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KNOCKOUT PUNCH B-25 STRAFERS IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC
PLANES & PILOTS WHO BEAT THE ODDS
TWIN ENGINE TERROR
Grumman Tigercat
RESCUED AT SEA
Downed PBY crew
in the North Sea
IWO TO TOKYO
Long Distance Mustangs
January/February 2024
JET AGE WARRIOR
F-86 Ace
over Korea
AIRWORTHY AT 86
Luscombe
Model 4
LIGHTNING STRIKES
P-38 combat
in the PTO
CONTENTS
FLIGHT JOURNAL
|
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
THIS PAGE:
“Ruff Stuff”
begins its bank toward final
against a brilliant, late day
Minnesota sunset. This rare
P-38G Lightning is owned by
Minnesota Airways, LLC of
Granite Falls and is an original
combat survivor. (Photo by
Paul Bowen)
ON THE COVER:
With Mike
FEATURES
6
‹
Devil Dog Tigercat
Inside Grumman’s twin-engine
piston fighter
By Ted Carlson
42
‹
Rescued at Sea
Downed Catalina crew survives
the brutal North Sea
By Rachel Morris
14
‹
Knockout Punch!
B-25 combat strafers in the South Pacific
By Capt. John “Jack” Bronson, USAAC (Ret.)
As told to and written by James P. Busha
50
‹
Long Way to Victory
Iwo to Tokyo in a Mustang
By Lt. Jerry Yellin, USAAF (Ret.),
As told and written by James P. Busha
Brown at the controls,
the rare F7F Tigercat “Big
Bossman” dives toward the
California landscape. You
can almost hear the roar and
harmonics of those savage,
2,500 horsepower “Double
Wasp” engines. (Photo by
Paul Bowen)
24
‹
Jet Age Warrior
A perfectionist in the most
dangerous game
By john lowery
REGULARS
4
‹
Editorial
60
‹
Gallery: Luscombe Model 4
66
‹
Parting Shot
34
‹
Lightning Strikes!
Pacific combat in a P-38
By Robert F. Dorr
FLIGHT JOURNAL
(USPS 015-447; ISSN 1095-1075) is published bimonthly by Air Age Inc., 57 Danbury Road, Suite 202, Wilton, CT 06897 USA. Copyright 2023, all rights reserved. Periodicals postage paid at
Wilton, CT, and additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40008153. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Go to FlightJournal.com/order. U.S., $49.95 (1 yr.); Canada, $64.95 including GST (1 yr.);
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EDITORIAL
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
|
VOLUME 31, NO. 1
EDITORIAL
Editorial Director
Louis DeFrancesco
Executive Editor
Debra Cleghorn
CONTRIBUTORS
Bud Anderson, James P. Busha, Ted Carlson,
Eddie J. Creek, Doug DeCaster, Robert S.
DeGroat, John Dibbs, Robert F. Dorr, Jim
Farmer, Paul Gillcrist, Phil Haun, Randy Jolly,
Frederick Johnsen, Geoffrey P. Jones, Ron
Kaplan, Peter Lert, David Leininger, Rick
Llinares, John Lowery, George Marrett, Peter
Mersky, Paul Novak, Dan Patterson, Steve
Pace, Stan Piet, Alfred Price, Clive Rowley,
Brian Silcox, Robert Tate, Jan Tegler, Warren
Thompson, David Truby, Barnaby Wainfan,
Bradley Wentzel, Chuck Yeager
(PHOTO BY JOHN DIBBS/FACEBOOK.COM/THEPLANEPICTURE)
ART
Survivors
ALMOST ALL OF THE AIRCRAFT
featured in this issue are combat survivors
and represent a broad range of purpose and missions. However, their uniqueness
didn’t exempt any of the men who flew them from the never-ending perils and
danger of aerial combat.
In Jim Busha’s story, “Long Way to Victory,” you’ll read about Pacific P-51
Mustang pilots like Jerry Yellin, who flew Very Long Range (VLR) B-29 escort
missions from Iwo Jima to Japan. These fighters’ enemies also included time and
distance that would push them to the outer edge of endurance. And in “Rescued at
Sea” by Rachel Morris, First Lt. John V. Lapenas and his PBY Catalina crew are the
only hope of salvation for downed Allied pilots in the brutal North Sea and English
Channel. Besides enemy aircraft and ships, endless miles of seas, darkness, and
the elements were their biggest foes. These infinite seas were also the enemy of
the South Pacific B-25 low-level strafing pilots like Capt. John Bronson, who took
out ships with eight devasting, nose-mounted .50-caliber machine guns. Read all
about them in “Knockout Punch.”
And speaking of survivors, the stunning black F7F featured in Ted Carlson’s
“Devil Dog Tigercat” is one of only three in the world that are airworthy.
Grumman’s vaunted twin-engine piston fighter came too late for WW II, but it
saw plenty of action supporting our marines during the Korean conflict. With
its combined 5,000 horsepower and 400mph speed, it would be a formidable
competitor in the Reno Air Races decades later.
Don Luscombe and his civilian aircraft are synonymous with the Golden Age
of flight, right up there with Clyde Cessna, Walter Beech, and Lloyd Stearman.
In continuing our survivor theme, in our story “Sole Survivor” you’ll read about
the ultra-rare Luscombe Model 4, which was developed in the mid-1930s as an
economical alternative to the pricey Phantom but never gained popularity. Ron
Price of Sonoma, California is now the custodian of this piece of aviation history
and owns and flies the last airworthy example. Beautifully restored in its red and
polished aluminum livery, it is true aerial art.
What brings all these aircraft to life are the actual words from those who flew
them. Those pilots are the real survivors and were able to chronicle aviation
history being made. It’s their words combined with powerful images that bring
the pages of
Flight Journal
to life and keep history alive.
We hope you enjoy this issue as much as we did creating it.
—Louis DeFrancesco
Art Director
Betty K. Nero
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