The Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California, is the oldest independently operated aviation museum in the United States and many of the planes on display are still "flight status ready." The Museum's "flight status ready" aircraft are flown to air shows around the country and some planes are available for flight rides. (See their web site for air show dates and locations.)
Located in the main museum building is a tribute to the Wright brothers and a replica of their "heavier-than-air" machine that made its first flight on December 17, 1903.
The bulk of the aircraft on display are military fighter planes, but there is also a collection of planes that were used in air races. Of course, many of the air race planes were military fighters at one time.
On display is a Folker Dr. 1 "Dreidecker" replica of the most famous plane of WW I. Manfred Von Richthoven (the "Red Baron") said that the Fokker Dr. 1 "Climbed like a monkey and maneuvered like the devil." He is credited with 80 combat victories during WW I.
The Boeing Model 15 (PW-9) was designed in 1923 and patterned after the Fokker D.VII used in WW I. It is a fabric-covered biplane with steel tube construction and wood-framed wings. In 1926 the PW-9 was modified for the navy with a larger engine and designated as a Model FB-5. A Model FB-5 is on display.
Boeing's P12/F4B was the last biplane fighter produced in the United states and was equipped with two machine guns that fired through the propeller arc. Although the plane was produced during the inter-war period, it is best known for its use by the Chinese Air Force in the battle over Shanghai in 1932. During WW II most of the planes were used as radio-controlled target aircraft and were shot down during training exercises.
Boeing's P-26 "Peashooter" was the first all-metal monoplane fighter designed and produced in the 1930s for the Army Air Corps. Equipped with a Pratt & Whitney radial 600 HP engine, the plane could reach speeds of over 200 MPH and had a range of 360 miles. Armament consisted of one .30 and one .50 calibre Browning machine guns that fired through the propeller arc. At the start of WW II, the planes were stationed in Hawaii and the Philippines and were involved in the first WW II aerial fighting. After WW II, the planes continued to be used by various governments around the world until the last P-26s owned by the Guatemalan Air Force were retired in 1956. Two of the planes were returned from Guatemala to the United States and one was placed in the Smithsonian Aircraft Museum and the other one is on display at the Planes of Fame Museum.
In 1936 Seversky Aircraft Company started receiving orders for their newly developed 2PA "Convoy" fighter (also known as the P-35 pursuit aircraft). Two planes were sold to the Soviet Union, 20 planes were sold to Japan (designated as A8V1 with Allied code name "Dick"), and 52 planes were sold to Sweden. In 1940 the US government placed an embargo on the sale of aircraft to foreign countries, except Britain. Since Sweden had only received two of their aircraft, the US Army purchased the remaining 50 aircraft that Sweden had ordered and designated them as AT-12 "Guardsman." Of the seventy-four 2PA/A8V1/AT-12s produced, only two survived and one of the two is on display at the Planes of Fame Museum.
In 1939 the Vultee Aircraft Company started building the BT-13 to be used for advance pilot training. The BT-13 had an enclosed cockpit, integral wing fuel tanks, and a more powerful engine. The plane tended to shake when in flight, so pilots nicknamed it the "Vultee Vibrator."
The Curtis-Wright's P-40 "Warhawk" fighter-bomber is one of the most recognizable WW II-era fighters. It served with every allied air force and fought in every theater of the war. Although very controversial, with war looming, in 1939 the Army ordered 524 P-40s, the largest single order ever made for fighter planes. When the United States entered WW II, the P-40s were the Army's primary fighter aircraft. Throughout the war, the P-40 was known for its "super-strong wing and mid-fuselage structure, which could absorb enormous punishment and keep flying." The aircraft on display is still flown at air shown and appeared in the movies "Pearl Harbor" and "Valkyrie."
North American Aviation's P-51 "Mustang" long-range escort fighter had a two-stage supercharged Packard-Merlin engine that gave it a longer range, higher altitude performance, and superior reliability, which allowed the US to expand its daylight bombing offensives. Over 270 P-51 Pilots achieved "Ace" status by shooting down five or more enemy aircraft. After WW II, the P-51s were used in the Korean War and by the Israeli Air Force in the Middle East. At home in the US, the P-51s were used for Air Racing and won national champions while setting new Air Racing records.
Republic Aviation's P-47 "Thunderbolt" weighed 8 tons, making it one of the heaviest fighter-bomber planes in WW II. The Thunderbolt was effective for short-to-medium range flights because it was equipped with eight .50 caliber machine guns and could carry five-inch rockets or a bomb load of 2,500 pounds.
Vought Aircraft Company's F4U "Corsair" was designed for the Navy as a carrier-biased aircraft and was considered to be one of the best carrier fighter-bombers of WW II. Some Japanese pilots "regarded it as the most formidable American fighter of WW II, and its naval aviators achieved an 11.1 kill ratio." However, due to carrier landing problems, the aircraft was replaced by the Grumman F6F "Hellcat."
I remember when I was in grade school, my Sunday School teacher was Governor Joe Foss, the leading Marine fighter pilot ace in World War II. Governor Foss was credited with 26 aerial victories and was America's first "Ace-of-Aces." His 26 kills tied him with America's top WW I Ace Eddie Rickenbacker for the total number of victories. Although he flew the F4U "Corsair," he is best known as the leader of "Foss's Flying Circus" flying an F4F "Wildcat." I remember in Sunday School class, the boys would always try to convince him to forget the Sunday School lesson and tell war stores. It worked sometimes, but he somehow always managed to tie the war story into the Sunday School lesson. At 39 years of age, he was elected the youngest governor in South Dakota history. After being Governor, he went on to become an Air National Guard Brigadier General, the first Commissioner of newly created American Football League, host of the television series The American Sportsman, and President of the National Rifle Association.
The Russian built Yakovlev Yak-3 was one of the smallest and lightest fighters used during WW II. Because of its high power-to-weight ratio, it had excellent performance and was considered by some to be superior to the American built P-51 Mustang.
The Focke-Wulf FW-190 was Germany's best WW II fighter. It had a 1700 HP engine and a top speed of 408 mph with a service ceiling of 37,400 feet.
The Japanese Aichi D4Y3 "Judy" Dive Bomber was also used for Kamikaze Mission. Toward the end of the war Admiral Ugaki, Head of the Kamikaze Naval Forces, flew a Kamikaze Mission and was never seen again.
Saburo Sakai, one of Japan's top pilots, flying a Mitsubishi A6M Zero, shot down the first B-17 "Flying Fortress" lost in the war.
The B-25 "Mitchel" Medium Range Bomber is the only American aircraft to bear the name of an individual. Designed as a land-based bomber, the aircraft gained notoriety when 16 B-25s were launched from the USS Hornet aircraft carrier on April 18, 1942, when Lt. Colonel Jimmy Doolittle led a surprise bombing raid on Japan. The raid did little damage to the Japanese war industry, but it was a great moral booster for Americans. B-25s were deployed in every theater during WW II. The aircraft on display is still flown to air shown around the country and used in movies, including the movie "Pearl Harbor."
Boeing's B-17 "Flying Fortress" on display has not flown since 1971; but the museum plans to restore the plane to "flight status" in the future. It has been said that the B-17, more than any other aircraft, was responsible for winning WW II. It was powered by four radial engines with variable pitch propellers and had a bomb carrying capacity of 17,600 pounds. It was given the nickname "Flying Fortress" because armament consisted of 13 machine guns. During the war, B-17s dropped over 640,000 tons of bombs on Hitler's war industries. Since I was one of only a few people visiting the Museum on a weekday morning, a docent opened the plane's doors and let me go inside of the fuselage.
During WW II Captain Ronald Reagan made training films that often featured female workers at the various war plants. One female worker used in the Reagan films was Norma Jean Dougherty from the Van Nuys Radioplane factory. After the war, Norma Jean went into movies and changed her name to Marilyn Monroe.
The experimental Northrop N9MB "Flying Wing" was first flown in 1945 to provide flight test data for the future XB-35 and B-2 Bombers. A number of modifications were made to the plane before it was retired in 1949, but the plane is still maintained in "airshow ready" flight status.
Germany's He 178 V1, the world's First Turbojet Aircraft, was built in 1939; but the German government was not interested in mass producing the plane; so it was not used during WW II.
Gloster Aircraft's F7F-3N was Britain's first, and the allies only, jet fighter to see action during WW II.
North American Aviation's F-86 "Sabre" was designed based on captured German documents. It was the first US built swept-wing transonic jet aircraft and it was used to challenge the Soviet-built MiG-15 during the Korean War. The F-86 was considered to be one of the best built, most versatile, and most reliable military aircraft for its time and was used by air forces around the world for decades.
Lockheed's P-80 "Shooting Star" scored the first jet kill by another jet ever during the Korean War by shooting down a Russian built MiG015.
Mikoyan-Gurevich's MiG 15 (Russian built) was based on captured German Documents for the Focke-Wulf Ta-183 project. The plane was first used in the Korean War.
Mikoyan-Gurevich's MiG 17 was patterned after the successful MiG 15, but with many upgrades.
The Douglas Aircraft Company D-558-II "Skyrocket" was an advanced research aircraft that was designed for exploring supersonic flight.
A number of aircraft are displayed outside, including one jet that had a slight problem at the back of the plane. Fortunately, the pilot was able to land the aircraft safely. Also located outside is the Bell X-2 mock-up used in the TV series Quantum Leap.
It would be possible to spend an entire day at the Planes of Fame museum, so maybe a return visit will be made at some future date!
No comments:
Post a Comment