28 August 1957

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English Electric Canberra B Mk.2 WK163 climbing under rocket power. (Institution of Mechanical Engineers)
English Electric Canberra B Mk.2 WK163 climbing under rocket power. (Institution of Mechanical Engineers)

28 August 1957: Michael Randrup, Chief Test Pilot of D. Napier and Son, Ltd., and Walter Shirley, Deputy Chief Engineer, fly this Royal Air Force/English Electric Canberra B Mk.2, WK163, to an altitude of 21,430 meters (70,308 feet) over southern England.  This set a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for altitude.¹

WK163 with rocket engine installed in its bomb bay. (Institution of Mechanical Engineers)
WK163 with rocket engine installed in its bomb bay. (Institution of Mechanical Engineers)

The Canberra was being used to test Napier’s Double Scorpion NSc D1-2 rocket engine, which was used to drive the airplane far beyond its normal service ceiling of 48,000 feet (14,630 meters).

After taking off from Luton, Bedfordshire, at 5:26 p.m., Mike Randrup used the Canberra’s two 6,500-pounds-thrust (28.91 kilonewtons) Rolls-Royce Avon RA.3 Mk. 101 turbojet engines to climb to 44,000 feet (13,411 meters), where he throttled the engines back to cruising r.p.m. and then ignited the Double Scorpion. The Canberra climbed at a very steep angle until reaching the peak altitude.

English Electric Canberra B Mk.2 WK163. (Institution of Mechanical Engineers)
English Electric Canberra B Mk.2 WK163. (Institution of Mechanical Engineers)

At this high altitude, there is an extremely narrow margin between the airplane’s stall speed and it’s critical Mach number—the point at which supersonic shock waves start to form on the wings and fuselage. On an Airspeed Limitations Chart, this area is known as “Coffin Corner.” Aerodynamicists had calculated that Randrup needed to keep the Canberra within a 15-knot range of airspeed.

Though the Canberra’s cockpit was pressurized, both Mike Randrup and Walter Shirley wore pressure suits in case of emergency.

WK163 landed back at Luton at 6:12 p.m.

Flight of Canberra WK163, 27 August 1957. (Flight)

In 1958, the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain awarded the Britannia Trophy to Randrup and Shirley.

The English Electric Canberra B.2 was the first production variant of a twin-engine, turbojet powered light bomber. The bomber was operated by a pilot, navigator and bombardier. It was designed to operate at very high altitudes. The Canberra B.2 was 65 feet, 6 inches (19.964 meters) long with a wingspan of 64 feet, 0 inches (19.507 meters) and height of 15 feet, 7 inches (4.750 meters). The wing used a symmetrical airfoil and had 2° angle of incidence. The inner wing had 2° dihedral, and the outer wing, 4° 21′. The total wing area was 960 square feet (89.2 square meters). The variable-incidence tail plane ad 10° dihedral. The airplane’s maximum takeoff weight was 46,000 pounds ( kilograms).

The Canberra B.2 was powered by two Rolls-Royce Avon RA.3 Mk. 101 engines. The RA.3 was a single-spool axial-flow turbojet with a 12-stage compressor section and single-stage turbine. It was rated at 6,500-pounds-thrust (28.91 kilonewtons).

The B.2 had a maximum speed of 450 knots (518 miles per hour/833 kilometers per hour). It was restricted to a maximum 0.75 Mach from Sea Level to 15,000 feet (4,572 meters), and 0.79 Mach from 15,000 to 25,000 feet (7.620 meters). Above that altitude the speed was not restricted, but pilots were warned that they could expect compressibility effects at 0.82 Mach or higher.

The Canberra was produced in bomber, intruder, photo reconnaissance, electronic countermeasures and trainer variants by English Electric, Handley Page, A.V. Roe, and Short Brothers and Harland. In the United States, a licensed version, the B-57A Canberra, was built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. The various versions were operated by nearly 20 nations. The Canberra was the United Kingdom’s only jet-powered bomber for four years. The last one in RAF service, a Canberra PR.9, made its final flight on 28 July 2006.

WK163 was built under license by A.V. Roe at Woodford, Cheshire, in 1954, and accepted by the Royal Air Force 28 January 1955. Having spent its entire career as a research test bed, WK163 was declared surplus in 1994 and sold at auction to Classic Air Projects Ltd. It was assigned civil registration G-BVWC.

English Electric Canberra B Mk.2 WK163, 1997. (Mike Freer/Wikipedia)

G-BVWC last flew in 2007. As of December 2016, the record-setting Canberra was undergoing a full restoration at Robin Hood Airport, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

English Electric Canberra B2 WK163 (G-BVWC). (Tony Hisgett, via Wikipedia)
English Electric Canberra B Mk.2 WK163, civil registration G-BVWC. The record-setting airplane has been painted in the standard Bomber Command scheme with markings of No. 617 Squadron. (Tony Hisgett, via Wikipedia)

Michael Randrup was born in Moscow, Imperial Russia, 20 April 1913. He was one of four children of Søren Revsgaard Randrup and Alexandra Pyatkova Randrup. He held Danish citizenship through his father, who had emigrated to Russia in 1899. Following the Russian revolution, the Randrup family relocated to England.

Michael was educated at The King’s School in Canterbury, Kent. He became interested in aviation in his early teens, and took his first flight as a passenger aboard an Avro 504K biplane. He began flight lessons at Bekesbourne Aerodrome in 1935, and soloed in June 1936. Randrup applied to join the Royal Air Force but was turned down because of his Danish citizenship. He then went to the Automobile Engineering College in Chelsea, West London, to study aeronautical engineering.

Randrup graduated in 1939, and along with a cousin, Ivan Christian Randrup, formed a small air charter company, AllFlights Ltd., at Heston Aerodrome, west of London. They operated a de Havilland DH.85 Leopard Moth, de Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly, and a Heston Type I Phoenix II (G-AEYX). The Phoenix was impressed into service by the R.A.F., 5 March 1940.

World War II bought their fledgling company to a close. (Ivan Randrup briefly flew for B.O.A.C. before going on to the Air Transport Auxiliary. First Officer Randrup died 29 January 1941.)

After Denmark fell to Nazi Germany in April 1940, Michael Randrup was accepted by the R.A.F. He received a commission as a Pilot Officer on probation, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 4 September 1940. One year later he was promoted to Flying Officer.

On completion of his military flight training, Pilot Officer Randrup was sent to a flying instructors school. For the next two years, he served as a military flight instructor in England and Southern Rhodesia. In 1942, Flying Officer Randrup was transferred from Training Command to Fighter Command and on 6 October, was assigned to No. 234 Squadron, then stationed at RAF Perranporth, flying the Supermarine Spitfire Vc. A number of Danish pilots had been assigned to No. 234. On 1 January 1943, Randrup was seconded to Air Service Training, Ltd., at Hamble, just southeast of Southampton, where he flight-tested new-production, repaired and overhauled Spitfire fighters.

In 1944, Randrup was assigned as a test pilot at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough. Among other assignments, he flight-tested a captured Heinkel He 177 A-5/R-6 twin-engine heavy bomber. In 1945, Randrup was appointed Officer Commanding, Engine Research and Development Flight. By the end of the war, he had been promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader.

Following the war, Randrup went to work for D. Napier and Son Ltd. In 1946, he became the company’s Chief Test Pilot. The following year, he became a naturalized subject of the United Kingdom and the British Empire.

From 1966 until 1973, Randrup served as manager for the British Aircraft Corporation in Saudi Arabia. BAC provided aircraft and missiles to the Royal Saudi Air Force.

Michael Randrup was twice married, first to Florence May Dryden, and then to Betty Perry. They would have two children.

Michael Randrup died in February 1984 at the age of 70 years.

Walter Shirley, Napier Chief Development Engineer (left), and Michael Randrup, Chief Test Pilot, D. Napier and Son Ltd. (Photograph courtesy of Neil Corbett, Test & Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)

Walter Shirley was educated at the Blackpool Grammar School, a private boarding school in Blackpool, Lancashire, and St. Catherine’s College, University of Cambridge.

Shirley was employed as a scientific officer at RAE Farnborough from 1942 to 1946. It was while there that he first flew as a flight test engineer with Squadron Leader Randrup. Shirley was sent to an R.A.F. flight school for pilot training. In 1946, he was assigned to rocket engine development.

Shirley joined Napier in 1947, working on turbine engines. In 1952, he was appointed Chief Technician. In 1956, Shirley was made the Chief Development Engineer for the Scorpion engine. He later became the company’s Deputy Chief Engineer.

Walter Shirley died in 1993.

The Britannia Trophy of the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain.

¹ FAI Record File Number 9843

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

27 August 1990

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Bell 206B JetRanger N16933, destroyed on impact, 27 August 1990. All five aboard, including famed guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, were killed. (NTSB)

27 August 1990: Four Bell JetRanger helicopters operated by Omniflight Helicopters Inc., arrived at a golf course near Elkhorn, Wisconsin, to pick up various musical artists after a concert at the Alpine Valley Music Theater and to return them to Chicago. They departed at 0040 hours, CDT.

The number three helicopter, Bell JetRanger III (Model 206B-3) serial number 2338, civil registration N16933, was piloted by Jeffrey William Brown of East Chicago, Indiana.

A last minute addition to the passenger complement was electric blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Another passenger, Vaughan’s brother, Jimmie Vaughan, switched places with him and boarded a different aircraft.

A third-quarter Moon rose at 12:12 a.m. CST. It was very dark, with thick, patchy fog. The temperature/dew point spread was such that the pilots had to continually wipe heavy condensation from the windshields. Another of the Omniflight pilots later said that the stars were visible when looking up, but that horizontal visibility was variable, with a maximum of about one mile.

Brown, who was not familiar with the area, took off and after about 300 yards, his helicopter banked sharply to the southeast and disappeared into the fog.

The JetRanger impacted a 150-foot hill (45 meters), 0.6 miles away (1 kilometer). It was completely destroyed. All on board were killed. In addition to Brown and Vaughan, the others were Bobby Brooks, Nigel Browne and Colin Smythe, members of Eric Clapton’s tour.

Although the weather was such that the pilot could have reasonably expected to encounter instrument meteorological conditions, Brown did not have an Instrument-Helicopter rating and the Bell 206-series helicopters were not certified for instrument flight.

Below is the accident summary from the National Transportation Safety Board:

NTSB Identification: CHI90MA244 .

The docket is stored on NTSB microfiche number 43569.
Nonscheduled 14 CFR
Accident occurred Monday, August 27, 1990 in ELKHORN, WI
Probable Cause Approval Date: 09/11/1992
Aircraft: BELL 206B, registration: N16933
Injuries: 5 Fatal.

NTSB investigators traveled in support of this investigation and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

FOUR HELICOPTERS WERE BEING USED AT NIGHT TO TRANSPORT A CONCERT GROUP FROM A GOLF COURSE AREA NEAR ELKHORN, WI, TO CHICAGO, IL. AS THE THIRD HELICOPTER (N16933) WAS DEPARTING, IT REMAINED AT A LOWER ALTITUDE THAN THE OTHERS, AND THE PILOT TURNED SOUTHEASTERLY TOWARD RISING TERRAIN. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE HELICOPTER CRASHED ON HILLY TERRAIN ABOUT 3/5 MI FROM THE TAKEOFF POINT. ELEVATION OF THE CRASH SITE WAS ABOUT 100 FT ABOVE THE GOLF COURSE AND 50 FT BELOW THE SUMMIT OF THE HILL. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND DURING THE INVESTIGATION. PILOTS OF THE OTHER HELICOPTERS REPORTED VFR FLIGHT CONDITIONS WITH SOME FOG. A GROUND WITNESS NEAR THE CRASH SITE REPORTED HAZE AND GROUND FOG OF VARYING INTENSITY WITH PATCHES OF LOW CLOUDS, BUT SAID STARS COULD BE SEEN THROUGH THE FOG.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

IMPROPER PLANNING/DECISION BY THE PILOT, AND HIS FAILURE TO ATTAIN ADEQUATE ALTITUDE BEFORE FLYING OVER RISING TERRAIN AT NIGHT. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARKNESS, FOG, HAZE, RISING TERRAIN, AND THE LACK OF VISUAL CUES THAT WERE AVAILABLE TO THE PILOT.

Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan

© 2016, Bryan R. Swopes

27 August 1962, 06:53:14 UTC, T minus Zero

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Engine ignition of Mariner 2 Atlas Agena B at LC-12, Cape Canaveral AFS, 2:53 a.m., EST, 27 August 1962. (NASA)

27 August 1962: At 06:53:14 UTC (2:53 a.m., Eastern Daylight Time), Mariner 2 lifted off from Launch Complex 12 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, aboard an Atlas-Agena B launch vehicle. This was the second space probe to be sent to Venus.

Mariner 1 and 2 were identical space probes built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, California. The spacecraft were designed to obtain radiometric temperatures of Venus, and to measure the Interplanetary Magnetic Field.

The Mariner 1 mission failed when the launch vehicle veered off course and was destroyed by the Range Safety Officer, 4 minutes, 53 seconds into its flight, 22 July 1962.

Mariner 2 under final inspection. (NASA)

The Atlas Agena B combined an Atlas LV-3A rocket with an Agena B upper stage. The Atlas was derived from the U.S. Air Force SM-65 Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and was built by the Convair Division of General Dynamics at San Diego, California.

The height of the total vehicle, including the protective shroud encasing Mariner, 103 feet, 5 inches (31.70 meters). The Atlas Agena B first stage was 20.70 meters (67 feet, 11 inches) long, with a maximum diameter of 3.05 meters (10 feet). The maximum width across the booster section was 4.88 meters (16 feet).

The LV-3A is a “1-½ stage” liquid-fueled rocket with three engines. The “half-stage,” was a booster section consisting of two LR89-NA-5 rocket engines. This stage produced approximately 369,800 pounds of thrust (1,645 kilonewtons). The center, or “sustainer,” engine is a LR105-NA-5, rated at 86,800 pounds of thrust (386 kilonewtons). Both engines were built by the Rocketdyne Division of North American Aviation, Inc., at Canoga Park, California. The Atlas rocket used liquid oxygen and RP-1 (a highly-refined kerosene) propellant. The LV-3A had a total thrust of 456,587 pounds (2,031 kilonewtons).

The second stage was an Agena B, built by Lockheed Missiles and Space Systems, Sunnyvale, California. This engine was capable of being restarted in orbit. The Agena B was 7.20 meters (23 feet, 7 inches) long and had a maximum diameter of 1.50 meters (4 feet, 11 inches). It was also liquid fueled, but used a hypergolic mixture of nitric acid and UDMH. The single engine was a Bell Aerosystems Company LR81-BA-7, with 16,000 pounds of thrust (71.1 kilonewtons).

The Mariner probe was mounted atop the Agena second stage, enclosed in a protective shroud. Mariner had a gross weight of 447 pounds (202.8 kilograms). The probe was 9 feet, 11 inches long (3.02 meters) long, folded for launch, and 5 feet (1.52 meters) wide. When antennas and the solar panels were fully expanded, the spacecraft was 11 feet, 11 inches (3.63 meters) long and had a span of 16 feet, 6 inches (5.03 meters).

Artist's conception of Mariner 2 in interplanetary space. (NASA)
Artist’s conception of Mariner 2 in interplanetary space. (NASA)

At liftoff, all three main engines were burning. After 2minutes, the two-engine booster assembly was jettisoned and the vehicle continued with the center LR105 sustainer. After 4 minutes, 25 seconds, this engine shut down and the Agena second stage separated. At this point, guidance was lost and the vehicle began to roll, but did not deviate significantly from the planned trajectory. About a minute later, guidance was restored and the mission continued.

The Agena B second stage placed the Mariner in a parking orbit at about 118 kilometers (73.3 miles) altitude. 16 minutes, 20 seconds later, the Agena engine was reignited and  Mariner 2 was then placed on a trajectory planned to take it to Venus.

After 3 months, 17 days, at 19:59:28 UTC, 14 December 1962, the probe passed within 34,773 kilometers (21,607 miles) of Venus and measured the planet’s surface and cloud temperatures. It continued inward across the solar system and came within 105,464,560 kilometers (65,432,640 miles) of the sun.

The last transmission was received at 07:00 UTC, 3 January 1963, 129 days into the mission. Mariner 2 remains in orbit around the sun, circling every 292 days.

Mariner 2, carried alloft by Atlas LV3 179D, accelerates past the gantry, 06:53 UTC, 26 August 1962 (NASA)
The Atlas Agena B, carrying Mariner 2, accelerates toward orbit, 06:53 UTC, 27 August 1962 (NASA)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

27 August 1939

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Illustration (or retouched photograph) of Heinkel He 178 V1 in flight with landing gear extended.
Erich Karl Warsitz, 1942

27 August 1939: Flugkapitän Erich Karl Warsitz, a Luftwaffe pilot assigned to the Ministry of Aviation (Reichsluftfahrtministerium) as a test pilot, made the first flight of the Heinkel He 178 V1, a proof-of-concept prototype jet-propelled airplane.

Heinkel Flugzeugwerke had built a small, single-seat, single-engine high-wing monoplane with retractable landing gear. The He 178 had the air intake at the nose and the engine exhaust out the tail, a configuration that would become the standard layout for most single-engine jet aircraft in the future. The airplane was constructed of wood and aluminum.

The He 178 V1 was 7.48 meters (24.54 feet) long, with a wingspan of 7.20 meters (23.62 feet) and height of 2.10 meters (6.89 feet). The wing area was 7.90 square meters (85.03 square feet). The prototype had an empty weight of 1,620 kilograms (3,572 pounds) and its gross weight was 1,998 kilograms (4,406 pounds).

Illustration of Heinkel He 178 V1 in flight with landing gear retracted.
Hans J. P. von Ohain

The airplane was powered by a Heinkel Strahltriebwerk HeS 3B turbojet engine, which had been designed by Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain. The HeS 3B used a single-stage axial-flow inducer, single-stage centrifugal-flow compressor, reverse-flow combustor cans, and a single-stage radial-inflow turbine. The engine produced 1,102 pounds of thrust (4.902 kilonewtons) at 11,600 r.p.m., burning Diesel fuel. The engine’s maximum speed was 13,000 r.p.m. The HeS 3B was 1.480 meters (4.856 feet) long, 0.930 meters (3.051 feet) in diameter and weighed 360 kilograms (794 pounds).

Heinkel Strahltriebwerk HeS 3B engine, cutaway example. (Deutsches Museum)

The He 178 V1 was designed for a cruise speed of 580 kilometers per hour (360 miles per hour) and maximum speed of 700 kilometers per hour (435 miles per hour). During flight testing, the highest speed reached was 632 kilometers per hour (393 miles per hour). Its estimated range was 200 kilometers (124 miles).

Captain Warsitz made two short circuits of the airfield then came in for a landing. This was the very first flight of an aircraft powered only by a jet engine.

(Left to right) Erich Karl Warsitz, Ernst Heinrich Heinkel, and Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain, at dinner party celebrating the first flight of the Heinkel He 178. (NASM)

The He 178 was placed in the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin, Germany. It was destroyed during a bombing raid in 1943.

Illustration of a Heinkel He 178, front view, high oblique. This may be the second prototype, V2.
Illustration showing left profile of the Heinkel He 178 V1
Illustration showing left front quarter of the Heinkel He 178 V1. Note the open cockpit.
Heinkel He 178, left rear quarter. This may be the second prototype, V2.
Heinkel He 178, rear, high oblique. This may be the second prototype, V2.

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

Medal of Honor, Colonel George Everette Day, United States Air Force

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Colonel George Everette Day, United States Air Force

MEDAL OF HONOR

Rank and organization: Colonel (then Major), U.S. Air Force, Forward Air Controller Pilot of an F-100 aircraft.
Place and date: North Vietnam, August 26, 1967.
Entered service at: Sioux City, Iowa.
Born: February 24, 1925, Sioux City, Iowa.

Citation: On 26 August 1967, Col. Day was forced to eject from his aircraft over North Vietnam when it was hit by ground fire. His right arm was broken in 3 places, and his left knee was badly sprained. He was immediately captured by hostile forces and taken to a prison camp where he was interrogated and severely tortured. After causing the guards to relax their vigilance, Col. Day escaped into the jungle and began the trek toward South Vietnam. Despite injuries inflicted by fragments of a bomb or rocket, he continued southward surviving only on a few berries and uncooked frogs. He successfully evaded enemy patrols and reached the Ben Hai River, where he encountered U.S. artillery barrages. With the aid of a bamboo log float, Col. Day swam across the river and entered the demilitarized zone. Due to delirium, he lost his sense of direction and wandered aimlessly for several days. After several unsuccessful attempts to signal U.S. aircraft, he was ambushed and recaptured by the Viet Cong, sustaining gunshot wounds to his left hand and thigh. He was returned to the prison from which he had escaped and later was moved to Hanoi after giving his captors false information to questions put before him. Physically, Col. Day was totally debilitated and unable to perform even the simplest task for himself. Despite his many injuries, he continued to offer maximum resistance. His personal bravery in the face of deadly enemy pressure was significant in saving the lives of fellow aviators who were still flying against the enemy. Col. Day’s conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Armed Forces.

North American Aviation F-100F-10-NA Super Sabre 56-3954 on landing approac. This is teh fighter bomber flown by Captain Kippenham and Major Day, 26 August 1967. (U.S. Navy)
North American Aviation F-100F-15-NA Super Sabre 56-3954 on landing approach to Yokota Air Base, Japan, 12 May 1966. This is the fighter bomber flown by Captain Kippenham and Major Day, 26 August 1967. (U.S. Air Force)

George Everette Day was born at Sioux City, Iowa, 24 February 1925. He was the second child of John Edward Day, a laborer, and Christina Marie Larson Day, an immigrant from Denmark.

George Day attended Central High School in Sioux City. During his senior class year, he dropped out of school immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the United States into World War II. On 10 December 1941, Day enlisted as a private in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. After training, he was assigned to the Seacoast Artillery Group, 16th Defense Battalion, Fleet Marine Force. Day was deployed to the Pacific 23 May 1943. He then was sent to Johnston Island as a member of the Marine Defense Force. Johnston Island was one of four small islands of an atoll, approximately 860 miles southwest of the island of Hawaii. It was an important refueling point for airplanes and submarines. Corporal Day remained there throughout the war. He returned to the United States 9 November 1945 and was released from service 24 November 1945.

George Day enlisted in the United States Army Reserve, 11 December 1946. He served with the Iowa National Guard for three years while attending college. He studied at Morningside College, a private liberal arts college in Sioux City, earning a bachelor of science degree, and then the University of South Dakota School of Law, at Vermillion, South Dakota, graduating with the degree of Juris Doctor. He was admitted to the State Bar of South Dakota in 1949.

Also in 1949, Day married Miss Doris Merline Sørensen, also from Sioux City, and the daughter of Norwegian immigrants. They would later adopt four children.

Lieutenant George E. Day, USAF

On 17 May 1950, Day was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Iowa Air National Guard. Ten months later, Lieutenant Day was placed on active duty and entered pilot training with the U.S. Air Force. He began his flight training at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, and then moved on to Hondo and Big Springs Air Force Bases. Training was conducted in the Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star.

During the Korean War, Lieutenant Day flew the Republic F-84G Thunderjet fighter-bomber with the 559th Fighter-Escort Squadron (redesignated the 559th Strategic Fighter Squadron in 1953) based at Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas. The squadron’s mission was to provide fighter escort for the Strategic Air Command’s Convair B-36 intercontinental bombers. Day was promoted to Captain in February 1953, and was temporarily assigned to Chitose Air Base, on the island of Hokkaido, Japan.

While stationed with the 55th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 20th Fighter-Bomber Wing, at RAF Weathersfield, England, on 11 June 1957 Captain Day was flying a training mission in a Republic F-84F-45-RE Thunderstreak, serial number 52-6724. The fighter’s Wright J65 turbojet engine exploded at about 500 feet (152 meters). He ejected but as his parachute failed to open. Day survived by penetrating a pine forest, and decelerating through a 30 foot (9 meters) tree. The wing transitioned to the North American Aviation F-100 Super Sabre shortly after this incident.

Captain Day in the cockpit of a Republic F-84F Thunderstreak, circa 1956. (U.S. Air Force)

Major Day was assigned commander of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (R.O.T.C) unit at St. Louis University and was an assistant professor of aerospace science. While there, in 1964, Major Day earned a master of arts degree.

Volunteering for duty in Southeast Asia, in April 1967, Major Day was assigned to the 309th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 31st Tactical Fighter Wing, at Tuy-Hoa Air Base, Republic of South Vietnam.

Major Day was then assigned as the first commander of an experimental forward air controller unit (“Commando Sabre”): Detachment 1, 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 37th Tactical Fighter Wing, at Phù Cát Air Base. The new forward air controller unit had four aircraft and 16 pilots. The pilots flew using the call sign, “Misty.” (According to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Major Day was a fan of Johnny Mathis’ 1959 record, “Misty.”)

A North American Aviation F-100F-10-NA Super Sabre, 56-3882, of the 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron, at Phù Cát Air Base, circa 1967. (U.S. Air Force)

On his 26th Commando Sabre mission, Easter Sunday, 26 March1967, Major Day was flying as the Forward Air Controller (“FAC”) in the back seat of a North American Aviation F-100F Super Sabre, serial number 56-3954. The pilot was Captain Corwin M. Kippenhan.

Day and Kippenhan were supporting Republic F-105 Thunderchief fighter bombers on an attack against an enemy surface-to-air missile battery near Thon Cam Son, north of the Demilitarized Zone (“the DMZ”) in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Their Super Sabre was hit by 37 millimeter antiaircraft fire, and the two men were forced to eject.

Captain Kippenham was rescued by “Jolly Green 28,” a Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant, serial number 66-13281, from the 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron based at Da Nang, South Vietnam. The rescue helicopter was damaged and driven off by enemy 57 millimeter gunfire. The pilot, Captain Charles Raymond Dunn, was awarded the Silver Star (his second). The copilot, Captain Walter R. Blackwell, flight engineer, Frederic M. Halbert, and pararescueman (“PJ”) Joseph M. Duffy, were each awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. An AP press photographer, Johnny Griffith, was also aboard the HH-3E during the rescue.

Jolly Green 28 could not make contact with Major Day. Day was seriously injured following the ejection. His right arm was broken and his left knee was dislocated. He was captured by the enemy. Five days later, he escaped. Over a 10 day period he made his way, bare-footed, more than 25 miles (40 kilometers) across the DMZ into South Vietnam. He was discovered by Viet Cong guerillas and was shot, with wounds to his left thigh and left hand.

Major Day suffered the most brutal conditions while he was held as a Prisoner of War. He was imprisoned for 2,028 days, before being released 14 March 1973. During his imprisonment, the Air Force promoted him to lieutenant colonel, and then colonel.

Colonel Day is reunited with his wife, Doris Sorenson Day, at March Air Force Base, Riverside, California, 17 March 1973. (New York Post)

Explaining how he was able to withstand the years of torture, isolation, poor nutrition and lack of medical care, Colonel Day said,

“I am, and have been all my life, a loyal American. I have faith in my country, and am secure in the knowledge that my country is a good nation, responsible to the people of the United States and responsible to the world community of nations. I believed in my wife and children and rested secure in the knowledge that they backed both me and my country. I believe in God and that he will guide me and my country in paths of honorable conduct. I believe in the Code of Conduct of the U.S. fighting man. I believe the most important thing in my life was to return from North Vietnam with honor, not just to return. If I could not return with my honor, I did not care to return at all. I believe that in being loyal to my country that my country will be loyal to me. My support of our noble objectives will make the world a better place in which to live.”

—Colonel George Everette Day, United States Air Force, quoted by The Super Sabre Society.

After his return to the United States, Colonel Day spent a year trying to recover from his injuries and poor health. He then returned to flight status, transitioned to the McDonnell F-4E Phantom II at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, and was appointed vice commander of the 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

In a presentation at the White House, 4 March 1976, Gerald R. Ford, 38th President of the United States, presented the Medal of Honor to Rear Admiral James B. Stockdale, United States Navy, who had been to most senior American officer held by North Vietnam, and to Colonel Day.

President Gerald R. Ford presents the Medal of Honor to Rear Admiral James B. Stockdale, USN. On the right is Colonel Day.

Colonel Day retired from the United States Air Force in February 1977. He then practiced law in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. He is the author of two books, Return With Honor and Duty, Honor, Country.

Colonel Day was rated a Command Pilot with over 8,000 flight hours.

In addition to the Medal of Honor, during his military career, Colonel Day was awarded the Air Force Cross; the Distinguished Service Medal; the Silver Star; the Legion of Merit; the Bronze Star with “V” device and three oak leaf clusters (three awards for valor); the Purple Heart with three oak leaf clusters (four awards); the Defense Meritorious Service Medal; the Air Medal with one silver and four bronze oak leaf clusters (nine awards); Presidential Unit Citation with two oak leaf clusters (three awards); Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with “V” device and three oak leaf clusters (three awards for valor); Prisoner of War Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal; American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; World War II Victory Medal; National Defense Service Medal with bronze star (Korean War and Vietnam War); Korean Service Medal; Vietnam Service Medal with two silver and three bronze campaign stars (all 18 campaigns); Air Force Longevity Awards with four oak leaf clusters (20 years); Armed Forces Reserve Medal; Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon; National Order of Vietnam, Knight; United Nations Service Medal; Anh Dũng Bội Tinh (Vietnam Gallantry Cross) with palm (the highest of four levels); Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation; Chiến Dịch Bội Tinh (Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal); and the Vietnam Master Parachutist Badge.

According to the Air Mobility Command Museum, Colonel Day “is the second-most decorated military member in American history, General Douglas MacArthur being first.”

Colonel George Everette Day, United States Air Force (Retired), died at his home in Shalimar, Florida, 27 July 2013, at the age of 88 years. He is buried at the Barrancas National Cemetery, Pensacola, Florida.

In the Defense Authorization Act of 2017, Colonel Day was advanced to the rank of Brigadier General, United States Air Force (Retired).

George Everette Day, an American Hero. (Sioux City Journal)

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes