First Jet

One of the deaths was the best-placed US actress of the campaign, Richard Bong, who was murdered during a Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star test mission. I' ve flown 84 P-47s. Wing man saw the Fw 190 fly in the opposite directions. When I was informed on V-E day [Victory in Europe, 8 May 1945] that the Luftwaffe wanted to speak to a few of our group members, I was given the opportunity to speak to them.

We had some good mechanical engineers and two good test drivers; they were pro-Americans and could speak English very well. Nine airplanes were flown to Melun near Paris on 10 June. But my very first trip was only on June 8th, in a two-seater configuration with two checks.

One of the test drivers, Karl Baur, was sitting in the back of the car and took each of us with him. And so I took off, flown the roadmap, and ended up. Started one after the other at 20 minute interval. This way, if a plane had problems touching down in Melun, they had enough spare to clear it before the next aircraft arrived.

Close to the floor, the Me 262's reach was only about 300 mile, but I thought if I got up to 10,000 ft and went right to Melun, I would have a lot of petrol. There was no radios, but we had charts, and I had traveled this area for four or five month, so I didn't have a dilemma until I had traveled about half way [beyond known area].

There were no orientation points, but before I really got concerned, I saw the peloton before and to the south. And I was the 6th to take off, but the first to dock. During July we flown the plane to Cherbourg so that it could be shipped onto an airframe and transported to the States.

The fear of the Me 262 being flown is unremarkable to me. This was just another plane we had to make. In September 1950, when I first volunteered in San Diego, I was still a travelling ensign. F6Fs, so I switched between F6Fs and F4Us.

We, the younger pilot, used to "fight". "With the F6F, the fight can't remain in a turning radius with the unit, so when I entered the unit, I ran the fight vertically. I' m supposed to be in VF-53, an F1 4U team. VF-52, a jet team.

They flew F9F-3s at that tim. Locketed will tell you that nine out of ten jet drivers will be training in locketed aircraft - the T-33. That' right, but I am one of 10; my first [jet] plane was in an F9F-3 on December 18, 1950, just a few short miles after I entered the team.

We were four with an expert air traffic controller. 4,000 ft down the taxiway, about half way, and I hadn't even broken 40 ft. Thought the plane was gonna fly off the airstrip into the cove, and they'd take me out. Air traffic controller took us into a squadron at 20,000ft.

But the first times I did that in the Panther, I wisely got there, drew the current back to neutral - and I walked past it like a missile. However, that first landfall - when I placed it near the airstrip and kept my nostrils away to decelerate it - didn't decelerate the flown plane.

I' d say I used three-quarters of the airstrip the first one. There were 136 vehicle engagements in Korea, all in F9F-2s [a later and better number, despite the number] and, boy, I am blessing myself. P-39 was great until I flown P-51. There were no P-51 pilots guides, but we were so glad to get them that we didn't give a damn.

Is still my favourite airplane: good looking, well flown, with a great tone. And I went into battle in February '44. There were 116 mission flights and I got 16 kills: eight Bf 109s, eight Fw190s and one quarter of a Heinkel 111. but I had to go to Alaska first.

We received our first F-94B-a in April 1950, a slimmed down model without control elements on the back. Just before my first plane, I got on the plane and got familiar. You' ve got the same fundamental air control system. Looked at the airstrip right away. When it comes to aviation, you didn't have to be concerned about big trimming changes.

I had my home right at the end of the airstrip, so whenever I took off, I always took off over there to check my capital out. Respond first, find out later. I' m trying to get him to shudder, fool him, you know, even though it's a test ride. The P-40N was my flying style.

Switched to the A-36, an early P-51 with diving brake. There were 80 missionaries in Sicily and Italy and I came home in November 1943. First jet I ever flown was the Bell P-59. At the end I was the type of person on the -59 and in February 1945 I had the first big jet crash in a US airplane.

There were two P-59 at Wright Field and one was to go to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics at Langley Field. At the start I came down about half way down the runway losing power. So I didn't have enough airstrip to put them back on the floor, so I went into the tree.

and they sent a rebuilt P-38 two-seater to come get me. The next morning I was back at Wright Field. P-40 and then P-51. P-40 was big, and P-51 was much smaller and quicker. In a P-51 we got ourselves prepared for battle, and we were prepared to sail to Europe, but the end of the battle came.

So I went to high school, went P-51s on the weekends and had a really good outing. As soon as you're in the sky, flight isn't so much different anymore. But the only true crossing was take-off and landing: use rudders for the Mustang, need more runways for the Thunderjet. F-84 probably had less vibrations than P-51, but it wasn't a silent plane.

In June 1951 I came to Korea, Fourth Fighters Group, Series 335. I' ve flown 68 battles. Firing was simpler because you didn't have to install the control surface all the way to defeat the support moment. In October 1943 George G. Loving Jr. I entered the Italian Army's 131st Army Group, and flown 101 battles in Spitfires Mark V and Mark IX - probably the best fighting plane in the whole wide open air area.

when we got P-51 Mustangs. P-51 was the one that had the reach. At the end of the conflict, it ended up being the best warplane. In a P-51, I did 50 more flights and took down five hostile planes.

After the fight my mission was as a P-47 trainer. The Far East A. C. Pulled Mustang pilot orders, so I enlisted. Before being distracted into action, I flown half a dozen melee engagements from Taegu, Korea. Told you so, so he put me in the Fighter Group of 49, Ninth Squadron.

A copy of the F-80 manual was given to me by the relay team leader. And then I spend my free moments in the dashboard doing a eye tie test. An old rabbit in the season, Bud Evans, evoked the name of the control elements, meters, buttons and lever; I pointed to the position or hit it.

F-80C with bud taging. and I knew the lines. I got 10 lessons, and then I began to fly. F-80 [on] 113 assignments for the remainder of the year. The first time I fought in the F-80 wasn't very thrilling.

I think my most remarkable F-80 was the May 1951 attack at Sinuiju Airfield, directly over the Yalu River from Antung MiG-Basis. So I was drafted to Korea 52, went to Moffett Field and entered VF-152, a relay match of 4U. I' ve flown 25 engagements in an FA4.

Our team got the F2H-3 Banshee when we got back from Korea. Wing commandant tells us we are skilled combat fighters; we no longer need specific schooling. We began to fly within a months. When I first hops, I did everything the way they said they would: Do not stop when you land for the first time.

They have nothing to block the Landerechner [which adjusts the approach of the pilot from the deck].