Innholdsfortegnelse for September/October 2023 i Flight Journal

THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT LUFTWAFFE AIRPLANES and pilots that have a near mystical attraction that is far stronger than all of the Axis airplanes and airpowers combined. Our surveys continually tell us that the Me 109, 262 and Fw 190 are much more popular than Zeros or Macchi fighters. It’s interesting that most aviation enthusiasts are quite familiar with aces like Gunther Rall and Erich Hartmann but usually can’t name one Japanese pilot. Maybe it was the perceived invincibility of these German air combatants in the early years of the War, bolstered by the newsreels capturing swarms of sleek new fighters overrunning the democracies of western Europe. I’m sure the astonishing number of kills numerous German aces racked up elevated them as well. This was due to the fact there was…

For every WW II, gun-toting combat bird, be it fighter or bomber, there were dozens of trainers, liaison grasshoppers, transports, and utility craft that history has largely forgotten. One of those is the Stinson Reliant that, when dressed in camo and wearing roundels or stars, labored in the background performing mundane squadron hack duties or, more importantly, providing training for fledgling navigators, photographers, etc. as the UC-81/AT-19. The Reliant was a child of the 1930s, the Golden Age for aviation in all its guises, military, civilian and commercial alike. The 1920s had proven that the airplane wasn’t just a passing fad and the 1930s was when every aspect of the airplane was explored for possible alternate uses. Those ranged from carrying moose carcasses in the Arctic to pampering airline passengers…

MIDWEST AERO RESTORATIONS, LTD. in Danville, Illinois completed restoring this Me 109 back to flying condition for owner Bruce Winter, who also owns the P-51D Mustang “Happy Jack’s Go Buggy,” also restored by Midwest Aero Restorations. This Me 109 was built in Germany in 1943, by the Messerschmitt AG, and was later assigned to Unit JG54 Green Hearts, which operated on the Eastern front. The 109 was shot down by Russian ground fire/flak, and landed basically intact on a frozen lake near the Estonia/Russian border, where it ultimately sank to the bottom once the ice melted. Rediscovered, the 109 was salvaged in 1990. Arriving in central Illinois, the restoration journey of the 109 began and evolved into a nearly 10-year project with Midwest Aero Restorations. The fuselage was sent out…

It is an actual photo of Lt. S. F. Ford walking away from a virtually new Lockheed P-38L-5-LO Lightning that he crash-landed probably some time after January 1945. The lieutenant was almost surely newly assigned to combat in the Pacific, but with his plane on fire, he managed to break away and pancake the burning fighter somewhere on Mindoro Island. He was quickly rescued by Army tank corps troops, largely indicated by the fresh signs of tanks having passed quite recently. Although the outer wings were completely torn off as the engines and tail booms were totally demolished, it seems that the central gondola (with a welldesigned cockpit) survived with remarkable integrity. Ford, obviously dazed and certainly in need of medical care, was able to exit the cockpit and stagger…

February 1942. While the Japanese army closed in on Singapore, the Allied Forces had their backs against the wall. They tried desperately to slow the Japanese advance. If they could be stalled even for a short time, the Allies would be able to “advance to the rear” and fight another day. Coordinated attacks by Japanese air and ground forces with superior and more modern equipment gave the retreating Allies little reason to hope. A decimated RAF tried in vain to halt the aerial onslaught. Outnumbered and outgunned by 16 to one, Royal New Zealand Air Force pilots slugged it out against the enemy’s Zeros. But the Zeros did most of the “slugging.” The outdated and under-powered F2A Brewster Buffalos were no match for the tightly turning, agile Zeros. Whether flying…

Although self-sealing tanks, structural ruggedness, cabin and crew armor combined with operational tactics such as box formations were vital, the Flying Fortress’s greatest strength lay in its defensive armament advances. Prewar built B-17 C and D models and early RAF combat use quickly demonstrated the design’s limitations, but its biggest failing was in the area of defensive firepower. The fall of France pushed the Air Corps to reevaluate its promising strategic bomber’s design, and by September 1941, the definitive “E” model of the Flying Fort was ready for service trials. Powered turrets were added from Sperry and Bendix to the top deck and the underside of the fuselage, and the tail was redesigned to accommodate a rear gunner. Waist position flexible mounts remained, and several ball mounts in the forward…

As Noorduyn Norseman UC-64B 43-5112 turned final approach on August 26, 1944, pilot Albert Hill idled the 600-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine and felt the airframe shudder with flaps locked down. When the airplane’s tires contacted the 2,300-foot soft soil airstrip at Fort Smith in Canada’s Northwest Territories, airspeed indicated 100 mph. Three waiting truck drivers watched what they expected would be a routine rollout. “As we had already thrown up a considerable amount of mud, I decided to go around again and attempt another landing,” reported Hill to USAAF headquarters. “At this point, I applied full throttle; we managed to pull through the water in front of us and had almost become airborne when we struck a still larger and softer area. The speed of the aircraft by…

Former U.S. Navy Super Hornet pilot Roderick “Hot Rod” Kurtz was surprised. On a fair weather summer afternoon in August of 2017, just under two years after he retired from active duty flying F/A-18Fs with VFA-154, Kurtz was airborne in a Hawker Hunter, acting as an adversary to help train the Navy fighter pilots and ship crews he’d only recently parted company with. The single-seat Mk.58 Hunter Kurtz was strapped into was originally manufactured in 1959, part of a batch of 100 new-build Hunters that served with the Swiss Air Force until 1994. By 2017, this aircraft was part of Airborne Tactical Advantage Company’s (ATAC) stable of Hunters used to fulfill a variety of Red Air roles on a Navy adversary contract. Fifteen thousand feet above the Pacific, roughly 80…

THE SKIES OF WORLD WAR II bore witness to a fierce contest of aviation prowess, where legendary aircraft battled for aerial dominance. Amidst this maelstrom, the Messerschmitt Me 109 soared above its rivals, etching its name in the annals of history. With its sleek design, blistering speed, and lethal armament, the Me 109 became the backbone of the German Luftwaffe, captivating the world with its thrilling performance. Here, three Me 109 aces share firsthand accounts of the unique challenges and exhilaration they experienced in the cockpit of this iconic fighter. Green Heart envy BY NORBERT HANNIG, LUFTWAFFE LT. COLONEL (RET.) It was during my initial flight training in early 1942, after performing loops, rolls, and Immelmann turns, that I knew I wanted to fly fighters for the Luftwaffe. I was…

THERE HAVE BEEN COUNTLESS ARTICLES written about Mr. Piper’s legendary J-3 Cub. This one is different for a few reasons, not the least of which is that this Cub has been in regular use for 85 years, 58 of those with the family of current owner Cam Leslie. Leslie’s father J.P. had cared for and cherished the little yellow Cub since 1964. In 1971, the younger Leslie learned to fly and could sit in its rear seat; he then went on to a 39-year career flying for Air Canada. Locally known—tongue in cheek—as a J-2 1/2, the Cub was built as a J3A40-4, serial number C1126 with J-2 wings, fuselage, and a single-ignition 38 hp Continental engine. CF-BIP is the oldest surviving J-3 in Canada, supplied to Cub Aircraft Canada…