The MD530F (Model 369FF) is the most powerful variant of the Model 369 series, which was originally produced by Hughes Helicopters as the military OH-6A Cayuse Light Observation Helicopter. It is optimized for “hot and high” operations. It has longer main rotor blades than the MD500E, and is powered by an Allison 250-C30 turboshaft engine. The helicopter is now produced by MD Helicopters, Mesa, Arizona.
¹ FAI Record File Number 2221
© 2023, Bryan R. Swopes
For the first time, Everest fired both chambers of the Curtiss-Wright XLR25 rocket engine. On this flight, the X-2 reached Mach 1.40 and 50,000 feet (15,240 meters). It was the first time an X-2 had gone supersonic.
In addition to the aerodynamic effects of speeds in the Mach 2.0–Mach 3.0 range, engineers knew that the high temperatures created by aerodynamic friction would be a problem, so the aircraft was built from stainless steel and K-Monel, a copper-nickel alloy.
The Bell Aircraft Corporation X-2 was 37 feet, 10 inches (11.532 meters) long with a wingspan of 32 feet, 3 inches (9.830 meters) and height of 11 feet, 10 inches (3.607 meters). Its empty weight was 12,375 pounds (5,613 kilograms) and loaded weight was 24,910 pounds (11,299 kilograms).
Rather than use its limited fuel capacity to take off and climb to altitude, the X-2 was dropped from a modified heavy bomber as had been the earlier rocketplanes. A four-engine Boeing B-50D-95-BO Superfortress bomber, serial number 48-096, was modified as the drop ship and redesignated EB-50D.
The launch altitude was 30,000 feet (9,144 meters). After the fuel was exhausted, the X-2 glided to a touchdown on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base.
Two X-2 rocketplanes were built. The second X-2, 46-675, was destroyed during a captive flight, 12 May 1953. The explosion killed Bell test pilot Skip Ziegler and Frank Wolko, an engineer aboard the B-50A mothership. The B-50 made an emergency landing but was so badly damaged that it never flew again.
The X-2 reached a maximum speed of Mach 3.196 (2,094 miles per hour/3,370 kilometers per hour) and maximum altitude of 126,200 feet (38,466 meters).
The EB-50D was a highly modified four-engine Boeing B-50D-95-BO Superfortress long range heavy bomber, engineered to carry research aircraft to high altitudes before releasing them for a test flight. The B-50 was an improved version of the World War II B-29A Superfortress.
Frank Kendall (“Pete”) Everest, Jr., was born 10 Aug 1920, at Fairmont, Marion County, West Virginia. He was the first of two children of Frank Kendall Everest, an electrical contractor, and Phyllis Gail Walker Everest. Attended Fairmont Senior High School, Fairmont, West Virginia, graduating in 1939. He studied at Fairmont State Teachers College, also in Fairmont, West Virginia, and then studied engineering at teh University of Wesst Virginia in Morgantown.
Pete Everest enlisted as an aviation cadet in the United States Army Air Corps at Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio, 7 November 1941, shortly before the United States entered World War II. His enlistment records indicate that he was 5 feet, 7 inches (1.703 meters) tall and weighed 132 pounds (59.9 kilograms). He graduated from pilot training and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, Air Reserve, 3 July 1942.
Everest married Miss Avis June Mason in Marion, West Virginia, in 1942.
He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, Army of the United States, 11 November 1942. He was assigned as a Curtiss-Wright P-40 Warhawk pilot, flying 94 combat missions in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. He was credited with shooting down two German airplanes and damaging a third. Everest was promoted to the rank of Captain, 17 August 1943.
In 1944, Everest was returned to the United States to serve as a flight instructor. He requested a return to combat and was then sent to the China-Burma-India theater of operations where he flew 67 missions and shot down four Japanese airplanes. He was himself shot down by ground fire in May 1945. Everest was captured by the Japanese and suffered torture and inhumane conditions before being freed at the end of the war. He was promoted to the rank of major, 1 July 1945. He was returned to the United States military 3 October 1945.
After the war, Everest was assigned as a test pilot at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, before going west to the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
Everest was returned to the permanent rank of first lieutenant, Air Corps, 19 June 1947, with date of rank retroactive to 3 July 1945.
At Edwards, he was involved in nearly every flight test program, flying the F-88, F-92, F-100, F-101, F-102, F-104 and F-105 fighters, the XB-51, YB-52, B-57 and B-66 bombers. He also flew the pure research aircraft, the “X planes:” the X-1, X-1B, X-2, X-3, X-4 and X-5. Pete Everest flew the X-1B to Mach 2.3, and he set a world speed record with the X-2 at Mach 2.9 (1,957 miles per hour, 3,149.5 kilometers per hour) which earned him the title, “The Fastest Man Alive.” He was the test pilot on thirteen of the twenty X-2 flights.
Frank Everest returned to operational assignments and commanded a fighter squadron, two combat crew training wings, and was assigned staff positions at the Pentagon. On 20 November 1963, Colonel Everest, commanding the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Squadron, flew one of the first two operational McDonnell F-4C Phantom II fighters from the factory in St. Louis to MacDill Air Force Base.
In 1965, Pete Everest was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. He was commander of the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service. He retired from the Air Force in 1973 after 33 years of service. He later worked as a test pilot for Sikorsky Aircraft.
During his military career General Everest was awarded the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal; Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters (three awards); Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters (three awards); Purple Heart; Air Medal with one silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters (seven awards); Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster (two awards); Presidential Unit Citation with two bronze oak leaf clusters (three awards); Air Force Gallant Unit Citation; Prisoner of War Medal; American Campaign Medal; European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign medal with four bronze stars; Asiatic-Pacific campaign Medal with two bronze stars; World War II Victory Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; Vietnam Service Medal; Air Force Longevity Service Award with one silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters (seven awards); Air Force Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon; and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with 1960– device. General Everest was rated as a Command Pilot, and a Basic Parachutist.
Brigadier General Frank Kendall Everest, Jr. United States Air Force (Retired), died at Tucson, Arizona, 1 October 2004 at the age of 84 years.
© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes
MEDAL OF HONOR
RAYMOND L. KNIGHT
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps.
Place and date: In Northern Po Valley, Italy, 24-25 April 1945.
Entered service at: Houston, Texas. Born: Texas.
G.O. No.: 81, 24 September 1945.
Citation: First Lieutenant Raymond L. Knight on 24 and 25 April 1945 in the northern Po Valley, Italy, piloted a fighter-bomber aircraft in a series of low-level strafing missions, destroying 14 grounded enemy aircraft and leading attacks which wrecked 10 others during a critical period of the Allied drive in northern Italy. On the morning of 24 April, he volunteered to lead two other aircraft against the strongly defended enemy airdrome at Ghedi. Ordering his fellow pilots to remain aloft, he skimmed the ground through a deadly curtain of antiaircraft fire to reconnoiter the field, locating eight German aircraft hidden beneath heavy camouflage. He rejoined his flight, briefed them by radio, and then led them with consummate skill through the hail of enemy fire in a low-level attack, destroying five aircraft, while his flight accounted for two others. Returning to his base, he volunteered to lead three other aircraft in reconnaissance of Bergamo Airfield, an enemy base near Ghedi and one known to be equally well defended. Again ordering his flight to remain out of range of antiaircraft fire, Lieutenant Knight flew through an exceptionally intense barrage, which heavily damaged his Thunderbolt, to observe the field at minimum altitude. He discovered a squadron of enemy aircraft under heavy camouflage and led his flight to the assault. Returning alone after this strafing, he made 10 deliberate passes against the field despite being hit twice more by antiaircraft fire, destroying six fully loaded enemy twin-engine aircraft and two fighters. His skillfully led attack enabled his flight to destroy four other twin-engine aircraft and a fighter airplane. He then returned to his base in his seriously damaged airplane. Early the next morning, when he again attacked Bergamo, he sighted an enemy plane on the runway. Again he led three other American pilots in a blistering low-level sweep through vicious antiaircraft fire that damaged his airplane so severely that it was virtually nonflyable. Three of the few remaining enemy twin-engine aircraft at that base were destroyed. Realizing the critical need for aircraft in his unit, he declined to parachute to safety over friendly territory and unhesitatingly attempted to return his shattered airplane to his home field. With great skill and strength, he flew homeward until caught by treacherous air conditions in the Apennine Mountains, where he crashed and was killed. The gallant action of Lieutenant Knight eliminated the German aircraft which were poised to wreak havoc on Allied forces pressing to establish the first firm bridgehead across the Po River. His fearless daring and voluntary self-sacrifice averted possible heavy casualties among ground forces and the resultant slowing of the drive which culminated in the collapse of German resistance in Italy.
Raymond Larry Knight was born 15 June 1922 in Houston, Texas. He was the third child of John Franklin Knight, a clerk, and Sarah Francis Kelly Knight. He attended John H. Reagan Senior High School in Houston, graduating in 1940.
Knight married Miss Johnnie Lee Kinchloe, also a 1940 graduate of Reagan High School, 5 June 1942. They had one son, Raymond Jr.
Knight enlisted as an aviation cadet in the United States Army Air Corps, 10 Oct 1942, and trained as a fighter pilot at various airfields in Texas. He graduated from flight school and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, May 1944. After advanced training, Knight was assigned to the 346th Fighter Squadron, 350th Fighter Group, 12th Air Force, at Tarquinia Airfield, Italy, in November 1944. He was promoted to first lieutenant in March 1945.
Lieutenant Knight flew 82 combat missions. He is credited with 14 enemy aircraft destroyed.
The Medal of Honor was presented to Mrs. Knight by Major General James Pratt Hodges at a ceremony at John H. Reagan Senior High School, 23 October 1945.
In addition to the Medal of Honor, Lieutenant Knight was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters (six awards).
The remains of 1st Lieutenant Raymond Larry Knight, United States Army Air Corps, are interred at the Houston National Cemetery, Houston, Texas.
The P-47D-27-RE was 36 feet, 1¾ inches (11.017 meters) long with a wingspan of 40 feet, 9-3/8 inches (12.430 meters) The overall height was 14 feet, 7 inches (4.445 meters). The fighter’s empty weight was 10,700 pounds (4,853 kilograms) and maximum gross weight was 17,500 pounds (7,938 kilograms).
The P-47D had a maximum speed in level flight of 444 miles per hour (715 kilometers per hour) at 23,200 feet (7,071 meters) with 70 inches Hg manifold pressure (2.37 Bar), using water injection. The service ceiling was 40,000 feet (12,192 meters). It had a maximum range of 950 miles (1,529 kilometers) with internal fuel, and 1,800 miles (2,897 kilometers) with external tanks.
The Thunderbolt was armed with eight Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber machine guns, four in each wing, with 3,400 rounds of ammunition. It could also carry external fuel tanks, rockets and bombs. The structure of the P-47 could be described as “robust” and it was heavily armored. The amount of damage that the airplane could absorb and still return was remarkable.
A total of 15,683 Thunderbolts were built; more than any other Allied fighter type. In aerial combat, it had a kill-to-loss ratio of 4.6:1. The P-47, though, really made its name as a ground attack fighter, destroying aircraft, locomotives, rail cars, and tanks by the many thousands. It was one of the most successful aircraft of World War II.
¹ A rebuilt R-2800-63 was run at War Emergency Power (2,600 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m.) for 7½ hours on a test stand, and was in running condition when the test was completed.
© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes
21 April 1944: The first military helicopter combat rescue began with Lieutenant Carter Harman, 1st Air Commando Group, being ordered to proceed from Lalaghat, India with his Vought-Sikorsky YR-4B, 43-28247, 600 miles (965 kilometers) to Taro in northern Burma.
Technical Sergeant Ed “Murphy” Hladovcak, pilot of a Stinson L-1A Vigilant liaison airplane, had crashed in the jungle behind Japanese lines while transporting three wounded British soldiers. Lieutenant Harman was assigned to attempt to rescue the four men. It would be a marathon operation.
It took Harman and his Sikorsky 24 hours to arrive at Taro. After a brief rest and dip in the river to cool off, he continued for another 125 miles (202 kilometers) to an airstrip in the jungle called “Aberdeen” which was well behind the enemy lines. It was from here that Sgt. Hladovcak had been operating, flying out wounded soldiers. From Aberdeen, Harman was led to the location of the downed men by another liaison airplane. The survivors were surrounded by Japanese soldiers who had found the crashed airplane and were trying to locate the four men.
Because of the high heat, elevation and humidity, which increased the density altitude, the YR-4B’s air-cooled engine was unable to produce its full rated power. Also, the helicopter’s rotor blades were not as effective as they would have beeen at lower density altitudes.
Harman planned to lift one of the survivors out of the clearing in the jungle and fly a short distance to a sand bank where other L-1 or L-5 liaison airplanes could pick them up and fly them back to Aberdeen. He would repeat the operation until all four men had been rescued. However, it took the rest of the day to airlift just the first two wounded and very sick soldiers.
On the second flight, the helicopter’s engine was overheating and on landing it seized and could not be restarted. Sergeant Hladovcak and the remaining soldier were still in the jungle, Lieutenant Harman was stuck by the river bank and Japanese soldiers were everywhere.
On the morning of 25 April Lieutenant Harman was able to get the helicopter’s engine to start, and again, one at a time, he rescued the two remaining survivors. A liaison plane flew out the wounded soldier while Hladovcak rode along with Harman back to Aberdeen. He had never seen a helicopter before.
For his actions, Lieutenant Carter Harman was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Sikorsky YR-4B 43-28247 was condemned 31 December 1944.
The main rotor consisted of three tapered, fully-articulated blades built of chrome-molybdenum steel spars and spruce plywood ribs, with laminated spruce, balsa and mahogany forming the leading edge and a flexible cable forming the trailing edge. The blades were covered with two layers of doped fabric. The three-bladed semi-articulated tail rotor was built with a spruce spar and alternating laminations of maple and mahogany, covered with fabric. Both the main and tail rotors had a thin brass abrasion strip covering the leading edges. The main rotor turned counter-clockwise, as seen from above. (The advancing blade is on the helicopter’s right.) The tail rotor was mounted on the helicopter’s right side in a tractor configuration. It turned clockwise as seen from the helicopter’s left. (The advancing blade is below the axis of rotation.)
The R-4B had a cruise speed of 65 miles per hour (105 kilometers per hour) and maximum speed of 82 miles per hour (132 kilometers per hour). The service ceiling was 12,000 feet (3,658 meters) and range was 157 miles (253 kilometers).
The YR-4B was equipped with bomb racks. It could carry three 125 pound (56.7 kilogram) demolition bombs or one 325 pound (147 kilogram) depth bomb. The equipment was deleted for the R-4B.
Sikorsky built 27 YR-4Bs and 100 R-4B helicopters. Of these, 40 were assigned to the Army Air Corps, 19 to the Navy and Coast Guard, and 41 were sent to the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy.
Carter Harman was born at Brooklyn, New York, 14 June 1918, the son of Steven Palmer Harman, a newspaper editor, and Helen F. Doremus Harman.
Before the war, Harman had been a musician and author. He assisted Duke Ellington write an autobiography. Harman earned a bachelor’s degree in music composition from Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, in 1940. While at Princeton, Harman was a member of the Dial Lodge, American Whig Society, Princeton University Band, and the Princeton University Choir.
Harman enlisted as a private in the United States Army at Hew York City on 1 April 1942, and was assigned to the Air Corps. Enlistment records indicate that he was 5 feet, 7 inches (170.2 centimeters) tall and weighed 125 pounds (57 kilograms).
After World War II ended, Harman returned to his musical studies at Columbia University, New York City, receiving a master’s degree in 1949.
Harman worked as a music critic for The New York Times and Time Magazine, and also continued writing books, as well as composing for ballet and opera. He was also a music producer and became executive vice president of CRI Records (Composers Recordings, Inc.).
Harman was married three times. He married Miss Nancy Hallinan, 5 February 1946, however they later divorced. His second wife was Helen Scott. They had four children together. His third wife was Wanda Maximilien.
Carter Harman died at Berlin, Vermont, 23 January 2007 at the age of 88 years.
© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes
24 April 1959: Captain John Stanley Lappo, United State Air Force, flies a Strategic Air Command Boeing RB-47E Stratojet UNDER the Mackinac Bridge. The suspension bridge spans the Straits of Mackinac, connecting the upper and lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. The Straits of Mackinac connect the Great Lakes of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
The vertical gap between the highest point on the underside of the bridge’s main span is 155 feet (47.2 meters) above the surface of the water. The RB-47E has an overall height of 28 feet (8.5 meters). And Captain Lappo was flying at just 75 feet (23 meters).
Captain Lappo and his crew were returning to Lockbourne Air Force Base, southeast of Columbus, Ohio, following an overnight simulated bombing mission.
When asked why he did it, he answered: “Why do men climb mountains? Or what motivates them to go into space? It’s just a sense of adventure that some men have and some don’t. . . I’ve always wanted to fly under a big bridge. I thought it would be the Golden Gate. When I was flying missions to the Far East, I was a co-pilot, and I wanted to fly under the Golden Gate at night. But I couldn’t induce the pilot to do it.” ¹
Reported by his navigator, Captain Lappo was charged with violating a regulation prohibiting flying an aircraft below 500 feet (152 meters) (AF Reg 60–16). At his court-martial, he pleaded guilty. The court fined him $50.00 per month for six months and he received a reprimand. Based on this, Lieutenant General Walter Campbell Sweeney, Jr., Commanding General, Eighth Air Force, ordered him permanently removed from flight status.
John Lappo had been a highly respected pilot. Several senior officers testified at the court martial as to his skill, dedication and reliability.
John Stanley Lappo had enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces 19 February 1943 and was trained as a pilot. On completion of training he was given the warrant officer rank of flight officer. Lappo was commissioned as a second lieutenant in January 1945.
Lieutenant Lappo flew C-46, C-47 and C-54 transports with the 22nd Troop Carrier Squadron, 374th Troop Carrier Group, Fifth Air Force. He was released from active duty in 1948, but remained in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and maintained his flight status.
In 1951, Lieutenant Lappo was recalled to active duty for service in the Korean War. He flew 28 bombing missions in the Boeing B-29 Superfortess, including B-29-85-BN 44-87657, Command Decision, one of the best known bombers of the war.
John Stanley Lappo married Miss Olive Kay Robinson, 7 July 1951, at Muskegon, Michigan. He then attended Squadron Officers School at Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
As a B-47 Stratojet pilot, he was assigned to the 10th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, 26th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, at Lockbourne AFB, and later, the 352nd Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 301st Bombardment Wing (Medium), which was also based at Lockbourne.
Captain Lappo was often given the most difficult assignments. As a reconnaissance pilot, he flew clandestine missions over the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). For one of these missions he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Even though he was permanently removed from flying duties, Lappo remained in the Air Force. He served in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, and was later vice commander of Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Lieutenant Colonel Lappo retired from the Air Force 31 July 1972.
John Stanley Lappo was born 8 January 1920 at Muskegon, Michigan. He was the fifth of seven children of Jan Stanislaw Lappo, a carpenter, and Zofia A. Stankiewicz Lappo.
In 1940 he was employed as a pattern maker at an iron foundry.
Lappo registered for the draft (conscription) 1 July 1941. The registrar’s report shows that he had brown hair, blue eyes, was 5 feet, 4½ inches (1.638 meters) tall and weighed 165 pounds (74.8 kilograms).
From 1972 to 1982, John Lappo worked for the state of Alaska as a regional administrator for the health department, then from 1982 to 1990, he operated a trucking company, Arctic Fox Trucking.
John Stanley Lappo died 15 November 2003 at Eagle River, Alaska. His remains are interred at the Fort Richardson National Cemetery, Anchorage, Alaska.
Designed by Boeing, the B-47 Stratojet was a high-subsonic speed strategic bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, in service from 1951 until 1977. The B-47 could fly higher and faster than jet fighters of the time, and it was also highly maneuverable. B-47 was flown by a two pilots in a tandem cockpit. A navigator was at a station in the nose. The RB-47E variant (Boeing Model 450-158-36) differed in that bombing equipment was deleted and photographic and electronic reconnaissance equipment installed. Additional fuel tanks were placed in the former bomb bay.
The RB-47E Stratojet is slightly longer than the B-47E. The RB-47E is 109.8 feet (333.467 meters) long with a wingspan of 116.0 feet (35.357 meters), and an overall height of 28.0 feet (8.534 meters). The wings are shoulder-mounted and have a total area of 1,428 square feet (132.67 square meters). The wings’ leading edges are swept aft to 36° 37′. The angle of incidence is 2° 45′ and there is 0° dihedral (the wings were very flexible). The RB-47E had an empty weight of 81,100 pounds (36,786 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 200,000 pounds (90,718 kilograms).
The RB-47E had a cruise speed of 433 knots (498 miles per hour/802 kilometers per hour), and maximum speed of 497 knots (572 miles per hour/920 kilometers per hour) at 20,000 feet (6,096 meters). The service ceiling was 47,800 feet feet (14,569 meters). Its unrefueled range was 3,935 nautical miles (4,528 statute miles/7,288 kilometers). The RB-47E was capable of inflight refueling and had a maximum fuel capacity of 18,280 gallons in six fuselage and two jettisonable wing tanks.
For defense the RB-47E was armed with two M24A1 20 mm autocannons with 350 rounds of ammunition per gun. The remotely-operated tail turret was controlled by the co-pilot through an A-5 fire control system.
A total of 2,032 B-47s were built by a consortium of aircraft manufacturers: Boeing Airplane Company, Wichita, Kansas; Douglas Aircraft Company, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Lockheed Aircraft Company, Marietta, Georgia.
The Stratojet is one of the most influential aircraft designs of all time and its legacy can be seen in almost every jet airliner built since the 1950s: the swept wing with engines suspended below and ahead on pylons. The B-47 served the United States Air Force from 1951 to 1977. From the first flight of the Boeing XB-47 Stratojet prototype, 17 December 1947, to the final flight of B-47E 52-166, was 38 years, 6 months, 1 day.
¹ “John Lappo Story,” by Wayland Mayo, at the web site “B-29s Over Korea,” https://www.b-29s-over-korea.com/john-lappo-story/
© 2023, Bryan R. Swopes