in the skies over Europe, Africa Russia and the Far East. Quite naturally, I guess, not so much is known about the horrible failures. Not all of the aircraft we will look at were quite that bad... many were just misguided ideas, old designs or put into the wrong role! Vultee P-66 Vanguard.    The Vanguard with its original cowling design which gave insufficient cooling to the big radial engine.   The Vanguards at Karachi during their ill fated transit to China.   The Bell P39Q Airacobra.   The Airacobra with the big supercharger cooling vents that created so much drag.   The rather unusual, for a fighter that is, Airacobra cockpit door.   Guns blazing, the Airacobra was indeed quite well armed.   The RAF 601 Sqn with their renamed Caribou (Airacobra)... not much admired, the soon requipped with Spitfires.     Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to SADSM, USAF, Bill Larkins, WMFerguson, National Museum of the Air Force and the RAF.  

Any of Brien Wygle’s achievements would be enough for most of us to dine-out on for the rest of our lives. A World War 2 pilot who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against the enemy. A man who flew Hump missions in a vulnerable C-47s and who saw three of his comrades go down in a single day. A pilot who volunteered to fly bombing missions for the fledgling Israeli Air Force, who taught Howard Hughes to fly jet aircraft and who became a notable test pilot and yet was one of the most unassuming people you would want to meet. Much of Brien's love of flying came from magazines and building model aircraft.   As a young man Brien saw a formation of Hurricanes which lit the flame of his desire to become a pilot.   Brien's flying training started in the Tiger Moth.   Brien's first operational type was the Douglas Dakota.     Brien spend much time in the Far East flying dangerous mump missions and supply drops to the Chindits.   Back in Canada, Brien got some rare jet time on the De Havilland Vampire.   Joining Boeing, Brein started work flying the B47. Famously, Brien was the project test pilot for the Boeing 737.   Posing with Lew Wallick after a successful maiden flight of the B737.   Brien was also part of the crew that flew the maiden flight of the B747.   Brien Wygle passed away on the 15th of September 2929.   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Phil Major, MOD, RAF, RCAF, Bill Barnes Magazines, USAF, RAF, Boeing Corporation.

On the 18th of June 1940, Churchill stood in Parliament and gave a speech in which he stated that what General Weyland had called the Battle of France was over and that the Battle of Britain was about to begin. In the middle of this remarkable conflict was one Raymond Towers Holmes... Sir Winston Churchill   Hermann Göring   Preparations being made for the invasion of Britain   Joseph Kennedy, the US Ambassador to Great Britain   Adolf Hitler   The Me 110   The Supermarine Spitfire   The Hawker Hurricane   The Me 109   Battle of Britain pilots   The coverage of Chain Home   Chain Home operators   Arty Holmes in his fighter   Dog fights over London during the Battle of Britain   Dornier Do 17s   The secret weapon flamethrower   The Do17 without its tail plunges down towards Victoria Station   Wreckage of the Do17 that Arty brought down     Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to BiblioArchives, Bundesarchiv, the RAF, Wide World Photos, ROC, Adrian Pingstone, Imperial War Museum and the British Official Histories.

I was recently digging through some old airline paperwork and came across a delightful booklet from my old airline entitled Cabin Address from the Flight Deck - briefing notes and suggestions. The booklet is more than 20 years old so the content might, on occasions, fail to reflect current sensitivities but I thought it worth digging into so that I could share some of its suggestions with you.         Images with kind permission of cartoonist Capt John Reed AKA Figment.

Little Nellie was a rare breed of aviatrix the name of which has its origins in Ancient Greek. In more modern parlance, we have the familiar name autogyro… literally meaning self-turning. The way they work is the same way as a seed from a tree like a Sycamore flies and flying an autogyro is a novel form of taking to the air but one that saved 007! Juan de la Cierva - the First Count.   The world's first autogyro, Ciervas's C1   A replica of the C6   The Cierva C9   The Pitcairn autogyro showing the rotor drive shaft   The RAF's autogyro   A stamp commemorating the Russian TsAGI 1EA   The Fairy Rotordyne   The Bensen gyrocopter   Mailman Doug's gyrocopter on the west lawn of the Capitol after he was taken into custody.   The Focke Wulf Fw-61   Little Nellie   A modern autogyro   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to L'Aéronautique magazine, Pascual Marín, Gyromike, Diego Dabrio, Johannes Thinesen, NASA, Post of Soviet Union, NACA, Fair Use, Cheesy Mike and Asterion.

A continuation of the stories from Capt Nick's RAF Form 414... his flying logbook. BAe Nimrod MR2   The Old Pilot and a Bear   Norwegen F-5A   The Shackleton AEW2   A Canadian CL-28 Argus   The Avro Vulcan   The Skyflash semi active radar guided missile   An AQM37. The Stiletto was an air launched version.   A Skyflash missile firing from the F4 Phantom   Post missile firing treasure   Yours truly   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to The Old Pilot, Dale Coleman, Crown, Rob Schleiffert, USAF and an RAF Photographer.

Now a story about the US Navy Band may not seem to be my usual fare in Tales but bear with me and I must thank serving Band member and APG listener Tuba Tony for suggesting the topic for this story.   The United States Navy Ceremonial Band   The distant origin of the first Navy musicians.   The USS Macon   Eisenhower as a General and President   A DC3   A US Navy DC6   The Bandsmen lost in the tragic crash   Sugarloaf mountain   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to US Gov, Wiki Commons, US Navy, Library of Congress and the Washington Post.

There are many things that one might want to be remembered for. A fine physician, a pioneer aviator, a renown aeronautical researcher, an inspired inventor but perhaps not as the greatest charlatan ever to see his name associated with an airplane, even though his scout fighter the Christmas Bullet had a perfect kill record… it killed everyone who ever tried to fly it!     The AEA Redwing     One of Christmas's Patents   The Christmas Bullet   The Christmas Bullet   The Liberty 6 Engine Dr Christmas   Images under creative commons licence with thanks to the Library of Congress, US Gov, US Patent Office and the USAF.

Back in 1997, on a sliver of land wedged between a gas station and a car park, a lone C130 Hercules could be found. It was mounted there near the entrance to the National Security Agency at Fort Mead in Maryland for a good reason. Not the original aircraft, as that crashed on foreign soil, it had been painted with the tail number 60528 to represent it.   The memorial to the crew of 60528   The C130 airborne   The plot of 60528 and the track of the intercepting fighters.   A Mig 17   Gun camera film from the attacking Mig17s   Gun camera film from an attacking Mig 17 showing the C130 in flames   The crash site of 60528   A USN Neptune   A Mig15   An LA11   An RAF Lincoln   The U2 spy plane   Gary Powers   The memorial to the crew of the C130   Arlington Cemetery   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the NSA, Soviet Defence Archives, 1Lt Kucharyaev, Soviet Air Force, Kirill Pisman, Adam Jones, Garry Goebel, RIA Novosti archive and IP Singh.  

If you are anything like the usual aviation enthusiast you’ll have a list of famous names in your head that you can quote at parties to bore your friends like, Wilbur and Orville, Bleriot, Richthofen, Lindbergh, Sikorsky, Whittle, Yeager and such but I wonder if you can place some of the others who deserve recognition.   Charlie Taylor   Hans Von Ohain   Ohain's HeS8 jet engine   The He178   The He280   Gloster E-28   Olive-Ann and TravelAir   The Staggerwing   Doolittle and the Mystery Ship   Louise Thaden     Bessie Coleman   Mae Jemison   Houdini   Colin Defries   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the USAF, the Air Force Research Lab, Embryriddle, RAF/IWM, SDASM, Flugkerl2, BAC, NASA, Museums Victoria,

He is dead now but you’ll find no stone to mark his grave since he has neither grave nor marker, which is a little odd for a much decorated American hero who fought for his country with outstanding bravery... but it was his wish and his family accepted that.   Boeing B-17D   The 509th   Project Alberta   The Trinity Test tower   The world's first atomic bomb just prior to the Trinity Test   The Trinity Test fireball   Little Boy   The mission map   Detonation   Hiroshima just after detonation   The Hiroshima Damage estimation map   Enola Gay returns   Tibbits in Enola Gay   Tibbits is decorated by Gen Spaatz   Enola Gay in the Udvar Hazy   Paul W Tibbits   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the USAF, US Gov, Project Alberta, Mr98, Berlyn Brixner, US Gov DOD, Jack W Aeby, United States Department of Energy, George R Caron, U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, Armen Shamlian and elliottwolf.

In 1941 the German Navy commissioned its latest submarine, the U-134 and as it slid out of harbour to join the 5th U boat flotilla, Captain-Lieutenant Rudolf Schendel keenly anticipated the mission ahead. You may be wondering why this Type 7C U Boat should feature in a Plane Tale but bear with me as I introduce the K-74. Built a year after the U-134, the K 74 came from a company with an interesting origin, the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation. This is their intriguing story.   The Type VIIc U-Boat   One of the few U Boats to survive the war.   Zeppelins over London   A British recruitment poster   The Goodyear Zeppelin Airdock   The Airdock interior   The Goodyear K Class blimp   K-Class blimp arrives in Gibraltar   The U-134's last patrol   The U-134 survives an attack   A K-Class on patrol   Attack report of the engagement between K-74 and U134   A K-Class is loaded with Depth Charges The K-Class crew man their gun     HMS Rother finally sinks U-134 with all hands     Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to NSA, UK National Archives, Darkone,  US Library of Congress, the Goodyear Zeppelin company, USN, Grossnick Roy A, Royal Navy and the US Naval Institute.

The ejector seat is still a subject of fascination for a lot of pilots, mainly those who have never been strapped to one. It’s often the opinion of folk not part of the small fast jet community that an ejection is a simple matter, you just pull the handle and ‘boom’ you’re safe.   The B58 Hustler   An ejector seat from the B-58 Hustler Smarter than the average bear!   North American Aviation test pilot George Smith.   The F100   Vought A-7E-5-CV Corsair II   The USS Constellation during her 1964–1965 WESTPAC cruise   Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to J Clear, USAF, USAF National Air Museum, US Navy archives, US Gov, Hanna-Barbera and Robert L. Lawson.

On April the 1st 2011, a little known story of intrigue and tension within the usually calm and placid country of Canada came to light.  This little known affair which brought the United States and Canada to a breaking point revolved around the purchase of an unusual Fighter for the RCAF. This drama of the 1960s has become notorious in government circles and is variously referred to as, “The Stab in the Back-yard”, “The Fishbed Flap” “The Redhawk Incident” or more ominously “The Canuck Invasion Crisis”.   The Arrow is rolled out.   The Arrow is cancelled and cut up into scrap.   Scrapped portions of the Avro Arrow.   The Mig 21.   The first Canadian CF-121, Redhawk.   441 Sqn, the Stratocasters, are reformed with their Migs.   441 Sqn deploy to their new home in Cold Lake.   The first Redhawk is lost.   A grainy photograph reveals the truth!   The story is out.   Little evidence remains of the CF-121 Redhawk.   The old Cold Lake gate guard.   The truth is finally revealed.   Images published under Creative Commons licence with many thanks to parfaits, the Government of Canada and the amazing Vintage Wings of Canada.