by Nick Anderson | Mar 4, 2021 | Plane Tales
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Out of the gloom of thick cloud, through their windscreens, the pilots suddenly saw the tops of pine trees but it was too late to pull up. They ploughed through them as the branches smashed into the left wing shattering the navigation light. One of the passengers onboard was the President of the airline, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker… this is his story.
An Eastern Airlines DC3
Atlanta had poor weather and it was close to midnight when the aircraft crashed
Eddie Rickenbacker
The findings of the inquiry
Racing in San Francisco
Rickenbacker becomes CO of the 94th, the Hat in the Ring gang
After receiving many decorations, Rickenbacker returns to the US a hero
The Rickenbacker motor company
Rickenbacker survives a second crash, this time in a Boeing B-17
Capt. E.V. “Eddie” Rickenbacker wearing the Congressional Medal of Honor
Images published under Creative Commons Licence with thanks to Jack Delano, the Library of Congress, CAB, SF Public Library, NARA, Rickenbacker Motors, the USAFand the USAAF.
by Nick Anderson | Feb 20, 2021 | Plane Tales
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This is the final part of the Red Flag tales which carries on directly from Part II where we heard some exploits from participants of Exercise Red Flag. If you haven’t listened to the previous taleson this subject, it would be worth going back them. My thanks to Jaguar Pilot Nij, Tornado pilot Gasher, Tomcat RIO Scott and RAAF F111 Nav Abs.
The E-3 Sentry AWACS.
Break Right Chuck, there’s one in your 6 o’clock!
A Smokey SAM.
Live weapons being dropped during Red Flag.
A Tornado drops flares.
An RAAF F111 puts its wings back and goes!
The Jaguar pilot’s favourite dance.
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the USAF, Photo-Concepte.de, the RAF, the USN,
by Nick Anderson | Feb 13, 2021 | Plane Tales
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In the first part of the Red Flag tales we talked about the reasons for the formation of the USAF Fighter Weapons School and the subsequent creation of Exercise Red Flag. Now we get a chance to hear from some of the participants. Firstly there is Nij who took time off from his Nuclear QRA duties to fly his RAF Jaguar in Flag exercises. Then we have a Tornado GR1 pilot, Gasher, who also participated on behalf of the RAF. Jack was an F15 pilot who took part as a wingman, formation leader and also as a Fighter Weapons School graduate. Scott was a Tomcat RIO who was part of Red Air during Flag exercises and Abs, a navigator from the Royal Australian Air Force flew with the F111 force and was even a Blue Force Commander during the exercise.
An RAF Jaguar
An RAF Tornado at Nellis
The mighty F15 Eagle
The USN F14 Tomcat
The RAAF F111
The Nellis ranges with Area 51 marked in red
The Nellis Air Force Base
A Red Flag briefing
The symbol of Exercise Red Flag
The EF-111A Raven
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Steve Lynes, Finlay McWalter, the USAF, USN, Ken Lund, the National Museum of the Air Force and the MOD.
by Nick Anderson | Feb 6, 2021 | Plane Tales
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The Korean War had been a successful period for the US Air Force but a decade later in the Vietnam war their success rate had gone from 10:1 down to 1:1. Something had to be be done. This is the story of the creation of the USAF Fighter Weapons School and Exercise Red Flag!
The F86 in Korea
The F4 Phantom II
Wreckage of a B52 in Hanoi
The Weapons School graduate patch and an example of dissimilar combat between an F16 and Mig21
A Soviet Surface to Air missile system
A captured Soviet Mig in USAF markings
The F5 Aggressors
Richard Suter
The Nellis Ranges
A ‘Smokey SAM’
IAF F15s, one of the many nations that are invited to take part in Ex Red Flag
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the USAF, Mark Limb, US DOD, US Gov, US Defence Imagery, USMC, Finlay McWalter, National Museum of the Air Force and Srđan Popović.
by Nick Anderson | Jan 31, 2021 | Plane Tales
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It is the beginning of 1981 but for me it was the conclusion of my first front line tour of duty. When my posting came I was devastated. I had been sent to instruct at No 4 Flying Training School, RAF Valley on the island of Anglesey in North Wales. A remote corner in the middle of nowhere doing a job I didn’t want.
An F4 Phantom FG1 of No43(F) Sqn.
The Hawker Harrier GR1.
Survival Scramble.
The A10 Warthog.
The BLC Malfunction emergency checklist.
Greek Gunboats!
My posting to become a QFI loomed!
My much loved Yamaha along with our poo coloured Rover!
Climbing Mt Snowdon.
Dave would perish during Exercise Red Flag when he crashed his RAF Jaguar avoiding a simulated SAM engagement.
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Mike Freer, Senior Airman Matthew Bruch, CC BY-SA 3.0, the USAF, the RAF and myself!
by Nick Anderson | Jan 23, 2021 | Plane Tales
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The Sound Barrier was first broken in 1947… by 1949 Convair had submitted its initial bid for the USAF’s first supersonic bomber. So much had to be learned in that time… the aerodynamics of supersonic flight, the construction materials that would be required and the engines that could power it were only part of the technological challenges that would be faced. It was truly a remarkable effort. The pilots that were chosen to fly this tricky Mach 2, 70,000 ft capable aircraft that could climb at over 45,000ft a minute, were highly skilled and Lt Col Henry, John Deutschendorf was one of them.
The opposing sides of the Cold War
The first generation of US and Soviet ICBM nuclear missiles
The B-58 Hustler
The Hustler’s escape pod
The three B-58 cockpit hatches
John Denver
The Long EZ
Ghostbusters II
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Kingkingphoto, the USAF, NOAA and Impawards.
