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Doolittle’s Raiders: Last Surviving Bomber Pilot of WWII Doolittle Raid, Dies at 93

BySteeljawscribe

The last pilot from the Doolittle raid, Col Bill Bower, USAF-Ret., passed away Jan 10 at his home in Boulder CO: As a 25-year-old first lieutenant, Col. Bower commanded one of the 16 Army Air Forces’ B-25s in the top-secret mission under the direction of then-Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle. Col. Bower and the 79…

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Flightdeck Friday Special — Midway & Marauders: A Shore-Based Strike POV

BySteeljawscribe

While Midway was not the combat debut of the B-26 Marauder (that was left to B-26’s of the 22nd Bombardment Group launching attacks against Rabaul two months earlier), Midway was nonetheless the most auspicious of the Marauder’s early actions. Originating from a 1939 Army Air Corps specification for a twin-engined medium bomber (Circular Proposal 39-640),…

Midway 70 Years Later: USN Carrier-based Air Order of Battle
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Midway 70 Years Later: USN Carrier-based Air Order of Battle

BySteeljawscribe

Task Force 17 – Rear Admiral Frank J. Fletcher in Yorktown Task Group 17.5 Carrier Group – CAPT Elliott Buckmaster USS Yorktown (CV-5)CAPT Buckmaster CVG-5 – LCDR Oscar Pederson VS-5LT Wallace Clark Short, Jr.19 (17) x SBD-3 VF-3LCDR John Smith Thach27 (25) x F4F-4 VB-3LCDR Maxwell Franklin Leslie 18 (17) x SBD-3 VT-3LCDR Lance Edward…

Americans At War

BySteeljawscribe

Americans At War Through the eyes of those who were there, Americans at War® looks back at the moments when ordinary people were called to extraordinary heroism. High-definition interviews offer intimate, one-on-one experiences. It’s a priceless understanding of the effects of war through harrowing personal accounts. Featured on PBS, this award-winning series offers 50 compelling…

This Date in Naval Aviation History – Pacific Theater and Guided Missiles

BySteeljawscribe

12 Jun 1944: In the first deployment of a guided missile unit into a combat theater, elements of Special Task Air Group 1 arrived in the Russell Islands in the South Pacific.  (ed: and in case you’re wondering – yes, there was a Flightdeck Friday on the subject. – SJS)

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Vanguard 1: Fifty Years Later

BySteeljawscribe

    Requirement: 1) place a satellite in orbit during the IGY; 2) accomplish a scientific experiment in orbit; 3) track the satellite and ensure its attainment of orbit.  Because of an ongoing classified program to put reconnaissance satellites in orbit (Project WS-117 using Air Force Thor MRBM’s – which later became the Korona-series of reconnaissance…