Listing Through Life

By the time we got to the second hangar, we were suffering from information overload. My wife sat down and watched a video on Bob Hope and the USO while I made a quick pass through the two sections.

Douglas C-124C Globemaster — cargo and troop carrier capable of handling tanks, field guns, bulldozers and trucks. It could also be converted into a transport capable of carrying 200 fully-equipped soldiers or 127 litter patients and their attendants in its double-decked cabin.

Sikorsky YH-5A Dragonfly (upper right, yellow) — Used to rescue pilots shot down behind enemy lines and to evacuate wounded soldiers.

Republic F-84 Thunderjet — Long-range escort and interdiction (attacking the enemy’s transportation) fighter with tactical nuclear bomber capabilities.

Lockheed F-94A Starfire (left) — Interceptor with radar-tracking capability, used as a night-bombing escort.

North American B-45C Tornado (right) — the first jet bomber

North American L-17A Navion (upper background) — Used for liaison, reconnaissance, light cargo carrying and forward air control.

Douglas B-26C (A-26C) Invader — Used for night bombing and interdiction.

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis — Soviet fighter used by North Korea. This particular airplane was flown by a defecting North Korean pilot to Kimpo Air Base in South Korea on Sept. 21, 1953.

North American F-86A Sabre — The first U.S. swept-wing fighter. In Korea, F-86 pilots had shot down 792 MiGs, with a kill ratio of about 8:1. 

Boeing B-52D Stratofortress — Long-range heavy bomber. This particular plane saw extensive service in Southeast Asia and was severely damaged by an enemy surface-to-air missile on April 9, 1972. In December 1972, after being repaired, it flew four additional missions over North Vietnam.

Bell UH-1P Iroquois — The “Huey” escort and gunship. This particular helicopter served in South Vietnam with the 20th Special Operations Squadron flying dangerous, highly-classified missions carrying special operations personnel into Laos and Cambodia.

Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant — Used for combat search and rescue.

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17F — Soviet fighter. This particular plane was used by the Egyptian Air Force.

Republic F-105D Thunderchief — Supersonic tactical fighter-bomber. This particular plane served in the 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Takhli Royal Thai Air Base in Thailand. The nickname Memphis Belle II refers to the B-17F that carried the same artwork during WWII.

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21PF “Fishbed-D” — Soviet jet fighter. This particular plane carried air-to-air missiles but no guns.

General Dynamics F-111A Aardvark — Tactical fighter-bomber. This particular plane was used in 1972-1973 by the 474th Tactical Fighter Wing during Linebacker II (night strikes against North Vietnam).

This is the part of the museum I found the most interesting and the part in which we spent the most time, but even so, we only saw a fraction of what there was to see.

Curtiss P-36A Hawk — Fighter used by the United States, England and France at the beginning of the war but quickly replaced by better planes. This is the first one delivered to the Air Corps and is decorated like one that saw action at Pearl Harbor.

A variety of items used by the Japanese during the war.

Link Trainer — Created during the 1930s to train pilots, but used primarily by amusement parks until the war began.

Curtiss P-40E Warhawk — Fighter used by many nations throughout the war. This one is painted to represent the Fighting Tigers.

North American B-25B Mitchell (foreground) — Medium bomber painted to represent the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo

Douglas B-18 Bolo (background) — Bomber used early in the war.

Bell P-63E Kingcobra (left) — American-built fighter used mostly by Russia.

Beech AT-11 Kansan (right) — American bomber trainer used by most bomber pilots.

Bristol Beaufighter — British night fighter used extensively during the Blitz.

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vc — British fighter. This particular plane was used during the war by the Royal Australian Air Force.

Vultee BT-13B Valiant(left foreground, blue with yellow wings) — Trainer used for pilots who had passed the first level of training.

Laister-Kauffmann TG-4A (left background, blue with yellow wings) — Glider trainer

Curtiss AT-9 Jeep/Fledgling (right foreground) — Twin-engine trainer

Consolidated B-24D Liberator (the big one) — Long-range bomber used in the raid from North Africa against the oil industry at Ploesti, Rumania. This particular plane flew combat missions from North Africa in 1943-1944 with the 512th Bomb Squadron.

Culver PQ-14 (upper right) — Radio-controlled target aircraft for training anti-aircraft artillery gunners.

Macchi MC.200 Saetta (lower right) — Italian fighter captured by the British at Banghazi airfield following the battle of El Alamein and later displayed around the United States to sell war bonds.

Lockheed P-38L Lightning — Dive bomber and long-range fighter.

Republic P-47D — fighter used throughout the war by several nations. This particular plane was built in the late 1940s and used by the Peruvian Air Force.

Waco CG-4A Hadrian (above) — Glider built of wood and metal covered with fabric, used in Sicily and on D-Day.

Douglas C-47D Skytrain (below) — Called the “Gooney Bird.” Used as a troop and cargo carrier and to tow gliders. This particular plane was the last C-47D in regular use by the Air Force.

The A-2 flying jacket, scarf and gauntlets worn by Phillip R. Taylor of Alameda, Calif., a waist gunner in a B-17 of the 91st Bomb Group during the Schweinfurt mission. The 8th Air Force attack on Oct. 14, 1943, against the ball bearing factories at Schweinfurt, Germany, resulted in the greatest air battle in history. The firing pin is from the .50-cal. machine gun used by Taylor to shoot down an enemy Fw 190 fighter plane that attacked his B-17. Taylor’s plane had more than 200 holes in it upon landing in England, and it never flew again.

Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress — Daylight bomber. In March 1944 this particular B-17G was assigned to the 91st Bomb Group — “The Ragged Irregulars” — and based at Bassingbourn, England. There its crew named it Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby, after a popular song. It flew 24 combat missions in WWII, receiving flak damage seven times. Its first mission (Frankfurt, Germany) was on March 24, 1944, and last mission (Posen, Poland) on May 29, 1944, when engine problems forced a landing in neutral Sweden where the airplane and crew were interned.

V-2 on Meilerwagen — The first practical modern ballistic missile, built by Germany and launched at England and Belgium. This particular rocket was damaged in an air attack by allied forces before it could be launched.

Trombone played by Major Glenn Miller in the Maj. Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. It was also used by Jimmy Stewart in the movie The Glenn Miller Story.

Ronald Reagan’s overcoat worn while serving in active duty with the 1st Motion Picture Unit and the 18th AAFBU. Reagan served as Personnel Officer, Post Adjutant, Executive Officer, and Commanding Officer. By the end of the war, his military units had produced 400 training films for the AAF.

Messerschmitt Me 163B Komet — Rocket-powered fighter built by Germany, used sparingly. This particular plane had some issues that may have been caused by sabotage by the French forced laborers.

Messerschmitt Me 262A Schwalbe — The first operational jet fighter. It proved very effective in combat but few made it to production due to allied bombing, lack of fuel and other problems. This particular one was captured when the war ended.

Stinson L-5 Sentinel (foreground, above) — Used for reconnaissance, front-line medical evacuation, delivering supplies, laying communications wire, spotting enemy targets, personnel transport, rescue and even as a light bomber.

Cessna UC-78B Bobcat (background, above) — Used for personnel transport

French “Forty and Eight” boxcar — These cars received their names because they could carry 40 men or eight horses — sometimes as many as 90 prisoners of war were forced into each boxcar. This particular car operated between France and Germany and likely carried P.O.W.s.

Sikorsky R-4B Hoverfly — The first production helicopter, used for the first time in combat in May, 1944.

Douglas A-20G Havoc — Bomber also used on low-level strafing attacks in almost every theater.

Curtiss C-46D Commando — Troop and cargo carrier of the type used to fly supplies over the “Hump” from India to China.

Consolidated OA-10 Catalina — Flying boat with retractable wheels for landing on land. Used primarily for sea rescue.

Boeing B-29 Superfortress — Long-range bomber. This particular plane, Bockscar, dropped the Fat Man atomic bomb on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945.

Replica of the “Fat Man” bomb dropped over Nagasaki, Japan, on Aug. 9, 1945.

Items carried by Lt. Fred Olivi, third pilot on the Bockscar when it dropped the bomb on Nagasaki.

Mk I bomb, nicknamed “Little Boy,” the first nuclear weapon used in warfare. It was dropped by the B-29 Enola Gay on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945. This particular one was an operational bomb when built.

Northrop P-61C Black Widow — Night fighter

We visited Dayton to see the National Park sites commemorating the Wright Brothers, but in spite of what the web page said, they were closed. This museum was right across the road from our hotel, so we went for Plan B — and were glad we did.

The place was huge and fascinating. It would have taken us two or three days to see everything. We were there for three hours. The museum fills four huge hangers, two other large rooms and a large outdoor space.

Bicycle from the Wright Bicycle Co.

Pieces from the original Wright Brothers plane that flew for the first time in 1903.

Wright 1909 Military Flyer — This is an exact replica of the first military airplane, although the engine and other hardware were made by the Wrights. The original is in the Smithsonian

Spad VII — Used by the Lafayette Escadrille beginning in 1916.

Avro 504K — Used by British and American pilots as a trainer during WWI.

The cross from Quentin Roosevelt’s grave, placed by German troops after they shot down his plane.

Fokker Dr. 1 — A replica of the German dogfighter, the type used by Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron.

Sopwith Camel F.1 — A replica of the premiere British fighter during WWI, built from original plans.

Caquot Type R Observation Balloon — Used throughout WWI for combat observation and into WWII in non-combat situations. This one, built in 1944, is believed to be the only original balloon still in existence.

Packard LePere LUSAC 11 — An American-built fighter that didn’t make it into combat during WWI. This is the only original one still in existence.

Fokker D.VII — Replica of a German fighter

Caproni Ca. 36 — WWI heavy bomber. This plane served in the Italian Air Force.

Martin MB-2 — Replica of the first American-built bomber from 1920.

Boeing P-12E — U.S. fighter used between the wars. This particular plane served with the 6th Pursuit Squadron in Hawaii during the 1930s.

Kellet K-2/K-3 Autogiro — Built for short take-offs and landings and slow-moving military observation. This one was built in 1931 and tested at Wright Field.

Curtiss O-52 Owl — Built as an observation plane just before WWII but used only for coastal submarine patrols.

Hawker Hurricane MKIIA — WWII British fighter used most famously during the Battle of Britain. This one was built in Canada between 1940 and 1942.

The “crashed” plane in the background is a North American BT-14, used during WWII as a trainer. The diorama demonstrates what happens when a pilot braked too hard with a tail wind.

North American O-47B (on the right) — Observation plane with windows in the belly, decorated in the colors of the 112th Observation Squadron of the Ohio National Guard.

Fairchild PT-19A Cornell (on the left with the yellow “47”) — Trainer used during WWII.

We had a couple hours to kill in Dayton, so we decided to visit the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, which celebrates the Wright Brothers who lived and worked in the city. Our first stop was Huffman Prairie Flying Field Interpretive Center, where the brothers improved the airplane from a gimmick to a practical machine. We ran into a small problem — although the web site said it would be open every day, it was closed. A sign on the door of the visitor center said it was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays after November 3. That’s fine. They probably don’t get enough traffic to make it worthwhile to be open. But it would be nice if they updated the Internet.

Anyway, it was 8 degrees out, with a windchill of about -20. I jumped out to take a photo of the monument and look at the field, which I don’t think I actually managed to find. It’s down the hill and to the left from where I took this photo.

The monument, which was dedicated on August 19, 1940 (Orville’s 69th birthday) reads:

In commemoration of the courage, perseverance and achievements of Wilbur and Orville Wright. Through original research the Wright Brothers acquired scientific knowledge and developed theories of aerodynamics which with their invention of aileron control enabled them in 1903 to build and fly at Kitty Hawk the first power-driven man-carrying aeroplane capable of flight.

Their further development of the aeroplane gave it a capacity for service which established aviation as one of the great forward steps in human progress.

As scientists Wilbur and Orville Wright discovered the secret of flight. As inventors, builders and flyers they brought aviation to the world.

We’d found out that Huffman Prairie was closed, contrary to the web page, but surely the main visitor center for Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park would be open, right?

Wrong. We checked. I took a quick photo of The Wright Cycle Company, one of the actual buildings in which the brothers operated their business. They worked here from 1895 to 1897. (The building in which they actually designed their plane has been moved to Greenfield Village in Michigan.)

All the National Park sites celebrating the Wright Brothers were closed, so there was nothing left for us to do but find one of the many monuments scattered about town.

This one is next to the Dayton Engineers Club, built by a group of inventors from the city. Orville Wright was president for a while. A statue has been built next door, showing Wilbur flying the 1905 Wright Flyer while Orville runs alongside and tries to hand him a chair.

Sunday night’s snow had left several inches on Orville’s face. I tried to scrape some of it off, but it was caked on pretty solidly.

Four inches of snow and temperatures in the single digits in mid-November pretty much brought things to a halt in Dayton. For example, there was nobody in the park along the Great Miami River, right across the street from the sculpture.

The red chair has been in Ohio before, but I never found a good place for a photo. This time, we entered the state hard on the heels of a four-inch snowfall. I saw the sign and saw an exit and made a snap decision to pull off. I found myself on an unplowed ramp leading to a closed truck weighing station.

Even though it was only about 18 degrees out, with a stiff wind, I talked my wife into getting out of the warm car to take a picture.

I-70 near Clayton, Ohio