...and now for the last of 3 posts regarding our visit to the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum. This post might be just a little long and ‘wordy’.
This
poster at the museum is an example of the poster art aimed at getting and keeping
the public involved and assisting in the war effort during WWII. The boy is collecting scrap metal, the woman
represents the thousands of women working in wartime manufacturing and the
farmer of course is working to provide the food to both support the home front
and our military forces overseas.
Patriotic
posters boosting the war effort were an important part of keeping Americans at
home engaged during WWII. Rosie the
Riveter was perhaps the most famous, but there were hundreds if not thousands of
these ‘support our troops’, ‘support the war effort’ posters published and
disseminated. To view a photo gallery
featuring similar posters, go to https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=War+Effort+Posters&FORM=IRIBEP.
The
Republic F-84F ‘Thunderstreak’ was a
swept-wing jet fighter-bomber that evolved from the F-84 ‘Thunderjet’. A total of
3,428 F-84s were built at Republic Aircraft’s plant in New York State. This jets maximum speed was 695 mph and it
had an operational ceiling of 46,000 feet.
However, although this aircraft was built in quantity, it was plagued
with problems. One of them was engine
failure. The J65 engine suffered from
flameouts when flying through heavy rain or snow. Introduced in 1954, the entire fleet was
actually grounded in early 1955.
Due to
its various deficiencies, the Air Force started its active duty phase out
almost as soon as the plane entered service.
However, international tensions around the construction of the Berlin
Wall in 1961 caused the reactivation of the F-84F fleet. It took 1800 man-hours to bring each aircraft
up to operational readiness. Stress
corrosion eventually forced the retirement of these planes in 1971. Ten other countries included these plane in
their air forces with Greece retiring the last of them in 1991.
The above pictured aircraft is a Lookheed T-33 “Shooting
Star”. It is a subsonic jet trainer
that was first flown in 1948. A total of
6,557 of these planes were built between 1948 and 1959. They were used by at least 40 different
country’s air forces with the last of them being retired from the US Air
National Guard in 1997 and by the Bolivian Air Force in 2017…after 44 years of
service!
The top
speed for the T-33 is 600 mph.
A number
of these aircraft have been and are privately owned. In 2010, a T-33 owned by Boeing Aircraft was
used as a chase aircraft during the maiden flight of the Boeing 787 passenger
jet. A T-33 chase plane was also used to
cover the maiden flight of the ill-fated Boeing 737 MAX-7 in March of 2018.
The
Douglas A-26 “Invader”, which was
designated B-26 from 1948 to 1965, is a light bomber and ground attack
aircraft. A total of 2,503 A-26/B-26
bombers were built during WWII. It was a
fast aircraft that was capable of carrying a large bomb load but it could also
be equipped with a wide range of guns that made it a formidable ground-attack
aircraft. During WWII, the Invader saw extensive action with the US
Army Air Force in the European theater and some in the Pacific theater as well.
With the
establishment of the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1947, the Strategic Air
Command operated the re-designated B-26 as an RB-26 reconnaissance
aircraft. The USAF utilized this plane
in Europe until 1957 and its Tactical Air Command operated the Invader until 1966. This aircraft also served in the early
portion of the Korean War. The B-26 was
part of the Air National Guard inventory until 1972.
In
addition, the A-26/B-26 was also a tool of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
beginning in 1961. Among other missions,
a number of these planes were part of the disastrous Bay of Pigs Invasion of
Cuba. Their Cuban exile crews were
trained by personnel from the Alabama Air National Guard and additional
training was conducted at a CIA base in Nicaragua. The conflict ended after losing 9 B-26s and
their crews, including 4 American contractor fighters, in combat. The CIA also operated these aircraft in the
Congo against Simba rebels, Pathet
Lao forces in Laos and rebels in Indonesia in an ill-fated attempt to overthrow that
country’s government. (A bit later, Indonesia actually bought a few B-26s for
their own inventory)
After the
war, a number of these planes were converted to executive aircraft and water
bombers. From what I can tell, there are
about 2 dozen ‘air-worthy’ weapons free B-26 bombers/attack aircraft still in
existence in the USA. They can still be
seen at Air Shows where they perform ‘fly-bys’ for the crowds.
This
strange looking little jet aircraft is a McDonnell XF-85 “Goblin”. Conceived during
WWII, it was intended to be able to launch from the bomb bay of the giant
Convair B-36 “Peacemaker” as a
‘parasite’ fighter. The goal was for
these little fighter jets to defend these big bombers from enemy interceptor
aircraft…a need amply demonstrated by losses during the war. The problem was that the existing US
interceptor aircraft didn’t have enough range to escort and protect these long
range bombers all the way to their targets.
Flight
tests for the “Goblin” showed promise
in the design but its performance was inferior to the jet fighters it would
have to face in combat. In addition, due
to air flow from the larger plane, docking was a problem. It had a top speed of 650 mph.
Only 2
XF-85s were built before the program was cancelled. (FYI…”X” before a plane’s
designation indicates ‘experimental’) Both of the “Goblins” that were built still survive in Air Force Museums. This one had been damaged in its last
emergency landing but after being acquired by the Offutt Air Force Base, it was
refurbished and it’s now on display under the wing of a B-36 in the SAC Museum.
This is
one of the most famous and durable American bombers ever built. The North American B-25 “Mitchell” is a medium bomber that was first flown in 1941. It was named for Major General William
‘Billy’ Mitchell who was a pioneer in US military aviation. So why are these aircraft so famous? That’s because they were the bombers that were launched from an aircraft carrier in the April 1942 'Doolittle Raid' when 16 B-25s led by
Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle attacked mainland Japan…our first blow
against the Japanese following their bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Utilized
by many of the Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of
WWII. After the war many remained in service
and, in some cases, they served across 4 decades. There were many variants of the B-25 with
almost 10,000 of them being built. Over
40 B-25s are allegedly still airworthy across the USA, with several in private
hands. The last flight of a B-25 by the
USAF was in May of 1960.
The B-25
is considered to be a very durable aircraft capable of withstanding a lot of
damage while remaining operational. One
USAF B-25 was nicknamed “Patches”. This
was because its crew chief painted all the airplane's flak hole patches with a
bright yellow zinc chromate primer. By
the end of WWII “Patches” had completed over 300 missions, been belly landed 6
times and had over 400 patched holes. The
aircraft’s airframe was so distorted from battle damage that straight and level
flight was almost impossible with the plane ‘crabbing’ a bit sideways across
the sky.
To view a
flyover of 18 B-25 “Mitchells” at the
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 2012, in commemoration of the seventieth anniversary
of the Doolittle Raid, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92bX8f3FF6g.
As shown
previously, the SAC Museum isn’t all about aircraft. One major exhibit here is all about the
famous Tuskegee Airmen. This was a group
of African-American military pilots (and their support personnel) who fought in
WWII. Before the Tuskegee Airmen, no
African-American had been a US military pilot.
In addition, the War Department had a long standing policy that mandated
the segregation of African-Americans into separate units commanded by white
officers.
All black
military pilots who trained in the USA trained at Moton Field and the Tuskegee
Army Air Field and were educated at nearby Tuskegee University in Alabama. Due to the restrictive nature of the pilot
selection policies and despite the need for military pilots, the facts combined
with segregation policies weren’t promising for the development of African-American
pilots. The US census in 1940 reported
that there were only 124 African-American pilots in the entire country.
The full
story is too long and complicated to relate here but, under
pressure in 1941, the Army Air Corps constituted the first all-black flying
unit, the 99th Pursuit Squadron.
Suffice it to say, in the end a total of 4 all-black fighter squadrons
and 5 bomber squadrons were formed. The
results speak for themselves…
African-American
pilots flew a total of 1,578 combat missions along with 179 bomber escort
missions. 112 enemy aircraft were
destroyed in the air, (including 3 Nazi Me 262 jet fighters), with another 150
aircraft destroyed on the ground. At
least 950 rail cars, trucks and other motor vehicles were destroyed and a
destroyer was put out of action along with 40 boats and barges. Service awards included 3 Distinguished Unit
Citations, a Silver Star, 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 14 Bronze Stars and
744 Air Medals.
As a
final note, 3 of the Tuskegee Airmen stayed in the United States Air Force and
eventually became Generals. They were
Brigadier General Daniel ‘Chappie’ James, Major General Lucius Theus and 4-star
General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. FYI,
General Davis followed in his father’s footsteps. Benjamin O. Davis Sr. was promoted to
Brigadier General in the US Army in 1940.
They, along with the Tuskegee Airmen, persevered in the face of
America’s segregation and racial divide.
To learn much
more about this topic, quite a bit of it depressing, just go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Airmen.
The
Martin B-57 “Canberra” is an
American-built, twinjet tactical bomber and reconnaissance aircraft the entered
service with the USAF in 1953. It was a
license-built version of the British English Electric Canberra. A total of 403 of the US versions were
built. Introduced into the USAF one
month after the cessation of hostilities in the Korean War, the “Canberras” were scheduled to be retired
but retirement was postponed due to the start of the Vietnam War. B-57’s were used extensively during that
conflict.
In 1983,
the “Canberras” were retired from the
USAF but 3 remaining flightworthy WB-57Fs are technically assigned to the NASA
Johnson Space Center in Houston as high-altitude scientific research aircraft. However they have also been used for testing
and communications in the USA and it Afghanistan. With a wingspan as long as the fuselage, this
is an ungainly but interesting looking aircraft.
To view a WB-57F landing at the Royal Air
Force Base in Prestwick Scotland in 2014, you can just go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHtD0A32Q0Q.
The AGM086
ALCM is a subsonic air-launched cruise missile that was built by Boeing for the
USAF. The objective for this missile was
to increase the effectiveness and survivability of the Boeing B-52H “Stratofortress” bombers. The missile dilutes the ability of an enemy’s
forces and complicates their air defenses.
This missile has both nuclear and conventional warhead capabilities.
This
cruise missile is 20 feet and 9 inches long with a diameter of 24½ inches. It has 12 foot long wings that open after
being launched from its ‘mother’ B-52.
These missiles have a range of about 680 miles and a speed of 550
mph. A fully loaded B-52 can carry and
launch up to 20 missiles.
I was
completely unaware of this aircraft. The
North American B-45 “Tornado” was an
early American jet-powered bomber. It has
the distinction of being the first operational jet bomber to enter service with
the USAF as well as being the first multi-engine jet bomber in the world to be
refueled in midair. Introduced into the
USAF in 1948 it was retired by 1959.
The “Tornado” saw extensive service during
the Korean War, performing both conventional bombing and aerial reconnaissance
missions. Both bomber and reconnaissance
variations of the B-45 served in the USAF’s Strategic Air Command from 1950
until 1959. During the early 1950s, 40
of these aircraft were modified so they could carry nuclear weapons. Only 143 B-45s were ever built. This is one of only 3 of these aircraft that
still survive.
This is a
typical Nebraska living room frozen in time from July 20, 1969. Everyone would have been gathered around that
little TV to view the climax of the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing. This was when Neil Armstrong first stepped
forth on to the surface of the Moon. Of
course, earlier in the day when most folks were working, the Space Center
received a transmission from the Apollo Capsule which famously stated “The
Eagle has landed.”
In this
photo, the ‘spacecraft’ Apollo module furthest away is a ‘boilerplate’ non-functioning
version of the real thing. It was used
in place of the real spacecraft to test various configurations, basic size,
load and handling characteristics. This
Apollo boilerplate sat atop a Saturn I rocket in testing phases.
The
closest module is an Apollo Command Space Module (CSM 009). Unmanned test
flights were identified by double zeros in their numeric designations. In February of 1966, a Saturn IB launch
vehicle carrying this module was launched from Cape Canaveral Florida. After a 7-minute burn, the second stage
instrument unit separated from the spacecraft.
The Command Module reached an altitude of 310 miles over the Atlantic
Ocean before beginning its descent.
Other
space exploration related items on display at the Strategic Air Command and
Aerospace Museum include: a VELA satellite; an Atlantis shuttle trainer which is
a mock-up of the Atlantis OV-104 cockpit, and; the X-38 CRV (Crew Recovery Vehicle),
a technological demonstration vehicle that was a prototype for a new crew return
vehicle that would serve in an emergency vehicle for the International Space
Station. FYI, the VELA Satellite Program
began during the 1950s and was designed to monitor compliance with the Nuclear
Test Ban Treaty.
This is
the SOKOL Inter-vehicular activity suit, a Russian spacesuit worn by all who
fly on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
Introduced in 1973, it is described as a rescue suit, not for outside
the spacecraft, but to keep the wearer alive in the event of an accidental
depressurization of the spacecraft. This
particular suit was worn by Nebraska Astronaut Clayton Anderson aboard the
Soyuz TMA-10 in 2007.
There are
also a number of displays of space related ‘pop-culture’ items. In this photo there is a lunch box, thermos,
commemorative plates, (including one depicting the solar system and another
showing a view of the Earth from the Moon), along with some astronauts pictures
and some desktop rockets.
Other displays
show early pop culture toys including period rockets, lunar modules, model
science kits and more. In addition,
there are posters for TV shows like “Lost in Space” (one of Laurie’s favorites),
“The Jetsons”, “Commando Cody – Sky Marshal of the Universe” and of course, “Star
Trek”. Pop architecture of the time
include photos of structures such as Seattle’s Sky Needle.
I thought
that I’d end the space related portion of this post with this startling display
of photos taken from space showing mankind’s impact on the Earth as evidenced
by our night-time illumination of the planet.
There aren’t very many truly dark areas to be seen.
There are
several permanent exhibits at the SAC Museum that I didn’t talk about. You can check them out at https://sacmuseum.org/what-to-see/exhibits/. In addition, I skipped coverage of several historic
military aircraft. These include: B-29 “Superfortress”; B-47 “Stratojet”; B-52 “Stratofortress”, B-58A “Hustler”;
F-86H “Sabre”; F-105 “Thunderchief”, and the RF-4C “Phantom”. Perhaps I’ll cover them at another time from
another air museum…
The
Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum is located at 28210 West Park
Highway in Ashland Nebraska. It is a
non-profit organization and is not funded by the government. The museum is open 360 days a year, closed
only on New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Admission for adults is $12.00, seniors and retired/active/veteran
military $11.00 and children from 4 to 12 years of age, $6.00. Check out the museum’s website and all the
aircraft at https://sacmuseum.org.
Just
click on any of the photos to enlarge them…
Thanks
for stopping by and taking the time to peruse this long post!
Take
Care, Big Daddy Dave
:) Love, cat.
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