Price change Unsung Giant

The price for my book, Remembering an Unsung Giant, is now $24.95. Shipping and handling to US addresses is $5.05. Washington addresses add $2.25 for sales tax.

Plenty of copies are available.

Cal Taylor

133 Cockpit Video

Thanks to Dick Strouse, here's a link to an amazing 360 degree tour! Even the sextant port in the ceiling! Bring back the memories!

Click on: http://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/media/067/C-133A%20Flight%20Deck%20Overview.html

Which bird is that? What museum? I think it's not 2008 at Wright Pat is it?

On 11/06/15 Gus Ogushwitz answered:

This is indeed Balls-8. Blow up the navigator panel to maximum magnification. Look just below and to the left of the altimeter. You will see a tag "Radio Call 62008". Thank you, Dick Strouse, for this wonderful treat. Highlight of my day!

Paul R. ("Gus") Ogushwitz, former Nav, 1 MAS, Dover AFB.

November 6, 2015 at 2:54 PM

Gus, you must be a young guy. When I was a nav with the 1st it was called the 1st ATS. That was 1962 to 1964.

Jack ("Slocs")Slocombe , former nav, 1st ATS, Dover AFB.

January 27, 2016 at 4:47 PM

 

 

Wake Island Hotel 1941

An article in Feb 42 Air Trails had this picture of the PanAM Wake Island Hotel as it looked before combat scalped the island. This predates even the old Drifter's Reef!

Bob McMurry's Recollections

Capt Bob McMurry flew C-133A 40140 to the Paris Air Show in Jun 1959. While there, he demonstrated the C-133's ability to fly low passes with two engines out on the side toward the reviewing stand, where French Pres. Charles DeGaulle was watching.

McMurry has completed a fascinating autobiography that gives a great picture of an Air Force pilot's life from WWII into the 1960s. My review is as follows:

A heartwarming tale of the life of an aviator in World War II and after. My eyes were misty from the first pages. This is a complete story, not just wartime and military service. The anecdotal format is an excellent way to tell the story through important events in his life. Bob and Jeanne McMurry were in the first generation of Air Force people who lived in many countries and experienced life in new cultures. They went from rubble-strewn Munich in 1946 to civil war-torn Greece then to California's Hamilton Air Force Base  and Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. He was the high time pilot on the Berlin Airlift and endured challenging missions in Italy, Iceland and the Azores. Together, they  experienced Paris, the Pyramids and Venice and welcomed a daughter born in Germany. At Travis AFB, California, they raised two daughters and explored Northern California. One daughter witnessed an airplane crash that claimed the life of a dear family friend. At the 1959 Paris Air Show, McMurry flew a magnificent demonstration of the largest Air Force transport before witnesses including French President Charles DeGaulle.

Once retired from the Air Force, in 1964, McMurry continued flying with the airlines. He added 13,000 airline hours to 20,000 flown in the military His personal and professional performance brought  recognition as the airline pilot of the year in 1980.

Throughout the book, McMurry's love of his wife and family is a constant thread. They shared life in all its facets, from his marriage to 18-year old Jeanne to her passing 68 years later, surrounded by her family. After that, they all moved on to care for one another as the years caught up with him.

This is a personal and loving tale of Bob McMurry's years in life and the air. I recommend it very highly  and salute him as, indeed, a Proud Pilot who had reason for that appellation.

If you are interested, please contact him via his daughter's email, gail@hotwithheart.com 

Nebraska Crash Memorial

Jerry Penry, of Denton, Neb., sent the following:

I stopped in Palisade, Nebraska, last week and talked to some of the local residents about the possibility of getting a memorial sign placed for the men who died in the crash north of that town on 6 February 1970.  The local residents are very interested, so we will proceed slowly.  If you are interested, I will keep you updated.

 

I've done several memorials for WWII crash sites and have investigated every WWII crash in Nebraska that involved a fatality.

 

Here is my website:  www.NebraskaAirCrash.com

His web site is excellent. The memorial plaques are permanent and good-looking. I will provide any assistance I can.

Giant 133 Model For Sale

Where do you think it belongs? Our Dover AMC Museum, right? Remember this highlight from our Last Hurrah Reunion in May, 2014? If somebody can come up with $6,500, it''s "Ours!"

Master Modeler George Maiorana now says, "2014 at Dover is etched in my mind.  A very wonderful experience. It's at the top of my memory list of modeling experiences. Be well!"

  

 Here's a quick link to a YouTube video of the model in action as a National Champion in RC competition: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka_1Jcf3nJ0

Tempelhof Flughafen

For those who landed there a time or two, here's an interesting look at Tempelhof Flughafen now.

Click on: http://www.thirtythousand.us/2015/05/29/tempelhof/#.VWyzkmfJBhE

CalTaylor

Remembering 62014 Crash at Goose Bay

Thanks to Dick Quimby, helped by the ever alert and knowledgeable Cal Taylor, we've connected with a very determined friend in Canada, Chris Charland. Dick noticed a listing in his Nov, 2014, issue of AF magazine about an event Chris had planned for the 50th Anniversary of that tragic loss.

Cal added: "That notice concerned Chris Charland's long-time effort to have a plaque installed at Goose to memorialize the crew on that crash. In the end, it did not come about...  He still wants to see it happen. Chris was a 12-year old boy scout returning from a hike when he saw the crash."

Here's what Chris had to say about it:

G’day Gentlemen

The ceremony was supposed to held in November, but we had a pair of terrorist attacks here in Canada that put everything on hold.  The ops tempo accelerated and Defcon went up a notch.  My plan now, is to have the ceremony in June of this year.  That gives plenty of lead time for some of the dignitaries that said they would have attended with a bit more notice.

I have talked to a female cousin of the children of Guy (Vassalotti, AC of the 1st ATS crew lost in the crash) and hope to talk to them sometime in the near future.

Take care and look forward to hearing from you all.

Cheers...Chris

Chris Charland
USAF PAO
4722d/722d SUS
June 1991 – May 2003
 
Later, he added:

I designed the plaque which is 8 1/8 by 12 inches and made of brass.  It is already mounted as part of the memorial at the museum at Goose Bay.  I am not going to change the dedication date.

Dedicated to the crew of  MATS 1^st Air Transport Squadron          C-133 Cargomaster s/n 56-2014 on the 7^th of November 2014 at

5 Wing Goose Bay'

Aircraft Commander - 1^st Lieutenant Guy L. Vassalotti

Co-Pilot - Captain Charles L. Jenkins

Flight Examiner - Major Frank X. Hearty

Navigator - 1^st Lieutenant Douglas H. Brookfield

Flight Engineer – Technical Sergeant John. A. Kitchens

Flight Engineer – Technical Sergeant Norman H. Baron

Loadmaster – Airman 1^st Class Shelton Toler

                       “Forever Remembered”

A bit of trivia for you all.  2014 was the 50th anniversary of the crash.  It is also the last four digits of the aircraft’s serial number.

Maybe I’m crazy, but I feel like I have a special bond with the fallen airmen and their families.

And here's Chris' first hand account of the crash:

The Crash of USAF C-133 Cargomaster at Goose Bay

by Chris Charland

They say that every person experiences a certain event in their lives whether it be good or bad that leaves an indelible mark on their psyche.  Mine came at 16:49 hours on the 7^th of November, 1964.

The day had been relatively an uneventful one for myself and fellow Boy Scouts.  We were slowly making our back way home to Spruce Park after a day of hiking and survival training north of R.C.A.F. Station Goose Bay, Labrador.  It was a calm evening with light snow falling. Our hike homeward bound took us along a path just below Hamilton River Road and north of the fuel tank area where 100,000-gallon overhead tanks were located.  There was a van waiting on Hamilton River Road to take us the rest of the way back to our homes in Spruce Park   

As I was getting ready to climb inside, I instinctively looked skywards when I heard the sound of an approaching aircraft.  I had no idea of the impending doom as I followed the navigation and landing lights down after it had taken off from Runway 09.   In a heartbeat, there was a terrific flash of light, the likes of which I had never experienced before or since.  The monster fireball lit up the sky from horizon to horizon.  The first thing that instantly came to my mind was a nuclear bomb. You have to understand the Cold War mentality at the time.  The United States and Russia both had their fingers on the button ready to launch weapons against each other at a moment's notice.  Tension between them was akin to a large rubber band being pulled to its maximum length.  Any more and it would have snapped.

There was a dull thud of the aircraft impacting followed by a loud

whooshing sound as the fuel ignited.  The wreckage came to rest close to one of the 100,000-gallon tanks.   We were just about back into Spruce Park when the first of the emergency vehicles passed us.  Later at home, the T.V. station located on the American side, known as Goose Air Base, was broadcasting an appeal for all off duty emergency personnel to report to their respective units to assist with the crash.  The sky stayed lit up for hours after.  

The ill-fated aircraft that crashed was a Douglas C-133A Cargomaster s/n 56-2014 from Military Air Transport Service’s 1^st Air Transport Squadron, based at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.   It arrived at Goose Bay 01:55 hours local time.  After a 15-hour crew rest, they proceeded to depart enroute to Thule Air Base, Greenland with a stop enroute at Sondestrom Air Base, also in Greenland.  They were loaded with meat and other provisions

   The first departure attempt was delayed due to a technical issue. The aircraft sat for a period of time without being de-iced before making a second try.  At between 120 and 150 feet, the aircraft’s starboard (right) wing suddenly dropped 20 to 30 degrees.  The aircraft commander managed to momentarily regain a level attitude.  The aircraft then rolled to the left.  The port wing dropped even more quickly and was almost vertical.  The aircraft commander was unable to do anything.  At 16:49 hrs local time, the Cargomaster struck the ground in a left wing down, nose high attitude. 

After an intensive investigation, the accident investigation board determined the primary cause was a power stall.  The most probable reason was structural icing of the wing and /or vortex generators that had accumulated ice over the 15-hour layover.