Lots going on right now – between events in North Asia, a one family attempt to stimulate the local construction economy and completing the first round of writing/editing for the BMD chapter for the book project there hasn’t been a lot of time to post. Still, there are a couple of irons in the fire,…
The “Flying Prostitute” it was called – the design, radical for the time, featured wings so short in span that there appeared to be “no visible means of support,” hence the moniker. Later, as inexperienced crews were dropping more and more of them into the waters of Tampa Bay, it earned another – “widow maker.” …
Vikings. Hawkeyes. CODs. Prowlers. Whales (when they were still around)… Cats and dogs we were called. Didn’t go fast (‘cept down hill). Didn’t do afterburner flybys. Boss and Handler generaly tolerated ’em, barely, unless they went stiff wing in the wires, then all hell was unleashed. Usually got the back-end pick of the Ready Rooms…
(…and no, it’s not .50 cals we’re talking about) The period from the end of the Korean War through the commissioning of the USS Enterprise (CVAN 65) was witness to an incredible period of growth in knowledge and experience with all things in naval aviation. From straight-decks and props to nuclear power and supersonic fighters,…
We noted last year that the Kitty Hawk would not be with us much longer…Today, forty-eight years after being commissioned, the mighty Battle Kat was finally silenced: Kitty Hawk’s Final Chapter “It ties a loop around almost half a century,” Capt. Todd Zecchin, the ship’s 34th and final commanding officer, said of the event. Martinelli, 68,…
Mail — we get mail on a variety of topics and subjects. Flightdeck Fridays though seem to engender the most responses and sometimes we receive some additional information – photos, remembrances, anecdotes and the like; to further flesh-out a particular story. So – this week we had the following passed our way: Item 1: U-2…
Near the back of the exhibit of modern aircraft at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, hangs an HH-1K in the colors of HA(L)-3, the Seawolves. The weathered dark green of the armed helo contrasts with the clean gull grey/white jets on the floor below, some with their colorful squadron markings of an age past. …
The Official press release: Marine Pilot Missing In Action From WWII Is Identified The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors He is…
17 December 1956. The icy fog of the mid-December morning had long dissipated when an odd appearing aircraft took the active duty runway. Twin-engines and a shoulder mounted wing marked its lineage to with that of the S-2 family, but a set of twn tails and more importantly, a huge, airfoil-shaped radome that stretched back…
Traveling again for the next few days so posting will, perforce, be light. Stay tuned, couple of major announcements when we return that will have some influence around these parts in the coming year. In the meantime, a couple of golden oldies for your consideration over the weekend: Phantom Records – 5 Dec 1961: Commander…
