Tag Archives: Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)

18 February 1962

Major Walter F. Daniel, U.S. Air Force, in the cockpit of Northrop T-38A-40-NO Talon 61-0849 at Edwards AFB after setting four Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) time-to-altitude world records, 18 February 1962. (U.S. Air Force)
Major Walter F. Daniel, U.S. Air Force, in the cockpit of Northrop T-38A-40-NO Talon 61-0849 at Edwards AFB after setting four Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) time-to-altitude world records, 18 February 1962. (U.S. Air Force)

17–18 February 1962: At Edwards Air Force Base, California, Major Walter Fletcher Daniel set four Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) time-to-altitude records with a Northrop T-38A-40-NO Talon, serial number 61-0849.

The supersonic trainer reached 3,000 meters (9,843 feet) in 35.624 seconds; ¹ 6,000 meters (19,685 feet) in 51.429 seconds; ² 9,000 meters (29,528 feet) in 1 minute, 04.758 seconds; ³ and 12,000 meters (39,370 feet) in 1 minute, 35.610 seconds. ⁴

Major Walter F. Daniel flew this Northrop T-38A-40-NO Talon, 61-0849, to four Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) time-to-altitude world records at Edwards AFB, 18 February 1962. (U.S. Air Force)
Major Walter F. Daniel flew this Northrop T-38A-40-NO Talon, 61-0849, to four Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) time-to-altitude world records at Edwards AFB, 18 February 1962. (U.S. Air Force)

The T-38 was the world’s first supersonic flight trainer. The Northrop T-38A Talon is a pressurized, two-place, twin-engine, jet trainer. Its fuselage is very aerodynamically clean and uses the “area-rule” (“coked”) to improve its supersonic capability. It is 46 feet, 4.5 inches (14.135 meters) long with a wingspan of 25 feet, 3 inches (7.696 meters) and overall height of 12 feet, 10.5 inches (3.924 meters). The one-piece wing has an area of 170 square feet (15.79 square meters). The leading edge is swept 32°. The airplane’s empty weight is 7,200 pounds (3,266 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight is approximately 12,700 pounds (5,761 kilograms).

Northrop T-38A-40-NO Talon 61-0849 at Dannelly Field, Montgomery, Alabama, 1993. (Photograph courtesy of Gary Chambers. Used with permission.)

The T-38A is powered by two General Electric J85-GE-5 turbojet engines. The J85 is a single-shaft axial-flow turbojet engine with an 8-stage compressor section and 2-stage turbine. The J85-GE-5 is rated at 2,680 pounds of thrust (11.921 kilonewtons), and 3,850 pounds (17.126 kilonewtons) with afterburner. It is 108.1 inches (2.746 meters) long, 22.0 inches (0.559 meters) in diameter and weighs 584 pounds (265 kilograms)

The T-38A has a maximum speed of Mach 1.08 (822 miles per hour/1,323 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, and Mach 1.3 (882 miles per hour/1,419 kilometers per hour) at 30,000 feet (9,144 meters). It has a rate of climb of 33,600 feet per minute (171 meters per second) and a service ceiling of 55,000 feet (16,764 meters). Its range is 1,140 miles (1,835 kilometers).

Between 1959 and 1972, 1,187 T-38s were built at Northrop’s Hawthorne, California, factory. As of 4 September 2018, 546 T-38s remained in the U.S. Air Force active inventory. The U.S. Navy has 10, and as of 30 October 2018, the Federal Aviation Administration reports 29 T-38s registered to NASA.

The record-setting T-38, 61-0849, was retired to The Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona, in 1993. It was later removed from storage and assigned to the 415th Flight Test Flight, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, where it remained until March 2007. It is now on display at the Air Force Flight Test Museum, Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Northrop T-38A-40-NO Talon 61-0849 being towed to display site at the Air Force Flight Test Museum. (Rebecca Amber/U.S. Air Force)
Northrop T-38A-40-NO Talon 61-0849 being towed from the restoration hangar to display site at the Air Force Flight Test Museum. (Rebecca Amber/U.S. Air Force)

Walter Fletcher Daniel was born in 1925. He entered the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943 and was trained as a fighter pilot. He was assigned to fly North American P-51 Mustangs and Republic P-47 Thunderbolts in post-war Germany. During the Korean War he served as a reconnaissance pilot of RF-51s and RF-80 Shooting Stars.

Walter Daniel graduated from the U.S. Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School in 1954 and was assigned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and later Edwards Air Force Base, where he was involved in flight testing all of the Century-series fighters. (F-100–F-106) It was while at Edwards that he flew the T-38A to set the time-to-altitude records.

By 1965, Colonel Daniel was the Chief of Flight Test Operations for the Lockheed YF-12A and SR-71A Blackbird Mach 3 aircraft. On 1 May 1965, he set five world speed records and an altitude record and was awarded the Mackay Trophy.

After attending the Air War College, Daniel entered combat crew training in the McDonnell F-4 and RF-4 Phantom II, and was appointed Deputy Commander for Operations of the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Udorn RTAFB. He flew 70 combat missions over North Vietnam.

In 1971 Colonel Daniel assumed command of the 75th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (soon redesignated 67th TRW). He was promoted to brigadier general in 1972 and served as Inspector General, Air Force Systems Command.

Walter Fletcher Daniel was a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. A command pilot, he had flown over 6,000 hours in more than 75 different aircraft types. General Daniel died 13 September 1974 at the age of 49 years. He is buried at the Arlington National Cemetery.

A team of volunteers place Northrop T-38A Talon 61-0849 in position at teh outdorr dsiplay area of the Air Force Flight Test Museum, Edwards Air force Base, California. (Rebecca Amber/U.S. Air Force)
A team of volunteers place Northrop T-38A Talon 61-0849 in position at the outdoor display area of the Air Force Flight Test Museum, Edwards Air Force Base, California. (Rebecca Amber/U.S. Air Force)

¹ FAI Record File Number 8718

² FAI Record File Number 8604 (17 February 1962)

³ FAI Record File Number 8599

⁴ FAI Record File Number 8719

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

31 December 1968

The prototype Tupolev Tu-144, CCCP-68001, during its first flight, 31 December 1968.  The chase plane is a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21I, which was modified to use the same wing profile as the Tu-144. (Tupolev PJSC, via Kazan National Research Technical University)

31 December 1968: At Zhukovsky Airport, located on the banks of the Moskva River, 22 miles (36 kilometers) southeast of central Moscow, the prototype Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic airliner took off on its first flight. Tupolev Design Bureau test pilot Eduard Vaganovich Elyan (Эдуа́рд Вага́нович Еля́н ) was the aircraft commander. The prototype, known as Izdeliye 044, carried the Soviet registration number CCCP-68001.

The flight lasted 37 minutes. The new airplane was reported as responsive and easy to fly. There were no significant problems.

This test flight took place two months before the first flight of the rival Aérospatiale Concorde supersonic airliner.¹

Tupolev Design Bureau test pilot Эдуа́рд Вага́нович Еля́н (Eduard Vaganovich Elyan) in the cockpit of the prototype Tupolev Tu-144. (Фото © Sputnik / Евгений Умнов ǁ armeniasputnik.am)
Tupolev Tu-144 prototype crew following the first flight. Eduard Elyan is at left. Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev and Aleksey Andreevich Tupolev are at the center of the image. (Tupolev PJSC)

The Tupolev Tu-144 was prototype large four-engine double-delta-winged supersonic transport aircraft with a “droop” nose for improved low speed cockpit visibility. The airplane was assembled at Zhukovsky Airport from parts manufactured at the Tupolev Experimental Design Bureau plant (also known as OKB-156, or MMZ Opyt). It was flown by a flight test crew of four. The prototype completed 9 October 1968.

Izdeliye 044 was 59.50 meters (195 feet, 2.5 inches) long, with a wingspan of 27.65 meters (90 feet, 8.6 inches) and overall height of 11.35 meters (37 feet, 2.9 inches). The wing had an approximate area of 438 square meters (4,715 square feet). At the root, the double delta wing had a chord of 35.60 meters (116 feet, 9.6 inches). The fuselage was cylindrical with an external diameter of 3.00 meters (9 feet, 10.1 inches). The prototype had a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 160,000 kilograms (352,740 pounds).

CCCP-68001 first went supersonic 5 June 1969. It reached Mach 2.02 on 26 May 1970. The highest speed reached by the prototype was Mach 2.30, and its highest altitude, 16,960 meters (55,643 feet). Izdeliye 044 made a total 180 flight hours over 120 flights. Its final flight took place 27 April 1973. The prototype was scrapped at Zhukovsky.

e Tupolev Tu-144 prototype rollout. (Tupolev PJSC)

Izdeliye 044 was powered by four Kuznetsov NK-144 engines with a maximum thrust of 171.6 kilonewtons (38,577 pounds thrust) per engine. Its maximum thrust while supersonic was 127.5 (28,663 pounds thrust). The NK-144 is a two-spool, axial-flow turbofan engine with afterburner. It uses a 2-stage fan section, 14-stage compressor section (11 high- and 3 low-pressure stages), and a 3-stage turbine (1 high- and 2 low-pressure stages). The NK-144 is 5.200 meters (17 feet, 0.7 inches) long, 1.500 meters (4 feet, 11.1 inches) in diameter and weighs 2,827 kilograms (6,233 pounds). (The prototype had all four engines placed side by side along the aircraft centerline).

Tupolev Tu-144 engines mounted side by side. (Tupolev PJSC)

The Tu-144 was intended to carry 120 passengers on international flights. It was designed to have a cruise speed of 2,200 kilometers per hour (1,367 miles per hour), a maximum speed of 2,443 kilometers per hour (1,518 miles per hour), and service ceiling of 18,500 meters (60,696 feet). Its planned range was 2,920 kilometers (1,814 statute miles).

Tupolev Tu-144 under construction. (Tupolev PJSC, via Kazan National Research Technical University)

The production Tupolev Tu-144 aircraft was lengthened 6.2 meters (20 feet, 4.1 inches), added canards, had changes to wing which included shortening the chord at the root 2.10 meters (6 feet, 10.7 inches), increasing the span 0.35 meters (1 foot, 1.8 inches), drooping and squaring off the wing tips, a significant increase in wing area, changes to engine placement and shape of the nacelles, and the location of the landing gear. The engines were upgraded to the improved NK144A.

The Tupolev Tu-144 was the first supersonic transport to enter service, 26 December 1975.² In actual commercial service, the Tu-144 was extremely unreliable. It was withdrawn from service after a total of just 102 commercial flights, including only 55 passenger flights.

A total of 17 Tu-144s were built, including one pre-production aircraft, five Tu-144S series production aircraft, and ten improved Tu-144Ds with Kolosev RD-36-51A engines. One of the Tu-144Ds, RA-77114, was converted to a Tu-144LL for the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This airplane made its last flight in 1999.

Colonel Eduard Vaganovich Elyan

Eduard Vaganovich Elyan was born at Baku, Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, 20 August 1926. From 1938 he lived in Norilsk, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Rrepublic, a recently established mining settlement in Krasnoyarsk Krai, approximately 185 miles (300 kilometers) north of the Arctic Circle. (Norilsk is now a large, closed city). He also lived in Moscow and Sverdlovsk.

Elyan attended the Sverdlovsk Air Force School in 1944, and entered the Soviet military in June of that year. He underwent initial pilot training at the 9th Military Aviation School at Buguruslan, Orenburg Oblast, Russia, then Borisglebsk Military Aviation School of Pilots, Voronezh Oblast, graduating in 1948. He remained there as a flight instructor until 1951.

From 1951 to 1953, Elyan attended the test pilot school at Zhukovsky. He then began working at the Flight Research Institute at Zhukovsky, in 1953.

From March 1958 through August 1960, Elyan served as a test pilot for the Sukhoi Design Bureau (OKB-51). He then went on to the Tupolev OKB, remaining there until December 1981.

In 1967, Elyan was named an Honored Test Pilot of the Soviet Union. In 1969, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) awarded him the Paul Tissandier Diploma for his accompliushments in aviation. On 26 April 1971, Elyan was named Hero of the Soviet Union, awarded the order of Lenin and the Gold Star Medal.

Tupolev Tu-144D CCCP-77111 on fire, 23 May 1978.

On 23 May 1978, Elyan made an emergency belly landing of a Tu-144D, CCCP-77111, in an open field near Yegoryevsk. During the airliner’s sixth test flight,  a fuel leak started a fire in the right wing. Three engines had to be shut down in succession and it was impossible to return to Ramenskoye Airport, where the flight had originated. The Tu-144D touched down at about 380 kilometers per hour (236 miles per hour). Two crewmen were killed when the nose cone collapsed on impact. The aircraft continued to burn after landing. The six survivors escaped. Elyan was seriously injured.

Wreckage of Tupolev Tu-144D CCCP-77111. (Tu-144 SST)

Elyan stopped test flying in 1982. He worked as an engineer for Mikoyan OKB. He retired in 1996.

Eduard Vaganovich Elyan died at Rostov-on-Don 6 April 2006. His remains were buried at the Northern Cemetery there.

grave

¹ See This Day in Aviation for 2 March 1969 at https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/2-march-1969/

² See This Day in Aviation for 26 December 1975 at https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/26-december-1975/

© 2024, Bryan R. Swopes

19 November 1952

Captain J. Slade Nash, U.S. Air Force, with the record setting North American Aviation F-86D Sabre. (U.S. Air Force)
Captain J. Slade Nash, U.S. Air Force, with the record setting North American Aviation F-86D Sabre. (U.S. Air Force)
The Henry De la Vaulx Medal.
The Henry De la Vaulx Medal.

19 November 1952: Captain James Slade Nash, U.S. Air Force, a test pilot at the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California, flew a North American Aviation F-86D-20-NA Sabre, 51-2945, to a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Absolute Speed Record at the Salton Sea, in the Colorado Desert of southeastern California.

Operating out of NAS El Centro, Captain Nash flew four passes over a 3-kilometer course at an altitude of 125 feet (38 meters). The official average speed was 1,124.14 kilometers per hour (698.508 miles per hour).¹ He was awarded the FAI’s Henry de la Vaulx Medal for achieving the World Absolute Speed Record.

North American Aviation F-86D-20-NA Sabre 51-2945, holder of the World Absolute Speed Record, 1952. This was the second of 188 Block 20 aircraft built. (U.S. Air Force) (U.S. Air Force)

The Desert Sun reported:

Sabre-Jet Sets new World Speed Mark at Salton Sea

Record of 699.9 Mile Per Hour Established in Four Flights over Below Sea Level Course

     The desert area, few miles east of Palm Springs, was the setting for a new international airplane speed record last week when an F-86D Sabre jet roared over Salton Sea at 699.9 miles an hour. It was reported that in test runs previously the plane had exceeded 700 miles an hour.

     Risking his life to set the new record was Capt. Slade Nash, a 31-year-old Sioux City, Iowa man with three children. His wife, but not his three daughters, watched as Captain Nash barreled the swept-wing North American interceptor jet four times over the course, as close as 100 feet to the ground although he could have flown it at 328 feet.

      Nash had only to hit 676 miles an hour to shatter the previous world speed record set September 15, 1948, by Maj. Richard L. Johnson, air material command test pilot, at Edwards Air Force Base in an earlier Sabrejet—the F-86A. Johnson’s mark was 670.981 m.p.h. and Nash was required to fly 5 m.p.h. faster to set a new record.

     NASH’S SABRE jet carried a full rocket load. Adding hazard to the inherent danger of gunning a plane to near 700 m.p.h. was the low altitude below sea level—at when the run for record was made.

     Fuel requirements are much higher at sea level than at high levels and air pressure on the plane is about four times greater. In addition, aerodynamic problems of drag, buffet, stability and structural strength are greatly increased at sea level. However, low altitude and higher temperatures make higher speeds possible.

     CONDITIONS WERE NOT ideal for the test. Officials had hopes for 85-degree temperatures, but, at approximately 1:45 p.m., when the speed runs were made, the reading was only 75.5 degrees.

     Nash came within shouting distance of the speed of sound—about 760 m.p.h. at sea level. The speed of sound—called MACH 1—has many times been surpassed by jet planes in dives at high altitudes—in fact, most jet pilots pass this barrier at some time or another—but never under the considerably more difficult conditions of an official attempt to break the world speed record.

     NASH ALSO SET another record—being the first pilot to break a world speed record at below-sea-level altitudes. The Salton Sea is 235 feet below sea level and Nash’s Sabre jet was not believed to have gone above the sea level mark during his speed runs.

     Scene of the run was a desolate, gully-slashed barren shore land about a mile and a half below Durmid, a railroad crossing, and just south of the Riverside-Imperial county lines.

     About 100 newsmen, cameramen, manufacturers’ representatives and Air Force members were present. Head timer was C.S. Logsdon of Washington, D.C., director of the NAA Contest Division. Rules of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale and the Nationals Aeronautics [sic] Association (NAA) were followed.

     Official timing was made with high speed movie cameras. Processing of those films was necessary before the exact official speed of the run could be determined.

The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, California, Vol. XXVI, No. 17, Thursday, November 27, 1952, Page 2, Columns 1 and 2

The record-setting F-86D, 51-2945, was damaged in a ground collision with a Douglas RB-26C Invader, 44-35942, 29 October 1953, at K-14, Kinpo, Korea.

North American Aviation F-86D-1-NA Sabre 50-463, the eighth production aircraft. (North American Aviation, Inc.)

The North American Aviation, Inc., F-86D Sabre was an all-weather interceptor developed from the North American Aviation F-86 fighter. It was the first single-seat interceptor, and it used a very sophisticated—for its time—electronic fire control system. It was equipped with search radar and armed with twenty-four unguided 2.75-inch (69.85 millimeter) Mk 4 Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets (FFAR) rockets carried in a retractable tray in its belly.

The aircraft was so complex that the pilot training course was the longest of any aircraft in the U.S. Air Force inventory, including the Boeing B-47 Stratojet.

North American Aviation F-86D-20-NA Sabre 51-3045. (U.S. Air Force)

The F-86D was larger than the F-86A, E and F fighters, with a longer and wider fuselage. It was also considerably heavier. The day fighter’s sliding canopy was replaced with a hinged “clamshell” canopy. A large, streamlined radome was above the reshaped engine intake.

The F-86D Sabre was 40 feet, 3¼ inches (12.275 meters) long with a wingspan of 37 feet, 1½ inches (11.316 meters), and overall height of 15 feet, 0 inches (4.572 meters). The interceptor had an empty weight of 13,518 pounds (6,131.7 kilograms), and maximum takeoff weight of 19,975 pounds (9,060.5 kilograms). It retained the leading edge slats of the F-86A, F-86E and early F-86F fighters. The horizontal stabilizer and elevators were replaced by a single, all-moving stabilator. All flight controls were hydraulically boosted.

The F-86D was powered by a General Electric J47-GE-17 engine. This was a single-shaft, axial-flow turbojet with afterburner. The engine had a 12-stage compressor, 8 combustion chambers, and single-stage turbine. The J47-GE-17 was equipped with an electronic fuel control system which substantially reduced the pilot’s workload. It had a normal (continuous) power rating of 4,990 pounds of thrust (22.20 kilonewtons); military power, 5,425 pounds (24.13 kilonewtons) (30 minute limit), and maximum 7,500 pounds of thrust (33.36 kilonewtons) with afterburner (15 minute limit). (All power ratings at 7,950 r.p.m.) It was 18 feet, 10.0 inches (5.740 meters) long, 3 feet, 3.75 inches (1.010 meters) in diameter, and weighed 3,000 pounds (1,361 kilograms).

The maximum speed of the F-86D was 601 knots (692 miles per hour/1,113 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, 532 knots (612 miles per hour/985 kilometers per hour) at 40,000 feet (12,192 meters), and 504 knots (580 miles per hour/933 kilometers per hour)at 47,800 feet (14,569 meters).

The F-86D had an area intercept range of 241 nautical miles (277 statute miles/446 kilometers) and a service ceiling of 49,750 feet (15,164 meters). The maximum ferry range with external tanks was 668 nautical miles (769 statute miles/1,237 kilometers). Its initial rate of climb was 12,150 feet per minute (61.7 meters per second) from Sea Level at 16,068 pounds (7,288 kilograms). From a standing start, the F-86D could reach its service ceiling in 22.2 minutes.

North American Aviation F-86D-60-NA Sabre 53-4061 firing FFARs
North American Aviation F-86D-60-NA Sabre 53-4061 firing FFARs. (U.S. Air Force)

The F-86D was armed with twenty-four 2.75-inch (69.85 millimeter) unguided Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets (FFAR) with explosive warheads. They were carried in a retractable tray, and could be fired in salvos of 6, 12, or 24 rockets. The FFAR was a solid-fuel rocket. The 7.55 pound (3.43 kilogram) warhead was proximity-fused, or could be set for contact detonation, or to explode when the rocket engine burned out.

The F-86D’s radar could detect a target at 30 miles (48 kilometers). The fire control system calculated a lead-collision-curve and provided guidance to the pilot through his radar scope. Once the interceptor was within 20 seconds of its target, the pilot selected the number of rockets to fire and pulled the trigger, which armed the system. At a range of 500 yards (457 meters), the fire control system launched the rockets.

Between December 1949 and September 1954, 2,505 F-86D Sabres (sometimes called the “Sabre Dog”) were built by North American Aviation. There were many variants (“block numbers”) and by 1955, almost all the D-models had been returned to maintenance depots or the manufacturer for standardization. 981 of these aircraft were modified to a new F-86L standard. The last F-86D was removed from U.S. Air Force service in 1961.

North American Aviation, Inc., F-86D-50-NA Sabre 52-10143.

James Slade Nash was born at Sioux City, Iowa, 26 June 1921. He was the older of two sons of Harry Slade Nash, a farmer, and Gertrude E. Parke Nash. He attended Iowa State University before entering the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, 1 July 1942. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps, 5 June 1945.

Slade Nash completed flight training and was promoted to First Lieutenant, 29 April 1947. He served as a pilot with the 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron at Johnson Air Base, Sayama, Japan, and the 82nd Reconnaissance Squadron at Yokota Air Base, near Tokyo, Japan, flying the Northrop RF-61C Reporter.

Northrop RF-61C  Reporter reconnaissance aircraft.

Nash began training as a test pilot at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in September 1948. Captain Nash was then assigned to the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) at Edwards Air Force Base, and remained in that assignment for six years. He was involved in testing the delta-wing Convair XF-92 and YF-102, and flew many operational U.S. fighters and bombers.

After overseas staff assignments, Nash attended the Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama, graduating July 1960. He served in the office of the Secretary of the Air Force until 1963, and as a liaison officer to the United States Congress. From August 1964 to October 1965, Nash attended the Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

McDonnell F-101C Voodoo 56-0014, 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, RAF Bentwaters. circa 1965. (U.S. Air Force)
McDonnell F-101C-45-MC Voodoo 56-0014, 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, RAF Bentwaters. circa 1965. The three colors on the vertical fin identify this airplane as the wing commander’s aircraft. (U.S. Air Force)

Major Nash commanded the 92nd Tactical Fighter Squadron at RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk, England, and next was the deputy wing commander of the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, he was assigned to Headquarters, U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

Colonel Nash served as vice commander of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Ubon-Rachitani RTAFB, and flew 149 combat missions in the new gun-equipped McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II.

MG James Slade, Nash, USAF, Chief, Military Assistance Advisory Group, republic of China, 1973.
MG James Slade, Nash, USAF, Chief, Military Assistance Advisory Group, Republic of China, 1973.

Nash was promoted to Brigadier General in 1969, serving as Vice Commander, Air Defense Weapons Center, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, and next, Vice Commander, Defense Special Projects Group. He was promoted to Major General on 1 September 1973, with date of rank retroactive to 1 February 1971.

General Nash served as Chief, Military Assistance Advisory Group to the Republic of China, and later, to Spain. From 1973 until 1976, Major General Nash was head of the Military Assistance Advisory Group to the United Kingdom. He retired from the Air Force in 1979.

During his military career, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster (two awards), and eight Air Medals. He was rated a command pilot with more than 6,000 flight hours.

Major General James Slade Nash died 19 March 2005 at the age of 84 years. He is buried at the United States Air Force Academy Cemetery, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

¹ FAI Record File Number 9867

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

3 November 1962

The French fishing trawler F/V Jeane Gougy aground at at Land’s End, Cornwall, England, 3 November 1962. (Royal Maritime Museum)

3 November 1962: The French fishing trawler F/V Jeanne Gougy with a crew of 18 ran aground during a storm at Armored Knight Rock, Land’s End, Cornwall, England. 15-foot waves rolled the ship over on its port side. The seamen were trapped aboard the wreck.

The waves prevented the life boat from the Royal National Life Boat Institution (RNLI) Sennen Cove Lifeboat Station was unable to approach the wreck because of the heavy weather, but recovered two dead fishermen offshore.

A Westland Whirlwind HAR.10 helicopter from No. 22 Squadron’s Search and Rescue Detachment at RAF Chivenor on the north coast of Devon was assigned to attempt a rescue. The Whirlwind was flown by Flight Lieutenants John Lorimer Neville Canham, D.F.C., and Flight Lieutenant John Trevor Egginton, with winch operator Sergeant Eric Charles Smith.

Westland Whirlwind HAR.10, No. 22 Squadron, hoists survivors from the wreck of F/V Jeanne Goudy, 3 November 1962.

Sergeant Smith was lowered into the sea to recover another body, which was then hoisted aboard the helicopter. The Sennen Cove lifeboat and the Whirlwind returned to their respective bases.

Later that morning, observers from the shore saw several men inside the Jeanne Gougy‘s pilot house. A helicopter and the Penlee lifeboat, Soloman Brown, hurried to the scene, but conditions were still too extreme for a lifeboat to approach the trawler.

The helicopter hovered over the capsized fishing trawler while Sergeant Smith was lowered to the ship’s pilot house. A rescue line was also rigged to the nearby rocks. Sergeant Smith rigged two men for hoisting to the hovering helicopter and continued searching for additional survivors. Four sailors were rescued by the line to the shore. Twelve of the fishermen did not survive.

Westland Whirlwind HAR.10, No. 22 Squadron, hoists a man from the fishing trawler F/V Jeanne Gougy at Armoured Knight Rock, Land’s End, Cornwall, England, 3 November 1962. (RNLI Penlee Lifeboat Station)
Sergeant Eric Smith, RAF, is lowered to the wreck of F/V Jeanne Gougy, 3 November 1962. (BFI)
A crewman is transferred from F/V Jeanne Gougy to the cliffs by breeches buoy. (RNLI Penlee Lifeboat Station)

For his bravery during the rescue, Sergeant Smith was awarded the George Medal by Queen Elizabeth II. He was also awarded the Silver Medal of the Société des Hospitalers Sauveteurts Bretons.

The Président de la République française, Charles de Gaulle, conferred the honor of Chevalier du Mérite Maritime on Flight Lieutenant Canham, Flight Lieutenant Egginton and Sergeant Smith.

On 13 June 1964,  Flight Lieutenant John Trevor Egginton was awarded the Air Force Cross.

Wreck of the fishing trawler F/V Jeanne Gougy at Land’s End, 3 November 1962. (RNLI Penlee Lifeboat Station)

The Westland Whirlwind was a license-built variant of the Sikorsky S-55. The HAR.10 was a dedicated search-and-rescue helicopter, powered by a 1,050 shaft horsepower de Havilland Engine Co., Ltd., Gnome H.1000 (Mk.101). The engine was based on the General Electric T58-G-6 turboshaft.

A No. 22 Squadron Westland Whirlwind HAR.10, XP351, hovers during a winch exercise at RAF Thorney Island, 10 July 1964. (Graham P.)

In 1965, Flight Lieutenant Egginton attended the Empire Test Pilots’ School at RAF Boscombe Down. On graduation, he was assigned as a helicopter test pilot with D Squadron (now the Rotary Wing Test and Evaluation Squadron, or RWTES). In 1969, Egginton returned to the Test Pilots’ School as a helicopter flight instructor.

Squadron Leader Egginton retired from the Royal Air Force in 1973. He was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, 2 June 1973.¹

Egginton joined Westland Helicopters at Yeovil as deputy chief test pilot, and later became the company’s chief test pilot. He retired from Westland after 15 years.

In the 1989 New Year’s Honours List, Squadron Leader Egginton was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.).

Eggington is credited with three Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world speed records, including the Absolute Speed Record for Helicopters, 400.87 kilometers per hour (249.09 miles per hour), set 11 August 1986.²

Squadron Leader John Trevor Egginton, O.B.E., A.F.C., F.R.Ae.S., Q.C.V.S.A., Chevalier du Mérite Maritime, died at his home in Yeovil, 23 November 2014. He was 81 years of age.

¹ London Gazette No. 45984 at Page 6463

² FAI Record File Number 11659

© 2023, Bryan R. Swopes

16 August 1969

The highly-modified Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat, N1111L, Conquest I, at the Reno Air Races. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)
Darryl Greenamyer

16 August 1969: Former Lockheed SR-71 test pilot Darryl Greenamyer flew his modified Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat, Conquest I (Bu. No. 121646, FAA registration N1111L) to 776.45 kilometers per hour (482.46 miles per hour) over a 3 kilometer course at Edwards Air Force Base, California.¹ In setting a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world record speed for piston engine airplanes (Class C-1, Group I), he broke the record that had stood since 1936, set by Fritz Wendel in a prototype Messerschmitt Me 209.² The Bearcat won the National Air Races six times.

Darryl George Greenamyer was born 13 August 1936 at Southgate, California. He is the second son of George Petit Greenamyer, a gold miner, and Bette Bessent Greenamyer, a waitress.

Greenamyer served as a pilot in the United States Air Force, and as a civilian test pilot for Lockheed, flying the Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird. In 1970, he was honored with the Iven C. Kincheloe Award by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots for outstanding professional accomplishment in the conduct of flight testing.

On 21 January 1977, Greenamyer married Miss Mary Terese Croft in a civil ceremony in Arlington, Virginia.

Conquest I was built by the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation in 1948 as an F8F-2 Bearcat, a carrier-based light weight fighter. The production F8F-2 Bearcat was 27 feet, 8 inches (8.432 meters) long with a wingspan of 35 feet, 6 inches (10.820 meters) and overall height of 13 feet, 5 inches (4.089 meters). Its empty weight was 7,070 pounds (3,206.9 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight was 12,947 pounds (5,872.7 kilograms).

Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat with wings folded. (Northrop Grumman)

The production F8F-2 used an air-cooled, supercharged, 2,804.4-cubic-inch-displacement (45.956 liter) Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp E12 (R-2800-30W) twin-row 18-cylinder radial engine with a compression ration of 6.75:1. The R-2800-30W was rated at 1,720 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. at Sea Level, and 1,450 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. at 22,000 feet (6,706 meters). The Takeoff and Military Power ratings were 2,250 horsepower at 2,800 r.p.m. at Sea Level, and 1,600 horsepower at 2,800 r.p.m. at 22,000 feet (6,706 meters). These power ratings required 115/145 aviation gasoline and water/alcohol injection and 115/145 aviation gasoline. The engine drove an Aeroproducts Inc. four-bladed propeller with a diameter of 12 feet, 7 inches (3.835 meters) through a 0.450:1 gear reduction. The R-2800-30W was 8 feet, 2.75 inches (2.508 meters) long, 4 feet, 5.00 inches (1.346 meters) in diameter and weighed 2,560 pounds (1,161.2 kilograms).

The Bearcat had a top speed of 421 miles per hour (677.5 kilometers per hour). It could climb at 4,570 feet per minute (23.2 meters per second) and had a service ceiling of 38,700 feet (11,796 meters). Its range was 1,105 miles (1,778 kilometers).

Conquest I‘s wings were shortened by 7 feet (2.134 meters). The new wingspan is 28 feet, 6 inches (8.687 meters). The R-2800 engine of Greenamyer’s racer was modified to produce 3,100 horsepower. It drove an Aeroproducts propeller from a Douglas AD-6 Skyraider, which had a diameter of 13 feet, 6 inches (4.115 meters). The spinner from a North American Aviation P-51H Mustang was used.

Conquest I is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum. It was given to the museum by Greenamyer in exchange for an F8F-1 Bearcat, Bu. No. 90446. It is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia.

Darryl Greenamyer’s record-setting Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat racer, Conquest I. (National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution)

¹ FAI Record File Number 10366

² FAI Record File Number 8743

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes