It's been a busy, busy few weeks since our last
newsletter ‑‑ up to and including last weekend's air show at the Planes of
Fame in Chino (you can see a few photos on our website and in the
Members area below).
Once again, we had more content that we had
space, so if you sent in some material which hasn't shown up yet, keep the faith. Now, let's get to it!
Blue skies,
PS - Many links will open in a separate window, and if there is
a larger version of the photo, just clicking it will bring up the enlargement
‑‑ the "back" button will return you here.
If you still use Internet Explorer for your browser, you may receive a
warning about "Active X" controls. This is because of videos we've
included in the newsletter. Just click on the "Allow Blocked Content"
and you'll be able to view the videos.
The Chino Air Show was even better than usual this year. They
broke up the aviation activity throughout the day so the visitors had a
chance to really enjoy the ground show as well. Lots to see, and
the P-38 Association had several of our pilots signing autographs and
miniature P-38s for the kids. Great fun. Check out
the videos below and
the photos here.
Six P-38s in the Air - in 2010?
Many of you may have heard by now that the folks at the California
Capital Air Show in Sacramento (Sep 11‑12 at Mather Field) in
partnership with the Reno Air Races are trying to pull together the most
spectacular display of P‑38s since WWII. Word is that five
of the remaining seven airworthy P-38s are committed to appear at the show.
And we are proud to say that we at the P‑38 National Association are now heavily involved in
the endeavor. If we're able to pull off this return of "Kelly's
Heroes," it will truly be an aviation event of historic proportions.
Stay tuned.
Take
a moment this coming Memorial Day (May 31) not to take advantage of the latest
mattress sale or to get out of town for a "long weekend," but to
remember the reason for the holiday. To quote ole Abe Lincoln: "...that
from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for
which they gave the last full measure of devotion."
About Memorial Day. Check on this
VA
website to find a Memorial Day service in your area.
P-38 vs. p-51
If you're going to be in the area of the Grand Canyon next month,
make sure to stop by and watch this "spirited debate" during our P‑38
Symposium at the Planes of Fame on Saturday, June 26. Ride-alongs
in a P‑38 will also be available for purchase. You can find
all the details here.
You don't have to be a member of the P‑38 Association to attend the
Symposium or to order a flight. Just be sure to mention the P‑38
Association if you call to reserve the flight.
There were a couple of unexpected P‑38 sightings on TV this week.
One was an episode of NCIS (possibly an old one) where they were
talking about what a great airplane the P‑38 was, and the guy
proceed to open his safe, which was hidden behind a painting of a P-38.
We all know Mark Harmon's relationship to the P‑38 (his dad,
Tom Harmon, was a P‑38 pilot for those of you who haven't heard).
The second was, would you believe, an episode on the Biography
Channel about Elton John. Apparently there was a segment where
they had various shapes of balloons bouncing around during the act,
and one was an inflatable P‑38! Don't know what Elton
John's connection is -- maybe a relative flew one of the British
versions (no superchargers)?
If anyone has any more info about either of these two shows, we'd
love to hear it. Send us an
email here.
P‑38 Popularity grows
You
might think that the popularity of a 60+ year old warbird would diminish
over time. You would be wrong, at least when it comes to the P‑38
Lightning. There is a gratifying increase in interest among (very)
young aviation fans for the P‑38. This was reinforced this past
weekend at the Planes of Fame air show when our P‑38 pilots at times had
a hard time keeping up with the youngsters who plopped down their money for
a P‑38 Hot Wings that would be autographed by a pilot who had actually
flown the P‑38 in combat. They stood there, with their eyes as big
as saucers and the admiration overflowing as our veterans signed and
personalized the models or a free photo for them. It was a very
cool thing to experience. (You can order one of the autographed Hot
Wings from
this special link, but supplies are
extremely limited. $10 plus Priority shipping).
Those talented aussies -
and Pete!
Another
great piece of trench art has shown up -- this one from Ron Peterson,
son of P‑38 Assn Member, Albert O. (Pete/Bud) Peterson, Jr.
Peterson was a crew chief in the 18th
Fighter Group, 12th Fighter Squadron, in 1943 on Guadalcanal. He says
that while waiting for his P‑38 to return from a mission he and some
Australians from across the field made about 5 of the models. (Couldn't
help but notice that 12FS mug he got at
our CafePress store.
Shameless plug.)
Interest has picked up again in the crashed P‑38 off the coast of
Wales, which has come to be known as the "Maid of Harlech."
Ric Gillespie, of The International Group for Historic Aircraft
Recovery (TIGHAR), who is involved with the project has stated:
"Museums have raised historic aircraft from salt
water in good condition
and at great expense only to see them crumble to white powder in a
matter of months."
There is technology available today that could protect and preserve
this valuable relic; however, a lot of care (and money) would
be needed for this project to move forward.
The
pilot of this P‑38 (shown at right), 2nd Lt Robert Elliott walked away
from the crash without a scratch but sadly went MIA three months later
in North Africa.
We have received this question a few times, so I thought I'd print it here
for interest. This one came from Jim Oxley in Australia:
"I'm an avid fan of the P-38. Think
it's just the most beautiful aircraft ever designed. There's something
though that has always puzzled me, and despite the numerous books I
have on the aircraft, I've never found a satisfactory answer. And that
is why, despite several model upgrades, the cumbersome canopy was not
replaced with a clear bubble version?"
"I can only offer a speculation from personal experience with the
restored examples which I had the opportunity to examine. For one
thing, I surmise that the usual sliding bubble canopy was not
practical on the limited space behind the cockpit. The standard
segmented canopy was more easily fashioned onto the opening behind the
windscreen and ahead of the radio compartment. You may notice that
early P‑38s had a clear hatch over the head of the pilot, but
slipstream problems perhaps caused unhappy maneuverability
characteristics ala the wing/cockpit fillet. Most P‑38 pilots would
have gladly dispensed with the x-crossed side panels, but I believe
that the framing provided a stiffening of the Perspex panels."
C-B-I RECOGNITION
A lot of people feel like the CBI (China/Burma/India) theater of
operation has been overlooked in all of the film and television
projects. So, someone is trying to do something about it.
Their petition (directed to HBO, Dreamworks/Steven Spielberg and Playtone/Tom
Hanks) says:
"We are petitioning to have the long overlooked and forgotten theater
of WWII, the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater, acknowledged and addressed
in a future series or special. The European and Pacific theaters have
been featured in two superb series on HBO. We feel that the veterans who
sacrificed for their country in the CBI Theater deserve the same
recognition afforded to those who fought in the more well-publicized
Theaters of WWII. We would like to honor these veterans with similar
attention and focus. They deserve no less." (Thanks to Aileen Lim.)
Captain Art Jeffrey of the P-38 equipped 479th Fighter Group was
leading Newcross Yellow Flight on July 29, 1944 when he encountered some
straggling 100th Bomb Group B‑17s heading home from a successful bombing
mission to Wilhelmshaven. He hovered over one bomber at about 11,000
feet when a curious Me‑163 arced toward the Americans apparently in a
glide with its power off.
At this point in the war, very few sightings of reaction‑powered German
rockets and jets had been made. The Me‑262 and bat‑winged 163 were
highly secret weapons, and the German Luftwaffe was not eager to reveal
the types to the Allies before they were ready to be used in force.
Jeffrey had one German aircraft to his credit by this date, and he was a
highly skilled P‑38 pilot, quite capable of taking on anything the enemy
could throw at American bombers.
As it happened, Jeffrey attacked the cruising rocket, and reported
numerous strikes on its compact but sturdy frame before the German pilot
obviously decided to end the encounter by firing his engine and diving
into the clouds at about an altitude of 3,000 feet. Jeffrey screamed
after the fleeing enemy at an indicated speed of over 500 miles per hour
before ending the dive at about an altitude of 1,500 feet, blacking out
in the process. The Me‑163 was last seen diving away at high speed over
500 miles per hour.
After completing his report, and initially claiming a probable, Jeffrey
was credited with the first destroyed enemy jet fighter in aerial
combat. Gun camera evidence and the testimony of his wingman who managed
to struggle close enough to see the jet heading down almost vertically
into the cloud mass at high speed convinced 8th Fighter Command that the
German had indeed gone into the ground, since no known aircraft at that
time could recover from a steep dive at that speed and altitude.
Postwar evidence of a Me‑163 being lost (or indeed even being damaged)
is non‑existent, so the conclusion must be that confirmation was
premature. Other similar combat reports from later encounters were duly
recorded as probably destroyed, so it is likely that this credit should
have been recorded thusly. However, if we discount all doubtful claims
then the number of confirmed enemy aircraft destroyed would be
significantly lower.
What did happen to the Me‑163? Since we have no available report of a
lost or damaged aircraft – and we know that Jeffrey did inflict serious
damage on his target that day – we can only speculate that 1/JG400 (the
likely unit to which the 163 was assigned) was being very discreet about
the incident. Be that as it may, we can assume that some Luftwaffe
personnel received major league chewings-out over the damage or loss of
a top-secret weapon.
-------
Read About the 479th Fighter Group (AKA "Riddle's Raiders")
in John Stanaway's excellent book.
If you'd like to support the P‑38 Association (any donation at all will help), just click the button below. Thanks! We appreciate it.
The generous donations from our Association and P‑38 Newsletter members
as well as the "legacy" donations made to us by the families and friends
of those who have folded their wings, have enabled us to continue our
mission of keeping alive the memory of the P‑38 and all those involved
with her throughout the war years and beyond. And we thank you.
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amount. Thanks!)
This Month's Donors
Thanks to all of you for helping to keep us
thriving. The supporters with a star
☆
by their names are our special donors, who have made exceptionally
generous donations.
IN MEMORY OF ROY KING
Rosalie McCoy
Monroe Lair Chauncy & Nancy Rucker ☆
Ron & Marilyn Smith☆
Gene and Anna Belle Thomas
We had our most successful event in a very long time this past weekend
at the Planes of Fame Air Show in Chino. There were two P‑38s
participating, 23‑Skidoo and Allied Fighters, and our
pilots spent both days signing autographs for the lines of fans who
waited patiently for their signed photo or Hot Wings airplane (for the
kids).
For the first time, we had more volunteers than we knew what to do with
-- headed up by President Bob Alvis, Treasurer Howard Ramshorn and his
wife MaryAnn and son‑in‑law
Adam Lieberman, VP
Quentin Roberts, PR Director Dayle DeBry, Director Ron Smith and his wife Marilyn, plus our P‑38
pilots Bob Waggoner, Joe Onesty, John Stege and Everett Farnham with his
wife, Joan. Enjoy all the photos here.
We'd also like to give Dayle DeBry a big attagirl -- she signed up more
new members during the show than we've had since the Association began
back in 1987. Great job, Dayle!
P-38 combat pilots panel
We told you in the last issue about this event at the Planes of Fame,
but we had no idea it would be such a huge success. There were
nearly 800 people in attendance, and we're proud to say that our
guys did a heck of a good job. They kept their presentations
fairly brief, but then the floor was open to questions, and they fielded
all questions like Manny Ramirez coming in to catch a pop fly to left
field.
Here are some shots of some of our guys who spoke on the panel:
Bob Waggoner
Joe Onesty
(Who gave a nice shout out
to all the crew members in
the audience, saying the
pilots couldn't have even
done their jobs without the support of the crew .)
Bob Carlton
Fox Olsen
Everett Farnham
John Hedenberg
Everett Miller
(P-38 Ace)
New Brochures!
After WAY too long, we've finally got some new, beautiful brochures to
"get the word out" about our organization. Designed by our new
Director of Public Relations, Dayle DeBry, and Bob Alvis (with a little
input from yours truly), Dayle has put together this fantastic promo piece for our
Association. We handed them out at the booth during the Planes of
Fame air show last weekend and had people coming back, asking for more
copies!
Hope everyone is planning to attend our 3rd Annual General Membership
meeting next month (June 25‑26) in Arizona. It's shaping up to be
a good one. We have moved closer to the Grand Canyon this time
because (let's face it) there's not a lot to do in Williams after dark
-- so this time we're staying at a very nice hotel in Tusayan, which is
a much more tourist oriented town. So, although the rooms are a bit
more pricey this time around, at least we'll have a bunch to do during
non-event hours.
Our events will still be held at the Planes of Fame Museum in Valle,
except for our closing night dinner -- which will be at the hotel.
So, anyone wishing to have an adult beverage or two won't have to worry
about driving afterwards. Walking to your room will be your
biggest challenge.
The "P‑38 v P‑51" panel is (we have a feeling) going to be a doozy.
We're looking forward to a spirited debate, with the final outcome
being, naturally, that the P-38 was the best overall combat airplane in
WWII. Be there or be square.
There's no charge for the events, other than our closing night
dinner ceremony on Saturday. In addition to the membership meeting
- where we can bring everyone up to par on the P‑38 Association's
upcoming activities -- there will be the Friday night BBQ and the Planes
of Fame fly‑in on Saturday. The PoF P‑38 (23 Skidoo) will be there
and available for anyone wishing to purchase a flight. As some of
you know, we had a little radiator problem last year, which preempted
the flights which had been reserved. To avoid any possible
problems like that Steve Hinton will be taking the P‑38 over a few
days early to guarantee that she will be there -- or guarantee as much
as you can with a 60-year-old warbird.
Not sure if the special rate is still available at the hotel, since the
rooms we booked were close to sold out a couple of days ago, but you can
get all the details about the event here on our website. If you decide
to reserve a ride in the P‑38, you can find details there as well,
and make sure to mention that you're with the P‑38 Association
when you call.
FTHF Award to
Tallichet
Air Force World War II pilot David Tallichet (and former owner of the P‑38
Ruff
Stuff) was posthumously given an Excellence in Aviation award by
the
Flight Test Historical Foundation, and we were invited to attend.
The event held May 8 at the Proud Bird Restaurant near LAX (a
popular favorite with aviation fans) and the P‑38 Association was
well represented by our President, Bob Alvis as well as P‑38 pilot
Joe Onesty and PR Director, Dayle DeBry.
General Robert Cardenas &
Assn President, Bob Alvis
Dayle DeBry, Gen. Cardenas
& Bob Alvis
Robert Sternfels
(pilot of "Sandman" during the Ploesti Raid)
& Joe Onesty
New Meeting
Format
Another good thing that has just happened is that we will be changing
our monthly meetings format and venue. In the recent past, it has
been strictly a business meeting, but it will now switch to a more
generic meeting which will be open to the general public. We will
still be meeting once per month, but it will now be on the third
Sunday of each month. The time will now be from 2-4:00, and
each meeting will feature a special guest speaker. The topics will not be
strictly related to the P-38, but will cover a wide variety of subjects.
(Let's face it, many of our members have heard a lot of the P‑38 stories
before...)
Flabob Airport in
Riverside has been nice enough to invite us to use their facility, and
as we mentioned, we're opening up these meetings now to the general
public. Our intention is to expose more people to our organization
and hopefully begin bringing in even more members with this new
format. There is no charge for the meeting, and it will take place
in the afternoon when people have generally had a chance to attend
services and/or have a little lunch.
The "business" meetings that were formerly held every third Tuesday will
now be included three times per year at the beginning of these regularly
scheduled Sunday meetings. We will let you know the dates in
advance by posting them on the website. If you'd like to be
notified by email, just send a message to us
at this email address and
we'll let you know which Sunday meeting is scheduled to include a
business meeting as well.
First Meeting:
DATE: July 18
TIME: 2-4:00
LOCATION:
Flabob
Airport (visit their website for info about the airport and
directions)
GUEST SPEAKER: TBA
We're pulling together our "New Members"
list now, to include all the new members who signed up at the Planes
of Fame air show last weekend.
So, look for our new members list in the next edition.
P-38 Association Exclusive
Limited Quantities/Sizes Available
Just in time for summer, these custom tees were designed for us by
Victory Girls to honor specific people
and events of the P‑38 and are not available anywhere else.
Designs are on the back, with the P‑38 Association logo is on the front.
CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE
CHUG-CHUG CHARLIE:
Not many men went from flying P‑38s to becoming an astronaut, but Joe
Walker, who we honor with this shirt, did it. In 1963, Walker made
two
X‑15 flights beyond 100 kilometers - the
edge of space. These were the only powered space plane flights past that threshold until
SpaceShipOne in 2004. These flights qualified him as an
astronaut under both U.S. Air Force and
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (International Aeronautical
Federation) rules.
ELBOW-ROOM DOTTIE: This shirt honors
Lt. "Satch" Hiram, Jr. who named is P‑38 after a waitress named
Dottie, who worked in the pilot's favorite watering hole in Glendale,
CA, "The Elbow Room."
Thanks very much for subscribing to our newsletter. We hope you
enjoyed it. If someone referred you to this newsletter, but you do not
receive it directly and would like to, you can join by
sending a blank email here.
For questions regarding anything in this newsletter, please send an
email to the Editor, Kelly B. Kalcheim
here.
If you'd like to donate an article or have an interesting tidbit to
contribute, you can send them to us
here.
We will credit you with the information.
The Chino Air Show was even better than usual this year. They
broke up the aviation activity throughout the day so the visitors had a
chance to really enjoy the ground show as well. Lots to see, and
the P-38 Association had several of our pilots signing autographs and
miniature P-38s for the kids. Great fun. Check out
Take
a moment this coming Memorial Day (May 31) not to take advantage of the latest
mattress sale or to get out of town for a "long weekend," but to
remember the reason for the holiday. To quote ole Abe Lincoln: "...that
from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for
which they gave the last full measure of devotion."
You
might think that the popularity of a 60+ year old warbird would diminish
over time. You would be wrong, at least when it comes to the P‑38
Lightning. There is a gratifying increase in interest among (very)
young aviation fans for the P‑38. This was reinforced this past
weekend at the Planes of Fame air show when our P‑38 pilots at times had
a hard time keeping up with the youngsters who plopped down their money for
a P‑38 Hot Wings that would be autographed by a pilot who had actually
flown the P‑38 in combat. They stood there, with their eyes as big
as saucers and the admiration overflowing as our veterans signed and
personalized the models or a free photo for them. It was a very
cool thing to experience. (You can order one of the autographed Hot
Wings from
water in good condition
and at great expense only to see them crumble to white powder in a
matter of months." 
